W Indian Med J
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Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measurement is used for assessing the impact of diseases and medical treatments on physical, psychological and social aspects of an individual's health and life. The Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ (PedsQL™) is a widely used instrument to measure paediatric HRQOL in children. The aim of this study is to investigate the HRQOL in paediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and determine the precautions for improving the quality of their life. ⋯ It is thought that determination of the psychosocial, as well as the physical impacts of the disease on the child, will positively influence the treatment given by improving the quality of life of both the child and the family.
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To examine the role of variations in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and pigment epithelial-derived factor (PEDF) levels and VEGF/PEDF ratio in predicting the occurrence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in extremely premature human babies. ⋯ Increased expression of VEGF levels was found to be associated with older postnatal day age in our study. Monitoring of variations in VEGF level and PEDF/VEGF ratio might be helpful in predicting the occurrence of ROP in premature human babies.
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Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive disease of the pulmonary vascular bed and causes right heart failure and death. Combination therapy which targets three different pathways is necessary due to the progressive nature of the disease. In patients with PAH, there are two approaches in combination therapy: "first-line up-front" and "sequential add-on" treatment. In "firstline up-front" treatment, patients receive double or triple drug therapy from the start. In the "sequential add-on" approach, a single drug is initially started and then according to the patient's requirements, a second or third drug is added. There is insufficient evidence about the efficiency and safety of treatment approaches. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the treatment approach in patients with PAH at a tertiary centre. ⋯ In this study, combination therapy was given to patients as "sequential add-on therapy". At the end of the follow-up period, monotherapy was sufficient in 34.5% of patients of the study group and in eight patients, sildenafil or prostaglandin analogues were added; a total of 15 patients (48.4%) completed the study under dual therapy. Four patients (12.9%) received combination therapy with three drugs.
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To determine the prevalence of congenital malformations in Grenada for the period January 2000-December 2004. ⋯ The prevalence of congenital malformations in Grenada is low in comparison to other developed and developing countries.
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The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of addition of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) and thymoquinone (TQ) on oxidative and nitrosative stress in the liver tissue of irradiated rats. ⋯ Thymoquinone and CAPE decrease oxidative and nitrosative stress markers and have antioxidant effects, which also increase antioxidant capacity in the liver tissue of irradiated rats.