Medicine
-
We evaluate the effects of zolpidem use to develop dementia or Alzheimer disease from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD). A retrospective population-based nested case-control study. Newly diagnosed dementia patients 65 years and older and controls were sampled. ⋯ The adjusted OR for patients whose cumulative exposure doses were between 170 and 819 mg/year (adjusted OR: 1.65, 95% CI 1.08-2.51, P = 0.0199) was significant; however, the effects for lower and higher cumulative dose were not significant. Zolpidem used might be associated with increased risk for dementia in elderly population. Increased accumulative dose might have higher risk to develop dementia, especially in patients with underlying diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and stroke.
-
This study was conducted to investigate the feasibility of using 3D virtual intravascular endoscopy (VIE) as a novel approach for characterization of calcified coronary plaques with the aim of differentiating superficial from deep calcified plaques, thus improving assessment of coronary stenosis. A total of 61 patients with suspected coronary artery disease were included in the study. Minimal lumen diameter (MLD) was measured and compared between coronary CT angiography (CCTA) (≥64-slice) and invasive coronary angiography (ICA) with regard to the measurement bias, whereas VIE findings were correlated with CCTA with respect to the diagnostic performance of coronary stenosis and the area under the curve (AUC) by receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis (ROC). ⋯ The AUC by ROC analysis for VIE demonstrated significant improvement in analysis of left anterior descending calcified plaques compared with CCTA (0.99 vs 0.60, P < 0.001), with better performance in the left circumflex and right coronary arteries (0.98 vs 0.84 and 0.77 vs 0.77, respectively; P = 0.07 and P = 0.96, respectively). There are no significant differences between 64-, 128-, and 640-slice CCTA and VIE in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value in the diagnosis of coronary stenosis. This study shows the feasibility of using VIE for characterizing morphological features of calcified plaques, therefore, significantly improving assessment of coronary stenosis.
-
People with intellectual disabilities are at a higher risk for experiencing behavioral, emotional, and psychiatric problems in comparison with the general population. People with Down syndrome have been reported as experiencing fewer behavioral problems than others with intellectual disability, although still at a greater level than the non-intellectually disabled population, except for depression and Alzheimer disease. The aim of this study was to describe the trajectories of subscales of behavior, including depressive symptoms, communication disturbance, anxiety, disruptiveness, and social relating abilities, for young adults with Down syndrome. ⋯ Behavior of young adults with Down syndrome improves over time but depressive symptoms and social relating behavior problems persist into adulthood. It is possible that those with persistent depressive symptoms are at a high risk for developing depressive illness in adulthood. Identifying young people with Down syndrome who are at risk for developing depression in adult life has implications for prevention and early treatment.
-
Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common sustained arrhythmia requiring treatment worldwide, is one of the major causes of ischemic stroke. Although amiodarone is commonly used for rhythm control in AF, its relationship with stroke has rarely been addressed. We evaluated 16,091 patients who were diagnosed with AF (Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification [ICD-9-CM] 427.31 and 427.32) between 1998 and 2011; the date of AF diagnosis was set as the index date. ⋯ Amiodarone treatment is associated with an increased risk of stroke in patients with AF, especially in those who have an initial low risk of stroke. Antiplatelet drugs and warfarin could reduce the stroke risk in AF patients receiving amiodarone. However, as the combination of digoxin and amiodarone increases the risk of stroke in these patients, the combination of these 2 drugs should be avoided.
-
In this study, we unravel a molecular imaging marker correlated with the known reduction of cardiovascular events (most commonly related to vulnerable plaques) in morbidly obese patients after bariatric surgery (BaS). We prospectively imaged 10 morbidly obese subjects with F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography before and 1 year after BaS. F-FDG uptake-which is enhanced in inflamed, atherosclerotic vessels and in metabolically active adipose tissues-was quantified in the carotids, pericardial adipose tissue (PAT), visceral adipose tissue (VAT), as well as brown adipose tissue (BAT). ⋯ Carotid inflammation significantly declined leading to an F-FDG uptake comparable to the 2 control groups. Metabolic activity significantly decreased in PAT and VAT and increased in BAT. BaS leads to a normalization of carotid artery inflammation and a beneficial impact on the metabolic activity in PAT, VAT, and BAT that is related to the metabolic syndrome observed in this patient group.