Formant Frequencies, Cephalometric Measures, and Pharyngeal Airway Width in Adults With Congenital, Isolated, and Untreated Growth Hormone Deficiency.

OBJECTIVE: Adult subjects with isolated growth hormone deficiency (IGHD) due to a mutation in the growth hormone releasing hormone receptor gene exhibit higher values formant frequencies. In normal subjects, a significant negative association between the formant frequencies and the reduction of linear craniofacial measurements, especially of maxilla and mandible, has been reported. This suggests smaller pharyngeal width, despite low prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Here we evaluate their pharyngeal airway width, its correlation with vowel formant frequencies, and the correlation between them and the craniofacial measures. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A two-step protocol was performed. In the first case-control experiment, aimed to assess the pharyngeal width, we compared nine adult IGHD and 36 normal statured controls. Both upper and lower pharyngeal widths were measured. The second step (assessment of pharyngeal width) was performed only in the IGHD group. RESULTS: Upper and lower pharyngeal widths were similar in IGHD and controls. In IGHD subjects, the lower pharyngeal width exhibited a negative correlation with F1 [a] and a positive correlation with mandibular length. There were negative correlations between F1 and F2 with linear and positive correlations with the angular measures. CONCLUSIONS: Pharyngeal airway width is not reduced in adults with congenital, untreated lifetime IGHD, contributing to the low prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. The formant frequencies relate more with cephalometric measurements than with the pharyngeal airway width. These findings exemplify the consequences of lifetime IGHD on osseous and nonosseous growth.

Risk Factors for Physical Disability in Patients With Leprosy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

IMPORTANCE: The World Health Organization (WHO) 2016-2020 Global Leprosy Strategy aims to reinvigorate efforts to control leprosy and avert leprosy disability to less than 1 per million population. OBJECTIVE: To systematically identify clinical factors associated with physical disability in patients with leprosy. DATA SOURCE: Searches were conducted in Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science databases to identify studies published from January 23, 1988, to May 23, 2018, using the keywords leprosy and physical disability and related terms. STUDY SELECTION: Studies that evaluated patients using the WHO leprosy disability grading system and reported the number of patients with and without disability by clinical characteristics were included. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: The odds ratio (OR) was used as a measure of association between the clinical features and physical disability. Summary estimates were calculated using random-effects models. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was physical disability according to the WHO disability classification. The association between clinical features and physical disability was evaluated. RESULTS: The search identified 2447 reports. After screening titles and abstracts, 177 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility, and 32 studies were included in the systematic review; 24 of the 32 studies included sex information (39 571 patients), of whom 24 218 (61.2%) were male. Male patients with leprosy were more likely to have physical disability than female patients with leprosy (pooled OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.43-1.93; I2, 81.3%; P < .001). Persons with multibacillary leprosy were 4-fold more likely to have physical disability than those with paucibacillary leprosy (pooled OR, 4.32; 95% CI, 3.37-5.53; I2, 88.9%, P < .001). Patients having leprosy reactions were more likely to have disability (pooled OR, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.35-4.36; I2, 92.1%; P < .001). Patients with lepromatous leprosy experienced 5- to 12-fold higher odds of disability. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This systematic review and meta-analysis confirms the association between the presence of physical disabilities and male sex, multibacillary leprosy, leprosy reactions, and lepromatous presentation. These findings can guide the development of targeted interventions for early identification of individuals at greater risk of developing physical disabilities and education campaigns to promote early consultation to institute treatment for leprosy reactions and prevent physical disability.

The LACOG-0415 phase II trial: abiraterone acetate and ADT versus apalutamide versus abiraterone acetate and apalutamide in patients with advanced prostate cancer with non-castration testosterone levels.

BACKGROUND: Testosterone suppression is the standard treatment for advanced prostate cancer, and it is associated with side-effects that impair patients' quality of life, like sexual dysfunction, osteoporosis, weight gain, and increased cardiovascular risk. We hypothesized that abiraterone acetate with prednisone (AAP) and apalutamide, alone or in combination, can be an effective hormonal therapy also possibly decreasing castration-associated side effects. METHODS: Phase II, open-label, randomized, efficacy trial of abiraterone acetate plus prednisone (AAP) and Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) versus apalutamide versus the combination of AAP (without ADT) and apalutamide. Key eligibility criteria are confirmed prostate adenocarcinoma; biochemical relapse after definitive treatment (PSA ≥ 4 ng/ml and doubling time less than 10 months, or PSA ≥ 20 ng/ml); newly diagnosed locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer; asymptomatic to moderately symptomatic regarding bone symptoms. Patients with other histology besides adenocarcinoma or previous use of hormonal therapy or chemotherapy were excluded. DISCUSSION: There is an urgent need to study and validate regimens such as new hormonal agents that may add benefit to castration with an acceptable safety profile. We aim to evaluate if apalutamide in monotherapy or in combination with AAP is an effective and safety hormonal treatment that can spare patients of androgen deprivation therapy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov on October 16, 2017, under Identifier: NCT02867020.

Association between histamine-2 receptor antagonists and adverse outcomes in neonates: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The use of histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H2RA) in neonates is still debated because of possible risk of infection, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and increased mortality. AIM: To review whether the use of H2RA in neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICU) is associated with infection, NEC or mortality. MATERIALS AND METHOD: We performed a systematic search in PubMed, Web of Science and SCOPUS databases using the terms "histamine-2 receptor antagonists", "infection", "necrotizing enterocolitis", "mortality", "neonates" and related terms to identify studies published up to April 30, 2017. We included studies conducted in hospitalized neonates and exposed to H2RA. The primary outcomes were infection, NEC and mortality. We included reports of infections with clinical signs and positive culture, and NEC according to Bell stages (stage ≥II) based on standardised clinical and radiologic criteria. Among 1,144 studies identified, 10 fulfilled the selection criteria. Information extracted included study design, sample size and number of participants, along with the outcomes of interest. We conducted a meta-analysis of adjusted data and pooled estimates of infection, NEC and mortality are reported as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). RESULTS: Ten studies were analysed. There were substantial associations between H2RA and infection (pooled OR: 2.09; 95%CI: 1.35-3.24; P = 0.001) and NEC (pooled OR: 2.81, 95%CI: 1.19-6.64; P = 0.02) but not with the mortality risk (pooled OR: 1.76; 95%CI: 0.50-6.16; P: 0.38). CONCLUSION: Current evidence suggests that H2RA is associated with an increased risk of infection and NEC, but not with mortality in neonates admitted to NICU. The use of H2RA in neonates must be stringently considered when necessary.

Case Report: Microcephaly in Twins due to the Zika Virus.

Recent studies have demonstrated an association between congenital Zika virus (ZIKV) infection and microcephaly; however, to date, there have been no reports on the consequences of ZIKV infection on fetuses in twin pregnancies. Herein, we reported on the first case of a monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA) twin pregnancy having ZIKV-related microcephaly. Our findings suggested that, in an MCDA twin pregnancy, the ZIKV may cause infection in both fetuses, resulting in severe abnormalities in the central nervous system due to neural cell destruction and the disruption of the normal development processes of the brain. This case report and other similar twin cases may help to understand the pathogenesis and to confirm the etiology of ZIKV as a teratogenic microorganism.

Effectiveness of rotavirus vaccines against rotavirus infection and hospitalization in Latin America: systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Rotavirus was the leading cause of childhood diarrhoea-related hospitalisations and death before the introduction of rotavirus vaccines. METHODS: We describe the effectiveness of rotavirus vaccines to prevent rotavirus infections and hospitalizations and the main rotavirus strains circulating before and after vaccine introduction through a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies published between 1990 and 2014. 203 studies were included to estimate the proportion of infections due to rotavirus and 10 to assess the impact of the vaccines. 41 of 46 studies in the post-vaccination period were used for meta-analysis of genotypes, 20 to calculate VE against infection, eight for VE against hospitalisation and seven for VE against severe rotavirus-diarrhoea. RESULTS: 24.3 % (95 % CI 22.1-26.5) and 16.1 % (95 % CI 13.2-19.3) of cases of diarrhoea were due to rotavirus before and after vaccine introduction, respectively. The most prevalent G types after vaccine introduction were G2 (51.6 %, 95 % CI 38-65), G9 (14.5 %, 95 % CI 7-23) and G1 (14.2 %, 95 % CI 7-23); while the most prevalent P types were P[4] (54.1 %, 95 % CI 41-67) and P[8] (33 %, 95 % CI 22-46). G2P[4] was the most frequent genotype combination after vaccine introduction. Effectiveness was 53 % (95 % CI 46-60) against infection, 73 % (95 % CI, 66-78) against hospitalisation and 74 % (95 % CI, 68.0-78.0) against severe diarrhoea. Reductions in hospitalisations and mortality due to diarrhoea were observed in countries that adopted universal rotavirus vaccination. CONCLUSIONS: Rotavirus vaccines are effective in preventing rotavirus-diarrhoea in children in Latin America. The vaccines were associated with changes in genotype distribution.

Efeitos da fisioterapia respiratória e da mobilização passiva sobre a pressão intracraniana / Effects of respiratory physical therapy and passive mobilization on intracranial pressure

Os efeitos da fisioterapia sobre a pressão intracraniana (PIC) não são totalmente esclarecidos. O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar os efeitos da fisioterapia respiratória e movimentação passiva sobre a PIC. Foram avaliados 70 pacientes com traumatismo cranioencefálico e acidente vascular cerebral com Escala de Coma de Glasgow ≤ 8. A cabeceira foi mantida em 30 graus durante o estudo. A PIC foi monitorizada durante as seguintes condutas: compressão torácica, vibração associada à compressão torácica, compressão torácica contínua unilateral, aspiração traqueal com circuito aberto e com circuito fechado, movimentação passiva de membros superiores e inferiores, rotação do quadril, mobilização escapular e flexão lateral do tronco inferior. A variação da PIC durante as condutas foi avaliada pelo teste de Wilcoxon. A PIC inicial foi de 14 ± 6,4 mm Hg. Quatro condutas alteraram a PIC de forma significativa: Flexão lateral do tronco inferior (19,1 ± 6,52 mmHg; p < 0,0001), compressão torácica unilateral contínua (19,09 ± 6,43 mmHg; p < 0,0001), aspiração traqueal com circuito aberto (19,06 ± 6,46 mmHg; p < 0,0001) e com circuito fechado (18,2 ± 7,61 mmHg; p < 0,0001). Compressão torácica unilateral contínua e flexão lateral do tronco inferior devem ser evitadas em pacientes com hipertensão intracraniana. A aspiração traqueal é inevitável, mas deve ser cautelosa.

The effects of physical therapy on intracranial pressure (ICP) are not totally clear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of respiratory physical therapy and passive mobilization on ICP. Seventy patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) ≤ 8 were evaluated. Thirty degree head-up position was used during the study. ICP was monitored during the following procedures: chest compression, vibration associated to chest compression, unilateral continuous chest compression, tracheal suction with open circuit and closed circuit, passive mobilization of arms and legs, hip rotation, scapular mobilization and lateral flexion of the lower trunk. Wilcoxon test was used to evaluate changes on ICP during the procedures. Initial ICP was 14 ± 6.4 mmHg. Four procedures changed ICP expressively: lateral flexion of the lower trunk (19.1 ± 6.52 mmHg; p < 0.0001), unilateral continuous chest compression (19.09 ± 6.43 mmHg; p < 0.0001), tracheal suction with open circuit (19.06 ± 6.46 mmHg; p < 0.0001) and with closed circuit (18.2 ± 7.61 mmHg; p < 0.0001). Unilateral continuous chest compression and lateral flexion of the lower trunk should be avoided in patients with intracranial hypertension. Tracheal suction is unavoidable, but should be done carefully.