Spontaneous spinal epidural haematoma - an unusual cause of spinal cord compression

Spinal epidural haematoma is uncommon. Spontaneous spinal epidural haematoma of unknown aetiology is a rarity. This report is of two patients with spontaneous spinal epidural haematoma with different outcomes and discussion of the clinical picture and possible aetiology of this rare condition.published_or_final_versio

Biomarkers in acute coronary syndromes and their role in diabetic patients

Diabetic patients with acute coronary syndromes are at high risk for cardiovascular complications but risk stratification in these patients remains challenging. Regularly, diabetic patients have a less typical clinical presentation, which could lead to delayed diagnosis and subsequent delayed initiation of treatment. Since diabetic patients derive particular benefit from aggressive anti-platelet therapy, early diagnostic and therapeutic risk stratification of these patients is of critical importance to improve their adverse outcome. Although the electrocardiogram remains a pivotal diagnostic tool in the evaluation of patients suspected of having an acute coronary syndrome, only significant STsegment changes provide reasonable prognostic information. Therefore, repeated assessment of circulating protein biomarkers represents a valuable diagnostic tool for improving efficacy and safety of decision-making in these patients. The combined use of biomarkers reflecting distinct pathophysiological aspects, such as myocardial necrosis, vascular inflammation, oxidative stress and neurohumoral activation, may significantly improve triage of patients with chest pain. These tools may identify those patients that are at particularly high risk for short-term and/or long-term cardiovascular events. Eventually, tailored medical and interventional treatment of diabetic patients should help to prevent these cardiac events in a cost-effective manner

Optical studies of transparent ferroelectric strontium-barium niobate/silica nanocomposite

Author name used in this publication: C. L. MakAuthor name used in this publication: K. H. Wong2003-2004 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Optical studies of ZnS:Mn films grown by pulsed laser deposition

Author name used in this publication: C. L. MakAuthor name used in this publication: K. H. Wong2002-2003 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Breast reconstruction with transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous (TRAM) flap in young women with breast cancer

Since its introduction in 1982, the transverse rectus nbdominis musculocutaneous (TRAM) flop has become the standard for autogenous breast reconstruction. However, it has serious potential complications. In this article, the 10 TRAM flaps performed at Princess Margaret Hospital from December 1993 to September 1994 for young women with breast carcinoma were evaluated to assess the safety and complications of this technique. Majority of the patients were satisfied with the cosmetic outcome.published_or_final_versio

Photoluminescence of transparent strontium–barium–niobate-doped silica nanocomposites

Author name used in this publication: C. L. MakAuthor name used in this publication: K. H. Wong2001-2002 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Gastro-intestinal stromal tumours in Hong Kong

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Pain-related beliefs among Chinese patients with chronic pain: The construct and concurrent predictive validity of the Chinese version of the survey of pain attitudes-14 (ChSOPA-14)

Context: Pain beliefs as indexed by the Survey of Pain Attitudes (SOPA) have been consistently shown to predict pain adjustment outcomes in Western populations. However, its utility in non-Western populations is unclear. Objectives: We evaluated the construct and predictive validity of the Chinese version of the 14-item SOPA (ChSOPA-14) in a sample of Chinese patients with chronic pain. Methods: A total of 208 Chinese patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain completed the ChSOPA-14, the Chronic Pain Grade questionnaire, the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale, and measures of sociodemographic characteristics. Results: Except Medical Cure, all ChSOPA-14 scales were significantly correlated with validity criterion measures (all P < 0.05) in expected directions. The present Chinese sample scored the highest on the Medical Cure scale (mean = 2.98, standard deviation [SD] = 1.05) but the lowest on the Disability scale (mean = 1.75, SD = 1.67). Results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that the ChSOPA-14 scales predicted concurrent depression (F(7,177) = 14.51, P < 0.001) and pain disability (F(7,180) = 8.77, P < 0.001). Pain Control (stdβ [standardized beta coefficient] = -0.13; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -3.41, -0.13; P < 0.05) and Emotion (stdβ = 29; 95% CI: 1.76, 5.02; P < 0.001) emerged as significant independent predictors of concurrent depression whereas Disability (stdβ = 0.19; 95% CI: 1.33, 7.88; P < 0.01), Emotion (stdβ = 16; 95% CI: 0.08, 7.59; P < 0.05), and Solicitude (stdβ = -0.14; 95% CI: -7.05, -0.04; P < 0.05) significantly associated with concurrent disability. Conclusion: The findings offer preliminary evidence for the construct and concurrent predictive validity of the ChSOPA-14. This makes available a suitable instrument for chronic pain in the Chinese population and will facilitate future cross-cultural research on pain beliefs. © 2011 U.S. Cancer Pain Relief Committee Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.postprin

Sensory conduction parameters in assessing the severity of carpal tunnel syndrome

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Analyzing and Quantifying the Gain-of-Function Enhancement of IP3 Receptor Gating by Familial Alzheimer's Disease-Causing Mutants in Presenilins

Familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD)-causing mutant presenilins (PS) interact with inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptor (IP3R) Ca2+ release channels resulting in enhanced IP3R channel gating in an amyloid beta (Aβ) production-independent manner. This gain-of-function enhancement of IP3R activity is considered to be the main reason behind the upregulation of intracellular Ca2+ signaling in the presence of optimal and suboptimal stimuli and spontaneous Ca2+ signals observed in cells expressing mutant PS. In this paper, we employed computational modeling of single IP3R channel activity records obtained under optimal Ca2+ and multiple IP3 concentrations to gain deeper insights into the enhancement of IP3R function. We found that in addition to the high occupancy of the high-activity (H) mode and the low occupancy of the low-activity (L) mode, IP3R in FAD-causing mutant PS-expressing cells exhibits significantly longer mean life-time for the H mode and shorter life-time for the L mode, leading to shorter mean close-time and hence high open probability of the channel in comparison to IP3R in cells expressing wild-type PS. The model is then used to extrapolate the behavior of the channel to a wide range of IP3 and Ca2+ concentrations and quantify the sensitivity of IP3R to its two ligands. We show that the gain-of-function enhancement is sensitive to both IP3 and Ca2+ and that very small amount of IP3 is required to stimulate IP3R channels in the presence of FAD-causing mutant PS to the same level of activity as channels in control cells stimulated by significantly higher IP3 concentrations. We further demonstrate with simulations that the relatively longer time spent by IP3R in the H mode leads to the observed higher frequency of local Ca2+ signals, which can account for the more frequent global Ca2+ signals observed, while the enhanced activity of the channel at extremely low ligand concentrations will lead to spontaneous Ca2+ signals in cells expressing FAD-causing mutant PS.published_or_final_versio