Iraq and Afghanistan veterans’ experiences living with their parents after separation from the military

When military service members separate from the military, many return to their families of origin, living with their parents for a period of several weeks to years. While research with veterans and their spouses has documented the particular strain of this reintegration period on veterans and their partners, little research to date has examined veterans’ experiences living with their parents. The present study sought to fill this research gap by investigating veterans’ experiences living with their parents using qualitative, in-depth interviews with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in California. Overall, veterans appreciated the instrumental and emotional support their parents provided when they separated. However, in some cases, living with parents also produced conflict and strain. In situations where adult veteran children had difficulty with the transition to civilian life or returned with mental health problems, parents were often the first to identify these problems and to support their children in accessing appropriate care. We analyze these findings in light of family systems theory, identifying ways in which adult veteran children continue a process of differentiation while living with their parents and maintaining emotional connectedness. We suggest ways that clinicians can better support veterans and their parents through the reintegration period and recommend that programming for military families explicitly include parents of service members in addition to conjugal families

Bilateral compressive optic neuropathy secondary to tuberculum sella meningioma in pregnancy

A 37-year-old primigravida in her second trimester presented with bilateral painless progressive visual loss. Her vision was hand motion in both eyes. Both pupils were dilated with sluggish reaction to light. Both fundus appeared myopic with bilateral optic atrophy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed a suprasellar mass with optic chiasm compression and bilateral optic nerve atrophy. As the mass has compromised her vision, a semi-emergency craniotomy and excision of tumour was performed. Histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of low grade meningothelial meningioma. Both mother and foetus were well after the surgery. However, post-operatively her vision remained poor due to optic nerve atrophy

Intra-operative phacoemulsification conversion to extracapsular cataract extraction: risk factors and visual outcome

Phacoemulsification (PEA) is currently the procedure of choice for most cataract extraction. However, intra-operative complications may require the procedure to be converted to extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE). We have evaluated the indications for conversion and visual outcomes in cases converted from phacoemulsification to ECCE. A retrospective review was performed on 33 eyes in which phacoemulsification was initiated and then converted to ECCE. The main parameters evaluated were indications for conversion and visual outcomes at 3 months. Thirty-three cases out of 1448 operations were identified from January 2013 to February 2014.The incidence of PEA converted to ECCE was 2.2%. The indications for ECCE conversion were posterior capsular rupture (PCR) in twenty-two cases, combined capsulorhexis extension with PCR in three cases, capsulorhexis extension and zonular dialysis in two cases respectively. Combined zonular dialysis with PCR, corneal toxicity, Descemet’s tear and obscured edge of capsulorhexis had one case each. Twenty-six (78%) cases had gain in vision, one (3%) case had unchanged vision and six (18%) cases had worsening of vision. The incidence of complicated phacoemulsification surgery requiring intra-operative conversion to ECCE was low in our study (2.2%). Seventy-eight percent of cases achieved final VA of 6/12 or better. Therefore, early recognition of complications and timely intra-operative conversion of PEA to ECCE may result in good visual outcome

Patterns of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy among a multiracial population in a Malaysian hospital

Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) is a retinal disorder characterized by aneurismal polypoidal lesions in choroidal vasculature. PCV appears to preferentially affect pigmented individuals and is considerably high among Asians. Most reports on patterns of PCV around Asia are based on a homogenous race (e.g. Chinese, Japanese) and very few descriptions from a multiracial population like those seen in Malaysia. The present study aimed to describe the demographic features, clinical and investigative characteristics of PCV in a multiracial group at Universiti Kebangsaaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). Ninety one eyes of 86 PCV patients, comprising of Chinese (65.1%), Malays (31.4%), Indians (2.3%) and Eurasian (1.2%) were retrospectively reviewed. All underwent complete ophthalmic examination and investigations. Mean patient age was 70.4 years with a male preponderance (59.3%), and mostly unilateral presentation (94.1%). The logMAR mean presenting visual acuity was 0.78 ± 0.64. Polypoidal vascular lesions were located generally within the macula area (86.8%), manifesting mainly as submacular hemorrhage (59.3%). Interestingly a number of eyes (43.9%) had associated drusen. Optical coherence tomography largely demonstrated exudative changes (75.9%) and almost all patients (97.7%) had loss of external limiting membrane (ELM) and IS/OS interface. On indocyanine green angiography, majority of eyes had multiple polyps (82.4%) with ‘cluster’ (58.2%) being the commonest configuration. In conclusion, although the patterns of PCV in UKMMC were mainly similar to other Asian patients, a number of our patients had associated drusen. This indicates that PCV in our population could be a variant of neovascular age related macular degeneration and not solely idiopathic in nature

Nutrient and chemical contaminant levels in five marine fish species from Angola—The EAF-Nansen programme

publishedVersio

The pathogenic role of coronary microvascular dysfunction in the setting of other cardiac or systemic conditions.

Coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) plays a pathogenic role in cardiac and systemic conditions other than microvascular angina. In this review we provide an overview of the pathogenic role of CMD in the setting of diabetes mellitus, obesity, hypertensive pregnancy disorders, chronic inflammatory and autoimmune rheumatic disorders, chronic kidney disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and aortic valve stenosis. In these various conditions, CMD results from different structural, functional and/or dynamic alterations in the coronary microcirculation associated with the primary disease process. CMD is often detectable very early in the course of the primary disease, before clinical symptoms or signs of myocardial ischaemia are present, and it portrays an increased risk for cardiovascular events

Retinal redetachment after pneumatic retinopexy – the importance of case selection

Pneumatic retinopexy is known as one of the treatment options for a specific type of retinal detachment. It is done in an office setting and may be the most cost-effective means of retinal reattachment surgery. Location and size of the retinal break remain as the major criteria for a successful outcome. We describe a case that fulfilled all except one major criteria for pneumatic retinopexy and underwent multiple procedures but failed. Fluctuation in the resolution of the retinal detachment such as in this particular case suggested possibility of early treatment failure

Defining appropriateness in coach-athlete sexual relationships: The voice of coaches

The sporting culture, with omnipotent coaches, fierce competition for recognition and funding, and ‘win at all cost’ ethos, creates an environment conducive to sexual exploitation of athletes. Recent increased public awareness and the development of child protection policies in sport have led to the questioning of previously accepted coach-athlete relationships. This study is an exploratory investigation into male swimming coaches’ perceptions of appropriateness of coach-athlete sexual relationships. Sexual relationships with athletes under the age of 16 were unanimously considered totally inappropriate. With regard to sexual relationships with athletes above the age of consent for heterosexual sex, opinions ranged from “totally inappropriate” to “it’s a question of civil liberties.” These results are discussed in relation to how coaches have adapted their own behaviours in the face of public scrutiny but are still reluctant to restrict the rights of their fellow coaches

Sex differences in arterial hypertension.

There is strong evidence that sex chromosomes and sex hormones influence blood pressure (BP) regulation, distribution of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and co-morbidities differentially in females and males with essential arterial hypertension. The risk for CV disease increases at a lower BP level in females than in males, suggesting that sex-specific thresholds for diagnosis of hypertension may be reasonable. However, due to paucity of data, in particularly from specifically designed clinical trials, it is not yet known whether hypertension should be differently managed in females and males, including treatment goals and choice and dosages of antihypertensive drugs. Accordingly, this consensus document was conceived to provide a comprehensive overview of current knowledge on sex differences in essential hypertension including BP development over the life course, development of hypertension, pathophysiologic mechanisms regulating BP, interaction of BP with CV risk factors and co-morbidities, hypertension-mediated organ damage in the heart and the arteries, impact on incident CV disease, and differences in the effect of antihypertensive treatment. The consensus document also highlights areas where focused research is needed to advance sex-specific prevention and management of hypertension

Ocular syphilis: resurgence of an old disease in modern Malaysian society

Letter to the edito