Changing pattern of hysterectomies for benign conditions

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Temporal lobe resection for intractable epilepsy: review of 11 cases

OBJECTIVE. To review the management of medically intractable epilepsy by performing temporal lobe resection. DESIGN. Retrospective study. SETTING. University teaching hospital, Hong Kong. PATIENTS. Eleven patients: seven women and four men (mean age, 28 years; range, 19-49 years) who underwent temporal lobe resection for intractable epilepsy from 1994 through 1998. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES. Preoperative and operative aspects of treatment, postoperative complications, mortality, and seizure control before and after surgery. RESULTS. All but one patient had long-standing medically intractable temporal lobe epilepsy; the duration between the onset of seizure and surgery ranged from 12 to 27 years (mean, 17.2 years). A total of 12 resections were performed without any mortalities or major postoperative complications. After surgery, two patients became seizure-free without the need for antiepileptic medication; six patients were seizure-free but required medication; and two patients showed >90% of improvement in seizure control, whereas one patient showed between 50% and 90% of improvement. Nine (81%) of the 11 patients reported significant improvement in their social life and performance of daily activities. Two (18%) patients, including one with improved seizure control, reported no improvement in their performance of daily functions. CONCLUSIONS. Temporal lobe resection can produce significant improvements in patients who have medically intractable epilepsy. The risks of surgery are relatively small and justifiable.published_or_final_versio

香港的選擇性墮胎: 合法與否?

There is legal uncertainty as to whether selective foeticide is authorised under section 47A of the Offences Against the Person Ordinance (1967). Medical and legal issues surrounding a case of selective foeticide in a triplet pregnancy are reported.published_or_final_versio

Inositol, neural tube closure and the prevention of neural tube defects

Susceptibility to neural tube defects (NTDs), such as anencephaly and spina bifida is influenced by genetic and environmental factors including maternal nutrition. Maternal periconceptional supplementation with folic acid significantly reduces the risk of an NTD-affected pregnancy, but does not prevent all NTDs, and "folic acid non-responsive" NTDs continue to occur. Similarly, among mouse models of NTDs, some are responsive to folic acid but others are not. Among nutritional factors, inositol deficiency causes cranial NTDs in mice while supplemental inositol prevents spinal and cranial NTDs in the curly tail (Grhl3 hypomorph) mouse, rodent models of hyperglycemia or induced diabetes, and in a folate-deficiency induced NTD model. NTDs also occur in mice lacking expression of certain inositol kinases. Inositol-containing phospholipids (phosphoinositides) and soluble inositol phosphates mediate a range of functions, including intracellular signaling, interaction with cytoskeletal proteins, and regulation of membrane identity in trafficking and cell division. Myo-inositol has been trialed in humans for a range of conditions and appears safe for use in human pregnancy. In pilot studies in Italy and the United Kingdom, women took inositol together with folic acid preconceptionally, after one or more previous NTD-affected pregnancies. In nonrandomized cohorts and a randomized double-blind study in the United Kingdom, no recurrent NTDs were observed among 52 pregnancies reported to date. Larger-scale fully powered trials are needed to determine whether supplementation with inositol and folic acid would more effectively prevent NTDs than folic acid alone. Birth Defects Research (Part A), 2016. © 2016 The Authors Birth Defects Research Part A: Clinical and Molecular Teratology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Modified β-lactamases and uses thereof

US7323303; US7323303 B2; US7323303B2; US7,323,303; US7,323,303 B2; 7323303; Application No. 10/401,867Inventor name used in this publication: Thomas Yun-Chung LeungInventor name used in this publication: Pak-Ho ChanUSVersion of Recor

Tissue-Specific Accumulation of Triphenyltin Compounds in Selected Marine Demersal Fishes of Hong Kong

Human ImpactsPoster presentation: P-84Applications of organotin-based antifouling paints in hulls of sea-going vessels have introduced large amount of these compounds, in particular tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT), into the ocean since the 1960s. These endocrine disrupting compounds have threatened a wide range of marine organisms, including fishes and marine mammals. In spite of the global prohibition of the use of organotins in antifouling paints by the International Maritime Organization in September 2008, there are no restrictions on their production and usage in Mainland China and Hong Kong and thus high concentrations of organotins, especially TPT, are still detected in marine fishes and ...postprin

Estimation of the gray level variations in soft and hard peri-implant tissue from X-ray images

In the treatment and assessment of periodontal disease periapical films are taken at regular intervals. The films are compared around the region of the implant to monitor the changes that have taken place. A computer-assisted method to automate this process is presented here. To compare two images, a pair of X-ray images are superimposed on top of each other. The images are normalized and transformed to obtain the best fit. These images are subtracted and the difference in pixel values are used as a basis for analysis. A method for improving the alignment accuracy and contrast compensation is highlighted.published_or_final_versio

Three-dimensional ultrasonography of conjoined twins

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Prenatal diagnosis of thalassemia

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Single nucleotide polymorphisms of complement component 5 and periodontitis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Polymorphisms of host defence genes might increase one's risks for periodontitis. This study investigated whether tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the gene encoding complement component 5 (C5) are associated with periodontitis in a Hong Kong Chinese population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eleven tagging SNPs of 229 patients with at least moderate periodontitis and 207 control subjects without periodontitis were genotyped using an i-plexGOLD MassARRAY mass-spectrometry system. RESULTS: Genotype AG of SNP rs17611 was more prevalent in the group of periodontitis patients than in the controls (54.6% vs. 41.7%, p = 0.007). The haplotype CGCA of the haplotype block consisting of rs1035029, rs17611, rs25681 and rs992670 was significantly associated with periodontitis in a dominant model (p = 0.001). The SNP rs17611 showed high linkage disequilibrium with rs1035029, rs25681 and rs992670. Smoking was also significantly associated with periodontitis (p = 0.006). CONCLUSION: The tagging SNP rs17611 of the C5 gene and smoking may be associated with periodontitis among the Hong Kong Chinese population.postprin