No abstract available.
Epidermal Cyst* ; Melanins*

E. histolytica has a simple life cycle with two stages: an infective cyst and an invasive trophozoite. It lives on humans as its host. Its infection occurs through the ingestion of the cyst form, and the disease begins when the trophozoite, converted at the small intestine, adheres to colonic epithelial cells with a latent period of two days to four months. In some instances, amoebic abscess formations can occur at the liver, lung, brain, or spleen via the lymphoid system. Rare cases of amoebiasis in neonates have been reported, much less any intrauterine infections in the world that may have occurred during the gestation period. We've recently experienced a case of neonatal amoebiasis that entailed after-birth vomiting and bloody stool. The infant seemed pre-infected with E. histolytica before birth.
Abscess ; Amebiasis* ; Brain ; Colon ; Eating ; Entamoeba histolytica ; Epithelial Cells ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Intestine, Small ; Life Cycle Stages ; Liver ; Lung ; Parturition ; Pregnancy ; Spleen ; Trophozoites ; Vomiting*

No abstract available.
Endoscopy* ; Pancreatic Diseases*

Obesity is defined as BMI (calculated as weight in kg divided by height in m2) more than 30, and overweight is defined as BMI of 25-29.9. Obesity has been considered as a risk factor for pancreatic diseases, including pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Severe acute pancreatitis is significantly more frequent in obese patients. Furthermore, obese patients develop systemic and local complications of acute pancreatitis more frequently. The underlying mechanisms are increased inflammation and necrosis from increased amount of intra- and peri-pancreatic fat. In addition, obesity is a poor prognostic factor in acute pancreatitis, and overweight before disease onset appears to be a risk factor for chronic pancreatitis. Overweight and/or obesity are associated with greater risk of pancreatic cancer and younger age of onset. Physical activity appears to decrease the risk of pancreatic cancer, especially among those who are overweight. Long-standing diabetes increases the risk of pancreatic cancer. The pathogenic mechanism is that obesity and physical inactivity increase insulin resistance. In a state of hypersinulinemia, increased circulating level of insulin-like growth factor-1 induces cellular proliferation of pancreatic cancer. Obesity is associated with negative prognostic factor and increased mortality in pancreatic cancer. However, there are controversies regarding the effects of obesity on long-term post-operative results in the patient with pancreatic cancer.
Body Mass Index ; Humans ; Hypertriglyceridemia/complications ; Obesity/*complications ; Overweight ; Oxidative Stress ; Pancreatic Diseases/*etiology ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/etiology ; Somatomedins/metabolism/physiology

No abstract available.
Adult ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; Female ; Humans ; Manometry ; Pancreatic Ducts/*physiopathology/radiography/surgery ; Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction/*diagnosis/physiopathology/radiography ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Since it was first described nearly three decades ago, endoscopic papillectomy (EP) has been utilized as a less invasive, alternative therapy for adenoma of the major duodenal papilla. In this article, we review the recent advances in EP, especially those pertaining to endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS), intraductal ultrasonography (IDUS), and pancreatic stent placement for the prevention of postpapillectomy pancreatitis. Because EUS and IDUS have similar diagnostic accuracies, either modality can be used for the preprocedural evaluation of ampullary tumors. Nevertheless, further technical refinements are required for a more precise evaluation. Given the paucity of data on the usefulness of EUS and/or IDUS during follow-up after EP, a well-designed study is warranted. Furthermore, pancreatic stent placement appears to have a protective effect against postpapillectomy pancreatitis; however, a prospective, randomized, controlled study with a larger number of patients is needed to assess this finding. Moreover, since pancreatic stent placement after EP is not always successful, various novel techniques have been developed to ensure reliable stent placement. Despite the recent advances in EP, further technical refinements and studies are needed to confirm their efficacy.
Adenoma ; Ampulla of Vater* ; Endosonography* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Pancreatitis ; Stents* ; Ultrasonography*

PURPOSE: This review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of telemonitoring (TM) in the management of children and adolescents with asthma. METHODS: We searched Ovid-MEDLINE, Ovid-EMBASE, CENTRAL (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials), CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), and 5 domestic databases to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published through December 2017. Two reviewers independently selected relevant studies, assessed methodological quality and extracted data. We performed a meta-analysis of TM versus usual care and summarized the intervention characteristics of included studies. RESULTS: Of the 3,095 articles identified, 8 RCTs (9 articles) were included in this review. The type of TM intervention of included studies was varying across studies (transmitted data, transmission frequency, data review, etc.). The pooled asthma control score was not significantly different between TM and usual care (standardized mean difference 0.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) −0.20~0.28). Another pooled analysis demonstrated no statistically significant difference in asthma exacerbation between TM and usual care (odds ratio 0.95, 95% CI 0.43~2.09). Overall, the pooled results from these studies revealed that TM did not lead to clinically significant improvements in health outcomes, but some studies in our analysis suggested that TM increased patient medication adherence and intervention adherence. CONCLUSION: The current evidence base does not demonstrate any differences between TM intervention and usual care, but TM intervention might be considered a promising strategy for the delivery of self-management support for children and adolescents with asthma. Further well-designed studies are needed to assess the effects on clinical outcomes.
Adolescent* ; Asthma* ; Child* ; Humans ; Medication Adherence ; Nursing ; Self Care ; Telemedicine

Systemic target therapeutic drugs, such as sorafenib, lenvatinib, or regorafenib are the only drugs that are known to be effective against advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, these agents show a limited efficacy in killing residual tumors. Immunotherapy is an alternative approach to this treatment and has been used to successfully treat different cancers, including HCC. HCC is an inflammation-induced cancer and represents a very interesting target for immunotherapeutics. Immunotherapies aim to reverse the immune tolerance and suppression found in tumor microenvironments and include approaches, such as adoptive cell therapy, immune checkpoint inhibition, and cancer vaccination. Adoptive cell therapy uses autologous natural killer or cytokine-induced killer cells by cultivating them ex vivo and subsequently reinfusing them into the patient. Immune checkpoint inhibitors reactivate tumor-specific T cells by suppressing checkpoint-mediated inhibitory signaling. Cancer vaccination induces a tumor-specific immune response by activating effector T lymphocytes. A wide range of potential immunotherapy-related adverse events occur; therefore, a multidisciplinary collaborative management is required across the clinical spectrum. This review summarizes the current status of immunotherapy for HCC and provides a perspective on its future applications.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells ; Homicide ; Humans ; Immune Tolerance ; Immunotherapy ; Neoplasm, Residual ; Oncolytic Viruses ; T-Lymphocytes ; Tumor Microenvironment ; Vaccination

Purpose: We analyzed the effects of low-dose atropine on myopic progression in elementary schoolchildren aged 6-11 years. Methods: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed before and after 6 months of low-dose atropine eyedrops. Myopia was defined as a spherical equivalent < -1 diopter. Low-dose atropine eyedrops (atropine sulfate 0.125% [w/v]) and artificial tear eyedrops (sodium hyaluronate 0.1% [w/v]) immediately afterwards were applied to both eyes daily, and all children regularly visited us for measurement of refractive power, axial length, pupil diameter, and near-point accommodation. symptoms (headache, light sensitivity, near-work disturbance, allergic reaction, dry eye, and poor night vision) were recorded. Results: A total of 116 patients were included. Atropine was prescribed for 65 patients, the remaining 51 patients constituted the control group. In the atropine group, the mean age was 10.2 ± 1.8 years and 23 patients (35.4%) were male. At the initial visit, the mean refractive power was -4.7 ± 2.1 diopters (D) (-1.0 to -10.5) and the mean axial length was 24.95 ± 1.02 mm (22.58-27.99). At the 6-month follow-up, the change of refractive power was -0.9 ± 1.1 D (-0.75 to -4.75) and the change of axial length was 0.47 ± 0.39 mm (0.01-1.6). However, 6 months after application of low-dose atropine eyedrops, the change of refractive power was -0.1 ± 0.2 D (0 to -0.25) and the change of mean axial length was 0.15 ± 0.23 mm (0-1.05). The mean pupil diameter was 6.7 ± 0.6 mm (5.3-9.3) and the near accommodation point was 6.1 ± 2.0 cm (3.1-11.0). Two patients (3.1%) complained of near-work disturbance but none stopped taking the eyedrops. Conclusions Significant decreases in the changes of refractive power and axial length were evident in myopic elementary schoolchildren after low-dose atropine therapy. Low-dose atropine attenuates myopic progression without severe complications.