Irish journal of medical science
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Observational Study
The relevance of basic sciences in undergraduate medical education.
Evolving and changing undergraduate medical curricula raise concerns that there will no longer be a place for basic sciences. National and international trends show that 5-year programmes with a pre-requisite for school chemistry are growing more prevalent. National reports in Ireland show a decline in the availability of school chemistry and physics. ⋯ University basic sciences were found to be more predictive than school sciences in undergraduate medical performance in our institution. The increasing emphasis of basic sciences in medical practice and the declining availability of school sciences should mandate medical schools in Ireland to consider how removing basic sciences from the curriculum might impact on future applicants.
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Lipid disorders are known to be linked to disturbance in oxidative reactions and play an important role in the progression and complications of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS). ⋯ We observed presence of pro-atherogenic lipid profile in INS. Elevation of oxLDL may reflect increased oxidative stress and higher risk of atherosclerosis in INS, therefore it seems to be relevant to find patients of risk of atherosclerosis to consider lipid lowering treatment with antioxidants.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Remifentanil requirements for preventing motor response to skin incision in healthy women anesthetized with combinations of propofol and dexmedetomidine titrated to similar Bispectral Index (BIS) values.
It is unclear whether the sedative, analgesic or sympatholytic effects of adjunctive dexmedetomidine contribute to reduced analgesic requirements in general anesthesia. This study aimed to assess the analgesic effect of dexmedetomidine on intraoperative opioid requirements using body movement as observation indicator at similar BIS-guided sedative depth in propofol anesthesia. ⋯ Propofol and its combination with dexmedetomidine have similar opioid requirements for preventing motor response to skin incision when titrated to similar BIS values. These findings indicate that adjunctive dexmedetomidine for general anesthesia has sedative but no opioid sparing effects.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects on somatosensory and motor evoked potentials of senile patients using different doses of dexmedetomidine during spine surgery.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different doses of dexmedetomidine (Dex) compounded propofol and fentanyl on intraoperative somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) and motor evoked potential (MEP) monitoring on senile patients. ⋯ Dex did not affect SEPs of senile patients, but inhibited MEPs when larger doses were administered.