Dupuytren's contracture -- Genetic aspects, Dupuytren's contracture -- Development and progression, and Dupuytren's contracture -- Care and treatment

Byline: Lohrasb R. Sayadi, From the Department of Plastic Surgery, Center for Tissue Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Orange; Danah Alhunayan, From the Department of Plastic Surgery, Center for Tissue Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Orange; Nikolaos Sarantopoulos, From the Department of Plastic Surgery, Center for Tissue Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Orange; Christina Kong, From the Department of Plastic Surgery, Center for Tissue Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Orange; Shreya Condamoor, From the Department of Plastic Surgery, Center for Tissue Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Orange; Jamasb Sayadi, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.; Derek A. Banyard, From the Department of Plastic Surgery, Center for Tissue Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Orange; Ashkaun Shaterian, From the Department of Plastic Surgery, Center for Tissue Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Orange; Amber Leis, From the Department of Plastic Surgery, Center for Tissue Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Orange; Gregory R. D. Evans, From the Department of Plastic Surgery, Center for Tissue Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Orange; Alan D. Widgerow, From the Department of Plastic Surgery, Center for Tissue Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Orange Abstract BACKGROUND: Ever since the classification of Dupuytren disease into the proliferative, involutional, and residual stages, extensive research has been performed to uncover the molecular underpinnings of the disease and develop better treatment modalities for patients. The aim of this article is to systematically review the basic science literature pertaining to Dupuytren disease and suggest a new approach to treatment. METHODS: Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines, a systematic review was conducted using the MEDLINE database to identify basic science literature on Dupuytren pathophysiology falling under 1 or more of the following categories: (1) Molecular alterations, (2) Structural alterations, and (3) Genetic predisposition. RESULTS: A total of 177 articles were reviewed of which 77 studies met inclusion criteria. Articles were categorized into respective sections outlined in the study methods. CONCLUSION: The pathophysiological changes involved in Dupuytren's disease can be divided into a number of molecular and structural alterations with genetic predisposition playing a contributory role. Understanding these changes can allow for the development of biologics which may disrupt and halt the disease process.

Government regulation, Refugees -- Laws, regulations and rules, Anger management -- Laws, regulations and rules, and Medical law

Pre- and post-migratory factors have been implicated in refugee children's mental health. However, findings regarding their unique and joint roles are inconsistent or nonexistent. We examined the main and interactive relations of pre-migratory life stressors and post-migratory daily hassles and routines to emotion regulation--a key marker of mental health--in 5- to 13-year-old Syrian refugee children (N=103) resettling in Canada. Mothers and children completed questionnaires assessing pre-migratory life stressors and post-migratory daily hassles. Mothers also reported their children's adherence to family routines and emotion regulation abilities (i.e., anger and sadness regulation) via questionnaire. Overall, children who more frequently engaged in family routines showed better anger regulation. Pre- and post-migratory factors also interacted, such that greater post-migratory daily hassles were associated with worse sadness regulation for children with lower levels of pre-migratory life stressors, but were unassociated with the sadness regulation of children who experienced higher levels of pre-migratory life stressors. Results suggest that pre- and post-migratory factors play unique and joint roles in refugee children's emotion regulation during resettlement.

Skin -- Genetic aspects

Blood clot -- Diagnosis, Blood clot -- Prognosis, Thrombosis -- Diagnosis, Thrombosis -- Prognosis, Stroke (Disease) -- Risk factors, Medical research, and Medicine, Experimental

Objective: Our study aims to evaluate the etiologic and clinical features of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) in Saudi Arabia, and secondarily whether gender plays a role in CVST. Materials [...]

Vitamin E -- Analysis and Hypoglycemic agents -- Analysis

Byline: Nawal M. Al-Rasheed, Nouf M. Al-Rasheed, Danah A. AL-Rabeeah, Heba S. AL-Barrak, Salma A. AL-Salman, Shahd A. Ibrahim, Sulafa A. AL-Hassab,Maha A. Al-Amin, Iman H. Hasan, Hanaa N. Al-Ajmi, Tahani K. AL-Shammari Abstract Several studies have reported that metformin is cardioprotective for diabetic and non-diabetic ischemic hearts through mechanisms that cannot be entirely attributed to its anti-hyperglycemic effect. This study was designed to investigate the cardioprotective effects of metformin with and without vitamin E after induction myocardial infarction (MI) in rats, using isoproterenol. Administration of metformin or vitamin E significantly reduced the cardiac mass index (P<0.01), ameliorated the changes to cardiac biomarkers, and attenuated oxidative stress levels compared to the isoproterenol group. Interestingly, combination therapy showed a slight synergistic effect. Histopathological analysis suggested that metformin treatment reduced NF-[PHI]B expression and protected against isoproterenol-induced MI. Our results indicate that metformin mediates a cardioprotective effect against isoproterenol-induced MI via antioxidant activity and modulation of the NF-[PHI]B signaling pathway. This suggests that metformin would be beneficial in MI treatment.

Anticonvulsants -- Dosage and administration, Epilepsy -- Diagnosis, Epilepsy -- Drug therapy, Epilepsy -- Research, and Prevalence studies (Epidemiology) -- Analysis

Context: Medication nonadherence is a significant barrier in achieving seizure freedom in patients with epilepsy. There is a deficiency of data about the reasons for nonadherence in Saudi population. Aims: [...]

Company business management and Elementary schools -- Surveys

Introduction Traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) in school-age children and adolescents have been recognized as a serious issue globally because of their alarmingly high frequency and the nature of treatment, which [...]
Aim: This study investigated the knowledge of elementary school staff regarding the management of traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) in children. Methods: The present cross-sectional study analyzed data collected between September 2016 and April 2017. The sample consisted of 2,027 elementary school staff members in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A stratified cluster random sampling technique was used to select the required sample. Those who agreed to participate in the study completed a 4-part self-administered questionnaire comprising questions regarding demographic data, knowledge on management of tooth fracture, and avulsion using photographs of TDI cases. Results: The majority of the school staff showed inadequate basic knowledge regarding the importance of saving the broken piece of the tooth and identifying the tooth involved in the trauma (67% and 66.3%, respectively), P<0.05. However, they had a significantly high number of correct responses regarding the immediate management of TDIs for the 2 case scenarios presented in the questionnaire (P<0.05), and the majority (41%) reported normal saline as a suitable storage medium (P<0.01). Conclusion: This study revealed a lack of knowledge in certain aspects of TDIs among elementary school staff. Keywords: school staff, knowledge, traumatic dental injuries

Company business management, Home and school -- Surveys, Primary health care -- Surveys, Education -- Parent participation, and Education -- Surveys

Introduction One of the most common dental problems seen in children is injury to both primary and permanent dentition and supporting structures, typically caused by accidental falls. (1,2) Such injuries [...]
Objective: This study investigated the knowledge of Saudi mothers regarding the management of traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) in children. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study using structured questionnaires was employed for mothers chosen by stratified-cluster random sampling technique from primary health care centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, over a period of 12 months (July 2016-June 2017). The questionnaire surveyed mothers' background and knowledge on management of tooth fracture and avulsion using photographs of TDI cases. Results: The sample consisted of 3,367 Saudi mothers. More than half of the mothers (55.3%) gave the correct response, which was to send the child with tooth fracture immediately to the dentist (p<0.01). The majority of mothers (41.6%) gave the correct response for the immediate mode of action, which was to save the avulsed tooth in storage medium and send the child to the dentist immediately (p<0.001). However, they prioritized the immediate management of TDIs, and most reported saline as a suitable storage medium (p<0.001). The mothers expressed a positive interest in further education. Conclusion: Educational programs and TDI protocols must be implemented to increase mothers' awareness and improve the prognosis of children with TDIs. Keywords: mothers, knowledge, traumatic dental injuries

Fibrosis -- Physiological aspects, Fibrosis -- Care and treatment, Heart diseases -- Physiological aspects, Heart diseases -- Care and treatment, and Cardiac patients -- Physiological aspects

Introduction Tissue fibrosis occurs when synthesis of the collagen-rich extracellular matrix (ECM), primarily by cardiac fibroblasts, occurs at a higher rate than degradation, resulting in net ECM deposition, alterations in [...]
Cardiac fibrosis is a significant global health problem that is closely associated with multiple forms of cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction, dilated cardiomyopathy, and diabetes. Fibrosis increases myocardial wall stiffness due to excessive extracellular matrix deposition, causing impaired systolic and diastolic function, and facilitating arrhythmogenesis. As a result, patient morbidity and mortality are often dramatically elevated compared with those with cardiovascular disease but without overt fibrosis, demonstrating that fibrosis itself is both a pathologic response to existing disease and a significant risk factor for exacerbation of the underlying condition. The lack of any specific treatment for cardiac fibrosis in patients suffering from cardiovascular disease is a critical gap in our ability to care for these individuals. Here we provide an overview of the development of cardiac fibrosis, and discuss new research directions that have recently emerged and that may lead to the creation of novel treatments for patients with cardiovascular diseases. Such treatments would, ideally, complement existing therapy by specifically focusing on amelioration of fibrosis. Key words: cardiac fibrosis, extracellular matrix, fibrosis therapy, fibroblast, myofibroblast. A l'echelle mondiale, la fibrose cardiaque est un important probleme de sante etroitement lie a diverses formes de maladies cardiaques, y compris l'infarctus du myocarde, la cardiomyopathie dilatee et le diabete. La fibrose entraine une augmentation de la rigidite de la paroi myocardique en raison du depot d'un exces de matrice extracellulaire, ce qui affecte les fonctions systolique et diastolique et qui favorise l'arythmogenese. En consequence, les taux de morbidite et de mortalite des patients sont souvent considerablement plus eleves qu'en absence de fibrose manifeste, ce qui montre que la fibrose elle-meme est a la fois une reaction pathologique a une maladie existante et un important facteur de risque de l'exacerbation de l'affection sous-jacente. Le manque de tout traitement specifique de la fibrose cardiaque chez les patients atteints de maladie cardiovasculaire constitue une lacune cruciale dans notre capacite de soigner ces personnes. Nous presentons ici un apercu de la formation de fibrose cardiaque, et nous discutons de nouvelles avenues de recherche emergentes qui pourraient mener au developpement de nouveaux traitements pour les patients atteints de maladies cardiovasculaires. Idealement, de tels traitements pourraient apporter un complement aux traitements existants en se centrant specifiquement sur des ameliorations en matiere de fibrose. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: fibrose cardiaque, matrice extracellulaire, traitement de la fibrose, fibroblaste, myofibroblaste.

Adults

Byline: Danah Aljaafari, Alfonso Fasano, Fabio A. Nascimento, Anthony E. Lang, Danielle M. Andrade Keywords: Epileptic encephalopathy; Epilepsy; SCN1A mutation; Dravet; Lennox-Gastaut syndrome Summary Distinguishing adult patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome from those with Dravet syndrome is challenging. We have previously reported that patients with Dravet syndrome present a very peculiar motor phenotype. Here we sought to confirm that this association was not linked to the chronic use of antiepileptic drugs or the many lifetime seizures. To this aim, we studied 14 adult patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and 14 adults with Dravet syndrome because both conditions share similar seizure severity. We found that antecollis and parkinsonian gait were significantly more common in the Dravet group, thus suggesting that these features are part of the Dravet syndrome adult phenotype.

Online game, Online games, and Violence

Objectives

Protein-protein interactions -- Observations and Binding proteins -- Health aspects

Introduction Our understanding of biological processes at the cellular level has been underpinned by the traditional disciplines of genetics, biochemistry, and molecular biology. Over the last decade, focus has shifted [...]
Molecular recognition reagents are key tools for understanding biological processes and are used universally by scientists to study protein expression, localisation and interactions. Antibodies remain the most widely used of such reagents and many show excellent performance, although some are poorly characterised or have stability or batch variability issues, supporting the use of alternative binding proteins as complementary reagents for many applications. Here we report on the use of Affimer proteins as research reagents. We selected 12 diverse molecular targets for Affimer selection to exemplify their use in common molecular and cellular applications including the (a) selection against various target molecules; (b) modulation of protein function in vitro and in vivo; (c) labelling of tumour antigens in mouse models; and (d) use in affinity fluorescence and super-resolution microscopy. This work shows that Affimer proteins, as is the case for other alternative binding scaffolds, represent complementary affinity reagents to antibodies for various molecular and cell biology applications. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.24903.001 eLife digest Many of the molecules that are essential for life are too small to be visible inside cells. So, scientists use large complex proteins called antibodies that bind to these molecules to detect whether they are present and show where they are in a cell. As well as being useful tools in experiments, these antibodies can be used to help identify and treat diseases. The body produces antibodies in response to an infection. The antibodies used in experiments are purified from animal blood, but this method of producing antibodies has flaws. For example, it can be difficult to make identical batches of antibody that always behave in the same way. So scientists have developed 'alternative binding proteins' that can be made in the laboratory. These proteins are much less complicated and can be developed more quickly than antibodies, and can easily be adapted for a variety of uses. An alternative binding protein called an Affimer behaves in a similar way to an antibody by binding tightly to its target molecule, but is much more stable to acidity and high temperature. Tiede et al. have now tested how well the Affimer works in a wide range of different experiments that normally use antibodies to analyse the amount of a particular molecule inside a cell. The results of the tests show that the Affimer behaves in the same way as antibodies, and sometimes works more effectively. Tiede et al. show that an Affimer can help to reveal how a particular molecule works within a cell, to create detailed pictures of molecules in cells and tissues, and to identify a tumour. It can also be used alongside a new technique called 'super-resolution microscopy' that allows researchers to watch the activity of individual molecules. Future challenges are to test the Affimer in even more applications and to encourage its wider use by researchers, alongside other alternative binding proteins, as as replacements for some antibodies. This could ultimately lead to the development of faster and more efficient diagnostic, imaging and therapeutic tests. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.24903.002

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcjo.2016.11.011 Byline: Danah Albreiki (*), Miso Gostimir ([dagger]), Vivek Patel ([double dagger]), James Farmer (*)(AaAeAeAs.) Author Affiliation: (*) Department of Ophthalmology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ont ([dagger]) University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine, Ottawa, Ont ([double dagger]) USC Eye Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif (AaAeAeAs.) Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ont Article History: Received 11 July 2016; Accepted 9 November 2016

Nervous system diseases -- Research, Polyneuropathies -- Research, Medical research, Medicine, Experimental, Neurologic examination, and Neurophysiology

Author(s): Alon Abraham 1, Majed Alabdali 2, Abdulla Alsulaiman 2, Hana Albulaihe 3, Ari Breiner 1, Hans D. Katzberg 1, Danah Aljaafari 2, Leif E. Lovblom 4, Vera Bril 1,* [...]
Introduction Polyneuropathy is one of the most prevalent neurologic disorders. Although several studies explored the role of the neurological examination in polyneuropathy, they were mostly restricted to specific subgroups of patients and have not correlated examination findings with symptoms and electrophysiological results. Objectives To explore the sensitivity and specificity of different neurological examination components in patients with diverse etiologies for polyneuropathy, find the most sensitive combination of examination components for polyneuropathy detection, and correlate examination findings with symptoms and electrophysiological results. Methods Patients with polyneuropathy attending the neuromuscular clinic from 01/2013 to 09/2015 were evaluated. Inclusion criteria included symptomatic polyneuropathy, which was confirmed by electrophysiological studies. 47 subjects with no symptoms or electrophysiological findings suggestive for polyneuropathy, served as controls. Results The total cohort included 312 polyneuropathy patients, with a mean age of 60#177;14 years. Abnormal examination was found in 95%, most commonly sensory findings (86%). The most common abnormal examination components were impaired ankle reflexes (74%), vibration (73%), and pinprick (72%) sensation. Combining ankle reflex examination with vibration or pinprick perception had the highest sensitivity, of 88%. The specificities of individual examination component were generally high, excluding ankle reflexes (62%), and vibration perception (77%). Abnormal examination findings were correlated with symptomatic weakness and worse electrophysiological parameters. Conclusion The neurological examination is a valid, sensitive and specific tool for diagnosing polyneuropathy, and findings correlate with polyneuropathy severity. Ankle reflex examination combined with either vibration or pinprick sensory testing is the most sensitive combination for diagnosing polyneuropathy, and should be considered minimal essential components of the physical examination in patients with suspected polyneuropathy.

Biopsy -- Methods and Eye diseases -- Diagnosis

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcjo.2016.01.014 Byline: Danah Albreiki, Faridah Al Belushi, Vivek Patel, James Farmer Author Affiliation: (*) Department of Ophthalmology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ont ([dagger]) Department of Ophthalmology, Al Nahdha Hospital, Muscat, Oman ([double dagger]) Department of Ophthalmology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif (s.) Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ont Article History: Received 19 November 2015; Accepted 15 January 2016

Gliomas, Medical research, and Medicine, Experimental

Byline: Sandra E. Smith, John C. Waller, Isaiah A. Bingham, Danah M. Jewett, M. Simone Nsouli, John J. Mackintosh ***** No abstract is available for this article.

Bullying -- Measurement, Public health -- Measurement, and Cyberbullying -- Measurement

To inform the scientific debate about bullying, including cyberbullying, measurement.

Malignant melanoma of the conjunctiva is a relatively infrequent neoplasm that can be associated with significant morbidity and cause diagnostic difficulty to both the ophthalmologist and pathologist. We herein describe the first reported case in North American and European databases of a rare variant-signet ring cell melanoma - arising in the background of primary acquired melanosis (PAM) and use this case as a review of important diagnostic and therapeutic considerations when faced with this condition.