Bratisl Med J
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Since its approval as an adjunct treatment for refractory partial epilepsy, the positive effects of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) on seizure frequency and severity have been supported by many studies. Seizure reduction of more than 50 % can be expected in at least 50 % of patients. However, a complete post-VNS seizure freedom is rarely achieved and 25 % of patients do not benefit from VNS. ⋯ Because the generally accepted hypothesis of the VNS mechanism is the modulation of synaptic activity in multiple cortical and subcortical regions of the brain, the studies of brain response to external stimulation and/or of brain connectivity were used for models predicting the effect of VNS in individual patients. Although the predictive value of these models is high, the required special equipment and sophisticated mathematical tools limit their routine use (Ref. 58). Keywords: epilepsy, vagus nerve stimulation, response predictor, EEG.
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We wanted to analyze the impact of the pandemic on the treatment and rehabilitation of these patients. ⋯ Shorter treatment due to the COVID-19 pandemic did not have a statistically significant effect on the achieved knee flexion, but we noticed a reduction in the number of patients referred to our ward after knee arthroscopy (Tab. 6, Ref. 14).
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Risk for developing papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), the most common endocrine malignancy, is thought to be mediated by lifestyle, environmental exposures and genetic factors. Recent progress in the genome-wide association studies of thyroid cancer leads to the identification of several genetic variants conferring risk to this malignancy across different ethnicities. ⋯ These results indicate that germline variants not only predispose to PTC, but may also be related to other risk factors, including associated diseases. However, these associations were only moderate, and further multi-ethnic studies are required to evaluate the usefulness of these germline variants in the clinical stratification of PTC patients (Tab. 8, Ref. 37).
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Cancer ranks first among the causes of morbidity and mortality all over the world, and it is expected to continue to be the main cause of death in the coming years. Therefore, new molecular targets and therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. In many cases, some reports show increased levels of endocannabinoids and their receptors in cancer, a condition often associated with tumour aggressiveness. Recent studies have suggested that cannabinoid-1/2 receptors contribute to tumour growth in a variety of cancers, including pancreatic, colon, prostate, and breast cancer. Understanding how cannabinoids can regulate key cellular processes involved in tumorigenesis, such as: cell proliferation and cell death, is crucial to improving existing and new therapeutic approaches for the cancer patients. The present study was aimed to characterize the in-vitro effect of L-759633 (a selective CB2 receptor agonist), ACPA (a selective CB1 receptor agonist) and ACEA (a selective CB1 receptor agonist) on the cell proliferation, clonogenicity, and apoptosis in pancreatic (PANC1) and breast (MDA-MB-231) cancer cells. ⋯ Our data suggests that CB1/2 agonists have the therapeutic potential through the inhibition of survival of human PANC1 pancreatic and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and also might be linked with further cellular mechanisms for the prevention (Fig. 5, Ref. 49).
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Numerous studies have been conducted on the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, how the mental health of health workers will be affected among the number of peaks during the pandemic has not been evaluated yet. The study aims to investigate the effects of the first, second, and third peaks of COVID-19 on anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms in healthcare workers. ⋯ Our findings show that as the peak number rises, so do the levels of anxiety and depression among healthcare workers. As a result, it is possible to assert that prolongation of the COVID-19 pandemic worsens mental problems (Tab. 2, Fig. 3, Ref. 35).