The Effectiveness of Autologous Conditioned Serum in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Astolfi ◽  
Kelly McGuire ◽  
Thomas W. Kaminski

Clinical Scenario:Osteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating degenerative disease affecting an estimated 27 million Americans. A systematic review found that patients with a previous history of traumatic knee injury are at increased risk of developing knee OA, regardless of specific injury. It is vital for the maintenance of quality of life for individuals affected with OA that the treatment options available be able to reduce symptoms and restore quality of living. The pain-relief benefits of traditional injection treatments are small to moderate and have a limited duration. It was found that at 2 wk postinjection that corticosteroids were more effective than hyaluronic acid (HA) injections. Autologous conditioned serum (ACS) injection is a novel treatment that has shown favorable results. However, many clinicians continue to use HA injections for reduction of symptoms in patients with osteoarthritis when the use of ACS may be more beneficial.Focused Clinical Question:For patients with knee OA, is an ACS injection more efficient at producing a reduction in symptoms than HA or a saline injection?

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2506
Author(s):  
Mark van Barele ◽  
Bernadette A. M. Heemskerk-Gerritsen ◽  
Yvonne V. Louwers ◽  
Mijntje B. Vastbinder ◽  
John W. M. Martens ◽  
...  

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) occur more frequently in younger women and do not express estrogen receptor (ER) nor progesterone receptor (PR), and are therefore often considered hormone-insensitive. Treatment of premenopausal TNBC patients almost always includes chemotherapy, which may lead to premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) and can severely impact quality of life. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is contraindicated for patients with a history of hormone-sensitive breast cancer, but the data on safety for TNBC patients is inconclusive, with a few randomized trials showing increased risk-ratios with wide confidence intervals for recurrence after HRT. Here, we review the literature on alternative pathways from the classical ER/PR. We find that for both estrogens and progestogens, potential alternatives exist for exerting their effects on TNBC, ranging from receptor conversion, to alternative receptors capable of binding estrogens, as well as paracrine pathways, such as RANK/RANKL, which can cause progestogens to indirectly stimulate growth and metastasis of TNBC. Finally, HRT may also influence other hormones, such as androgens, and their effects on TNBCs expressing androgen receptors (AR). Concluding, the assumption that TNBC is completely hormone-insensitive is incorrect. However, the direction of the effects of the alternative pathways is not always clear, and will need to be investigated further.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 178
Author(s):  
Noah R. Delapaz ◽  
William K. Hor ◽  
Michael Gilbert ◽  
Andrew D. La ◽  
Feiran Liang ◽  
...  

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent mental disorder marked by psychological and behavioral changes. Currently, there is no consensus of preferred antipsychotics to be used for the treatment of PTSD. We aim to discover whether certain antipsychotics have decreased suicide risk in the PTSD population, as these patients may be at higher risk. A total of 38,807 patients were identified with a diagnosis of PTSD through the ICD9 or ICD10 codes from January 2004 to October 2019. An emulation of randomized clinical trials was conducted to compare the outcomes of suicide-related events (SREs) among PTSD patients who ever used one of eight individual antipsychotics after the diagnosis of PTSD. Exclusion criteria included patients with a history of SREs and a previous history of antipsychotic use within one year before enrollment. Eligible individuals were assigned to a treatment group according to the antipsychotic initiated and followed until stopping current treatment, switching to another same class of drugs, death, or loss to follow up. The primary outcome was to identify the frequency of SREs associated with each antipsychotic. SREs were defined as ideation, attempts, and death by suicide. Pooled logistic regression methods with the Firth option were conducted to compare two drugs for their outcomes using SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). The results were adjusted for baseline characteristics and post-baseline, time-varying confounders. A total of 5294 patients were eligible for enrollment with an average follow up of 7.86 months. A total of 157 SREs were recorded throughout this study. Lurasidone showed a statistically significant decrease in SREs when compared head to head to almost all the other antipsychotics: aripiprazole, haloperidol, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, and ziprasidone (p < 0.0001 and false discovery rate-adjusted p value < 0.0004). In addition, olanzapine was associated with higher SREs than quetiapine and risperidone, and ziprasidone was associated with higher SREs than risperidone. The results of this study suggest that certain antipsychotics may put individuals within the PTSD population at an increased risk of SREs, and that careful consideration may need to be taken when prescribed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 452-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barton E. Anderson ◽  
Kellie C. Huxel Bliven

Clinical Scenario:Research has shown a link between poor core stability and chronic, nonspecific low back pain, with data to suggest that alterations in core muscle activation patterns, breathing patterns, lung function, and diaphragm mechanics may occur. Traditional treatment approaches for chronic, nonspecific low back pain focus on exercise and manual therapy interventions, however it is not clear whether breathing exercises are effective in treating back pain.Focused Clinical Question:In adults with chronic, nonspecific low back pain, are breathing exercises effective in reducing pain, improving respiratory function, and/or health related quality of life?Summary of Key Findings:Following a literature search, 3 studies were identified for inclusion in the review. All reviewed studies were critically appraised at level 2 evidence and reported improvements in either low back pain or quality of life following breathing program intervention.Clinical Bottom Line:Exercise programs were shown to be effective in improving lung function, reducing back pain, and improving quality of life. Breathing program frequencies ranged from daily to 2–3 times per week, with durations ranging from 4 to 8 weeks. Based on these results, athletic trainers and physical therapists caring for patients with chronic, nonspecific low back pain should consider the inclusion of breathing exercises for the treatment of back pain when such treatments align with the clinician’s own judgment and clinical expertise and the patient’s preferences and values.Strength of Recommendation:Grade B evidence exists to support the use of breathing exercises in the treatment of chronic, nonspecific low back pain.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (FI1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianfranco Mitacchione ◽  
Marco Schiavone ◽  
Alessio Gasperetti ◽  
Giovanni B Forleo

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been associated with myocardial involvement. Among cardiovascular manifestations, cardiac arrhythmias seem to be fairly common, although no specifics are reported in the literature. An increased risk of malignant ventricular arrhythmias and electrical storm (ES) has to be considered. Case summary We describe a 68-year-old patient with a previous history of coronary artery disease and severe left ventricular systolic disfunction, who presented to our emergency department describing cough, dizziness, fever, and shortness of breath. She was diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia, confirmed after three nasopharyngeal swabs. Ventricular tachycardia (VT) storm with multiple implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shocks was the presenting manifestation of cardiac involvement during the COVID-19 clinical course. A substrate-based VT catheter ablation procedure was successfully accomplished using a remote navigation system. The patient recovered from COVID-19 and did not experience further ICD interventions. Discussion To date, COVID-19 pneumonia associated with a VT storm as the main manifestation of cardiac involvement has never been reported. This case highlights the role of COVID-19 in precipitating ventricular arrhythmias in patients with ischaemic cardiomyopathy who were previously stable.


Author(s):  
Faswila M. ◽  
Ramya N. R.

Background: Patient who had history of spontaneous abortion in her previous pregnancy is associated with adverse outcome in her present pregnancy.Methods: A total 63 pregnant women attending OPD and admitted in department of obstetrics and gynecology, Yenepoya Medical College, from April 2017 to September 2017, considered and outcome were studied.Results: Out of 63 patient’s majority (57.1%) of patients belong to the age group 21-29 year. Anemia was found to be very severe in 4.3%, severe in 10% and moderate in 30% patients. Maximum patients (45.7%) were with history of previous one abortion followed by previous two abortions (38.6%). The final outcomes were term livebirth 47 (74.3%), abortion 9 (14.3%), preterm delivery 5 (8.6%), and stillbirth 2 (2.8%) caesarean section (23.3%) for various indications. 19.23% had term PROM, 9.09% had PPROM, 5.76% had term IUGR, 3.84% term IUD, preterm IUD accounts for 9.09% and still birth accounted for about 1.92% which was term, pre-eclampsia accounted for 4.76%, malpresentation for 7.93%, total 3 cases of antepartum hemorrhage out of which  placenta previa accounts for about 3.1% and abruption for 1.58%, manual removal of placenta 4.7% and low birth weight 7.6%.Conclusions: Previous history of spontaneous abortion is associated with adverse pregnancy outcome. There is increased risk of abortion, preterm delivery, need for caesarean sections and fetal loss which can be reduced by booking and giving antenatal care.


Author(s):  
Joyita Bhowmik ◽  
Amit Kyal ◽  
Indrani Das ◽  
Vidhika Berwal ◽  
Pijush Kanti Das ◽  
...  

Background: The Caesarean section epidemic is a reason for immediate concern and deserves serious international attention. The purpose of this study was to evaluate adverse maternal and fetal complications associated with pregnancies with history of previous caesarean section.Methods: A cross-sectional, observational study carried out over a period of 1 year from 1st June 2016 to 31st July 2017 in Medical College Kolkata. 200 antenatal patients with previous history of 1 or more caesarean sections were included. In all cases thorough history, complete physical and obstetrical examination, routine and case specific investigations were carried out and patients were followed till delivery and for 7 days thereafter. All adverse maternal and fetal complications were noted.Results: Out of 200 women, 30 candidates were tried for VBAC, of them 20 (66.66%) had successful outcome. Most common antenatal complication was APH (5.5%) due to placenta praevia followed by scar dehiscence. There were 12 cases (6.66%) of PPH and 6 cases (3.33%) of scar dehiscence in the study group. 3 cases required urgent hysterectomy due to placenta accreta. 42 out of 196 babies required management in SNCU immediately or later after birth.Conclusions: Women with a prior cesarean are at increased risk for repeat cesarean section. Vigilance with respect to indication at primary cesarean delivery, proper counselling for trial of labor and proper antepartum and intrapartum monitoring of patients are key to reducing the cesarean section rates and maternal complications.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (10) ◽  
pp. 970-978 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Hatch ◽  
Diego Villacis ◽  
Dhanur Damodar ◽  
Michael Dacey ◽  
Anthony Yi

AbstractWe aimed to determine factors that affect the quality of life of patients undergoing a standardized surgical and postoperative management protocol for knee dislocations. A total of 31 patients (33 knees) were included in this study. We contacted patients at a minimum of 12 months postoperatively (mean: 38 months; range, 12–111 months) and administered the previously validated Multiligament Quality of Life questionnaire (ML-QOL), 2000 International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Form (IKDC), and Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale. We performed independent two-sample t-tests and age-adjusted multivariable linear regression analysis to examine the difference in these scores. Patients who underwent previous knee ligament surgery had significantly worse mean ML-QOL scores relative to patients who did not undergo previous knee ligament surgery (114.3 versus 80.4; p = 0.004) (higher score indicates worse quality of life). All other differences in the ML-QOL scores were not statistically significant. IKDC and Lysholm scores did not differ significantly with regards to the studied variables. Among patients with no previous knee ligament surgery, patients undergoing surgery within 3 weeks of injury had significantly worse mean ML-QOL scores relative to patients undergoing surgery greater than 3 weeks after their injury (98.7 versus 74.7; p = 0.042) and patients with Schenck classification of III or IV had significantly worse mean ML-QOL scores relative to patient with a Schenck classification of I or II (88.7 versus 62.9; p = 0.015). We found that patients with a previous history of knee ligament surgery had a significantly worse quality of life relative to those with no history of knee ligament surgery. This is a level III, retrospective cohort study.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Shaw ◽  
Daniel Mackay ◽  
Jill P. Pell ◽  
Sandosh Padmanabhan ◽  
David S. Bailey ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Recent work suggests that antihypertensive medications may be useful as repurposed treatments for mood disorders. Using large-scale linked healthcare data we investigated whether certain classes of antihypertensive, such as angiotensin antagonists (AAs) and calcium channel blockers, were associated with reduced risk of new-onset major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar disorder (BD). Method Two cohorts of patients treated with antihypertensives were identified from Scottish prescribing (2009–2016) and hospital admission (1981–2016) records. Eligibility for cohort membership was determined by a receipt of a minimum of four prescriptions for antihypertensives within a 12-month window. One treatment cohort (n = 538 730) included patients with no previous history of mood disorder, whereas the other (n = 262 278) included those who did. Both cohorts were matched by age, sex and area deprivation to untreated comparators. Associations between antihypertensive treatment and new-onset MDD or bipolar episodes were investigated using Cox regression. Results For patients without a history of mood disorder, antihypertensives were associated with increased risk of new-onset MDD. For AA monotherapy, the hazard ratio (HR) for new-onset MDD was 1.17 (95% CI 1.04–1.31). Beta blockers' association was stronger (HR 2.68; 95% CI 2.45–2.92), possibly indicating pre-existing anxiety. Some classes of antihypertensive were associated with protection against BD, particularly AAs (HR 0.46; 95% CI 0.30–0.70). For patients with a past history of mood disorders, all classes of antihypertensives were associated with increased risk of future episodes of MDD. Conclusions There was no evidence that antihypertensive medications prevented new episodes of MDD but AAs may represent a novel treatment avenue for BD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (10) ◽  
pp. 643-648
Author(s):  
Miral A. Al Momani ◽  
Basima Almomani ◽  
Salar Bani Hani ◽  
Andrew Lux

Purpose: The aim of the current study was to determine the incidence, clinical characteristics, and risk factors associated with the recurrence of first unprovoked seizure in children. Methods: A retrospective, observational study was conducted at King Abdullah University Hospital in Jordan. Children aged from 1 month to 16 years old who attended the hospital between January 2013 to December 2017 were evaluated on the basis of medical records, from the first visit and for a 1-year follow-up period. Results: During the study period, a total of 290 cases with first unprovoked seizure were included. The incidence of first unprovoked seizure was 441 cases per 100 000 patient visits to the pediatric clinic. More than half of the cases developed a second attack (55.3%). Children with parental consanguinity were almost 3 times more likely to develop a second attack of seizure compared to those without parental consanguinity (odds ratio [OR] = 2.785, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.216-6.378, P = .015) and patients who had a history of focal type of seizure were almost twice as likely to develop seizure recurrence (OR = 1.798, 95% CI = 1.013-3.193, P = .045). Conclusions: The current results showed a high incidence of first unprovoked seizure among children in Jordan. Parental consanguinity and focal seizure were associated with the increased risk of recurrent attack. This finding highlights the need for public education regarding the outcomes of parental consanguinity to improve the patient’s quality of life.


2019 ◽  
pp. 088626051988993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle P. Desir ◽  
Canan Karatekin

Experiencing victimization in childhood increases risk of adulthood revictimization, and it is important to understand what may contribute to such risk. One factor that may help to explain the increased risk of future victimization is disclosure. However, the literature is mixed as to whether disclosure of prior victimization is helpful for protecting against adverse outcomes, and much of the research on disclosure focuses solely on sexual victimization. The current study examines the relationship between various forms of childhood and adulthood victimization and whether disclosure moderates this relationship. In addition, this study investigates whether characteristics of disclosure are associated with revictimization risk. The sample included 275 undergraduates ( M age = 19.52 years; 75.6% female, 77.5% non-Hispanic White or Caucasian). Participants reported on previous history of various forms of childhood and adulthood victimization. They also reported whether or not they had disclosed childhood victimization, and, if so, characteristics related to disclosure. Results revealed that number of childhood victimization experiences significantly predicted number of adulthood victimization experiences, and nearly every type of childhood victimization significantly increased risk of experiencing each type of adulthood victimization. Disclosure did not moderate the relationship between childhood and adulthood victimization. Participants who disclosed were more likely to disclose crime and peer/sibling victimization and disclose to parents or friends. Positive reactions to disclosure were more common than negative reactions; however, 75% of disclosers received at least one negative reaction. Finally, revictimized individuals received more overall negative reactions than nonrevictimized individuals. They also received more reactions characterized by the person they disclosed to trying to take control of their decisions or treating them differently. Results highlight the importance of examining relationships between various forms of victimization, considering how characteristics of disclosure relate to risk of revictimization, and the importance of educating potential support networks about appropriate responses to disclosure.


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