Plos One
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We aimed to assess the changes in health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with confirmed diagnosis of influenza (H1N1)2009, and to estimate the individual and societal loss of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) caused by the pandemic. ⋯ The influenza (H1N1)2009 pandemic had a significant but temporary impact on the HRQL of the majority of confirmed in- and outpatients. The societal impact of the influenza pandemic in Spain was estimated to be higher than other acute conditions. These results provide useful data for future cost-utility analyses.
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Comparative Study
Transcriptome comparison of human neurons generated using induced pluripotent stem cells derived from dental pulp and skin fibroblasts.
Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology is providing an opportunity to study neuropsychiatric disorders through the capacity to grow patient-specific neurons in vitro. Skin fibroblasts obtained by biopsy have been the most reliable source of cells for reprogramming. However, using other somatic cells obtained by less invasive means would be ideal, especially in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental conditions. ⋯ In addition, an increased level of expression was seen for several transcription factors expressed in the developing forebrain (FOXP2, OTX1, and LHX2, for example). Overall, pathway analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes that showed higher levels of expression in neurons derived from T-iPSCs were enriched for genes implicated in schizophrenia (SZ). The findings suggest that neurons derived from T-iPSCs are suitable for disease-modeling neuropsychiatric disorder and may have some advantages over those derived from F-iPSCs.
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The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive values of the total International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS-T) and voiding to storage subscore ratio (IPSS-V/S) in association with total prostate volume (TPV) and maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax) in the diagnosis of bladder outlet-related lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD) in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). ⋯ Combination of IPSS-T with TPV and Qmax increases the PPV of bladder outlet-related LUTD. Furthermore, including IPSS-V/S>1 or >2 into the equation results in a higher PPV than IPSS-T. IPSS-V/S>1 is a stronger predictor of bladder outlet-related LUTD than IPSS-T.
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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal disease characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM). ⋯ Our data suggest that i) collagen deposition in IPF lungs is not primarily due to excessive TIMP production, but rather due to overwhelming ECM production in face of an overall increased, but spatially imbalanced collagenolytic activity, ii) preferential distribution of collagenolytic activity, largely MMP-13, in the airways offers an explanation for the development of honeycomb cysts and iii) despite an overall increase in inflammatory cell content the presence of MMP-13 seems to limit the overall extent of ECM deposition in lung fibrosis.
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Dry eye disease affects women twice as often as men, but there is little information on whether dry eye treatments, treatment satisfaction, or the impact of dry eye disease on patients' lives and vision might differ by sex. ⋯ These data show that dry eye disease is generally experienced as being more severe among women, having a greater impact on their self-assessed well-being.