Objective Experiments were designed to investigate the effect of Euro-Collins (EC) solution and University of Wisconsin (UW) solution on function of pulmonary arterial endothelium.Methods Third order canine pulmonary artery segments were preserved in cold (4℃) UW (group 1, n=8) or EC (group 2, n=9) solutions for 16 hours. The preserved (group 1 and 2) and control (group 3, n=7) pulmonary arterial segments with and without endothelium were studied in vitro in organ chambers to measure isometric tension.Results The endothelium-dependent relaxation to acetylcholine and adenosine diphosphate of group 1 and 3 were significantly better than those of group 2.Conclusions We concluded that endothelium-dependent relaxation of canine pulmonary arterial endothelium to receptor-dependent acetylcholine and adenosine diphosphate were impaired after preservation with Euro-Collins solution. However, endothelium-dependent relaxation of pulmonary segments were well maintained after preservation with University of Wisconsin solution.

Background: Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) is a surgical treatment for site of obstruction in the nasolacrimal duct system [1]. This surgery is performed in cases of congenital nasolacrimal obstruction, partial and complete occlusion of the nasolacrimal duct in adults, chronic tearing disorders, ineffective probing treatment and placement of a silicone tube in the nasolacrimal system [2,3]. the present findings indicate that preservation of lacrimal sac flaps with end-to-end anastomosis to the nasal mucosa using histoacryl has a positive impact on surgical outcome in patients undergoing endonasal endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy [4]. Histoacryl glue is one of the most commonly surgical materials used recently. The basis of our study is the lack of research on the use of this glue in the practice of oculoplastic and reconstructive surgery. Purpose: The purpose of this study to comparing outcomes of surgical methods of histoacryl glue and silicone tube during endoscopic endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy. Methods: Retrospective, case series study. The study included 83 patients who underwent endonasal endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy between January 2017 to June 2020. Whole case was divided into two groups. In group 1, an anastomosis was made during surgery by using histoacryl glue to the posterior wall of the lacrimal sac and the wall formed by the nasal mucosa [5]. In group 2, a silicone tube was placed in the nasolacrimal duct during endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy and the results were evaluated in the 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 12th months after surgery. Statistical calculations were performed using SPSS software. Results: The age of the whole cases was between 17 and 82 years. There were no significant difference among the age groups. In terms of gender, n=48 (78.7%) were female and n=13 (21.3%) were male, indicating that dacryocystitis was predominant in women. Study reports no significant difference in intraoperative and postoperative complication. The surgical success rate was significantly higher in histoacryl group 94.9%, than silicone tube group 79.5%. Recurrent cases n=2 (5.1%) in group 1 and n=9 (20.4%) in group 2 respectively. Conclusion Histoacryl glue is highly effective, commodity, inexpensive and easy to apply during endonasal endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy surgery.

Introduction: Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) is a surgical treatment for site of obstruction in the nasolacrimal duct system. This surgery is performed in cases of congenital nasolacrimal obstruction, partial and complete occlusion of the nasolacrimal duct in adults, chronic tearing disorders, ineffective probing treatment and placement of a silicone tube in the nasolacrimal system. the present findings indicate that preservation of lacrimal sac flaps with end-to-end anastomosis to the nasal mucosa using histoacryl has a positive impact on surgical outcome in patients undergoing endonasal endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy. Histoacryl glue is one of the most commonly surgical materials used recently. The basis of our study is the lack of research on the use of this glue in the practice of oculoplastic and reconstructive surgery. Purpose: To report the use of fibrin glue as an adjunctive procedure in endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (En-DCR) surgery and compare it to silicone tubing Material and Method: Patients with primary nasolacrimal duct obstruction were retrospectively reviewed for endo-DCR between January 2017 and December 2019. Group I patients applied fibrin glue and Group II used silicone tube insertion. The fibrin glue group received end-to-end anastomosis of the nasal mucosa and lacrimal sac using fibrin glue at the end of surgery. The demographics, recurrence, causes of failure, formation of scars, final ostium size and the success rate were compared. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Clinical Research Ethnics Committee and followed the Declaration of Helsinki. All statistical analysis was performed with SPSS version 24.0 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA), and a P value < .05 was considered statistically significant. Continuous variables were presented as mean ± standard deviation, while categorical data was represented as numbers and percentages. Independent t-tests were used to compare the differences in parametric variables. The Mann-Whitney U test was performed to compare the follow-up period. Pearson’s chi-squared and Fisher’s exact tests were used to compare categorical variables. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the risk factors associated with recurrence. Result: The age of the whole cases was between 17 and 82 years. There was no significant difference among the age groups. In terms of gender, n=48 (78.7%) were female and n=13 (21.3%) were male, indicating that dacryocystitis was predominant in women. Study reports no significant difference in intraoperative and postoperative complication. The surgical success rate was significantly higher in histoacryl group 94.9%, than silicone tube group 79.5%. Recurrent cases n=2 (5.1%) in group 1 and n=9 (20.4%) in group 2 respectively. Conclusion Fibrin glue improves the surgical outcome in patients undergoing Endo-DCR compared to commonly used silicone stenting by securing flaps apposition and maintaining the ostium opening.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) are evidenced-based treatments for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) who fail to respond to standard first-line therapies. However, although various TMS protocols have been proven to be clinically effective, the response rate varies across clinical applications due to the heterogeneity of real-world psychiatric comorbidities, such as generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, or substance use disorder, which are often observed in patients with MDD. Therefore, individualized treatment approaches are important to increase treatment response by assigning a given patient to the most optimal TMS treatment protocol based on his or her individual profile. This literature review summarizes different rTMS or TBS protocols that have been applied in researches investigating MDD patients with certain psychiatric comorbidities and discusses biomarkers that may be used to predict rTMS treatment response. Furthermore, we highlight the need for the validation of neuroimaging and electrophysiological biomarkers associated with rTMS treatment responses. Finally, we discuss on which directions future efforts should focus for developing the personalization of the treatment of depression with rTMS or iTBS.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) are evidenced-based treatments for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) who fail to respond to standard first-line therapies. However, although various TMS protocols have been proven to be clinically effective, the response rate varies across clinical applications due to the heterogeneity of real-world psychiatric comorbidities, such as generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, or substance use disorder, which are often observed in patients with MDD. Therefore, individualized treatment approaches are important to increase treatment response by assigning a given patient to the most optimal TMS treatment protocol based on his or her individual profile. This literature review summarizes different rTMS or TBS protocols that have been applied in researches investigating MDD patients with certain psychiatric comorbidities and discusses biomarkers that may be used to predict rTMS treatment response. Furthermore, we highlight the need for the validation of neuroimaging and electrophysiological biomarkers associated with rTMS treatment responses. Finally, we discuss on which directions future efforts should focus for developing the personalization of the treatment of depression with rTMS or iTBS.

BACKGROUNDAcupuncture has been shown to be effective in pain relief and anesthesia, and has been suggested for treating various kinds of functional disabilities in traditional Chinese medicine, including knee osteoarthritis (OA). The study aimed to investigate the immediate effects of acupuncture on gait patterns in patients with knee OA.

METHODSTwenty patients with bilateral medial knee OA were assigned evenly and randomly to a sham group and an experimental group. During the experiment, the experimental group underwent a 30-minute formula electro-acupuncture treatment while the sham group received a sham treatment. Before and after treatment, each subject was evaluated for their knee pain using visual analog scales (VAS) and then their performance of level walking using gait analysis. For all the obtained variables, the independent t-test was used for between-group comparisons, while paired t-test was used to investigate the before and after changes.

RESULTSAll the measured data before acupuncture treatment between the groups were not significantly different. The VAS scores were decreased significantly after acupuncture in both groups, and the mean change of the VAS values of the experiment group was 2 times greater than that of the sham group. After formula acupuncture stimulation, while no significant changes were found in all the gait variables in the sham group, the experimental group had significant increases in the gait speed, step length, as well as in several components of the joint angles and moments.

CONCLUSIONSThe results of the study suggest that significantly improved gait performance in the experimental group may be associated with pain relief after treatment, but the relatively small decrease of pain in the sham group was not enough to induce significant improvements in gait patterns. Gait analysis combined with the VAS can be useful for the evaluation of the effect of acupuncture treatment for patients with neuromusculoskeletal diseases and movement disorder.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Aged ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Female ; Gait ; physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Models, Biological ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome

Objective: Hypoactivity in the reward system among patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a well-known phenomenon. Whether the activity in the reward pathway is related to harm avoidance, such as in sensitivity to punishment, is unclear. Evidence regarding the potential difference between ADHD patients and controls in terms of this association is scarce. Methods: Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging was conducted on subjects performing the Iowa gambling test. Fourteen adults with ADHD and 14 controls were enrolled in the study. Results: Harm avoidance was found to be positively correlated with the activities of the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex and right insula in individuals with ADHD. A group difference was also confirmed. Conclusion Understanding the roles of harm avoidance and brain activation during risk tasks is important.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a major psychiatric disorder that is easily misdiagnosed. Patient adherence to a treatment regimen is of utmost importance for successful outcomes in BD. Several trials of antipsychotics suggested that depot antipsychotics, including long-acting first- and second-generation agents, are effective in preventing non-adherence, partial adherence, and in reducing relapse in BD. Various long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics are available, including fluphenazine decanoate, haloperidol decanoate, olanzapine pamoate, risperidone microspheres, paliperidone palmitate, and aripiprazole monohydrate. Due to the increasing number of BD patients receiving LAI antipsychotics, treatment guidelines have been developed. However, the clinical applicability of LAI antipsychotics remains a global cause for concern, particularly in Asian countries. Expert physicians from Taiwan participated in a consensus meeting, which was held to review key areas based on both current literature and clinical practice. The purpose of this meeting was to generate a practical and implementable set of recommendations for LAI antipsychotic use to treat BD; target patient groups, dosage, administration, and adverse effects were considered. Experts recommended using LAI antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia, rapid cycling BD, BD I, and bipolar-type schizoaffective disorder. LAI antipsychotic use was recommended in BD patients with the following characteristics: multiple episodes and low adherence; seldom yet serious episodes; low adherence potential per a physician's clinical judgment; preference for injectable agents over oral agents; and multiple oral agent users still experiencing residual symptoms.
Antipsychotic Agents* ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bipolar Disorder* ; Consensus* ; Fluphenazine ; Haloperidol ; Humans ; Judgment ; Microspheres ; Patient Compliance ; Psychotic Disorders ; Recurrence ; Risperidone ; Schizophrenia ; Taiwan ; Aripiprazole ; Paliperidone Palmitate

Objective: Patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) have impaired attention, inhibition control, and memory function. The aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2 ) gene has been associated with OUD and ALDH2 gene polymorphisms may affect aldehyde metabolism and cognitive function in other substance use disorder. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether ALDH2 genotypes have significant effects on neuropsychological functions in OUD patients undergoing methadone maintenance therapy (MMT). Methods: OUD patients undergoing MMT were investigated and followed-up for 12 weeks. ALDH2 gene polymorphisms were genotyped. Connors’ Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) were administered at baseline and after 12 weeks of MMT. Multivariate linear regressions and generalized estimating equations (GEEs) were used to examine the correlation between the ALDH2 genotypes and performance on the CPTs and WMS-R. Results: We enrolled 86 patients at baseline; 61 patients completed the end-of-study assessments. The GEE analysis showed that, after the 12 weeks of MMT, OUD patients with the ALDH2 *1/*2＋*2/*2 (ALDH2 inactive) genotypes had significantly higher commission error T-scores (p = 0.03), significantly lower hit reaction time T-scores (p = 0.04), and significantly lower WMS-R visual memory index scores (p = 0.03) than did patients with the ALDH2 1 */*1 (ALDH2 active) genotype. Conclusion OUD patients with the ALDH2 inactive genotypes performed worse in cognitive domains of attention, impulse control, and memory than did those with the ALDH2 active genotype. We conclude that the ALDH2 gene is important in OUD and is associated with neuropsychological performance after MMT.

Background/Aims: Despite the high efficacy of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), approximately 1–3% of hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients fail to achieve a sustained virological response. We conducted a nationwide study to investigate risk factors associated with DAA treatment failure. Machine-learning algorithms have been applied to discriminate subjects who may fail to respond to DAA therapy. Methods: We analyzed the Taiwan HCV Registry Program database to explore predictors of DAA failure in HCV patients. Fifty-five host and virological features were assessed using multivariate logistic regression, decision tree, random forest, eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and artificial neural network. The primary outcome was undetectable HCV RNA at 12 weeks after the end of treatment. Results: The training (n=23,955) and validation (n=10,346) datasets had similar baseline demographics, with an overall DAA failure rate of 1.6% (n=538). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, poor DAA adherence, and higher hemoglobin A1c were significantly associated with virological failure. XGBoost outperformed the other algorithms and logistic regression models, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 1.000 in the training dataset and 0.803 in the validation dataset. The top five predictors of treatment failure were HCV RNA, body mass index, α-fetoprotein, platelets, and FIB-4 index. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the XGBoost model (cutoff value=0.5) were 99.5%, 69.7%, 99.9%, 97.4%, and 99.5%, respectively, for the entire dataset. Conclusions Machine learning algorithms effectively provide risk stratification for DAA failure and additional information on the factors associated with DAA failure.