Search results for "Internal medicine"

Patient-specific computational evaluation of stiffness distribution in ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm

2021

Quantifying local aortic stiffness properties in vivo is acknowledged as essential to assess the severity of an ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm (ATAA). Recently, the LESI (local extensional stiffness identification) methodology has been established to quantify non-invasively local stiffness properties of ATAAs using electrocardiographic-gated computed tomography (ECG-gated CT) scans. The aim of the current study was to determine the most sensitive markers of local ATAA stiffness estimation with the hypothesis that direct measures of local ATAA stiffness could better detect the high-risk patients. A cohort of 30 patients (12 BAV and 18 TAV) referred for aortic size evaluation by ECG-gated…

OP0015 Induction of remission and maintenance in early, aggressive rheumatoid arthritis using adalimumab in combination with methotrexate with or wit…

2017

Background Remission is the current aim of early RA treatment. In patients with early, aggressive RA, combination with adalimumab (ADA) plus methotrexate (MTX) was superior to either MTX or ADA alone in obtaining clinical remission. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that a short-term aggressive treatment with high-dose glucocorticoids (GC) plus conventional DMARDs lead to long-term (up to 5 years) benefits. Objectives To compare the proportion of patients who achieve remission at 12 months, between two groups of subjects treated with ADA + MTX + high dose GC (intensive) and ADA + MTX + placebo (standard), and to evaluate the proportion of those maintaining remission at 24 months, after dis…

A rare form of spondylometaphyseal dysplasia-type A4

1998

We present 2 cases of a previously apparently unreported spondylo-metaphyseal dysplasia comprising dwarfism, severe metaphyseal changes, ovoid vertebrae and mild platyspondyly with anterior tonguing of the vertebral bodies. The inheritance may be autosomal recessive.

2020

The occupation of dental assistants (DAs) involves many health risks of the musculoskeletal system due to static and prolonged work, which can lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of MSDs in DAs in Germany. Methods: For this purpose, an online questionnaire analyzed 406 (401 female participants and 5 male participants, 401w/5m) DAs. It was based on the Nordic Questionnaire (lifetime, 12-month, and seven-day MSDs’ prevalence separated into neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, upper back, lower back, hip, knee, and ankle), and occupational and sociodemographic questions as well as questions about specific medical conditions. Results: 98.5% …

Management of Osteoporosis in Postmenopausal Women

2019

Osteoporosis is a noncommunicable disease with increasing incidence at a global level. The burden of the disease particularly concerns women. A drastic and rapid decline in the circulating levels of estrogens, a key regulator of bone metabolism, is responsible for the increase in bone loss after menopause. Cells with a role in bone metabolism, osteoblasts, osteoclasts and osteocytes, have estrogen receptors. The fall in estrogens increases the differentiation of osteoclasts from progenitors in the bone marrow. A significant expansion in the resorption process follows.

Abatacept as Adjunctive Therapy in Refractory Polymyalgia Rheumatica.

2021

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are the mainstay of treatment for patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR).1 Despite their efficacy, GCs are associated with well-known adverse events and a substantial proportion of patients with PMR do not respond adequately, or are refractory, to initial GC treatment. GC-sparing agents in PMR are limited to methotrexate (MTX).1.

Arthritis Associated with Ulcerative Colitis: Our Experience in Palermo

2009

To The Editor: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is one of the inflammatory bowel diseases, which affects the small intestine and colon [1]. The pathophysiology of UC is not known [2, 3]. The association between arthritis and UC is well known. The authors report the frequency of arthritis in 53 Sicilian patients with UC. The diagnosis of UC was made according to criteria described by Schachter and Kirsner [4]. The involvement of sacroilitic joints was assessed radiologically according to Bennett and Burch grade (0=normal joint, 1=suspicious sacroiliitis 2=abnormal joint with sclerosis and/or erosions, 3=unequivocally abnormal with erosions, sclerosis, widening or narrowing or partly ankylosed, 4=tota…

Funktionsangiographie der kniegelenknahen Arterien: Konsequenzen für die Stentimplantation?

1990

Angiographic studies of the arteries adjoining the knee in 25 patients show extensive kinking and stenoses of the popliteal artery and less frequently of the distal femoral artery during flexion of the knee joint. This is due to the loss of elasticity with increasing age forcing the vessel into a tortuous course during shortening of the pathway of the popliteal artery with knee flexion. Independent of the principle of the different stents available they probably will not increase the contractility of the stented vessel in the longitudinal axis. It is to expect that after implantation of stents into the popliteal artery kinking will occur predominantly in the original segments of the vessel …

Coronary Stent Strut Fractures: Classification, Prevalence and Clinical Associations

2021

Introduction. The frequency, characteristics and clinical implications of Strut fractures (SFs) remain incompletely understood. Methods and results. A total of 185 (160 patients) newer-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) were imaged. SFs were found in 21 DES (11.4%) and were classified in four patterns: one single stacked strut (41%)

All that glitters is not gold: A spinal epidural empyema following epidural steroid injection

2020

Background: Therapeutic epidural spinal injections (ESIs) of steroids are one of the most common nonsurgical management modalities employed for alleviating pain due to chronic persistent lumbar spinal disease. However, it is well documented that they have significant risks and complications without any long-term efficacy. ESI may result in epidural empyema which may be difficult to diagnose with delays resulting in significant permanent neurological sequelae. Case Description: A 45-year-old female presented with a lumbar spinal epidural empyema after receiving ESI for low back and right leg pain due to a lumbar disc herniation. Laboratory studies showed elevations of multiple inflammatory …