Maintaining Independence Through Home Modifications

Many different types of activities can be modified or eliminated in order to maintain older adults independently in their homes, but one activity essential to independence, the use of the telephone by older adults, has not been researched.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether older adults have made changes to their homes in order to make the telephone more accessible and if so, what changes have they made. Reasons for not making modifications are also examined.

The sample included 34 older adults, age 65 and older living alone in the community as homeowners and renters. A questionnaire was administered in the homes of participants for whom information was recorded about telephone location.

The subjects reported making few modifications to their telephone. Most subjects have three to four telephones. The most common technology related to the telephone used by subjects was an answering machine. The study has implications for physical and occupational therapists working with older homeowners who need to modify their homes in order to continue to live independently.     

The 6th Annual Meeting of the UK Cord Blood and Adult Stem Cell Group

The meeting was established in 1999 by the UK cord blood immunobiology group. Over the last 6 years the annual meeting has attracted multidiscipline participants interested in the immunobiology of cord blood and the immunology of maternal fetal engraftment from universities, hospitals and cord blood banks throughout the UK and Europe. The 6th annual meeting was held in the Life Bioscience Centre ‘Centre for Life’ in association with the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. The purpose of this meeting was to bring together the most up-to-date scientific results, both the clinical applications and immunobiology of cord blood stem cells. The meeting, although relatively small-scale, was clearly focused on specific topics and was highly interactive between scientists and clinicians. The meeting was introduced and chaired by Professor Anne Dickinson, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.     

Pacing in adults with congenital heart disease

Adults with congenital heart disease constitute one of the fastest growing populations in cardiology. Pacing is an integral part of their therapy and may reduce their morbidity and mortality significantly. The current generation of pacemakers is more sophisticated and complex, and they are being utilized for indications other than conduction abnormalities, such as termination of tachycardia and improvement of heart failure. The complex anatomy and history of multiple previous surgeries in adults with congenital heart disease, however, pose many limitations and technical challenges related to the placement of a pacemaker. Unique and innovative approaches to endocardial lead placement and improved epicardial leads is making pacemaker implantation more feasible in these patients.     

成人先天性胆总管囊肿83例诊治分析

目的:探讨成人先天性胆总管囊肿的诊治。方法:分析2001年1月至2010年8月,我院83例成人先天性胆总管囊肿患者临床资料。结果:腹痛是其主要的临床表现(86.75%),其次为黄疸(56.63%)和发热(42.17%)。B超、CT和MRCP的诊断率分别为85.54%,92.86%和94.67%。83例患者中,72例接受手术治疗,术后随访51例(70.83%),中位随访时间38月(3月~100月)。患者术后恢复良好。5例随访的行胆管癌根治术患者中位生存时间为21月,4例行姑息手术治疗的患者中位生存时间为6月。结论:成人先天性胆总管囊肿的诊治应重视临床表现,MRCP有助于诊治。一旦确诊应早期手术治疗,以防癌变。囊肿切除和肝总管空肠Roux-en-Y吻合术应作为首选术式。     

成人胃肠道潴留性息肉

潴留性息肉可发生于任何年龄,是儿童及青少年胃肠道息肉中最常见的病理类型,成人胃肠道潴留性息肉相对少见,但并不罕见。该文就成人胃肠道潴留性息肉做一综述。     

Alport syndrome associated with diffuse leiomyomatosis: COL4A5-COL4A6 deletion associated with a mild form of Alport nephropathy.

BACKGROUND: The X-linked Alport syndrome (AS) is an inherited nephropathy due to mutations in the COL4A5 gene, encoding the alpha5 chain of type IV collagen, a major component of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM). Here, we report a new kindred with the rare association of X-linked AS and diffuse leiomyomatosis (DL), which is a tumourous process involving smooth muscle cells of the oesophagus, the tracheobronchial tree and, in females, the genital tract. For this syndrome, an almost constant association of large COL4A5 rearrangements with a severe juvenile form of nephropathy has been described for male patients. METHODS: DNA rearrangement at the COL4A5-COL4A6 locus was studied in several members of this family using polymerase chain reaction and pulsed field gel electrophoresis. Furthermore, immunohistochemical staining of tumour and skin samples was performed. RESULTS: The affected patients in this family carry a 120 kb deletion by which the COL4A5 exon 1 and COL4A6 exons 1, 1', and 2 are removed. Immunohistochemical investigation of a skin biopsy of an affected male patient confirmed the absence of both the alpha5 and the alpha6 chains of type IV collagen in the basement membrane of the skin. Surprisingly, both affected male patients had a rather mild renal phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: This report shows that, contrary to what has been reported to date, patients suffering from AS associated with DL can be associated with a late onset renal failure (adult) form of nephropathy.