Physical Health and Suicide in Late Life: An Evaluative Review

ABSTRACT

A review of the empirical literature shows that physical illness increases risk for suicide late in life. Conditions that confer risk include cancer, some neurological disorders (including seizure and possibly cognitive impairment, but not Parkinson's disease or stroke), chronic pulmonary disorder, incontinence, renal failure, hearing or vision impairment, insomnia, and congestive heart failure. Nonetheless, most physically ill older adults do not die by suicide. The extent to which risks are explained by depression, disability, and pain remains to be evaluated. Depression outweighs physical illness as a risk factor for suicide in late life. Clinicians should routinely assess for depression as well as suicide risk in physically ill older adults.     

Long QT Syndrome: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature and Current Evidence

Long QT syndrome (LQT) represents a heterogeneous family of cardiac electrophysiologic disorders characterized by QT prolongation and T-wave abnormalities on the electrocardiogram. It is commonly associated with syncope, however, sudden cardiac death can occur due to torsades de pointes. LQT is a clinical diagnosis and should be suspected in individuals on the basis of clinical presentation, family history and ECG characteristics. Management is focused on the prevention of syncope and ultimately sudden death. Complete cessation of symptoms is the goal. Life-style modification, beta blockers and ICD implantation are the most important therapeutic modalities in proper management of patients with LQT. Awareness should be raised regarding possible circumstances that could increase the risk of QT prolongation. Advanced age, hypokalemia, a history of heart failure, and structural heart disease are often mentioned in this context. Prudent consideration is needed before making a decision to recommend an ICD implantation in a young, active patient. Medical and/or device therapy still represent important therapeutic modalities in the management of patients with LQT with careful clinical judgement for the substrate of patients who will benefit. Insights from benchside to bedside have facilitated progress toward better therapeutic strategies, there also remains a need for tailoring management toward individuals in a mechanism-specific manner to optimize care. In addition, continued progress toward fundamental understanding of mechanisms of ion channel function and drug-channel interaction will guide the development of more effective, mechanism-based molecular agents in the treatment of LQT.     

Epstein-Barr Viral Hepatitis: An Unusual Case and Review of the Literature

We report a patient with icteric hepatitis and abdominal pain caused by Epstein-Barr virus in the absence of other common features of infectious mononucleosis. The peak alanine aminotransferase was 289 IU/I. Hemolytic anemia and urinary retention complicated the patient's course. Patients with infectious mononucleosis commonly have hepatic involvement but isolated symptomatic hepatitis is unusual. Although rare cases of liver failure have been reported, there is no evidence that Epstein Barr virus causes chronic liver disease. The clinical and histological features of Epstein Barr virus-induced hepatitis are reviewed.     

Lupus Nephritis: Review of the Literature

Physicians in practice should be knowledgeable regarding several aspects of autoimmune disorders, especially systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis. These disorders can present to the clinician’s clinic and private office regardless of their speciality. This review will discuss various aspects of SLE, its mechanisms of disease, role of accelerated atherosclerosis, proinflammatory cytokines, and therapeutic approaches. The role of vascular endothelial growth factor in which and plasma levels have been associated with disease activity, classification of severity, and diagnosis of lupus nephritis is addressed. Current treatment options, prognosis, and future therapeutic approaches and common side effects are also discussed.     

An Update on Psoas Muscle Abscess: An 8-Year Experience and Review of Literature

Background

Psoas muscle abscess is a previously rare disease that has increased in its reported prevalence because of improved diagnostic tools. The literature on psoas muscle abscess mostly consists of case reports and case series.

Methods

We analyzed medical records, such as characteristics, pathogens, and disease pattern, from our hospital in the past 8 years and report nine cases of psoas abscess. We also reviewed the literature for case series and performed a meta-analysis to assess the current characteristics of this disease since 1986.

Results

We reviewed a total of 36 studies, with a total of 682 cases. The average age was 52.6 years, and the mortality rate was 8% (55 of 682). In 35 studies, a total of 274 cases (40.77%) received drainage (274 of 672), whereas 290 (43.15%) received surgery. In 522 cases, the ratio of primary to secondary etiologies was 1:1.71. In 209 cases, Staphylococcus aureus, and in 70 cases, Escherichia coli were identified as the pathogens from culture data. Compared with Ricci’s case series, we found an obvious increase in prevalence of secondary causes (63.2% compared with 21.8%) and higher mortality in recent study (6.7% in Ricci’s study and 8.1% in recent study). There was an obvious shift toward drainage as the treatment of choice.

Conclusions

We conclude that a higher mortality has occurred in recent study, and psoas abscess is an infrequent and easily overlooked infectious disease requiring early diagnosis with favorable results with percutaneous drainage.     

An Exploration of the Role of MicroRNAs in Psoriasis: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Psoriasis is recently characterized by a specific microRNAs (miRNAs) expression profile, which guides the researchers’ efforts to explore the therapeutic targets and objective biomarkers that reflect the diagnosis and disease activity in clinical use for psoriasis.The paper presents a state-of-the-art review of expression and function of miRNAs in psoriasis along with its clinical implications.We analyzed all literature searched by keywords “microRNA” and “psoriasis” in PubMed (Medline) from inception up to July 2015, and the references in the literature searched were also considered.Relevant literature was chosen according to the objective of this review. Relevant literature was searched by 3 independent investigators, and experts in the field of miRNAs and psoriasis were involved in analyzing process.We included any study in which role of miRNAs in psoriasis was examined in relation to disease pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment.The specific miRNAs profile has been identified from human psoriatic skin, blood, and hair samples. It is found that genetic polymorphisms related to some of specific miRNAs, miR-146a for example, are associated with psoriasis susceptibility. Key roles of several unique miRNAs, such as miR-203 and miR-125b, in inflammatory responses and immune dysfunction, as well as hyperproliferative disorders of psoriatic lesions have been revealed. Moreover, circulating miRNAs detected from blood samples have a potential of clinic application to be the biomarkers of diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment responses. Additionally, a new layer of regulatory mechanisms mediated by miRNAs is to some extent revealed in pathogenesis of psoriasis.The dramatically altered mRNA expression profiles are displayed in psoriasis, and some of these may become disease markers and therapeutic targets. Herein, this work underscores the potential importance of miRNAs to diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of psoriasis. However, further study in this field is worth doing in the future, as the exact roles of miRNAs in psoriasis have not been fully elucidated.Systematic review registration number is not registered.     

Tracheal Diverticulum: A Review of the Literature

Tracheal diverticulum is a rarely encountered entity. It may be congenital or acquired, the difference residing mainly in the histologic features of the wall. Most cases are asymptomatic, but when symptoms are present they are usually nonspecific. Congenital diverticulum is not normally detected in infancy unless it is suggested by recurrent episodes of tracheobronchial infection or in associated with other malformations. Imaging techniques are useful for diagnosis because the point of communication with the trachea is difficult to detect with bronchoscopy. In the absence of symptoms, management should be conservative. We review the entity and report two new cases, one a casual finding in a 49-year-old man and the other in a 63-year-old woman who presented with occasional bloody sputum.     

Acromegalic Cardiomyopathy: A Review of the Literature

Acromegaly is characterized by a high prevalence of cardiovascular complications that account for increased morbidity and mortality. Several studies emphasized the role of GH and IGF-1 excess in cardiac dysfunction. Coexisting factors such as hypertension, glucose tolerance abnormalities and coronary artery disease have a potential role in the progression of the acromegalic cardiomyopathy. Herein, we review the most relevant pathophysiological, functional and morphological findings in this specific disease.     

An Update on Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: a Review of the Current Literature

Purpose of Review

This review will summarize the most current literature on the clinical impact, epidemiology, risk factors, screening recommendations, predictors of outcomes, and treatment options in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Recent Findings

PAH continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality in SSc. Many risk factors and predictors of outcomes have been identified in patients with SSc including clinical, hemodynamic, and laboratory parameters. Screening for PAH in SSc patients is important and screening algorithms have been developed. Despite many available treatment options for PAH, prognosis remains poor.

Summary

Awareness of risk factors, early detection, and up-front combination treatment are important considerations in SSc-PAH and may lead to improved outcomes. Further research to develop better biomarkers and therapies is needed to continue to improve survival and outcomes in patients with SSc-PAH.

     

Primary Skeletal Muscle Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma: An Autopsy Case Report and Review of the Literature

Primary skeletal muscle lymphoma is extremely uncommon, and there have only been eight previous case reports on primary skeletal muscle peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (PSM-PTCL, NOS). We herein report an autopsy case of a 71-year-old woman with PSM-PTCL, NOS, who had a 24-year history of systemic sclerosis treated with immunosuppressive drugs. A post-mortem examination revealed infiltration of lymphoma cells positive for T-cell markers, cytotoxic markers, and p53. This case was considered to be one of other iatrogenic immunodeficiency-associated lymphoproliferative disorder (OIIA-LPD). This is the first case categorized under both PSM-PTCL, NOS, and OIIA-LPD.     

Collagenous Colitis: An Abnormal Collagen Table? Two New Cases and Review of the Literature

Two patients with "collagenous colitis" characterized by abdominal pain and chronic watery diarrhea are described. Colorectal biopsies showed a marked, band-like collagenous deposit under the surface epithelium. Transmission electron microscopy showed an abnormally thickened collagen table under a thickened basal lamina. Immunofluorescence showed no specific lesions. Radioimmunoassay of several gastrointestinal hormones revealed no abnormality. Examination of colorectal biopsies of a large control series (564 patients) did not show a comparable diffuse thickening of the collagen table in various types of inflammatory bowel diseases. Furthermore, no obvious age-related change of the collagen layer was found. The clinical history of our two patients is compared with three analogous cases, previously described. From our findings and those of others it can be concluded that collagenous colitis is a separate entity.