Medical principles and practice : international journal of the Kuwait University, Health Science Centre
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Pressure injuries are a health problem of special concern for older adults, and different scales are used to assess the risk of developing these ulcers. We assessed the prevalence of residents at high risk of pressure injuries using a Norton scale and examined its relationships with the most important risk factors in a large sample of Italian nursing homes (NHs). ⋯ The prevalence of NH residents at high risk of pressure injuries was very high using the Norton scale, but the percentage of residents who develop these ulcers is lower. Female NH residents with advanced age, dementia, and a history of cerebrovascular disease should be carefully monitored.
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Neuroblastoma is a common fatal tumor of childhood. Natural killer (NK) cells can exert direct cytotoxicity on tumor cells. The killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) family of NK cell receptors is involved in activation/inhibition of NK cells. In the KIR gene cluster, six of them (3DS1, 2DS1-5) encode receptors triggering activation, while seven of them (3DL1-3, 2DL1-3, 2DL5) encode receptors triggering inhibition. We aimed to assess the distribution of genetic polymorphisms of KIRs on the clinical course of neuroblastoma and provide guidance on potential therapeutic options. ⋯ Our data suggest a role for KIR2DS3 and KIR2DL3 in development of neuroblastoma. Thus, modulation of KIR2SD3 and/or KIR2DL3 expression or function might present a novel therapeutic strategy for neuroblastoma.
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The musical composers in the Romantic Era (1800-1910) strived for compositions that expressed human life, including happiness, harmony, and despair. They lived in a period in which freedom of thought, expression of emotion, and inspiration by nature predominated. During this period, intensive trading with other parts of the world brought new microorganisms along, which made infections and epidemics very common. ⋯ This text dwells on diseases and the cause of death of ten composers, namely Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Liszt, Mahler, and Bruckner. It is evident that from the perspective of modern medicine, symptoms and forensic facts are not complete, but witnesses' reports and recent medical research have provided passable and plausible clarity. Although many questions will remain unanswered, it appears that the diseases of these composers and their causes of death have their origins in alcohol abuses, age, epidemics (like tuberculosis), and syphilis.
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In 1 year, COVID-19 spread rapidly worldwide affecting all societies and most age-groups. It has taken not only a toll of human lives (approaching 220 million people infected with 4.55 million reported deaths at time of writing) but also decimated every economy as countries struggle to control infection rates by introducing draconian lockdown and social distancing measures, bringing great suffering well beyond medical effects of the disease. A parallel pandemic has resulted in a deluge of information emanating from both scientific as well as international news media including social media platforms. ⋯ This review highlights some of the issues concerning the handling of the COVID-19 crisis by governments worldwide, the medical and scientific communities, and the media and how this may have laid the foundations for a far greater medical, social, and economic burden in the coming years. We present comparative data to challenge current conceptions of this disease in the more general context of human health to provide a perspective that seems to have been lost in the general panic. We need more rational approaches to the handling of a disease which is unlikely to disappear from our spectrum of afflictions even after the magnifying glass has been removed.