8 research outputs found

    A Preliminary Examination of Effect of Massage and Aroma Oil Massage in Foot Care Nursing

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    AbstractFoot care nursing is attracting attention as a medically effective treatment for the foot lesions caused by such problems as diabetes or aging. In this study, we experimentally examined how aromatherapy affects human brain functions during foot care nursing using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). 11 subjects received both foot care nursing massages and aroma oil massages. We analyzed the changes in their oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentrations based on their brain activity by t-tests, and the t-test results showed significant differences between two kinds of massages in both the somatosensory and prefrontal association areas. The oxy-Hb concentration in both massages with and without aroma oil also showed a tendency to decrease with time. Our questionnaire results showed that our subjects felt more comfortable and relaxed while receiving foot care nursing with aroma oils. These results suggest that aroma oil massages are an effective foot care nursing tool and that foot care nursing is a medically effective treatment

    A prospective multicenter study on genome wide associations to ranibizumab treatment outcome for age-related macular degeneration

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    We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on the outcome of anti-VEGF treatment for exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in a prospective cohort. Four hundred and sixty-one treatment-naïve AMD patients were recruited at 13 clinical centers and all patients were treated with 3 monthly injections of ranibizumab followed by pro re nata regimen treatment for one year. Genomic DNA was collected from all patients for a 2-stage GWAS on achieving dry macula after the initial treatment, the requirement for an additional treatment, and visual acuity changes during the 12-month observation period. In addition, we evaluated 9 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 8 previously reported AMD-related genes for their associations with treatment outcome. The discovery stage with 256 patients evaluated 8, 480, 849 SNPs, but no SNPs showed genome-wide level significance in association with treatment outcomes. Although SNPs with P-values of <5 × 10[−6] were evaluated in replication samples of 205 patients, no SNP was significantly associated with treatment outcomes. Among AMD-susceptibility genes, rs10490924 in ARMS2/HTRA1 was significantly associated with additional treatment requirement in the discovery stage (P = 0.0023), and pooled analysis with the replication stage further confirmed this association (P = 0.0013). ARMS2/HTRA1 polymorphism might be able to predict the frequency of injection after initial ranibizumab treatment
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