Rehabilitation Services for Young-Onset Dementia: Examples from High- and Low-Middle-Income Countries.

The WHO Dementia Global Action Plan states that rehabilitation services for dementia are required to promote health, reduce disability, and maintain quality of life for those living with dementia. Current services, however, are scarce, particularly for people with young-onset dementia (YOD). This article, written by an international group of multidisciplinary dementia specialists, offers a three-part overview to promote the development of rehabilitation services for YOD. Firstly, we provide a synthesis of knowledge on current evidence-based rehabilitative therapies for early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD), behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), primary progressive aphasia (PPA), and posterior cortical atrophy (PCA). Secondly, we discuss the characteristics of rehabilitation services for YOD, providing examples across three continents for how these services can be embedded in existing settings and the different roles of the rehabilitation multidisciplinary team. Lastly, we conclude by highlighting the potential of telehealth in making rehabilitation services more accessible for people with YOD. Overall, with this paper, we aim to encourage clinical leads to begin introducing at least some rehabilitation into their services, leveraging existing resources and finding support in the collective expertise of the broader multidisciplinary dementia professional community.

Remdesivir use in patients with coronavirus COVID-19 disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has led to significant global mortality and morbidity. Until now, no treatment has proven to be effective in COVID-19. To explore whether the use of remdesivir, initially an experimental broad-spectrum antiviral, is effective in the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized, placebo-controlled trials investigating its use. MethodsA rapid search of the MEDLINE and EMBASE medical databases was conducted for randomized controlled trials. A systematic approach was used to screen, abstract, and critically appraise the studies. Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) method was applied to rate the certainty and quality of the evidence reported per study. ResultsTwo RCTs studies were identified (n=1,299). A fixed-effects meta-analysis revealed reductions in mortality (RR=0.69, 0.49 to 0.99), time to clinical improvement (3.95 less days, from 3.86 days less to 4.05 less days), serious adverse events (RR=0.77, 0.63 to 0.94) and all adverse events (RR=0.87, 0.79 to 0.96). ConclusionIn this rapid systematic review, we present pooled evidence from the 2 included RCT studies that reveal that remdesivir has a modest yet significant reduction in mortality and significantly improves the time to recovery, as well as significantly reduced risk in adverse events and serious adverse events. It is more than likely that as an antiviral, remdesivir is not sufficient on its own and may be suitable in combination with other antivirals or treatments such as convalescent plasma. Research is ongoing to clarify and contextual these promising findings.

Endothelial cell loss and central corneal thickness in patients with and without diabetes after manual small incision cataract surgery.

PURPOSE: Cataract surgery is known to change the corneal endothelial cell density and morphology. In patients with diabetes, this change is more pronounced. This prospective cohort study was conducted to assess and compare the endothelial cell loss and change in central corneal thickness (CCT) after manual small incision cataract surgery (SICS) in patients with diabetes versus age-matched patients without diabetes. METHODS: Consecutive patients with diabetes (153) in the age group 40-70 years and age-matched patients without diabetes (163) undergoing manual SICS were enrolled. Preoperative and 1 week, 6 weeks, and 3 months postsurgery assessments of corneal endothelial loss and change in CCT were done using specular microscopy and ultrasound pachymetry. RESULTS: There was a steady drop in the endothelial density in both the groups postoperatively, with the percentage of endothelial loss at 6 weeks and 3 months being 9.26 ± 9.55 and 19.24 ± 11.57, respectively, in patients with diabetes and 7.67 ± 9.2 and 16.58 ± 12.9, respectively, in controls. The percentage of loss between 6 weeks and 3 months was found to be of significant difference (P < 0.023). In both the groups, an initial increase in CCT till the second postoperative week was followed by a reduction of CCT in the subsequent follow-up (sixth week) and a further reduction in the last follow-up (3 months). The change in CCT between the second and sixth weeks was significantly higher in the diabetic group (P = 0.045). CONCLUSIONS: The diabetic endothelium was found to be under greater metabolic stress and had less functional reserve after manual SICS than the normal corneal endothelium.