Persistence of ultrasound alterations after antibiotic treatment with levofloxacin in patients with male accessory gland infection

No studies have evaluated the ultrasound features of the male sex accessory glands in infertile patients with bacterial male accessory gland infection （MAGI） according to the microbiological outcomes of bacterial cultures （absent, partial or complete） following antibiotic therapy administration. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the ultrasound characteristics of the prostate, seminal vesicles, and epididymal tracts after treatment with levofloxacin （a common quinolone antibiotic）, in patients with infections caused by Escherichia coil （a Gram-negative bacterium） according to the Naber＇s classification, which includes the following categories： eradication, eradication with superinfection, persistence and persistence with superinfection. The study was conducted in 100 patients aged 25±8 years （range： 20-40 years） with bacterial MAGI and bacterial cultures positive only for E. coil（colony forming units ≥ 106 per ml）. Retrospective analysis was conducted only on patients treated with oral levofloxacin （500 mg） administered once daily for 28 days who were recruited over the last 5 years. Following antibiotic treatment, patients with microbiological persistence or persistence with superinfection had a significantly higher percentage of ultrasound abnormalities suggestive of prostato-vesiculitis （PV） （30.2% and 36.0%, respectively） or prostato-vesiculo-epididymitis （PVE） （60.2% and 70.0%, respectively） compared with patients with microbiological eradication （PV= 10.2% and PVE=8.2%, respectively） or eradication with superinfection （PV= 18.8% and PVE=21.2%, respectively）. In conclusion, patients with microbiological persistence or persistence plus superinfection showed the highest prevalence of complicated forms of MAGI （PV and PVE）, compared with patients with microbiological eradication or eradication with superinfection.

Electrocortical Activity Differences Related to Saccadic Movements between Bipolar Patients and Healthy Subjects

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate and to compare the electrophysiological changes in bipolar patients and healthy subjects during the execution of a saccade task. Materials and Methods: The subjects had to respond to a fixed visual stimulus presented by a LEDs bar. We executed an ANOVA (one-way) and post hoc Scheffé test to examine the difference of absolute alpha power and reaction time among four groups: control, depression, manic and euthymic. We observed the frontal, parietal and occipital regions. The paired t test was realized on each electrode and group to compare the pre and post moment in the task. Results: We observed a statistical difference among the groups for the behavioral variable—saccade reaction time. For the electrophysiological variable—absolute alpha power, we did not find significant difference between the moments (pre and post stimulus presentation) for none of the electrodes of each bipolar group. However, the results pointed out to a difference between the moments for F3, P3, O1 and O2 electrodes for control group. Conclusion: We cannot affirm that the task influences the cortical activity of the patients. It is possible that the method used to analyze the data is not the adequate. The time-frequency analysis could be better to analyze the present data. We also observed that the absolute alpha power could be considered a marker of bipolar disorder, but not of the different states (i.e., mania, depression, euthymia).

New insights on portal hypertension’s screening in people with cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis-associated liver disease(CFLD)is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality affecting people with cystic fibrosis(PwCF)(1).Approximately 40%of PwCF have liver involvement,defined as the existence of any hepatic manifestation,including biochemical liver abnormalities(2).In a small percentage of these patients,liver involvement may ultimately result in the development of portal hypertension(PH)and its complications.The presence of at least two of the following variables-abnormal liver tests,abnormal liver ultrasound(US),abnormal physical examination with hepatosplenomegaly or histologic evidence of liver disease-were historically the basis for the European criteria to define CFLD(3).Nevertheless,the emergence of a new approach for liver assessment as liver elastography has led to the proposal of its inclusion in new diagnostic criteria(4).