Purpose: The global increase in forcibly displaced people, combined with insufficient aid, leaves many—in particular, people with epilepsy—in a dire medical state. Our study aimed to understand the demographics and clinical features of epilepsy in the Nakivale refugee settlement and to highlight our intervention through the ‘CARE FOR ALL’ project, which will run for 5 years. Methods: Between August 2022 and May 2023, we conducted four outreach visits across three locations in Uganda, consulting 161 patients. After excluding incomplete data, we analyzed the medical records of 81 epilepsy cases. Results: Of the 81 patients, most were male (65.4%), under 18 years old (77.8%), had low education levels (93.8%), and were predominantly Congolese (58.0%). The majority experienced focal onset seizures (51.8%), and epilepsy began before the age of one in 28.4% of patients. All patients had comorbidities, with intellectual impairment (70.4%) and cerebral palsy (27.2%) being the most common. Identified risk factors included antenatal complications, central nervous system infections, and war-related injuries. Before our intervention, the treatment gap was 76.5%; this was reduced to 0% after the project, which also significantly decreased seizure frequency (seizure freedom 30.9%, P<0.05). Carbamazepine was the most common antiseizure medication used (59.2%). Conclusion Refugees with epilepsy face major barriers to care that negatively impact their quality of life. A coordinated effort by governments and health agencies is crucial to overcome these challenges and improve outcomes for displaced individuals with epilepsy.

Purpose: The global increase in forcibly displaced people, combined with insufficient aid, leaves many—in particular, people with epilepsy—in a dire medical state. Our study aimed to understand the demographics and clinical features of epilepsy in the Nakivale refugee settlement and to highlight our intervention through the ‘CARE FOR ALL’ project, which will run for 5 years. Methods: Between August 2022 and May 2023, we conducted four outreach visits across three locations in Uganda, consulting 161 patients. After excluding incomplete data, we analyzed the medical records of 81 epilepsy cases. Results: Of the 81 patients, most were male (65.4%), under 18 years old (77.8%), had low education levels (93.8%), and were predominantly Congolese (58.0%). The majority experienced focal onset seizures (51.8%), and epilepsy began before the age of one in 28.4% of patients. All patients had comorbidities, with intellectual impairment (70.4%) and cerebral palsy (27.2%) being the most common. Identified risk factors included antenatal complications, central nervous system infections, and war-related injuries. Before our intervention, the treatment gap was 76.5%; this was reduced to 0% after the project, which also significantly decreased seizure frequency (seizure freedom 30.9%, P<0.05). Carbamazepine was the most common antiseizure medication used (59.2%). Conclusion Refugees with epilepsy face major barriers to care that negatively impact their quality of life. A coordinated effort by governments and health agencies is crucial to overcome these challenges and improve outcomes for displaced individuals with epilepsy.

Purpose: The global increase in forcibly displaced people, combined with insufficient aid, leaves many—in particular, people with epilepsy—in a dire medical state. Our study aimed to understand the demographics and clinical features of epilepsy in the Nakivale refugee settlement and to highlight our intervention through the ‘CARE FOR ALL’ project, which will run for 5 years. Methods: Between August 2022 and May 2023, we conducted four outreach visits across three locations in Uganda, consulting 161 patients. After excluding incomplete data, we analyzed the medical records of 81 epilepsy cases. Results: Of the 81 patients, most were male (65.4%), under 18 years old (77.8%), had low education levels (93.8%), and were predominantly Congolese (58.0%). The majority experienced focal onset seizures (51.8%), and epilepsy began before the age of one in 28.4% of patients. All patients had comorbidities, with intellectual impairment (70.4%) and cerebral palsy (27.2%) being the most common. Identified risk factors included antenatal complications, central nervous system infections, and war-related injuries. Before our intervention, the treatment gap was 76.5%; this was reduced to 0% after the project, which also significantly decreased seizure frequency (seizure freedom 30.9%, P<0.05). Carbamazepine was the most common antiseizure medication used (59.2%). Conclusion Refugees with epilepsy face major barriers to care that negatively impact their quality of life. A coordinated effort by governments and health agencies is crucial to overcome these challenges and improve outcomes for displaced individuals with epilepsy.

Purpose: The global increase in forcibly displaced people, combined with insufficient aid, leaves many—in particular, people with epilepsy—in a dire medical state. Our study aimed to understand the demographics and clinical features of epilepsy in the Nakivale refugee settlement and to highlight our intervention through the ‘CARE FOR ALL’ project, which will run for 5 years. Methods: Between August 2022 and May 2023, we conducted four outreach visits across three locations in Uganda, consulting 161 patients. After excluding incomplete data, we analyzed the medical records of 81 epilepsy cases. Results: Of the 81 patients, most were male (65.4%), under 18 years old (77.8%), had low education levels (93.8%), and were predominantly Congolese (58.0%). The majority experienced focal onset seizures (51.8%), and epilepsy began before the age of one in 28.4% of patients. All patients had comorbidities, with intellectual impairment (70.4%) and cerebral palsy (27.2%) being the most common. Identified risk factors included antenatal complications, central nervous system infections, and war-related injuries. Before our intervention, the treatment gap was 76.5%; this was reduced to 0% after the project, which also significantly decreased seizure frequency (seizure freedom 30.9%, P<0.05). Carbamazepine was the most common antiseizure medication used (59.2%). Conclusion Refugees with epilepsy face major barriers to care that negatively impact their quality of life. A coordinated effort by governments and health agencies is crucial to overcome these challenges and improve outcomes for displaced individuals with epilepsy.

Purpose: The global increase in forcibly displaced people, combined with insufficient aid, leaves many—in particular, people with epilepsy—in a dire medical state. Our study aimed to understand the demographics and clinical features of epilepsy in the Nakivale refugee settlement and to highlight our intervention through the ‘CARE FOR ALL’ project, which will run for 5 years. Methods: Between August 2022 and May 2023, we conducted four outreach visits across three locations in Uganda, consulting 161 patients. After excluding incomplete data, we analyzed the medical records of 81 epilepsy cases. Results: Of the 81 patients, most were male (65.4%), under 18 years old (77.8%), had low education levels (93.8%), and were predominantly Congolese (58.0%). The majority experienced focal onset seizures (51.8%), and epilepsy began before the age of one in 28.4% of patients. All patients had comorbidities, with intellectual impairment (70.4%) and cerebral palsy (27.2%) being the most common. Identified risk factors included antenatal complications, central nervous system infections, and war-related injuries. Before our intervention, the treatment gap was 76.5%; this was reduced to 0% after the project, which also significantly decreased seizure frequency (seizure freedom 30.9%, P<0.05). Carbamazepine was the most common antiseizure medication used (59.2%). Conclusion Refugees with epilepsy face major barriers to care that negatively impact their quality of life. A coordinated effort by governments and health agencies is crucial to overcome these challenges and improve outcomes for displaced individuals with epilepsy.

Purpose: To investigate the effects of simultaneous soft and hard tissue augmentation and the addition of polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN) on regenerative outcomes. Materials and Methods: In five mongrel dogs, chronic ridge defects were established in both mandibles. Six implants were placed in the mandible, producing buccal dehiscence defects. The implants were randomly allocated to one of the following groups: 1) control: no treatment; 2) GBR: guided bone regeneration (GBR) only; 3) GBR/PDRN: GBR+PDRN application to bone substitute particles; 4) GBR/CTG: GBR+connective tissue grafting (CTG);5) GBR/VCMX: GBR+soft tissue augmentation using volume stable collagen matrix (VCMX); and 6) group GBR/VCMX/ PDRN: GBR+VCMX soaked with PDRN. The healing abutments were connected to the implants to provide additional room for tissue regeneration. Submerged healing was achieved. The animals were euthanized after four months. Histological and histomorphometric analyses were then performed. Results: Healing abutments were gradually exposed during the healing period. Histologically, minimal new bone formation was observed in the dehiscence defects. No specific differences were found between the groups regarding collagen fiber orientation and density in the augmented area. No traces of CTG or VCMX were detected. Histomorphometrically, the mean tissue thickness was greater in the control group than in the other groups above the implant shoulder (IS). Below the IS level, the CTG and PDRN groups exhibited more favorable tissue thickness than the other groups. Conclusion Failure of submerged healing after tissue augmentation deteriorated the tissue contour. PDRN appears to have a positive effect on soft tissues.

Purpose: Detection of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutations is a crucial process in the integrated diagnosis of glioblastomas. However, the TERT promoter region is difficult to amplify because of its high guanine-cytosine (GC) content (> 80%). This study aimed to analyze the capturing of TERT mutations by targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues. Materials and Methods: We compared the detection rate of TERT mutations between targeted NGS and Sanger sequencing in 25 cases of isocitrate dehydrgenase (IDH)-wildtype glioblastomas and 10 cases of non-neoplastic gastric tissues. Our customized panel consisted of 232 essential glioma-associated genes. Results: Sanger sequencing detected TERT mutations in 17 out of 25 glioblastomas, but all TERT mutations were missed by targeted NGS. After the manual visualization of the NGS data using an integrative genomics viewer, 16 cases showed a TERT mutation with a very low read depth (mean, 21.59; median, 25), which revealed false-negative results using auto-filtering. We optimized our customized panel by extending the length of oligonucleotide baits and increasing the number of baits spanning the coverage of the TERT promoter, which did not amplify well due to the high GC content. Conclusion Our study confirmed that it is crucial to consider the recognition of molecular bias and to carefully interpret NGS data.

Background: Recent genomic studies identified four discrete molecular subgroups of medulloblastoma (MB), and the risk stratification of childhood MB in the context of subgroups was refined in 2015. In this study, we investigated the effect of molecular subgroups on the risk stratification of childhood MB. Methods: The nCounter® system and a customized cancer panel were used for molecular subgrouping and risk stratification in archived tissues. Results: A total of 44 patients were included in this study. In clinical risk stratification, based on the presence of residual tumor/metastasis and histological findings, 24 and 20 patients were classified into the average-risk and high-risk groups, respectively. Molecular subgroups were successfully defined in 37 patients using limited gene expression analysis, and DNA panel sequencing additionally classified the molecular subgroups in three patients. Collectively, 40 patients were classified into molecular subgroups as follows: WNT (n = 7), SHH (n = 4), Group 3 (n = 8), and Group 4 (n = 21). Excluding the four patients whose molecular subgroups could not be determined, among the 17 average-risk group patients in clinical risk stratification, one patient in the SHH group with the TP53 variant was reclassified as very-high-risk using the new risk classification system. In addition, 5 of 23 patients who were initially classified as high-risk group in clinical risk stratification were reclassified into the low- or standard-risk groups in the new risk classification system. Conclusion The new risk stratification incorporating integrated diagnosis showed some discrepancies with clinical risk stratification. Risk stratification based on precise molecular subgrouping is needed for the tailored treatment of MB patients.

Mosquitoes are globally distributed and important vectors for the transmission of many human diseases. Mosquito control is a difficult task and the cost of preventing mosquito-borne diseases is much lower than that for curing the associated diseases. Thus, chemical control remains the most effective tool for mosquito. Due to the long-term intensive use of insecticides to control mosquito vectors, resistance to most chemical insecticides has been reported. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between insecticide resistance and target site mutation of L1014 kdr and G119 ace alleles in 5 species/species group of mosquitoes (Aedes vexans, Ae. albopictus, Anopheles spp., Culex pipiens complex, and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus) obtained from 6 collection sites. For Anopheles spp., the proportion of mosquitoes with mutated alleles in L1014 was 88.4%, homozygous resistant genotypes were observed in 46.7%, and heterozygous resistant genotypes were observed in 41.8%. For the Cx. pipiens complex and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus species, homozygous resistant genotypes were found in 25.9% and 9.8%, respectively. However, target site mutation of L1014 in the Ae. vexans nipponii and Ae. albopictus species was not observed. Anopheles spp., Cx. pipiens complex, and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus mosquitoes were resistant to deltamethrin and chlorpyriphos, whereas Ae. vexans nipponii and Ae. albopictus were clearly susceptible. We also found a correlation between the resistance phenotype and the presence of the L1014 kdr and G119 ace mutations only in the Anopheles spp. population. In this study, we suggest that insecticide resistance poses a growing threat and resistance management must be integrated into all mosquito control programs.