Work-related musculoskeletal disorders among physical therapists in Taiwan.

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) refer to musculoskeletal injuries caused by the occupation. Physical therapists (PTs) suffer from a high risk of WMSD despite their extensive knowledge in ergometrics and injury prevention. This study aims to discover the incidence and prevalence of WMSD among PTs using Taiwan's nationwide claims database.

Risk of dementia in colorectal cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: A nationwide cohort study.

Background: Studies have reported conflicting evidence regarding whether chemotherapy leads to dementia. This study aimed to determine whether chemotherapy increases dementia risk in Taiwanese patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods: Data from the Taiwan Cancer Registry and National Health Insurance Research Database were used.

The impact of antiseizure medications on polysomnographic parameters: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Oral antiseizure medications (ASMs) are first-line treatments for patients with epilepsy. However, ASMs may alter sleep architecture, adversely affecting patient outcomes. The meta-analysis aimed to elucidate the effect of ASMs on sleep architecture.

The influence of friendship on migraine in young adolescents: A social network analysis.

Objective: The current study explored whether the chances of having migraine are influenced by a youth's friendship with a migraineur.

Methods: The study was centered on a community-based non-referral cohort of eighth graders from two middle schools in Taiwan. Among the 642 recruited adolescent students, 610 (95%) (mean age 14.

A prospective, observational study on conversion of clinically isolated syndrome to multiple sclerosis during 4-year period (MS NEO study) in Taiwan.

Importance: CIS to MS conversion rates vary depending on population cohorts, initial manifestations, and durations of follow-up.

Objective: To investigate conversion rate of patients from CIS to MS and the prognostic significance of demographic and clinical variables in Taiwanese population.

Design: Nationwide, prospective, multi-centric, observational study from November 2008 to November 2014 with 4 years follow-up.

Risk of breast cancer recurrence in patients receiving manual lymphatic drainage: a hospital-based cohort study.

Background: This retrospective cohort study evaluated whether manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) therapy increases the risk of recurrence of breast cancer.

Methods: We analyzed 1,106 women who were diagnosed with stage 0-3 breast cancer between 2007 and 2011 and experienced remission after surgery and adjuvant therapy. The patients were divided into two groups: group A (n=996), in which patients did not participate in any MLD therapy, regardless of whether they developed breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) after cancer treatment; and group B (n=110), in which patients participated in MLD therapy for BCRL.

Role of physiotherapy and patient education in lymphedema control following breast cancer surgery.

Introduction: This retrospective cohort study evaluated whether education in combination with physiotherapy can reduce the risk of breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL).

Methods: We analyzed 1,217 women diagnosed with unilateral breast cancer between January 2007 and December 2011 who underwent tumor resection and axillary lymph node dissection. The patients were divided into three groups: Group A (n=415), who received neither education nor physiotherapy postsurgery; Group B (n=672), who received an educational program on BCRL between Days 0 and 7 postsurgery; and Group C (n=130), who received an educational program on BCRL between Days 0 and 7 postsurgery, followed by a physiotherapy program.

Potential cognitive decline linked to angiotensin-converting enzyme gene but not hypertension: Evidence from cognitive event-related potentials.

Objectives: The aims of the present study were to investigate the effect of hypertension and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) genotypes on cognitive event-related potentials (ERPs), and whether the impact of ACE genotypes on P300 is related to the influence of hypertension.

Methods: Using the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI), we recruited 97 mentally healthy middle-aged and older adults. Medical histories were collected, and blood pressure, ACE insertion/deletion polymorphisms and ERPs in an auditory oddball task were measured for all participants.

The benefit of early rehabilitation following tendon repair of the hand: A population-based claims database analysis.

Study Design: A retrospective cohort.

Introduction: The benefits of early rehabilitation after hand tendon repair have not been analyzed using population-based datasets.

Purpose Of The Study: to analyze whether early rehabilitation reduces the resurgery risk and the use of rehabilitation resources.

Incidence and risk factors of chronic daily headache in young adolescents: a school cohort study.

Objectives: This study investigated the incidence and risk factors of chronic daily headache (CDH) and its major subtypes in young adolescents.

Methods: A field cohort of 3342 adolescents aged 13 to 14 was established in 3 middle schools in Taitung, Taiwan, from 2005 to 2007. Participants without CDH at baseline were annually followed up for 1 to 2 years using the same questionnaires, including the Adolescent Depression Inventory and Pediatric Migraine Disability Assessment.

Transient visual disturbances in adolescents: migrainous feature or headache-accompanied phenomenon?

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence, characteristics and clinical correlates of transient visual disturbances (TVDs) in adolescents with headaches.

Methods: We surveyed headache-related TVDs in the past three months in two middle schools. All the ninth-grade students filled-in the questionnaires including demographics, a validated headache questionnaire, and visual phenomenon questions embedding the Visual Aura Rating Scale (VARS).

Surgical treatment of the synkinetic eyelid closure in Marin-Amat syndrome.

Marin-Amat syndrome is a synkinesis which develops following facial nerve palsy and manifests as an involuntary eyelid closure when the jaw is opened. We presented 2 patients with Marin-Amat syndrome. One patient developed this syndrome after Bell palsy and the other after cross-facial nerve graft and free functional muscle transfer.

Histamine regulates cyclooxygenase 2 gene activation through Orai1-mediated NFκB activation in lung cancer cells.

Histamine, an important chemical mediator, has been shown to regulate inflammation and allergic responses. Stimulation of histamine receptors results in a significant increase in cytoplasmic Ca(2+), which could be mediated by inositol trisphosphate (IP(3))-dependent store-operated Ca(2+) channels (SOC). However, the link between histamine-mediated signaling and activation of inflammatory genes such as cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) is still unknown.

Relationship between childhood physical maltreatment and migraine in adolescents.

Objective: To study the relationship between childhood physical abuse and migraine in adolescents.

Background: Childhood maltreatment might lead to an increased probability of migraine among adults. Nevertheless, the relationship between migraine and childhood abuse is unknown in adolescents.

Headache disability among adolescents: a student population-based study.

Objective: To examine the extent and to identify the relevant predictors of headache disabilities in adolescents.

Background: Headaches are common in adolescents but their impact and related factors have not been extensively studied in adolescent communities.

Method: We recruited and surveyed 3963 students aged 13-15 from 3 middle schools using self-administered questionnaires.

Symmetric atrophy of bilateral distal upper extremities and hyperIgEaemia in a male adolescent with Hirayama disease.

Hirayama disease is a rare neuromuscular disorder with peak age of onset at 15 to 17 years among young males. We report a male adolescent presenting with symmetric weakness and atrophy of bilateral upper extremities progressing for 2 years before stabilizing. Otherwise, he did not complain of any sensory disturbance.

Chronic daily headache in adolescents: an 8-year follow-up study.

Objective: To assess the long-term outcome of a community-based adolescent cohort with chronic daily headache (CDH).

Methods: A field sample of 122 adolescents aged 12-14 years with CDH was established in 2000 (baseline) with short-term follow-up studies in 2001 and 2002. In 2008, the cohort was re-interviewed by physicians via telephone to determine the headache profile for the past year, including Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS), a headache disability questionnaire.

Impact of migraine on the employed labor force in Taiwan.

Background: To estimate the economic impact of migraine on the employed labor force in Taiwan.

Methods: The age- and sex-specific migraine prevalence rates, self-reported missed workdays due to migraine, and monthly income were obtained from 3,377 subjects of a community-based headache questionnaire survey in the greater Taipei area. The migraine-related loss was projected to the whole Taiwanese population based on statistics from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics of the Executive Yuan, Taiwan.

Outcomes and predictors of chronic daily headache in adolescents: a 2-year longitudinal study.

Objectives: To assess the outcomes and predictors of chronic daily headache (CDH) in a community-based cohort of adolescents.

Methods: We established a field sample of 122 adolescents (32 M/90 F, ages 12 to 14) with CDH in 2000. These adolescents received annual follow-up by neurologists for 2 years via a semistructured telephone interview.

Chronic daily headache in adolescents: prevalence, impact, and medication overuse.

Objectives: To examine the prevalence, impact, and related medication use or overuse of primary chronic daily headache (CDH) among adolescents in a field sample.

Methods: The authors conducted a two-phase CDH survey of all students from ages 12 to 14 years in five selected middle schools in Taiwan. Subjects with CDH in the past year were identified and interviewed by neurologists.

Does medication overuse headache represent a behavior of dependence?

Medication overuse is relatively common in patients with frequent headache. To explore the prevalence of patients who meet the criteria for substance dependence in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Edition IV (DSM-IV), and to identify variables of substance dependence among patients with chronic daily headache, we recruited consecutive patients with chronic daily headache at a headache clinic from November 1999 to June 2004. Each patient completed a headache intake form, a dependence questionnaire modified from DSM-IV, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).