Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
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Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited disease characterized by both mental and motor dysfunctions. Our previous studies showed that HD mice demonstrate a diminished pain response. However, few studies have focused on the relationship between HD and morphine analgesia. The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare the analgesic effects of morphine in HD and wild-type (WT) mice. ⋯ Our data demonstrate better morphine analgesic and less pain-related cytokine responses at the spinal cord level for HD mice. Further studies are needed to determine the morphine analgesia mechanism in HD.
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The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has brought an unprecedented impact upon the global economy and public health. Although the SARS-CoV-2 virology has been gradually investigated, measures to combat this new threat in public health are still absent. ⋯ Several major breakthroughs have been made through the identification of the genetic sequence and structural/non-structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2, which enabled the development of RNA-, DNA-based vaccines, subunit vaccines, and attenuated viral vaccines. In this review article, we present an overview of the recent advances of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and the challenges that may be encountered in the development process, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches that may help in effectively countering COVID-19.
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Military veterans (veterans, in short), due to their unique military experience, face a variety of health issues either unique to their service or more common than the general population. This study aims to achieve a better understanding of the publications focused on veterans from 1989 to 2018 using a PubMed-based bibliometric analysis of research articles on veterans. ⋯ Publications related to veterans increased significantly from 1989 to 2018. A considerable number of the publications were in journals of psychiatric and psychological categories. However, most publications were descriptive of US veterans. Future research related to veterans in Taiwan deserves further exploration to provide a reference for prioritization of the health care and policy making.
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To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the XEN45 Gel Stent in East Asian patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). ⋯ The XEN45 Gel Stent effectively reduced the IOP values and number of glaucoma medications in East Asian patients with POAG. No major complications were observed, but almost half of the eyes in the study required intervention for wound healing modification. Postoperative IOP at month 1 was a predictor of surgical success at 12 months after surgery.