OBJECTIVE: Early closure of the tympanic membrane, after removal of longstanding ventilation T tubes (VTs), is a desirable outcome. A prospective randomized control study was undertaken to determine if spontaneous healing of the tympanic membrane is promoted with a bandage contact lens (BCL). METHOD: Thirty-nine paediatric patients, who required removal of VTs under general anaesthesia, were selected. After removal of the ventilation tubes, one tympanic membrane was randomly selected for patching with a BCL, while the other underwent conservative management. Follow-up examination was performed at 2 weeks. Remaining perforations of the tympanic membranes were noted. The mean length of time VTs were present was 35.7 months. RESULTS: Chi-square analysis reveals that a significantly greater proportion of tympanic membranes patched with a BCL were healed at 2 weeks (p < .005). CONCLUSIONS: Thus, promotion of spontaneous healing with BCL may allow for decreased risk of infection, improved hearing, and earlier avoidance of precautions necessary for perforated tympanic membranes. Also, it is possible that promoting spontaneous healing at the early phase may decrease the number of persistent tympanic membrane perforations after VT removal. 相似文献
Background: Rates of unintended pregnancies are particularly high in young women, a finding that may be associated with their tendency not to use contraceptives correctly and/or consistently. For millennial women, busy lifestyles and associated stress may impact on daily activities including taking an oral contraceptive pill.
Methods: Contraceptive pill users aged 21–29 years (‘millennial’ women; N?=?4500) from nine countries in Europe and North and South America completed an online questionnaire on their daily habits and activities, disruptions to their routine and associated stress levels.
Results: Thirty-nine percent of surveyed participants had forgotten to take their contraceptive pill at least once in the past month; 39% also admitted not taking it at the same time each day. On average, participants had experienced two major disruptions to their daily lives in the past year, with three quarters (74%) believing these disruptions increased their stress levels. Of those who had missed at least one pill in the past year, 40% attributed it to a busy schedule and 21% to stress, among other reasons. Over half of respondents (55%) reported they were more likely to forget their pill when preoccupied.
Conclusions: Times of stress may make it more likely for millennial women to forget to take their pill. Health care providers should be aware of typical contraceptive adherence rates among young women and ensure that contraceptive counselling sessions include discussion of lifestyle issues and potential barriers to adherence. Every woman should be counselled on all available methods, so that she can make an informed choice on what best suits her. 相似文献
Nutrigenomics is the study of how constituents of the diet interact with genes, and their products, to alter phenotype and, conversely, how genes and their products metabolise these constituents into nutrients, antinutrients, and bioactive compounds. Results from molecular and genetic epidemiological studies indicate that dietary unbalance can alter gene-nutrient interactions in ways that increase the risk of developing chronic disease. The interplay of human genetic variation and environmental factors will make identifying causative genes and nutrients a formidable, but not intractable, challenge. We provide specific recommendations for how to best meet this challenge and discuss the need for new methodologies and the use of comprehensive analyses of nutrient-genotype interactions involving large and diverse populations. The objective of the present paper is to stimulate discourse and collaboration among nutrigenomic researchers and stakeholders, a process that will lead to an increase in global health and wellness by reducing health disparities in developed and developing countries. 相似文献
OBJECTIVES: Impaired verbal declarative memory has been proposed as a trait marker for adult bipolar disorder. However, similar impairments in juvenile-onset bipolar disorder have not been yet documented. Here, we assessed declarative memory in a large sample of clinically well-characterized children with bipolar disorder. METHODS: Forty-one children and adolescents with bipolar disorder [21 bipolar I disorder (BP-I), 10 bipolar II disorder (BP-II), and 10 bipolar disorder, not otherwise specified (BP-NOS)] and 17 demographically matched healthy participants completed a standardized learning and memory test. RESULTS: BP-I children recalled and recognized significantly fewer words than healthy subjects, whereas children with BP-II and BP-NOS did not differ from controls. However, individuals with BP-NOS made more perseverative errors and intrusions than the other groups. Severity of mood symptomatology was not associated with memory performance in any bipolar subtype. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that declarative memory impairments in juvenile BP-I are similar to those seen in the adult form of the illness. These impairments do not appear to be secondary to clinical state; rather, they may reflect trait-related impairments. Distinct performance patterns in BP-I, BP-II, and BP-NOS suggest that the broadly defined phenotype is significantly heterogeneous, and may not be informative for pathogenetic investigations of bipolar disorder. 相似文献