The psychological refractory period (PRP) is a basic but important form of dual-task information processing. Existing serial or parallel processing models of PRP have successfully accounted for a variety of PRP phenomena; however, each also encounters at least 1 experimental counterexample to its predictions or modeling mechanisms. This article describes a queuing network-based mathematical mod...

Pruritus in hepatic cholestasis has been suggested to be secondary to a high concentration of serum bile acids. Rifampicin, which inhibits the uptake of bile acids by hepatocytes, has been used to treat pruritus. To determine the efficacy of rifampicin as a treatment for refractory pruritus, the medical records of 33 children (median age 25 months, range 4-135; 19 boys) with chronic cholestasis...

Humans and monkeys show intermittent arm movements while tracking moving targets. This intermittency has been explained by postulating either a psychological refractory period after each movement and/or an error deadzone, an area surrounding the target within which movements are not initiated. We present a technique to detect and quantify the size of this deadzone, using a compensatory tracking...

Purpose The aim of this study was to report the safety and efficacy of the membrane-tube (MT)-type glaucoma shunt device (Finetube MT) in the management of refractory glaucoma in indigenous West Africans. Methods The Finetube MT was implanted into 25 eyes of 25 West African patients with refractory glaucoma. These patients had inadequate intraocular pressure (IOP) control despite maximum tole...

OBJECTIVES To gauge consensus regarding a proposed definition for refractory migraine proposed by Refractory Headache Special Interest Section, and where its use would be most appropriate. BACKGROUND Headache experts have long recognized that a subgroup of headache sufferers remains refractory to treatment. Although different groups have proposed criteria to define refractory migraine, the de...

Background: Rituximab can induce a durable remission in plasma exchange refractory thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). Timing of Rituximab infusion in combination with plasma exchange (PE) and long term follow-up for probable side effects of such treatment is still lacking. Methods: This study was conducted among 10 patients with plasma exchange refractory TTP. According to the study de...

Purpose Patellar tendinosis (PT) is a common condition amongst athletes. In this study, we perform a meta-analysis on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for refractory PT. Methods A literature search was undertaken in various databases from their year of inception to October 2015. The primary outcome measure was the Victorian Institute of Spo...