BACKGROUND: Neurophysiological investigations disclosed spinal cord hyperexcitability in primary restless legs syndrome (p-RLS). Uremic RLS (u-RLS) is the most common secondary form, but its pathophysiological mechanisms remain unsettled. Aim of this study was to explore spinal cord excitability by evaluating group I nonreciprocal (Ib) inhibition in u-RLS patients in comparison ...

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the sixth most common type of cancer worldwide. Cholinesterase is well known as having non-cholinergic functions such as cellular proliferation and differentiation, suggesting a possible influence of cholinesterase in tumorogenesis. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the whole blood acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and plasma ...

Recently, the INNOVANCE® PFA P2Y (P2Y) cartridge of the PFA-100® system (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Marburg, Germany) has been developed for the monitoring of adenosine diphosphate (ADP) P2Y(12) receptor inhibition in patients under dual antiplatelet therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of pre-existing defects in primary ...

Quantification of daily physical activity is of clinical interest in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Objective measures using activity monitors may take several days to obtain reliable results. The aim of our study was to evaluate the Stanford Seven-Day Physical Activity Recall questionnaire (PAR) against the SenseWear armband (SWA) and ...

OBJECTIVE: To confirm recent evidence suggesting a change in the pattern of disease expression of neurocysticercosis, manifested by a decreasing number of severe and recent infections. METHODS: Retrospective cohort of 246 neurocysticercosis patients residing in Guayaquil, evaluated over 20 years (1990 to 2009). Eighty-seven patients were seen from 1990 to ...

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of anorectal manometry (AM) in patients affected by obstructed defecation (OD). METHODS: Between January 2007 and December 2010, 379 patients (287 women and 92 men) affected by OD were evaluated. After a preliminary clinical evaluation, defecography and AM ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:3D-FLAIR imaging 24 hours after intratympanic gadolinium injection (IT-method) or 4 hours after IV injection (IV-method) has been used to visualize the endolymphatic hydrops in Ménière disease. The purpose of this study was to compare the degree of perilymph enhancement with the 2 methods and the perilymph contrast-effect ...

AimTo describe the clinical features of a case series of patients with unilateral vitelliform maculopathy and the results of screening BEST1 and PRPH2 for disease-causing mutations.Design/MethodsThis was a retrospective case series study of six patients ascertained over a 2-year period. Ophthalmological examination, fundus photography, autofluorescence imaging, optical coherence tomography and ...

In thalassemia intermedia (TI), the increase in bone marrow hemopoietic activity frequently leads to extramedullary erythropoeisis (EMH), but its relationship with the soluble form of transferrin receptor (sTfR) which fully reflects the marrow erythropoietic activity, has not yet been explored. From January 2007 to December 2010, all TI patients attending ...

Background: Recombinant human C1-inhibitor (rhC1INH; Ruconest®) has been developed for treatment of acute angioedema attacks in patients with hereditary angioedema (HAE) due to heterozygous deficiency of C1INH. Previous reports suggest that administration of plasma-derived C1INH products may be associated with an increased risk for thromboembolic complications. Objectives: Our aim is ...

Background: Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A(2) (Lp-PLA(2)) has emerged as a novel biomarker in cardiovascular diseases due to its ability to predict stroke in population-based studies. We aimed to investigate Lp-PLA(2) levels in transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients and to study their relationship with stroke recurrence. Methods: Lp-PLA(2) mass and activity were ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: A pre-treatment determination of the thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT) genotype or phenotype can identify patients at risk of developing severe adverse reactions from thiopurine treatment. The risk of misclassifying a patient might be dependent on the method used. The aim of this study was to investigate the concordance ...

Purpose:To quantitatively assess microvascular activation in the thickened ileal walls of patients with Crohn disease (CD) by using contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (US) and evaluate its correlation with widely used indexes of CD activity.Materials and Methods:This prospective study was approved by the ethics committee, and written informed consent was obtained from all ...

Many clinical features are common for patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and Cushing's Syndrome (CS) such as central obesity, hypertension and dyslipidaemia. Patients with CS often have T2DM. Since T2DM is much more frequent than CS it is possible that some patients with T2DM have increased production of ...

Abstract Introduction: Hepatoportal sclerosis (HPS) is a syndrome of obscure etiology and is one of the causes of non-cirrhotic portal hypertension (PH). We aimed to investigate this heterogeneous group of patients whose presentation showed cholestatic features, histopathologically. Methods: Between 1999 and 2009, 12 children diagnosed with HPS were retrospectively evaluated. ...

BACKGROUND: Passive video capsule endoscopy is the criterion standard for small-bowel exploration but cannot be used for the large gastric cavity. We report the first blinded comparative clinical trial in humans comparing a magnetically guided capsule endoscope (MGCE) and a conventional high-definition gastroscope. OBJECTIVE: To assess the potential of gastric ...

A 27-year-old male who had been on methadone therapy for 6 months was investigated with a 12-lead digital holter because of a prolonged QT on a standard 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). The patient had 24-hour holter recording on and off methadone therapy and multiple digitized 12-lead ECG data were captured for ...

Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is an enzyme that has been investigated for its putative role in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. The aim of our work was to study BChE activity variations in schizophrenic patients and to investigate the involvement of this enzyme in schizophrenia and the importance of determining its activity in ...

The Veterans Affairs (VA) Rheumatoid Arthritis (VARA) registry and the VA Pharmacy Benefits Management database were linked to determine the association of methotrexate (MTX) adherence with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity. For each patient, the medication possession ratio (MPR) was calculated for the first episode of MTX exposure of a ...

There is mounting evidence demonstrating the importance of adequate physical activity to promote better well-being among hemodialysis patients. Available data pertaining to the levels of physical activity and its determinants among hemodialysis patients is, however, scarce in Malaysia. The objectives of this study are hence to determine the levels of ...

Objective: To study the levels of chitotriosidase activity in the peritoneal fluid and the plasma of patients with severe endometriosis and control subjects. Materials and methods: Twenty-five women with laparoscopically and histopathologically confirmed endometriosis (study group) and 27 control patients who had undergone laparoscopic surgery were included. Peritoneal fluid and ...

The aim of this case study was to verify the occurrence of dysphagia in acute ischemic stroke within 48 hours after the onset of the first symptoms, in order to establish a possible relationship between the level of neurologic impairment and the severity degree of dysphagia. After emergency hospital admission, ...

Introduction: The prevalence of heparin-induced antibodies (HIA) varies widely among reported series, but is generally higher in cardiac surgery than hemodialysis patients. This study was designed to explore the reasons behind the different prevalence of HIA in these two populations. Methods: Blood samples from all hemodialysis and cardiac surgery patients ...

  To clarify the histological features and endoscopic classifications of nodular gastritis (NG).   Overall 40 996 patients who had undergone an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were enrolled. NG is defined as a uniform and diffuse protrusion from the antrum to angulus, which has two types at endoscopy: nodular (N) and granular ...

Background:  It is not clear whether there is a large difference in acute hemodynamic response (AHR) to left ventricle (LV) pacing in different regions of the same coronary sinus (CS) vein. Using the four electrodes available on a Quartet LV lead, we evaluated the AHR to pacing within individual branches ...

Objective: To validate the dimensionality, hierarchical properties, and reliability of the Frenchay Activities Index. Design: Self-report survey of patients with stroke. Patients: A total of 127 patients provided 254 observations before and after treatments. Methods: Multidimensional Rasch model was conducted. Results: The 2-factor model showed the significantly smallest deviance and ...

The ability to recognize facial affect is impaired in schizophrenia patients. This study compared source activities of the event-related potentials (ERPs) for affective facial pictures between schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. Twenty-three schizophrenia patients (11 females) and 24 healthy controls (12 females) were recruited. The standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography ...

Abstract Conclusions: In benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) help to better define the extent of saccular damage and the patient's prognosis. Objectives: To report the results of VEMPs in patients affected by BPPV of the posterior semicircular canal (PSC) in order to evaluate the presence ...

The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) and the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) are widely used instruments in assessment of patients suffering from ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The Patient Acceptable Symptom State (PASS) is regarded as a target for patients' well-being. The aim of this study was to ...

BACKGROUND: Lp-PLA2 is a novel biomarker in cardiovascular diseases due to its ability to predict first-ever and recurrent stroke. Little information is known regarding its influence on early outcome after stroke. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate Lp-PLA2 in t-PA-treated stroke patients and to study its relationship with early outcome. METHODS: ...

BACKGROUND: An increase in cystatin C (CyC) of ≥10% for 24 hours may predict contrast-induced nephropathy and worse outcomes in patients with renal dysfunction undergoing invasive coronary angiography. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the changes in CyC in patients with preserved renal function referred for contrast-enhanced coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA). METHODS: ...

INTRODUCTION:: The diagnosis value of adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of tuberculous meningitis (TBM) has been well documented. However, the cutoff point of CSF ADA has not been fully assessed. In the current study, the authors set to calculate the cutoff points of ADA and monitor the ...

BACKGROUND: The ventriculophasic response (VR) refers to shortening of atrial cycle length during heart block when a QRS complex is interposed between P waves. No formal quantitative definition has heretofore been proposed, nor have its potential clinical correlations been studied. HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesized that VR is present in selected patients ...

PURPOSE:To determine the demographic and clinical profile of various subtypes of Duane retraction syndrome (DRS). METHODS:Retrospective case series of 441 patients. RESULTS:Of the total 441 patients, 389 (88.2%) and 52 (11.8%) patients had unilateral and bilateral involvement, respectively. In both unilateral and bilateral cases, type I was the most common ...

To report the clinicopathologic features of a series of patients with Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome (MRS). Patients in this clinicopathological case series were identified through retrospective review. Five Caucasian patients (2 women and 3 men; age range, 46 to 73 years) with isolated eyelid swelling presented over an 11-month period to two ...

Purpose: To evaluate and compare tear osmolarity in different grades of conjunctivochalasis. Patients and methods: Forty subjects divided into four groups based on grading of conjunctivochalasis by lid-paralell conjunctival fold (LIPCOF) test and tear osmolarity evaluated by TearLab osmometer. Schirmer test, tear film break up time (BUT) and vital staining ...

When characterizing the speech of a patient with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), hypernasality is often mentioned. As few studies applied technically assisted evaluations of nasality in NF1 patients, the aim of the present study was to document the nasal resonance of adults with NF1 using nasometry. The nasometric data obtained ...

Meeus M, van Eupen I, van Baarle E, De Boeck V, Luyckx A, Kos D, Nijs J. Symptom fluctuations and daily physical activity in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: a case-control study. To compare the activity pattern of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) with healthy sedentary subjects and examine ...

Purpose of the Study: The aim of the study was to evaluate capillaroscopic pattern in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients and its association with disease duration as well as with presence of digital ulcers. Patients and Methods: Thirty six patients with SSc were included in the study. The severity of Raynaud's ...

Excessive pelvic rotation in the transverse plane is common in patients with cerebral palsy. Knowing the underlying reasons is important for clinical decision making, since changes in pelvic retraction might have an effect on internally rotated gait. We hypothesized that the contralateral leg contributes considerably to pelvic rotation on the ...

In this single-center retrospective study, we evaluated the accuracy of laboratory tests in diagnosing acquired von Willebrand syndrome associated with lymphoproliferative disorders in 36 consecutive patients diagnosed at the University Hospital of Nantes, France. We also compared hemostatic treatments in the following groups: 21 patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM), 14 ...

Aims and objectives.  This study aimed to explore the correlation between fatigue and physical activity in patients with liver cirrhosis. Background.  Many patients with liver cirrhosis perceive lower physical functioning and more fatigue than non-cirrhotic individuals. To date, however, few studies have examined the relationship between fatigue and physical activity ...

PURPOSE: To identify consistent results of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies in unilateral refractory temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). METHODS: Whole-brain VBM studies comparing refractory TLE patients with healthy controls (HC) were systematically searched in PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Embase, and Medline databases from January 1990 to May 2011. Coordinates were ...

BACKGROUND: T-wave alternans (TWA) is a well documented noninvasive ECG method useful for identifying patients at risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate if the long-term average TWA activity on Holter monitoring provides prognostic information in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). ...

To determine retrospectively if quantitative measures of the comb sign at CT enterography correlated with laboratory indications in Crohn's disease. We retrospectively included 72 known CD patients (47 male and 25 female patients) and 41 normal controls who had undergone CT enterography (CTE) from 2008 to 2010 and had high-sensitive ...

Background: Several cases of horseshoe kidney with anomalous inferior vena cava (IVC) have been described, but there have been no reports of the incidence and variation of anomalous IVC in patients with horseshoe kidneys detected using multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT). Methods and Results: 105 patients with horseshoe kidneys were ...

BACKGROUND: Limited information is available about focal atrial tachycardia (AT) arising from cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the electrocardiographic and electrophysiologic characteristics of a focal AT arising from the CTI. METHODS: From a consecutive series of 92 patients undergoing radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) ...

Severe ADAMTS13 deficiency is a critical component of the pathogenesis of idiopathic thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura but is found only in about 60% of patients clinically diagnosed with this disease. Over a period of 8 years and six episodes of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura we studied the evolution of the anti-ADAMTS13 antibody ...

Syncope in Brugada Syndrome. Introduction: The Brugada syndrome (BrS) can first present with syncope. Class-I antiarrhythmic drug (AAD) test is used to unmask the diagnostic coved-type ECG pattern in case it is not spontaneously present. The aim of the study was to analyze patients with BrS presenting with syncope as first manifestation ...

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is an adjunctive therapy for juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) patients with poor response to first-line therapy (corticosteroid resistant; SR) or who are corticosteroid dependent (SD). Patients requiring IVIg are generally expected to have poorer outcomes, leading to confounding by indication in observational studies. Few studies have evaluated IVIg ...