Medicine
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Observational Study
Risks of Adverse Events Following Coprescription of Statins and Calcium Channel Blockers: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.
Some statins (simvastatin, lovastatin, and atorvastatin) are metabolized by cytochrome P450s 3A4 (CYP3A4). Inhibitors of CYP3A4 including some calcium channel blockers (CCBs) might increase statin blood concentration, owing to drug-drug interactions. Risk of adverse events such as acute kidney injury might occur following the coprescription of CYP3A4-metabolized statins and CCBs that inhibit CYP3A4. ⋯ Patients who received CYP3A4-metabolized statins had significantly higher risk of acute kidney injury (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.12; 95% CI = 1.35-3.35), hyperkalemia (adjusted OR = 2.94; 95% CI = 1.36-6.35), acute myocardial infarction (adjusted OR = 1.55; 95% CI = 1.16-2.07), and acute ischemic stroke (adjusted OR = 1.35; 95% CI = 1.08-1.68) than those who received non-CYP3A4-metabolized statins. This nationwide cohort study demonstrated the increased risk of adverse events following the coprescription of CYP3A4-metabolized statins and CCBs that inhibit CYP3A4. Therefore, it is important to take into account the potential adverse events while coprescribing CYP3A4-metabolized statins and CCBs that inhibit CYP3A4.
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Increased bone turnover and other less frequent comorbidities of hyperthyroidism, such as heart failure, have only rarely been reported in association with central hyperthyroidism due to a thyrotropin (TSH)-secreting pituitary adenoma (TSHoma). Treatment is highly empirical and relies on eliminating the tumor and the hyperthyroid state. We report here an unusual case of a 39-year-old man who was initially admitted for management of pleuritic chest pain and fever of unknown origin. ⋯ Thyroxine was discontinued, and resection of the pituitary tumor followed by treatment with a somatostatin analog led to complete recession of the effusions, normalization of ALP, and shrinkage of pituitary tumor. Accelerated bone metabolism and pericardial and pleural effusions attributed to a TSHoma may resolve after successful treatment of the tumor. The unexpected clinical course of this case highlights the need for careful long-term surveillance in patients with these rare pituitary adenomas.
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Case Reports
First Case Report of Smith-Magenis Syndrome (SMS) Among the Arab Community in Nazareth: View and Overview.
Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS0) is a complex and rare genetic multisystem disorder characterized by a variable pattern of cognitive deficits accompanied by a1 distinctive behavioral phenotype. SMS is characterized by subtle facial dysmorphology, short stature, sleep disturbances, and neurobehavioral abnormalities. Little is known about the manifestation of his unique case among Arab population and its strategic treatment. ⋯ Sleep and behavioral disturbances treatment include a combination of the daytime dose of acebutolol with an evening oral dose of melatonin. Melatonin as chronobiotic, antioxidant, and analgesic agent showed to be effective in different primary sleep disorders and in those associated with neurobehavioral disorders. Based on the beneficial effect of melatonin, it will be useful to use serum levels of melatonin as a follow-up test.
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Observational Study
Blood Lead and Other Metal Biomarkers as Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease Mortality.
Analyses of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) in 1988 to 1994 found an association of increasing blood lead levels < 10 μg/dL with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. The potential need to correct blood lead for hematocrit/hemoglobin and adjust for biomarkers for other metals, for example, cadmium and iron, had not been addressed in the previous NHANES III-based studies on blood lead-CVD mortality association. We analyzed 1999 to 2010 NHANES data for 18,602 participants who had a blood lead measurement, were ≥ 40 years of age at the baseline examination and were followed for mortality through 2011. ⋯ In a nationally representative sample of U. S. adults, log-transformed blood lead was linearly associated with increased CVD mortality. Correcting blood lead for hematocrit/hemoglobin and adjustments for some biomarkers affected the association.
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The aim of the study is to investigate the prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus (hr-HPV) genotypes among Han women with high-grade cervical lesions in Beijing, China. Cervical cell specimens from patients with histopathologically confirmed cervical lesions at 7 hospitals in Beijing were examined with a validated HPV kit for 13 hr-HPV genotypes during the study period. The patients were divided into a low-grade cervical lesions group (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 1, CIN1) and a high-grade cervical lesions group (CIN2+, including cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2, CIN2; cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3, CIN3; squamous cervical cancer, SCC; and adenocarcinoma of the cervix, ACC) based on the histopathology results. ⋯ The highest positive rate occurred in the ≤24 year-old group for all types of cervical lesions. The prevalence of HPV genotypes in the targeted population with high-grade cervical lesions differs from that of other countries. This information could be helpful for the prevention of CC in Beijing, China.