Plos One
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Intrathecal drug and gene vector delivery is a procedure to release a solute within the cerebrospinal fluid. This procedure is currently used in clinical practice and shows promise for treatment of several central nervous system pathologies. However, intrathecal delivery protocols and systems are not yet optimized. ⋯ Catheter position and angle were both found to alter spread rate up to 86%, and catheter flow rate altered drug peak concentration up to 78%. The presented numerical platform fills a first gap towards the realization of a tool to parametrically assess and optimize intrathecal drug and gene vector delivery protocols and systems. Further investigation is needed to analyze drug spread over a longer clinically relevant time frame.
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Back pain and type 2 diabetes often co-occur, resulting in greater impact on people's health and complexity in their care. Plausible causal mechanisms for this association have been proposed, yet the nature of the link remains unclear. We therefore explored the direction of the association between type 2 diabetes and chronic back pain in twins, controlling for genetics and early environmental confounding. ⋯ Chronic back pain (spinal pain, NP, or LBP) was associated with the prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Associations are stronger for severe cases of pain. Future research should investigate the temporal relationships between these conditions with longer follow up in twins.
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The management of intracranial arteriovenous malformations(AVMs) poses challenges to the cerebrovascular specialists. ⋯ The Spetzler-Martin grading system is a simple and effective method to estimate the risk of surgery and to evaluate the prognosis. Microsurgical resection for AVMs depends on the SM grades, and the morbidity-mortality rate increases with an increasing SM grade.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Combined short- and long-axis ultrasound-guided central venous catheterization is superior to conventional techniques: A cross-over randomized controlled manikin trial.
Visualizing the needle tip using the short-axis (SA) ultrasound-guided central venous catheterization approach can be challenging. It has been suggested to start the process with the SA approach and then switch to the long-axis (LA); however, to our knowledge, this combination has not been evaluated. We compared the combined short- and long-axis (SLA) approach with the SA approach in a manikin study. ⋯ Using the SLA approach significantly improved the success rate of internal jugular vein puncture performed by novice physicians on a manikin model, without increasing procedural duration. Further clinical trials are warranted to confirm the procedure's utility in actual patients.
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The current literature focusing on the effect of obesity and overweight on lung function and fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) in children, particularly among healthy children of non-European descent, remains controversial. Furthermore, whether the relationship of obesity and overweight with lung function and FeNO in children is modified by atopy is unclear. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of excess weight on lung function parameters and FeNO among Asian children, with a particular focus on exploring the potential effect modification by atopy. ⋯ Excess weight disproportionately impacts lung volumes and airflow in children from the general population, independent of atopic status. Excess weight inversely affects FeNO in atopic but not in non-atopic children.