this study was designed to present and compare iranian hospitals` performance applying ratio analysis technique.this cross-sectional survey was conducted to present an instant image of 139 iranian hospitals` performance status applying ratio analysis as one of the non parametric technical efficiency assessment methods in 2008. data was collected using nine dimensional questionnaires supported b...

Sonic hedgehog (Shh) is a morphogen essential to the developing nervous system that continues to play an important role in adult life by contributing to cell proliferation and differentiation, maintaining blood-brain barrier integrity, and being cytoprotective against oxidative and excitotoxic stress, all features of importance in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is a fatal disease char...

The survival rate of medical emergencies depends highly on the intervention time and prompt medical care on the scene. The idea of “bring the doctor and medical equipment to the spot” was born in Hungary in the mid-1950s. The demand for advanced life support was a consequence of the fast growth of industry and traffic. It is worthwhile to review the development of the idea, the therapeutic meth...

BACKGROUND In recent years, there has been a paradigm shift in the method of healthcare delivery to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients with the emergence of multidisciplinary ALS clinics that cater exclusively for patients with this condition. The impact of multidisciplinary management has not been previously evaluated. METHODS Using data from the Irish ALS Register, we conducted a ...

Skin allografts survived longer on ALS-treated, complement-deficient (C5 negative) recipients than on ALS-treated, complement-competent (C5 positive) recipients. Administration of C5-positive serum to C5-negative, ALS-treated recipients resulted in reduced graft survival. A percentage of grafts from ALS-treated, C5-positive donors was rejected when transferred to untreated syngeneic recipients;...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting motor neurons of the brain, brainstem and spinal cord. To date, mutations in more than 30 genes have been linked to the pathogenesis of ALS. Among them, SOD1, FUS and TARDBP are ranked as the three most common genes associated with ALS. However, no mutation analysis has been reported in central-southern China. In...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES We earlier reported elevated chemokine ligand-2 (CCL2) in Indian amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. We now analysed chemokine receptor-2 (CCR2), the receptor of CCL2, in these ALS patients. METHODS Indian sporadic ALS patients (n=50) were included on the basis of El Escorial criteria. Percentage (%) of CCR2 expressing peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PB...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Recent studies suggest that antecedent disease could impact the pathophysiology of the motoneuron disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). We performed a case-control study to examine the prevalence of 11 antecedent diseases in ALS. METHODS Prevalence of antecedent disease in a 1,288 patient ALS population (Emory University ALS Clinic, Atlanta, Ga., USA) is compared to an ...

Citation: The ALS Association Media Relations. The ALS Association: Fighting Lou Gehrig disease on multiple fronts. Rare Diseases 2013; 1:e24910; http:// dx.doi.org/10.4161/rdis.24910 Correspondence to: The ALS Association Email: [email protected] Since 1985, The ALS Association has worked with people and their families living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (Fig. 1). AL...