Exploring the quality of life and its related factors among the elderly

As the rapidly growing population of elderly people in the world that means they would be facing all challenges to their quality of life. As age increases, quality of life is often reported to decline. They are also at risk of mental illness, neurological disorder and more health problems affecting their quality of life. Depression is a common mental disorder among the elderly.  The objective of this study is to understand the relationship between depression and quality of life among the elderly in an Indonesian nursing home. This research use the descriptive correlational and cross-sectional design was applied. There were 114 elderly recruited by convenient sampling. The results of this study showed the mean age of the elderly was 71.2 at the time of data collection ranging from 65 to 76 years old. The variables associated with quality of life were age, gender, education, marital status, ethnicity, chronic disease, and depression status. Moreover, the study found that, as predictors, the variables that influenced the quality of life according to relevance were: age, depression status, and educational level. Age and depression status is recognized as significant predictors of the quality of life among the elderly in an Indonesian nursing home. The result of the study would serve as references to the future and related promotion for the same field of the stud

The Lived Experiences of Fibromyalgia in Taiwanese Women

Fibromyalgia is characterized by chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain and associated symptoms. It affects people physically, mentally, and socially. The aim of this study was to explore the life experience of women with fibromyalgia in order to gain knowledge which can contribute to increased quality of healthcare. In-depth interviews were used to collect information from nineteen Taiwanese women who were diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Data were analyzed using the content analysis approach. Data analysis revealed four categories: life torture by physical suffering, torment of the mind, treatment seeking, and facing an incurable and unknown illness alone. Each category was described in terms of its properties and subcategories. This article provides information to fibromyalgia patients who suffer from severe chronic pain and related discomforts. Recommendations focus on helping women with fibromyalgia achieve or maintain integrity especially in the conservative oriental people. It is beneficial for both health care professionals and patients

Prediction model for high glycated hemoglobin concentration among ethnic Chinese in Taiwan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study aimed to construct a prediction model to identify subjects with high glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels by incorporating anthropometric, lifestyle, clinical, and biochemical information in a large cross-sectional ethnic Chinese population in Taiwan from a health checkup center.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The prediction model was derived from multivariate logistic regression, and we evaluated the performance of the model in identifying the cases with high HbA1c levels (> = 7.0%). In total 17,773 participants (age > = 30 years) were recruited and 323 participants (1.8%) had high HbA1c levels. The study population was divided randomly into two parts, with 80% as the derivation data and 20% as the validation data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The point-based clinical model, including age (maximal 8 points), sex (1 point), family history (3 points), body mass index (2 points), waist circumference (4 points), and systolic blood pressure (3 points) reached an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.723 (95% confidence interval, 0.677- 0.769) in the validation data. Adding biochemical measures such as triglycerides and HDL cholesterol improved the prediction power (AUC, 0.770 [0.723 - 0.817], <it>P </it>= < 0.001 compared with the clinical model). A cutoff point of 7 had a sensitivity of 0.76 to 0.96 and a specificity of 0.39 to 0.63 for the prediction model.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A prediction model was constructed for the prevalent risk of high HbA1c, which could be useful in identifying high risk subjects for diabetes among ethnic Chinese in Taiwan.</p

Multiple Bony Injuries on Bone Scan in a Case of Unsuspected Child Abuse

This case is described of an eleven-month-old infant with lower limbs swelling and the left elbow skeletal malformation following a fall. The radionuclide bone scan was performed to exclude bone infection or congenital skeletal anomaly. The images unexpectedly showed multiple increased radioactive foci throughout the whole body. It was a strong probability of child abuse. All lesions are readily apparent on the following plain film radiographs and MRI

Optimizing Human Synovial Fluid Preparation for Two-Dimensional Gel Electrophoresis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Proteome analysis is frequently applied in identifying the proteins or biomarkers in knee synovial fluids (SF) that are associated with osteoarthritis and other arthritic disorders. The 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) is the technique of choice in these studies. Disease biomarkers usually appear in low concentrations and may be masked by high abundant proteins. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to find the most suitable sample preparation method that can optimize the expression of proteins on 2-DE gels that can be used to develop a reference proteome picture for non-osteoarthritic knee synovial fluid samples. Proteome pictures obtained from osteoarthritic knee synovial fluids can then be compared with the reference proteome pictures obtained in this study to assist us in identifying the disease biomarkers more correctly.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The proteomic tool of 2-DE with immobilized pH gradients was applied in this study. A total of 12 2-DE gel images were constructed from SF samples that were free of osteoarthritis. In these samples, 3 were not treated with any sample preparation methods, 3 were treated with acetone, 3 were treated with 2-DE Clean-Up Kit, and 3 were treated with the combination of acetone and 2-D Clean-Up Kit prior to 2-DE analysis. Gel images were analyzed using the PDQuest Basic 8.0.1 Analytical software. Protein spots that were of interest were excised from the gels and sent for identification by mass spectrometry. Total SF total protein concentration was calculated to be 21.98 ± 0.86 mg/mL. The untreated SF samples were detected to have 456 ± 33 protein spots on 2-DE gel images. Acetone treated SF samples were detected to have 320 ± 28 protein spots, 2-D Clean-Up Kit treated SF samples were detected to have 413 ± 31 protein spots, and the combined treatment method of acetone and 2-D Clean-Up Kit was detected to have 278 ± 26 protein spots 2-DE gel images. SF samples treated with 2-D Clean-Up Kit revealed clearer presentation of the isoforms and increased intensities of the less abundant proteins of haptoglobin, apolipoprotein A-IV, prostaglandin-D synthase, alpha-1B-glycoprotein, and alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein on 2-DE gel images as compared with untreated SF samples and SF samples treated with acetone.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The acetone precipitation method and the combined treatment effect of acetone and 2-DE Clean-Up Kit are not preferred in preparing SF samples for 2-DE analysis as both protein intensities and numbers decrease significantly. On the other hand, 2-D Clean-Up Kit treated SF samples revealed clearer isoforms and higher intensities for the less abundant proteins of haptoglobin, apolipoprotein A-IV, prostaglandin-D synthase, alpha-1B-glycoprotein, and alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein on 2-DE gels. As a result, it is recommended that SF samples should be treated with protein clean up products such as 2-D Clean-Up Kit first before conducting proteomic research in searching for the relevant biomarkers associated with knee osteoarthritis.</p

Indigenous Case of Disseminated Histoplasmosis, Taiwan

We report the first indigenous case of disseminated histoplasmosis in Taiwan diagnosed by histopathology of bone marrow, microbiologic morphology, and PCR assay of the isolated fungus. This case suggests that histoplasmosis should be 1 of the differential diagnoses of opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients in Taiwan

Plasma fatty acids and the risk of metabolic syndrome in ethnic Chinese adults in Taiwan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Evidence of predictive power of various fatty acids on the risk of metabolic syndrome was scanty. We evaluated the role of various fatty acids, including saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, transfat, n-6 fatty acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), for the risk of the metabolic syndrome in Taiwan.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A nested case-control study based on 1000 cases of metabolic syndrome and 1:1 matched control subjects. For saturated fat, monounsaturated fat and transfat, the higher the concentration the higher the risk for metabolic syndrome: participants in the highest quintile had a 2.22-fold (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.66 to 2.97) higher risk of metabolic syndrome. In addition, the participants in higher EPA quintiles were less likely to have the risk of metabolic syndrome (adjusted risk, 0.46 [0.34 to 0.61] for the fifth quintile). Participants in the highest risk group (low EPA and high transfat) had a 2.36-fold higher risk of metabolic syndrome (95% CI, 1.38 to 4.03), compared with those in the lowest risk group (high EPA and low transfat). For prediction power, the area under ROC curves increased from 0.926 in the baseline model to 0.928 after adding fatty acids. The net reclassification improvement for metabolic syndrome risk was substantial for saturated fat (2.1%, <it>P </it>= 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Plasma fatty acid components improved the prediction of the metabolic syndrome risk in Taiwan.</p

Structural and cognitive deficits in chronic carbon monoxide intoxication: a voxel-based morphometry study

BACKGROUND: Patients with carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication may develop ongoing neurological and psychiatric symptoms that ebb and flow, a condition often called delayed encephalopathy (DE). The association between morphologic changes in the brain and neuropsychological deficits in DE is poorly understood. METHODS: Magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological tests were conducted on 11 CO patients with DE, 11 patients without DE, and 15 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy subjects. Differences in gray matter volume (GMV) between the subgroups were assessed and further correlated with diminished cognitive functioning. RESULTS: As a group, the patients had lower regional GMV compared to controls in the following regions: basal ganglia, left claustrum, right amygdala, left hippocampus, parietal lobes, and left frontal lobe. The reduced GMV in the bilateral basal ganglia, left post-central gyrus, and left hippocampus correlated with decreased perceptual organization and processing speed function. Those CO patients characterized by DE patients had a lower GMV in the left anterior cingulate and right amygdala, as well as lower levels of cognitive function, than the non-DE patients. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CO intoxication in the chronic stage showed a worse cognitive and morphologic outcome, especially those with DE. This study provides additional evidence of gray matter structural abnormalities in the pathophysiology of DE in chronic CO intoxicated patients