Category: Nevin Manimala

Minerva Surg. 2022 Jul 15. doi: 10.23736/S2724-5691.22.09607-1. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Nipple reconstruction, which allows a reconstructed breast to assume a more natural look, represents the completion of the breast reconstruction journey. Several techniques have already been described in literature but unfortunately, loss of the projection of the new nipple has been a common problem for all of them. We report our experience using a personal modification of the popular arrow flap, to which we have added manoeuvres to compensate for the weaknesses of the conventional procedures.

METHODS: A prospective study was performed on women who required nipple reconstruction after autologous or implant-based breast reconstruction; revisions of reconstructed nipples have been also included. Patients who underwent radiotherapy after reconstruction of the breast mound were excluded from the study. The new nipples were reconstructed using our modified arrow flap. Immediate post-operative nipple projection was recorded and compared after 6weeks and 6moths. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the characteristics of the study patients and the results. The F-test was performed to assess the statistical significance of our findings.

RESULTS: Our modified arrow-flap procedure was used to reconstruct 27 nipples. The average projection reduction has been of 12,9% at 6weeks and 19,7% at 6 months, and no statistical significance was recorded among the postoperative assessments. (p=0.14). Complications have been recorded in 3 patients and consisted of 2 small wound dehiscence and 1 superficial infection.

CONCLUSIONS: Our modified arrow-flap method for nipple reconstruction achieves a reproducible and reliable natural look and stable projection.

PMID:35837873 | DOI:10.23736/S2724-5691.22.09607-1

Exp Dermatol. 2022 Jul 15. doi: 10.1111/exd.14645. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The analytical technology of Raman spectroscopy has an almost 100-year history. During this period many modifications and developments happened in the method like discovery of laser, improvements in optical elements and sensitivity of spectrometer and also more advanced light detection systems. Many types of the innovative techniques appeared (e.g. Transmittance Raman spectroscopy, Coherent Raman Scattering microscopy, Surface Enhanced Raman scattering and Confocal Raman spectroscopy/microscopy). This review article gives a short description about these different Raman techniques and their possible applications. Then a short statistical part is coming about the appearance of Raman spectroscopy in the scientific literature from the beginnings to these days. The third part of the paper shows the main application options of the technique (especially confocal Raman spectroscopy) in skin research, including skin composition analysis, drug penetration monitoring and analysis, diagnostic utilizations in dermatology and cosmeto-scientific applications. At the end the possible role of artificial intelligence in Raman data analysis and the regulatory aspect of this techniques in dermatology are briefly summarized. For the future of Raman Spectroscopy increasing clinical relevance and in vivo applications can be predicted with spreading of non-destructive methods and appearance with the most advanced instruments with rapid analysis time.

PMID:35837832 | DOI:10.1111/exd.14645

Allergy Asthma Immunol Res. 2022 Jul;14(4):439. doi: 10.4168/aair.2022.14.4.439.

ABSTRACT

This corrects the article on p. 289 in vol. 14, PMID: 35557494.

PMID:35837826 | DOI:10.4168/aair.2022.14.4.439

J Asthma. 2022 Jul 15:1-7. doi: 10.1080/02770903.2022.2093218. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Patient education is a key element in the management of asthma.

AIMS: This study aimed to evaluate the popularity and usefulness of YouTube videos on asthma.

METHODS: Two authors screened and evaluated the 200 most popular videos. Data on likes, dislikes, views, comment, source of uploader, days since upload, and usefulness were recorded and included for analyses. The usefulness of the videos was categorized as follows: useful, misleading, or neutral. Misleading videos provided at least one scientifically incorrect detail, whereas useful videos contained scientifically correct information.

RESULTS: A total of 130 videos were included, and the total number of views was 100,290,242 with a total duration of 29 h and 8 min. While 26.6% of videos were uploaded by TV shows and YouTube channels, only 7.7% were uploaded by lung specialists. 65.4% of the videos contained scientifically correct information, whereas 18.5% contained misleading information. Although videos from medical professionals had a higher quality than videos from YouTube channels and TV shows, the latter were more popular. Misleading videos had numerically, but not statistically significant higher views compared with useful videos.

CONCLUSIONS: YouTube videos on asthma are popular in terms of viewer interaction, and the popularity is not restricted to videos uploaded by professional sources. Although more than half of the videos were found to be useful, a non-negligible proportion of videos were assessed as misleading. The usefulness of YouTube videos on asthma is variable and initiatives should be taken to increase the potential of YouTube as an useful source in patient education.

PMID:35837808 | DOI:10.1080/02770903.2022.2093218

Eur J Neurol. 2022 Jul 15. doi: 10.1111/ene.15496. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: To explore associations between plasma neurofilament light chain concentration (pNfL; pg/mL) and disease activity in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) and examine the usefulness of pNfL concentrations in determining disease remission.

METHODS: We examined pNfL concentrations in treatment-naïve CIDP patients (n=10) before and after intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) induction treatment, differences in pNfL concentrations in patients on maintenance IVIg treatment who had stable (n=15) or unstable disease (n=9), and in clinically stable IVIg-treated patients (n=10) in whom we suspended IVIg to determine disease activity and ongoing need for maintenance IVIg. pNfL concentrations in an age-matched healthy control group were measured for comparison.

RESULTS: Treatment-naïve patients: pNfL concentration was higher in patients before IVIg treatment than healthy controls and subsequently reduced comparable to control group values after IVIg induction. CIDP patients on IVIg treatment: pNfL concentration was significantly higher in unstable patients than stable patients. A pNFL concentration above 16.6 pg/mL identified unstable treated CIDP from stable treated CIDP (sensitivity= 86.7%, specificity= 66.7%, area under ROC= 0.73). Treatment withdrawal group: There was statistically significant correlation between pNfL concentration at time of IVIg withdrawal and the likelihood of relapse (r=0.72, p<0.05), suggesting an association of higher pNfL concentration with active disease.

CONCLUSION: pNfL concentrations may be a sensitive, clinically useful biomarker in assessing subclinical disease activity.

PMID:35837802 | DOI:10.1111/ene.15496

Res Synth Methods. 2022 Jul 15. doi: 10.1002/jrsm.1591. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The variance-stabilizing Freeman-Tukey double arcsine transform was originally proposed for inference on single proportions. Subsequently, its use has been suggested in the context of meta-analysis of proportions. While some erratic behaviour has been observed previously, here we point out and illustrate general issues of monotonicity and invertibility that make this transform unsuitable for meta-analysis purposes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:35837800 | DOI:10.1002/jrsm.1591

Dermatol Ther. 2022 Jul 15:e15717. doi: 10.1111/dth.15717. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Various treatment methods are used for noninvasive body contouring.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a newly designed cryolipolysis device using a three-dimensional cooling method for abdominal fat reduction.

METHODS: Twenty-five participants with clinically apparent abdominal fat tissue participated in the study. The thickness of fat tissue below the umbilicus level was measured using a caliper at baseline and 12 weeks after the first treatment. The height of abdominal subcutaneous fat tissue on ultrasonography and participant satisfaction were assessed at every visit for 16 weeks. All adverse events (AEs) during the study period were recorded. P values <0.05 were considered statistically significant.

RESULTS: Twenty-four participants completed this study; the mean BMI of participants was 29.34±2.36 kg/m² . The mean thickness of abdominal subcutaneous fat was significantly lower at 12 weeks (40.4±6.8 mm, p<0.001) than at baseline (49.3±8.5 mm). Differences in the height of abdominal subcutaneous fat compared to that at baseline were 1.02±0.41 cm (12 weeks, p<0.001) and 1.13±0.44 cm (16 weeks, p<0.001). Rates of abdominal subcutaneous fat reduction at 12 and 16 weeks compared to that at baseline were 28.45% and 31.13%, respectively. The ratio of abdominal circumference to hip circumference at 12 and 16 weeks was significantly decreased compared to that at baseline. Most participants (95.8%) reported improvement in satisfaction scores at 16 weeks. There were no serious AEs during the entire study period.

CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated the efficacy of a noninvasive cryolipolysis device using a three-dimensional cooling method for reducing abdominal subcutaneous fat. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:35837791 | DOI:10.1111/dth.15717

Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2022 Jul 14;10(1):103. doi: 10.1186/s40478-022-01399-4.

ABSTRACT

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is clinically diagnosed when patients develop dementia less than a year after parkinsonism onset. Age is the primary risk factor for DLB and mitochondrial health influences ageing through effective oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Patterns of stable polymorphisms in the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) alter OXPHOS efficiency and define individuals to specific mtDNA haplogroups. This study investigates if mtDNA haplogroup background affects clinical DLB risk and neuropathological disease severity. 360 clinical DLB cases, 446 neuropathologically confirmed Lewy body disease (LBD) cases with a high likelihood of having DLB (LBD-hDLB), and 910 neurologically normal controls had European mtDNA haplogroups defined using Agena Biosciences MassARRAY iPlex technology. 39 unique mtDNA variants were genotyped and mtDNA haplogroups were assigned to mitochondrial phylogeny. Striatal dopaminergic degeneration, neuronal loss, and Lewy body counts were also assessed in different brain regions in LBD-hDLB cases. Logistic regression models adjusted for age and sex were used to assess associations between mtDNA haplogroups and risk of DLB or LBD-hDLB versus controls in a case-control analysis. Additional appropriate regression models, adjusted for age at death and sex, assessed associations of haplogroups with each different neuropathological outcome measure. No mtDNA haplogroups were significantly associated with DLB or LBD-hDLB risk after Bonferroni correction.Haplogroup H suggests a nominally significant reduced risk of DLB (OR=0.61, P=0.006) but no association of LBD-hDLB (OR=0.87, P=0.34). The haplogroup H observation in DLB was consistent after additionally adjusting for the number of APOE ε4 alleles (OR=0.59, P=0.004). Haplogroup H also showed a suggestive association with reduced ventrolateral substantia nigra neuronal loss (OR=0.44, P=0.033). Mitochondrial haplogroup H may be protective against DLB risk and neuronal loss in substantia nigra regions in LBD-hDLB cases but further validation is warranted.

PMID:35836284 | DOI:10.1186/s40478-022-01399-4

Clin Hypertens. 2022 Jul 15;28(1):21. doi: 10.1186/s40885-022-00204-7.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated chronic diseases and health disparities especially hypertension because it is more common among vulnerable populations such as older adults.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the effects of a public health nursing intervention plus m-Health applications for hypertension management on enhancing the self-care, systolic and diastolic of blood pressure, and quality of life in older adults during the lockdown period in Jordan.

METHODS: A randomized, controlled trial design was performed in Jordan. A total of 120 participants were randomly allocated to three groups (n = 40); interventional group (public health nursing interventions plus m.Health applications) and two control groups (m.Health applications alone group and standard care group).

RESULTS: After 3 months, the interventional group show significantly decreased in systolic blood pressure – 14 (F = 16.74, P = 0.001), greater improvement in self-care maintenance, monitoring, and confidence (+ 30, + 17.75, + 40.27; P < 0.01, respectively) compared to the two control groups. Greater improvement in role limitations due to physical health and due to emotional problems, pain, energy/fatigue, emotional well-being, and social functioning of quality of life (P < 0.05) compared to the standard care group. No statistical significant difference was found in diastolic blood pressure (F = 3.91, P = 0.141), physical functioning (P = 0.613), and general quality of life (P = 0.060).

CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the adoption of technology with nursing intervention as a method of supporting continuity of self-management of chronic illness during the pandemic, and its potential implications for future delivery of health care, not just in Jordan, but across the world.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trial.gov (ID NCT04992000 ). Registered August 12, 2021.

PMID:35836287 | DOI:10.1186/s40885-022-00204-7

Global Health. 2022 Jul 14;18(1):70. doi: 10.1186/s12992-022-00863-z.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: One of the worst pandemics of recent memory, COVID-19, severely impacted the public. In particular, students were physically and mentally affected by the lockdown and the shift from physical person-to-person classrooms to virtual learning (online classes). This increased the prevalence of psychological stress, anxiety, and depression among university students. In this study, we investigated the depression levels in Saudi Arabian university students who were learning virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic and examined its impact on their educational proficiency.

METHODS: The study focused on two points: first, examining the depression levels among undergraduate students in Saudi Arabia, by adapting the Zung (Self-Rating Depression Scale) questionnaire. Second, whether there is an association between the levels of depression and various distress factors associated with virtual (online) learning resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on students’ educational behaviors. The questionnaire was prepared using a monkey survey and shared online, via email, and on WhatsApp groups, with participants in two universities, a public and private university in the largest city of Saudi Arabia. A total of 157 complete responses were received. Data were analyzed using SPSS-24, the chi-square test, descriptive statistics, and multilinear regression.

RESULTS: The results indicated that three-fourths of the university students suffered from different depressive symptoms, half of which had moderate to extreme levels of depression. Our study confirmed that a boring virtual (online) learning method, stress, fear of examinations, and decreased productivity were significantly associated with increased depression. In addition, 75% and 79% of the students suffered from stress and fear of examinations, respectively. About half of the students were associated with increased depression. The outcome also indicated that female students experienced extreme depression, stress, and fear of examinations more than males.

CONCLUSION: These findings can inform government agencies and representatives of the importance of making swift, effective decisions to address students’ depression levels. It is essential to provide training for students to change their educational experience mindset, which might help decrease “depression and stress-related growth.” There is also a need to search for a better virtual teaching delivery method to lessen students’ stress and fear of examinations.

PMID:35836278 | DOI:10.1186/s12992-022-00863-z