Instruments/ Questionnaire Tools Used for Assessing Quality of Life Among Oral Cancer Affected Patients

QOL is largely affected by lot of overlapping facts and domains. Though enormous health care research is going all over the world to improve the survival as well as improve the quality of life in all the cancers of human body. Human being s individual perception for quality of life is one of the most important parameters to enhance the overall wellbeing of cancer patients. During the last decades, this idea of QOL has developed enormously and so are the various available treatment options in health care research to assess the individual’s understanding of well-being

Chondroblastome para vertébrale et iliaque : une observation rare: Para vertebral and iliac chondroblastoma: a rare case report

Chondroblastoma, a rare benign cartilage tumor, most often found in long bones, rarely in flat bones. The authors report a case of para vertebral and right iliac chondroblastoma in a 31-year-old patient with tumefaction in the right lumbar fossa associated with bilateral varicocele causing gonadal atrophy. Excision of tumor was performed. The evolution was marked by healing of the wound in first intention. Le chondroblastome, tumeur cartilagineuse bénigne rare, qui se localise préférentiellement au niveau de l’os. Les auteurs rapportent ici, un cas de chondroblastome de localisation inhabituelle (para vertébrale et iliaque droit) associée à une varicocèle bilatérale déterminant une atrophie gonadique chez un patient de 31 ans. Une exérèse de la tumeur a été réalisée. L’évolution a été marquée par une cicatrisation de la plaie en première intention

Antiphospholipid syndrome, complicated by small bowel necrosis – case report

Catedra chirurgie generală, USMF „N.Testemițanu”, Chișinău, Moldova, Al XI-lea Congres al Asociației Chirurgilor „Nicolae Anestiadi” din Republica Moldova și cea de-a XXXIII-a Reuniune a Chirurgilor din Moldova „Iacomi-Răzeșu” 27-30 septembrie 2011Introducere: Sindromul antifosfolipidic (SAFL) reprezintă o dereglare autoimună a coagularii, care conduce la tromboza intravasculara și deseori este asociată cu complicațiile sarcinii. Foarte puține cazuri de ischemie mezenterică clinic evidentă în cadrul SAFL sunt raportate pînă în prezent. Material și metode: În Clinica chirurgie generală cu dureri abdominale severe a fost internată o pacientă în virsta de 29 de ani, în perioada de lăuzie - 22 zile după întreruperea spontană a sarcinii. Laparoscopia diagnostică și laparotomia ulterioară au evidențiat prezența necrozei unei anse a intestinului subțire, situate aproximativ la un metru de la ligamentul Treitz. S-a efectuat rezecția ansei afectate cu anastomoza termino-terminală. Evoluția postoperatorie a fost favorabilă. Rezultate: Diagnosticul SAFL a fost stabilit și confirmat în baza istoricului bolii (4 sarcini întrerupte), analizelor de laborator (trombocitopenie), reacției imunoenzimatice (nivelul elevat de anticorpi anti-cardiolipinici și anti-fosfolipidici), CT-arteriografiei abdominale (tromboza venelor porta, lienala și mezenterica superioară), examenului histologic al piesei operatorii (tromboza venoasă și arteriala a mezoului ansei intestinale rezecate). Pacientei i s-a administrat tratament anticoagulant profilactic: aspirina și warfarina, menținîndu-se nivelul INR-ului: 2,0-3,0. Concluzii: La pacienții cu tromboza mezenterială inexplicabilă este importantă examinarea nivelului de anticorpi anti-cardiolipinici și anti-fosfolipidici pentru stabilirea diagnosticului de SAFL și administrarea tratamentului anticoagulant de prevenire a complicațiilor.Background: Antiphospholipid syndrome (APLS) is an autoimmune disorder of coagulation, which lead to intravascular thrombosis and often is associated with the complications of pregnancy. Cases of clinically evident mesenteric ischemia within APLS are very rare reported. Material and methods: In Department of General Surgery with severe abdominal pain was admitted a woman aged 29 years, 22 days after spontaneous discontinuation of pregnancy. Diagnostic laparoscopy and subsequent laparotomy revealed the presence of necrotic small bowel loop, located approximately at one meter from the Treitz ligament. Resection of affected loop with termino-terminal anastomosis was performed. Postoperative evolution was uneventful. Results: The diagnosis of APLS was established and confirmed on the basis of history (4 pregnancies interrupted), laboratory tests (thrombocytopenia), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elevated levels of anti-cardiolipin and anti-phospholipid antibodies), abdominal CT-arteriography (thrombosis of portal, splenic and superior mesenteric veins), histological examination of the operative specimen (venous and arterial thrombosis of resected bowel loop mesentery). To the patient was prescribed a prophylactic anticoagulant treatment: aspirin and warfarin, maintaining the INR: 2.0-3.0. Conclusions: Study of the anti-cardiolipin and anti-phospholipid antibodies level is important in patients with unexplained mesenteric thrombosis in order to diagnose the APLS and to administrate the anticoagulant therapy to prevent complications

Critical illness polyneuropathy, myopathy and neuronal biomarkers in COVID-19 patients: A prospective study

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to characterize the electrophysiological features and plasma biomarkers of critical illness polyneuropathy (CIN) and myopathy (CIM) in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with intensive care unit acquired weakness (ICUAW). METHODS: An observational ICU cohort study including adult patients admitted to the ICU at Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden, from March 13th to June 8th 2020. We compared the clinical, electrophysiological and plasma biomarker data between COVID-19 patients who developed CIN/CIM and those who did not. Electrophysiological characteristics were also compared between COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 ICU patients. RESULTS: 111 COVID-19 patients were included, 11 of whom developed CIN/CIM. Patients with CIN/CIM had more severe illness; longer ICU stay, more thromboembolic events and were more frequently treated with invasive ventilation for longer than 2 weeks. In particular CIN was more frequent among COVID-19 patients with ICUAW (50%) compared with a non-COVID-19 cohort (0%, p = 0.008). Neurofilament light chain (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAp) levels were higher in the CIN/CIM group compared with those that did not develop CIN/CIM (both p = 0.001) and correlated with nerve amplitudes. CONCLUSIONS: CIN/CIM was more prevalent among COVID-19 ICU patients with severe illness. SIGNIFICANCE: COVID-19 patients who later developed CIN/CIM had significantly higher NfL and GFAp in the early phase of ICU care, suggesting their potential as predictive biomarkers for CIN/CIM

Pliocene-Pleistocene marine cyclothems, Wanganui Basin, New Zealand: a lithostratigraphic framework

The Rangitikei River valley between Mangaweka and Vinegar Hill and the surrounding Ohingaiti region in eastern Wanganui Basin contains a late Pliocene to early Pleistocene (c. 2.6-1.7 Ma), c. 1100 m thick, southward-dipping (4-9deg.), marine cyclothemic succession. Twenty sedimentary cycles occur within the succession, each of which contains coarse-grained (siliciclastic sandstone and coquina) and fine-grained (siliciclastic siltstone) units. Nineteen of the cycles are assigned to the Rangitikei Group (new). Six new formations are defined within the Rangitikei Group, and their distribution in the Ohingaiti region is represented in a new geologic map. The new formations are named: Mangarere, Tikapu, Makohine, Orangipongo, Mangaonoho, and Vinegar Hill. Each formation comprises one or more cyclothems and includes a previously described and named distinctive basal horizon. Discrete sandstones, siltstones, and coquinas within formations are assigned member status and correspond to systems tracts in sequence stratigraphic nomenclature. The members provide the link between the new formational lithostratigraphy and the sequence stratigraphy of the Rangitikei Group. Base of cycle coquina members accumulated during episodes of sediment starvation associated with stratigraphic condensation on an open marine shelf during sea-level transgressions. Siltstone members accumulated in mid-shelf environments (50-100 m water depth) during sea-level highstands, whereas the overlying sandstone members are ascribed to inner shelf and shoreface environments (0-50 m water depth) and accumulated during falling eustatic sea-level conditions. Repetitive changes in water depth of 50-100 m magnitude are consistent with a glacio-eustatic origin for the cyclothems, which correspond to an interval of Earth history when successive glaciations in the Northern Hemisphere are known to have occurred. Moreover, the chronology of the Rangitikei River section indicates that Rangitikei Group cyclothems accumulated during short duration, 41 ka cycles in continental ice volume attributed to the dominance of the Milankovitch obliquity orbital parameter. The Ohingaiti region has simple postdepositional structure. The late Pliocene formations dip generally to the SSW between 4deg. and 9deg.. Discernible discordances of c. 1deg. between successively younger formations are attributed to synsedimentary tilting of the shelf concomitant with migration of the tectonic hingeline southward into the basin. The outcrop distribution of the Rangitikei Group is strongly influenced by this regional tilt and also by three major northeast-southwest oriented, high-angle reverse faults (Rauoterangi, Pakihikura, and Rangitikei Faults)

Utilité de la biopsie testiculaire dans le bilan de l’infertilité des couples: Usefulness of testicular biopsy in the checkup of infertility couple

Context and objectives. Testicular biopsy is a relevant tool for the management of male’s infertility.However data in Subsaharan Africa are sparce in this field. Histological aspects aspects in case of azoospermia (AZOO) or oligoasthenoterato-spermia (OATS), were described, to sort out main causes of the disturbance. Methods. A retrospective analysis of of patients’ records has been undertaken, covering the period of 2010 to 2015 in 2 hopitals of Kinhasa. Studied parameters included clinical, biological, and morphological data. Histological features were then compared with the results of spermogramme, FSH, and testicular biometry. Results.Out of 60 files, only 47(68/%) met the inclusion criteria. A total of 47 patients was unled out of 60 records. Fibrosis was the main histological pattern observed (70%). Non obstructive AZOO (87%) was predominant compared to obstructive form (12, 7%). All normal or intermediate testicular histology was associated with a FSH level of ≤10.5 IU / mL and normal or hypotrophic testicular appearance on ultrasound. In contrast, testicular atrophy and FSH ≥14UI / mL were significantly associated with fibrosis. Surgical treatment was applied in 15% AZOO and obstructive OATS, 15% AZOO AMP and non-obstructive OATS and insemination with donor sperm or adoption (70%). Conclusion. The study shows histologycally a link between azoospermia and fibrosis as well as non-obstructive abnormalities.Azoospermia in this study is characterized histologically by fibrosis and non-obstructive abnormalities. Systematic testicular biopsy should be recommanded in patients with AZOO or OATS, when the level of FSH is ≥10.5 IU / mL, except in case of testicular atrophy. Contexte et objectifs: En dépit de l’importance de la biopsie testiculaire, très peu de centres d’Andrologie recours à ce moyen dans la prise charge de l’infertilité du couple en Afrique sub-saharienne. La présente étude avait pour objectifs de décrire les aspects histologiques testiculaires en cas d’azoospermie (AZOO) ou d’oligoasthénotératospermie (OATS), et de rechercher les associations éventuelles entre la FSH, la biométrie testiculaire et les aspects histologiques de la biopsie testiculaire (BT). Méthodes. Nous avons colligé tous les dossiers des patients présentant AZOO ou OATS, suivi dans deux hôpitaux de Kinshasa (Cliniques Universitaires de Kinshasa et Clinique Ngaliema), entre 2010 et 2015 pour infertilité. Les paramètres d’intérêt incluaient les données clinique (examen physique), biologique (spermogramme, spermocytogramme, FSH), et morphologiques (échographie et biopsie testiculaire). Les résultats histologiques ont été regroupés en 3 classes: normale, intermédiaire, fibrose. Les aspects histologiques ont été comparés au spermogramme, au taux de FSH, et à la biométrie testiculaire. Résultats. Durant la période de l’étude, 60 patients ont été suivis, mais 47 (AZOO, 68%) seulement ont satisfait aux critères de sélection. La biopsie testiculaire a révélé un aspect de fibrose (70%) et intermédiaire dans 17%. Comparées aux anomalies obstructives (12,7%), les non-obstructives étaient plus fréquentes (87%). Tous les aspects histologiques testiculaires normaux ou intermédiaires étaient associés à un taux de FSH de ≤10,5 UI/ml et un aspect testiculaire normal ou hypotrophique à l’échographie. En revanche, l’atrophie testiculaire et un taux de FSH ≥14 UI/ml semblaient être associés à la fibrose (p > 0,05). De ce qui précède, l’attitude thérapeutique plausible est la chirurgie pour 15% d’AZOO et d’OATS obstructives, AMP 15% d’AZOO et d’OATS non obstructives et l’insémination avec sperme de donneur ou à l’adoption (70%). Conclusion. L’azoospermie dans cette étude est caractérisée histologiquement par une fibrose et des anomalies non-obstructives. Exceptée en cas d’atrophie testiculaire, la biopsie testiculaire devra être systématique chez les patients avec AZOO ou OATS surtout si FSH ≥10,5UI/ml, en vue d’un choix thérapeutique judicieux

Evaluarea eficacităţii şi toleranței preparatului Abactal (Firma Lek Pharmaceuticals DD) în tratamentul infecţiilor tractului urinar

Summary UTI is one major problem in the medicine. In treatment of UTI multiple therapeutic schemes are folowed. 32 patients with acute and cronic UTI were treated using antibacterial monoterapy with Abactal (LEK Pharmaceuticals dd). Positive rezults were found in 28 patients. While no change from the prescristing condition was found in 4 (12%). Tolerance was found to be good in 84% patients. Adverse effect were found in 16% patients. This antibactherial preparation has opened a new perspective in the treatment of patients with urinary tract infection

Tratamentul hipertrofiei benigne a prostatei cu preparatul Dalfaz (experienţă personală)

Summary Selective α1-adrenoblokers are trought promising in curent conservative treatment of benign prostatic hiperplasia (BPH). The trial of Alfuzosin (Dalfaz) included 26 BPH patients with iritative and obstructive simptoms. The Dalfaz has a favorable effect on BPH: it improved quality of live, releived obstructive symptoms, reduced amount of residual urine

Hyperexpansion of GAA repeats affects post-initiation steps of FXN transcription in Friedreich’s ataxia

Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA) is caused by biallelic expansion of GAA repeats leading to the transcriptional silencing of the frataxin (FXN) gene. The exact molecular mechanism of inhibition of FXN expression is unclear. Herein, we analyze the effects of hyperexpanded GAA repeats on transcription status and chromatin modifications proximal and distal to the GAA repeats. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation and quantitative PCR we detected significant changes in the chromatin landscape in FRDA cells relative to control cells downstream of the promoter, especially in the vicinity of the GAA tract. In this region, hyperexpanded GAAs induced a particular constellation of histone modifications typically associated with heterochromatin-like structures. Similar epigenetic changes were observed in GFP reporter construct containing 560 GAA repeats. Furthermore, we observed similar levels of FXN pre-mRNA at a region upstream of hyperexpanded GAA repeats in FRDA and control cells, indicating similar efficiency of transcription initiation. We also demonstrated that histone modifications associated with hyperexpanded GAA repeats are independent of initiation and progression of transcription. Our data provide strong evidence that FXN deficiency in FRDA patients results from a block of transition from initiation to a productive elongation of FXN transcription due to heterochromatin-like structures formed in the proximity of the hyperexpanded GAAs