Open Access DOI:10.23937/2572-4193.1510003
Ramsay Hunt Syndrome Type 2: A Review of an Uncommon and Unwelcome Neurodermatologic Disease
Reid A. Waldman, Corey W. Waldman and Steven D. Waldman
Article Type: Review Article | First Published: August 28, 2015
First described in 1907 by James Ramsay Hunt, an American neurologist, Ramsay Hunt syndrome is the eponym given to a constellation of symptoms including a vesicular rash of the external ear and the ipsilateral two thirds of the tongue with associated paralysis of the seventh cranial nerve. The syndrome, which is also known as herpes zoster oticus and Hunt's syndrome, is believed to be caused by reactivation of dormant varicella-zoster virus (VZV) within the geniculate ganglion and associated sen...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2572-4193.1510002
Suspected Aspiration of a Patency Capsule
Claude F Harbarger and Brian J Wiatrak
Article Type: Case Report | First Published: August 21, 2015
Video Capsule Endoscopy (VCE) is an established means of evaluating the upper and lower aerodigestive tracts, with 3 companies now having received FDA clearance for their devices. The most prevalent risk of VCE is capsule retention, which infrequently results in bowel obstruction. In patients suspected of having a high risk of capsule retention, a dissolvable patency capsule is given a few days prior to the VCE procedure to ensure ultimate passage of the VCE device. Here we report what is, to ou...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2572-4053.1510001
Insomnia and Emotion Regulation: Recent Findings and Suggestions for Treatment
Silvia Cerolini, Andrea Ballesio and Caterina Lombardo
Article Type: Review Article | First Published: August 28, 2015
Recent findings suggest that insomnia and emotion regulation are closely connected. Insomnia is widely associated with medical and psychiatric conditions as well as with impaired quality of life and emotional functioning. Additionally empirical evidence suggests that emotional dysregulation plays a crucial role in the onset and maintenance of psychopathological disorders. Although these seem to interact, very few studies investigated the relationship between disturbed sleep and problems in emoti...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2469-5866/1510002
MicroRNA in Brain Neoplasia: A Review
Michela Visani, Giorgia Acquaviva, Gianluca Marucci, Moira Ragazzi, Enrico Fraceschi, Alba A Brandes, Giovanni Tallini, Annalisa Pession and Dario de Biase
Article Type: Review Article | First Published: August 27, 2015
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNAs involved in regulation of several cellular processes and are involved in the silencing of cell's message in a variety of ways. In cancer, miRNAs can be involved in the regulation of important genes involved in tumorigenesis, tumor development, and angiogenesis. For these reasons, miRNAs could have considered oncogenic-miR (miRNA with oncogenic roles) or oncosuppressor-miR (miRNA with tumor suppressor roles). MiRNAs may alter the expression of genes involved in c...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2469-5866/1510001
External Carotid Artery Steal Syndrome via Occipital-Vertebral Anastomosis
Menarvia Nixon, Anil Nanda and Hugo Cuellar-Saenz
Article Type: Case Report | First Published: August 26, 2015
We describe a case of ECA steal syndrome due to occipital- vertebral anastamosis in an 81 y/o female patient who presented with gait ataxia and dizziness. She was referred to Neuro-interventional Radiology after discovery of carotid bruits on her physical examination. A digital subtraction angiogram confirmed mild internal carotid artery stenosis, however, more concerning was the discovery of retrograde flow of the right vertebral artery with filling of the right external carotid artery via anas...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2572-4061.1510001
Micronuclei Induction and Neurotoxic Effect in C6 Glioma Cells Exposed to Low Concentrations of Diazinon, an Organophosphorus Compound
Carla Falugi, Chiara Gambardella, Tommaso Bonfiglio, Zoltan Rakonczay, Federico Biggi, Sara Novelli and Mariangela Masini
Article Type: Original Article | First Published: August 26, 2015
Even though the adverse effects on environment and organism health have been long and thoroughly studied, the problem represented by the continuous use of neurotoxic pesticides, in particular organophosphates (OPs, organic salts of the pyro phosphoric acid), is still open. These are considered as emerging pollutants, as their massive employment is relatively recent, dating after the ban of persistent organic pesticides. OPs are not persistent for a long time, as their half-life varies according ...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2469-5858/1510003
Balance and its Clinical Assessment in Older Adults - A Review
Joseph O. Nnodim and Raymond L. Yung
Article Type: Research Article | First Published: September 02, 2015
Balance impairment is common among older adults and estimates of its prevalence range between 20 and 50%. In basic terms, loss of balance occurs when the center of mass (CoM) falls out of alignment with the base of support (BoS). With about two-thirds of body mass about two-thirds of body height above a relatively narrow BoS, human bipedal stance and gait are inherently low in stability. Further, the BoS is about halved when standing on one leg, adding to the potential instability. It is therefo...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2469-5858/1510002
Terminal Care in Older Patients in Hospital: Development of a Quality Indicator Set and its First Application in a Retrospective Comparison of Patients Treated in an Acute Geriatric Unit and a Palliative Care Unit of a Belgian University Hospital
Annelies Cools, Delphine Vaneechoutte, Nele Van Den Noortgate, Karen Versluys, Martine De Laat, Mirko Petrovic and Ruth Piers
Article Type: Research Article | First Published: August 26, 2015
During the last decades, there has been growing interest in high quality end-of-life care for the geriatric patient. This can be explained by the aging of the population, which leads to an increased number of frail, older patients who die in hospitals as a result of one or more chronic condition(s). The quality of end-of-life care for the geriatric patient is not optimal, characterized by inadequately treated symptoms and poor communication between health care professionals, patients and their f...