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Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and Associated Bleeding Risks: A Narrative and Clinical Review.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a major cause of disability worldwide and is associated with serious lasting impairment. A leading hypothesis of the pathophysiology of MDD is the monoamine deficiency hypothesis which suggests that depression is caused by depletion of serotonin, norepinephrine, or dopamine in the central nervous system. Serotonin is the most widely studied neurotransmitter in the pathophysiology of depression, with studies showing that reduced central serotonin synthesis leads to depressive symptoms in individuals at risk for depression. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) inhibit serotonin reuptake and subsequently increase the amount of serotonin available in synapses. Common side effects of SSRIs include increased suicidality of patients under the age of 25, sexual dysfunction, anxiety, dizziness, weight gain, gastrointestinal distress, and headache. Other side effects include prolonging the QT interval, coagulopathy, and the risk of serotonin syndrome, as well as SSRI discontinuation syndrome. Sites of increased bleeding related to SSRI use have been reported to occur in the upper gastrointestinal tract, as well as intracranially. Based on the current literature, three studies have found that SSRIs are not associated with increased bleeding and/or increased perioperative risk, while others have demonstrated that SSRIs are associated with an increased risk in perioperative use. The inhibition of serotonin reuptake can affect platelet aggregation since platelets also express the serotonin transporter. SSRIs can result in decreased storage of serotonin in platelet dense granules. Increased serotonin can also increase gastric acid secretion, which increases the risk for ulceration. SSRIs in combination with NSAIDs also show a significantly increased risk of upper GI bleeding. Some studies show an increased bleeding risk from 30% to 70% when taking a combination of vitamin K antagonists and SSRIs in hospitalized patients. Related to the high prevalence of conditions that are treated with SSRIs, the bleeding risk associated with this class of medication merits further study.

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The brain structure and function abnormalities of migraineurs: A systematic review and neuroimaging meta-analysis.

To quantitatively summarize the specific changes in brain structure and function in migraine patients.

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Efficacy and safety of midazolam combined with dezocine for sedation and analgesia in digestive endoscopy: A prospective open single-center study.

Digestive endoscopy is an important means of diagnosing and treating gastrointestinal diseases and a tool for screening and monitoring early gastrointestinal tumors. Digestive endoscopy can be performed using midazolam combined with dezocine for sedation and analgesia. This study explored the efficacy and safety of midazolam combined with dezocine. A total of 135 patients undergoing digestive endoscopy in the Department of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy of the Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, from June 2021 to September 2021, were enrolled and non-blindly and non-randomly divided into a sedation-endoscopy-group (SEG, = 45), anesthesia-endoscopy-group (AEG, = 44), and ordinary-endoscopy-group (OEG, = 46). Vital signs, levels of sedation and analgesia, the degree of pain during colonoscopy, satisfaction, and the incidence of complications were compared among the three groups. There were no statistically significant differences in vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and blood oxygen saturation) among the three groups before endoscopy ( 0.05). The AEG reported no pain during colonoscopy, and the pain score during colonoscopy for the SEG was lower than that for the OEG (1.11 ± 1.21 . 3.00 ± 1.16, 0.001). The scores for satisfaction were 8.84 ± 1.30 points in the SEG, 8.95 ± 1.10 points in the AEG, and 6.37 ± 0.90 points in the OEG; the differences were statistically significant ( 0.001). The total incidence of complications in the AEG was 38.64% (17/44), which was significantly higher than that in the SEG [13.33% (6/45)] and OEG [13.04% (6/46)] ( 0.001). In the SEG, the overall incidence of complications in women was significantly higher than that in men ( 0.027). Digestive endoscopy using midazolam combined with dezocine for sedation makes patients more comfortable, more satisfied and more compliant than the ordinary endoscopy. Additionally, it is comparable to endoscopy under general anesthesia with propofol with regard to comfort, satisfaction, and patient compliance and comparable to the ordinary endoscopy with regard to safety. Considering the shortage of anesthesiologists, the application of midazolam combined with dezocine in digestive endoscopy is worthy of clinical popularization. This study has been registered in the Hospital Ethics Committee of the Sun Yat-sen University Sixth Affiliated Hospital (Ethical Number: 2021ZSLYEC-182).

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Quantitative bone imaging biomarkers and joint space analysis of the articular Fossa in temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis using artificial intelligence models.

Temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJ OA) is a disease with a multifactorial etiology, involving many pathophysiological processes, and requiring comprehensive assessments to characterize progressive cartilage degradation, subchondral bone remodeling, and chronic pain. This study aimed to integrate quantitative biomarkers of bone texture and morphometry of the articular fossa and joint space to advance the role of imaging phenotypes for diagnosis of Temporomandibular Joint Osteoarthritis (TMJ OA) in early to moderate stages by improving the performance of machine-learning algorithms to detect TMJ OA status. Ninety-two patients were prospectively enrolled (184 h-CBCT scans of the right and left mandibular condyles), divided into two groups: 46 control and 46 TMJ OA subjects. No significant difference in the articular fossa radiomic biomarkers was found between TMJ OA and control patients. The superior condyle-to-fossa distance ( < 0.05) was significantly smaller in diseased patients. The interaction effects of the articular fossa radiomic biomarkers enhanced the performance of machine-learning algorithms to detect TMJ OA status. The LightGBM model achieved an AUC 0.842 to diagnose the TMJ OA status with Headaches and Range of Mouth Opening Without Pain ranked as top features, and top interactions of VE-cadherin in Serum and Angiogenin in Saliva, TGF-1 in Saliva and Headaches, Gender and Muscle Soreness, PA1 in Saliva and Range of Mouth Opening Without Pain, Lateral Condyle Grey Level Non-Uniformity and Lateral Fossa Short Run Emphasis, TGF-1 in Serum and Lateral Fossa Trabeculae number, MMP3 in Serum and VEGF in Serum, Headaches and Lateral Fossa Trabecular spacing, Headaches and PA1 in Saliva, and Headaches and BDNF in Saliva. Our preliminary results indicate that condyle imaging features may be more important in regards to main effects, but the fossa imaging features may have a larger contribution in terms of interaction effects. More studies are needed to optimize and further enhance machine-learning algorithms to detect early markers of disease, improve prediction of disease progression and severity to ultimately better serve clinical decision support systems in the treatment of patients with TMJ OA.

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Envenomation by the Green Bush Viper .

The Green Bush Viper, Atheris squamigera, is native to West and Central Africa and has few well reported envenomations. Bite victims experience dizziness, nausea, headache, regional lymphadenopathy, and localized edema. Most reports also detail severe effects including thrombocytopenia, coagulopathy, hemolysis, hemorrhage, or renal failure. Fatalities are reported, but poorly described. There is no specific antivenom for A. squamigera, but non-species specific antivenom has been reported helpful in several cases. We report the case of a 36-year-old woman who was bitten by a green bush viper and was treated with several non-species specific antivenoms. There were no complications to antivenom administration and the patient experienced a milder envenomation than detailed in previous reports.

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Machine learning for prediction of postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients with intravenous patient-controlled analgesia.

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a still highly relevant problem and is known to be a distressing side effect in patients. The aim of this study was to develop a machine learning model to predict PONV up to 24 h with fentanyl-based intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA).

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Say My Name: Understanding the Power of Names, Correct Pronunciation, and Personal Narratives.

Names are a reflection of identity and often have personal meaning. The chronic mispronunciation of names can undermine one's identity and be experienced as a microaggression. This workshop aims to provide historical context for names as well as resources for correct name pronunciation.

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Advances of hydrogel combined with stem cells in promoting chronic wound healing.

Wounds can be divided into two categories, acute and chronic. Acute wounds heal through the normal wound healing process. However, chronic wounds take longer to heal, leading to inflammation, pain, serious complications, and an economic burden of treatment costs. In addition, diabetes and burns are common causes of chronic wounds that are difficult to treat. The rapid and thorough treatment of chronic wounds, including diabetes wounds and burns, represents a significant unmet medical need. Wound dressings play an essential role in chronic wound treatment. Various biomaterials for wound healing have been developed. Among these, hydrogels are widely used as wound care materials due to their good biocompatibility, moisturizing effect, adhesion, and ductility. Wound healing is a complex process influenced by multiple factors and regulatory mechanisms in which stem cells play an important role. With the deepening of stem cell and regenerative medicine research, chronic wound treatment using stem cells has become an important field in medical research. More importantly, the combination of stem cells and stem cell derivatives with hydrogel is an attractive research topic in hydrogel preparation that offers great potential in chronic wound treatment. This review will illustrate the development and application of advanced stem cell therapy-based hydrogels in chronic wound healing, especially in diabetic wounds and burns.

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Task-dependent plasticity in distributed neural circuits after transcranial direct current stimulation of the human motor cortex: A proof-of-concept study.

The ability of non-invasive brain stimulation to induce neuroplasticity and cause long-lasting functional changes is of considerable interest for the reversal of chronic pain and disability. Stimulation of the primary motor cortex (M1) has provided some of the most encouraging after-effects for therapeutic purposes, but little is known about its underlying mechanisms. In this study we combined transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) and fMRI to measure changes in task-specific activity and interregional functional connectivity between M1 and the whole brain. Using a randomized counterbalanced sham-controlled design, we applied anodal and cathodal tDCS stimulation over the left M1. In agreement with previous studies, we demonstrate that tDCS applied to the target region induces task-specific facilitation of local brain activity after anodal tDCS, with the stimulation effects having a negative relationship to the resting motor threshold. Beyond the local effects, tDCS also induced changes in multiple downstream regions distinct from the motor system that may be important for therapeutic efficacy, including the operculo-insular and cingulate cortex. These results offer opportunities to improve outcomes of tDCS for the individual patient based on the degree of presumed neuroplasticity. Further research is still warranted to address the optimal stimulation targets and parameters for those with disease-specific symptoms of chronic pain.

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A cross-sectional assessment of knowledge, awareness of risk factors, and perceptions of thyroid disease (TD) among adults living in Saudi Arabia – A community based study.

The incidence of thyroid diseases has tripled in the last three decades, and the prevalence is rising rapidly irrespective of gender and genetics. This study aimed to assess the Knowledge, awareness of risk factors, and perceptions of thyroid disease among the Saudi Community in Saudi Arabia.

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