1,721,017 research outputs found
Testosterone replacement therapy for sexual symptoms
No full textBackground: Several data have clearly shown that the endocrine system—and androgens in particular—play a pivotal role in regulating all the steps involved in the male sexual response cycle. Accordingly, testosterone (T) replacement therapy (TRT) represents a cornerstone of pharmacologic management of hypogonadal subjects with erectile dysfunction. Aim: The aim of this review is to summarize all the available evidence supporting the role of T in the regulation of male sexual function and to provide a comprehensive summary regarding the sexual outcomes of TRT in patients complaining of sexual dysfunction. Methods: A comprehensive PubMed literature search was performed. Main Outcome Measure: Specific analysis of preclinical and clinical evidence on the role of T in regulating male sexual function was performed. In addition, available evidence supporting the role of TRT on several sexual outcomes was separately investigated. Results: T represents an important modulator of male sexual response function. However, the role of T in sexual functioning is less evident in epidemiologic studies because other factors, including organic, relational, and intrapsychic determinants, can orchestrate their effect independently from the state of androgens. Nonetheless, it is clear that TRT can ameliorate several aspects of sexual functioning, including libido, erectile function, and overall sexual satisfaction. Conversely, data on the role of TRT in improving orgasmic function are more conflicting. Finally, further controlled studies are needed to investigate the combination of TRT and PDE5 inhibitors. Conclusion: Positive effects of TRT are observed only in the presence of a hypogonadal status (ie, total T < 12 nmol/L). In addition, TRT alone can be effective in restoring only milder forms of erectile dysfunction, whereas the combined therapy with other drugs is required when more severe vascular damage is present. Rastrelli G, Guaraldi F, Reismann Y, et al. Testosterone Replacement Therapy for Sexual Symptoms. Sex Med Rev 2019;7:464–475
Unusual supero-medial iliac fatigue stress fracture.
No full textFatigue stress fractures are quite common in athletes, especially in women. They typically involve the lower extremities, but they have also been described in the pelvis and sacrum. Most of the time, they are radiographically occult at the beginning, and become visible only when the callus is detected. They are suspected owing to their clinical features, and investigated using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT). We present a case of unusual supero-medial iliac fatigue stress fracture in a 58-year-old amateur marathon runner woman presenting with a history of 1-month's worsening pain in the right buttock. Diagnosis was challenging. The early radiograph was normal, and the stress fracture was suspected by clinical features and MRI. Although the fracture was evident on the MRI, the findings were subtle and overlooked. The fracture was later confirmed by CT and radiograph, showing the reparative process
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
How to standardize the diagnostic approach to pituitary neuroendocrine tumors
No full textPituitary tumors present heterogeneous biochemical, clinico-radiological, and histological features. Although histologically benign, a non-negligible number of cases present an unpredictable aggressive behavior with local invasiveness, partial/complete resistance to treatment and/or recurrence after surgery, and, rarely, metastasize, overall leading to a significant increase of morbidity, and, thus, requiring skilled multidisciplinary management in referral Centers. Histopathological diagnosis is essential to stratify cancer patient risk and uniform follow-up among Centers. Classification of pituitary neoplasia is continuously evolving in relation to the increased knowledge of mechanisms underlying adenohypophyseal cell tumorigenesis, and the attempts of combining clinico-radiological, biochemical, intraoperative, histological, and molecular elements, with the aim of identifying aggressive forms through. An integrated standardized histopathological report has been proposed in 2019 by the European Pituitary Pathology Group, based on the indications of the 2017 WHO classification of pituitary tumors. The last edition of the WHO Classification of Central Nervous System Tumors and of Endocrine and Neuroendocrine Tumors brought substantial novelties: 1) the replacement of the term “adenoma” with “Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumor” (PitNET), and of “carcinoma” with “metastatic PitNET,” and the consequent ICD-11 recoding from benign to malignant disease; and 2) the pivotal role of lineage restricted pituitary transcription factors for histological typing and subtyping. However, this approach does not reflect the spectrum of tumor phenotypes based on hormone secretion, nor include molecular features. Efforts of interdisciplinary groups of pituitary experts should be strongly encouraged to better understand factors involved in PitNETs evolution and, consequently, standardize diagnosis and reporting based on the most recent knowledges, essential to stratify cancer patient risk and uniform follow-up among centers
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Predictors of weight loss and maintenance in patients treated with antiobesity drugs
Full text linkFederica Guaraldi1, Uberto Pagotto2, Renato Pasquali21Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; 2Division of Endocrinology, Department of Clinical Medicine, S Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Alma Mater Studiorum University, Bologna, ItalyBackground: The prevalence of obesity and related diseases has increased enormously in the last few decades, becoming a very important medical and social issue. Because of the increasing number of people who need weight loss therapies and the high costs associated with these, the search for reliable predictors of success for weight loss and weight maintenance treatments has become a priority.Objective: A literature review was undertaken to identify possible predictors of outcome of weight loss and weight maintenance in patients treated with antiobesity drugs.Results: For the majority of variables, published data are not sufficient to define their role on final outcomes. Among all considered factors, only early response to treatment appeared to be a reliable positive predictor, and diabetes a negative predictor of weight loss and maintenance.Conclusion: To date, no definitive results have been obtained. Due to the great benefits of reliable predictors of outcome associated to currently available antiobesity drugs and those under development, identifying these predictors has to be supported and encouraged.Keywords: obesity, weight loss predictors, pharmacological treatmen
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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