Beta-blockers reduce severe exacerbation in patients with mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with atrial fibrillation: a population-based cohort study.

Background And Objective: Beta-blockers (BBs) decrease mortality and acute exacerbation (AE) rates in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cardiovascular disease; however, information on their effects in patients with COPD and atrial fibrillation (AF) is limited. We aimed to assess the AE risk in patients with different severities of COPD and AF receiving BBs compared with that in patients receiving calcium channel blockers (CCBs).

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database from 2009 to 2018.

Role of Ketogenic Diets in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Animal Models: An Updated Review.

Prescribing a ketogenic diet (KD) is a century-old dietary intervention mainly used in the context of intractable epilepsy. The classic KD and its variants regained popularity in recent decades, and they are considered potentially beneficial in a variety of neurological conditions other than epilepsy. Many patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have attempted diet modification for better control of their disease, although evidence thus far remains insufficient to recommend a specific diet for these patients.

Cognitive Assessment and Rehabilitation for Pediatric-Onset Multiple Sclerosis: A Scoping Review.

Cognitive impairment is increasingly recognized as an important clinical issue in pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS). However, variations regarding its assessment and remediation are noted in clinical arena. This scoping review aims to collate available evidence concerning cognitive assessment tool and cognitive rehabilitation for pediatric MS.

Usability of Food Size Aids in Mobile Dietary Reporting Apps for Young Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Young adults are more likely to use self-managed dietary reporting apps. However, there is scant research examining the user experience of different measurement approaches for mobile dietary reporting apps when dealing with a wide variety of food shapes and container sizes.

Objective: Field user experience testing was conducted under actual meal conditions to assess the accuracy, efficiency, and subjective reaction of three food portion measurement methods embedded in a developed mobile app.

Cognitive state verbs and complement clauses in children with SLI and their typically developing peers.

This study investigated the use of cognitive state verbs (CSVs) and complement clauses in children with specific language impairment (SLI) and their typically developing (TD) peers. In Study 1, conversational samples from 23 children with SLI (M = 6;2), 24 age-matched TD children (M = 6;2) and 21 vocabulary-matched TD children (M = 4;9) were analysed for the proportional use of CSVs, verb types, co-occurrence with complement clauses and syntactic frame types. Children in all three groups had similar performance in all measures.

Effectiveness of quetiapine for poststroke pathological laughing: case report and review of the literature.

Pathological laughing (PL) is an uncommon distressing symptom that occurs in patients with various neurological disorders. Dysregulation of serotonergic system has been proposed as one of the possible mechanisms resulting in this condition, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have been used for treatment of PL with variable effects. However, the pathogenetic mechanism of PL remains largely elusive, and other treatment choices needs to be explored.

Exacerbation of symptoms of lumbar disc herniation complicated by a schwannoma: a case report.

Herniation of the lumbar disc is a common cause of low back pain. Conservative management with physiotherapy, such as lumbar spine traction, is usually effective. Although a schwannoma of the lumbar spine is relatively uncommon, the clinical manifestations are similar to those of lumbar disc herniation, making the diagnosis difficult.