Practice variation in surgical treatment for lumbar degenerative disc disease: exploring regional and hospital factors influencing surgical rates.

The presence of significant, unwarranted variation in treatment suggests that clinical decision making also depends on where patients live instead of what they need and prefer. Historically, high practice variation in surgical treatment for lumbar degenerative disc disease (LDDD) has been documented. This study aimed to investigate current regional variation in surgical treatment for sciatica resulting from LDDD.

The diagnostic accuracy of spirometry as screening tool for adult patients with a benign subglottic stenosis.

Background: There is a considerable diagnostic delay in the diagnosis 'benign acquired subglottic stenosis in adults' (SGS, diagnosed by the reference standard, i.e. laryngo- or bronchoscopy).

Pan-genome and multi-parental framework for high-resolution trait dissection in melon (Cucumis melo).

Linking genotype with phenotype is a fundamental goal in biology and requires robust data for both. Recent advances in plant-genome sequencing have expedited comparisons among multiple-related individuals. The abundance of structural genomic within-species variation that has been discovered indicates that a single reference genome cannot represent the complete sequence diversity of a species, leading to the expansion of the pan-genome concept.

Practice Variation Research in Degenerative Lumbar Disc Surgery: A Literature Review on Design Characteristics and Outcomes.

Study Design: Literature review.

Objective: To describe whether practice variation studies on surgery in patients with lumbar degenerative disc disease used adequate study methodology to identify unwarranted variation, and to inform quality improvement in clinical practice. Secondary aim was to describe whether variation changed over time.

Underground heterosis for yield improvement in melon.

Heterosis, the superiority of hybrids over their parents, is a major genetic force associated with plant fitness and crop yield enhancement. We investigated root-mediated yield heterosis in melons (Cucumis melo) by characterizing a common variety grafted onto 190 hybrid rootstocks, resulting from crossing 20 diverse inbreds in a diallel-mating scheme. Hybrid rootstocks improved yield by more than 40% compared with their parents, and the best hybrid yield outperformed the reference commercial variety by 65% under both optimal and minimal irrigation treatments.

Functional and early weight-bearing protocol for achilles tendon ruptures: a retrospective study.

Purpose: Conservative treatment of achilles tendon rupture (ATR) might be favoured in centres with an early weight-bearing protocol, but no consensus exists on the clear definition of an early weight-bearing protocol. The aim of this study is to evaluate the introduction of an early weight-bearing conservative treatment protocol in patients with ATR compared to patients without this protocol.

Methods: A single-centre retrospective study was performed.

Biomarkers for prediction and targeted prevention of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases: evaluation of drug clinical efficacy.

Neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are considered disorders of multifactorial origin, inevitably progressive and having a long preclinical period. Therefore, the availability of biological markers or biomarkers (BMs) for early disease diagnosis will impact the management of AD and PD in several dimensions; it will 1) help to capture high-risk individuals before symptoms develop, a stage where prevention efforts might be expected to have their greatest impact; 2) provide a measure of disease progression that can be evaluated objectively, while clinical measures are much less accurate; 3) help to discriminate between true AD or PD and other causes of a similar clinical syndrome; 4) delineate pathophysiological processes responsible for the disease; 5) determine the clinical efficacy of novel, disease-modifying (neuroprotective) strategies. In the long run the availability of reliable BMs will significantly advance the research and therapeutics of AD and PD.

Depression and dementia.

Depression and cognitive impairment are both common conditions in old age, and frequently occur together. However, accurate figures of the co-occurrence are not available. The inter-relationship between the two clinical entities is still complex and not well understood.

Biomarkers for evaluation of clinical efficacy of multipotential neuroprotective drugs for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

During the last century, the world population has shown a staggering increase in its proportion of elderly members and thus neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), respectively, are becoming an increasing burden on society. Among the diverse, significant challenges facing clinicians, is the improvement of diagnostic measures to detect early and subtle symptoms, a phase in which prevention efforts might be expected to have their greatest impact and provide a measure of disease progression that can be evaluated during the course of drug treatment. At present, clinical diagnosis of AD and PD is based on a constellation of symptoms and manifestations, although the disease originated several years earlier.

[Depression precedes development of dementia].

Dementia and depression are common disorders in old age. Dementia typically manifests itself as a neurodegenerative disease that affects cognitive functions such as memory, orientation and speech. Dementia is common in old age and its frequency increases from 1% in 65 year olds up to 50% beyond 90 years.

Computerized diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment.

Background: We previously described software that we have developed for use in the evaluation of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Our previous study included an aged nondemented population with memory complaints (n = 41) that was relatively homogenous in terms of education, clinical history, neurological examination, and Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) scores. Performance patterns in the computerized tests separated the subjects into two groups, and we hypothesized that one group might have had incipient dementia.

[Mild cognitive impairment (MCI): characteristics, risk factors and prevention].

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a term describing the individual's cognitive state, ranging from normal aging to dementia. Since the term MCI was only recently introduced, there are still controversies regarding its definition, frequency and characteristics. Despite ambiguity in the clinical definitions, MCI is strongly considered as representing enhanced risk for the development of dementia.