Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is associated with a depression of T cell function, as suggested by the impaired production of cytokines by Th cells collected from PD patients. Although treatment biocompatibility could be implicated in this immune dysfunction, it has been poorly investigated, thus far. Therefore, we undertook a study aiming ...

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is considered a strong risk factor for the onset of asthma. Bronchial hyperreactivity (BHR) may be present in patients with AR. Forced expiratory flow between 25 and 75% of vital capacity (FEF(25-75)) may be impaired in AR patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ...

The aim of the present study was to perform meta-analysis of studies that compare diagnostic capabilities of esophageal capsule endoscopy (ECE) against conventional esophago-gastro-duodenoscopy (EGD) in detecting esophageal varices. A literature search is done for studies that compared the performance of ECE and EGD in screening and surveillance of esophageal ...

A high incidence of septal deviation with significant inter-rater variability has been reported. An explanation could be the presence of physiological septal deviation besides pathological ones. We differentiated an unselected cohort by their nasal resistance into groups with physiological normal and pathologically increased resistance to detect differences and analogies in ...

Endothelial dysfunction is thought to be critical events in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have provided insight into maintaining and repairing endothelial function. To study the relation between EPCs and AD, we explored the number of circulating EPCs in patients with AD. A total of ...

Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) is a well established therapy for acute respiratory failure in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, however its role in post-extubation period is uncertain. The objective of this study was to find the effect of NPPV on rate of re-intubation, intensive care unit and hospital ...

Objective: An abnormal central nervous system excitability level was found in patients with migraine. Whether it is hyper- or hypo-excitable is still debated. This study aimed to compare the somatosensory high-frequency oscillations (HFOs), which reflected subcortical excitability (early phase) and intracortical inhibition (late phase), between patients with migraine and control ...

Abnormalities in the corpus callosum have long been implicated in schizophrenia. Previous diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies in patients with different durations of schizophrenia yielded inconsistent results. By comparing patients with different durations of schizophrenia, we investigated if white matter abnormalities of the corpus callosum emerge at an early stage ...

Background: There is a paucity of data concerning the risks associated with warfarin in hemodialysis (HD) patients. We compared major bleeding episodes in this group with HD patients not receiving warfarin and with a cohort of non-HD patients receiving warfarin. Methods: A retrospective review of 141 HD patients on warfarin ...

We used genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data to search for the presence of copy number variants (CNVs) in 882 patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and 872 population-based controls. A total of 291 (33%) patients had an early age-at-onset 21 years (AO21years). We systematically filtered for CNVs that cover at ...

A number of new agents have been approved for systemic therapy of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) recently. Thereby, prognostic factors may aid in predicting the effectiveness of various treatment modalities in individual cases. Aim of this study was to determine the value of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II ...

Nocturia is a common symptom of benign prostatic enlargement (BPE) that is generally attributed to a urologic pathology. This study assessed whether nocturia severity in BPE patients may be related to an underlying sleep disorder. Cross-sectional study based in urban community primary care clinics. Study population included men aged 55 ...

Some patients may have deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and superficial thrombophlebitis (ST) of the lower limbs at the same time. To analyze the frequency of risk factors for thrombosis (RF), other than thrombophilias, in patients with concomitant DVT and ST. Clinical examination, plasma D-dimers and duplex ultrasonography were performed in ...

BACKGROUND: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an inflammatory condition of the nasal airway and paranasal sinuses that can broadly be classified into Chronic rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps (CRSwNP) and Chronic rhinosinusitis without Nasal Polyps (CRSsNP). The relationship between CRS and atopy to inhalant allergens remains unclear. We sought to examine the ...

We investigated the in vitro and skin lesions production of cytokines in non-treated borderline tuberculoid (BT) and borderline lepromatous (BL) patients. Seven untreated, non-reactional BT patients and 12 untreated, non-reactional BL patients were studied. Levels of the cytokines IFN-gamma, IL-10, TGF-beta1 and TNF-alpha were measured in supernantant of peripheral blood ...

To review our experience with vocal fold injection medialization in children. Retrospective case series. Tertiary care academic children's hospital. All pediatric patients at our institution who underwent injection laryngoplasty for vocal fold medialization from 2003 to 2009. Age, sex, indication for injection, injection material, surgical and anesthetic technique, outcomes including ...

Background: Assessment of frontal lobe impairment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a matter of great importance, since it often causes ALS patients to decrease medication and nursing compliance, thus shortening their survival time. Methods: The frontal assessment battery (FAB) is a short and rapid method for assessing frontal executive ...

Prior studies demonstrating the prognostic value of echocardiographic measures of diastolic function have been limited by sample size, have included only select clinical populations, and have not incorporated newer measures of diastolic function nor determined their independent prognostic value. The objective of this study is to determine the independent prognostic ...

Endometrial hyperplasia is a known risk factor for the development of endometrial cancer, particularly atypical hyperplasia, with a subsequent risk of up to 30%. Of the known risk factors for endometrial hyperplasia, obesity is the most preventable, but there is a paucity of data addressing the association. We tested the ...

Aim:  It has been well described that large residual urine volumes (≥300 mL) affect renal function in advanced benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). However, it is not clear whether small residual urine volumes (<100 mL) are related to renal function. The present study was performed to examine the association between chronic kidney disease ...

Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) and dysmotility are frequent in patients treated for esophageal atresia (EA). This aim of this study is to evaluate GER and dysmotility in young EA patients using pH-multichannel intraluminal impedance (pH-MII). Fifteen patients with a mean age of 7.5 years (group 1) have been studied and compared ...

The cerebellum is implicated in maintaining the saccadic subsystem efficient for vision by minimizing movement inaccuracy and by learning from endpoint errors. This ability is often disrupted in degenerative cerebellar diseases, as demonstrated by saccade kinetic abnormalities. The study of saccades in these patients may therefore provide insights into the ...

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of MDCT in patients with APVC associated with complex cardiac abnormality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The clinical and imaging data of 39 patients with APVC confirmed by surgery were retrospectively reviewed. According to accompanied cardiac malformations, patients with APVC were classified as isolated and complex ...

Background: Motor deficits associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) have been well described, yet little attention has been paid to non-motor symptoms, especially cortical visual dysfunction. We investigated stereopsis, as well as the relationship between stereopsis and other cognitive function, in a sample of PD patients. Methods: We used Titmus stereotest ...

Hemiscorpius lepturus (H. lepturus), found in south-western areas of Iran and south of Iraq, is considered to be the most dangerous scorpion in the region, and poses a significant risk to the health of the indigenous population due to the unique, clinical manifestations associated with its sting.. In the present ...

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is common among dialysis patients, with a reported prevalence of 6-60%. The prevalence of RLS in Syrian patients on hemodialysis (HD) is not known. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of RLS in patients on regular HD, and to find the possible ...

Chronic venous leg ulcers are common and cause considerable burden of disease for affected patients with significant costs for health care systems worldwide. The complex pathophysiology of chronic venous leg ulcers is still not entirely understood. In addition, reliable pathogenic and/or prognostic parameters are not known. Published data suggest that ...

Lichen planus (LP) is a common mucocutaneous disease of unknown aetiology with various geographical prevalence, may be related to some serious disorders such as squamous cell carcinoma and often remains underdiagnosed. The aim of this retrospective study was to thoroughly determine localization and clinical characteristics of LP lesions in a ...

Background and aim: Assessment of physical activity level and of energy expenditure is important in the clinical and nutritional care of dialysis patients, but it is not so easy to accomplish. The SenseWear™ Armband (SWA) is a novel multisensory device that is worn on the upper arm and collects a ...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia with a population prevalence of about 1%. Natriuretic peptide level is elevated in patients with AF with diastolic dysfunction even with a normal left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction. The N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level and Doppler echocardiographic parameters for diastolic ...

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a current, frequently used marker for severe bacterial infection. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of PCT levels to differentiate bacteremic from nonbacteremic patients with fever. We assessed whether PCT level could be used to accurately rule out a diagnosis of bacteremia. Serum ...

Organophosphate poisoning (OP) is a serious clinical condition that may sometimes be fatal. The aim of this study was to determine whether the Glasgow coma scale (GCS), and serum acetylcholinesterase and leukocyte levels have prognostic value in acute OP poisoning. Retrospective review of records of patients admitted to the intensive ...

Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) is a chronic, autoimmune condition involving the skin and mucous membranes. Symptomatic mucosal involvement is rare, but can impact on quality of life, due to esophageal strictures and dysphagia. We report a case involving a 60-year-old male presenting with bullous skin lesions on areas of friction ...

Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and magnetic resonance angiography are the imaging modalities for the detection of intracranial arteriovenous malformations. However, these modalities are time consuming and cannot be used in emergency conditions. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) has also been shown to reliably detect vascular disorders such as cerebral arteriovenous malformations ...

To determine whether there are differences in the findings on the initial plain chest films of patients with H1N1 influenza and those of patients with flu symptoms during the flu season. All patients underwent plain-film chest radiography in the Emergency Department for flu symptoms; 95 patients had H1N1 influenza confirmed ...

Patients with Corticobasal Syndrome (CBS) have atrophy in posterior parietal cortex. This region of atrophy has been previously linked with quantifier comprehension difficulty, but previous studies employed visual stimuli, making it difficult to account for potentially confounding visuospatial deficits in CBS patients. The current study evaluated comprehension of generalized quantifiers ...

To investigate the antioxidative status of patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) in southeastern Taiwan. Our study comprised 27 patients with ALD recruited from Taitung Mackay Memorial Hospital, located in southeastern Taiwan. Patients with ALD included 12 non-aborigines (12 men) and 15 aborigines (11 men and 4 women). According to ...

AIMS: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs discovered as potential new gene regulators. Their roles in the development of chronic heart failure (CHF), however, are largely unknown. Reduced catecholamine sensitivity is an early step of CHF. We examined whether altered expression of miRNAs was related to reduced catecholamine sensitivity in ...

Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) has been found as correlated with endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress. There are few studies regarding ADMA and nitric oxide (NO) levels in patients with migraine and alterations of ADMA and NO levels during migraine attack are not well-known. Therefore, in present study, we aimed to measure ...

BACKGROUND: The Bravo capsule allows monitoring of esophageal acid exposure over a two-day period. Experience has shown that 24-32% of patients will have abnormal esophageal acid exposure detected on only one of the 2 days monitored. This variation has been explained by the effect of endoscopy and sedation. The aim of ...

BACKGROUND: The present survey aimed to clarify the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and functional dyspepsia (FD) in patients presenting with epigastric symptoms in Japan based on the Montreal definition and the Rome III criteria, respectively, and to determine the degree of overlap between the two disease entities and ...

Background: Severe wind storms during spring in East Asia, called Asian dust storms (ADS), have been assessed in the past for their effect on health in Asian countries. Our objective was to study the ADS association with asthma symptoms in adult patients in Japan. Methods: We designed a telephone survey ...

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of complex sleep apnoea (CompSA), defined as central sleep apnoea (CSA) emerging after the initiation of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), in patients with normal brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels, along with assessing the prevalence of ...

Aim:  Smaller LDL size has recently been reported as a non-traditional lipid risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) and the C/T hepatic lipase (HL) gene polymorphism may promote LDL size reduction via the CETP-mediated exchange of CE for TG and subsequent HL-mediated TG hydrolysis ...

Eur J Clin Invest 2011 ABSTRACT: Background  Conflicting results on exhaled NO in pulmonary hypertension (PH) exist. Therefore, we analysed exhaled NO, as well as systemic and local nitrite, a possible alternative source of NO, in PH with regard to PH aetiology. Methods  Exhaled NO at multiple flow-rates, as well ...

Background: Isolated sphenoid sinus pathologies are relatively rare. In the majority of cases, symptoms do not arise in the early stages of the disease or are non-specific, therefore making diagnosis difficult. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic process and the reasons for development of complications in ...

Background Left atrial (LA) dilatation is an important risk factor for recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA). However, the clinical applications to select patients eligible for RFCA according to LA size is limited. Additional pre-procedural assessment of LA fibrosis might improve patient selection for RFCA. Objective ...

BACKGROUND: The risk for cardiovascular disease almost increases in patients with impaired glucose tolerance compared with those with normal glucose tolerance. In experimental studies, it has been shown that impaired fasting glucose has negative effect of coronary collateral circulation (CCC). The aim of this study is to investigate the effects ...

Purpose: To explore the presentations of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) in superior limbic keratoconjunctivitis (SLK) with typical redundant superior conjunctiva. Methods: Eight surgical specimens from medical refractory SLK patients were examined. Another nine conjunctival specimens from patients who underwent cataract and retinal surgery served as controls. ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The differentiation of constrictive pericarditis (CP) from restrictive cariomyopathy (RCM) is often difficult. This study sought to determine the clinical utility of cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) for differentiating both these disorders. METHODS: Twenty-three patients with surgically documented CP, 22 patients with RCM and 25 normal subjects were ...