Corneal Thickness Response after Anesthetic Eye Drops: Our Own Results and Meta-Analysis

We aimed to test if there are different patterns in the central corneal thickness (CCT) response after instilling oxybuprocaine anesthetic eye drops and also to determine whether there is a significant change in the CCT. CCT was measured in 60 eyes of 60 healthy subjects before and during the hour after oxybuprocaine 0.4% eye drops were instilled. In addition, a systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out in order to answer the following PICO (patient, intervention, comparison, and outcome) question: What effect do anesthetic eye drops have on CCT values? We found no significant changes in the mean CCT values during the hour’s observation (ANOVA, p=0.209), and the meta-analysis revealed no statistically significant changes in the CCT after anesthesia (Q-Value = 1.111; p value = 1.000; I2 = 0.000; Tau2 = 0.000; Stderr = 0.020). However, we found three CCT response patterns 5 minutes after anesthesia: Pattern 1, subjects with no significant changes in their CCT values (n=14, 46.7%); Pattern 2, subjects with significant CCT increases (n=11, 36.7%); and Pattern 3, subjects with significant CCT decreases (n=5, 16.7%). In sum, there are no significant changes in the CCT after anesthesia, but there are three different CCT response patterns 5 minutes after anesthesia

The Validity and Reliability of the FANTASTIC Questionnaire for Nutritional and Lifestyle Studies in University Students

The FANTASTIC questionnaire is a scientific instrument that can be used by health professionals for quickly and effectively measuring the quality of life and lifestyle of people. It is a simple questionnaire that measures different dimensions including nutritional status, but the possibility of using it as a resource for studies in the nutritional field (regardless of its correlation with this) has never been considered, nor has it been used for studies in university populations. The aim was to validate the FANTASTIC questionnaire to report on the participant’s lifestyle in a Spanish university population by using a cross-sectional study. A sample of 501 participants was obtained. The study was approved by the Ethics Research Committee of Catholic University of Valencia, and written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Sociodemographic, lifestyle variables, habitual diet, and nutrition-related lifestyle were collected individually. Participants also completed the self-administered FANTASTIC questionnaire. The reliability analysis of the FANTASTIC questionnaire revealed a Cronbach’s Alpha statistic result of 0.797. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) value was 0.786, with a significant Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity (p = 0.000). This shows that the FANTASTIC questionnaire has good internal consistency and good construct validity. A retest was performed in four weeks’ time, showing excellent intraclass correlation values. We consider the applicability of the FANTASTIC questionnaire for nutritional studies in Spanish university students to be appropriate, and most students have high scores in the nutritional aspects of the questionnaire, showing correct diet implementation and good cooking skills

The Decreasing Prevalence of the Arcuate Foramen

[Background]: The arcuate foramen (AF), or ponticulus posticus, is an anatomic variant of the first cervical vertebra that consists of a complete or partial osseous bridge over the groove for the vertebral artery and extends from the posterior aspect of the superior articular facet to the superior lateral border of the posterior arch. The AF has been associated with clinical symptoms, such as headache, migraine, neck pain, shoulder pain, arm pain, and vertebral artery dissection. We aimed to test whether the prevalence of the AF has decreased in the modern human population over the past centuries as a result of reduction in inbreeding and endogamy.[Methods]: Possible reduction in the prevalence of the AF was assessed by comparing a 17th century rural sample (n = 108) with a 20th century modern urban sample (n = 192).[Results]: When comparing the 17th and the 20th century samples, we found a statistically significant (P = 0.003) reduction of 14.5% (95% confidence interval 4.5–24.5) in the prevalence of the AF

Association between ribs shape and pulmonary function in patients with Osteogenesis Imperfecta

The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that ribs shape changes in patients with OI are more relevant for respiratory function than thoracic spine shape. We used 3D geometric morphometrics to quantify rib cage morphology in OI patients and controls, and to investigate its relationship with forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), expressed as absolute value and as percentage of predicted value (% pred). Regression analyses on the full sample showed a significant relation between rib shape and FEV1, FVC and FVC % pred whereas thoracic spine shape was not related to any parameter. Subsequent regression analyses on OI patients confirmed significant relations between dynamic lung volumes and rib shape changes. Lower FVC and FEV1 values are identified in OI patients that present more horizontally aligned ribs, a greater antero-posterior depth due to extreme transverse curve at rib angles and a strong spine invagination, greater asymmetry, and a vertically short, thoraco-lumbar spine, which is relatively straight in at levels 1–8 and shows a marked kyphosis in the thoraco-lumbar transition. Our research seems to support that ribs shape is more relevant for ventilator mechanics in OI patients than the spine shape.This project was funded by grants of the Fundacion Eresa (grant number: BF14_005), the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (grant number: CGL2015-63648-P), the Care4 Brittlebones Foundation (grant number: OTR2016-15543INVES), and the University of Valencia (grant number: UV-INV_AE18-773873)