Marcusdobson1749

Radiation exposure data were available in 15 of 19 patients and revealed a median fluoroscopy time of 2.8 min, median cumulative dose of 43 mGy, and median dose area product of 635 µGy × m2. No adverse fetal outcomes were recorded at time of delivery.Conclusion PCN placement has good clinical results as a treatment option for ureteral obstruction in a pregnant cohort.Introduction Myeloid malignancies are caused by uncontrolled proliferation of neoplastic cells and lack of mature hematopoietic cells. Beside intrinsic genetic and epigenetic alterations within the neoplastic population, abnormal function of the bone marrow stroma promotes the neoplastic process. To overcome the supportive action of the microenvironment, recent research focuses on the development of targeted therapies, inhibiting the interaction of malignant cells and niche cells.Areas covered This review covers regulatory networks and potential druggable pathways within the hematopoietic stem cell niche. Recent insights into the cell-to-cell interactions in the bone marrow microenvironment are presented. We performed literature searches using PubMed Database from 2000 to the present.Expert opinion Future therapy of myeloid malignancies must focus on targeted, personalized treatment addressing specific alterations within the malignant and the supporting niche cells. This includes treatments to overcome resistance mechanisms against chemotherapeutic agents mediated by supporting microenvironment. Novel techniques employing sequencing approaches, Crisp/Cas9, or transgenic mouse models are required to elucidate specific interactions between components of the bone marrow niche to identify new therapeutic targets.Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) in pregnancy is common, according to literature, affecting up to 15% of pregnancies. It still represents a controversy weather levothyroxine has beneficial effects on pregnancy outcomes. In this retrospective and prospective cohort study, we assessed fetal and maternal outcomes in women with known thyroid status pre-pregnancy, and hypothyroidism during pregnancy. We included 393 pregnant women, 90 (22.9%) diagnosed with overt and 303 with SCH (77.1%). A total of 94 (56%) had positive anti-TPO antibodies. Levothyroxine substitution across all observational periods was suboptimal, mostly during first trimester in both groups of patients (85.4%). There was a difference in the number of live births in favor of group with SCH (p = .004). Women with overt hypothyroidism were more likely to develop complications during pregnancy (RR = 1.153, 95%CI = 0.775 - 1.714) and had positive TPO-antibodies more often (p = .022). The only significant association was found between fetal outcomes in women with SCH and positive TPO-antibodies (p = .018), while positive Tg-antibodies did not affect the pregnancy outcomes of women with SCH. Moreover, no correlation was observed between outcomes and adequacy of levothyroxine substitution. These results indicate that TPO-antibody positivity could be the most important factor of pregnancy outcomes independent of the TSH levels or adequacy of levothyroxine therapy.Background Sleep characteristics and disorders are associated with higher blood pressure (BP) when measured in the clinic setting. Methods and Results We tested whether self-reported sleep characteristics and likelihood of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) were associated with nocturnal hypertension and nondipping systolic BP (SBP) among participants in the CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) study who completed 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring during the year 30 examination. Likelihood of OSA was determined using the STOP-Bang questionnaire. Global sleep quality, habitual sleep duration, sleep efficiency, and midsleep time were obtained from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Nocturnal hypertension was defined as mean asleep SBP ≥120 mm Hg or diastolic BP ≥70 mm Hg. Nondipping SBP was defined as a decline in awake-to-asleep SBP less then 10%. Among 702 participants, the prevalence of nocturnal hypertension and nondipping SBP was 41.3% and 32.5%, respectively. After multivariable adjustment including cardiovascular risk factors, the prevalence ratios (PRs) for nocturnal hypertension and nondipping SBP associated with high versus low likelihood of OSA were 1.32 (95% CI, 1.00-1.75) and 1.31 (95% CI, 1.02-1.68), respectively. The association between likelihood of OSA and nocturnal hypertension was stronger for white participants (PR 2.09; 95% CI, 1.23-3.48) compared with black participants (PR 1.11; 95% CI, 0.79-1.56). The PR for nondipping SBP associated with a 1-hour later midsleep time was 0.92 (95% CI, 0.85-0.99). Global sleep quality, habitual sleep duration, and sleep efficiency were not associated with either nocturnal hypertension or nondipping SBP. Conclusions These findings suggest that addressing OSA risk and sleep timing in a clinical trial may improve BP during sleep.Abstracts Because of remarkable advances in survival over the past 40 years, the worldwide population of individuals with single ventricle heart disease living with Fontan circulation has grown to ≈70 000, with nearly half aged >18 years. Survival to at least 30 years of age is now achievable for 75% of Fontan patients. On the other hand, single ventricle patients account for the largest group of the 6000 to 8000 children hospitalized with circulation failure, with or without heart failure annually in the United States, with the highest in-hospital mortality. Because there is little understanding of the underlying mechanisms of heart failure, arrhythmias, pulmonary and lymphatic vascular abnormalities, and other morbidities, there are no specific treatments to maintain long-term myocardial performance or to optimize overall patient outcomes.Purpose To explore the typical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pattern of osteoblastoma (OB) after radiofrequency ablation (RFA) treatment and to identify signs indicating treatment success or relapse.Materials and methods Forty-four follow-up MRI examinations of 15 patients with OB who had undergone 19 RFA procedures were analyzed retrospectively. An early follow-up group (1-4 months after RFA) and a late follow-up group (8-131 months after RFA) were established. The groups were further subdivided according to treatment success. Images were analyzed for the presence of central nidus enhancement (CNE), peripheral nidus enhancement (PNE), perifocal bone marrow edema (PBME) and fatty nidus conversion (FNC).Results The early follow-up MRI image from every patient in the treatment success group exhibited a target-like appearance with negative CNE and positive PNE or PBME. PNE and PBME were observed in 93% and 71% of the early follow-up images, respectively. A target-like appearance was observed in 25% of the late follow-up images, and PNE and PBME were each observed in 20% of these images. FNC was not observed in the early follow-up images, but was seen in 55% of the late follow-up images. All three MRI images of the patients exhibiting clinical recurrence demonstrated strong CNE, PNE and extensive PMBE, which was in contrast to the images of the patients exhibiting treatment success.Conclusion A target-like appearance of OB in early follow-up MRI examination indicates treatment success. PNE and PBME typically reduce over time and can lead to FNC in successfully treated patients. CNE recurrence, PNE and extensive PBME are signs of relapse.The implementation of cryopreservation-techniques in the IVF laboratory and the improved survival rates of oocytes, cleavage and blastocyst stage embryos have led to a significant increase in the number of frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles (FET). FETs can be planned either in a 'pure' natural cycle, a modified natural cycle, a stimulated cycle or a hormonal replacement therapy cycle and the optimal means to prepare the endometrium for frozen embryo transfer is a topic of ongoing controversy. Recent findings report an increased risk of hypertensive disorders if pregnancy is achieved in a frozen embryo transfer cycle without an existing corpus luteum. Therefore, the question of how to prepare the endometrium has gained even more importance and taken on a new dimension as it should not simply be reduced to the basic question of 'which approach will result in superior pregnancy rates?' but instead 'which approach will result in the best pregnancy rates and the safest outcome for mother and baby?'. The aim of this review is to summarize and critically appraise the existing data on the different approaches of endometrial preparation for frozen embryo transfer with a special focus on the 'pure' natural cycle.Background Tendon transfers are commonly performed in patients with brachial plexus birth palsy (BPBP) to improve function. Transferring 2 tendons in patients with C5-7 injury has the potential complication of loss of midline function. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a single tendon transfer (1TT) as opposed to the traditional double tendon transfer (2TT) resulted in any differences in functional outcomes in patients with C5-7 BPBP. Methods A retrospective review of all patients with C5-7 BPBP who underwent tendon transfers to improve shoulder external rotation over a 5-year period was performed at 2 institutions. Outcomes were assessed using the modified Mallet (MM) classification scores. Results Twenty-two C5-7 patients had complete records of preoperative and postoperative MM scores, including 11 sex-matched patients in both the 1TT and 2TT groups. When comparing preoperative and postoperative MM categories, there were significant improvements in both the 1TT and 2TT groups for global abduction (P less then .05 and P less then .01, respectively) and external rotation (P less then .00001 for both). Modified Mallet (MM) hand to neck scores were significantly improved in the 2TT group (P less then .05) but not in the 1TT group (P = .053). Internal rotation scores significantly decreased in both groups (P less then .001). Both groups demonstrated significant increases in total scores from the preoperative MM scores (P less then .01). Conclusion The 1TT and 2TT procedures result in substantial gains in upper extremity functions for patients with C5-7 BPBP as measured by the MM score, specifically within the global abduction and external rotation subcategories. However, a significant loss occurs in internal rotation for both groups.Background Peripheral nerve injuries may result in pain, disability, and decreased quality of life (QoL). Pain is an incompletely understood experience and is associated with emotional and behavioral qualities. We hypothesized that pain following peripheral nerve surgery could be predicted by changes in emotions or QoL postoperatively. Methods Using prospectively collected data, a retrospective study design was used to evaluate the relationships among pain, QoL, and psychosocial factors in patients who underwent peripheral nerve surgery. Patients completed questionnaires rating pain; impact of pain on QoL, sadness, depression, frustration, anger, and hopefulness before surgery; and each postoperative follow-up visit. Multilevel modeling was used to assess the concurrent and lagged relationships between pain and psychosocial factors. Results Increased pain was concurrently associated with decreased hopefulness (P = .001) and increased the impact on QoL, sadness, depression, and anger (P less then .001). In lagged analyses, the impact on QoL and anger prospectively predicted pain (P less then .