A Better Understanding of the Concept “A Good Death”: How Do Healthcare Providers Define a Good Death?

Objective

The goal of palliative care is to improve quality of life when recovery is no longer possible. The study's objective was to widen our vision of potential (unspoken) needs at the end of life with patients, close relatives, nurses, and general practitioners to aim at more versatile but personal care. The question asked was how important patients, close relatives, and healthcare providers considered the 11 core themes in defining a good death, as described in the 2016 article “Defining a good death” by Meier et al.

Oral and dental findings in emanuel syndrome

Emanuel Syndrome (ES; OMIM# 609029) is a rare disorder caused by an unbalanced chromosomal translocation [supernumerary der(22)t(11,22)] and characterized by multiple congenital abnormalities. With limited published cases and low prevalence (1:110 000), detailed ES‐associated oro‐dental findings have not previously been reported. This is a case report of a 14‐year‐old boy with ES who presented with congenital cardiac, renal, auditory, musculoskeletal problems, and global developmental delay. The patient was managed with risperidone, melatonin, omeprazole, guanfacine, and oxcarbazepine. Anxiety‐associated self‐injurious behaviour was seen along with stereotypic hand movements. Consistent with previous reports, microcephaly and micrognathia were noted. Oro‐facial cleft or gross asymmetry, however, was not observed. Significant oro‐dental findings included delayed eruption of primary and permanent teeth, oligodontia (two erupted and five unerupted permanent teeth), and short‐root anomaly of central incisors. The patient demonstrated anxiety‐triggered bruxism with generalized attrition. This case report provides a comprehensive list of systemic ES findings along with oro‐dental manifestations, which have previously not been reported in detail.     

下调REV7基因对于人结肠癌HCT116细胞放射敏感性影响及机制研究

目的 研究下调REV7基因表达对人结肠癌HCT116细胞放射敏感性影响及其机制。方法 对HCT116细胞进行培养并运用RNA干扰技术实现REV7基因下调,将细胞分为空白组、转染阴性RNA oligo片段阴性对照组、转染REV7 RNA oligo的REV7基因下调组。克隆形成实验反映细胞增殖水平,蛋白印迹法检测相关基因表达水平、细胞凋亡发生水平和非同源末端连接途径发生水平。结果 6Gy照后REV7 siRNA组细胞克隆形成率降低(P<0.05)。REV7 siRNA组REV7基因下调效率>60%。REV7 siRNA组γH2AX、Caspase9表达升高(P<0.05),Ku80、XRCC4表达降低(P<0.05)。结论 下调REV7基因能提高HCT116细胞放射敏感性,其机制可能与下调REV7后非同源末端连接的发生被削弱有关。     

冠心康方加减联合西药治疗冠心病合并2型糖尿病气虚痰瘀证疗效研究

目的:探讨冠心康方加减联合西药治疗冠心病合并2型糖尿病气虚痰瘀证的疗效。方法:选择冠心病合并2型糖尿病患者98例,按随机数字表法分为对照组47例和观察组51例。对照组给予西医常规治疗措施; 观察组在对照组治疗基础上加用冠心康方加减治疗,1剂/次,2 次/d。连续治疗6个月后,比较两组血糖血脂水平、中医证候评分、脉搏波传导速度(PWV)以及临床疗效。结果:治疗后,观察组的空腹血糖(6.71±1.04)mmol/L、餐后2 h血糖为(10.63±1.94)mmol/L、HbA1c(7.13±0.97)%、TG(2.50±0.40)mmol/L,TC(3.94±0.55)mmol/L均低于对照组[(6.89±1.13)mmol/L、(10.93±2.03)mmol/L、(7.22±1.25)%、(2.53±0.36)mmol/L、(4.01±0.53)mmol/L],两组间比较差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。治疗后观察组HDL-C(1.23±0.22)mmol/L 与对照组(1.19±0.21)mmol/L比较上升,而观察组LDL-C(2.61±0.34)mmol/L比对照组(2.67±0.37)mmol/L下降,组间比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。治疗后,观察组患者中医证候评分(1.76±0.27)分及BS-PWV(5.90±0.64)m/s、ES-PWV(7.59±0.94)m/s均明显低于对照组的[(2.13±0.31)分、(6.41±0.77)m/s、(8.43±1.31)m/s](P<0.05)。观察组和对照组的总有效率分别为70.59%和59.57%,两组比较差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论:冠心康方加减联合西药治疗冠心病合并2型糖尿病气虚痰瘀证可有效改善患者的血糖、血脂、中医证候以及动脉硬化,提高临床疗效。     

腰椎间盘突出症动物模型的研究进展

近年来,腰椎间盘突出症发病率逐渐增高,由于动物模型对于阐明疾病发病机制及评估新的治疗方法具有重要作用,越来越多的学者开始研究如何建立合适的、能够更好地模拟人类腰椎间盘突出的动物模型。近期的研究多选用包括大鼠、兔、羊、猪等动物作为实验对象,通过物理或化学方式直接损伤其椎间盘或神经根,或通过限制实验动物的行为动作、改变其饲养环境以及性别年龄导致的生理因素等方式诱导其出现椎间盘退变。各种造模方法均有其特点及局限性,适用于不同情况,有必要继续完善。     

Evaluation of Biodentine in Pulpotomies of Primary Teeth with Different Stages of Root Resorption Using a Novel Composite Outcome Score

This study aimed to assess the success of pulpotomy in primary molars using Biodentine, new-developed tri-calcium, di-calcium-based silicate cement, at 6 and 12 months. The hypothesis was that stages of root resorption could influence the treatment success. A novel composite score was used based on five clinical and radiographic outcomes: soft-tissue pathology, pain to percussion, pathologic mobility, radiolucency and pathologic root resorption. Patients’ compliance and intraoperative pain experience were recorded using the Frankl scale and the Wong–Baker scale. A total of 22 primary molars, 9 in stage S (stability) and 13 in stage R (resorption) were submitted to pulpotomy using Biodentine and restored with composite resin. The success rate was 92.3% in the R group compared to 100% in the S group at both 6 and 12 months (p = 0.850). There was no statistically significant effect of type of molar, tooth position and type of carious lesions on the composite outcome (all p > 0.05). Overall, 73% of the children experienced no or mild/moderate pain and 77% had a cooperative attitude. Children younger than 7 years old experienced more pain (p = 0.04). Biodentine is a promising biomaterial for pulpotomy of primary teeth regardless of the stage of root resorption.     

The Preventable Productivity Burden of Kidney Disease in Australia

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Postoperative complications of Goel-Harms C1-C2 screw-rod fixation technique for C1-C2 instability after C2 nerve sacrifice,a prospective study over two years follow up

BackgroundAtlantoaxial instability is mainly caused by trauma. C2 nerve is usually needed to be sacrificed for adequate exposure of the lateral mass and screw insertion.ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the clinical outcome of postoperative complications of C1 and C2 screw-rod fixation using the Goel-Harms technique for C1-C2 instability after sacrificing the C2 nerve root.MethodsAmongst forty patients with C1-C2 pathology, twenty-seven cases were enrolled into the study, then variables, including age, sex, primary pathology, operation duration, postoperative pain, paresthesia, anesthesia, and other specific conditions, were documented. Data analyzed by an expert biostatistician. p-value < 0.05 was considered significant.ResultsRegardless of gender, the most postoperative adverse effect was occipital anesthesia (81.5%). Most of the patients (63%) had both occipital pain and anesthesia one-month post-surgery. At 3- and 6-months post-surgery, occipital pain and anesthesia were seen in 40.7% and 14.8%, respectively.ConclusionThe most common postoperative adverse effect of C2 nerve root scarification after C1-C2 fixation is occipital anesthesia followed by occipital paresthesia and pain, which are reduced in severity over time.     

Two forms of short-interval intracortical inhibition in human motor cortex

BackgroundPulses of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with a predominantly anterior-posterior (AP) or posterior-anterior (PA) current direction over the primary motor cortex appear to activate distinct excitatory inputs to corticospinal neurons. In contrast, very few reports have examined whether the inhibitory neurons responsible for short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) are sensitive to TMS current direction.ObjectivesTo investigate whether SICI evaluated with AP and PA conditioning stimuli (CS_PA and CS_AP) activate different inhibitory pathways. SICI was always assessed using a PA-oriented test stimulus (TS_PA).MethodsUsing two superimposed TMS coils, CS_PA and CS_AP were applied at interstimulus intervals (ISI) of 1–5 ms before a TS_PA, and at a range of different intensities. Using a triple stimulation design, we then tested whether SICI at ISI of 3 ms using opposite directions of CS (SICI_CSPA3 and SICI_CSAP3) interacted differently with three other forms of inhibition, including SICI at ISI of 2 ms (SICI_CSPA2), cerebellum-motor cortex inhibition (CBI 5 ms) and short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI 22 ms). Finally, we compared the effect of tonic and phasic voluntary contraction on SICI_CSPA3 and SICI_CSAP3.ResultsCS_AP produced little SICI at ISIs = 1 and 2 ms. However, at ISI = 3 ms, both CS_AP and CS_PA were equally effective at the same percent of maximum stimulator output. Despite this apparent similarity, combining SICI_CSPA3 or SICI_CSAP3 with other forms of inhibition led to quite different results: SICI_CSPA3 interacted in complex ways with CBI, SAI and SICI_CSPA2, whereas the effect of SICI_CSAP3 appeared to be quite independent of them. Although SICI_CSPA and SICI_CSAP were both reduced by the same amount during voluntary tonic contraction compared with rest, in a simple reaction time task SICI_CSAP was disinhibited much earlier following the imperative signal than SICI_CSPA.ConclusionsSICI_CSPA appears to activate a different inhibitory pathway to that activated by SICI_CSAP. The difference is behaviourally relevant since the pathways are controlled differently during volitional contraction. The results may explain some previous pathological data and open the possibility of testing whether these pathways are differentially recruited in a range of tasks.