Association of blood active matrix metalloproteinase-3 with carotid plaque score from a community population in Taiwan.

Objective: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. However, the relationship between blood levels of MMPs and the extent of carotid atherosclerosis remains uncertain. We assessed blood levels of active MMPs in relation to the extent of carotid plaque formation and intima-media thickness (IMT) in a community population in Taiwan.

A survey of erectile dysfunction in Taiwan: use of the erection hardness score and quality of erection questionnaire.

Introduction: There are currently no studies in the Asia-Pacific region using the erection hardness score (EHS) and Quality of Erection Questionnaire (QEQ) to assess erectile dysfunction (ED).

Aims: To provide up-to-date data on the prevalence of ED in Taiwanese men and to validate the EHS and QEQ in this population.

Methods: A representative sample of 1,060 men aged ≥ 30 years completed a telephone interview.

Association of plasma leptin levels with maternal body weight and body mass index in premature and term newborns.

Background: Leptin plays an important role in the regulation of body weight and energy metabolism in adults; its role in neonates also needs to be explored. The current study aims to determine the correlation between serum leptin concentrations and anthropometric variables in newborns and their mothers, and to examine the effects of sex, gestational age and antenatal steroid use on neonatal leptin levels.

Methods: This was a retrospective study.

Posterior interosseous nerve palsy as a complication of friction massage in tennis elbow.

Friction massage is a commonly used physical therapy that is usually safe and without complication. We report an unusual case of posterior interosseous nerve palsy that arose after friction massage. Electrophysiologic findings confirmed a focal neuropathy 4-6 cm distal to the lateral epicondyle.

Prevalence and risk factors of somatic and autonomic neuropathy in prediabetic and diabetic patients.

Aims/hypothesis: To investigate the prevalence and correlates of somatic and autonomic neuropathies concurrently in prediabetic and diabetic subjects in the general population.

Subjects And Methods: Nerve conduction and heart rate variability studies were used for detecting both types of diabetic neuropathy. Of 1,576 inhabitants, 143 persons were identified as prediabetic or having diabetic mellitus.

The relationship between hypogonadism and erectile dysfunction.

It is well known that testosterone enhances sexual interest leading to an increased frequency of sexual acts and an increase in the frequency of sleep-related erections. However, it has little effect on fantasy- or visually induced erections. Exact contribution to erection from testosterone in men remains unclear.

Outcome of large hemispheric infarcts: an experience of 50 patients in Taiwan.

Background: Large hemispheric infarcts cause high mortality and morbidity. Understanding the clinical course and prognostic factors in patients with LHI, thereby enabling the identification of patients who will benefit from early aggressive intervention, is important. This study describes the clinical course of patients who had LHI and identifies the predictors for mortality.

Outcome of myasthenia gravis mothers and their infants.

Background: The aim of this retrospective study was to assess neonatal outcomes of pregnant women with myasthenia gravis (MG).

Methods: Pregnant women with MG who were treated in our hospital over an 8-year period were enrolled. Data relating to the course of the mother's MG (including the anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody (anti-AchR) titer and drug dosage), delivery mode, delivery course, puerperium period, and neonatal outcomes were obtained from the medical records.

Transdermal testosterone gel increases serum testosterone levels in hypogonadal men in Taiwan with improvements in sexual function.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted to (1) evaluate efficacy and safety of transdermal testosterone gel (AndroGel) for hypogonadal men in Taiwan, and (2) observe improvements in sexual function through international index of erectile function (IIEF) scores. Eligible hypogonadal men were randomized to receive 50 mg/day transdermal testosterone gel (TTG) or placebo for 3 months. Primary end point was change from baseline in total testosterone (TT) and free testosterone (FT).

Lower blood flow velocity, higher resistance index, and larger diameter of extracranial carotid arteries are associated with ischemic stroke independently of carotid atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk factors.

Purpose: To investigate the association between diameter and flow velocity of the carotid arteries and ischemic stroke.

Methods: Peak systolic velocity, end diastolic velocity, Pourcelot resistance index, blood flow volume, luminal diameter, and carotid plaque burden were measured and compared in 240 ischemic stroke (IS) patients without history of stroke, 163 chronic stable IS patients, and 236 nonstroke controls (age, >or=40 years). Data were also compared between stroke subtypes (large artery atherosclerosis, lacunar, cardioembolic, or undetermined origin).

Approximate entropy analysis of electroencephalogram in vasovagal syncope on tilt table test.

Thirty vasovagal attacks on sublingual nitroglycerin stressed tilting test were selected. By the method of shifting window along the continuous EEG signals the linear (spectral power and coherence) and nonlinear (approximate entropy) EEG features of the whole course in the tilt table test were demonstrated. Of all the EEG parameters approximate entropy is a more sensitive index in clarifying stages of various degree of tilting stress and in identifying the syncopal transient.

Simplified electrodiagnostic criteria of diabetic polyneuropathy in field study (KCIS No. 14).

This study sought to determine the sensitivity of sural sensory action amplitude (SAP) and peroneal motor conduction velocity (MCV) for differentiating the status of other nerve conduction velocities and identifying important correlates of diabetic polyneuropathy. Subjects (n = 708) with type 2 diabetes from one community completed a preliminary questionnaire. Among the 298 subjects with positive questionnaire results, 272 completed nerve conduction tests.

Evidence for a protective role for adiponectin in osteoarthritis.

Obesity has been associated with an increased risk of osteoarthritis (OA). However, the mechanism by which obesity contributes to OA remains uncertain. Adiponectin, an adipocyte-derived hormone, has shown anti-diabetic and anti-atherogenic properties.

Paralysis periodica paramyotonica caused by SCN4A Arg1448Cys mutation.

Paralysis periodica paramyotonica is an overlapping disease that shares the features of paramyotonia characteristic of paramyotonia congenita (PC) and periodic paralysis characteristic of hyperkalemic periodic paralysis. We report the case of a 23-year-old man with paralysis periodica paramyotonica. His father and a younger brother also exhibited a similar phenotype.

High titer of anticardiolipin antibody is associated with first-ever ischemic stroke in Taiwan.

Background And Purpose: The association between anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) and ischemic stroke is controversial, and there are few case-control studies of Asian populations. The aim of this study, therefore, was to determine whether aCL is an independent risk factor for ischemic stroke in Taiwanese patients over the age of 40 years.

Methods: Both the IgG and IgM isotypes of aCL were measured in 273 patients (> 40 years of age) hospitalized for first-ever ischemic stroke and in 181 non-stroke controls.

Combined use of androgen and sildenafil for hypogonadal patients unresponsive to sildenafil alone.

To investigate the therapeutic effect of androgen on hypogonadal patients unresponsive to sildenafil alone. In total, 32 hypogonadal patients with erectile dysfunction (ED), initially had an inadequate response to sildenafil (100 mg). Oral testosterone undecanoate (Restandol, 80 mg, bid or tid) alone was supplied for 2 months, and if patients could not achieve a satisfactory erection, combined use of testosterone and sildenafil was continued thereafter.

Correlations of androgen deficiency with clinical symptoms in Taiwanese males.

The purpose of this study was to elucidate correlations between different biochemical measurements of androgen deficiency and clinical symptoms in male residents of Taiwan. An investigation of the serum biochemical markers for androgen deficiency in 650 males, including total testosterone, calculated free testosterone, and bioavailable testosterone, was conducted. Measurements of clinical symptoms were obtained using a questionnaire of the androgen deficiency in the aging male (ADAM) by St Louis University (SLQ).

Hormone levels in middle-aged and elderly men with and without erectile dysfunction in Taiwan.

The change in sexual hormones with age in middle-aged and elderly Chinese men, with and without erectile dysfunction (ED), was investigated. Total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (FT), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) were determined from fasting serum samples by radioimmunoassay in 627 middle-aged and elderly ethnic Chinese men with and without ED. Calculated FT was derived from TT and SHBG.

Distal ulnar neuropathy in a golf player.

A 51-year-old right-handed amateur golfer has developed fasciculations in the left first dorsal interosseous muscle for 3 weeks. He did not have any pain or motor or sensory deficit. The nerve conduction study and electromyography showed that he had mononeuropathy of the deep palmar branch of the ulnar nerve in his left palm.

Two-stage community-based screening model for estimating prevalence of diabetic polyneuropathy (KCIS no. 6).

The aim of this study was to apply a calibrated two-stage community-based design to estimate the prevalence of diabetic distal sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DPN) in Taiwan. Type 2 diabetics were identified from a population-based screening program in Keelung, Taiwan. Administration of the Neurological Symptom Score (NSS) questionnaire identified 210 DPN-positive cases of the 587 diabetic subjects tested.

Cortical sensory loss in a patient with posterior cortical atrophy: a case report.

Patients with posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) who present with initial symptoms of higher visual function deficits eventually develop alexia, aphasia, and components of Balint's syndrome or Gerstmann's syndrome. Recently, pathological findings were reported for these patients that are generally suggestive of Alzheimer's disease even though Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) was presumed as an alternative cause of some autopsy-diagnosed PCA cases. Here, we report a case with a four-year progression of cognitive and higher visual function deterioration, and with features not described in previously reported PCA cases (i.

Laparoscopy-assisted transvaginal total exenteration for locally advanced cervical cancer with bladder invasion after radiotherapy.

When invasive cervical cancer involves the urinary bladder or rectum, exenteration can be curative treatment. However, this operation, particularly by an open approach, carries significant morbidity, both physically and psychologically. Laparoscopic surgery has been documented to be a reasonable alternative to the open counterpart for a variety of pelvic operative procedures, including such advanced procedures as laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy, total laparoscopic hysterectomy, and laparoscopy radical hysterectomy.

[Neuropharmacoeconomics].

Pharmacoeconomics is concerned with how to allocate drug resources among alternative uses efficiently and effectively. Economic evaluation is a set of formal quantitative methods to capture the outcomes and costs of alternate intervention strategies. There are four basic types of economic evaluations used to assess interventions, are classified on the basis of the outcomes employed: 1.