Economic burden of the persistent morbidity of nodding syndrome on caregivers in affected households in Northern Uganda.

Background: Nodding syndrome (NS), is an unexplained form of epilepsy which leads to stunted growth, cognitive decline, and a characteristic nodding of the head. Current data about its impact on households in Uganda is scarce. Therefore, this study aims to assess the economic burden of the persistent morbidity of NS on caregivers in affected households in Northern Uganda.

Prognostic impact of postprocedure stroke volume in patients with low-gradient aortic stenosis.

Objective: The effect of postoperative blood flow status on the prognosis of patients with low-gradient severe aortic stenosis (AS) has not been examined. Severe AS is associated with a higher mortality rate after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). We examined the prognostic value of low-flow status by comparing stroke volume indices (SVi) before and after TAVI in patients with symptomatic, low-gradient severe AS.

Relationship between tongue pressure and maxillofacial morphology in Japanese children based on skeletal classification.

During childhood, perioral muscle function is closely associated with malocclusion. To clarify the effects of tongue function on maxillofacial morphology in children, tongue pressure and maximum lip-closing force (LCF) were measured and the relationship between perioral muscle function and maxillofacial morphology was evaluated according to the skeletal classification. Maximum tongue pressure (MTP) and swallowing tongue pressure (STP) were measured on the anterior palatine rugae in 100 children (Hellman's dental stages IIIA-IIIC) using a balloon-type tongue pressure measurement device.

The true distal posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysm: clinical characteristics and strategy for treatment.

Objective: A series of aneurysms located at the 4 (th) or 5 (th) segment of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) has not been previously reported in the literature. We report six such cases and analyze their clinical characteristics and outcomes from three different treatment strategies.

Material And Methods: We reviewed six patients with a diagnosis of distal PICA aneurysm.

Inhibitory effect of 4-methylesculetin on hyaluronan synthesis slows the development of human pancreatic cancer in vitro and in nude mice.

We report the inhibitory effect of 4-methylesculetin (ME), a 4-methylumbelliferone derivative, on hyaluronan (HA) synthesis by pancreatic cancer cells, and its resulting anticancer action. First, HA in cell culture was analyzed using competitive inhibition with hyaluronic acid-binding protein (HABP) to study HA synthesis by the human pancreatic cancer cell line KP1-NK, and cell-surface HA was visualized using a particle-exclusion assay to study the synthesis of extracellular matrix HA. We also analyzed the inhibitory effect of ME on cell adhesion and invasion, which play a role in the invasion, growth and metastasis of human pancreatic cancer.