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Potential value of serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, and S100B for identifying major depressive disorder in knee osteoarthritis patients.

The chronic pain and functional limitations in osteoarthritis (OA) patients can increase risk of psychiatric disorders, e.g., major depression disorder (MDD), which may further aggravate the clinical symptoms of OA. Early detection of MDD is essential in the clinical practice of OA.

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The results of a unique dietary supplement (nutraceutical formulation) used to treat the symptoms of long-haul COVID.

Long-COVID is a syndrome characterized by debilitating symptoms that persist over 3 months after infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It affects 15 to 33% of COVID-19 recovered patients and has no dedicated treatment. First, we found that β-caryophyllene and pregnenolone have a significant synergistic effect in the resolution of LPS-induced sepsis and inflammation in mice. Then we combined these two compounds with seven others and designed a unique dietary supplement formulation to alleviate long COVID inflammatory and neurological disorders. We performed a one-arm open-labeled study at a single site with 51 eligible patients from 18 states. Each participant recorded the severity level of 12 symptoms (including fatigue, weakness, cardiac and neurological symptoms, shortness of breath, gastrointestinal disorders, ageusia or anosmia, anxiety, joint pain, rash, cough, and insomnia) at baseline, 2- and 4-week time points. On average, all the symptoms were significantly milder after 2 weeks, with further improvement after 4 weeks. Importantly, each symptom was significantly attenuated in 72 to 84% of the participants. There were no significant adverse effects. Our data indicate that the use of this nutraceutical product is a safe and significantly efficient option to reduce multiple symptoms of long COVID.

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Case Report: Variegate porphyria disclosed by post-gastric bypass complications and causing predominant painful sensorimotor axonal peripheral neuropathy.

Porphyrias constitute a group of rare genetic diseases due to various, mostly autosomal dominant mutations, causing enzymatic deficiency in heme biosynthesis. As a result, neurotoxic porphyrin precursors and light-sensitive porphyrins accumulate, while dysfunction in their targets determines the disease symptoms. Variegate porphyria (VP), one of the acute hepatic porphyrias, is caused by a protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPOX) mutation. During acute attacks, among other factors, triggered by drugs, stressors, or fasting, an increase in urinary and fecal porphobilinogen (PBG), aminolevulinic acid (ALA), and porphyrins occurs, damaging the autonomous, peripheral, or central nervous system. The disease remains often latent or displays minimal symptoms usually overlooked, exposing undiagnosed patients to potentially serious complications in the presence of the aforementioned triggers. This 46-year-old woman presented, some days after a bariatric surgery, with severe flaccid tetraparesis and neuropathic pain, initially misdiagnosed as a functional neurological disorder. The severe axonal sensorimotor polyneuropathy led to further investigations, disclosing high urinary porphobilinogen, ALA, and porphyrin levels due to a new PPOX mutation. Retrospectively, it appeared that the patient had had typical VP symptoms (abdominal pain, fragile skin, and dark urine episodes) for years prior to the surgery. Treated with carbohydrate load, neurorehabilitation, and analgesics, she slowly recovered to full mobility, with partial autonomy in her daily life activities, although fatigue and severe pain persisted, preventing her from returning to work. This case documents gastric bypass surgery as a trigger of severe VP invalidating neurological symptoms and illustrates how the delayed diagnosis and post-interventional complications could have been prevented by screening for porphyria cardinal symptoms prior to the intervention. Likewise, this cost-effective screening should be performed before any treatment influencing the diet, which would dramatically improve the porphyria diagnosis rate and outcome.

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Prevalence and correlates of sleep quality in the Chinese college students with migraine: a cross-sectional study.

Migraineurs are often plagued by sleep disorders. The university student population is high in number and is more vulnerable to migraines. However, no study has analyzed the sleep quality of students with migraine and related contributing factors. We used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scale to assess the sleep of migraine patients among college students and to explore the influencing factors of sleep quality. We performed primary screening for migraine using the ID-migraine screening, and further assessed headache characteristics, sleep, anxiety, depression, and mobile phone addiction in college students with positive primary screening, then diagnosed migraine according to the third edition of (ICHD-3). Finally, we analyzed the factors influencing sleep quality using Binary Logistic Regression Analysis. Those with scores greater than 5 points on the PSQI scale were believed to have poor sleep quality. The prevalence of migraine was 6.6%. A total of 545 migraineurs were eventually included in the analysis, the incidence of poor sleep quality was 64.04%. The three factors of experiencing aura (OR = 2.966, 95%CI = 1.756-5.010, < 0.05), anxiety (OR = 2.778, 95%CI = 1.434-5.382, < 0.05), and high Mobile phone addiction index (MPAI) score (OR = 1.025, 95%CI = 1.002-1.049, < 0.05) contributed enormously to poor sleep quality. Moreover, the factors of aura symptoms (OR = 3.796, 95%CI = 2.041-7.058, < 0.05), anxiety (OR = 3.146, 95%CI = 1.473-6.719, < 0.05), and MPAI score (OR = 1.028, 95%CI = 1.002-1.054, < 0.05) influenced the sleep quality of female migraineurs rather than male migraineurs. The incidence of poor sleep quality is high among university students with migraine. Aura symptoms, anxiety, and high MPAI score influence the sleep quality of migraineurs, especially females. The proposal of prevention and intervention measures is of great importance to the physical and mental health of students with migraine. identifier ChiCTR1800014343.

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Case Report: Tubridge flow diverter for a ruptured fusiform aneurysm of the M1 segments of the middle cerebral artery.

We report a case of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) M1 segment ruptured fusiform aneurysm that was successfully treated using a domestic Tubridge flow diverter (TFD). A 40-year-old man was admitted to the hospital because of a headache and was diagnosed with subarachnoid hemorrhage. Cerebral angiography revealed a ruptured fusiform aneurysm in the M1 segment of the right MCA. TFD, combined with coil embolization, was used for perioperative treatment. No obvious complications were observed. Follow-up digital subtraction angiography 2 and 12 months after the surgery showed that the aneurysm was occluded, and the patient recovered well. This is the first known case of this treatment with this type of stent in such an aneurysm and demonstrates that TFD can be used to treat ruptured fusiform aneurysms in the M1 segment of the MCA.

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Intestinal neuronal dysplasia presenting as psoas abscess: A case report.

Intestinal neuronal dysplasia (IND) is a rare condition mainly affecting the children. Constipation and abdominal distension have been reported as common manifestations. In addition, the reports about adult cases are scarce.

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Spondylitis with Infection: A Rare Case of Mixed Infections of Spine.

As a widespread back condition in orthopedics, spondylitis is rarely caused by . Here, we report a rare case of spondylitis caused by associated with .

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Epidemiological Characteristics and Clinical Manifestations of Brucellosis and Q Fever Among Humans from Northeastern Inner Mongolia.

To investigate the distribution, epidemiology, and clinical symptoms of brucellosis and Q fever in northeastern Inner Mongolia.

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Decisive diagnostic clue for infectious abdominal aortic aneurysm caused by in a diabetic elderly woman with renal dysfunction: A case report and literature review.

Infectious aortic aneurysm (IAA) can be a rare but potentially fatal sequela of infectious inflammatory disease of the aortic wall with a high incidence of rupture. The definitive diagnosis is based on vascular imaging of the aneurysm using contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) and identification of the causative microorganism from positive blood cultures (BCs). However, IAA remains extremely difficult to diagnose and treat in patients with prior antimicrobial treatment or with renal dysfunction. Here we describe a case of an 85-year-old woman with IAA caused by presenting with abdominal pain and fever that was initially diagnosed as a presumptive urinary tract infection and treated with empiric antimicrobial therapy. However, persistent abdominal pain with increased serological inflammation necessitated further evaluation. Unenhanced multimodality imaging considering the renal dysfunction revealed infectious aortitis of the infrarenal abdominal aorta, together with the initial culture results, leading to the tentative diagnosis of aortitis. Thereafter, serial monitoring with unenhanced magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) using thin-slab maximum intensity projection (TS-MIP) revealed acute aortic expansion strongly suggestive of a pseudoaneurysm that was successfully treated with early surgical repair under adequate infection control. Despite negative Gram staining and tissue culture results for the excised aortic wall, a definitive diagnosis of IAA secondary to rather than was finally made by confirming the histologic findings consistent with IAA and the identification of 16S rRNA on the resected aortic wall. The patient also developed a vascular graft infection during the postoperative course that required long-term systemic antimicrobial therapy. This case highlights the value of unenhanced MRA in the early detection of IAA in patients with renal dysfunction and the importance of a molecular diagnosis for identifying the causative microorganism in cases of culture- or tissue-negative IAA.

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Cardiac involvement in patients 1 year after recovery from moderate and severe COVID-19 infections.

Some patients suffered persistent cardiac symptoms after hospital discharge following COVID-19 infection, including chest tightness, chest pain, and palpitation. However, the cardiac involvement in these patients remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of COVID-19 infection on the cardiovascular system after 1 year of recovery in patients hospitalized with persistent cardiac symptoms.

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