Medicine
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Treating the patients with hand tremors is clinically difficult, because a wide range of disorders can result in hand tremors. Therefore, when treatment for hand tremors begins, various pharmacological options have to be considered. In clinical practice, a practical approach is to initially check hand tremor patients for signs of Parkinson's disease (PD), because patients with PD can benefit from dopamine treatment. However, only part of patients with PD tends to show a meaningful improvement in hand tremors for dopamine treatment. On the other hand, dopamine treatment may help with hand tremors of patients with other disorders, but dopamine responsiveness can't be predicted by clinical assessment alone. ⋯ Collectively, a dysfunction of the dopaminergic nigro-striatal pathway may lead to abnormal findings of F-18 FP-CIT PET, and these abnormal findings in brain-lesion patients with hand tremor may help predict dopamine responsiveness of hand tremor. We believe that our report may be helpful in the diagnosis and treatment of hand tremor in patients with brain-lesion.
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Observational Study
Male patients with rheumatoid arthritis have an increased risk of osteoporosis: Frequency and risk factors.
Most previous research investigating osteoporosis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has focused on female patients and there is a lack of data regarding clinical characteristics of osteoporosis in male patients with RA. The aim of this study was to compare the frequency of osteoporosis between male patients with RA and healthy patients, and to identify the risk factors for osteoporosis and low bone mineral density (BMD) in male patients with RA. We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study including 76 South Korean male patients with RA aged over 50 years and 76 age-matched male healthy individuals. ⋯ In multivariable logistic regression models, BMI ≤ 22 kg/m (odds ratio = 3.43, P = .043) and DAS28-ESR > 3.2 (odds ratio = 3.85, P = .032) were independent risk factors for osteoporosis at either site in male patients with RA. Our data demonstrate that male patients with RA had a 2.1 times higher risk for osteoporosis compared with healthy individuals. This suggests that appropriate management of osteoporosis in patients with RA is crucial not only for postmenopausal women but also for men aged over 50 years, especially those with low BMI and higher disease activity.
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Clinical Trial Observational Study
Predictors and prognosis for incident in-hospital heart failure in patients with preserved ejection fraction after first acute myocardial infarction: An observational study.
Patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) complicated by heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) are likely to have more adverse cardiovascular events and higher mortality. The purpose of this study was to examine the predictors and outcomes in AMI patients complicated by HFpEF. We examined the demographics, clinical data, and clinical outcomes in 405 consecutive subjects who firstly presented with AMI after undergoing emergency percutaneous coronary intervention from January 2013 to June 2016. ⋯ Moreover, patients with HFpEF had a higher probability of developing the in-hospital incident cardiovascular complications and death than non-HF patients. Two routine biomarkers, levels of hypersensitive C-reactive protein and N-terminal-pro brain natriuretic peptide, and number of diseased-vessels were independent predictors for in-hospital HFpEF incidence in AMI patients with preserved LVEF. AMI patients with HFpEF had a higher probability of in-hospital cardiovascular outcomes and mortality.
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Case Reports
Bilateral rhegmatogenous retinal detachment due to unusual retinal degeneration in Down syndrome: A case report.
The aim of this study was to report a case of Down syndrome (DS) complicated with bilateral retinal detachment (RD) due to unusual retinal degeneration. ⋯ In this case, the retinal degeneration was morphologically different from retinal lattice degeneration, thus suggesting that it might be involved in the onset of DS-related bilateral RD.
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Case Reports
Adult severe encephalitis/encephalopathy with a reversible splenial lesion of the corpus callosum: A case report.
Clinically mild encephalitis/encephalopathy with a reversible splenial lesion of the corpus callosum (MERS) is a recently identified clinically and radiologically distinct syndrome. Clinical symptoms and lesions on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) often disappear in 1 week or a few weeks. However, MERS manifesting as a severe clinical course with significant sequela has not yet been reported. ⋯ MERS is a rare clinicoradiological syndrome, which can manifest as severe symptoms as well. Early diagnosis and treatment should be emphasized, and the diagnostic value of MRI is highlighted. Clinicians should be alert to the potential sequela.