The effect of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease on frequency of physician visits

OBJECTIVE: Two groups of elderly subjects were studied to see whether patterns of visits to physicians changed after one group received the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. DESIGN: Case—control study. SETTING: Health maintenance organization (HMO). PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: Two groups of ambulatory subjects (mean age 77 years) were enrolled from an HMO population for this case—control study: 120 cases had probable Alzheimer’s disease diagnosed at enrollment, and another 120 cognitively intact controls with similar comorbidity were enrolled after being frequency-matched for age and gender. Exclusion criteria were nursing home admission and death during the study period. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Medical records were examined for a four-year period: two years prior to and two years following enrollment and diagnosis. Physician visits declined slightly after enrollment for the persons receiving the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease [17.5/2 years prior vs 16.5/2 years after (NS)], whereas visits increased over time for the controls [13.7/2 vs 16.3/2 (p<0.05)], hence the rates were similar after enrollment [16.5 vs 16.3 (NS)]. The proportion of subjects with fewer visits during the period after enrollment was higher among the cases than it was among the controls [54% vs 37%; odds ratio =2.0 (95% confidence interval =1.6, 3.1)]. Hospitalizations and emergency department use did not change significantly after enrollment. CONCLUSIONS: Physician visit frequency was high before, then decreased after, demented patients received their diagnosis, approaching the frequency in a control population without dementia. This phenomenon cannot be accounted for by nursing home placement, comorbidity, or mortality. Increased hospitalization and emergency department use did not ensue after diagnosis.     

胰腺癌组织VEGF和MVD表达与CT灌注成像的关系

血管内皮生长因子作为肿瘤血管生成的一种主要调控因子,与微血管密度密切相关．胰腺癌组织的血管内皮生长因子和微血管密度的测定对于判断患者的预后,指导临床治疗和判断疗效等具有重要作用．CT灌注成像可以通过无创伤检查反映胰腺癌的肿瘤血管构成, 在治疗前后提供有价值依据,对胰腺癌的诊治有重要意义．     

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on corticosteroid injection services: A National Survey of Members of the British Society of Skeletal Radiologists (BSSR)

ObjectiveTo describe the restructuring of services by British radiologists in response to evolving national guidelines and highlight the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the treatment of musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.MethodsAn online anonymised survey was distributed via the British Society of Skeletal Radiology (BSSR) members forum in November 2020. Responses were collated using a standardised Google form including 21 questions.Results135 members of the BSSR completed the survey. 85% of respondents stopped performing corticosteroid injections (CSI) during the initial lockdown of the pandemic. This was primarily influenced by national guidelines. The majority of respondents initially abstained from offered CSI procedures, then by November 2020, 69% of respondents were providing CSI for high and low risk patients, 23% were only providing CSI for low-risk patients with 8% still not performing any CSI. 40% of respondents reported routinely obtaining specific written consent regarding the risk of COVID-19. Approximately, 11,000 CSI were performed by respondents between March and November 2020 with no reported significant COVID-19-related complications. Over 80% of BSSR members reported that the number of CSI procedures that they performed dropped by more than 80% compared to usual. 73% of respondents reported an increased backlog of patients awaiting treatment. The average waiting time for routine outpatient CSI treatment was > 12 weeks in 53% of responses, compared to 34% the previous year.ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the clinical practices of MSK radiologists in the UK. Our survey highlights the rapid response of BSSR members as national guidelines evolved. Currently, the majority of respondents are performing CSI for musculoskeletal conditions when clinically indicated, with enhanced consent. However, the pandemic has resulted in increased waiting times – delaying the treatment of patients who may be suffering with significant pain and disability. Further research is warranted to provide guidance around both service recovery and provision of CSI around COVID-19 vaccination schedules.Advances in knowledgeBSSR members responded rapidly to changing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of respondents are currently performing CSI when clinically indicated. The pandemic has resulted in a significant increase in waiting times which will have a significant impact on UK musculoskeletal services.     

Modulation of cerebellar activities by acupuncture stimulation: evidence from fMRI study

Recent neuroimaging studies have revealed that acupuncture stimulation modulates human central nervous system including cerebral limbic/paralimbic and subcortical structures. Due to the wide and intricate connections with cerebrum, we hypothesized that anatomically specific areas in human cerebellum are also modulated by acupuncture stimulation beyond classical involvement of cerebellum in motor coordination. Functional MRI (fMRI) was used to investigate neural substrates responding to the acupuncture stimulation of Pericardium 6 (PC6, Neiguan), an acupoint relevant for the management of nausea including vestibular-related motion sickness. Sham stimulation near the acupoint and tactile stimulation on the skin of the acupoint were given as separate conditions. Psychophysical scores as well as the heart and respiratory rates were measured during each condition. Acupuncture manipulation on PC6, in comparison to the sham acupuncture and tactile stimulation conditions, selectively activated left superior frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate gyrus, and dorsomedial nucleus of thalamus. Acupuncture-specific neural substrates in cerebellum were also evident in declive, nodulus, and uvula of vermis, quadrangular lobule, cerebellar tonsil, and superior semilunar lobule. Negative MR signal changes, often seen during the acupuncture of analgesic points, were not observed in the present study. Our data suggest that cerebellum serves as important activation loci during the acupuncture stimulation of PC6, and clinical efficacy of PC6 may be mediated by the cerebellar vestibular neuromatrix.     

免疫磁珠分选骨髓衍生肝干细胞亚群c-Kit+lin-

目的:利用免疫磁性细胞分选系统分离纯化骨髓衍生肝干细胞亚群c-Kit lin-。方法:实验于2006-07/08在南方医科大学实验动物中心完成。6～8周龄的SPF级纯系BALB/C雄性小鼠10只,体质量18～20g。收集小鼠股骨骨髓细胞,利用免疫磁性细胞分选系统,通过两步法分选纯化c-Kit lin-:将获取的lin-细胞悬液8℃条件下1500r/min离心10min,弃上清,按80μL/107加入Buffer重悬细胞。按20μL/107加生物素抗体磁珠,混匀,4℃冰箱孵育15min,按1mL/107加入Buffer洗细胞1次,8℃条件下1500r/min离心10min,弃上清,按500μL/108加入Buffer重悬细胞。Buffer500μL润MS柱,悬液过柱后,Buffer500μL/次洗柱3次,柱子脱离磁场,加1mLBuffer,用配套柱塞推出柱中的c-Kit lin-细胞,收集到c-kit lin-细胞,细胞计数。取2.0×106个细胞分成10等份,流式细胞仪分析c-Kit lin-细胞纯度,计算回收率,评估纯化效率,苔盼兰染色检测纯化前后的细胞活力。计算活细胞的百分率。细胞纯度和细胞回收率的计算:细胞纯度=分离产物中的阳性细胞数/分离细胞的总细胞数×100%,细胞回收率=分离产物中的阳性细胞数/起始标本阳性细胞总数×100%。结果:10只小鼠均进入结果分析。利用免疫磁性细胞分选系统分选出的骨髓衍生肝干细胞亚群c-Kit lin-细胞纯度和回收率分别为(77.98±2.34)%,75.40%,纯化前后细胞活力不受影响。结论:免疫磁性细胞分选系统能有效分选骨髓衍生肝干细胞亚群c-Kit lin-,纯度和回收率高,且不影响细胞活力。     

Continuity and Change in,and Child Predictors of,Caregiver Reported Anxiety Symptoms in Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Follow-Up Study

Little is known about continuity, change and predictors of anxiety in ASD. This follow-up study investigated changes in caregiver-reported anxiety in 54 non-referred youth with ASD after 10–19 months. Earlier child predictors of later anxiety were also examined. Anxiety scores were generally stable. Time 1 ASD repetitive behavior symptoms, but not social/communication symptoms, predicted Time 2 total anxiety scores, over and above child age, gender and adaptive functioning scores, but this predictive relationship was fully mitigated by Time 1 anxiety scores when these were included as a covariate in the regression model. Exploring bi-directionality between autism and anxiety symptomatology, Time 1 anxiety scores did not predict Time 2 ASD symptoms. Preliminary clinical implications and possible future directions are discussed.