Medicine
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Out of the global outbreak of COVID-19, clinical pharmaceutical therapeutic analytical-teaching laboratories underwent an increasing number of digitally-led teaching research. A teaching system working online and offline to monitor medicinal drugs was explored and established using a clinical pharmaceutical therapy through a drug concentration monitoring laboratory within a comprehensive tertiary hospital. Meanwhile, laboratory access training and standards of laboratory biosafety management system were also strictly implemented, improving the technical operation and daily management. ⋯ The learning results are enforced to have dynamic checks accomplished using stage-oriented assessment. Moreover, the questionnaire survey results, especially during independent learning ability and laboratory skills training, reveal that teachers and students have commented positively on the new teaching mode. Hereon, a clinical pharmaceutical teaching system during the Post-Epidemic Era was elaborated to provide a unique teaching mode and experience dedicated to teaching and scientific research in clinical therapeutic drug monitoring laboratory.
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Kyphoplasty (KP) has been widely used to treat vertebral compression fractures (VCFs). However, the issue of new VCFs after KP remains controversial. Identification of risk factors for new VCF after KP may help prevent their occurrence in patients. ⋯ The group treated with zoledronate after KP tended to show a lower frequency of developing new VCFs than the groups treated with alendronate (P = .07), calcium (P = .05), selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) (P = .15), and risendronate (P = .02). This study showed that for patients with new VCFs after KP, lower BMD, greater intradiscal cement leakage, greater KA recovery rate, and lower baseline vertebral height were likely risk factors for the development of new VCFs. Additionally, among the drugs used for the treatment of osteoporosis after KP, zoledronate tends to reduce the development of new VCFs compared with other bisphosphonates, SERMs, or calcium.
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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by neurodegeneration, nerve loss, neurofibrillary tangles, and Aβ plaques. In modern medical science, there has been a serious obstacle to the effective treatment of AD. At present, there is no clinically proven and effective western medicine treatment for AD. ⋯ For thousands of years, TCM has accumulated a lot of relevant treatment experience in the process of diagnosis and treatment. TCM, acupuncture, and the combination of acupuncture and medicine all play an important role in the treatment of AD. Based on the research progress of modern medicine on the pathophysiology of AD, this paper discusses the treatment of this disease with the combination of acupuncture and medicine.
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Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common but burdensome ailment that is still poorly understood in terms of its pathogenesis. The existence of biofilms on the sinonasal mucosa of individuals with CRS has been proven by current biofilm identification methods. Current treatments for CRS generally include functional endoscopic sinus surgery, biofilm-removing strategies, and limited therapies that target quorum sensing (QS), patients with CRS are often resistant to antimicrobial therapy at degrees achievable by oral or intravenous administration, and even a subset of patients fail to react to either medical or surgical intervention. ⋯ Resistance to antibiotics is attributed to the 3-dimensional structure and QS of biofilms, and the latter describes the communication of bacteria within biofilms. A better understanding of biofilms in CRS and their contribution to the antibiotic resistance of CRS is critical for novel treatment strategies. This review mainly discusses the special structure of biofilms, QS, and their mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in order to investigate prospective anti-biofilm therapies, suggest future directions for study, and potentially refine the CRS prevention paradigm.
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In developing nations such as Indonesia, obesity and central obesity have emerged as major public health issues. Many studies have revealed that morbidity and death from obesity-related diseases are already significant in some "Asian" communities at low body mass index (BMI) levels. A recent study showed that the obesity prevalence in Indonesia is underestimated when using the current BMI cutoff (obese ≥ 27.0). ⋯ An analysis of 58 studies in 2021 that included Indonesian adult subjects revealed enormous differences and ambiguities in defining obesity cutoffs values among Indonesian researchers. Additionally, we advocate adding the Edmonton Obesity Staging System (EOSS) staging to the anthropometric classification for a better clinical evaluation of obesity. Considering the urgency of obesity determination in Indonesia for clinical application and study purposes, this review highlights the need to revise the optimal cutoff value for obesity to warrant early prevention and control of diabetes complications.