BioMed research international
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This paper presents the final results of a cross-sectional study started in 2010. It compares the perceived efficacy of different types of tobacco health warning (texts versus shocking pictures) to quit or reduce tobacco use. ⋯ This study suggests that pictorial warnings on cigarette packages are more likely to be noticed and rated as effective by Italian smokers. Female and younger smokers appear to be more involved by shock images. The jarring warnings also appear to be supporting those who want to quit smoking. This type of supportive information in Italy may become increasingly important for helping smokers to change their behavior.
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Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne pathogen that has a major health impact in humans and causes acute febrile illness in humans accompanied by joint pains and, in many cases, persistent arthralgia lasting for weeks to years. CHIKV reemerged in 2005-2006 in several parts of the Indian Ocean islands and India after a gap of 32 years, causing millions of cases. ⋯ However, there is no vaccine against CHIKV infection licensed for human use, and therapy for CHIKV infection is still mainly limited to supportive care as antiviral agents are yet in different stages of testing or development. In this review we explore the different perspectives for chikungunya treatment and the effectiveness of these treatment regimens and discuss the scope for future directions.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of the sagittal spine lordosis by supine computed tomography and upright conventional radiographs in patients with spinal trauma.
Retrospective data analysis. Objective. To compare the sagittal lordosis of the lumbar spine by supine computed tomography (CT) and upright conventional radiographs. ⋯ The use of supine CT measurements as a baseline assessment of the sagittal lordosis of the injured thoracolumbar spine does not appear to be appropriate when upright conventional sagittal plane radiographs are used for follow-up measurements.
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Sugammadex offers a good alternative to the conventional decurarisation process currently performed with cholinesterase inhibitors. Sugammadex, which was developed specifically for the aminosteroid-structured rocuronium and vecuronium neuromuscular blockers, is a modified cyclodextrin made up of 8 glucose monomers arranged in a cylindrical shape. ⋯ Sugammadex was successfully used to reverse rocuronium-induced neuromuscular block in patients where neostigmine was insufficient.
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Case Reports
A rare cause of postpartum low back pain: pregnancy- and lactation-associated osteoporosis.
Pregnancy- and lactation-associated osteoporosis (PLO) is a rare form of osteoporosis. It results in severe low back pain in the last trimester of pregnancy and in the postpartum period, decreases in height, and fragility fractures, particularly in the vertebra. ⋯ PLO must be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis in patients presenting with low back pain during or after pregnancy. The patients must be evaluated for the risk factors of PLO, and an appropriate therapy must be initiated.