Purpose: This study was done to investigate factors related to quality of life of patients with failed back surgery syndrome. Methods: One hundred and eighty four patients were recruited from a hospital pain clinic. Data were collected from March 12 to April 9, 2018 using structured questionnaires which included questions about quality of life, hope, and family support. Data analysis was done with descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple regression analysis with SPSS version 25.0. Results: The factors related to quality of life were hope, family support, and frequency of pain. These three factors accounted for 53.1% of the total variance in quality of life. Conclusion In order to increase quality of life of patients with failed back surgery syndrome, it is necessary to design intervention programs that effectively manage hope, family support, and frequency of pain.

We attempted to identify parasite DNA in the biliary stones of humans via PCR and DNA sequencing. Genomic DNA was isolated from each of 15 common bile duct (CBD) stones and 5 gallbladder (GB) stones. The patients who had the CBD stones suffered from cholangitis, and the patients with GB stones showed acute cholecystitis, respectively. The 28S and 18S rDNA genes were amplified successfully from 3 and/or 1 common bile duct stone samples, and then cloned and sequenced. The 28S and 18S rDNA sequences were highly conserved among isolates. Identity of the obtained 28S D1 rDNA with that of Clonorchis sinensis was higher than 97.6%, and identity of the 18S rDNA with that of other Ascarididae was 97.9%. Almost no intra-specific variations were detected in the 28S and 18S rDNA with the exception of a few nucleotide variations, i.e., substitution and deletion. These findings suggest that C. sinensis and Ascaris lumbricoides may be related with the biliary stone formation and development.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Animals ; Ascaridida/genetics/isolation & purification ; Ascaris lumbricoides/genetics/isolation & purification ; Base Sequence ; Clonorchis sinensis/genetics/isolation & purification ; Common Bile Duct/*parasitology ; DNA, Helminth/*genetics ; DNA, Ribosomal/genetics ; Face/parasitology ; Female ; Gallbladder/parasitology ; Gallstones/*parasitology ; Helminths/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Polymerase Chain Reaction/*methods ; RNA, Ribosomal, 18S/genetics ; RNA, Ribosomal, 28S/genetics ; Sequence Alignment

Juxtaductal coarctation is usually distal to the origin of the left subclavian artery, occasionally the orifice of the subclavian artery is involved in the coarctation and partially obstructed. An anomalous origin of the right subclavian artery from the descending aorta below the coarcted segment is also occasionally encountered. Reversed vertebral artery flow to a subclavian artery arising at or below a coarctation may produce the subclavian steal syndrome. Rarely both subclavian arteries arise beyond the coarctation. These abnormal subclavian arteries are important in clinical diagnosis and treatment. We report a case of Turner syndrome with coarctation, which present as juxtaductal type and the left subclavian artery from the descending aorta below the coarcted segment with reversed vertebral artery flow to a subclavian artery producing the subclavian steal syndrome. Resecton of coarctation segment and end-to-end anastomosis was successfully performed after transfer of left subclavian artery to distal segment of descending aorta.
Aorta, Thoracic* ; Aortic Coarctation ; Diagnosis ; Subclavian Artery* ; Subclavian Steal Syndrome* ; Turner Syndrome* ; Vertebral Artery

Objective To explore the differentiated diagnostic value of the morphological changes of follicular dendritic cell (FDC)meshwork between different subtype of lymphoma.Methods CD21 was stained by immunohistochemistry (IHC) method,FDC meshwork pattern was studied in 5 6 cases of various lymphomas(including 8 cases of diffuse large B cell lym-phoma,2 cases of burkitts lymphoma,6 cases of small lymphocytic lymphoma,6 cases of plasmacytoma,3 cases of MALT lymphoma,6 cases of peripheral T cell lymphoma,3 cases of anaplastic large cell lymphoma,8 cases of NK/T cell lympho-ma,4 cases of follicular lymphoma,3 cases of mantle cell lymphoma,3 cases of AITL,2 cases of FDC sarcoma).Results FDC meshwork in the morphological changes of various subtypes of lymphoma could be classified into four patterns:①FDC form a disappeared and disintegrated meshwork,most of the lymphoma FDC meshwork fully or partially destroyed,including diffuse large B cell lymphoma,burkitt lymphoma,small lymphocytic lymphoma,plasmacytoma,peripheral T cell lymphoma, anaplastic large cell lymphoma,NK/T cell lymphoma;②FDC meshtwork existence,even hyperplasia,including follicular lymphoma,mantle cell lymphoma,MALT lymphoma;③FDC meshtwork proliferation,disorder and deformation,such as AI-TL;④Full expression subtype:such as FDC sarcoma.Conclusion The morphologic pattern of the FDC meshwork in lym-phomas of follicular origin was differs according to the lymphoma subtypes,and it has important clinical value in lymphoma differential diagnostic.

PURPOSE: Febrile seizure affects 2 to 5% of children, but 30 to 40% of the children who already had febrile seizure experience another febrile seizure. We researched to define a high risk group of recurrent febrile seizures through investigating several risk factors. METHODS: We evaluated 342 patients who were admitted to our hospital or treated in the emergency room for their first febrile seizure from March, 1995 to August, 2001. We assessed various risk factors, such as age, the type of seizure, body temperature, serum sodium concentration, sex, neurologic abnormalities, and family history of febrile seizure or epilepsy. RESULTS: Age at the first febrile seizure(< or =18 months) and family history of febrile seizure were significant risk factors for recurrence of febrile seizure. The study showed that 21.9% of the children who had none of these risk factors, 36.4% of the children who had one, and 57.1% of the children who had both factors had recurrent febrile seizures. Thus, the recurrence rates clearly increase as the number of these factors increase. CONCLUSION: Two major risk factors for recurrent febrile seizures were identified:early onset(< or =18 months) and family history of febrile seizure. The risk of recurrent febrile seizures increased with the number of these risk factors increased. Consequently, children with both risk factors were considered to belong to a high risk group of recurrent febrile seizures.
Body Temperature ; Child ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Epilepsy ; Humans ; Recurrence ; Risk Factors* ; Seizures ; Seizures, Febrile* ; Sodium

PURPOSE: This study was launched to classify subjects of the CSF examination and improve early diagnosis of meningitis and its treatment in children who have had a first febrile seizure. METHODS: From March 1995 to September 2003, children aged 3 months to 5 years who had had treatment for febrile seizure were analyzed as to their age at first seizure, type of seizure, CSF examination, and prevalence of meningitis. RESULTS:The largest age group distribution among the 780 children was 356(45.6%) children who were under 18 months. One hundred ninteen(15.3%) patients received the CSF examination, and out of those 68(19.1%) were less than 18 months old. Twenty five(3.2%) children were diagnosed with meningitis; those less than 18 months old were 15(4.2%). Two(0.2%) were diagnosed as bacterial meningitis. Out of 780 patients 599(76.8%) were simple febrile seizure patients. Out of 32(5.3%) who received the CSF examination, nine were diagnosed as meningitis. In complex febrile seizure, 86(52.1 %) out of 165(21.2%) received CSF examinations and 16(9.7%) of those were diagnosed as meningitis. Thus, there was a higher prevalence of meningitis in children presenting complex febrile seizure. CONCLUSION: To diagnose meningitis with the CSF examination in the first febrile seizure, the patient's general condition, such as clinical symptoms and types of seizure, are more important than the ages of the patients. We suggest that experienced physicians should be concerned with doing an early diagnosis of meningitis and thus reduce the number of CSF examinations of children with febrile seizures.
Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Child ; Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Infant ; Meningitis ; Meningitis, Bacterial ; Prevalence ; Seizures ; Seizures, Febrile*

Telomerase activity is usually detected in most tumor tissues but not in normal tissues. Recently, there is increasing evidence that telomerase activity is associated with cell proliferation without malignancy, whereas there is little information about telomerase activity and its relationship with cell proliferation in chronic hyperproliferative skin diseases. Thus, we studied telomerase activity in skins from 10 patients with psoriasis and compared telomerase activity with the expression of Ki-67, a proliferation marker, using immunohistochemical staining. The effect of retinoic acid on the telomerase activity in HaCaT cells was also evaluated. Telomerase activity was detected in 7 (70%) of 10 lesional skins of psoriasis and none of the nonlesional skin. Telomerase activity in lesional skin was significantly associated with Ki-67 labelling index. Retinoic acid treatment on HaCaT cells inhibited telomerase activity, which correlated with inhibition of cell proliferation by the agent. The results of our study represent another example that shows telomerase activity correlates with cellular proliferation. Further studies on the regulation of the telomerase are needed to understand the cellular factors involved in controlling telomerase activity.
Cell Division/drug effects ; Cell Line ; Enzyme Inhibitors/*pharmacology ; Human ; Ki-67 Antigen/*analysis ; Psoriasis/*enzymology ; Skin/*enzymology ; Telomerase/antagonists & inhibitors/*metabolism ; Tretinoin/*pharmacology

Tools for assessing methodological quality or risk of bias in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized studies (NRS) were reviewed. The van Tulder scale and Cochrane's assessment of risk of bias are the two most useful methodological quality evaluation tools for RCTs. Cochrane's tool includes sequence generation, allocation of sequence concealment, blinding, incomplete outcome data, selective outcome reporting, and other potential sources of bias. The Cochrane Collaboration Group recommends the Downs and Black instrument and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for evaluating the quality of NRS. In conclusion, this study offers useful information to physicians about tools for assessing the quality of evidence in clinical guidelines. Further research is needed to provide an essential core for evidence-based decision making regarding levels and/or grades of recommendations.
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Cooperative Behavior ; Decision Making

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most-common cause of neurodegenerative dementia, and it is characterized by abnormal amyloid and tau accumulation, which indicates neurodegeneration. AD has mostly been diagnosed clinically. However, ligand-specific positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, such as amyloid PET, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers are needed to accurately diagnose AD, since they supplement the shortcomings of clinical diagnoses. Using biomarkers that represent the pathology of AD is essential (particularly when disease-modifying treatment is available) to identify the corresponding pathology of targeted therapy and for monitoring the treatment response. Although imaging and CSF biomarkers are useful, their widespread use is restricted by their high cost and the discomfort during the lumbar puncture, respectively. Recent advances in AD blood biomarkers shed light on their future use for clinical purposes. The amyloid β (Aβ)42/Aβ40 ratio and the concentrations of phosphorylated tau at threonine 181 and at threonine 217, and of neurofilament light in the blood were found to represent the pathology of Aβ, tau, and neurodegeneration in the brain when using automatic electrochemiluminescence technologies, single-molecule arrays, immunoprecipitation coupled with mass spectrometry, etc. These blood biomarkers are imminently expected to be incorporated into clinical practice to predict, diagnose, and determine the stage of AD. In this review we focus on advancements in the measurement technologies for blood biomarkers and the promising biomarkers that are approaching clinical application.We also discuss the current limitations, the needed further investigations, and the perspectives on their use.

OBJECTIVE: High-molecular-weight hydroxyethyl starch (HES) compromises blood coagulation more than does low-molecular-weight HES. We compared the effects of low- and high-molecular-weight HES for the treatment of vasospasm and investigated the dose relationship with each other. METHODS: Retrospectively, in a series of consecutive 102 patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), 35 patients developed clinical symptoms of vasospasm of these fourteen patients were treated with low-molecularweight HES for volume expansion while the other 21 received high-molecular-weight HES as continuous intravenous infusion. Prothrombin time (PT), partial thromboplastin time (PTT), fibrinogen level, and platelet count were all measured prior to initiation, during treatment and after termination of therapy for symptomatic vasospasm. The total dose of HES ranged from 5 L to 14 L and median infusion duration was 10 days. RESULTS: A more pronounced PTT prolongation was observed in high-molecular-weight HES group compared with low-molecular-weight HES group. No other coagulation parameters were altered. Dosage (=duration) shows a positive correlation with PTT. Clinically, significant bleeding episodes were noted in four patients who received high-molecular-weight HES. CONCLUSION: Coagulopathy was developed in direct proportion to molecular weight of starch and dosages. We propose the extreme caution in the administration of HES solution for the vasospasm treatment.
Blood Coagulation ; Fibrinogen ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Molecular Weight ; Partial Thromboplastin Time ; Platelet Count ; Prothrombin Time ; Retrospective Studies ; Starch* ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage