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Clinical Neurology and Neurology

AcademicSubjects/MED00910, jscrep/070, and Case Report

The frontal sinus is the most common site for paranasal mucoceles, resulting in potentially threatening intraorbital or intracranial complications. Surgical drainage of mucoceles is the mainstay of treatment, which can be achieved usually through open or endoscopic transnasal approaches. Transorbital endoscopic surgery is a relatively novel approach to selective skull base lesions with limited data in the literature. It could be utilized as a safe and effective alternative approach in managing frontal sinus lesions when the endoscopic transnasal access alone is insufficient or inadequate. Here, we present a case of an isolated lateral left frontal mucocele that was managed successfully using an endoscopic transorbital approach alone with complete resolution of symptoms during a 10-month follow-up period.

General Medicine

Education

Computer Science Applications and Education

General Chemistry

Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics, R858-859.7, Public aspects of medicine, RA1-1270, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health, Community and Home Care, Original Research, COVID-19, Parkinson’s disease, SARS-CoV-2, neurological, and ACE2

BackgroundCOVID-19 has affected global communities with multiple neurological complications in addition to other critical medical issues. COVID-19 binds to the host’s angiotensin-converting enzyme2 (ACE2) receptors, which are expressed in the neurons and glial cells, acting as an entry port to the central nervous system (CNS). ACE2 receptors are abundantly expressed on dopamine neurons, which may worsen the prognosis of motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD). SARS-CoV-2 may lead to an indirect response via immune-mediated cytokine storms and propagate through the CNS leading to damage. PD is also been associated with certain post-viral infections apart from COVID-19, such as HSV, Influenzavirus A, Measles virus, Cytomegalovirus, and Mumps.ObjectiveIn this systematic review, we aim to provide a thorough analysis of associations between COVID-19 and neurological outcomes for patients with PD.MethodsUsing PRISMA statement 2020, a systematic review was conducted to isolate confirmed COVID-19 patients and analyze the PD-associated neurological outcomes. A systematic literature search was conducted using the following databases: PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases. The following keywords were used “COVID19, SARS-CoV-2, Parkinson’s disease, Pandemic, Mortality.” A modified Delphi process was employed to include the studies and ensure that the clinical outcome measures were addressed.ResultsOf the 355 records located during the initial round of screening, 16 were included in the final synthesis. Of PD patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, worsening motor symptoms and other viral-associated symptoms were reported. These symptoms included bradykinesia, tremors, gait disturbances, delirium and dementia, and severe spasms of arms and legs. Encephalopathy was presented in two of the included studies. Increased mortality rates were identified for hospitalized patients due to COVID-19 and PD as compared to other patient groups, albeit with limited generalizability due to high bias of included studies.ConclusionPatients with PD may experience substantial worsening of motor and non-motor symptoms due to COVID 19. Given the novelty of neurological-viral associations, clinical studies in the future ought to explore the disease severity and neurological outcomes in COVID-19 positive patients with PD as compared to non-PD patients, in addition to understanding the role of ACE2 in increased vulnerability to contracting the infection and as a treatment modality.

General Medicine

citizen science, urban ecology, biodiversity, amphibian, conservation planning, urbanization, Biology (General), QH301-705.5, Nature and Landscape Conservation, Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous), Ecological Modelling, and Ecology

As cities adopt mandates to protect, maintain and restore urban biodiversity, the need for urban ecology studies grows. Species-specific information on the effects of urbanization is often a limiting factor in designing and implementing effective biodiversity strategies. In suburban and exurban areas, amphibians play an important social-ecological role between people and their environment and contribute to ecosystem health. Amphibians are vulnerable to threats and imbalances in the aquatic and terrestrial environment due to a biphasic lifestyle, making them excellent indicators of local environmental health. We developed a citizen science program to systematically monitor amphibians in a large city in Alberta, Canada, where 90% of pre-settlement wetlands have been removed and human activities continue to degrade, alter, and/or fragment remaining amphibian habitats. We demonstrate successes and challenges of using publicly collected data in biodiversity monitoring. Through amphibian monitoring, we show how a citizen science program improved ecological knowledge, engaged the public in urban biodiversity monitoring and improved urban design and planning for biodiversity. We outline lessons learned to inform citizen science program design, including the importance of early engagement of decision makers, quality control assessment, assessing tensions in program design for data and public engagement goals, and incorporating conservation messaging into programming.

Infectious Diseases, Microbiology (medical), and General Medicine