International Medical Publisher Journals (iMedPub)
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Effects Of Modafinil And Bromazepam On Decision-Making: A P300 Analysis
Get PDFDrug influence on the decision making process has been scarcely studied. Researchers have driven the hypothesis that drugs might cause interference on cortical circuits. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the electrophysiological and behavioral changes occurring in the P300 after ingestion of modafinil (200mg), bromazepam (6mg) and placebo in healthy subjects exposed to a sensorimotor task based on the oddball paradigm. The sample for this study consisted of 10 subjects of both sexes, with ages ranging between 20 and 45, who were submitted to a quantitative electroencephalography. The experimental procedure was carried out in three visits, before and after drug ingestion. The results demonstrated a significant increase in the P300 latency and amplitude for the target condition, when compared to the non-target condition, for all analyzed electrodes. No significant difference was found for group or moment. A statistically significant difference was found for the group variable in the behavioral analysis. Such results suggest that the P300 is a measure, which is not sensitive to drug ingestion. On the other hand, the measure presented certain level of sensitivity when the subjects faced two different conditions in the decision making process orientation
Updated Census in USA of First Edition of Andreas Vesalius’ ‘De Humani Corporis Fabrica’ of 1543
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to confirm the locations and find previously unreported sites in the United States of America (USA) of the First Edition (1543) of the “De Humani Corporis Fabrica’ authored by Andreas Vesalius. Contacts were made at institutions of higher learning, museums, libraries and an update of locations of the two previous studies by Cushing in 1943 and Horowitz and Collins in 1984. A total of 64 copies of the 1543 Fabrica were recorded in 47 Universities and Institutional libraries in the USA.  Besides confirming their presence at the previously recorded sites, we have found 18 more copies in twelve additional facilities including further two copies with colored and tinted illustrations. The majority of locations recorded by Cushing seventy years ago and subsequently reported thirty later by Horowitz and Collins are still in their original collections. Location of first edition Vesalius in private collections were more difficult to locate and have reduced to six from at least ten since 1984 with mainly physician owners
Is Non Fasting Glucose Challenge test Sensitive Enough to Diagnose Gestational Diabetes Mellitus?
Get PDFBackground: There is a no consensus over the most sensitive and practical approach to diagnose Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). The standard 75 grams glucose tolerance test (GTT) is widely practiced to diagnose GDM. However, non-fasting 75-gram Glucose Challenge Test (GCT) with the 2-hour cutoff value of ≥ 140mg/dL is also recommended by some professional bodies. The aim of this study was to investigate the sensitivity and specifiity of GCT when compared to GTT for diagnosing GDM.Methods: Pregnant women in period of gestation between 24-28 weeks were recruited by simple random sampling method. Non fasting 75g GCTs were performed in all followed by fasting 75g GTTs within a week time. International Association of the Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) criteria of GTT were used as the reference test to diagnose GDM and 2-hour value of GCT was compared.Findings: According to IADPSG criteria, 21.5% (59/274) of pregnant women had GDM, in compared to 13.1% (36/274) detected by GCT. Sensitivity and specifiity of GCT were 40.6% and 94.4% respectively. The area under the ROC curve for the ability of 2-hour value of GCT to predict GDM detected by GTT was 0.758 (SE 0.039). According to GTT values, FBS ≥ 92 mg/dL alone recognized 11.7% (32/274) of study sample as having GDM. Additional 9.1% (25/274) and 0.7% (2/274) of GDM cases were detected with 1-hour value≥180 mg/dL and 2-hour hour value ≥ 153 respectively.Conclusion: GCT with 2-hour cutoff value ≥ 140mg/dL is not sensitive enough to diagnose GDM recognized by GTT
Bridging regenerative medicine based therapies into the 21st Century: solo or symphony?
Get PDFClinical translation in the field of regenerative medicine means manufacturing a safe, reproducible and effective clinical product for the benefit of patients. This represents the ultimate goal of applied research, but beyond researchers and clinicians, multiple intermediate players are involved, including other researchers, reviewers, funding agencies, scientific societies, guideline authors, and policy regulators. Consequently, bridging translational research and regenerative medicine therapies into the 21st Century requires a resolute effort. We envisage that strategic and synergistic efforts in seven key areas will facilitate the mainstream adoption and implementation of regenerative medicine based therapies
Competency of health information acquisition and intention for active health behaviour in Children
Get PDFObjective: To investigate the association between competency of health information acquisition, both online and offline, and the intention for active health behaviour in children.Methods: This study was a population-based cross-sectional health survey utilising a two-stage random cluster sampling design conducted in a major city. Competency of health information acquisition was assessed by a rating scale designed specifically for this study. The intention for active health behaviour was measured by a vignettebased question. Data were analysed using multiple logistic regression modelling techniques with adjustment to the cluster sampling effect and potential confounding factors.Results: After adjusting for potential confounding factors and the cluster sampling effect, intention for active health behaviour was significantly associated with competency of health information acquisition both online (OR=1.06, 95%C.I.=1.01-1.12) and offline (OR=1.08, 95%C.I.=1.02-1.18).Conclusions: Results suggested a positive relationship between competency of health information acquisition, both online and offline, and the intention for active health behaviour which have important public health implications on child health behaviour
The Adverse Events in Lumbar Dynamic Stabilization: a Prospective Case Series
Get PDFBACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate the complication rate in lumbar dynamic stabilization surgery for back pain in situations where conventional rigid implants could have been employed, with a follow-up of at least five years. METHODS AND FINDINGS: All patients who underwent semi-rigid lumbar spine fixation with the dynamic system consecutively between 2002 and 2007 in our departmentwere included. Minimum follow up period was 5. Adverse events and reoperations were registered for analysis. In the study period, 144 patients were treated with the dynamic system and studied. Three screws were badly positioned. There were two (1,39%) infections, with surgical cleaning necessary in one case. The late complications included a radiolucency signal in 22 screws (2,86%) and four broken screws (0,52%) out of 770 screws.Nineteen patients (20,13%) needed reoperation due to pain or screw associated problems. Three (2,08%) of these cases received additional treatment due to segmental kyphosis, five (3,47%) due to flat back, five (3,47%) due to adjacent level stenosis, 4 (2,7%) due to lumbar pain complaints, and two (1,39%) due to a broken screw. CONCLUSIONS: The lumbar dynamic stabilization system is an option for the treatment of degenerative spinal diseases. However it is not free of adverse events and had rates of implant failure, complications, and reoperations similar to those described on literature with rigid systems
The Importance Of Neuronal Plasticity In The Prognosis Of Cases Of Cerebral Ischemia: A Systematic Review
Get PDFBackground: Neuronal plasticity is the capacity that the neurons have to make new connections and enable new ways of transmitting information. Under this context, new methodologies are being addressed in order to measure how important this neuronal capacity is in the process of full recovery of learning in subjects who suffered damage from cerebral ischemia.Methods: A systematic review was performed on the online databases: Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) and Scopus, between 1998 and 2014. The MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) descriptors used in this review were: "neuronal plasticity", "brain ischemia" and "learning". We found 164 articles that, when screened, resulted in 46 articles that met the criteria of evidence and were included in this review.Results: There are several ways available in the literature to increase neuronal plasticity to keep the learning process after bad conformations resulting from cerebral ischemia. We highlighted the most elucidated: those promoted by SMe1EC2 antioxidant, which brings therapeutic benefits when neuronal plasticity is impaired; and Atorvastatin, a statin which facilitates recovery of spatial learning. It is further observed that the body has a number of intrinsic devicessuch as the endogenous compensatory mechanisms that contribute to the development of neuronal plasticity when there is brain damage caused by ischemia.Conclusion: The improvement of neuronal plasticity appears in several studies mapped as a new and still little explored possibility of treatment of damages caused by brain processes of oxygen deprivation. Multiple devices, endogenous and exogenous, that promote an increase in neuronal plasticity, are being elucidated in an attempt to promote the full recovery of the learning process, decreased by brain damage from ischemic processes. Thus, it is pointed the necessity of scientific studies that allows to define and maximize the potentials of the neuronal plasticity
Molecular depiction of lepa, lida, ralf, rtxa and ivhb virulence factors of legionella pneumophila isolated from respiratory tract infections
Get PDFBackground: Among all bacterial species in the genus Legionella, Legionella pneumophila is responsible for 90% of Legionella infections in humans. Putative virulence genes are the main factors in pathogenesis of L. pneumophila. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of L. pneumophila in the broncho alveolar lavages of patients hospitalized due to respiratory tract infections as well as study the distribution of lepA, lidA, ralF, rtxA and lvhB virulence factors in bacterial strains.Methods: One hundred fifty BAL samples were collected from patients who were referred to several Iranian health centers. Samples were cultured and those that were L. pneumophila positive were subjected to PCR method targeting the 16S rRNA gene. Samples positive for Legionella were analyzed for presence of latent virulence factors.Results: Thirteen out of 90 male BAL samples (14.4%) and 5 out of 60 female BAL samples (8.3%) were positive for L. pneumophila (P =0.046). Patients older than 50 years had the highest incidence of L. pneumophila (20%), while patients younger than 15 years old had the lowest (4.16%) (P =0.017). All patients positive for L. pneumophila had fever, while the distribution of cough, dyspnea, chest pain and headache were 77.7%, 77.7%, 66.6% and 44.4%, respectively. The most commonly detected virulence factors among L. pneumophila isolates were lidA (50%) and ralF (27.77%).Conclusion: Results indicate that sex and age of patients and climate conditions may constitute risk factors for incidence of L. pneumophila. Due to the high prevalence of L. pneumophila, wide-ranging amendments should be done in the principles of clinical care in some Iranian hospitals
Molecular Epidemiology of Escherichia Coli in HIV-Positive Individuals in South west Nigeria
Get PDFIntroductionEscherichia coli infection is a major health concern for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS patients because it is a substantial cause of diarrhoea-associated morbidity and mortality. Materials and MethodsStool and blood samples were collected from 879 HIV/AIDS patients in a tertiary hospital in southwest Nigeria. The blood samples were screened for HIV IgM using competitive ELISA, and the concentration of the IgM was determined. The stool samples were cultured on eosin methylene blue agar. The isolates were characterised based on the production of green metallic sheen on EMB agar..DNA was extracted from all the isolates, and the extracted DNA was analysed by PCR with primers specifically targeting the virulence genes of enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), and enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC). Statistical analysis was conducted using the openepi online epidemiological package. ResultsAll the blood samples tested positive for HIV IgM antibodies, and 80% had high concentration. All the stool samples were positive for E. coli, based on cell culture and DNA extraction. Of all the DNA tested by PCR using gene-specific primers targeting the 4 strains of E. coli, 222 samples were positive for EHEC shiga toxin 1 (stx1) gene, 212 samples were positive for EPEC intimin (eaeA) gene, 289 were positive for EHEC serotype O157:H7 using the stx2a&b gene, 125 were positive for EIEC haemolysin (hlyA) gene, and 31 were positive for ETEC uid gene.DiscussionThe high prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 is an indication that this strain, which has been previously linked with diarrhoea-related mortality in infants, may be responsible for most of the cases seen in HIV/AIDS patients. Though this strain is not common in adults, its involvement in HIV/AIDS is indicative of suppressed immunity in this group of people. Other strains are also present in significant proportions, indicating that these strains also constitute a public health concern, because they may be transmitted to infants or other immunocompromised individuals
Palliative Sedation in Children and Adolescents: the Repercussion in the Family
Get PDFBackground: Estimative demonstrate about 6% of the 20 million people needing palliative care at the end of their life are less than 15 years old. Despite of that, researchers reported several areas of parent dissatisfaction with care including confusing, inadequate, or uncaring communications with clinicians regarding treatment or prognosis of the child’s end of life. Objective: Here we show that about 90% of the families that have a child or an adolescent passing through a situation that needs Palliative Sedation think that this process was necessary to relieve the suffering of the patient. Results: In several reports, parents of terminally ill children describe their perceptions of uncaring and insufficient communication from health care professionals and link that communication with their own lingering regrets and emotional distress. Conclusion: There is the necessity to better capacity the supportive and care team, in order to diminish guilty and grieve feelings, and to provide courses to the care team that can develop the communication process among them and the family