Articles: disease.
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Long-coronavirus disease (COVID) is an ill-defined set of symptoms persisting in patients following infection with COVID-19 that range from any combination of persistent breathing difficulties to anosmia, impaired attention, memory, fatigue, or pain. Recently, noninvasive transcutaneous electrical brain stimulation techniques have been showing early signs of success in addressing some of these complaints. We postulate that the use of a stimulation technique with transcranial magnetic stimulation may also similarly be effective. ⋯ Brain stimulation techniques appear to be showing early signs of success with long-COVID symptoms. This is the first case describing the use of a magnetic stimulation technique with quantitative test results and recorded EEG changes. Given the early success in this patient with cognition, dyspnea, and anosmia, this noninvasive treatment modality warrants further research.
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Observational Study
Structural brain network changes in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1: A retrospective study.
We investigated the changes in structural connectivity (using diffusion tensor imaging [DTI]) and the structural covariance network based on structural volume using graph theory in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) compared to a healthy control group. We included 14 patients with NF1, according to international consensus recommendations, and 16 healthy individuals formed the control group. This was retrospectively observational study followed STROBE guideline. ⋯ We observed changes in structural connectivity and covariance networks in patients with NF1 compared to a healthy control group. We found that global structural efficiency is decreased in the brains of patients with NF1, and widespread changes in the local structural network were found. These results suggest that NF1 is a brain network disease, and our study provides direction for further research to elucidate the biological processes of NF1.
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The Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) is commonly used to measure and quantify disabilities in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The patient-determined disease steps (PDDS) scale is a patient-reported measure of disability that is useful in MS. However, the Arabic version of the PDDS has only been tested in Jordanian patients. ⋯ PDDS is associated with cerebellar, pyramidal, and bladder dysfunctions. It was also moderately correlated with the timed-25-foot walk test and timed-up-and-go test. The Arabic version of the PDDS performed similarly to English and other languages when tested on a cohort of patients with MS.
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In median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS), the celiac artery is compressed, causing an arcade to develop in the pancreatic head, leading to ischemic symptoms and aneurysms. ⋯ Since MALS associated with PC is not a rare disease, the purpose of this study was to keep in mind the possibility of fatal biliary hemorrhage.
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The overall prognosis of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) remains unsatisfactory due to a high incidence of disease relapse. The present understanding of the factors that determine the likelihood of recurrence is limited or ineffective. We aimed to identify the main risk factors influencing tumor relapse in LARC patients after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) and surgical treatment in a single center in Republika Srpska. ⋯ Subjects with T4 stage had more than 4 times higher risk of relapse than patients with clinical T2/3 stage. Higher clinical T stage was an essential risk factor for tumor relapse in LARC patients after nCRT and surgical treatment. Comprehensive understanding and identification of the risk factors for tumor relapse in LARC patients are crucial for improving their long-term outcomes.