Irish journal of medical science
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Neurodegenerative diseases (ND) are disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by impairment in neurons' functions, and complete loss, leading to memory loss, and difficulty in learning, language, and movement processes. The most common among these NDs are Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), although several other disorders also exist. These are frontotemporal dementia (FTD), amyotrophic lateral syndrome (ALS), Huntington's disease (HD), and others; the major pathological hallmark of NDs is the proteinopathies, either of amyloid-β (Aβ), tauopathies, or synucleinopathies. ⋯ AF has the potential to predict 3D-protein confirmation at an accuracy level comparable to experimentally predicted one, with the additional advantage of precisely estimating protein interactions. This breakthrough will be beneficial to identify diseases' advancement and the disturbance of signaling pathways stimulating impaired functions of proteins. Though AlphaFold has solved a major problem in structural biology, it cannot predict membrane proteins-a beneficial approach for drug designing.
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Review Case Reports
A case series of musical hallucinations in psychiatry of old age-in search of the sound of silence.
Musical hallucinations (MH) are the subjective experience of hearing music when none is played. They are a rare, understudied area of psychiatry. MH are more common in women and older age and have several underlying aetiologies and predisposing factors such as hearing impairment, mental illness and certain medications. ⋯ One case had a swift resolution of symptoms with a combination of an antipsychotic and antidepressant. The other two cases had limited responses to treatment despite optimising their hearing aids and trials of a number of medications at therapeutic levels. Further research into MH is needed to establish a treatment that is evidence based and symptom focused.
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Confronted by the many barriers and deficiencies which currently face those responsible for the training of doctors, the concept of a logic model applied in real time may seem aspirational. However, several of the necessary of logic-based practices are already in place - these include quantified training effect and performance, learning analytics, and applied reflective practice. A nationally or internationally co-ordinated effort is required to harness these disciplines (which currently exist disparately) to create a sustainable and effective training system which is adaptive to its own performance and to society's changing needs. This will mean making better use of the data currently being generated by and around training, and its presentation in a timely and comprehensible form to the person(s) who is responsible, prepared, and able to use it to best effect.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of 3T MR arthrography and 3T MRI in intra-articular hip pathology: a cost-analysis.
MR arthrography (MRA) has previously been the radiological gold standard for investigating labral and chondral lesions of the hip joint. In recent years, 3T MRI has demonstrated comparable accuracy, being adopted as the first-line imaging investigation in many institutions. ⋯ Transitioning from 3T MRA to 3T MRI in the investigation of intra-articular hip pathology increases cost savings and reduces radiation dose.
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Comparative Study Observational Study
A comparison of two weaning strategies for non-invasive ventilation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with acute respiratory failure.
Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV) is a crucial therapy for managing acute exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) with hypercapnic respiratory failure. Research has shown that NIV can decrease the rate of endotracheal intubation, length of hospital and Intensive Care Unit stays, and mortality. There are three main strategies for weaning patients off NIV: gradual reduction of NIV duration, gradual reduction of NIV pressure support, and immediate cessation of NIV. ⋯ On comparison of two methods of NIV withdrawal, it was found that neither method is superior to the other in terms of weaning failure, intubation rates, and average length of hospital stay.