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Frontiers in Psychology 2024Infants born <31 weeks gestational age with birth weight ≤ 1,500 grams receive routine eye examinations to screen for Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) while in...
INTRODUCTION
Infants born <31 weeks gestational age with birth weight ≤ 1,500 grams receive routine eye examinations to screen for Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) while in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to help prevent vision threatening complications; however, preterm infants' sensory systems are underdeveloped, and repeated exposure to painful stimuli is associated with worse developmental outcomes.
METHODS
An interdisciplinary NICU team designed a collaborative eye exam model (CEEM) incorporating best practice recommendations for infant pain control during exams. Pain scores and vital signs were recorded before, during, and after exams. Two sets of mixed-effects regression models with a random intercept on infants were established to investigate relationships between the intervention, birth gestational age (BGA), postmenstrual age (PMA), and outcomes associated with painful stimuli. Survey feedback was elicited from NICU stakeholders about the CEEM.
RESULTS
Thirty standard of care (SC) and 35 CEEM exams of 37 infants were included in final analysis. In infants of the same BGA, the number of desaturation events was significantly reduced in the CEEM group ( = 0.003) and became 1.53 times smaller with each additional week of BGA ( = 0.009). Probability of heart rate recovery within 15 min lowered significantly in the CEEM group ( = 0.04). In SC or CEEM or between infants of the same PMA, no differences were observed for bradycardia, heart rate range, chance of heart rate recovery, or pain scores. Increases in tachycardia ( < 0.001) events and desaturations = 0.006 were discovered in the CEEM group. When considering interaction effects, the CEEM appeared to reduce the number of desaturations to a greater degree for infants at earliest BGAs with attenuation of this effect with greater BGA. Regarding PMA, bradycardia and tachycardia events were reduced for infants across PMAs in the CEEM, but the effect for tachycardia improves with age, while the effect for bradycardia diminishes with age. Stakeholders agreed that the infant's eye exam experience and the staff experience was "very much" improved by the CEEM.
DISCUSSION
Despite variable findings in selected outcome measures, the CEEM was positively viewed by staff. Infants may benefit from the CEEM differently based on BGA and PMA.
PubMed: 38770256
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1354033 -
Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine... Dec 2023This study aimed to compare the effect of flexi-bar and stabilization exercises on static and dynamic postural control in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain.
OBJECTIVES
This study aimed to compare the effect of flexi-bar and stabilization exercises on static and dynamic postural control in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
In this randomized controlled study conducted between November 2019 and March 2020, 38 patients (19 males, 19 females; mean age: 33.8±6.2 years; range, 20 to 45 years) were randomly assigned into flexi-bar (n=19) and stabilization (n=19) groups. Both groups received general physiotherapy for three sessions per week, a total of 10 sessions. Besides, the flexi-bar group received flexi-bar exercises, and the stabilization group received stabilization exercises. Postural sway was assessed with a force platform in three difficult conditions, including open eye, close eye, and one-leg standing and dynamic posture with the modified Star Excursion Balance Test.
RESULTS
After the intervention, both groups showed a significant improvement in static and dynamic postural control (p<0.05). However, no significant differences were found between groups after treatment, while only the phase-plane portrait of opened eyes condition was significantly improved (p=0.03), in the flexi-bar group compared to the stabilization group.
CONCLUSION
Both flexi-bar and stabilization exercises effectively improved static and dynamic postural control, but none of the exercises was superior to the other. Flexi-bar is recommended as an effective tool in low back pain rehabilitation.
PubMed: 38766585
DOI: 10.5606/tftrd.2023.10726 -
Cureus Apr 2024We report the clinical course of spontaneous expulsive suprachoroidal hemorrhage (SESCH) in a middle-aged man. A 50-year-old man with a history of uncontrolled...
We report the clinical course of spontaneous expulsive suprachoroidal hemorrhage (SESCH) in a middle-aged man. A 50-year-old man with a history of uncontrolled hypertension and type II diabetes presented with massive preretinal hemorrhage in the posterior pole of the right eye (RE). Two weeks later, he presented with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) and a nearly obliterated anterior chamber with coagulated blood behind the lens in the RE. We performed two rounds of surgery, including cataract surgery, vitrectomy, and sclerotomy. The choroidal detachment was clearly visible behind the posterior capsule during the cataract surgery. The surgical intervention successfully lowered the IOP and alleviated the pain. In rare cases of SESCH, maintaining awareness when patients show vulnerability in their choroidal vessels is of high importance.
PubMed: 38765406
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.58579 -
Cureus Apr 2024Uveitis is the inflammation of the uveal tract (i.e., iris, ciliary body, and choroid). Uveitis is categorized into the following three types based on the anatomical...
Uveitis is the inflammation of the uveal tract (i.e., iris, ciliary body, and choroid). Uveitis is categorized into the following three types based on the anatomical location of inflammation: anterior, intermediate, and posterior uveitis. Severe cases may lead to panuveitis, where all three layers may become inflamed potentially resulting in permanent vision loss. Uveitis can arise from different underlying disorders, including infectious causes or autoimmune disorders. Syphilis and Lyme disease are uncommon causes of uveitis. Eye involvement can occur at any stage in Lyme disease, characterized by diverse manifestations such as conjunctivitis, episcleritis, keratitis, uveitis, neuroretinitis, and retinal vasculitis. Patients may present with symptoms of blurred vision, eye pain or discomfort, visual floaters, headache, or intolerance to light. Patients can risk vision loss if not diagnosed and treated promptly.
PubMed: 38765401
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.58608 -
Neurobiology of Pain (Cambridge, Mass.) 2024Sensory disconnection is a hallmark of sleep, yet the cortex retains some ability to process sensory information. Acute noxious stimulation during sleep increases the...
Sensory disconnection is a hallmark of sleep, yet the cortex retains some ability to process sensory information. Acute noxious stimulation during sleep increases the heart rate and the likelihood of awakening, indicating that certain mechanisms for pain sensing and processing remain active. However, processing of somatosensory information, including pain, during sleep remains underexplored. To assess somatosensation in natural sleep, we simultaneously recorded heart rate and local field potentials in the anterior cingulate (ACC) and somatosensory (S1) cortices of naïve, adult male mice, while applying noxious and non-noxious stimuli to their hind paws throughout their sleep-wake cycle. Noxious stimuli evoked stronger heart rate increases in both wake and non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREMS), and resulted in larger awakening probability in NREMS, as compared to non-noxious stimulation, suggesting differential processing of noxious and non-noxious information during sleep. Somatosensory information differentially reached S1 and ACC in sleep, eliciting complex transient and sustained responses in the delta, alpha, and gamma frequency bands as well as somatosensory evoked potentials. These dynamics depended on sleep state, the behavioral response to the stimulation and stimulation intensity (non-noxious vs. noxious). Furthermore, we found a correlation of the heart rate with the gamma band in S1 in the absence of a reaction in wake and sleep for noxious stimulation. These findings confirm that somatosensory information, including nociception, is sensed and processed during sleep even in the absence of a behavioral response.
PubMed: 38764613
DOI: 10.1016/j.ynpai.2024.100157 -
The American Journal of Case Reports May 2024BACKGROUND Symptoms caused by developmental venous anomalies (DVAs) are usually mild and unspecific. Despite the benign nature of DVAs, they can occasionally be... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND Symptoms caused by developmental venous anomalies (DVAs) are usually mild and unspecific. Despite the benign nature of DVAs, they can occasionally be symptomatic. CASE REPORT A 67-year-old woman presented with sudden diplopia and left eyelid ptosis for 10 days. A neurologic examination revealed left complete oculomotor nerve palsy. Other neurologic deficits, including eye pain or pulsatile tinnitus, were not detected. Furthermore, the visual acuity was normal. Additionally, no retinal hemorrhage, venous dilatation, or fundus tortuosity were observed. No ischemia lesions or neoplasms were observed in MRI, and no widening or enhancement of the cavernous sinus was detected in post-contrast T1-weighted images, but magnetic resonance tomography cerebral angiography (MRTA) detected an offending vessel compressing the left oculomotor nerve in the fossa interpeduncular. We hypothesized that oculomotor nerve palsy (ONP) was caused by an abnormal arterial structure. However, digital subtraction angiography (DSA) revealed no aneurysm or abnormal arterial structure in the arterial phase, while a tortuous and dilated collecting vein was detected in the venous phase, connecting the left temporal lobe to the left cavernous sinus. This indicated a typical caput medusae appearance, suggesting the mechanism of oculomotor palsy caused by compressive impairment of the DVA. The patient refused microvascular decompression surgery, and ONP persisted after 30 days. Management was conservative, with spontaneous resolution at 60 days and no recurrence during the 2-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS ONP is rarely caused by DVAs, which are easily ignored due to their benign nature. Cerebral vein examinations are advised for patients exhibiting clinical symptoms of unknown etiology.
Topics: Humans; Female; Aged; Oculomotor Nerve Diseases; Cerebral Veins; Cerebral Angiography; Angiography, Digital Subtraction; Magnetic Resonance Angiography
PubMed: 38762752
DOI: 10.12659/AJCR.943363 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2024With the development of global social economy and the deepening of the aging population, diseases related to aging have received increasing attention. The pathogenesis... (Review)
Review
With the development of global social economy and the deepening of the aging population, diseases related to aging have received increasing attention. The pathogenesis of many respiratory diseases remains unclear, and lung aging is an independent risk factor for respiratory diseases. The aging mechanism of the lung may be involved in the occurrence and development of respiratory diseases. Aging-induced immune, oxidative stress, inflammation, and telomere changes can directly induce and promote the occurrence and development of lung aging. Meanwhile, the occurrence of lung aging also further aggravates the immune stress and inflammatory response of respiratory diseases; the two mutually affect each other and promote the development of respiratory diseases. Explaining the mechanism and treatment direction of these respiratory diseases from the perspective of lung aging will be a new idea and research field. This review summarizes the changes in pulmonary microenvironment, metabolic mechanisms, and the progression of respiratory diseases associated with aging.
Topics: Humans; Aging; Lung; Cellular Microenvironment; Animals; Oxidative Stress; Lung Diseases; Inflammation
PubMed: 38756780
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1383503 -
Cureus Apr 2024Optic neuritis is assumed to be immune-mediated, although the specific antigens that cause demyelination are uncertain. Systemic T-cell activation is detected at the...
Optic neuritis is assumed to be immune-mediated, although the specific antigens that cause demyelination are uncertain. Systemic T-cell activation is detected at the onset of symptoms, which occurs before alterations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The optic nerve disease is a rare disease and can occur in one or both eyes, especially in those with no established inflammatory or autoimmune illnesses. Adult ophthalmic neuritis is usually unilateral and is frequently associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). Generally, it starts as a rapid loss of vision and pain in eye movement. It progresses and achieves the maximal deficiency over a week. The objectives of this paper were to determine the association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and optic neuritis and to study the management of optic neuritis in the resolving phase of COVID-19. A case study was done on a 38-year-old female complaining of sudden diminution of vision in her right eye for one week. She tested positive on the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for COVID-19 for which she was managed symptomatically and was started on antiretrovirals. This case report is based on an infrequent COVID-19 complication. It has been proposed that this virus has the probability of manifesting various neurological complications. In our case, optic neuritis occurs mainly three weeks after COVID-19 infection. Our patient was managed by intravenous methylprednisolone injection followed by oral prednisone for 14 days. So, further case studies will be required to support the above treatment plan for optic neuritis caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Unilateral or bilateral optic neuritis can occur as a neurological complication in the resolving stage of COVID-19 infection. Early detection and treatment with steroids can result in the best visual outcome.
PubMed: 38752088
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.58257 -
Molecular Brain May 2024This study aimed to unveil the central mechanism of moxibustion treating chronic inflammatory visceral pain (CIVP) from the angle of circRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks in the...
This study aimed to unveil the central mechanism of moxibustion treating chronic inflammatory visceral pain (CIVP) from the angle of circRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks in the spinal cord. The rat CIVP model was established using a mixture of 5% (w/v) 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid and 50% ethanol at a volume ratio of 2:1 via enema. Rats in the moxibustion group received herb-partitioned moxibustion at Tianshu (ST25, bilateral) and Qihai (CV6) points. The abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR), mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT), and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL) were adopted for pain behavior observation and pain sensitivity assessment. The circRNA, miRNA, and mRNA expression profiles were detected using the high-throughput sequencing technique. Relevant databases and bioinformatics analysis methods were used to screen for differentially expressed (DE) RNAs and build a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA (competing endogenous RNA) ceRNA regulatory network. The real-time quantitative PCR was employed to verify the sequencing result. CIVP rat models had a significantly higher AWR and lower TWL and MWT than normal rats. Between normal and model rats, there were 103 DE-circRNAs, 16 DE-miRNAs, and 397 DE-mRNAs in the spinal cord. Compared with the model group, the moxibustion group had a lower AWR and higher TWL and MWT; between these two groups, there were 118 DE-circRNAs, 15 DE-miRNAs, and 804 DE-mRNAs in the spinal cord. Two ceRNA networks were chosen to be verified. As a result, moxibustion's analgesic effect on visceral pain in CIVP rats may be associated with regulating the circRNA_02767/rno-miR-483-3p/Gfap network in the spinal cord and improving central sensitization.
Topics: Animals; Moxibustion; MicroRNAs; RNA, Circular; RNA, Messenger; Spinal Cord; Gene Regulatory Networks; Visceral Pain; Male; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Inflammation; Chronic Pain; Rats; Gene Expression Regulation
PubMed: 38750560
DOI: 10.1186/s13041-024-01093-7 -
The American Journal of Emergency... May 2024Cryptorchidism and testicular torsion (TT) are relatively common conditions in clinical practice; however, sparse information about cryptorchid TT is available in the...
BACKGROUND
Cryptorchidism and testicular torsion (TT) are relatively common conditions in clinical practice; however, sparse information about cryptorchid TT is available in the current literature.
METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the clinical characteristics, treatment modalities, and long-term outcomes of pediatric patients treated for acute cryptorchid TT.
RESULTS
We found eight patients with unilateral acute cryptorchid TT with a prevalence of 8.9% (8/90) among all TT cases. The left testis was affected in six patients. The median age of patients at the time of the surgery was 65 months (interquartile range (IQR) 4-136 months). The median duration of symptoms was 16 h (IQR 9-25 h), while the median time to treatment was 60 min (IQR 59-63 min). The most common symptoms were pain (abdominal and inguinal) and inguinal mass with no palpable testis in the ipsilateral hemiscrotum. Preoperative color Doppler ultrasonography revealed absent or decreased testicular blood flow in the affected testes in 7/8 of patients. Various degrees of testicular torsion (median 540°, min 360°, max 1260°) were found during surgery. A necrotic testis that led to orchidectomy was found in 4/8 of patients. The median follow-up period was 42.6 months (IQR 12.5-71.2 months), revealing only one patient with testicular atrophy. The final testicular salvage rate was 35%.
CONCLUSIONS
Greater awareness among caregivers and primary care physicians about acute cryptorchid TT is required to improve their timely diagnosis and treatment. A physical examination of the external genitalia and inguinal regions should be mandatory to attain a proper diagnosis and treatment without delay.
PubMed: 38749372
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajem.2024.05.010