Diagnostic and predictive value of CSF d-ROM level in influenza virus-associated encephalopathy

The aim of this study was to assess the validity of serum and CSF oxidative status of patients with IE in their initial stage through the d-ROM (Diacron-Reactive Oxygen Metabolites, Italy) test, compared to those with other neurological diseases. The study was conducted on the following four groups: (1) influenza virus-associated encephalopathy (IE, n = 8), including four patients showing neurological sequelae or mortal; (2) influenza virus-associated febrile seizures (IFS, n = 11); (3) febrile convulsion (FC, n = 10): (4) enterovirus-associated encephalopathy (EE, n = 4), including one patient with neurological sequelae. The CSF d-ROM levels in the IE group were significantly higher than those in the IFS and the FC groups but not in the EE group. In addition, general laboratory findings such as leukocytes, platelets, C-reactive protein, aspartate aminotransferase, creatinine, creatinine kinase and LDH, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), were analyzed in each group. The CSF d-ROM levels in the IE group were significantly higher than those in the IFS and FC groups but not in the EE group. As for the serum d-ROM levels and general laboratory findings, with the exception of CSF IL-6 levels in IE, no significant differences were detected compared with the other groups. In patients with IE, the CSF d-ROM levels could be a valid predictive biomarker of the severity, and oxidative stress may be related to the pathogenesis of IE.

Clinical Features and Burden Scores in Japanese Pediatric Migraines With Brainstem Aura, Hemiplegic Migraine, and Retinal Migraine

BACKGROUND

Migraines are a broad spectrum of disorders classified by the type of aura with some requiring attentive treatment. Vasoconstrictors, including triptans, should be avoided in the acute phase of migraines with brainstem aura, in hemiplegic migraine, and in retinal migraine. This study investigated the characteristics and burden of these migraines.

METHODS

Medical charts of 278 Japanese pediatric patients with migraines were retrospectively reviewed. Migraine burden of migraines with brainstem aura, hemiplegic migraines, and retinal migraine was assessed using the Headache Impact Test-6™ (HIT-6) and the Pediatric Migraine Disability Assessment scale (PedMIDAS).

RESULTS

Of 278 patients screened, 12 (4.3%) patients with migraines with brainstem aura (n = 5), hemiplegic migraines (n = 2), and retinal migraine (n = 5) were enrolled in the study. All patients had migraine with/without typical aura, whereas some patients had coexisting migraine with another type of headache (chronic tension-type headache in 3 patients, and 1 each with frequent episodic tension-type headache, headache owing to medication overuse, and chronic migraine). Migraines with brainstem aura, hemiplegic migraines, and retinal migraine patients with coexisting headaches had higher HIT-6 or PedMIDAS scores, whereas migraines with brainstem aura, hemiplegic migraines, and retinal migraine patients without coexisting headache did not show high HIT-6 or PedMIDAS scores.

CONCLUSION

All migraines with brainstem aura, hemiplegic migraines, and retinal migraine patients experienced migraine with or without typical aura, and some patients having other coexisting headaches also had high PedMIDAS and HIT-6 scores. PedMIDAS and HIT-6 should not be considered diagnostic indicators of migraines with brainstem aura, hemiplegic migraines, or retinal migraine. In clinical practice for headaches in children, careful history taking and proactive assessment of the aura are needed for accurate diagnosis of migraines with brainstem aura, hemiplegic migraines, and retinal migraine.

Correlations of Enzyme Levels at Birth in Stressed Neonates with Short-Term Outcomes

INTRODUCTION

Multi-organ injury causes leakage of several intracellular enzymes into the circulation. We evaluated the correlation between the serum-leaked intracellular enzyme levels at the beginning of treatment and the outcome in perinatally stressed neonates.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively studied neonates whose 1 minute Apgar score was < 7. We collected initial venous blood sample data, including aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and creatine kinase (CK) levels, and correlated these with patient short-term outcomes.

RESULTS

Of 60 neonates, nine patients were treated with therapeutic hypothermia, and 32 needed mechanical ventilation. The therapeutic hypothermia group showed significantly larger base deficit, and higher lactate, AST, ALT, LDH, and CK (all p < 0.01). The duration of mechanical ventilation significantly correlated with AST, ALT, LDH, and CK levels (all p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Initial enzyme levels are useful for predicting the duration of mechanical ventilation in stressed neonates.

Ventilatory response to CO2 with Read's rebreathing method in normal infants

BACKGROUND

Methods of evaluating the ventilatory response to CO₂ (VRCO₂ ) of the respiratory center include the steady-state and the rebreathing method. Although the rebreathing method can evaluate the ventilatory response continuously to gradually increasing CO₂ , the rebreathing method has been rarely performed in infants. The aim of this study was to investigate whether we could perform the VRCO₂ with the rebreathing method in normal infants.

METHODS

The subjects were 80 normal infants. The gestational age was 39.9 (39.3-40.3) weeks, and the birth body weight was 3142 (2851-3451) grams. We performed the VRCO₂ with Read's rebreathing method, measuring the increase in minute volume (MV) in response to the increase in EtCO₂ by rebreathing a closed circuit. The value of VRCO₂ was calculated as follow: VRCO₂ (ml/min/mmHg/kg) = ΔMV/ΔEtCO₂ /body weight.

RESULTS

We performed the examination without adverse events. The age in days at examination was 3 (2-4), and the examination time was 150 ± 38 s. The maximum EtCO₂ was 51.1 (50.5-51.9) mmHg. The value of VRCO₂ was 34.6 (29.3-42.8). The intraclass correlation coefficient of the VRCO₂ of cases with multiple measurements was 0.79.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that the rebreathing method can evaluate the ventilatory response to high blood CO₂ in a short examination time. We conclude that the rebreathing method is useful even in infants. In the future, we plan to measure the VRCO₂ of preterm infants, and evaluate the respiratory center of infants in more detail.

Perinatal lethal Gaucher disease: A case report and review of literature

Perinatal lethal Gaucher disease is a very rare variant of type 2 Gaucher disease that occurs in the neonatal period and leads to death in early infancy. The disease is characterized by hydrops fetalis or a collodion baby phenotype accompanied with progressive neurological manifestations, hepatosplenomegaly, thrombocytopenia, anemia, and failure to thrive. We report a case of perinatal lethal Gaucher disease treated with enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) who survived for 9 months and present a literature review of perinatal lethal Gaucher disease cases. The prognosis of perinatal lethal Gaucher disease is poor, and ERT is only effective in visceral manifestation. Therefore, palliative care should be recognized as a treatment option, and ERT employment needs to be discussed in this context.

Neural network-based PET image reconstruction

In PET image analysis, conventional deconvolution alone will not give sufficient information for a precise study of a localized brain function. In the deconvolution process, which is a type of inverse problem, it is important to confine the solution space by incorporating a priori knowledge such as the tissue distribution given by MR images as well as smoothness in the blood flow distribution profile. An MR-embedded neural-network model is described to reduce the partial volume effect in the restoration of blood flow profiles from PET images.