Randomised controlled trial on effects of topical insulin compared to artificial tears and normal saline on tear inflammatory mediator levels and clinical parameters in diabetics with dry eye disease.

Purpose: To assess the short-term effects of topical insulin (TI) as compared to topical Systane Ultra (Alcon, USA) as artificial tears (AT) and topical normal saline (NS) on tear inflammatory mediators; interleukin 1-alpha (IL-1a), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) and clinical dry eye parameters in diabetics with dry eye disease (DDED).

Methods: In this randomized, multi-arm parallel single-centre trial, 73 diabetics with dry eye disease (30 female and 43 male) aged 18 to 50 years were recruited. They were randomly assigned to four weeks of treatment of either TI 0.

Respiratory muscle weakness and its association with exercise capacity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Introduction: Although COPD patients commonly present respiratory complaints despite pharmacological treatment, dyspnea does not correlate directly and linearly with spirometric data, a fact that makes it difficult to select patients for pulmonary rehabilitation. Thus, seems logical that the measurement of respiratory muscle strength could help in this initial assessment if it presents a good correlation with exercise capacity. The aim of this study is to assess whether patients with muscle weakness, characterized as a reduction in maximal inspiratory pressure (PImax) below 70% of predicted value, have a good relationship between the assessed respiratory muscle strength and the exercise capacity measured by the 6-min walk test (6MWT) in patients with COPD.

Association study between single-nucleotide variants rs12097821, rs2477686, and rs10842262 and idiopathic male infertility risk in Serbian population with meta-analysis.

Purpose: A genome-wide association study conducted in the Han Chinese population identified three single nucleotide variants rs12097821, rs2477686, and rs10842262 as being significantly associated with non-obstructive azoospermia. Our aim was to evaluate the possible association between these susceptibility loci and idiopathic male infertility risk in the Serbian population.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted on 431 male individuals from the Serbian population divided into two groups.

Understanding medical travel from a source country perspective: a cross sectional study of the experiences of medical travelers from the Maldives.

Background: The resolution adopted in 2006 by the World Health Organization on international trade and health urges Member States to understand the implications of international trade and trade agreements for health and to address any challenges arising through policies and regulations. The government of Maldives is an importer of health services (with outgoing medical travelers), through offering a comprehensive universal health care package for its people that includes subsidized treatment abroad for services unavailable in the country. By the end of the first year of the scheme approximately US$11.

Achieving universal health coverage in small island states: could importing health services provide a solution?

Background: Universal health coverage (UHC) is difficult to achieve in settings short of medicines, health workers and health facilities. These characteristics define the majority of the small island developing states (SIDS), where population size negates the benefits of economies of scale. One option to alleviate this constraint is to import health services, rather than focus on domestic production.