A protocol for acute stroke unit care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Acute stroke unit (ASU) care is proven to reduce mortality and morbidity. During the COVID-19 crisis, established physical units and care practices within existing physical units are likely to be disrupted. Stroke patients with possible suspected COVID-19 infection may be isolated in other wards outside the ASU.

A double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial of probiotics in systemic sclerosis associated gastrointestinal disease.

Objective: Assess whether treatment with probiotics improve gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods: In this double-blind randomized placebo-controlled parallel-group phase II trial, SSc subjects with total score ≥ 0.1 on a validated SSc-specific gastrointestinal tract (GIT) questionnaire were randomized (1:1) to receive 60 days of high dose multi-strain probiotics (Vivomixx® 1800 billion units/day) or identical placebo, followed by an additional 60 days of probiotics in both groups.

Report of a Leprosy case in Singapore: an age-old disease not to be forgotten in developed countries with low-prevalence settings.

Introduction: Leprosy is rarely reported in developed countries with low-prevalence settings. Its diagnosis may be missed due to its low frequency in non-endemic regions, as well as its long incubation period. The report describes an imported leprosy case of a healthcare worker in Singapore.

An unusual cause of chest pain in army trainee - spontaneous pneumomediastinum.

This is a case report of spontaneous pneumomediastinum that occurred in a 19-year-old army trainee during his 2.4km run. Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is a rare disorder.

Hypoxia increases adipogenesis and affects adipocytokine production in orbital fibroblasts-a possible explanation of the link between smoking and Graves' ophthalmopathy.

Aim: To assess the effects of hypoxia on human orbital fibroblasts (OF) on adipogenesis and adipocytokine production.

Methods: Human OF were derived from tissues obtained from patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) and from patients without known thyroid diseases undergoing blepharoplasty. The OF were cultured separately under normoxic and hypoxic conditions.