Medicina
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To assess the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among middle-aged Kaunas population. ⋯ The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among middle-aged Kaunas residents was 22%. Metabolic syndrome and central obesity correlated with elevated concentration of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. Moderately (1-3 mg/L) and severely (>3 mg/L) elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels increase the chance of metabolic syndrome by 4.15 and 7.39 times, respectively (p=0,000). An innovative approach towards cardiovascular risk assessment integrating traditional cardiovascular risk factors, metabolic syndrome and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein values could improve the risk stratification in asymptomatic middle-aged population.
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Comparative Study
Treatment of patients of high-risk group of medulloblastoma with the adjuvant lomustine, cisplatin, and vincristine chemotherapy.
The prognosis of children with medulloblastoma, primitive neuroectodermal tumor of cerebella, is poor especially in case of disseminated disease. Bad outcome of this disease encouraged the investigators to look for new more effective and safer ways of medulloblastoma treatment that would be able to improve the prognosis and quality of live for children with medulloblastoma. Adjuvant chemotherapy administered after radiotherapy prolongs the time to progression as well as overall survival for high-risk group of medulloblastoma patients, while such results vary little in standard-risk medulloblastoma group. ⋯ With this research we proved that adjuvant chemotherapy, prescribed after standard radial (craniospinal and local) treatment, statistically reliably improves survival indices of patients from high risk group and has to be prescribed to all patients from this risk group.
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To determine the significance of sex in one-year prognosis of death from ischemic heart disease after a first-ever myocardial infarction. ⋯ Women aged 25 to 64 years had similar crude risk of dying during one year after initial myocardial infarction compared with men of the same age group. There were no statistically significant differences between men and women with Q-wave or non-Q-wave myocardial infarction after adjustment for potential confounders.
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To adapt the Lithuanian "SF-36" questionnaire, to assess psychometric and life quality criteria for patients with rheumatoid arthritis and for control group. ⋯ Questions of health-related quality of life questionnaire are easy to understand and acceptable for the respondents. Reliability and validity of the questionnaire is rather high. For the exception of emotional status, quality of life in almost all spheres was considered as bad by patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The control group had more complaints about the emotional status.
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Comparative Study
[The economic estimates of well-timed diagnostics and early treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus].
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a severe, high-priced, and to date not curable, however, controllable disease. When diabetes mellitus is not treated or is poorly controlled, complications of small and large blood vessels arise, and the mortality increases. The costs of treatment of diabetes-related complications are very high. Estimates performed in other countries show that expenses on treatment of diabetes-related complications are considerably higher than the expenses paid for diabetes control itself. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is often diagnosed too late, when complications requiring expensive treatment are already present. ⋯ Diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus in time provides a possibility to reduce expenses of diabetes treatment and care and to prolong a patient's life.