Early Transneuronal Degeneration in Dyke-Davidoff-Masson Syndrome

No abstract available.

Discordance between medication adherence and blood pressure control in primary care clinics in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia: The problem of therapeutic inertia

Introduction: Poor adherence to anti-hypertensive agents may be a major contributor for suboptimal blood pressure control among patients with hypertension. This study was conducted to assess the adherence to antihypertensive agents using Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) among primary care patients, and to determine whether the blood pressure control is associated with the level of adherence. Methodolgy: This cross-sectional study was conducted between June 2011 and August 2011. Adults with hypertension older or equal to aged 30 with or without diabetes were recruited from two public primary care clinics in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Medication adherence was assessed using MMAS-8. Results: Data from 231 patients were analysed, whereby 68% of them had good medication adherence but only 38.1% of the patients had their blood pressure under control. Statistical analysis failed to find correlation between adherence and blood pressure control. Twenty per cent of hypertensive subjects were on beta-blocker alone, and 37.1% of patients with either diabetes or proteinuria were not prescribed either angiotensinconverting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB). Above half the patients (51.5%) were on monotherapy. Conclusion: Discordance between adherence to antihypertensive agents and hypertension control is clearly shown in this study, and the likely explanation for the discordance is therapeutic inertia. Keywords: primary care; hypertension; therapeutic inertia; medication adherence

Atrial myxoma-related to chronic immunosuppression: a case report

Although rare, atrial myxoma is the most common primary tumour of the heart. Its relation to immunosuppression in solid organ transplant is presently debateable. We report the case of a 71-year-old male patient who underwent renal transplant 17 years prior. Since that time he continued high dose immunosuppression without physician consultation and presented to us with atrial myxoma and its complications raising the question of any association between immunosuppression and the development of atrial myxoma.