Thyroid Hormones and Health-Related Quality of Life in Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus Patients before and after the Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Surgery: A Longitudinal Study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the serum levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine (FT4), and free triiodothyronine (FT3), and to correlate the hormone levels among iNPH patients with their self-reported quality of life before and three months after the surgery.

Methods: Twenty-five patients (52% women), mean age 63.5 (SD 9.

Quantitative Evans index estimation using ultrasonographic measurement of the optic nerve sheath diameter in supine and upright position.

Objectives: We aimed to quantitatively assess Evans index (EI) using ultrasonographic optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) measurements in supine and upright position in normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) patients.

Methods: Ultrasonographically ONSD was measured in a supine and upright position before and 4-5 days after the ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery. The changes of the ONSD between supine and upright positions were calculated as ∆ONSD = sONSD-uONSD and as the variation ONSD_V = 100% × [(sONSD - uONSD)/sONSD].

Effects of Changes in Seasonal Weather Patterns on the Subjective Well-Being in Patients with CAD Enrolled in Cardiac Rehabilitation.

Objective: We examined whether seasonal and monthly variations exist in the subjective well-being of weather-sensitive patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) during cardiac rehabilitation. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 865 patients (30% female, age 60 ± 9) were recruited within 2−3 weeks of treatment for acute coronary syndrome and during cardiac rehabilitation. The patients completed the Palanga self-assessment diary for weather sensitivity (PSAD-WS) daily, for an average of 15.

Undiagnosed sleep apnoea in cardiac rehabilitation: Age-dependent effect on diastolic function in coronary artery disease patients with preserved ejection fraction.

Background: Focusing on detection of sleep apnoea early in the cardiac rehabilitation process may improve the recovery process and reduce recurrence of cardiovascular events. Patients who continue to be undiagnosed may experience a significantly worse outcome during their cardiac rehabilitation and recovery. Diastolic dysfunction has both diagnostic and prognostic importance in the management of coronary artery disease.

Weather-related subjective well-being in patients with coronary artery disease.

One of the particularly vulnerable groups for adverse weather conditions is people with heart disease. Most of the studies analyzed the association between certain weather conditions and increased mortality, morbidity, hospital admissions, calls, or visits to the emergency department and used as statistical data. This study evaluated associations between daily weather conditions and daily weather-related well-being in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).

Affective Symptoms and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Women with Stress Urinary Incontinence: Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between affective symptoms, clinical variables of uro-gynaecological history and health-related quality of life (QoL) among women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in comparison to healthy controls.

Patients And Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 80 women 30 to 80 years of age diagnosed with SUI and 97 controls without symptoms of SUI provided sociodemographic data and answered the King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ) for assessing the QoL among individuals with urinary incontinence. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed by Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale with a threshold ≥7.

The association of sleep disordered breathing with left ventricular remodeling in CAD patients: a cross-sectional study.

Background: There is still insufficient knowledge on the potential effect of mild to moderate sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) that is widely prevalent, often asymptomatic, and largely undiagnosed in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD). SDB affects 34% of men and 17% of women aged between 30 and 70. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between SDB and left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy as well as structural remodeling in stable CAD patients.

Prevalence and predictors of sleep apnea in patients with stable coronary artery disease: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Sleep apnea (SA) is increasingly recognized as being important in the prognosis of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD); however, symptoms of SA are not easily identified, and as many as 80% of sufferers remain undiagnosed.

Aim: This cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence and predictors of SA that may help to increase the awareness and diagnosis of SA in stable CAD patients.

Materials And Methods: Polysomnography was performed in 772 medically stable CAD patients with untreated SA recruited from the Clinic of Cardiovascular Rehabilitation.

Twenty years trends in mortality rates from stroke in Klaipeda.

Background: During the past decades, mortality from stroke decreased in many western European countries; however, changes concerning long-term stroke mortality in eastern European countries are less evident.

Objective: To assess age- and gender-specific trends in stroke mortality in Klaipeda (Lithuania) from 1994 to 2013.

Design: Descriptive epidemiological study.

Role of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and inteleukin-6 in predicting a poor outcome after a stroke.

Objective: N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentrations can be important biomarkers in the acute stroke setting. In acute ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke patients, we investigated the association of NT-proBNP, hsCRP, and IL-6 serum concentrations with stroke severity and functional and cognitive outcomes at discharge.

Methods: Seventy-eight patients (53 men; median age 72 years) admitted with ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke within 48 h of symptom onset were evaluated for clinical stroke severity (Scandinavian stroke scale; SSS), functional status before the stroke (modified Rankin scale; mRS), and cerebrovascular disease risk factors.

Ischemic stroke functional outcomes are independently associated with C-reactive protein concentrations and cognitive outcomes with triiodothyronine concentrations: a pilot study.

Elevated concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) and decreased concentrations of triiodothyronine (T3) were shown to predict poor outcomes in patients with stroke. However, the prognostic value of CRP and T3 has not been studied simultaneously in relation to stroke functional and cognitive outcomes despite of close interaction between inflammatory markers and thyroid function. We evaluated the association of thyroid hormone and CRP concentrations with immediate outcomes after ischemic stroke.

Stroke mortality trends in the population of Klaipėda from 1994 to 2008.

Unlabelled: The objective of the study was to evaluate the trends in stroke mortality in the population of Klaipėda aged 35-79 years from 1994 to 2008.

Material And Methods: Mortality data on all permanent residents of Klaipėda aged 35-79 years who died from stroke in 1994-2008 were gathered for the study. All death certificates of permanent residents of Klaipėda aged 35-79 years who died during 1994-2008 were examined in this study.

Delusions of persecution and poisoning in patients with schizophrenia: sociocultural and religious background.

This article presents data on the phenomenology of delusions of persecution and poisoning in patients with schizophrenia and determines parallels between sociodemographic status and personal religiosity and this type of delusions. We have studied the content of delusions in patients with schizophrenia looking for persecution and poisoning themes using Fragebogen fuer psychotische Symptome (FPS). A total of 295 patients suffering from schizophrenia participated in this study; 74.

Are religious delusions related to religiosity in schizophrenia?

This article attempts to explore the phenomenology of religious delusions in patients suffering from schizophrenia and to determine parallels between personal religiosity and content of religious delusions. We have studied the content of delusions in patients with schizophrenia looking for religious themes using Fragebogen fur psychotische Symptome (FPS)--a semi-structured questionnaire developed by the Cultural Psychiatry International research group in Vienna. A total of 295 patients suffering from schizophrenia participated in this study at Vilnius Mental Health Center in Lithuania, among whom 63.