Neurology Department, Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Portugal Stroke is one of the major causes of death and morbidity worldwide and carries an important economic impact. The diagnosis is still a clinical one, supported by brain imaging. However, up to 30% of suspected stroke presentations, have a different diagnosis. In these cases, two scenarios must be considered: a false positive diagnosis, or...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative condition that usually presents with symptoms related to asymmetric bradykinesia, resting tremor, rigidity and postural instability. Making the correct diagnosis can be challenging as many conditions-including tremor, gait and atypical parkinsonian disorders-can mimic PD. PD can present with unanticipated motor and non-motor symptoms, and s...

We often are unable to reduce wildlife damage because of our inability to apply a repellent directly to the plant, animal, or item that needs protection. Conditioned food aversions based on deception (CFABD) is one method that can be used to extend protection to these items (hereafter called models). In CFABD, the model is not treated; instead mimics of the model are created and then treated wi...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Previous studies have shown a stroke mimic rate of 9%-31%. We aimed to establish the proportion of stroke mimics amongst suspected acute strokes, to clarify the aetiology of stroke mimic and to develop a prediction model to identify stroke mimics. METHODS This was a retrospective cohort observational study. Consecutive "stroke alert" patients were identified over nine m...

Mimicry often involves a protective element, whereby the risk of predation on mimics is reduced owing to their resemblance to unpalatable models. However, protection from predation has so far seemed unimportant in aggressive mimicry, where mimics are usually predators rather than prey. Here, we demonstrate that bluestriped fangblennies (Plagiotremus rhinorhynchos), which are aggressive mimics o...

Protective mimicry, in which a palatable species avoids predation by being mistaken for an unpalatable model, is a remarkable example of adaptive evolution. These complex interactions between mimics, models and predators can explain similarities between organisms beyond the often-mechanistic constraints typically invoked in studies of convergent evolution. However, quantitative studies of prote...

Follicular atresia mainly results from the apoptosis of granulosa cells (GCs). Whilst our previous investigations examined the role of chi-miR-4110 in regulating ovarian function, the present study detected the role of chi-miR-4110 in GC development. We transfected caprine GCs cultured in vitro with chi-miR-4110 mimics. Results revealed that chi-miR-4110 decreased mRNA and protein levels of Sma...

In the May issue of the Journal, King and Moores1 presented a very nice overview of asthma phenotypes and disorders that mimic asthma. That article was followed by a paper by McCormack and Enright2 that reviewed the process of making a diagnosis of asthma, including a brief overview of the differential diagnosis of asthma. I respectfully submit that missing from both papers is a description of ...

The design and generation of molecules capable of mimicking the binding and/or functional sites of proteins represents a promising strategy for the exploration and modulation of protein function through controlled interference with the underlying molecular interactions. Synthetic peptides have proven an excellent type of molecule for the mimicry of protein sites because such peptides can be gen...

Several uncommon primary pancreatic tumors, inflammatory conditions, metastasis to the pancreas and peripancreatic masses can mimic the appearance of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). Differentiation between these lesions and PDA can be challenging, due to the overlap in imaging features; however, familiarity with their typical imaging features and clinical presentation may be helpful in ...