Aging and disease
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Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have received particular attention due to their ability to inhibit inflammation caused by cytokine storm induced by COVID-19. In this way some patients have been treated successfully. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and describe the clinical changes after IV administration of allogeneic human umbilical cord MSC (ahUCMSC), in patients with bilateral pneumonia caused by COVID-19, complicated with severe ARDS, as compassionate treatment. ⋯ Three patients survived and were extubated on the ninth day post-infusion. Two patients died at 13 and 15 days after infusion. The infusion of ahUCMSC in patients with severe ARDS caused by COVID-19, was safe, and demonstrated its anti-inflammatory capacity in the lungs, by improving the respiratory function expressed by PaO2 / FiO2, which allowed the survival of 3 patients, with extubation at 9 days.
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The ongoing Corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic has witnessed global political responses of unimaginable proportions. Many nations have implemented lockdowns that involve mandating citizens not to leave their residences for non-essential work. The Indian government has taken appropriate and commendable steps to curtail the community spread of COVID-19. ⋯ We analyze the current pattern of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, testing, and mortality in India with an emphasis on the importance of mortality as a marker of the clinical relevance of COVID-19 disease. We also analyze the environmental and biological factors which may lessen the impact of COVID-19 in India. The importance of cross-immunity, innate immune responses, ACE polymorphism, and viral genetic mutations are discussed.
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Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is a sleep behavior disorder characterized by abnormal behaviors and loss of muscle atonia during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. RBD is generally considered to be associated with synucleinopathies, such as Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and multiple system atrophy (MSA), and usually precedes years before the first symptom of these diseases. It is believed that RBD predicts the neurodegeneration in synucleinopathy. ⋯ Sleep disturbance such as RBD may be an early sign of neurodegeneration in these diseases, and also serve as an assessment of cognitive impairments. In this review, we updated the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and possible mechanisms of RBD in neurogenerative diseases. A better understanding of RBD in these neurogenerative diseases will provide biomarkers and novel therapeutics for the early diagnosis and treatment of the diseases.
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A new study published by the journal Aging & Disease reported that intravenous administration of clinical-grade human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) resulted in improved functional outcomes (Leng et al., Aging Dis, 11:216-228, 2020). This study demonstrated that intravenous infusion of MSCs is a safe and effective approach for treating patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, including elderly patients displaying severe pneumonia. ⋯ Therefore, MSC therapy inhibiting the overactivation of the immune system and promoting endogenous repair by improving the lung microenvironment after the SARS-CoV-2 infection found in this study is striking. Additional studies in a larger cohort of patients are needed to validate this therapeutic intervention further, however.
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The Bristol Foot Score is considered an instrument for measuring the impact of foot problems and pain. It was developed and validated in United Kingdom. Therefore, this aim was to perform the transcultural adaptation and validation of the Spanish version. ⋯ Each question had a very good test-retest reliability, ranged from 0.721 to 0.963 with no systematic differences (P>0.05) in each question of the Spanish Bristol Foot Score (BFS-S) questionnaire. The test-retest reliability was excellent (ICC 95%): concern and foot pain 0.950 (0.913-0971); footwear and general foot health 0.914 (0.851-0.950), mobility 0.973 (0.953-0.984) and there were no sistematic differences in any domain (P > 0.05). The BFS-S was shown to be a valid and reliable tool with an acceptable use in the Spanish population.