Evaluating the Effectiveness of Prophylactic Strategies for Hemophilia A Management: A Real-World, Longitudinal Observational Study.

Background: Hemophilia A (HA) treatment strategies aim to manage bleeding episodes and improve patients' quality of life. This study investigates the effectiveness of a preventative approach using intermediate-dose prophylaxis with standard half-life FVIII products in reducing bleeding rates and enhancing the quality of life for patients with severe HA.

Methods: A 4-year prospective longitudinal study followed 35 patients with severe HA (without FVIII inhibitors) who transitioned from a reactive treatment approach to intermediate-dose prophylaxis in Taiwan from 2014 until 2018.

Quantified Facial Rejuvenation Utilizing High Intense Focus Ultrasound with Multiple Penetrative Depths.

Background: Multiple penetration depths of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment for facial rejuvenation have not been quantified.

Methods: We enrolled 12 participants (n=24) to undergo one session of HIFU rejuvenation between January 1, 2019, and January 10, 2020. We used a 2-, 4.

Impact of CCL4 gene polymorphisms and environmental factors on oral cancer development and clinical characteristics.

In Taiwan, oral cancer has causally been associated with environmental carcinogens. CCL4 (C-C chemokine ligand 4), a macrophage inflammatory protein with a key role in inflammation and immune-regulation, was implicated in carcinogenesis by facilitating instability in the tumor environment. The purpose of this study was to identify gene polymorphisms of CCL4 specific to patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) susceptibility and clinicopathological characteristics.

WITHDRAWN: Predicting multidrug resistance-related protein and P-glycoprotein expression with technetium-99m tetrofosmin mammoscintigraphy.

The publisher regrets that this is an accidental duplication of an article that has already been published in The Breast, 12 (2003) 58-62, doi:10.1016/S0960-9776(02)00136-4. The duplicate article has therefore been withdrawn.

Donor site morbidity after harvesting of proximal tibia bone.

Background: Bone-grafting procedures are common in head and neck surgery. Donor site morbidity is an important factor in deciding the site for harvest of cancellous bone. The tibia has been recommended as a harvest site.

Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with ulcer recurrence after partial gastrectomy.

Background/aims: Recurrent ulceration of the stomach occurs in some patients after surgery for peptic ulcer disease. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association of Helicobacter pylori infection with ulcer recurrence in patients after partial gastrectomy due to peptic ulcer disease.

Methodology: A total of 186 patients after partial gastrectomy with Billroth I or Billroth II anastomosis presenting with dyspepsia or bleeding were included.

Lower limb wrapping prevents hypotension, but not hypothermia or shivering, after the introduction of epidural anesthesia for cesarean delivery.

The decrease of arterial blood pressure and body temperature after epidural or spinal anesthesia is thought to be the result of sympathetic block, which could cause pooling and redistribution of blood into the lower extremities. Studies have demonstrated that leg wrapping with elastic bandages may reduce the incidence of hypotension after spinal anesthesia. We tried to extend these previous observations to epidural anesthesia by testing the hypothesis that leg wrapping with elastic bandages should decrease the incidence of hypotension in patients receiving epidural anesthesia.

p53 gene codon 72 polymorphism but not tumor necrosis factor-alpha gene is associated with prostate cancer.

Objective: A polymorphism of gene p53 codon 72 is associated with various cancer formations. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) one of the cytokines secreted by macrophages in response to inflammation and is also related to cancer formation. We aimed to evaluate the association between prostate cancer and the polymorphisms of the TNF-alpha gene promoter -308 and p53 gene codon 72.

Association between urokinase-plasminogen activator gene T4065C polymorphism and risk of mitral valve prolapse.

Background: Abnormalities of collagen and elastic fibers were found in floppy mitral valves (FMV). Urokinase-plasminogen activator (PLAU) was suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of elastin and collagen degradation in arterial aneurysm. The role of PLAU genetic variant in mitral valve prolapse (MVP) has not been studied.

Usefulness of techntium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime lung scan to detect subclinical lung injury in patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

In this study, we employed techntium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (Tc-99m HMPAO) lung scan to detect subclinical lung injury of patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) who had normal chest X-ray findings (CXR) and pulmonary function test (PFT). The degree of pulmonary vascular endothelium damage was represented as lung/liver uptake ratios (L/L ratios) calculated by Tc-99m HMPAO lung scan. The L/L ratios of the 20 male NIDDM patients with normal CXR and PFT were compared with those of the 20 male normal controls.

Effects of concentrated ambient particles on heart rate, blood pressure, and cardiac contractility in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Epidemiological studies have shown that particulate matter (PM) air pollution is associated with cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, especially for particles with aerodynamic diameters under 2.5 microm (PM(2.5)).

Usefulness of FDG-PET to detect recurrent cervical cancer based on asymptomatically elevated tumor marker serum levels--a preliminary report.

This study was to evaluate the clinical impact of whole body positron emission tomography (PET) with 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) to detect recurrent cervical cancer based on asymptomatically elevated tumor marker levels. Whole-body FDG-PET was performed in 20 patients with suspected recurrent squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the cervix and asymptomatic tumor marker of SCC antigen increased serum levels but negative or equivocal other imaging modality results. All of these 20 asymptomatic patients have serum levels of SCC antigen > 1.

Association between COL3A1 collagen gene exon 31 polymorphism and risk of floppy mitral valve/mitral valve prolapse.

Background: Collagen structure is a key element in mitral valves. Collagen defects were proposed as the primary events causing floppy mitral valves (FMV). The role of collagen genetic variant in floppy mitral valve/mitral valve prolapse (FMV/MVP) has not been well studied.

Gene transfections with p53 and p21 inhibit cell proliferation, collagen type I, leukemia inhibitory factor, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha expression in leiomyoma cells.

Objective: To transfect the p53 and p21 gene into the leiomyoma cells isolated from patients and observe their influence on the cell proliferation, leukemia inhibitory factor production, and gene expression of collagen type I as well as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) of cultured cells.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: An assisted reproductive technology (ART) and genetic unit of a medical center.

Association of the nicotinic receptor beta 2 subunit and febrile seizures.

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are members of a superfamily of ligand-gated ion channels that mediate fast signal transmission at synapses. Mutations in neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor beta 2 subunit have been associated with autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsies. A major challenge is to establish whether the monogenic epilepsy gene also contributes to the common epilepsies.

Lack of association between perlecan gene intron 6 BamHI polymorphism and risk of mitral valve prolapse in Taiwan Chinese.

Abnormalities of proteoglycan, collagen, and elastic fibers were found in floppy mitral valves. Perlecan is one of the three major classes of heparan sulfate proteoglycans within the cardiovascular system. The role of perlecan genetic variant in mitral valve prolapse (MVP) has not been studied.

The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in transitional cell carcinoma of urinary bladder is correlated with cancer progression.

Vascular epithelial growth factor (VEGF) regulates neovascualrization in malignant cells. VEGF as a mitogen is thought to alter cancer cell formation and tumor progression. We aimed to investigative the expression of the VEGF gene to evaluate their clinical significance in transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of urinary bladder.

A two-center survey of cardiac events and peri-operative managements of cardiac patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery in Taiwanese population.

Background: The risk of cardiac patients undergoing noncardiac surgery is relatively high. Successful preoperative evaluation and perioperative anesthetic management of a patient require a good communication among the patient, the anesthesiologist and the surgeon as well as excellent cooperation between the surgeon and anesthesiologist with a tacit understanding of the peri-operative risks. Peri-operative risk factors have been readily investigated in Caucasians or Westerners.

Gm (23) allotypes and Fcgamma receptor genotypes as risk factors for various forms of periodontitis.

Objectives: Given the diversity of the distribution of the Gm (23) allotypes and FcgammaR genotypes in different ethnic groups, it was our purpose to examine their clinical significance in periodontitis in Taiwan.

Material & Methods: Genomic DNA of 50 patients with chronic periodontitis (CP), 30 patients with generalized aggressive periodontitis (G-AP) and 74 healthy controls were harvested. The Gm (23) allotypes were determined by radial immunodiffusion test, and the FcgammaR IIa (CD32) and IlIb (CD16) genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction-based allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization.

Association of TAP2 gene polymorphisms in Chinese patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the polymorphism of transporters associated with antigen processing ( TAP1/TAP2) genes and rheumatoid arthritis in Chinese patients. A total of 100 RA patients and 99 healthy control subjects were enrolled. Analyses with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based restrictions were used to identify the polymorphisms of the TAP1 and TAP2 genes, which were mapped on chromosome 6.

A corticotropin-releasing hormone antisense oligodeoxynucleotide reduces spontaneous waking in the rat.

We have previously hypothesized that corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) is involved in the regulation of physiological waking. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that reduction of CRH peptide would reduce spontaneous wakefulness of rats. We administered intracerebroventricularly into rats at several circadian time points antisense or sense DNA oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) corresponding to the initiation codon of CRH mRNA and determined subsequent effects on wakefulness and sleep of the rat.

A comparative study on body figure and serum lipid profile between aboriginal and Chinese elementary schoolchildren in mid-Taiwan.

Unlabelled: The aim of this study was to compare the body figure and serum lipid profiles of aboriginal students living in rural side in Nantou and Chinese students living in Taichung City.

Methods: Body figure and blood lipid profile was examined in elementary school fifth grade aboriginal students in Nantou and Chinese students in Taichung City, aged 10-year-10-month old to 11-year-6-month old.

Results: In girls, aboriginal students in Nantou have higher body mass index (BMI) (20.

Increased lung uptake of technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime in diffuse infiltrative lung disease.

Background: Diffuse infiltrative lung disease (ILD) is a heterogeneous group of disorders which predominantly affect the lung parenchyma and spare the airway.

Objective: To assess pulmonary vascular endothelium damage in ILD, the lung uptake of technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO) was determined.

Methods: In 20 ILD patients and 25 controls without ILD, the lung uptake of 99mTc-HMPAO was measured.