Background Serum C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX - a marker bone resorption) and ACPA titer have been associated to higher erosive score in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) lower mineral density (BMD), even patients with pre-arthritis. Prominent inflammatory status cannot totally explain such association. The interplay between ACPA, disease activity, BMD CTX is still unclear. Objectives...

DOCUMENT RESUME EC 041 478 Ackerman, Marc J. Group Therapy Readiness Using Operant Techniaues with Mental Retardates. Georgia Univ., Athens. 72 11p.; Paper presented at the AERA Convention (Chicago, Illinois, April 7, 1972) MF-$0.65 HC-$3.29 *Behavior Change; *Exceptional Child Research; Group Therapy; *Mentally Handicapped; *Operant Conditioning; Social Adjustment; *Trainable Mentally Handicap...

We undertook a study of the characteristics and clinical impact of infections due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) after liver transplantation. Of 165 patients who received liver transplants at our institution from 1990 through 1998, 38 (23%) developed MRSA infections. The predominant sources of infection were vascular catheters (39%; n=15), wound (18%; n=7), abdomen (18%; ...

A thrombocytopoiesis-stimulating factor (TSF or thrombopoietin) derived from human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells is known to increase platelet production and to increase the number of morphologically unrecognizable early megakaryocytes, ie, small acetylcholinesterase-positive (SAChE+) cells in mice. Other recent studies have concluded that interleukin-6 (IL-6) also stimulates murine megakaryocyt...

BACKGROUND Weight-bearing radiographs are a critical component of evaluating foot and ankle pathology. An underlying assumption is that patients are placing 50% of their body weight on the affected foot during image acquisition. The accuracy of weight bearing during radiographs is unknown and, presumably, variable, which may result in uncertain ability of the resultant radiographs to appropriat...

BACKGROUND Surgical gloves provide a protective barrier for patients and members of the surgical team. Although glove integrity is important in an era of blood-borne pathogens, little data exist on bacterial passage after glove perforation. This study evaluated the impact of antimicrobial surgical gloves in reducing microbial passage after glove puncture in a model of wound contamination. MET...

OBJECTIVE To identify risk factors for normal-tension glaucoma among subgroups of patients. METHODS In 93 patients with unilateral normal-tension glaucoma, intereye comparison of baseline spherical equivalent, central corneal thickness, untreated intraocular pressure, disc area, and zone beta variables was performed among the following 4 subgroups classified according to age and visual field ...

OBJECTIVES To explore the role that virtual reality training might play in the learning curve of laparoscopic varicocelectomy. METHODS A total of 1326 laparoscopic varicocelectomy cases performed by 16 participants from July 2005 to June 2012 were retrospectively analyzed. The participants were divided into 2 groups: group A was trained by laparoscopic trainer boxes; group B was trained by a ...

The valid confirmation of a positive change (improvement) in a patient's health status due to intervention has been at the core of medicine and rehabilitation since their very inception as clinicians always aspired to ensure that treating their patients had led to successful outcomes both in acute and chronic conditions. However what is change: either improvement or worsening (aggravation), is ...

BACKGROUND Neck dissection surgery is often followed by chronic head and neck pain. To date optimal treatment of this type of pain is lacking. Botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) has been shown to be effective in the treatment of myofascial pain syndrome and headache. In a pilot study, we wanted to test the effectiveness of BTX-A for the treatment of chronic neck pain after neck dissection. METHOD...