Open Access DOI:10.23937/2377-3634/1410042
Renal Denervation, Blood Pressure and Metabolic Disease: Not a Simple Solution
Cathryn M. Kolka
Article Type: Commentary | First Published: September 01, 2015
Diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and hypertension are frequently grouped together as the 'metabolic syndrome'. The prevalence of these diseases is increasing in the United States and worldwide. In recent years, overactivity of the sympathetic nervous system has been linked to obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. Promising initial research investigated the role of the sympathetic nervous system in hypertension: renal denervation using catheter-based radiofrequency ablation ...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2377-3634/1410040
Risk of Falls in People with Diabetes Mellitus
Alessandra Madia Mantovani, Mariana de Carvalho Pinto, Roselene Mondolo Regueiro Lorenconi, Mariana Romanholi Palma, Fernanda Elisa Ribeiro and Cristina Elena Prado Teles Fregonesi
Article Type: Research Article | First Published: August 15, 2015
Aim: To identify the risk of falling through a functional mobility test in non-diabetics, individuals with diabetic neuropathy and individuals with diabetic neuropathy and vasculopathy. Methodology: The study was composed of 61 subjects of both genders divided into the control group CG (n=32), diabetic neuropathy group DNG (n=18) and diabetic neuropathy-vasculopathy group (DNVG) (12). The participants underwent initial an evaluation through somatosensory sensitivity tests, diagnosis of polyneuro...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2469-5718/1510017
Exergaming to Improve Physical and Mental Fitness in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Pilot Study
Claudia L. Hilton, Allison Attal, John Best, Tim Reistetter, Pete Trapani and Diane M. Collins
Article Type: Research Article | First Published: August 18, 2015
Although not included as core characteristics of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), children and adolescents with this diagnosis often experience executive function (EF) and motor impairments. This study investigated the use of a speed-based exergame called the Makoto arena as an intervention strategy to improve EF and motor performance in in 17 school-aged children and adolescents with ASD. All areas of EF improved, with significance in the overall global executive composite and in the metacognit...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2469-5718/1510016
Effects of Pitching a Simulated Game on Upper Extremity Kinematics in Youth Baseball Pitchers
Gretchen D. Oliver and Hillary A. Plummer
Article Type: Original Research Article | First Published: August 09, 2015
Overuse injuries in youth baseball players have increased exponentially with the insurgence of participation in the sport. It has been estimated that 5 million children (6-17 years) participate in organized youth baseball in the United States. Additionally, it has been documented in a survey of 476 youth pitchers (9-14 years) that roughly half reported either shoulder or elbow pain while pitching, thus leading researchers to speculate overuse injury. As overuse injuries are continuing to be appa...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2469-5831/1510001
Dynamic Factor Analysis for Multivariate Time Series: An Application to Cognitive Trajectories
Yorghos Tripodis and Nikolaos Zirogiannis
Article Type: Research Article | First Published: August 28, 2015
We propose a dynamic factor model appropriate for large epidemiological studies and develop an estimation algorithm which can handle datasets with large number of subjects and short temporal information. The algorithm uses a two cycle iterative approach for parameter estimation in such a large dataset. Each iteration consists of two distinct cycles, both following an EM algorithm approach. This iterative process will continue until convergence is achieved. We utilized a dataset from the National...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2378-2951/1410044
Randomized Trial of a Discharge Planning and Telehealth Intervention for Patients Aged 65 and older after Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery
Ruth M. Kleinpell, Boaz Avitall, Cathy Catrambone, Tricia Johnson, Louis Fogg, Shirley Moore and Nicole T. Thompson
Article Type: Research Article | First Published: August 28, 2015
Despite diagnostic and treatment advances, coronary heart disease (CHD) remains the leading cause of death in Americans over the age of 65. Coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) is the most frequently performed major surgery for CHD in the United States (U.S.). While the rates of CABG surgeries have declined in recent years due to the increased use of percutaneous coronary procedures, current treatment guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology identify...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2378-2951/1410043
Hemolytic Anemia 19 Years after Mitral Valve Replacement with A Porcine Bioprosthesis
Debora Corsi, Michele Celiento, Stefano Pratali, Alberto Balbarini and Uberto Bortolotti
Article Type: Case Report | First Published: August 27, 2015
A 58-year-old man had undergone mitral valve replacement with a 27 mm Carpentier-Edwards porcine bioprosthesis (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, USA) in 1993. Nineteen years later he presented with dark urine, fatigue and moderate dyspnea denying any history of infection. He was in atrial fibrillation with a systolic mitral regurgitant murmur. Hematologic evaluation was consistent with haemolytic anemia; particularly, reduced hemoglobin, hematocrit and haptoglobin (6.6 mg/dl), and increased total b...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2469-5750/1510004
Vancomycin Hypersensitivity Reaction Presenting with Extensive Oral Ulcerations
Justin G. Hastings, Alok Vij and Anthony P. Fernandez
Article Type: Case Report | First Published: August 15, 2015
Vancomycin therapy is associated with several hypersensitivity reactions, the most common being the non-immunologically mediated 'red man syndrome'. Fever, rash, neutropenia, and other manifestations have also been variably associated with a vancomycin hypersensitivity reaction that is likely immunologically mediated. Here we report a 45-year old man who developed diffuse oral aphthous-like ulcers as the most prominent manifestation of vancomycin hypersensitivity reaction. We identified only two...