Plos One
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Although the burden of malaria in many parts of Tanzania has declined, the proportion of children with fever has not changed. This situation underscores the need to explore the possible causes of febrile episodes in patients presenting with symptoms at the Korogwe District Hospital (KDH). ⋯ The different proportions of infections found among febrile children reflect the causes of fever in the study area. These findings indicate the need to optimise patient management by developing malaria and non-malaria febrile illnesses management protocols.
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a sensitive technique for detecting white matter (WM) MS lesions, but the relation with clinical disability is low. Because of this, changes in both 'normal appearing white matter' (NAWM) and 'diffusely abnormal white matter' (DAWM) have been of interest in recent years. MR techniques, including quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) and quantitative magnetic resonance spectroscopy (qMRS), have been developed in order to detect and quantify such changes. In this study, qMRI and qMRS were used to investigate NAWM and DAWM in typical MS patients and in MS patients with low number of WM lesions. Patient data were compared to 'normal white matter' (NWM) in healthy controls. ⋯ Changes in NAWM and DAWM are independent pathological entities in the disease. The correlation between qMRI and clinical status may shed new light on the clinicoradiological paradox.
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The predictors of postoperative pain and analgesic consumption were previously found to include preoperative pain, anxiety, age, type of surgery, and genotype, but remaining unclear was whether intraoperative factors could predict postoperative pain. In the present study, we investigated the time-course of fentanyl consumption using intravenous patient-controlled analgesia records from patients who underwent orthognathic surgery for mandibular prognathism and analyzed the influence of anesthesia methods and surgical methods together with sex on the time course. A significant difference in the time course of fentanyl administration was found (P<0.001). ⋯ Total postoperative 24 h consumption associated with the bimaxillary procedure was significantly higher than with BSSRO (P = 0.008). The present results indicate that administration patterns and total 24 h consumption were different among the three groups of anesthesia methods and between the two groups of surgical methods, respectively. Although more research on patient-controlled analgesia patterns and consumption is necessary, the present study will contribute to adequately relieving individual patients from postoperative pain.
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An irreversible loss of subcutaneous adipose tissue in patients after tumor removal or deep dermal burns makes soft tissue engineering one of the most important challenges in biomedical research. The ideal scaffold for adipose tissue engineering has yet not been identified though biodegradable polymers gained an increasing interest during the last years. In the present study we synthesized two novel biodegradable polymers, poly(ε-caprolactone-co-urethane-co-urea) (PEUU) and poly[(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone)-co-(L-lysine ethyl ester diisocyanate)-block-oligo(ethylene glycol)-urethane] (PEU), containing different types of hydrolytically cleavable bondings. ⋯ ASCs differentiated into the adipogenic lineage. Gene analysis of differentiated ASCs showed typical expression of adipogenetic markers such as PPARgamma and FABP4. Based on these results, PEUU and PEU meshes show a promising potential as scaffold materials in adipose tissue engineering.
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Alterations in vitamin D homeostasis, mainly involving its nuclear receptor (VDR), could have a role in the pathophysiology of the spine. The association between VDR polymorphisms and spine disorders has been analyzed in different ethnic groups, focusing on the functional FokI polymorphism. However, so far, inconsistent findings were reported. ⋯ The FF genotype and F allele represented approximately 2-fold risk factors to develop discopathies and/or osteochondrosis concomitant with disc herniation, while f allele was protective. In conclusion, the link we observed between VDR FokI variants and specific lumbar spine pathologies suggests that spinal tissue degeneration is influenced by the genetic background. Future studies should evaluate the signaling pathways involving alterations in VDR and influencing the development and/or progression of spine disorders.