Monthly Archives: March 2016
The blue coma: the role of methylene blue in unexplained coma after cardiac surgery
More than 10% of U.S. citizens aged 12 and over take antidepressant medication, and this percentage is mirrored in many other countries. The most commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs are Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), whose mechanism of
Primary care doctor follow up of buckle fractures of the forearm
A buckle fracture of the distal radius (wrist bone) is a very minor fracture and the most common fracture in childhood. A “buckle” fracture occurs when there is a wrinkling of the outer edge of the bone
Will dengue vaccination be cost-effective for an epidemic country? The case of Argentina
Dengue is one of the major tropical diseases, causing a huge burden in terms of suffering, deaths and economic costs globally. Many research institutions and pharmaceutical companies throughout the world have been trying to develop a vaccine
Treatment of preterm births with pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin
Birth of infants between the 20th to 37th completed gestational weeks is considered preterm. They account for more infant deaths than from any other single cause. The incidence is about 9% in the U.S. and it is
Do plants have brains?
Many organisms have circadian clocks. These internal clocks play essential roles for predicting day-length or seasons, and they regulate behavior and hormonal secretion in animals, and also regulating flowering time and cell elongation in plants. In animals,
The undiagnosed, untreated key to restoring physical function and health in rheumatoid arthritis patients
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterised by adverse changes in body composition – specifically, reduced muscle mass (MM) and increased fat mass (FM). Indeed, when body composition is assessed (i.e. MM and FM are estimated), significant muscle loss
A new way for use of solar light in wastewater treatment
Acrylonitrile (CH2=CH-CN) is generally considered as hazardous pollutant since it is mutagenic, carcinogenic and teratogenic to human health. Traditional control technologies of acrylonitrile include adsorption and desorption, thermal and catalytic incineration at high temperatures and biotechnological abatement
Clinical depression predicts persistence of paranoia in clinical high-risk patients to psychosis
Pathways to both occurrence and persistence of paranoia and persecutory ideation have always been a topic of great interest in psychiatry research. Emotions, anxiety and depression in particular, have been in focus of this discussion. Wilhelm Griesinger
Training African health practitioners within Africa; expanding the skills pool
The African Paediatric Fellowship Programme (APFP) was established by the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital (RCWMCH) in 2007. The aim of the APFP is to create a network of
Cushing’s Syndrome: an update on current pharmacotherapy and future directions
Cortisol is an adrenal hormone essential for the maintenance of homeostasis, especially in response to stress. When cortisol levels are increased, this is defined as Cushing’s syndrome (CS). CS can be associated with increased morbidity, and when
Food and Nutrition cause liver and brain diseases with diabetes in the developing and developed world
In the world the consumption of a healthy diet is essential to prevent diseases such as obesity, diabetes and brain diseases. New discoveries in medicine indicate that a diet that is low in fat and carbohydrate lower
Can the developmental synchrony be affected by the mothers?
Biological synchrony is a ubiquitous yet highly diverse phenomenon, with examples as wide-ranging as applause among humans, migration of fish and birds, aggregation of insects, and mass flowering of bamboos. Developmental synchrony, resulting from reduced fluctuation in
Targeted exercise intervention for bradykinesia in Parkinson’s disease
Exercise has been used as an intervention for many diseases; however, to maximize the benefits of any exercise intervention there we must understand that exercise is not a blunt, unidimensional tool; but rather, a malleable prescriptive instrument
Aggregating anions or cations? H-bonding found to trump electrostatics in ionic liquids
Two of the most persistent and vexing conceptual problems of modern physical chemistry concern (i) the fundamental nature of the hydrogen bond and (ii) the molecular-level structure and dynamics of condensed liquids, which H-bonding often dominates. In recent years,
Increasing the cells adhesion to silk meshes: first step towards cell-based therapy for hernia repair
Recent studies in the field of tissue engineering have demonstrated that combining cells with meshes prior to implantation successfully enhanced hernia repair. The idea is to create a biologic coating surrounding the prostheses with autologous cells, before
Multiple tasks for the c-ring of the F1FO-ATP synthase
The F1FO-ATP synthase is the only enzyme in nature endowed with bi-functional catalytic mechanism of synthesis and hydrolysis of ATP. The enzyme complex is hosted in the inner mitochondrial membrane in eukaryotes and in the plasma-membrane in
Heart and blood pressure adverse effects of phenytoin
Phenytoin is an effective antiepileptic drug which is used for many years in the treatment of epileptic seizures. Whereas its oral form is used for the long-term treatment of epilepsy, the intravenous form – the injection into
Tapping neurotransmitters from neurons to investigate their involvement in brain function
To tap neurotransmitters and neuromodulators from brain neurons of anaesthetised rodents, a guide cannula is stereoractically inserted. Into a distinct brain structure. Few days after surgery the stylet of the guide cannula is replaced by a double-walled
Necessity of global consensus for implementing new initiatives for treatment of aluminum phosphide poisoning
Aluminum phosphide (ALP) is an agricultural pesticide that is used worldwide to kill pests and rodents. It is effective and cheap pesticide that make it readily available especially in developing countries. Its global attention arises from the
