Adhesio interthalamica and cavum septum pellucidum in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy

The absence of the adhesio interthalamica (AI; also called interthalamic adhesion or massa intermedia) and the presence of a large cavum septum pellucidum (CSP) later in life have been related to neurodevelopmental alterations and have not been systematically investigated in epilepsy to date. This study carried out a MRI evaluation of the AI and CSP in a large sample with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). A total of 179 patients, classified according to the side of the epileptogenic focus, and 156 age- and sex-balanced healthy controls were assessed. Between-group comparisons of the prevalence and length of both AI and CSP were conducted. Neuropsychological assessments were also performed in 160 MTLE patients. The patients exhibited reduction in the AI prevalence (P < 0.05; FDR-uncorrected) and length (P < 0.05; FDR-corrected) when compared to controls. Patients without AI showed lower scores in a proportion of neuropsychological tests than patients with AI. No CSP differences were found between MTLE patients and controls. These results support that AI anomalies have clinical significance in MTLE, as well as indicate that neurodevelopmental alterations may be implicated in this disorder.

Effects of the sol-gel route on the structural characteristics and antibacterial activity of silica-encapsulated gentamicin

The effects of sol-gel processes, i.e., acid-catalyzed gelation, base-catalyzed gelation and base-catalyzed precipitation routes, on the encapsulation of gentamicin were investigated. The resulting xerogels were characterized using a series of complementary instrumental techniques, i.e., the adsorption/desorption of nitrogen, small-angle X-ray scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The encapsulated gentamicin samples were tested against a series of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains. The best antimicrobial activity was observed with the encapsulated gentamicin that was prepared via the precipitation route, even in comparison with the neat antibiotic, especially in the case of the Gram-positive strain Staphylococcus aureus. The gentamicin concentration on the outermost surface and the zeta potential were identified as factors that affected the highest efficiency, as observed in the case of encapsulation via the base-catalyzed process.