An analysis of prescribing data in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder for adolescents and adults in Scotland.

Background: Medication, combined with environmental and psychosocial support, can mitigate adverse outcomes in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). There is a need for research into regional and national prescription volumes and patterns, especially among adults.

Aims: This study analysed prescribing patterns for medications commonly used to treat ADHD in adolescents and adults.

Association of bradykinin receptor 2 (BDKRB2) variants with physical performance and muscle mass: Findings from the LACE sarcopenia trial.

Introduction: Understanding genetic contributors to sarcopenia (age-related loss of muscle strength and mass) is key to finding effective therapies. Variants of the bradykinin receptor 2 (BDKRB2) have been linked to athletic and muscle performance. The rs1799722-9 and rs5810761 T alleles have been shown to be overrepresented in endurance athletes, possibly due to increased transcriptional rates of the receptor.

Why do students choose to do an extended GP placement?

The drivers for medical students' decision making when considering which Student Selected Component (SSC) to undertake is poorly understood. Furthermore, it is unclear why students undertake a specific SSC allowing them to have an extended placement in GP in their final year. It is known that high quality GP placements encourage students to subsequently choose GP as their career, therefore if the decision-making process of students in this area can be better understood, then this may help inform medical school actions to encourage a greater uptake of these extended placements.

A Pharmacist Clinician Model as part of a collaborative clinical workforce: A philosophical critique.

The term 'clinician' is not reserved for any healthcare professional group. However, there is a general acceptance that a clinician would have the knowledge, skills and behaviours to enable them to clinically assess and manage a patient autonomously. The expectation, in a modern collaborative healthcare system, is that this work would be completed as a part of a planned and integrated multi-disciplinary care delivery structure, where any given clinician delivers a devolved element of that patient's care.

Age and cancer type: associations with increased odds of receiving a late diagnosis in people with advanced cancer.

Purpose: In order to deliver appropriate and timely care planning and minimise avoidable late diagnoses, clinicians need to be aware of which patients are at higher risk of receiving a late cancer diagnosis. We aimed to determine which demographic and clinical factors are associated with receiving a 'late' cancer diagnosis (within the last 12 weeks of life).

Method: Retrospective cohort study of 2,443 people who died from cancer ('cancer decedents') in 2013-2015.

Activin type I receptor polymorphisms and body composition in older individuals with sarcopenia-Analyses from the LACE randomised controlled trial.

Background: Ageing is associated with changes in body composition including an overall reduction in muscle mass and a proportionate increase in fat mass. Sarcopenia is characterised by losses in both muscle mass and strength. Body composition and muscle strength are at least in part genetically determined, consequently polymorphisms in pathways important in muscle biology (e.

Biogenesis, inheritance, and 3D ultrastructure of the microsporidian mitosome.

During the reductive evolution of obligate intracellular parasites called microsporidia, a tiny remnant mitochondrion (mitosome) lost its typical cristae, organellar genome, and most canonical functions. Here, we combine electron tomography, stereology, immunofluorescence microscopy, and bioinformatics to characterise mechanisms of growth, division, and inheritance of this minimal mitochondrion in two microsporidia species (grown within a mammalian RK13 culture-cell host). Mitosomes of (2-12/cell) and (14-18/nucleus) displayed incremental/non-phasic growth and division and were closely associated with an organelle identified as equivalent to the fungal microtubule-organising centre (microsporidian spindle pole body; mSPB).

ACE I/D genotype associates with strength in sarcopenic men but not with response to ACE inhibitor therapy in older adults with sarcopenia: Results from the LACE trial.

Background: Angiotensin II (AII), has been suggested to promote muscle loss. Reducing AII synthesis, by inhibiting angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) activity has been proposed as a method to inhibit muscle loss. The LACE clinical trial was designed to determine whether ACE inhibition would reduce further muscle loss in individuals with sarcopenia but suffered from low recruitment and returned a negative result.

National audit of pathways in epileptic seizure referrals (NAPIER): A national, multicentre audit of first seizure clinics throughout the UK and Ireland.

Background: Current guidelines set clinical standards for the management of suspected first seizures and epilepsy. We aimed to assess if these standards are being met across first seizure clinics nationally, to describe variations in care and identify opportunities for service delivery improvement.

Methods: Multicentre audit assessing the care of adults (≥16 years) referred to first seizure clinics from 31st December 2019 going backwards (30 consecutive patients per centre).

Repurposing Drugs for Diabetes Mellitus as Potential Pharmacological Treatments for Sarcopenia - A Narrative Review.

Sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle strength and mass or quality, is a common condition with major adverse consequences. Although the pathophysiology is incompletely understood, there are common mechanisms between sarcopenia and the phenomenon of accelerated ageing seen in diabetes mellitus. Drugs currently used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus may have mechanisms of action that are relevant to the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia, for those with type 2 diabetes and those without diabetes.

The Scottish COVID Cancer Immunity Prevalence Study: A Longitudinal Study of SARS-CoV-2 Immune Response in Patients Receiving Anti-Cancer Treatment.

Background: Cancer and anti-cancer treatment (ACT) may be risk factors for severe SARS-CoV-2 infection and limited vaccine efficacy. Long-term longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate these risks. The Scottish COVID cancer immunity prevalence (SCCAMP) study characterizes the incidence and outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination in patients with solid tumors undergoing ACT.

Free-text analysis of general practice out-of-hours (GPOOH) use by people with advanced cancer: an analysis of coded and uncoded free-text data.

Background: People with advanced cancer frequently use the GP out-of-hours (GPOOH) service. Considerable amounts of routine GPOOH data are uncoded. Therefore, these data are omitted from existing healthcare datasets.

Laparoscopic Lumen-guided cholecystectomy in face of the difficult gallbladder.

Background: Where the critical view of safety cannot be established during cholecystectomy, certain salvage techniques are indicated to reduce the likelihood of bile duct injury. The present study describes a salvage technique termed the "laparoscopic lumen-guided cholecystectomy" (LLC) and reports its peri-operative outcomes.

Method: A summary of the technique is as follows: (1) Hartmann's pouch is incised and stones are evacuated; (2) the cystic anatomy is inspected from the inside of the gallbladder; (3) the lumen is used to guide retrograde dissection towards the cystic pedicle; (4) cystic duct control is achieved if deemed safe.

Community prescribing trends and prevalence in the last year of life, for people who die from cancer.

Background: People who die from cancer ('cancer decedents') may latterly experience unpleasant and distressing symptoms. Prescribing medication for pain and symptom control is essential for good-quality palliative care; however, such provision is variable, difficult to quantify and poorly characterised in current literature. This study aims to characterise trends in prescribing analgesia, non-analgesic palliative care medication and non-palliative medications, to cancer decedents, in their last year of life, and to assess any associations with demographic or clinical factors.

Effect of perindopril or leucine on physical performance in older people with sarcopenia: the LACE randomized controlled trial.

Background: This trial aimed to determine the efficacy of leucine and/or perindopril in improving physical function in older people with sarcopenia.

Methods: Placebo-controlled, parallel group, double-blind, randomized two-by-two factorial trial. We recruited adults aged ≥ 70 years with sarcopenia, defined as low gait speed (<0.

What advances may the future bring to the diagnosis, treatment, and care of male sexual and reproductive health?

Over the past 40 years, since the publication of the original WHO Laboratory Manual for the Examination and Processing of Human Semen, the laboratory methods used to evaluate semen markedly changed and benefited from improved precision and accuracy, as well as the development of new tests and improved, standardized methodologies. Herein, we present the impact of the changes put forth in the sixth edition together with our views of evolving technologies that may change the methods used for the routine semen analysis, up-and-coming areas for the development of new procedures, and diagnostic approaches that will help to extend the often-descriptive interpretations of several commonly performed semen tests that promise to provide etiologies for the abnormal semen parameters observed. As we look toward the publication of the seventh edition of the manual in approximately 10 years, we describe potential advances that could markedly impact the field of andrology in the future.

Quantifying lesion enhancement on contrast-enhanced mammography: a review of published data.

Aim: To review and discuss the current published data on FUNCTIONAL DATA DERIVED FROM contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) for investigation of breast lesions.

Materials And Methods: Literature searches were conducted in MEDLINE and PUBMED. Due to the novel nature of CESM and sparsity of published literature pertaining to associated functional data, the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) used were intentionally broad.

Evaluating and communicating hepatitis C cascades of care data in Tayside, Scotland: A journey towards elimination.

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the leading causes of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The WHO 2030 Elimination Goals require each country to evaluate their response to their epidemics. This can be achieved by visualization of cascades of care, depicting how infected cases move through disease control stages.

Public Perceptions of Harm for Nine Popular Gambling Products.

Gambling causes significant levels of harm globally and is recognised as a serious public health issue. To reduce gambling-related harm, various strategies and policies have been recommended, including decreasing the availability of gambling products, restricting gambling advertising, and implementing public education campaigns. Government willingness to implement such strategies will be influenced by levels of public support, which in turn will be dependent on public perceptions of the harm caused by gambling products.