Quilting Resistance to the Sleep Industrial Complex

In this narrative account of sleeplessness, I draw on Ball’s (2002, 2012) poststructural conceptualization of quilts as social texts to explore the practice of quilting as a method of arts-based storytelling. Through the process of quilting, I story my experience of resisting the Sleep Industrial Complex. I explore the biocultural arena of sleep and critique the biomedical construction of sleeplessness as insomnia. I argue that the medicalization of sleeplessness works to support multi-billion-dollar industries that purport to cure insomnia through consumerism (Barbee et al., 2018; Williams, 2008). I describe how radically accepting sleeplessness as a facet of my existence, and not a medicalized disorder, is an expression of self-acceptance and an act of self-care. In this arts-based narrative account of sleeplessness, I mark the transition from viewing sleeplessness as a medical disorder to radically accepting sleeplessness as a natural facet of our complex being-in-the-world.

Low-Intensity Continuous Ultrasound Therapies—A Systemic Review of Current State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives

Therapeutic ultrasound has been studied for over seven decades for different medical applications. The versatility of ultrasound applications are highly dependent on the frequency, intensity, duration, duty cycle, power, wavelength, and form. In this review article, we will focus on low-intensity continuous ultrasound (LICUS). LICUS has been well-studied for numerous clinical disorders, including tissue regeneration, pain management, neuromodulation, thrombosis, and cancer treatment. PubMed and Google Scholar databases were used to conduct a comprehensive review of all research studying the application of LICUS in pre-clinical and clinical studies. The review includes articles that specify intensity and duty cycle (continuous). Any studies that did not identify these parameters or used high-intensity and pulsed ultrasound were not included in the review. The literature review shows the vast implication of LICUS in many medical fields at the pre-clinical and clinical levels. Its applications depend on variables such as frequency, intensity, duration, and type of medical disorder. Overall, these studies show that LICUS has significant promise, but conflicting data remain regarding the parameters used, and further studies are required to fully realize the potential benefits of LICUS.

Idiopathic ovarian vein thrombosis causing pulmonary embolism: case report and literature review

Ovarian vein thrombosis (OVT) is a rare medical disorder, which is most often found in the immediate postpartum period. OVT is rarely considered idiopathic. We report a case of idiopathic OVT with pulmonary embolism in a 33-year-old woman who presented with abdominal pain. Computed tomography and postoperative pathology confirmed the diagnosis of idiopathic OVT. To date, only 12 cases of idiopathic OVT have been reported. In this case report, we present a summary of these cases and a review of literature regarding management of idiopathic OVT.

Prevalence, Attitude and Knowledge of Self Medication during Covid-19 Disease Pandemic

Aim: To determine the prevalence, attitude, and knowledge of self-medication of general population for the prevention of coronavirus during the COVID 19 pandemic. Place and duration of the study: Major studies of Punjab during 2020. Methodology: A self-generated questionnaire was distributed online amongst the general population of Punjab excluding the people using medication for any other chronic medical disorder. The study included the general public including the age group from 16-60 years. Results: Among 290 participants, 33.7% were males and 66.3% were female. Based on the data obtained 53% used medication without a doctor’s prescription (self- medication) while 46.7% took the medication with a doctor’s prescription. Those with the habit of self-medication relied on both allopathic and herbal medications due to various reasons, the most frequent reason found was unavailability of doctors (27.8%). The most frequently used self-medicated drugs were pain killers, Hydroxychloroquinone, Azithromycin and Ivermectin to prevent from this deadly virus (p-value=0.000).Adverse effects reported after self-medications are statistically non-significant. Conclusion It is concluded that majority of the general population of Punjab are in the habit of self-medicating themselves because of difficulty in approaching physicians and the most commonly self-medicated drug with or without symptoms was found to be tablet Azithromycin as a preventive measure during this pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19, self-medication, adverse effects

Digital therapeutics in neurology

Digital therapeutics (DTx) is a section of digital health defined by the DTx Alliance as “delivering evidence-based therapeutic interventions to patients that are driven by software to prevent, manage, or treat a medical disorder or disease. They are used independently or in concert with medications, devices, or other therapies to optimize patient care and health outcomes”. Chronic disabling diseases could greatly benefit from DTx. In this narrative review, we provide an overview of DTx in the care of patients with neurological dysfunctions.

823 Apparent seizure activity in a 9 year old female presenting as hypnopompic hallucinations

Introduction The presence of hypnopompic hallucinations raises concerns for narcolepsy. However, sleep-related hallucinations may occur in other settings. Dreams at sleep-wake transitions may be difficult for patients to differentiate from sleep-related hallucinations. Sleep-related hallucinations are predominantly visual, although they can be auditory, tactile and/or kinetic. However, they are generally not olfactory in nature. Report of case(s) Here we present a case of a 9-year-old female with a history of tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy, ADHD, ODD, nocturnal enuresis, nocturia, aggressive behaviors and emotional outbursts who presented with EDS, frequent nocturnal awakenings, involuntary dozing, prolonged naps and a one year duration of hypnopompic hallucinations. Initially, the hallucinations occurred 2–3 times per week, but then decreased in frequency to 2–3 times per month. The frequency of episodes apparently decreased after tonsillectomy. She states that she wakes up and sees dots, and “she looks scary” when she looks at herself. She describes a variety of hallucinations including: seeing dots (including her mother being covered in dots), a cupcake, a strange woman walking, her hands looking strange--they had enlarged or hearing noises (a single loud bang). Pertinent physical exam findings included: BMI 66th percentile, Mallampati score 2/4, and a mildly enlarged tongue. The polysomnogram demonstrated mild obstructive sleep apnea by pediatric criteria, and, most notably, demonstrated an EEG with spike and wave formations in the central and frontal leads bilaterally. These were seen during NREM sleep and most prominently during sleep-wake transitions. There was also a more focal brief run of a regular 2 Hz rhythm in the central and frontal leads bilaterally. A referral was placed to Pediatric Neurology who ordered a full EEG which is pending at this time. Conclusion Sleep-related hallucinations may occur in narcolepsy, other sleep disorders, a mental disorder, a medical disorder, a medication effect or secondary to substance use. This case suggests that seizure activity may present as hypnopompic hallucinations as well. Support (if any):

The Use of Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM) by Children: A Correlational Study between Parent’s Perception and Their Children’s Use Reported by Parents

This cross-sectional study investigated the correlation between parents’ perception and their children’s traditional Korean medicine (TKM) use reported by parents in order to discover policy intervention points and provide a reference for establishing generalized TKM policies. Participant data from a 2017 national survey on TKM usage was divided into two groups based on the children’s TKM use reported by parents. The female participants’ children had a higher rate of experience in using TKM (8.1%; p = 0.029). Additionally, 91.4% of the parent group with a child who used TKM turned out to have used TKM, which was higher than 71.9% of the parents whose children never used TKM (p < 0.001). As for the awareness on the use of TKM, 44.0% of the parents with a child who experienced TKM answered they were aware of it, while only 35.3% of the parent group whose child never experienced TKM did so (p = 0.033). The present study suggests that parental experience in using TKM could have an impact on the children’s TKM use reported by parents. Further study is necessary to assess which parental factor (awareness level, medical disorder to be treated, therapy, therapeutic efficacy, the purpose of visit, sex, age, etc.) has a close relationship with TKM usage experience of their children.

A scoping review of the pathophysiology of COVID-19

COVID-19 is a highly heterogeneous and complex medical disorder; indeed, severe COVID-19 is probably amongst the most complex of medical conditions known to medical science. While enormous strides have been made in understanding the molecular pathways involved in patients infected with coronaviruses an overarching and comprehensive understanding of the pathogenesis of COVID-19 is lacking. Such an understanding is essential in the formulation of effective prophylactic and treatment strategies. Based on clinical, proteomic, and genomic studies as well as autopsy data severe COVID-19 disease can be considered to be the connection of three basic pathologic processes, namely a pulmonary macrophage activation syndrome with uncontrolled inflammation, a complement-mediated endothelialitis together with a procoagulant state with a thrombotic microangiopathy. In addition, platelet activation with the release of serotonin and the activation and degranulation of mast cells contributes to the hyper-inflammatory state. Auto-antibodies have been demonstrated in a large number of hospitalized patients which adds to the end-organ damage and pro-thrombotic state. This paper provides a clinical overview of the major pathogenetic mechanism leading to severe COVID-19 disease.

The interplay of Marine exposure in Gestational Diabetes

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus is a common medical disorder of pregnancy-associated with adverse outcomes for the mother and infant. This disease may result in maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Although therapies are available for the management of diabetes, which includes anti-diabetic drugs and insulin injections, yet continuous use of synthetic drugs provides lower healing with many side effects. Objective: In the continuing search for effective anti-diabetic drugs from a natural source are the main reasons behind exploring marine resources as a source of the therapeutic and nutritional compound. Methods: I found major articles of interest in the field of marine flora in gestational diabetes and proposed review based on relevant information. Description of the studies included in the review. Results: Marine bio-resources produce several novel scaffolds, which show their good efficacy and bioavailability in the treatment of gestational diabetes. Thus, marine resources have attracted much interest from the scientific community. Conclusion: This mini-review article presents some potential approaches from different marine sources such as algae, sponges together with their specific activity. Concerning the maternal risk factor, additional study is required.