Irish journal of medical science
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It is difficult to predict the expected survival after lumbar instrumented surgery for metastases owing to the difference among different cancer origins and the relatively short survival after surgery. ⋯ The postoperative survival period of patients with lumbar metastatic spinal tumors according to different primary cancers after instrumented fusion was ˃1 year overall, with differences according to different primary origins. This result may provide information regarding the expected postoperative survival after instrumented surgery for lumbar spinal metastases.
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People with Parkinson's disease (PwP) often report problems with their handwriting before they receive a formal diagnosis. Many PwP suffer from deteriorating handwriting throughout their illness, which has detrimental effects on many aspects of their quality of life. ⋯ The results of this study show that this 6-week intensive remotely-monitored physiotherapy-led handwriting programme improved handwriting in PwP. This is the first study of its kind to use this tool remotely, and it demonstrated that the SOS-PD is reliable for measuring handwriting in PwP.
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Abnormal lipid profile as one of reversible cardiovascular disease risk factors might be affected by poor sleep quality. ⋯ Our study illustrates that poor sleep quality is a risk factor for poorer lipid profile. Therefore, early behavioral or pharmacological interventions that improve sleep quality are necessary to modify lipid profile in elderly population.
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Subjective tinnitus is an unpleasant perception of sound without any external acoustic stimulus. It can be manifested in the form of various phantom sounds, which most often resemble ringing, whistling, squeaking, noise, chirping, or buzzing. The sounds are heard solely by the sufferer and can occur in the middle of the head, but also in the ears-on one or both sides. ⋯ The study concluded that tinnitus may be a symptom indicating the presence of high-frequency hearing loss as hearing loss occurs in an increasingly wider frequency range with age, so HFA should be a routine audiological test in patients with tinnitus.
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Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) comprises patients with both radiographic and non-radiographic features. Previous studies have shown similar burden of disease between these two groups. ⋯ This study provides evidence to suggest that the burden of disease is less in patients with non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis than radiographic axial spondyloarthritis.