MethodsThree lots of methylprednisolone acetate were recalled by the pharmacy; examination of unopened vials later revealed fungus. Notification of all persons

potentially exposed to implicated methylprednisolone acetate was conducted by federal, state, and local public health officials and by staff at clinical facilities that administered the drug. We collected clinical data on standardized case-report forms, and we tested for the presence of fungi in isolates and specimens by examining cultures and performing polymerase-chain-reaction assays and histopathological and immunohistochemical testing.

ResultsBy October 19, 2012, more than 99% of 13,534 potentially exposed persons had been RAD001 contacted. As of July 1, 2013, there were 749 reported cases of infection in 20 states, with 61 deaths (8%). Laboratory evidence of Exserohilum rostratum was present in specimens from 153 case patients (20%). Additional data were available for 728 case patients (97%); 229 of these patients (31%) had meningitis with no other documented infection. Case patients had received a median of 1 injection (range, 1 to 6) of implicated methylprednisolone acetate. The median age of Gemcitabine the patients was 64 years (range, 15 to 97), and the median incubation period (the number of days from the last injection to the date of the first diagnosis)

was 47 days (range, 0 to 249); 40 patients others (5%) had a stroke.

ConclusionsAnalysis of data from a large, multistate outbreak of fungal infections showed substantial morbidity and mortality. The infections were associated with injection of a contaminated glucocorticoid medication from a single compounding pharmacy. Rapid public health actions included prompt recall of the implicated product, notification of exposed

persons, and early outreach to clinicians.”
“Stress elicits functional and structural changes in the hippocampus. Early life stress is one of the major risk factors for stress-related pathologies like depression. Patients suffering from depression show a reduced hippocampal volume, and in women, this occurs more often when depression is preceded by childhood trauma. However, the underlying mechanisms that account for a reduced hippocampal volume are unknown.

We examined the effects of maternal absence on structure and function of the hippocampus in female offspring.

We studied whether 24 h of maternal deprivation (MD) on postnatal day 3 altered adult neurogenesis, individual neuronal morphology and dentate gyrus (DG) structure in young adult female rats. In addition, functional alterations were addressed by studying synaptic plasticity in vitro, and spatial as well as emotional learning was tested.

Adult females that were subjected to MD revealed significant reductions in DG granule cell number and density.