Medicine
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To quantify the reference data concerning the morphometrics of the middle-upper thorax to guide the placement of cortical bone trajectory (CBT) screws. Eighty patients were studied on computed tomography (CT) scans. The reference anatomical parameters were measured. ⋯ The cadaveric anatomical study revealed that 5/240 screws penetrated in the medial or lateral areas, 5/240 screws penetrated in the superior or inferior pedicle wall, and 2/240 screws did not fit into the superior endplate of the pedicle. The CBT screws are safe for the middle-upper thorax. This study provides a theoretical basis for clinical surgery.
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Leukoaraiosis (LA) is a frequent neuroimaging finding commonly observed on brain MRIs of elderly people with prevalence ranging from 50% to 100%. Multiple susceptibility genes or genetic risk factors for LA have been identified in subjects of European descent. Here, we report the first replication study on several common and novel genetic variations in the Chinese population. ⋯ It strongly indicated the ethnic differences in the genetics of LA. However, the associations of rs3744028 (TRIM65), rs1055129 (TRIM47), rs1135889 (FBF1), and rs1801133 (MTHFR) with LA before Bonferroni correction and Sidak correction for multiple testing are worth highlighting. Thus, we believe that a genome-wide association study and candidate gene association studies are needed to reassess the previous findings and screen novel risk genes for LA in China.
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Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) are widely used for reducing blood pressure of hypertensive patients. Recent reports document the beneficial effects of CCB for preventing dementia; however, the results are controversial. We aim to evaluate the risk of developing dementia among elderly hypertensive patients treated with CCB. ⋯ Sensitivity and subgroup analyses also confirmed similar findings. Our results provided evidence for an association between CCB use and a lower risk of developing dementia among the elderly hypertensive patients. Further studies are required to explore the causal relationship between CCB use and dementia.
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Hypertension usually coexists with other chronic conditions and can cause disability in relation to activities of daily living. We examined the association between the number and categories of comorbid conditions and disability affecting activities of daily living in hypertension patients. The data were collected from the 2013 follow-up survey of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), which contains information about chronic conditions and disability. ⋯ Comorbid conditions were associated with disability in activities of daily living in hypertension patients aged 45 and older. The specific comorbid conditions had a stronger effect on disability in activities of daily living than the number of comorbid conditions. In addition, we should pay attention to socioeconomic factors related to disability.
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Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) is a life-threatening and underdiagnosed manifestation of the disease, which requires a complicated and expensive diagnostic pathway. There is a need for simple tool for practitioners to determine the risk of CS without access to specialized equipment. The aim of study was to determine the prevalence of CS in a group of patients diagnosed with or followed up because of sarcoidosis. ⋯ A CS Risk Index was developed using a multivariate model to predict CS, achieving an accuracy of 82%, sensitivity of 50%, specificity of 94%, and likelihood ratio 8.1. CS was detected in one fourth of patients. A CS Risk Index based on the results of easily accessible tests is cost-effective and may help to identify patients who should be urgently referred for further diagnostic procedures.