Toward understanding the brain tissue behavior due to preconditioning: an experimental study and RVE approach.

Brain tissue under preconditioning, as a complex issue, refers to repeated loading-unloading cycles applied in mechanical testing protocols. In previous studies, only the mechanical behavior of the tissue under preconditioning was investigated; However, the link between macrostructural mechanical behavior and microstructural changes in brain tissue remains underexplored. This study aims to bridge this gap by investigating bovine brain tissue responses both before and after preconditioning.

Desensitization to Methimazole.

Objective: Thionamides (methimazole and propylthiouracil) have been associated with common side effects, such as rash and pruritus, and rare but serious adverse effects, such as agranulocytosis and hepatotoxicity. Methimazole is usually the preferred thionamide for the treatment of hyperthyroidism if the patient is not planning to conceive or not in the first trimester of pregnancy, given the less frequent dosing and lower risk of hepatotoxicity. In patients who experience rash or itching when treated with methimazole, switching them to propylthiouracil is one treatment option.

Mechanical, topographical and chemical cues combined with physical therapy for peripheral nerve injuries.

The aim of this paper is to evaluate biomaterial cues combined with physical therapy (PT) on functional recovery in a rat sciatic nerve injury model. Nerve growth conduits were filled with longitudinally aligned hyaluronic acid fibers and microspheres containing neurotrophic factor (growth factor [GF]). All animals received behavior and functional testing throughout the study, which concluded with measurement of compound muscle action potentials and contractile force of the gastrocnemius muscle.

Proton Therapy for Craniopharyngioma - An Early Report from a Single European Centre.

Aims: Proton beam therapy (PBT) is being increasingly used for craniopharyngioma. We describe our early outcome of patients treated with PBT.

Materials And Methods: Between August 2013 and July 2016, 18 patients with craniopharyngiomas were treated with 54 Cobalt Gray Equivalent (CGE) in 30 fractions over 6 weeks at our centre.

BIOTIN INTERFERENCE WITH ROUTINE CLINICAL IMMUNOASSAYS: UNDERSTAND THE CAUSES AND MITIGATE THE RISKS.

Objective: The objectives of this report are to review the mechanisms of biotin interference with streptavidin/biotin-based immunoassays, identify automated immunoassay systems vulnerable to biotin interference, describe how to estimate and minimize the risk of biotin interference in vulnerable assays, and review the literature pertaining to biotin interference in endocrine function tests.

Methods: The data in the manufacturer's "Instructions for Use" for each of the methods utilized by seven immunoassay system were evaluated. We also conducted a systematic search of PubMed/MEDLINE for articles containing terms associated with biotin interference.

Multiple Sclerosis-Related Pain Syndromes: An Imaging Update.

Pain in multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common manifestation, made up of complex phenomenon involving intricate neurophysiological processing at central levels of the pain pathway. Our understanding of the clinical and neurophysiological mechanisms of central/neuropathic pain related to MS continues to improve with improved imaging techniques but remains a challenging area of research. The advancements in imaging techniques for lesion evaluation of the various neuroanatomic structures have improved our detection, diagnosis, and understanding of MS pain and help validate subjective symptoms.

ADULT HYPOPHOSPHATASIA TREATED WITH TERIPARATIDE: REPORT OF 2 PATIENTS AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE.

Objective: Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is a rare inherited metabolic bone disease from deficient activity of the tissue-nonspecific isoenzyme of alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP). Reportedly, teriparatide (parathyroid hormone 1-34) can benefit the adult form of HPP, including fracture healing. We studied 2 women with adult HPP given teriparatide and reviewed the reports of 6 additional patients.

A primer on concentrated insulins: what an internist should know.

The common insulin concentration in most preparations of insulin is 100 units per mL or U-100. Human regular U-500 insulin was the first concentrated insulin introduced and it has been available in the United States since the 1950s. Humulin R is the only human regular U-500 available on the market.

SELECTIVE HYPOALDOSTERONISM: A REVIEW.

Objective: Selective hypoaldosteronism (SH) is a condition manifested by hyperkalemia due to low aldosterone secretion with normal cortisol. One of the obstacles in diagnosis is the awareness of the condition itself. The objective of this review is to highlight what is known about the epidemiology, pathophysiology, etiology, presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of SH.

The association between glycemic control and clinical outcomes after kidney transplantation.

Objective: To analyze the relationship between glycemic control after renal transplantation and subsequent graft function and complications.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 202 consecutive patients undergoing kidney transplantation to analyze the association between perioperative and chronic glycemic control and clinical outcomes of rejection, infection, and hospital readmission during the first year after kidney transplantation.

Results: Mean in-hospital blood glucose (BG) was 157 ± 34.

Neurology of the pituitary.

The anterior pituitary hormones are essential for reproduction, growth, metabolic homeostasis, stress response, and adaptation to changes in the external environment. Each pituitary hormone is secreted in a distinctive pulsatile manner reflecting its regulation by the central nervous system through a complex interaction between hypothalamic neuroendocrine pathways, feedback effects from peripheral target gland hormones, and intrapituitary mechanisms. While the most common cause of a pituitary mass is an adenoma, the differential diagnosis is broad and includes pituitary hyperplasia, lymphocytic hypophysitis, craniopharyngioma among others.

Reliability and reproducibility of assessment of corneal epithelial thickness by fourier domain optical coherence tomography.

Purpose: To analyze the intra-user reliability and inter-user reproducibility of assessment of corneal epithelial thickness by Fourier domain optical coherence tomography.

Methods: In this consecutive cross-sectional case series performed at a tertiary ocular care institution, 210 eyes of 210 subjects underwent anterior segment Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (FDOCT). A caliper tool software was used to measure the corneal thickness.

A new, pachymetry-based approach for diagnostic cutoffs for normal, suspect and keratoconic cornea.

Purpose: To analyze whether an association exists between keratometric and pachymetric changes in the cornea, and whether it can be used to create pachymetric cutoff criteria secondary to keratometric criteria.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1000 candidates presenting to the refractive surgery services of a tertiary care hospital underwent bilateral Orbscan IIz (Bausch and Lomb) assessment along with other ophthalmic evaluation.

Results: Stepwise regression analysis-based models showed that simulated keratometry (simK) astigmatism was significantly predicted by the minimum corneal thickness (MCT) and difference between central and MCT (δCT), mean SimK by the MCT and δCT, and maximum keratometry in the central 10-mm zone by the MCT and δCT (P<0.

Endothelial cell loss associated with diffuse lamellar keratitis because of laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis.

Purpose: To report a case of severe interface inflammation, flap edema, and endothelial cell loss after laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK).

Methods: A 22-year-old woman with no previous ocular abnormality underwent LASIK for myopia. The surgery was uneventful.

'Otorrhagia'. A symptom of posterior auricular artery aneurysm.

There are many reports regarding aneurysms of the external carotid artery and its branches, but the case presented in this paper, of an aneurysm of the posterior auricular artery, is a unique one.