Medicine
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The objective of this study is to estimate the reference values for the upper limb peripheral nerves in adults. The demographics and physical characteristics of 69 adult healthy volunteers were evaluated and recorded. ⋯ Cross-sectional area reference values of the upper limb nerves did not correlate with height; however, they correlated with age, weight, and BMI in some scanned sites. The data obtained in this study could be helpful in future diagnosis of peripheral nerve disorders of the upper limb.
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Case Reports
Clinical and pathology analysis of 1 case of adult pleural pulmonary blastoma: A case report.
Pulmonary blastoma is a rare primary lung cancer that can be categorized into adult type and child type. The clinical symptoms and imaging features of pulmonary blastoma are nonspecific, making it difficult to diagnose preoperatively. Postoperative pathology with immunohistochemical staining can help diagnosis. ⋯ Pleural pulmonary blastoma is a malignant tumor with rare pathological features that is easy to relapse and metastasis with poor prognosis. Surgical treatment preferably, lobectomy plus mediastinal lymph node dissection, is the first treatment option. The overall prognosis is poor.
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Patients with primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS) always suffer from dryness, pain, and fatigue caused by the involvement of multiple different systems or organs. The uncomfortable disease symptoms, the consequent disability, and the side effects of therapeutic drugs decrease the quality of life and lead to emotional problems. We investigated the health-related quality of life and psychological status of a large cohort of women patients with pSS and associated factors. ⋯ Risk factors for depression were: xeroderma (β = 0.030; P = .003); pain (β = 0.022; P = .047); or fatigue (β = 0.033; P = .001). Patients with pSS have a low quality of life with anxiety and depression. Pain and fatigue are primary factors for lower quality of life, which cause more anxiety and depression.
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Case Reports
Agrypnia excitata and obstructive apnea in a patient with fatal familial insomnia from China: A case report.
Fatal familial insomnia (FFI) linked to a D178N/129M haplotype mutation in the PRNP gene is the most common genetic prion disease in the Han Chinese population. Here, we describe a Han Chinese patient with FFI who exhibited agrypnia excitata and obstructive apnea. ⋯ The insomnia in FFI is complex, agrypnia excitata and obstructive apnea can also be indicators for FFI. Polysomnogram is necessary for recognizing the sleep loss when the symptom of insomia is not typical. Improving energy metabolism may be a potential treatment for it.
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We aimed to elucidate the relationship between serum liver fibrosis markers (Mac-2 binding protein glycosylation isomer (M2BPGi), FIB-4 index, aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index and hyaluronic acid), and skeletal muscle mass and to investigate factors linked to skeletal muscle mass loss (SMML) in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC, n = 277, median age = 64 years). We defined patients with psoas muscle index [PMI, sum of bilateral psoas muscle mass calculated by manual trace method at the lumber 3 level on the computed tomography images divided by height squared (cm/m)] less than 6.36 cm/m for male and 3.92 cm/m for female as those with SMML based on the recommendations in current guidelines. Receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis was performed for predicting SMML in 4 liver fibrosis markers and parameters linked to SMML were also investigated in the univariate and multivariate analyses. ⋯ ROC analyses for predicting SMML revealed that FIB-4 index had the highest area under the ROC (AUC = 0.712), followed by M2BPGi (AUC = 0.692). In the multivariate analysis of factors linked to SMML, gender (P = .0003), body mass index (P < .0001), FIB-4 index (P = .0039), and M2BPGi (P = .0121) were found to be significant predictors. In conclusion, liver fibrosis markers, especially FIB-4 index, can be helpful for predicting SMML in CHC patients.