LEARNING POINTS: In an endemic area of tuberculosis, tuberculoma should be considered as a differential diagnosis when evaluating sellar lesions. Pituitary tuberculoma can present with pituitary apoplexy-like symptoms. Prompt diagnosis and treatment may lead to recovery of pituitary function.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic search was done using two strings covering "disability" and "mobile and wearable technologies" in the titles of publications in the Web of Science database. Two researchers independently screened the results for relevant publications. During this process, the inclusion and exclusion criteria were deliberated and refined. An independent researcher checked the screening results against the finalized inclusion and exclusion criteria to ensure that the screening was done consistently.
RESULTS: A total of 2012 out of the 5990 retrieved publications from 2000 to 2022 were included for further analysis. We observed that publications in this area grew exponentially since 2011, almost doubling every 2 years between 2011 and 2015. Universities in the USA were the most active and prominent in relevant publications. Autism is the most researched disability in relation to mobile and wearable technologies. The publications cover both hardware (engineering, electrical and electronic) and software (computer science, theory and methods) technologies used for improving quality of life for persons with disabilities (rehabilitation).
CONCLUSIONS: The majority of publications were from high income countries, indicating the need to study the digital divide among high-, low- and middle-income countries in adopting mobile and wearable technologies for persons with disabilities, especially ways of making these technologies more affordable and accessible to the under-privileged members of the community.
METHOD: Medical records of patients with complex (group A) versus noncomplex WOPFCs (group B) were reviewed and compared in three centers in Thailand and Malaysia, between January 2016 to December 2020.
RESULT: 31 patients with WOPFCs were recruited. 6 of 31 (19%) patients were in group A. Multivariate analysis showed that the maximal diameter of WOPFCs in group A was significantly larger than that of group B (18 ± 6 versus 13 ± 3 cm in diameter, respectively, p = 0.021). Solid component proportion was higher in group A versus B (35.8% versus 17.8%, respectively, p = 0.025). The prevalence of pancreatic duct leakage was significantly higher in group A (67% versus 20%, p = 0.23). The need of direct endoscopic necrosectomy (DEN) and the number of DEN sessions were higher in group A versus B (100% vs. 48%, p = 0.020 and 3.5 vs 0 p = 0.031, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: Complex WOPFC had larger diameter of lesions, higher proportion of solid component, higher prevalence of pancreatic duct leakage, and higher number of DEN is required than group noncomplex lesions. Trial Registration. This trial is registered with TCTR20180223004.
Methods: This study included patients with biopsy-proven non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) diagnosed between November 2012 and October 2015. Serum cathepsin D levels were measured using the CatD enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (USCN Life Science, Wuhan, China) using stored samples collected on the same day of the liver biopsy procedure. The performance of cathepsin D in the diagnosis and monitoring of NASH was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic analysis.
Results: Data for 216 liver biopsies and 34 healthy controls were analyzed. The mean cathepsin D level was not significantly different between NAFLD patients and controls; between NASH and non-NASH patients; and across the different steatosis, lobular inflammation, and hepatocyte ballooning grades. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of cathepsin D for the diagnosis of NAFLD and NASH was 0.62 and 0.52, respectively. The AUROC of cathepsin D for the diagnosis of the different steatosis, lobular inflammation, and hepatocyte ballooning grades ranged from 0.51 to 0.58. Of the 216 liver biopsies, 152 were paired liver biopsies from 76 patients who had a repeat liver biopsy after 48 weeks. There was no significant change in the cathepsin D level at follow-up compared to baseline in patients who had histological improvement or worsening for steatosis, lobular inflammation, and hepatocyte ballooning grades. Cathepsin D was poor for predicting improvement or worsening of steatosis and hepatocyte ballooning, with AUROC ranging from 0.47 to 0.54. It was fair for predicting worsening (AUROC 0.73) but poor for predicting improvement (AUROC 0.54) of lobular inflammation.
Conclusion: Cathepsin D was a poor biomarker for the diagnosis and monitoring of NASH in our cohort of Asian patients, somewhat inconsistent with previous observations in Caucasian patients. Further studies in different cohorts are needed to verify our observation.
METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted among liver disease patients of various etiologies undergoing transient elastography (TE) over a 9-year duration.
RESULTS: Data for 2886 patients were analyzed and had the following demographics: The median age was 60 (IQR: 45-69) years, 51% were males, and ethnicity was predominantly Chinese (52.5%), followed by Malays (34%) and Indians (12.3%). The median CAP score was 272 (IQR: 219-319) dB/m and the median liver stiffness measurement (LSM) score was 6.5 (IQR: 4.9-9.7) kPa. Hepatic steatosis occurred across the spectrum of etiologies of CLD. Among patients with steatosis, the most common etiologies were nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) at 62% and chronic hepatitis B (CHB) at 26.3%. TE findings suggestive of cACLD (10.1-15 kPa) and highly suggestive of cACLD (>15 kPa) were observed in 11.3% and 12.4% of patients, respectively. NAFLD was found to be the most common etiology for cases with suggestive of cACLD (47.2%) and highly suggestive of cACLD (41.5%).
CONCLUSION: Hepatic steatosis is common in CLD, regardless of etiology. Compared with other etiologies, NAFLD is now the leading cause of cACLD.
OBJECTIVE: The main objective was to examine the short- and long-term effects of SMS text messaging on exercise frequency in older adults. Secondary objectives were to investigate how SMS text messages impact study participants' exercise frequency and the effects of the intervention on secondary outcomes.
METHODS: The Malaysian Physical Activity for Health Study (myPAtHS) was a 24-week, 2-arm, parallel randomized controlled trial conducted in urban Malaysia. Participants were recruited via health talks in resident associations and religious facilities. Older Malaysians (aged 55-70 years) who used mobile phones and did not exercise regularly were eligible to participate in the study. Participants randomly allocated to the SMS texting arm received an exercise booklet and 5 weekly SMS text messages over 12 weeks. The content of the SMS text messages was derived from effective behavior change techniques. The non-SMS texting arm participants received only the exercise booklet. Home visits were conducted to collect outcome data: (1) exercise frequency at 12 and 24 weeks, (2) secondary outcome data (exercise self-efficacy, physical activity-related energy expenditure, sitting time, body mass index, grip and leg strength) at baseline and at 12 and 24 weeks. Intention-to-treat procedures were applied for data analysis. Semistructured interviews focusing primarily on the SMS text messages and their impact on exercise frequency were conducted at weeks 12 and 24.
RESULTS: In total, 43 participants were randomized into the SMS texting arm (n=22) and the non-SMS texting arm (n=21). Study-unrelated injuries forced 4 participants to discontinue after a few weeks (they were not included in any analyses). Overall retention was 86% (37/43). After 12 weeks, SMS texting arm participants exercised significantly more than non-SMS texting arm participants (mean difference 1.21 times, bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrap [BCa] 95% CI 0.18-2.24). Interview analysis revealed that the SMS text messages positively influenced SMS texting arm participants who experienced exercise barriers. They described the SMS text messages as being encouraging, a push, and a reminder. After 24 weeks, there was no significant difference between the research arms (mean difference 0.74, BCa 95% CI -0.30 to 1.76). There were no significant effects for secondary outcomes.
CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that SMS text messaging is effective in promoting exercise in older adults from an upper-middle-income country. Although the effects were not maintained when SMS text messaging ceased, the results are promising and warrant more research on behavioral mobile health interventions in other regions.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02123342; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02123342 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6eGSsu2EI).
METHODS: The Farsi version of PALMS was completed by 406 healthy adult individuals to test its factor structure and concurrent validity and reliability.
RESULTS: Conducting the exploratory factor analysis revealed nine factors that accounted for 64.6% of the variances. The PALMS reliability was supported with a high internal consistency of 0.91 and a high test-retest reliability of 0.97 (95% CI: 0.97-0.98). The association between the PALMS and its previous version Recreational Exercise Motivation Measure scores was strongly significant (r= 0.86, P < 0.001).
CONCLUSION: We have shown that the Farsi version of the PALMS appears to be a valuable instrument to measure motivation for physical activity and leisure.