Medicine
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Observational Study
Longitudinal decline in spoken word recognition and object knowledge in primary progressive aphasia.
The premise of this study is that spoken word recognition and object knowledge are impaired in semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (PPA) (svPPA) and are spared in logopenic variant (lvPPA) and nonfluent agrammatic primary progressive aphasia (nfaPPA) at disease onset. Over time, however, there may be heterogeneity in these abilities in lvPPA and nfaPPA. We hypothesized that individuals with svPPA would demonstrate poorer performance on baseline spoken word recognition and object knowledge than those with lvPPA and nfaPPA) as documented in the literature, but that rates of decline over time on spoken word recognition and object knowledge would be similar in all 3 PPA variants because these become less distinguishable with disease progression. ⋯ There were weak negative correlations between symptom duration and baseline scores on Semantic Word Picture Matching (r[37] = -0.399, P = .01), and baseline scores on Semantic Associates (r[37] = -0.394, P = .01) in lvPPA. Degradation of spoken word recognition and object knowledge occurs over time in lvPPA. Further investigation of the receptive language deficits in PPA is warranted to characterize language changes that lessen the distinctions between PPA variants with disease progression.
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Observational Study
Clinical and capillaroscopic findings in patients with liver disease and proximal apparent leukonychia (Terry nails and its variants).
Terry nails and Lindsay nails are similar forms of proximal apparent leukonychia (PAL). A change in nail bed vascularity is thought to be responsible for PAL. The study was aimed at investigating the frequency of PAL in patients attending a liver disease clinic, the factors associated with its presence, its value for detecting cirrhosis, its prognostic value for mortality, and associated capillaroscopic findings. ⋯ In summary, PAL is a common finding in patients from a liver clinic; it is associated with liver cirrhosis and with alcohol abuse. PAL is not associated with specific capillaroscopic findings. We propose the generic term proximal apparent leukonychia instead of classic eponymous titles to avoid confusion in the literature.
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Abdominal aortic aneurysm is a life threatening disease. Most of the patients diagnosed incidentally because of the asymptomatic nature of this disease. This study aimed to determine the frequency of abdominal aortic aneurysm and evaluate the value of opportunistic screening during transthoracic echocardiography. ⋯ Patients with aneurysm had significantly increased diameters of the aortic trunk (P < .001) and ascending aorta (P < .001), significantly thicker interventricular septum (P < .001) and posterior wall (P < .001), significantly increased end-diastolic diameter (P < .001) and enlarged left atrium (P < .001), and significantly decreased ejection fraction (P < .001). The mostly met criteria for screening abdominal aortic aneurysm in international guidelines was the age of the patients. Based on the results of this study, screening patients over 60 years of age who undergo a transthoracic echocardiography for any reason would be beneficial to detect an asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm in Turkish population.
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Observational Study
Medial cortical positive support: A key factor for the postoperative stability of proximal humerus fractures.
Treatments for proximal humerus fractures (PHFs) often fail to achieve anatomical reduction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of positive medial cortical support (PMCS) in the nonanatomical reduction of PHFs. A retrospective analysis was performed of 78 patients with PHFs who underwent surgery from August 2014 to September 2017 and whose treatments did not achieve anatomical reduction. ⋯ One year after surgery, the shoulder function score of the PMCS group was significantly better than that of the NMCS group, as was the VAS score (both P < .05). Patients whose surgery for PHF does not achieve anatomical reduction during surgery can undergo PMCS to achieve improved results, postoperatively. NMCS should be avoided as far as possible.
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Case Reports
Macular hole with inner limiting membrane peeling off spontaneously in Terson syndrome: A case report.
Terson's syndrome with inner limiting membrane (ILM) peeled off spontaneously is rarely seen, and the mechanism of it is not clear. Here we report a case of Terson Syndrome with a rare finding: the ILM peeled off spontaneously associated with macular hole (MH). ⋯ ILM peeled off spontaneously associated with MH is a rarely seen complication of Terson Syndrome. Due to the large-scale of the ILM peeling off, final visual acuity may be poor in patients, even though successful macular hole closure after the operation.