[In different directions? – Cholesterol-lowering strategies in Europe and overseas]
REINHARDT István
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
Lege Artis Medicinae - 2020;30(08-09)
REINHARDT István
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
Lege Artis Medicinae - 2020;30(08-09)
Lege Artis Medicinae
[Thyroid disorders are very frequent not only among endocrine diseases but also the general conditions. Every clinician, regardless of their specialty, meet patients with thyroid disorders during their everyday practice. While diagnostic and therapeutic options remained almost unchanged in the past decade, there are several intensively researched topics in the patient’s care, advances of which we ought to familiarize ourselves with. In this present paper we sought out to cover three of these fiercly discussed topics. ]
Lege Artis Medicinae
[Nociceptive, neuropathic and central mechanisms are involved in the perception, transmission and processing of chronic pain and shaping of cerebral pain image. Alarmins – molecules alarming defence and signing the presence of pathogens and tissue damage - trigger a series of pathogenic events resulting in inflammatory pain stimuli. Proinflammatory cytokines play a determining role in the pain perception at the level of the nervous system. Continuous inflammatory stimuli while sensitizing the periferic and central neurons activate the pain-related cerebral areas and develop the complex pain image, the pain matrix. Cerebral functional connections are operating in networks and can be visualized by functional MRI. Cytokines activate the neurons directly or indirectly by other neuromediators. Cytokine receptors are expressed on nociceptors and even on higher-level neurons and on various non-neural cells, such as microglia and astrocytes. The most ubiquitous cytokines are the Tumour Necrosis Factor and Interleukin 6 in the nervous system. The signaling pathways are the Nuclear Factor κB and the Janus-kinase enzyme system. The proinflammatory cytokines and the Janus-kinase are therefore primary therapeutic targets. Anti-cytokine biologicals and small molecular kinase inhibitors decrease the pain and improve functional activity in rheumatoid arthritis. Decrease of pain was more pronounced than expected only from the decrease of the clinical biomarkers of inflammation. The early and rapid painkiller effect of targeted biological and chemical-biological response modifiers is attributed to their direct analgesic effect on the brain.]
Lege Artis Medicinae
[During the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, elderly people in long-term nursing homes were especially risks exposed. In this study, the authors analyse the causes of local outbreak at the Olajág Elderly Home Vezér street facility in Budapest and the means and ways to curb the spreading of infection. They summarise the measures, which proved to be effective in isolation and treating the patients. The number of infected residents as well as the course of the disease are demonstrated by statistical data. The authors consider as pre-eminently important to identify asymptomatic but infected residents, further the rapid introduction of screening tests, strict compliance with protocols, patient path regulation and the use of enhanced, supportive communication.]
Lege Artis Medicinae
[After kidney transplantation, the administration of immunosuppressive therapy not only renders the patient susceptible to infections, but it may also damage the function of tumor cell recognition and elimination. Our study was performed at the Department of Surgery, University of Szeged. After establishing the inclusion criteria, 570 patients were involved in the study. We examined the age, sex, immunosuppressive therapy of the patients, and searched for the relationship between the different immunosuppressive agents and the type of the tumor. In 81 cases, de novo cancer was diagnosed. Among patients treated with cyclosporin and tacrolimus there was no significant difference in the mean age (p = 0.734) and body mass index (p = 0.543). There was no significant difference in graft function between the two groups of patients (Tac vs Cyc; 44 vs 20). Related to the time passed since the transplantation to diagnosing the tumors the earliest were prostate and cervix cancers however without significant difference. Skin cancers are the most frequent followed by post-transplant lymphoproliferative diseases. The increasing risk of developing tumors is mainly due to immunosuppressive therapy. ]
Lege Artis Medicinae
[Our research group, has studied psychiatric and psychotherapeutic teams since 2015. The aim of the present research was to identify the Hungarian characteristics of team composition and operation. Qualitative focus group survey has been conducted on the operation of multidisciplinary teams at the annual conferences of the Hungarian Psychiatric Society in 2017, 2018 and 2019. These three groups focused on the issues of leadership, communication within the team, and competencies. The groups of an average of 17 people formed spontaneously by participation of professionals with different qualifications. The main results of the focus groups were as follows: 1. The various types of leadership within the team require the distribution and allocation of responsibilities and roles and stop the destructions. 2. Within the teams there are prevailing the informal channels of communication. 3. It is important to clarify competencies and responsibilities. 'Actually, psychiatric specialists' list of competencies there is not available in Hungary. It seems necessary to define more precisely and reconsider the professional competences of the specialized training in psychiatry and integrating these in the education, further promote the development of „list of competences in psychiatric specialization” by the legislators. The second phase of the research continues as a quantitative study based on the foregoing results gained by questionnaires. ]
Although vertigo is one of the most common complaints, intracranial malignant tumors rarely cause sudden asymmetry between the tone of the vestibular peripheries masquerading as a peripheral-like disorder. Here we report a case of simultaneous temporal bone infiltrating macro-metastasis and disseminated multi-organ micro-metastases presenting as acute unilateral vestibular syndrome, due to the reawakening of a primary gastric signet ring cell carcinoma. Purpose – Our objective was to identify those pathophysiological steps that may explain the complex process of tumor reawakening, dissemination. The possible causes of vestibular asymmetry were also traced. A 56-year-old male patient’s interdisciplinary medical data had been retrospectively analyzed. Original clinical and pathological results have been collected and thoroughly reevaluated, then new histological staining and immunohistochemistry methods have been added to the diagnostic pool. During the autopsy the cerebrum and cerebellum was edematous. The apex of the left petrous bone was infiltrated and destructed by a tumor mass of 2x2 cm in size. Histological reexamination of the original gastric resection specimen slides revealed focal submucosal tumorous infiltration with a vascular invasion. By immunohistochemistry mainly single infiltrating tumor cells were observed with Cytokeratin 7 and Vimentin positivity and partial loss of E-cadherin staining. The subsequent histological examination of necropsy tissue specimens confirmed the disseminated, multi-organ microscopic tumorous invasion. Discussion – It has been recently reported that the expression of Vimentin and the loss of E-cadherin is significantly associated with advanced stage, lymph node metastasis, vascular and neural invasion and undifferentiated type with p<0.05 significance. As our patient was middle aged and had no immune-deficiency, the promoting factor of the reawakening of the primary GC malignant disease after a 9-year-long period of dormancy remained undiscovered. The organ-specific tropism explained by the “seed and soil” theory was unexpected, due to rare occurrence of gastric cancer to metastasize in the meninges given that only a minority of these cells would be capable of crossing the blood brain barrier. Patients with past malignancies and new onset of neurological symptoms should alert the physician to central nervous system involvement, and the appropriate, targeted diagnostic and therapeutic work-up should be established immediately. Targeted staining with specific antibodies is recommended. Recent studies on cell lines indicate that metformin strongly inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition of gastric cancer cells. Therefore, further studies need to be performed on cases positive for epithelial-mesenchymal transition.
Clinical Neuroscience
Cognitive dysfunction (CD) is a common non-motor symptom of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Alexithymia is a still poorly understood neuropsychiatric feature of PD. Cognitive impairment (especially visuospatial dysfunction and executive dysfunction) and alexithymia share common pathology of neuroanatomical structures. We hypothesized that there must be a correlation between CD and alexithymia levels considering this relationship of neuroanatomy. Objective – The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between alexithymia and neurocognitive function in patients with PD. Thirty-five patients with PD were included in this study. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale–20 (TAS-20), Geriatric Depression Inventory (GDI) and a detailed neuropsychological evaluation were performed. Higher TAS-20 scores were negatively correlated with Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) similarities test score (r =-0.71, p value 0.02), clock drawing test (CDT) scores (r=-0.72, p=0.02) and verbal fluency (VF) (r=-0.77, p<0.01). Difficulty identifying feelings subscale score was negatively correlated with CDT scores (r=-0.74, p=0.02), VF scores (r=-0.66, p=0.04), visual memory immediate recall (r=-0.74, p=0.01). VF scores were also correlated with difficulty describing feelings (DDF) scores (r=-0.66, p=0.04). There was a reverse relationship between WAIS similarities and DDF scores (r=-0.70, p=0.02), and externally oriented-thinking (r=-0.77,p<0.01). Executive function Z score was correlated with the mean TAS-20 score (r=-62, p=0.03) and DDF subscale score (r=-0.70, p=0.01) Alexithymia was found to be associated with poorer performance on visuospatial and executive function test results. We also found that alexithymia was significantly correlated with depressive symptoms. Presence of alexithymia should therefore warn the clinicians for co-existing CD.
Hypertension and nephrology
[This consensus document is intended to provide guidance for the effective and efficient treatment of asymptomatic individuals with high uric acid levels and gout patients.]
Clinical Neuroscience
[Background – Dizziness is one of the most frequent complaints when a patient is searching for medical care and resolution. This can be a problematic presentation in the emergency department, both from a diagnostic and a management standpoint. Purpose – The aim of our study is to clarify what happens to patients after leaving the emergency department. Methods – 879 patients were examined at the Semmelweis University Emergency Department with vertigo and dizziness. We sent a questionnaire to these patients and we had 308 completed papers back (110 male, 198 female patients, mean age 61.8 ± 12.31 SD), which we further analyzed. Results – Based on the emergency department diagnosis we had the following results: central vestibular lesion (n = 71), dizziness or giddiness (n = 64) and BPPV (n = 51) were among the most frequent diagnosis. Clarification of the final post-examination diagnosis took several days (28.8%), and weeks (24.2%). It was also noticed that 24.02% of this population never received a proper diagnosis. Among the population only 80 patients (25.8%) got proper diagnosis of their complaints, which was supported by qualitative statistical analysis (Cohen Kappa test) result (κ = 0.560). Discussion – The correlation between our emergency department diagnosis and final diagnosis given to patients is low, a phenomenon that is also observable in other countries. Therefore, patient follow-up is an important issue, including the importance of neurotology and possibly neurological examination. Conclusion – Emergency diagnosis of vertigo is a great challenge, but despite of difficulties the targeted and quick case history and exact examination can evaluate the central or peripheral cause of the balance disorder. Therefore, to prevent declination of the quality of life the importance of further investigation is high.]
Clinical Neuroscience
[A growing body of evidence suggests that sleep plays an essential role in the consolidation of different memory systems, but less is known about the beneficial effect of sleep on relational memory processes and the recognition of emotional facial expressions, however, it is a fundamental cognitive skill in human everyday life. Thus, the study aims to investigate the effect of timing of learning and the role of sleep in relational memory processes. 84 young adults (average age: 22.36 (SD: 3.22), 21 male/63 female) participated in our study, divided into two groups: evening group and morning group indicating the time of learning. We used the face-name task to measure relational memory and facial expression recognition. There were two sessions for both groups: the immediate testing phase and the delayed retesting phase, separated by 24 hours. 84 young adults (average age: 22.36 (SD: 3.22), 21 male/63 female) participated in our study, divided into two groups: evening group and morning group indicating the time of learning. We used the face-name task to measure relational memory and facial expression recognition. There were two sessions for both groups: the immediate testing phase and the delayed retesting phase, separated by 24 hours. Our results suggest that the timing of learning and sleep plays an important role in the stabilizing process of memory representation to resist against forgetting.]
1.
2.
Clinical Neuroscience
Alexithymia is associated with cognitive impairment in patients with Parkinson’s disease3.
4.
5.
1.
Journal of Nursing Theory and Practice
[Examination of the Strength of Core- and Perineal Muscles in Case of Different Movements]2.
Journal of Nursing Theory and Practice
[Examination of Parental Treatment among Outgoing Ambulance Workers]3.
Journal of Nursing Theory and Practice
[BLS Quality Assessment – The Effectiveness of Telephone Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Instruction]4.
Journal of Nursing Theory and Practice
[The History of the Founding of the first State School of Nursing ]5.
COMMENTS
0 comments