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Improvement of severe myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms following surgical treatment of cervical spinal stenosis

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a potentially disabling disorder. Little is known about the contributors to severe forms of the illness. We describe three consecutive patients wi...

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IJERPH, Vol. 15, Pages 249: Risk Factors for Obesity and Overfat among Primary School Children in Mashonaland West Province, Zimbabwe

IJERPH, Vol. 15, Pages 249: Risk Factors for Obesity and Overfat among Primary School Children in Mashonaland West Province, Zimbabwe

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph15020249

Authors: George Kambondo Benn Sartorius

Associated childhood obesity risk factors are not well established in developing countries such as Zimbabwe and this information is essential for tailored intervention development. This study aimed to identify prominent risk factors for overweight/obese and overfat/obese among primary school children of Mashonaland West Province in Zimbabwe. A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted using multi-stage random cluster sampling approach (30 × 30). Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression was employed and identified the risk factors for overweight/obese and overfat/obese. A total of 974 participants were enrolled in the study. Prominent significant risk factors of overweight/obese after multivariable adjustment were higher socio-economic households; parental diabetes status; and living in Makonde, Zvimba, Sanyati or Mhondoro-Ngezi district as opposed to Hurungwe district. Risk factors for overfat/obese that remained statically significant were children in urban areas (aOR = 3.19, 95% CI: 2.18−4.66, p = 0.000), being one child in a household, and parents who have diabetes mellitus. Living in Makonde, Sanyati, and Zvimba district remained associated with overfat/obese compared to Hurungwe district. This study has identified prominent proximal determinants of overweight/obese and overfat/obese among primary school children in Zimbabwe, to better assist policy guidance. Aggressive education on good nutrition activities should be tailored and targeted to most affected urban areas within high-risk districts.

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Quantitative Analysis of Conebeam CT for Delineating Stents in Stent-Assisted Coil Embolization [INTERVENTIONAL]

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

Innovative techniques and device-related advances have improved the outcomes of neuroendovascular treatment. 3D imaging has previously used 2 x 2 binning, but 1 x 1 binning has recently been made available. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quantitative ability of conebeam CT for stent delineation and to investigate its effectiveness in the clinical environment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Four acquisition groups of 3D MIP images acquired using conebeam CT with varying conditions (acquisition time, 10 or 20 seconds and binning, 1 x 1 or 2 x 2) were compared. Two methods of analysis were performed, a phantom study and an analysis of 28 randomly selected patients. The phantom study assessed the contrast-to-noise ratio and full width at half maximum values in conebeam CT images of intracranial stent struts. In the clinical subjects, we assessed contrast-to-noise ratio, full width at half maximum, and dose-area product.

RESULTS:

In the phantom study, the contrast-to-noise ratio was not considerably different between 10- and 20-second acquisition times at equivalent binning settings. Additionally, the contrast-to-noise ratio at equivalent acquisition times did not differ considerably by binning setting. For the full width at half maximum results, equivalent acquisition times differed significantly by binning setting. In the clinical analyses, the 10-second/1 x 1 group (versus 20 second/2 x 2) showed a higher contrast-to-noise ratio (P < .05) and a dose-area product reduced by approximately 70% (P < .05), but the difference in full width at half maximum was not significant (P = .20).

CONCLUSIONS:

For stent-assisted coil embolization, quantitative assessment of conebeam CT showed that 10 second/1 x 1 was equivalent to 20 second/2 x 2 for imaging deployed intracranial stents. Furthermore, the 10-second/1 x 1 settings resulted in a much smaller DAP.

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Neuroradiology Fellowship Case Requirements Need Reform [LETTERS]

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Substantia Nigra Free Water Increases Longitudinally in Parkinson Disease [ADULT BRAIN]

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

Free water in the posterior substantia nigra obtained from a bi-tensor diffusion MR imaging model has been shown to significantly increase over 1- and 4-year periods in patients with early-stage idiopathic Parkinson disease compared with healthy controls, which suggests that posterior substantia nigra free water may be an idiopathic Parkinson disease progression biomarker. Due to the known temporal posterior-to-anterior substantia nigra degeneration in idiopathic Parkinson disease, we assessed longitudinal changes in free water in both the posterior and anterior substantia nigra in patients with later-stage idiopathic Parkinson disease and age-matched healthy controls for comparison.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Nineteen subjects with idiopathic Parkinson disease and 19 age-matched healthy control subjects were assessed on the same 3T MR imaging scanner at baseline and after approximately 3 years.

RESULTS:

Baseline mean idiopathic Parkinson disease duration was 7.1 years. Both anterior and posterior substantia nigra free water showed significant intergroup differences at baseline (P < .001 and P = .014, respectively, idiopathic Parkinson disease versus healthy controls); however, only anterior substantia nigra free water showed significant longitudinal group x time interaction increases (P = .021, idiopathic Parkinson disease versus healthy controls). There were no significant longitudinal group x time interaction differences found for conventional diffusion tensor imaging or free water–corrected DTI assessments in either the anterior or posterior substantia nigra.

CONCLUSIONS:

Results from this study provide further evidence supporting substantia nigra free water as a promising disease-progression biomarker in idiopathic Parkinson disease that may help to identify disease-modifying therapies if used in future clinical trials. Our novel finding of longitudinal increases in anterior but not posterior substantia nigra free water is potentially a result of the much longer disease duration of our cohort compared with previously studied cohorts and the known posterior-to-anterior substantia nigra degeneration that occurs over time in idiopathic Parkinson disease.

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Spinal Angiogram: A Treacherous Criterion Standard... [LETTERS]

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