Activity

To compare the advanced glycation end products (AGEs) levels in follicular fluid according to the different ovarian responses of women who underwent controlled ovarian stimulation due to unexplained infertility and to examine the relationship between these levels and pregnancy outcomes.

Sixty-three women who underwent fresh IVF/ICSI cycles with GNRH antagonist protocol were divided into 3 groups according to the number of retrieved oocytes as suboptimal (4-9 oocytes), optimal (10-15 oocytes) and high (>15 oocytes) responders. AGEs levels in follicular fluid were measured by ELISA method.

AGEs levels were 6.81 ± 2.20 µg/ml, 5.30 ± 2.01 and 6.44 ± 1.43 µg/ml in suboptimal, optimal and high response group, respectively. AGEs level was significantly higher in suboptimal response group than in optimal response group. The cutoff level of 6.19 µg/ml had a sensitivity of 59.3% and a specificity of 66.7% in distinguishing the suboptimal response group from the optimal response group. However, there were no statistically significant difference between AGEs levels and clinical pregnancy and live birth rates.

Increased AGEs level in follicular fluid may be associated with decreased ovarian response during controlled ovarian stimulation in unexplained infertility case, however, it does not provide information about pregnancy outcomes.

Increased AGEs level in follicular fluid may be associated with decreased ovarian response during controlled ovarian stimulation in unexplained infertility case, however, it does not provide information about pregnancy outcomes.

The present study aimed to validate the Persian version of the Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS-P) for stroke patients.

The current study was conducted in two phases (1) translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the FOIS into Persian and (2) validation of the FOIS-P. Phase 1 included forward translation, synthesis, back-ward translation, expert panel, and pretesting. To validate the FOIS-P, inter-rater reliability, cross-validity, and sensitivity to change of the scale were investigated. To evaluate the inter-rater reliability of the FOIS-P, two speech-language pathologists, who were blind to the study aims and procedure, applied the FOIS-P to assess the oral intake of 60 stroke survivors. The cross-validity was assessed by investigating the correlation between the FOIS scores and the Video Fluoroscopy Swallowing Study (VFSS). Also, we applied the FOIS-P on 60 patients with stroke at three different times to investigate the sensitivity to change.

Inter-rater reliability of the FOIS-P was excellent according to Cohen’s Kappa calculation (

 = 0.89,

<.001). Investigation of cross-validity showed that there were significant correlations between the FOIS scores and presence of dysphagia, presence of aspiration, and severity of dysphagia (

<.001). The changes of the FOIS-P scores over follow-ups revealed that the FOIS-P was sensitive to the patient’s oral intake changes.

The FOIS-P is a valid and reliable tool for assessing oral intake in stroke survivors with dysphagia. Hence, the FOIS-P may be suitable for clinical and research in the field of stroke.

The FOIS-P is a valid and reliable tool for assessing oral intake in stroke survivors with dysphagia. Hence, the FOIS-P may be suitable for clinical and research in the field of stroke.Background Transthyretin amyloid polyneuropathy (ATTR-PN) is a fatal disease associated with substantial burden of illness. Three therapies are approved by the European Medicines Agency for the management of this rare disease. The aim of this study was to compare the total annual treatment specific cost per-patient associated with ATTR-PN in Spain.Methods An Excel-based patient burden and cost estimator tool was developed to itemize direct and indirect costs related to treatment with inotersen, patisiran, and tafamidis in the context of ATTR-PN. The product labels and feedback from five Spanish ATTR-PN experts were used to inform resource use and cost inputs.Results Marked differences in costs were observed between the three therapies. The need for patisiran- and inotersen-treated patients to visit hospitals for pre-treatment, administration, and monitoring was associated with increased patient burden and costs compared to those treated with tafamidis. Drug acquisition costs per-patient per-year were 291,076€ (inotersen), 427,250€ (patisiran) and 129,737€ (tafamidis) and accounted for the majority of total costs. Overall, the total annual per-patient costs were lowest for patients treated with tafamidis (137,954€), followed by inotersen (308,358€), and patisiran (458,771€).Conclusions Treating patients with tafamidis leads to substantially lower costs and patient burden than with inotersen or patisiran.The identification of the human papillomavirus (HPV) as the causative agent of multiple cancers allowed for the development of vaccines and immunization strategies to prevent cancers caused by HPV infection. NVP-CGM097 MDM2 inhibitor The public health ramifications of reduction of HPV disease burden are momentous in scope. Vaccine hesitancy has impacted widespread vaccination, but strategies have been identified to combat vaccine safety and efficacy misinformation and promote immunization.Introduction Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is the most well-known condition of genetic obesity. Over the past 20 years, advances have been achieved in the diagnosis and treatment of PWS with a significant improvement in prognosis.Areas covered This review focuses on the benefits of multidisciplinary approach in children and adolescents with PWS. In particular, the neonatologist and geneticist play a key role in early diagnosis and the clinical follow-up of the PWS patient must be guaranteed by a team including pediatric endocrinologist, psychologist, nutritionist/dietician, neurologist/neuropsychiatrist, sleep specialist, ears, nose and throat specialist (ENT), lung specialist, dentist, orthopedist and ophthalmologist and, eventually, gastroenterologist. We searched PubMed and critically summarized what has been reported in the last 10 years on PWS.Expert opinion The multidisciplinary care in association with an early diagnosis and GH treatment postpones overweight development and decreases prevalence of obesity in individuals with PWS.