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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Effectiveness of physiotherapy rehabilitation approaches for Parkinson’s disease: A Durrës case study

Physiother Res Int. 2024 Oct;29(4):e2124. doi: 10.1002/pri.2124.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The article’s significance lies in the substantial rise in the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease (PD), necessitating the exploration of various approaches to rehabilitation and medical treatment. The purpose of the article is to detect the direct effect of physiotherapy for patients with PD and to identify how it helps in slowing down cardio-pulmonary failure, improving the posture, balance, bradykinesia and tremor.

METHODS: The research utilised clinical data from 407 PD patients aged 30-100 years at the Central Polyclinic of Durrës, spanning 2011-2022, and included a systematic literature review and statistical analysis comparing physiotherapy outcomes with European Union standards.

RESULTS: The research demonstrates the efficiency of physiotherapy in the short and long term in the treatment of PD for patients and medical personnel. All information can be used to increase the functional abilities of patients and minimise complications after physiotherapy and to estimate the effectiveness of different exercises in delaying PD. Older adults, particularly those aged 71-80, are most affected by PD, with males more likely to be diagnosed. Physiotherapy rehabilitation improves motor symptoms, posture, and balance in 30-80-year-olds, but its effectiveness declines with age. Advanced rehabilitation methods in Italy lead to better outcomes, suggesting the potential for improvement in Durres disease.

CONCLUSIONS: The study emphasises the need for improved rehabilitation strategies for older patients by recommending tailored programs, advanced methods, standardisation, training, and long-term monitoring. Further research should concentrate on the long-term sustainability of physiotherapy benefits, the development of targeted interventions for older patients, and the integration of innovative therapeutic approaches.

PMID:39180752 | DOI:10.1002/pri.2124

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Prospective Clinical Study: Full-Body Blue Irradiation in the Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis

Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2024 Aug 24. doi: 10.1007/s13555-024-01248-3. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Ultraviolet-free (UV-free) blue light phototherapy has emerged as a promising option due to its reported efficacy and minimal adverse effects. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of full-body blue light irradiation in both adult and pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), assessing its impact on skin condition and mood regulation by investigating serum concentrations of serotonin and kynurenine pathway metabolites.

METHODS: 20 patients (age 9-45) with moderate and severe AD were included in the study. Treatment consisted of 10 irradiations with Full Body Blue device (453 nm). Serum concentrations of serotonin, quinolinic acid, kynurenic acid, tryptophan, and kynurenine were measured before and after irradiations.

RESULTS: After 10 sessions of full blue light therapy (453 nm) statistically significant improvements were observed in Eczema Area Severity Index (EASI 13.16 vs. 8.65; p = 0.00016), SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD 44.99 vs. 23.73; p < 0.00001), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS 6.53 vs. 3.95; p = 0.00251), 10-item pruritus severity scale (13.32 vs. 7.05; p < 0.00001). Moreover, statistically significant decrease in Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) was noted (14.37 vs. 7.42; p = 0.00351). Additionally, increase in the serum concentration of serotonin was observed after completing 10 irradiation sessions (median 139.77 mg/ml vs. 274.92 mg/ml; p < 0.00001).

CONCLUSION: Blue light may be a promising and safe treatment in patients with AD. It might also positively influence mood. Further investigations are needed to confirm those findings.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT06516783.

PMID:39180711 | DOI:10.1007/s13555-024-01248-3

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Quantitative parameters of HRCT target scan to predict the risk of lung adenocarcinoma based on the detection of lung ground-glass nodules

Clin Transl Oncol. 2024 Aug 24. doi: 10.1007/s12094-024-03676-1. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: To explore the value of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant ground-glass nodules (GGNs), and to provide a theoretical basis for the clinical application of HRCT.

METHODS: A total of 208 patients with GGN who had been clinically confirmed by surgical pathology and clinical confirmation were collected, and HRCT target scanning technology was used to scan and collect general information of patients, and observe the distribution of GGN, GGN size, GGN cross-sectional area, diameter, transverse diameter, solid composition, relationship with bronchi, and relationship with blood vessels and other indicators. Multivariate regression analysis and risk factor prediction are performed.

RESULTS: The differences were statistically significant in multivariate regression analysis, such as nodule location, maximum diameter, maximum cross-sectional area, GGN status, nodule boundary and relationship with blood vessels (P < 0.05). The results of ROC curve showed that the AUC value of nodule site and nodule boundary was greater than 0.5, and the nodule boundary AUC value was 0.676, which was more sensitive to predict whether GGN deteriorated to lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD).

CONCLUSION: Nodule site and nodule boundary are effective risk predictors for LUAD in patients with GGN, and nodule boundary is the most valuable independent predictor.

PMID:39180703 | DOI:10.1007/s12094-024-03676-1

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Sysmex XN-HPC: study of reference intervals and clinical decision limits in healthy allogeneic donors mobilised with G-CSF

Clin Exp Med. 2024 Aug 24;24(1):197. doi: 10.1007/s10238-024-01467-0.

ABSTRACT

The Sysmex XN series haematopoietic progenitor cell (XN-HPC) is a novel tool for assessing stem cell yield before allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This study aimed to establish a reference interval (RI) for XN-HPC in peripheral blood allogeneic transplant donors following granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) stimulation and determine its clinical significance. All specimens were analysed using Sysmex XN-20. Samples were collected and analysed using non-parametric percentile methods to define the RIs. Quantile regression was used to explore the dependency of the RIs on sex and age. Samples were included in clinical decision limits for apheresis based on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The non-parametrically estimated RI for XN-HPC was 623.50 (90% confidence interval [CI90%] 510.00-657.00) to 4,144.28 (CI90% 3,761.00-4,547.00). The RIs for the XN-HPC were not age-dependent but were sex-dependent. The RI for males was 648.40 (CI90% 582.00-709.00)-4,502.60 (CI90% 4,046.00-5,219.00) and for females was 490.90 (CI90% 311.00-652.00)-3,096.90 (CI90% 2,749.00-3,782.00). Comparisons based on XN-HPC values between the poor and less-than-optimal groups, good and less-than-optimal groups, and good and non-good groups had areas under the curve of 0.794 (P < 0.001), 0.768 (P < 0.001), and 0.806 (P < 0.001), respectively, indicating a good predictive value for mobilisation effectiveness. XN-HPC data exceeding 3974 × 106/L suggested that a sufficient number of stem cells could be collected clinically. Values > 5318 < 106/L indicated 100% mobilisation effectiveness. We established an RI for XN-HPC in peripheral blood allogeneic transplant donors following G-CSF stimulation and determined clinical decision thresholds for mobilisation efficiency.

PMID:39180670 | DOI:10.1007/s10238-024-01467-0

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Investigation of the relationship between atherogenic index, anthropometric characteristics, and 10-year risk of metabolic syndrome: a population-based study

Ir J Med Sci. 2024 Aug 24. doi: 10.1007/s11845-024-03791-6. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: People with metabolic syndrome (MetS) are at a higher risk of coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, stroke, osteoarthritis, and some types of cancers. Finding markers which are available and inexpensive are most useful for the prediction of MetS. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between atherogenic index and anthropometric indicators and the 10-year risk of MetS.

METHODS: During the 10-year follow-up on Mashhad stroke and heart atherosclerotic disorder (MASHAD study), 4684 subjects who did not MetS at baseline were recruited in this study. The anthropometric indices and atherogenic index including atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), Castelli’s risk index I and II (CRI-I, CRI-I), and atherogenic coefficient (AC) were measured. SPSS-23 was used for all statistical analyses.

RESULT: Among subjects who did not have MetS at baseline 1599 cases (34.1%) developed MetS. The anthropometric and lipid indices were significantly elevated in patients with MetS compared to the healthy ones (p < 0.001). It was revealed that an increase of one unit in AIP and AC can raise the risk of MetS 22.7% (OR: 1.227 (95% CI, 1.166-1.291)) and 37.7% (OR: 1.377 (95% CI, 1.291-1.468)), respectively. Moreover, increasing one unit of WHtR decreases the risk of MetS by 8.5% (OR: 0.915 (95% CI, 0.886-0.946)).

CONCLUSION: The results of this longitudinal study showed that increasing AC and AIP could enhance the risk of MetS. The present study also indicated that AC and AIP are useful predictors in the clinical setting for identifying individuals with MetS in the Iranian adult population.

PMID:39180637 | DOI:10.1007/s11845-024-03791-6

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Efficacy of antidepressants in functional dyspepsia: Systematic review and meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis of randomized controlled trials

Indian J Gastroenterol. 2024 Aug 24. doi: 10.1007/s12664-024-01648-5. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The beneficial effects of using antidepressants in improving functional dyspepsia (FD) symptoms have been reported in previous meta-analyses; however, the results have not been conclusive. The aim was to perform an updated meta-analysis coupled with trial sequential analysis (TSA) to assess the efficacy of the use of any antidepressants in the treatment of FD in adults.

METHODS: Electronic databases were searched up to March 2024 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) recruiting adults with FD. Data of overall symptoms improved between the antidepressants and placebo groups was pooled to obtain risk ratio (RR) employing the random-effects model. The effect of random errors was evaluated with TSA. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was used to assess the certainty of evidence. Analyses were performed using STATA version 16.0.

RESULTS: Nine RCTs with 924 patients met the eligible criteria. The RRs of FD symptoms improving with any antidepressants, tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were (n = 9, RR = 1.30 [95% CI, 1.02-1.67]), (n = 5, RR = 1.41 [95% CI, 1.07-1.85]) and (n = 2, RR = 0.97 [95% CI, 0.72-1.29]), respectively. TSA demonstrated conclusive evidence for the beneficial effect of TCAs. The number needed to treat (NNT) with any depressants and TCAs were 11 (95% CI, 7-36) and 6 (95% CI, 4-15), respectively. The certainty of the evidence for an effect of TCAs was that of moderate GRADE quality. The benefit, however, was limited to the western population (n = 3, RR = 1.43 [95% CI, 1.04-1.96]) and did not extend to the Asian population (n = 2, RR = 1.32 [95% CI, 0.75-2.32]). Conversely, antidepressant-using patients experienced adverse events more frequently. However, no statistically significant association was found between TCAs and any adverse events (n = 3; RR = 1.36 [95% CI, 0.91-2.04]).

CONCLUSION: Evidence was obtained suggesting TCAs can be an effective alternative in the treatment of FD, but more evidence from high-quality large trials is required to support their use, especially in the Asian population.

PMID:39180628 | DOI:10.1007/s12664-024-01648-5

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Copula-based analysis of dependent current status data with semiparametric linear transformation model

Lifetime Data Anal. 2024 Aug 24. doi: 10.1007/s10985-024-09632-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses regression analysis of current status data with dependent censoring, a problem that often occurs in many areas such as cross-sectional studies, epidemiological investigations and tumorigenicity experiments. Copula model-based methods are commonly employed to tackle this issue. However, these methods often face challenges in terms of model and parameter identification. The primary aim of this paper is to propose a copula-based analysis for dependent current status data, where the association parameter is left unspecified. Our method is based on a general class of semiparametric linear transformation models and parametric copulas. We demonstrate that the proposed semiparametric model is identifiable under certain regularity conditions from the distribution of the observed data. For inference, we develop a sieve maximum likelihood estimation method, using Bernstein polynomials to approximate the nonparametric functions involved. The asymptotic consistency and normality of the proposed estimators are established. Finally, to demonstrate the effectiveness and practical applicability of our method, we conduct an extensive simulation study and apply the proposed method to a real data example.

PMID:39180601 | DOI:10.1007/s10985-024-09632-z

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Evaluation of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes as a prognostic biomarker in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast

Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2024 Aug 24. doi: 10.1007/s10549-024-07466-9. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To assess the association between tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) samples and disease recurrence.

METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included women aged 18 years and older who underwent treatment between January 2007 and December 2020. Male patients, individuals diagnosed with invasive or microinvasive disease based on anatomopathological examination of surgical specimens, and those with a personal history of any other cancers were excluded. Additionally, the presence of “touching TILs” (lymphocytes in direct contact with tumor cells) and periductal desmoplasia were evaluated as complementary methods to represent the immunological microenvironment. The primary outcome was relapse-free survival based on TIL quantification adjusted for potential confounders. Pathologists assessed TILs in the sample with the highest tumor representation and quantified them as a percentage. Survival was evaluated using Kaplan‒Meier curves, log-rank tests, and Cox regression models.

RESULTS: A total of 191 patients met the eligibility criteria. The mean follow-up duration was 77.2 months, with a recurrence rate of 9.2%. Patients with TILs ≥ 17% had a greater risk of recurrence (HR 2.97, 95% CI 1.17-7.51; p = 0.02). Additionally, focal necrosis (HR 6.4, 95% CI 1.39-34.71; p = 0.018) or comedonecrosis (HR 4.53, 95% CI 1.34-15.28; p = 0.015) were associated with increased recurrence risk. According to the multivariate model, comedonecrosis and TILs ≥ 17% were significantly associated with recurrence (p = 0.034 and p = 0.035, respectively). Regarding the evaluations of “touching TILs” and periductal desmoplasia, no statistical significance was found when assessing their association with disease recurrence.

CONCLUSION: In our cohort, a high percentage of TILs (≥ 17%) and the presence of comedonecrosis were independently associated with DCIS recurrence.

PMID:39180593 | DOI:10.1007/s10549-024-07466-9

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Alopecia areata does not increase the risk of venous thromboembolism: an All of Us case-control study

Arch Dermatol Res. 2024 Aug 24;316(8):574. doi: 10.1007/s00403-024-03306-4.

ABSTRACT

Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease driven by cytokine dysregulation resulting in hair loss, and recent data suggests inflammation may be occurring systemically. This systemic increase in inflammatory cytokines may increase the incidence of thrombotic events, including deep vein thrombosis, stroke, myocardial infarction, and pulmonary embolism. As the use of JAK inhibitors for AA becomes more common, it is important to further investigate this potential relationship to prevent exacerbation of such events. The purpose of this case-control study was to determine if there is an increased association between thrombotic events and alopecia areata using the All of Us database. We matched 926 patients with AA 4:1 to controls without any alopecia, and we found that there was a statistically significant increase in the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with AA (p = 0.009). Multivariable conditional logistic regression was then used to estimate the odds of AA in relation to VTE, controlling for common hypercoagulable factors (atrial fibrillation, estrogen replacement, obesity, malignancy, pregnancy, and smoking history). We found that after controlling for these risk factors, there was no significant difference in the incidence in VTE between those with and without AA (OR: 1.549, CR 95% (0.862, 2.783)). While recent reports have suggested alopecia areata to be significantly associated with venous thromboembolisms, we did not observe a significant association after controlling for hypercoagulable factors.

PMID:39180570 | DOI:10.1007/s00403-024-03306-4

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The comparison of 2D and 3D systems in total laparoscopic hysterectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2024 Aug 24. doi: 10.1007/s00404-024-07630-y. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To evaluate the existing evidence regarding the comparison between 2 and 3D systems in Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy (TLH) in terms of surgical outcomes.

METHODS: A systematic review of electronic databases, including PubMed/MEDLINE and Web of Science, was conducted to identify relevant studies comparing 2D and 3D systems in TLH. The search employed a combination of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms and keywords related to the topic. Studies meeting predefined criteria were included, while case reports and studies not directly comparing 2D and 3D systems were excluded. Two independent reviewers evaluated study eligibility and performed quality assessment. The quantitative synthesis was conducted using meta-analysis techniques.

RESULTS: A statistically significant longer operation time in the 2D group compared to the 3D group (7 studies, mean difference [MD]: 13.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] 9.35-18.00, I2 = 16%). However, no statistically significant differences were found between the groups in terms of vaginal cuff closure time (2 studies, MD: 3.22, CI – 6.58-13.02, I2 = 96%), complication rate (7 studies, odds ratio [OD]: 1.74, CI 0.70-4.30, I2 = 0%), blood loss (3 studies, MD: 2.92, CI – 15.44-21.28, I2 = 0%), and Hb drop (3 studies, MD: 0.17, CI – 0.08-0.42, I2 = 1%).

CONCLUSION: Our results revealed a significant difference favoring 3D systems in operation time, while clinical outcomes between the two systems were found to be comparable in TLH. However, further research, particularly prospective studies with larger cohorts and longer-term follow-up, along with economic analyses, is needed to provide clinicians and healthcare decision-makers with essential guidance for practice and resource allocation.

PMID:39180564 | DOI:10.1007/s00404-024-07630-y