WHO has proposed a public-health approach to antiretroviral therapy (ART) to enable scaling-up access to treatment for HIV-positive people in developing countries, recognising that the western model of specialist physician management and advanced laboratory monitoring is not feasible in resource-poor settings. In this approach, standardised simplified treatment protocols and decentralised servi...

This study is a retrospective analysis of hyponatremia after transsphenoidal surgery in patients with pituitary adenoma. We evaluated (i) the incidence of post-operative hyponatremia (serum Na levels ≤ 135 mEq/L) and the emergence of hyponatremic symptoms, and assessed (ii) the risk factors under a uniform protocol of i.v. infusion with steroid and electrolyte fluid. We examined 88 consecutive ...

BACKGROUND Obesity is a disorder often accompanied by a heightened state of systemic inflammation and immunoactivation. The present randomized crossover trial aimed to investigate the efficacy of curcumin, a bioactive polyphenol with established anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, on the serum levels of a panel of cytokines and mediators in obese individuals. METHODS Thirty obese ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE During the last decade, many hospitals have implemented fast-track protocols for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). These protocols reduce the length of hospital stay, but there is no literature on the first period after hospital discharge. We determined how patients experienced the first 6 weeks after hospital discharge after fast-track TKA surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS 34...

OBJECTIVE The best treatment of aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC) is still unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of extended curettage and ethanol as an adjuvant to reduce local recurrence of ABCs. METHODS Retrospectively, 68 cases treated for primary and secondary ABCs caused by benign tumors from 2003 to 2013 were enrolled to a follow-up visit between one to ten years after the surg...

Advances in neuroscience have led to an expanded and improved understanding of neurobiological changes associated with rehabilitation and exercise in Parkinson's disease (PD). This knowledge has led to a direct clinical impact of increased referral for early and continuous exercise programs for individuals with PD (physical, occupational, speech therapy and general exercise programs) and an inc...

UNLABELLED Surgery remains the gold standard in the treatment of Dupuytren contracture but is technically demanding, carries significant risk of complications, and requires prolonged recovery time. Collagenase injection is an efficacious alternative to surgery; however, contracture release often requires multiple treatments spaced a month apart. We report our experience with a new collagenase t...

The use of local excision to treat T2 and NX rectal cancers is highly controversial as lymph node metastasis can occur in up to 28% of cases (123). The treatment of choice in these cases is therefore total mesorectal excision (124). An alternative proposed by the NCCN (23) and classifi ed as a category 2B recommendation (lower-level evidence and nonuniform consensus) is the administration of ch...

BACKGROUND There remains the need for more effective therapeutic options to treat acne vulgaris. Interest in light-based acne treatments has increased, but few randomized, controlled clinical trials assessing the value of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for acne have been reported. AIMS We sought to examine the efficacy of PDT using 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and pulsed dye laser therapy in the t...

BACKGROUND We compared the effectiveness and cost of a pain screening and treatment program, with usual care in head and neck cancer patients with significant pain. METHODS Patients were screened for the presence of pain and then randomly assigned to either an intervention group, consisting of a pain treatment protocol and an education program, or to usual care. Primary outcome was change in ...