Intratympanic steroid therapy for inner ear diseases, a review of the literature

To evaluate the value of clinical trials on intratympanic steroid therapy in Ménière’s disease (MD), idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) and rapidly progressive sensorineural hearing loss (RPSNHL). Medline and Pubmed databases from 1966 to present were searched for clinical studies on intra- or transtympanic (cortico)steroid therapy of MD, ISSNHL and RPSNHL. Results were cross-checked with additional databases to obtain a complete data set. Clinical trials were evaluated on the basis of comparability, internal and external validity. Articles were judged using the following questions: was a randomised double-blind controlled trial performed? Which criteria were used to confirm the diagnosis of MD, ISSNHL, RPSNHL? Which therapy was evaluated? How long was the follow-up? Which criteria were used to evaluate the results? Reliable evidence on the efficiency, optimum dosage and administration schedule of intratympanic steroid therapy in MD, ISSNHL and RPSNHL is lacking, therefore further investigation is required.     

Using online databases to find peer-reviewed journal articles on injury prevention and safety promotion research: a study of textword queries by SafetyLit users.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the capacity of textword queries to provide a comprehensive listing of articles on injury prevention and safety promotion (IPSP) concepts in a literature database. METHODS: All terms used to search SafetyLit (a database of scholarly literature selected for its relevance to the IPSP field) during the years 2000-2005 were listed and then examined to identify terms that are synonyms for the same concept. Terms were grouped by concept, the number of queries that used terms within each concept category were summed, and the concepts were then ordered by the total number of searches for each concept category. For each textword, the proportion of all articles for that concept that could be found by using it alone was calculated. RESULTS: Each of the 25 most searched-for concepts has 4 to 40 synonyms. Sixteen of the concepts required queries using two or more terms to find 75% of the available articles. Few searchers used a sufficient number of textword synonyms in their queries to return a complete listing of the available material. CONCLUSION: On the basis of this study, queries using only one or two textword terms are insufficiently sensitive to find all relevant journal articles about an IPSP concept.     

Valproinsäure in der prophylaktischen Behandlung der Migräne

Zusammenfassung Im Jahr 1988 wurde erstmals von der m?glichen Wirksamkeit der Valproins?ure in der Migr?neprophylaxe berichtet. Seit 1992 sind insgesamt 359 Patienten in 5 Doppelblindstudien untersucht. In allen Studien ergab sich eine signifikant überlegene Wirksamkeit im Vergleich zu Placebo, eine Studie belegt einen gleichen Effekt wie Propranolol. Es fehlen noch Wirksamkeitsanalysen, die sich am Plasmaspiegel orientieren. Die Nebenwirkungen entsprechen denen aus der Epilepsietherapie, scheinen aber im Vergleich zu Propranolol etwas h?her zu liegen. International und nach den Empfehlungen der Deutschen Migr?ne- und Kopfschmerzgesellschaft gilt Valproins?ure mittlerweile als etabliertes Mittel der zweiten Wahl.      

核苷酸结合寡聚化结构域样受体蛋白3炎症小体在脑卒中后认知障碍中的研究进展

脑卒中后认知障碍(PSCI)是脑卒中患者常见的并发症,严重影响患者的生活质量。目前,PSCI在临床治疗中尚未发现有效的针对性治疗措施。大量研究证实核苷酸结合寡聚化结构域样受体蛋白3(NLRP3)炎症小体的活化在PSCI中起关键作用,且对其进行的许多抑制性治疗显示出了改善认知障碍的功效。为此,本文总结了NLRP3炎症小体的活化和影响因素及其与PSCI的关系,发现在PSCI的细胞和动物模型中,针对NLRP3或其炎症小体成分的抑制措施可以减轻炎性反应和相应的病理特征,从而促进其认知功能的恢复,因此,靶向NLRP3炎症小体可能是PSCI治疗的新趋势。然而到目前为止,尽管许多药物和治疗措施已成功鉴定出能够抑制NLRP3炎症小体的活化,但其在临床中的治疗效果和安全性仍有待进一步验证。     

慢加急性肝衰竭诊断标准的研究进展

慢加急性肝衰竭(ACLF)是指在慢性肝病基础上遭受急性打击后,出现严重的急性肝功能失代偿,其因病情进展迅速、短期死亡率极高,引起了全球肝病学家的关注。但由于不同国家(地区)ACLF的病因及临床特征等存在明显的差异,目前国内外ACLF的诊断标准多达十余种。本文通过回顾几种较为常用的ACLF定义,以及ACLF诊断标准相关研究,比较各ACLF诊断标准之间的差异,以期帮助临床医生更好地识别ACLF、优化临床决策。目前全球尚无公认的ACLF诊断标准,国内外ACLF的诊断标准存在着较大差异,临床医生在实际工作中选用何种ACLF诊断标准应根据患者慢性肝病的病因、临床特征等因素综合考虑。     

肺部、肠道菌群及其相互作用与慢性阻塞性肺疾病发生发展的研究进展

慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）是一种常见的慢性呼吸系统疾病,对人类健康造成极大威胁。研究发现,COPD患者与健康人群相比,肺部菌群及肠道菌群的组成结构发生了显著改变,导致黏膜屏障功能及机体免疫稳态被破坏,进而加重病情。积极调节肺部、肠道菌群平衡对于干预COPD的发生、发展有着至关重要的作用,但目前关于肺部、肠道菌群及其相互作用机制在COPD中作用的总结和认识还有待进一步阐明。本文就健康人群以及COPD患者肺部、肠道菌群的组成特点及可能的相互作用机制,以及现阶段基于肺部、肠道菌群及其相互作用防治COPD的最新研究成果进行综述,以期为COPD的发病机制、早期诊断、预防与治疗研究提供新思路。     

老年高血压相关性衰弱的发病机制及运动干预机制的研究进展

随着我国老龄化进程的进一步加剧,衰弱作为常见的老年综合征已成为备受关注的公共卫生问题。高血压与衰弱常共存于老年人,导致出现多种不良健康结局。本文分析了老年高血压相关性衰弱的流行现状及发病机制,包括炎性反应、氧化应激反应、胰岛素抵抗及激素代谢紊乱等,总结了运动干预改善高血压相关性衰弱的可能作用途径,并发现目前关于高血压相关性衰弱的运动作用机制类研究仍然缺乏,而且不同类型的运动干预形式对机体的作用机制也存在一定差异性,未来可以进一步探讨不同的运动干预形式对高血压相关性衰弱的作用靶点及干预效果的不同。     

心房颤动治疗的未来发展方向——混合消融

心房颤动是临床常见的心律失常,已有研究证明其与严重不良心脑血管事件(心力衰竭、脑卒中和心肌梗死)有关,目前全球心房颤动的患病人数超过了3 300万,预计未来40年内其患病率将增加1倍以上。多年来,医学相关人员在探究心房颤动的病理生理机制及开创改进其治疗方法等方面付出了大量努力。目前心房颤动的治疗管理仍是临床医学上的一个难题,尽管心房颤动治疗的手术消融和导管消融技术已逐渐趋于成熟,但对于心房颤动最佳的治疗方式、消融能量的选择尚无统一定论。导管消融通常需要多次手术且成功率低,而手术消融术后不良事件发生率较高。近年来,鉴于心脏外科医生和电生理学家之间的密切合作,结合导管及微创手术消融诞生了一种治疗心房颤动的新型策略——混合消融模式。混合消融克服了导管消融和微创手术消融的缺点,减少了不良结局,在治疗持续性心房颤动,尤其是长期持续性心房颤动上取得了可观的成效。本文主要通过回顾心房颤动消融的研究进展,对比分析目前混合消融模式治疗心房颤动的现有研究成果,归纳总结这种新型心房颤动治疗策略的优势与挑战,以期为临床心房颤动的治疗提供更多选择。     

妊娠期阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停筛查的研究进展

阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停（OSA）是妊娠人群中常见的睡眠呼吸障碍性疾病,不仅与多种不良妊娠结局相关,也可能对母婴远期健康产生重要影响。目前诊断OSA的金标准多导睡眠监测在妊娠人群中难以大规模开展,导致绝大多数妊娠期OSA未能得到及时诊断。寻求其他筛查策略和筛查工具准确识别具有OSA风险的孕妇并进行及时诊治,对于改善不良妊娠结局具有重要意义。本文针对妊娠期OSA患病率、筛查现状、筛查时机、目标人群、筛查工具的研究进展进行综述,以期为妊娠期OSA的筛查提供参考和理论依据。     

Metachronous and multiple aneurysmal bone cysts: a rare variant of primary aneurysmal bone cysts

In 1942, Jaffe and Lichtenstein introduced the term aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC). Primary ABC is characterized by the presence of spongy or multi-cameral cystic tissue filled with blood. The process is benign, but it is locally destructive and has a high propensity for recurrence. In this paper, we present the third case of multiple metachronous primary ABCs as a rare variant of ABC. We describe the 10-year history of a 12-year-old boy with metachronous multiple primary ABCs at five different sites (right proximal humerus, right ulna, bilateral distal radius and right lateral clavicle). Furthermore, our patient suffered from vascular malformations, such as aortic isthmus stenosis, hypoplastic thoraco-abdominal aorta and bilateral renal artery stenosis. To date, in contrast to solitary ABC, the multiple lesions have been found more frequently in male individuals. Using interphase cytogenetics, we analyzed three of five of the patients ABCs and one of these was also analyzed by GTG-banding. No chromosomal abnormalities were found. Significantly, we excluded the missense mutation of codon 201 in guanine nucleotide-binding protein 1 gene consistently found in McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS) and in non-MAS cases of polyostotic fibrous dysplasia of bone with or without secondary ABC.