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  • Patrick Allison posted an update 7 hours, 10 minutes ago

    Venous congestion can be quantified by central venous pressure (CVP) and its monitoring is crucial to understand and follow the hemodynamic status of patients with cardio-respiratory diseases. The standard technique for CVP measurement is invasive, requiring the insertion of a catheter into a jugular vein, with potential complications. On the other hand, the current non-invasive methods, mainly based on ultrasounds, remain operator-dependent and are unsuitable for use in the home environment. In this paper, we will introduce a novel, non-invasive device for the hospital, office and home assessment of CVP.

    After describing the measurement concept, we will report a preliminary experimental study enrolling 5 voluntary healthy subjects to evaluate the VenCoM measurements’ repeatability, and the system’s capability in measuring small elicited venous pressure variations (2 mmHg), as well as an induced venous hypertension within a pathological range (12÷20 mmHg).

    The experimental measurements showed a repeatabPH) that can be extended to pneumonia COVID-19 patients even after recovery. The device needs to be tested further on a large sample size of both healthy and pathological subjects, to systematically validate its reliability and impact in clinical setting.

    Eczema or atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronically relapsing dermatosis characterized by pruritus and a significant impact on the quality of life.

    The authors undertook a structured search of peer-reviewed research articles from PubMed and Google Scholar. Recent and up-to-date studies relevant to the topic were included.

    This report overviews current treatment and experimental drug for AD. Topical agents including topical phosphodiesterase E4 (PDE4) inhibitors such as crisaborole are efficacious in the treatment of AD with few side effects. Monoclonal antibodies such as dupilumab given subcutaneously are efficacious for more severe disease. Systemic treatment can ameliorate symptoms in severe and recalcitrant AD. New systemic treatment includes several traditional herbal formulations that have undergone clinical trials using modern research methodology to determine their efficacy and safety. AD is associated with many complicating psychosocial issues. Often suboptimal efficacy is due to unrealistic expectations and poor compliance making treatment difficult in spite of effective treatment and efforts in drug discovery. Randomized trials have shown that novel topical and subcutaneous medications are safe and efficacious. Regarding herbs, a methodology for the investigation of herbal medications is often flawed and scientific evidence is lacking. Experimental drugs include various biologics, PDE4 and JAK inhibitors in topical, oral, subcutaneous or intravenous forms are in various phases of trials.

    Many novel medications demonstrate efficacy for AD. Experimental drugs include various biologics, PDE4 and JAK inhibitors are in various phases of trials.

    Many novel medications demonstrate efficacy for AD. Experimental drugs include various biologics, PDE4 and JAK inhibitors are in various phases of trials.

    Dystonia type 6 (DYT6) is an autosomal dominant monogenic movement disorder that often involves craniocervical and laryngeal regions, but can in rare circumstance present as trunk dystonia or severe scoliosis. Deep brain stimulation of the globus pallidus internus (GPi-DBS) has yielded favorable results in the treatment of DYT6 patients. This report describes the case of a 14-year-old male adolescent with DYT6 dystonia and severe scoliosis who was successfully treated by GPi DBS.

    The diagnosis of DYT6 dystonia was made after excluding other etiologies and was confirmed by next-generation sequencing. The patient underwent bilateral GPi-DBS implantation surgery under general anesthesia.

    The patient’s Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale score was 24 before surgery and decreased to 13.5 at 3 months, 3 at 6 months, and 2 at 12 months after bilateral GPi-DBS, corresponding to a 91% improvement from baseline to 12 months post-surgery. The patient’s scoliosis improved significantly within 6 months after DBagnosis including dystonia should be considered. GPi-DBS in patients with DYT6 dystonia can prevent deformity.

    ARVC is a rare genetic-related disease characterized by fibrous fat replacement in the ventricular myocardium, caused by mutations in genes encoding for the desmosomal proteins, such as the desmoglein-2 gene (DSG2). It is reported in the literature that other genetic factors may play a role in disease penetrance. Herein, we report a Chinese proband with ARVC, which was probably caused by DSG2 p.Val149Ile mutation as genetic background when carrying heterozygous PRRT2 p.Arg217ProfsTer8 mutation.

    A 17-year-old male with a history of paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia (PKD) presented to the hospital for syncope induced by ventricular tachycardia. selleck kinase inhibitor According to relevant clinical data and the diagnostic criteria of ARVC, a precise positive diagnosis of ARVC was finally made. Gene testing revealed that the patient carried a DSG2 heterozygous missense mutation (NM_001943 exon5 c.445G>A, p.Val149Ile) as well as frameshift mutation of PRRT2 (NM_001256442 exon2 p. Arg217Profs Ter8).

    This is the first time to report a Chinese proband with ARVC and a history of PKD carrying both DSG2 p. val149ile mutation and PRRT2 p. Arg217ProfsTer8 mutation, which can provide a new direction for gene screening of patients with ARVC and further supplements for its diagnostic criteria.

    This is the first time to report a Chinese proband with ARVC and a history of PKD carrying both DSG2 p. val149ile mutation and PRRT2 p. Arg217ProfsTer8 mutation, which can provide a new direction for gene screening of patients with ARVC and further supplements for its diagnostic criteria.Epidural abscess after obstetric epidural anesthesia occurs infrequently and may result in severe morbidity. We report a clinical case of an epidural abscess in Vietnam. A 31-year-old woman who was in labor was admitted to our hospital and given epidural anesthesia indicated to relieve labor pain. After three hours of anesthesia, cesarean section was indicated for the patient due to signs of fetal failure, the epidural catheter was then used to relieve pain for the first 48 hours postoperatively. On post-partum day 5 she presented with high fever of 39-40°C, fatigue, stimulation, dyspnea, and lumbar pain. The patient then suffered from sepsis and lower limb paralysis. She was diagnosed with epidural abscess based on the MRI of the lumbar spine. The abscess was treated by surgery for draining and appropriate antibiotics with a satisfactory outcome as she completely recovered her motor function and stable health status.