Post-Lyme disease syndrome

About 10% of patients with Lyme disease continue to experience musculoskeletal pain and cognitive dysfunction after recommended antibiotic treatment. This condition is called post-Lyme disease syndrome (PLDS) or post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. These two terms are used interchangeably. The pathogenesis of PLDS has been controversial. The hypothesis that patients with PLDS may harbor hidden reservoirs of Borrelia burgdorferi after their initial antibiotic treatment is difficult to accept. The prospective, double-blind studies contradict this point of view. Also, recently published research applying xenodiagnosis to PLDS supports the opinion that PLDS most likely has an autoimmune background. Lengthy courses of antibiotics are not justified in patients with PLDS because of the lack of benefit, and they are fraught with hazards. Most patients with PLDS recover from persistent symptoms with time. However, it can take months before they feel completely well.     

Endothelial function,regulation of angiogenesis and embryonic central hemodynamics in ART-conceived pregnancies

Abstract

This study was undertaken to compare the concentrations of pro- and anti-angiogenic growth factors, nitric oxide (NO) stable metabolites in maternal serum and embryonic left ventricular (LV) isovolumic relaxation time (IRT, ms) during the first trimester in two groups of women: with pregnancy conceived by assisted reproductive technologies (ART, n?=?39) and normally conceived (control group, n?=?68) pregnancy. The concentration of vasoconstrictor endothelin 1 was 45.5 times more in ART than in control group. On the contrary, the concentrations of NO stable metabolites in ART were 1.9 times less than in control women. The assessment of angiogenic suppressors in ART women demonstrates the decrease in s-endoglin concentration was 1.6 times and in soluble receptor to vascular endothelial growth factor concentration was 2.0 times in comparison with control group. There was a significant increase in LV IRT in ART embryos in comparison to control ones. These data suggest significant changes in pro- anti-angiogenic factors balance and increase in vascular impedance in ART-conceived embryos.     

Developing a Point-of-Sale Health Communication Campaign for Cigarillos and Waterpipe Tobacco

ABSTRACT

Adolescents and young adults smoke waterpipe tobacco (WT) and cigarillos, at least in part, based on erroneous beliefs that these products are safer than cigarettes. To address this challenge, we used a systematic, three-phase process to develop a health communication campaign to discourage WT and cigarillo smoking among at-risk (tobacco users and susceptible non-users) 16- to 25-year-olds. In Phase 1, we used a national phone survey (N = 896) to determine salient message beliefs. Participants reported constituents (i.e., harmful chemicals) emitted by the products were worrisome. In Phase 2, we developed and evaluated four message executions, with varying imagery, tone, and unappealing products with the same constituents, using focus groups (N = 38). Participants rated one execution highly, resulting in our development of a campaign where each message: (1) identified a tobacco product and constituent in the smoke; (2) included an image of an unappealing product containing the constituent (e.g., pesticides, gasoline) to grab attention; and (3) used a humorous sarcastic tone. In Phase 3, we tested the campaign messages (17 intervention and six control) with a nationally representative online survey (N = 1,636). Participants rated intervention and control messages highly with few differences between them. Exposure to messages resulted in significant increases in all risk beliefs from pre to post (p < 0.05). For WT, intervention messages increased beliefs about addiction more than control messages (p < 0.05). This systematic, iterative approach resulted in messages that show promise for discouraging WT and cigarillo use.     

Non alcoholic fatty liver disease and risk of incident diabetes in subjects who are not obese

Background and aims

It is not known whether non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a risk factor for diabetes in non obese, non centrally-obese subjects. Our aim was to investigate relationships between fatty liver, insulin resistance and a biomarker score for liver fibrosis with incident diabetes at follow up, in subjects who were neither obese nor centrally-obese.

Subscapularis Transthoracic Versus Posterolateral Approaches in the Surgical Management of Upper Thoracic Tuberculosis: A Prospective,Randomized Controlled Study

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the clinical, radiological, and functional outcomes of a subscapularis transthoracic surgical approach and a posterolateral surgical approach with debridement, bone graft fusion, and internal fixation for the treatment of upper thoracic tuberculosis.There is currently debate over the best surgical approach for the treatment of upper thoracic tuberculosis. Traditionally, the subscapularis transthoracic approach has been preferred; however, the posterolateral approach has gained popularity in the past few years.A prospective, consecutive cohort of 43 upper thoracic tuberculosis patients with a mean age of 39 years (range: 20–52 years) was followed up for a minimum of 12 months (range: 12–60 months). Patients were randomly divided into 2 groups. Group A (n = 21) was treated by the subscapularis transthoracic approach and group B (n = 22) was treated by the posterolateral approach. All cases were evaluated for clinical, radiological, and functional outcomes. Intraoperative blood loss, operative duration, intraoperative and postoperative complications, hospital stay, the cure rate, fusion time, and the Frankel scale were used for clinical and functional evaluation, whereas the kyphosis angle was used for radiological evaluation.Grafted bones were fused by 10 months in all cases. There was no statistically significant difference between groups before surgery in terms of gender, age, segmental tuberculosis, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), Frankel scale, or Cobb''s angle (P > 0.05). The average operative duration for Group B was lower than that of Group A. There were no significant differences in intraoperative blood loss, intraoperative and postoperative complications, hospital stay, grafted bone fusion time, or cure rate between groups (P > 0.05). The Cobb''s angle correction rate for group B (68.5%) was significantly better than that of group A (30.9%). The neurological score showed significant postoperative improvement in both groups, with no significant difference between the groups.The subscapularis transthoracic approach and the posterolateral approach with debridement, bone graft fusion, and internal fixation are both sufficient and satisfactory for the surgical treatment of upper thoracic tuberculosis. However, the posterolateral approach is superior to the subscapularis transthoracic approach in terms of surgical trauma, operative time, and kyphosis correction.