Medicina
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Sexual health is an important part of a woman's life and well-being. Female sexual dysfunction is a complicated problem, it is often underestimated in the healthcare process, and its management is complex. Giving women the opportunity to talk about sexual problems is a fundamental part of healthcare and may improve their quality of life. The aim of this study was to find out patients' experience and attitudes toward the involvement of gynecologists addressing sexual issues, to disclose the main barriers to initiate a conversation, and to assess the prevalence of sexual disorders among patients in a gynecological clinic. ⋯ The assessment of sexual health is insufficient in gynecological care, and sexual history-taking and evaluation of sexual functions should be included in routine gynecological health assessments.
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The aim of the study was to describe the vitamin D status and its seasonal variations in women living in Riga, Latvia, to examine an association between the concentrations of plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and parathyroid hormone (PTH), and to determine the threshold for plasma 25(OH)D above which there is no further suppression of PTH. ⋯ An optimal concentration of 25(OH)D was found to be 38 ng/mL. According to this definition, 70.4% of all the healthy women were classified as vitamin D deficient in winter and 59.8% in summer. The highest proportion of vitamin D deficient individuals was found in the group representing the postmenopausal women not taking vitamin D supplements.
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Brugada syndrome was described in 1992 as a new clinical and electrocardiographic syndrome involving susceptibility to ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in patients with no obvious structural heart disease. Brugada syndrome is characterized by a hereditary anomaly in the sodium ion channel (mutation of the SCN5A gene) identified by a wide QRS associated with the ST-segment elevation and the T‑wave inversion in the right precordial leads. The Brugada-like electrocardiographic pattern can be caused by sodium channel-blocking drugs and electrolyte disorders. ⋯ This article describes 8 cases of pseudoanteroseptal myocardial infarction in acute renal insufficiency with hyperkalemia. The ST-segment elevation related to hyperkalemia is resolved by the reduced serum potassium level. Clinicians should recognize that hyperkalemia is one of the etiologies of the Brugada-like electrocardiographic pattern.
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The aim of this study was to determine the differences in reaction time, reaction complexity, and movement speed depending on age. ⋯ In case of movements with arms and legs, reaction time and movement speed directly depend on the complexity of a task. Reaction time and movement speed are slower for the older subjects in comparison with the young ones; the results worsen in proportion to the increasing complexity of a task.
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Stargardt disease is a juvenile macular degeneration most often inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, characterized by decreased vision in the first 2 decades of life. This report presents a clinical case of Stargardt disease: a 10-year-old female patient complained of blurry vision, and in a 4-year period, her visual acuity was reduced from OD=0.3 and OS=0.3 to OD=0.08 and OS=0.1, respectively. A genetic analysis revealed a rare combination of 2 homozygous recessive mutations in the ABCA4 gene, which caused Stargardt disease. The presence of different genetic mechanisms leading to a severe disease phenotype can challenge molecular geneticists, ophthalmologists, and genetic counselors.