Abstracts

Abstract

The efficacies of four bowel care regimens (bisacodyl suppositories, glycerin suppositories, mineral oil enemas and docusate sodium mini-enemas) were compared in seven subjects with traumatic spinal cord injury. Efficacy was assessed in terms of colonic transit time, bowel evacuation time and subjective responses to a questionnaire. Both docusate sodium mini-enemas and mineral oil enemas decreased total and left-sided colonic transit time. However, docusate sodium mini-enemas were superior to mineral oil enemas in terms of the decrease in bowel evacuation time and symptom reduction. Results in this small group of subjects suggest that docusate sodium mini-enemas may have advantages in the management of bowel evacuation in individuals with spinal cord injury. (J Spinal Cord Med 1998;21 -24)     

Postoperative apnea, respiratory strategies, and pathogenesis mechanisms: a review

Recovery from anesthesia is ideally routine and uneventful. After extubation, the recovering postoperative patient ought to breathe without supportive care or additional oxygenation. It has been demonstrated in previous studies that postoperative pulmonary complications are clinically relevant in terms of mortality, morbidity, and length of hospital stay. Compromised postoperative ventilation can be described as the condition in which the postoperative patient does not have satisfactory spontaneous ventilation support and adequate oxygenation. Causes of impaired ventilation, oxygenation, and airway maintenance can be mechanical, hemodynamic, and pharmacologic. This review describes prevalence and differential diagnosis, including co-morbidities of postoperative apnea. The physiological mechanisms of breathing and prolonged postoperative apnea are also reviewed; these mechanisms include influences from the brainstem, the cerebral cortex, and chemoreceptors in the carotid and aortic body. Causes of prolonged postoperative apnea and management are also discussed.     

A Case-Crossover Analysis of Indoor Heat Exposure on Mortality and Hospitalizations among the Elderly in Houston,Texas

Background: Despite the substantial role indoor exposure has played in heat wave–related mortality, few epidemiological studies have examined the health effects of exposure to indoor heat. As a result, knowledge gaps regarding indoor heat–health thresholds, vulnerability, and adaptive capacity persist.Objective: We evaluated the role of indoor heat exposure on mortality and morbidity among the elderly (≥65 years of age) in Houston, Texas.Methods: Mortality and emergency hospital admission data were obtained through the Texas Department of State Health Services. Summer indoor heat exposure was modeled at the U.S. Census block group (CBG) level using building energy models, outdoor weather data, and building characteristic data. Indoor heat–health associations were examined using time-stratified case-crossover models, controlling for temporal trends and meteorology, and matching on CBG of residence, year, month, and weekday of the adverse health event. Separate models were fitted for three indoor exposure metrics, for individual lag days 0–6, and for 3-d moving averages (lag 0–2). Effect measure modification was explored via stratification on individual- and area-level vulnerability factors.Results: We estimated positive associations between short-term changes in indoor heat exposure and cause-specific mortality and morbidity [e.g., circulatory deaths, odds ratio per 5°C increase=1.16 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.30)]. Associations were generally positive for earlier lag periods and weaker across later lag periods. Stratified analyses suggest stronger associations between indoor heat and emergency hospital admissions among African Americans compared with Whites.Discussion: Findings suggest excess mortality among certain elderly populations in Houston who are likely exposed to high indoor heat. We developed a novel methodology to estimate indoor heat exposure that can be adapted to other U.S. locations. In locations with high air conditioning prevalence, simplified modeling approaches may adequately account for indoor heat exposure in vulnerable neighborhoods. Accounting for indoor heat exposure may improve the estimation of the total impact of heat on health. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6340     

A Biomechanical Foot-Worn Device Improves Total Knee Arthroplasty Outcomes

Background

Biomechanics after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) often remain abnormal and may lead to prolonged postoperative recovery. The purpose of this study is to assess a biomechanical therapy after TKA.

Serum tumor markers and testicular germ cell tumors: a primer for radiologists

Abdominal Radiology - Serum tumor markers (STMs) play a critical role in the diagnosis, staging and follow-up of both seminomatous and nonseminomatous testicular germ cell neoplasms. Levels of...     

Uterine mesenchymal tumours: recent advances

Almost all uterine mesenchymal tumours have been historically classified as either smooth muscle or endometrial stromal neoplasms. Recent application of molecular techniques has identified numerous lesions with distinctive genetic abnormalities and clinicopathological characteristics. Newly discovered uterine sarcoma subtypes include high-grade endometrial stromal sarcomas with BCOR genetic abnormalities, fibrosarcoma-like uterine sarcomas with NTRK rearrangements and COL1A–PDGFRB fusions, as well as undifferentiated uterine sarcomas with SMARCA4 mutations. Novel PLAG1 and PGR fusions have been identified in subsets of myxoid and epithelioid leiomyosarcomas. Some uterine tumours resembling ovarian sex-cord tumour harbour GREB1 and ESR1 rearrangements. Histological and immunophenotypical features as well as underlying genetic abnormalities defining these lesions are discussed.     

Therapeutic approaches for targeting receptor tyrosine kinase like orphan receptor-1 in cancer cells

Introduction: There is a high expression of receptor tyrosine kinase like orphan receptor-1 (ROR-1), a tyrosine kinase receptor, in various tumor-cell types. ROR-1 is involved in many key processes in cancer including proliferation, survival and metastasis. Hence, ROR-1 is an attractive and promising therapeutic target. There are many therapeutic approaches that target ROR-1 and these include specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), modified T cells (CART cell), miRNAs and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI).

Areas covered: This review examines ROR-1 structure and function, immunotherapeutic strategies including specific chimeric antigen receptor (CARs) T cells and miRNAs and other targeted approaches such as the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

Expert opinion: Chimeric antibodies, CARs T cells, bi-specific T cell engagers (BiTEs), miRNAs and TKIs are used to target the ROR-1 marker on cancer cell lines. By selecting the most favorable therapeutic approaches regarding ROR-1 in vivo, anti-ROR-1 antibodies or CAR T cells can be also used for diagnosis of ROR-1⁺ cancer cells in new technologies such as biosensors. Moreover, ROR-1 targeted combination therapy with other cancer biomarkers could be considered a novel therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment.