Background: Ozone effects on lung function are particularly important to understand in the context of the air pollution-health outcomes epidemiologic literature, given the complex relationships between ozone and other air pollutants with known lung function effects. Research Question: What has been learned about the association between ozone exposures and lung function from epidemiology studies published from 2013 through 2020?
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is by far the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease of aging and is a major burden for patients, caregivers, and the overall health care system. The complexity of AD pathophysiology and the lack of deep understanding of disease mechanisms impeded the development of AD therapy. Currently approved treatments for AD only modestly improve cognitive function but do not modify disease course. The lack of pharmacological approaches has led to the consideration of alternative strategies to prevent or to slow down the progression of AD.
This article supports SGDs 3 and 10 by identifying ethnicity-specific body-mass index cutoffs for obesity based on type 2 diabetes risk-equivalence to the cutoff in White populations. The findings suggest ethnicity-specific body-mass index cutoffs are needed to optimise prevention and management of type 2 diabetes.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) occurs in women more than men whereas survival in men is worse than in women. In recent years, much research has been carried out to understand these sex differences in PAH. This article discusses clinical and preclinical studies that have investigated the influences of sex, serotonin, obesity, estrogen, estrogen synthesis, and estrogen metabolism on bone morphogenetic protein receptor type II signaling, the pulmonary circulation and right ventricle in both heritable and idiopathic pulmonary hypertension.
Objective: To examine the psychological distress and the associated predictor factors of the 2019 corona-virus disease (COVID-19) on survivors in the early convalescence in Shenzhen. Method: A survey questionnaire consisting of post-traumatic stress disorder self-rating scale (PTSD-SS), self-rating depression scale (SDS), and self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) was presented to COVID-19 survivors still in quarantine. Scores of each scale and subscale were dependent variables in the Mann-Whitney test and stepwise regression analysis.
Background: Falls in older adults, notably those with Alzheimer's dementia (AD), are prevalent. Vision and balance impairments are prominent falls risk factors in older adults. However, recent literature in the cognitively impaired suggests that executive function (EF) is important for falls risk assessments. The study objectives were to: 1) to compare balance among people with AD, healthy older adults (OA), and healthy young adults (YA) and 2) to quantify the interaction of visual acuity and EF on postural stability. Methods: We recruited 165 individuals (51 YA, 48 OA, and 66 AD).
Introduction: Clitoral reconstruction (CR) is a controversial surgical procedure performed for women who have undergone medically unnecessary, often ritualistic genital cutting involving the clitoris. Such cutting is known by several terms; we will use female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). Treatments offered to women affected by complications of FGM/C include defibulation (releasing the scar of infibulation to allow penetrative intercourse, urinary flow, physiological delivery, and menstruation) and CR to decrease pain, improve sexual response, and create a pre-FGM/C genital appearance.
The use of advanced technological solutions (“neurotechnologies”) can improve the clinical outcomes of neurorehabilitation after stroke. Here, Micera et al. propose a paradigm shift that is based on a deep understanding of the basic mechanisms of natural stroke recovery and technology-assisted neurorehabilitation to improve the clinical effectiveness of neurotechnology.
Neuropathic pain (NeuP) arises due to injury of the somatosensory nervous system and is both common and disabling, rendering an urgent need for non-addictive, effective new therapies. Given the high evolutionary conservation of pain, investigative approaches from Drosophila mutagenesis to human Mendelian genetics have aided our understanding of the maladaptive plasticity underlying NeuP. Successes include the identification of ion channel variants causing hyper-excitability and the importance of neuro-immune signaling.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one the most common human afflictions, contributing to long-term disability in survivors. Emerging data indicate that functional improvement or deterioration can occur years after TBI. In this regard, TBI is recognized as risk factor for late-life neurodegenerative disorders. TBI encompasses a heterogeneous disease process in which diverse injury subtypes and multiple molecular mechanisms overlap.
