Corneal Epithelial Damage and Impaired Tear Functions in Patients with Inflamed Pinguecula

Purpose. In this study, we evaluated corneal epithelial integrity and tear film parameters in patients with inflamed pinguecula and compared these findings with their fellow eyes and with healthy controls. Methods. We evaluated the fluorescein staining properties and performed the tear break-up time (TBUT) test and Schirmer 2 test (ST2) measurements of 32 patients who had symptomatic unilateral inflamed pinguecula and compared the results with their fellow eyes and also with an age- and sex-matched control group. Results. Twenty-three eyes (72%) in the inflamed pinguecula group and 1 eye (3.1%) in the fellow eyes group had punctate epithelial staining (PES) or epithelial defect on the nasal cornea (p<0.001). There was no PES or epithelial defect in the control group. Eyes with inflamed pinguecula (n = 32) had lower TBUT and ST2 values compared to the control group (n = 32) (p<0.001 for both). Fellow eyes (n = 32) also had lower TBUT and ST2 values compared to the control group (p=0.003 for both). There was no difference in the TBUT and ST2 results between the eyes with inflamed pinguecula and fellow eyes (p=0.286 and p=0.951, respectively). Conclusion. A high percentage of eyes with inflamed pinguecula had nasal corneal epithelial staining or epithelial defect. We also found lower TBUT and ST2 results in eyes with inflamed pinguecula and the fellow eyes compared to the control group. These findings may be important in pathogenesis of pinguecula and pterygium and also in uncovering their relation.

Download Full-text

Migraine Patients Experience Poorer Subjective Well-Being/Quality of Life Even Between Attacks

Cephalalgia ◽

10.1046/j.1468-2982.1995.1501031.x ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 31-36 ◽

Cited By ~ 122

Author(s):

CGH Dahlöf ◽

E Dimenäs

Keyword(s):

Migraine Patient ◽

Matched Control ◽

Well Being ◽

Control Group ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Subjective Symptoms ◽

Matched Control Group ◽

Patients Experience ◽

Age And Sex

The aim of the present study was to compare the general well-being of migraine patients between attacks with that of an age- and sex-matched control group. One hundred and forty-five consecutive and eligible patients at the Gothenburg Migraine Clinic were asked about their well-being and their complaints. Using three self-administered standardized questionnaires, the Minor Symptoms Evaluation Profile (MSEP), Subjective Symptoms Assessment Profile (SSAP) and the Psychological General Well-Being (PGWB) Index, evaluable responses were obtained from 138 migraine patients. Compared with control subjects, migraineurs perceived more symptoms and greater emotional distress as well as disturbed contentment, vitality and sleep. It is concluded that the general well-being of the migraine patient is impaired, even between the attacks.

Download Full-text

Reinke's oedema and thyroid function

The Journal of Laryngology & Otology ◽

10.1017/s0022215100115646 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 105 (4) ◽

pp. 291-292 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

A. White ◽

D. W. Sim ◽

A. G. D. Maran

Keyword(s):

Thyroid Function ◽

Matched Control ◽

Normal Population ◽

Vocal Folds ◽

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone ◽

Aetiological Factor ◽

Controlled Study ◽

Control Group ◽

Matched Control Group ◽

Age And Sex

AbstractReinke's oedema (RO) of the vocal folds is a condition of unknown aetiology. Cigarette smoking and vocal abuse may contribute to its development. Hypo thy roidism has been described as an aetiological factor but, to date, no controlled study has been published confirming this association. This prospective, controlled study compared thyroid function in 61 consecutive RO patients with an age and sex matched control group (n = 65) without laryngeal disease. Thyroid function was assessed by measuring serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine (T4) and tri-iodothyronine (T3). Hypothyroidism was diagnosed when TSH was above normal with a T3 and T4 below the normal range.Four RO patients were hypothyroid at the time of diagnosis, compared to five of the control group. Six RO patients had past or present hypothyroidism compared to seven of the controls. One RO patient and two controls were euthyroid with marginally elevated TSH levels. Although the incidence of hypothyroidism in this group of Reinke's oedema patients is higher than expected in a normal population, it is similar to that in an age and sex matched control group, reflecting the prevalence of hypothyroidism in middle aged women.This study suggests that hypothyroidism is not an aetiological factor in the development of Reinke's oedema.

Download Full-text

Constructing a More Closely Matched Control Group in a Difference-in-Differences Analysis: Its Effect on History Interacting with Group Bias

Observational Studies ◽

10.1353/obs.2020.0011 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 103-130

Author(s):

Pallavi Basu ◽

Dylan S. Small

Keyword(s):

Matched Control ◽

Control Group ◽

Difference In Differences ◽

Matched Control Group

Download Full-text

Fitness Matters as We Age: A Celebration of the VA Gerofit Program

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.2785 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 771-771

Author(s):

Miriam Morey ◽

Cathy Lee

Keyword(s):

Matched Control ◽

Exercise Adherence ◽

Health Promotion Program ◽

Control Group ◽

Health Administration ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Program Outcomes ◽

Matched Control Group ◽

Supervised Exercise ◽

The Impact

Abstract In recognition of the GSA’s 75th Anniversary “Why Age Matters” we celebrate the 7th anniversary of the Gerofit dissemination initiative. Gerofit is an exercise and health promotion program for older Veterans that has been declared a Veterans Health Administration (VA) “Best Practice” and been disseminated to 17 VA’s across the country. Over 7000 Veterans have participated in Gerofit initiated programs and have reported robust outcomes including improved quality of life, physical and mental health, and high levels of satisfaction with the programs. For this symposium, we focus on newly acquired program outcomes that emphasize the importance of fitness as we age. The first paper compares hospitalization and emergency room visits between individuals participating in Gerofit for 12 months compared to a matched control group. The second paper describes four-year trajectories of physical performance to highlight the impact of becoming fit over expected normative trajectories. The third paper examines outcomes of a home-based geriatric walking clinic. The fourth paper describes the impact of exercise adherence on chronic pain. The fifth paper describes changes in medication utilization compared to a matched control group following 12-months of supervised exercise. These papers highlight the importance of fitness as a contributor to overall health during the aging process and celebrates that fitness matters, no matter when you start!

Download Full-text

Circulating miRNA-202-3p is a potential novel biomarker for diagnosis of type 1 gastric neuroendocrine neoplasms

BMC Gastroenterology ◽

10.1186/s12876-021-01769-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Dou Dou ◽

Xiao-kou Li ◽

Qi-sheng Xia ◽

Ying-ying Chen ◽

Yuan-liang Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clinical Characteristics ◽

Matched Control ◽

Future Research ◽

Control Group ◽

Neuroendocrine Neoplasms ◽

Diagnostic Biomarkers ◽

Standard Curve ◽

Qrt Pcr ◽

Age And Sex

Abstract Background Currently, there are no circulating diagnostic biomarkers for gastric neuroendocrine neoplasms (g-NENs). In previous studies, we found that miRNA-202-3p is overexpressed in the tumour tissue of type 1 g-NEN. We speculated that miRNA-202-3p is also likely to be highly expressed in circulating blood. Methods A total of 27 patients with type 1 g-NEN and 27 age- and sex-matched control participants were enrolled in this study. The miRNA-202-3p levels in serum obtained from the participants were measured by qRT‐PCR. The expression level of miRNA-202-3p in the samples was calculated by comparison with a standard curve. Results The clinical characteristics of the patients were similar to those of the patient samples in previous reports. Expression of miRNA-202-3p was significantly higher in the patient group (3.84 × 107 copies/nl) than in the control group (0.635 × 107 copies/nl). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.878 (95% CI: 0.788–0.968), and the optimal cut-off point was approximately 1.12 × 107 copies/nl. The sensitivity and specificity were 88.9% and 77.8%, respectively. Conclusion This study suggests that miRNA-202-3p is potentially useful as a biomarker of type 1 g-NEN; further investigation and verification should be performed in future research.

Download Full-text

Survival of BRCA1 breast and ovarian cancer patients: a population-based study from southern Sweden.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.1998.16.2.397 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 397-404 ◽

Cited By ~ 185

Author(s):

O T Jóhannsson ◽

J Ranstam ◽

A Borg ◽

H Olsson

Keyword(s):

Ovarian Cancer ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Matched Control ◽

Brca1 Mutation ◽

Population Based ◽

Control Group ◽

Breast And Ovarian Cancer ◽

Population Based Study ◽

Matched Control Group ◽

Group Survival

PURPOSE Recent studies indicate that BRCA1 breast and ovarian tumors may have an advantageous survival. In this population-based study, the survival of carriers of a mutated BRCA1 gene was investigated. PATIENTS AND METHODS The survival of 71 BRCA1-associated cancer patients (33 breast cancer, seven breast and ovarian cancer, and 31 ovarian cancer patients from 21 families with BRCA1 germline mutations) diagnosed after 1958 was compared with that of a population-based comparison group that consisted of all other invasive breast (n = 28,281) and ovarian (n = 7,011) cancers diagnosed during 1958 to 1995, as well as an age- and stage-matched control group. RESULTS No apparent survival advantage was found for BRCA1-associated breast cancers upon direct comparison. After adjustment for age and calendar year of diagnosis, survival was equal to or worse than that of the comparison group (hazards ratio [HR], 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.9 to 2.4). In comparison with an age- and stage-matched control group, survival again appeared equal or worse (HR, 1.5; 95% CI, 0.6 to 3.7). For BRCA1-associated ovarian cancers, an initial survival advantage was noted that disappeared with time. Due to this time dependency, multivariate analyses cannot adequately be analyzed. Compared with the age- and stage-matched control group, survival again appeared equal or worse (HR, 1.2; 95% CI, 0.5 to 2.8). CONCLUSION The results suggest that survival for carriers of a BRCA1 mutation may be similar, or worse than, that for breast and ovarian cancer in general. This finding is in accordance with the adverse histopathologic features observed in BRCA1 tumors and underlines the need for surveillance in families that carry a BRCA1 mutation.

Download Full-text

Effects of Nutrient Intake Timing on Post-Exercise Glycogen Accumulation and its Related Signaling Pathways in Mouse Skeletal Muscle

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu11112555 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 2555 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Takahashi ◽

Matsunaga ◽

Banjo ◽

Takahashi ◽

Sato ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Skeletal Muscle ◽

Muscle Glycogen ◽

Nutrient Intake ◽

Matched Control ◽

Control Group ◽

Glycogen Depletion ◽

Post Exercise ◽

Glycogen Accumulation ◽

Matched Control Group ◽

Significant Difference

We investigated the effects of nutrient intake timing on glycogen accumulation and its related signals in skeletal muscle after an exercise that did not induce large glycogen depletion. Male ICR mice ran on a treadmill at 25 m/min for 60 min under a fed condition. Mice were orally administered a solution containing 1.2 mg/g carbohydrate and 0.4 mg/g protein or water either immediately (early nutrient, EN) or 180 min (late nutrient, LN) after the exercise. Tissues were harvested at 30 min after the oral administration. No significant difference in blood glucose or plasma insulin concentrations was found between the EN and LN groups. The plantaris muscle glycogen concentration was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the EN group—but not in the LN group—compared to the respective time-matched control group. Akt Ser473 phosphorylation was significantly higher in the EN group than in the time-matched control group (p < 0.01), while LN had no effect. Positive main effects of time were found for the phosphorylations in Akt substrate of 160 kDa (AS160) Thr642 (p < 0.05), 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) Thr172 (p < 0.01), and acetyl-CoA carboxylase Ser79 (p < 0.01); however, no effect of nutrient intake was found for these. We showed that delayed nutrient intake could not increase muscle glycogen after endurance exercise which did not induce large glycogen depletion. The results also suggest that post-exercise muscle glycogen accumulation after nutrient intake might be partly influenced by Akt activation. Meanwhile, increased AS160 and AMPK activation by post-exercise fasting might not lead to glycogen accumulation.

Download Full-text

Enlargement of cerebrospinal fluid spaces in long-term benzodiazepine abusers

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291700000660 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 17 (4) ◽

pp. 869-873 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

C. Schmauss ◽

J.-C. Krieg

Keyword(s):

Low Dose ◽

Matched Control ◽

Control Group ◽

High Dose ◽

Withdrawal Therapy ◽

The Mean ◽

Dose Dependent ◽

Dose Dependent Effect ◽

Age And Sex

SynopsisIn 17 benzodiazepine (BDZ) dependent in-patients a CT scan was performed before initiation of withdrawal therapy. The evaluation of the ventricular to brain ratio (VBR) by standardized and computerized measurements revealed significantly higher mean VBRs for both high-and low-dose BDZ-dependent patients compared to the mean VBR of an age- and sex-matched control group. In addition, the mean VBR of high-dose BDZ-dependent patients (N = 8) was significantly higher than the mean VBR of low-dose BDZ-dependent patients (N = 9). This difference could not be accounted for by the age of the patients or duration of BDZ-dependency and, therefore, suggests a dose-dependent effect of BDZs on the enlargement of internal CSF-spaces. On the other hand, higher values for the width of external CSF-spaces were found to be related to increasing age of the patients and duration of BDZ-dependency.

Download Full-text