查看更多>>摘要：The world is currently facing the COVID-19 pandemic that is taking a heavy toll on several countries。 While many infected patients have a good prognosis， in some cases the progression can be serious and even lead to death。 The commonly seen complications are a cytokine storm and multi-organ failure that require intensive care。 The mortality of critically ill patients depends on age， sex， immune state or co-morbidities。 There is an urgent need to discover a biomarker to identify early on patients at risk of developing serious complications and to find an effective treatment that could prevent disease progression and critical states。 Recent investigations have pointed to the possible contribution of intestinal dysbiosis to the pathophysiology of COVID-19。 Herein， we hypothesize that butyrate， a short-chain fatty acid initially produced by the gut microbiota， could be administered as supportive therapy to prevent immune system activation and disease progression。
查看更多>>摘要：Chronic fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) is a heterogeneous disease that may be promoted by various environmental stressors， including viral infection， toxin uptake， and ionizing radiation exposure。 Previous studies have identified mitochondrial dysfunction in CFIDS patients， including modulation of mitochondrial respiratory chain activity， deletions in the mitochondrial genome， and upregulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS)。 This paper focuses on radiation effects and hypothesizes that CFIDS is primarily caused by stressor-induced mitochondrial metabolic insufficiency， which results in decreased energy production and anabolic metabolites required for normal cellular metabolism。 Furthermore， tissues neighbouring or distant from directly perturbed tissues compensate for this dysfunction， which causes symptoms associated with CFIDS。 This hypothesis is justified by reviewing the links between radiation exposure and CFIDS， cancer， immune dysfunction， and induction of oxidative stress。 Moreover， the relevance of mitochondria in cellular responses to radiation and metabolism are discussed and putative mitochondrial biomarkers for CFIDS are introduced。 Implications for diagnosis are then described， including a potential urine assay and PCR test for mitochondrial genome mutations。 Finally， future research needs are offered with an emphasis on where rapid progress may be made to assist the afflicted。
查看更多>>摘要：Aerosols generated from chest compressions and ventilation attempts in patients with cardiac arrest may cause airborne infections。 Accordingly， the interim international resuscitation guidelines have restricted basic life support by lay rescuers to compression only and the use of an automated external defibrillator during the COVID19 pandemic。 Although these measures may diminish the risk of infection for laypersons， the missing respiratory support can be detrimental for patients with hypoxia-related cardiac arrest。 To overcome this shortcoming we want to introduce a special tool that allows ventilation during barrier resuscitation by laypersons。 We hypothesize that the application of a device made of a polyvinyl chloride shield with a centrally installed S-shaped ventilation pipe with integrated filter can provide adequate ventilation while concurrently protecting patient and rescuer from airborne agents。 Aerosols from air leakage are removed by adhesion and drainage below the barrier。 No specific training other than basic life support is needed。 We suggest that a tool of this kind be considered essential equipment and stored together with disposable gloves in public access locations。
NSTL
Elsevier