J Formos Med Assoc
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High-dose-rate (HDR) electronic brachytherapy (EBT) has been shown to be effective for non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in Caucasian patients. However, its efficacy remains unknown in Asian patients. To analyze the clinical outcome of HDR EBT for NMSC in a Taiwanese medical center. ⋯ HDR EBT provides adequate clinical outcomes and cosmetic results for NMSC in Asian patients. Further investigation of the dosage guidelines is needed for Asian patients with NMSC.
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Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is the second most common psychiatric comorbidity of epilepsy. GAD has a negative impact on seizure control, and it is underrecognized. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) questionnaire is useful for screening GAD in patients with epilepsy (PWE). This study aimed to validate the traditional Chinese version of the GAD-7 for Taiwanese patients by obtaining data on adult PWE from our hospital. ⋯ The traditional Chinese version of the GAD-7 is a reliable and valid self-report questionnaire for detecting GAD in Taiwanese PWE.
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Patients with epilepsy have an increased risk of stroke. However, the detailed risk and characteristics of postepilepsy stroke have not been investigated. ⋯ Since the increased risk of stroke in epilepsy cohort peaked immediately after epilepsy diagnosis, early implementation of prevention strategies is considered.
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Orexin-A levels are reportedly increased in antipsychotic (APD)-treated patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls and have been associated with metabolic abnormalities. It is not clear whether the orexin-A elevation is related specifically to the drug (APDs) effect, which should be clarified by including a drug-free group for comparison, or related to drug-induced metabolic abnormalities. ⋯ With the inclusion of drug-free patients rather than healthy controls for comparison, we demonstrated that orexin-A is upregulated following APD treatment even after we controlled the potential effect from MS, suggesting an independent effect of APDs on orexin-A levels. Furthermore, the effect differed between APDs with dissimilar obesogenicity, i.e. less obesogenicity likely associated with higher orexin-A levels. Future prospective studies exploring the causal relationship between APDs treatment and orexin-A elevation as well as the underlying mechanisms are warranted.
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The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes of thoracotomy and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in children with congenital lung malformations (CLMs) in a tertiary referring center and to report our modified biportal VATS setting. ⋯ VATS for CLMs is associated with better postoperative recovery and fewer complications. Biportal VATS is also a safe and feasible approach.