METHODS: AYHIV who transferred from a pediatric to an adult clinic within the past year across five sites in Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam had clinical and laboratory evaluations and completed questionnaires about their health, socioeconomic factors, and transition experiences. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess associations with HIV viremia.
RESULTS: Of 93 AYHIV enrolled between June 2016 and April 2017, 56% were female, 87% acquired HIV through perinatal exposure, median age was 20 years (interquartile range [IQR] 18.5-21). Two-thirds were in a formal education program, 43% were employed, 43% of females and 35% of males were sexually active. Median lifetime antiretroviral therapy duration was 6.2 years (IQR 3.3-10.7); 45% had received second-line therapy. Median CD4 was 601 cells/mm3 (IQR 477-800); 82% had HIV-RNA <40 copies/mL. Being in a relationship, a shorter posttransition duration, self-reported adherence of ≥95%, and higher CD4 were inversely associated with HIV viremia. Half felt very prepared for the transfer to adult care, and 20% frequently and 43% sometimes still met with pediatric providers. Two-thirds reported needing to keep their HIV a secret, and 23%-38% reported never or rarely having someone to discuss problems with.
CONCLUSIONS: Asian AYHIV in our cohort were concerned about the negative social impact of having and disclosing HIV, and one-third lacked people they could trust with their personal problems, which could have negative implications for their ability to navigate adult life.
METHODS: In this cross-sectional study among 570 YMSM aged 18 to 25 years old, latent class analysis (LCA) conducted to identify classes with similar patterns of sexualized substance use, across which measures of inconsistent condom use, recent STI diagnoses, past suicide ideation and depression severity were compared.
RESULTS: LCA revealed three classes of YMSM based on types of substances ever used in sexualized contexts, which we labelled as 'substance-naive', 'substance-novice', and 'chemsex'. Substance-naive participants (n = 404) had only ever used alcohol, while substance-novice participants (n = 143) were primarily amyl nitrite users with a small proportion who reported using chemsex-related drugs. Chemsex participants (n = 23) comprised individuals who had mostly used such drugs. Those in the chemsex group were more likely to report recent unprotected anal sex with casual partners (aPR = 3.28, 95%CI [1.85, 5.79]), depression severity (aβ = 3.69, 95%CI [0.87, 6.51]) and a history of suicide ideation (aPR = 1.64, 95%CI [1.33, 2.03]).
CONCLUSIONS: Findings of this study highlight how the use of varying substances in sexualized contexts may be classified and characterized by different sexual and mental health outcomes. Health promotion efforts should be differentiated accordingly to address the risks associated with sexualized substance use among YMSM.
METHODS: This study was a secondary data analysis from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2017, a cross-sectional survey conducted among Malaysian school-going adolescents aged 13 to 17. The NHMS utilised a two-stage stratified cluster sampling. Multivariate Multinomial Logistic Regression analysis was applied.
RESULTS: The overall prevalence of single substance use and polysubstance use among adolescents were 17.2% and 5.1% respectively. The multinomial model showed a higher likelihood of being single or polysubstance user among male (single user OR = 3.0, poly user OR = 4.6), others Bumiputeras vs Malay (single user OR = 1.7, poly user OR = 5.3), those who live with a single parent (single user OR = 1.2, poly user OR = 1.4), involved in truancy (single user OR = 1.7, poly user OR = 3.6) and being bullied (single user OR = 1.3, poly user OR = 3.4), those who had lack of peer support (single user OR = 1.3, poly user OR = 1.4), poor parental bonding (single user OR = 1.4, poly user OR = 1.8), depression (single user OR = 1.4, poly user OR = 3.2) and those who had no close friend (single user OR = 1.3, poly user OR = 2.7).
CONCLUSION: Our study highlighted multiple significant associated factors of single and polysubstance use among adolescents in Malaysia. This result can assist in the development of specific intervention and prevention programs targeting high-risk groups.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A scoping review was performed to elaborate on the research regarding resting-state EEG and task-based EEG, particularly for Go/No-go paradigms pertaining to subjects with IAD or specifically IGD. The role of EEG was identified in its diagnostic capability to identify the salient changes that occurred in the response to reward network and the executive control network, using restingstate and task-based EEG. The implication of using EEG in monitoring the therapy for IAD and IGD was also reviewed.
RESULTS: EEG generally revealed reduced beta waves and increased theta waves in addicts. IGD with depression demonstrated increased theta and decreased alpha waves. Whereas increased P300, a late cognitive ERP component, was frequently associated with impaired excessive allocation of attentional resources of the IAD towards addiction-specific cues. IGD had increased whole brain delta waves at baseline, which showed significant reduction post therapy.
CONCLUSION: EEG can identify distinct neurophysiological changes among Internet Addiction Disorder and Internet Gaming Disorder that are akin to substance abuse disorders.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The PUTRA-Adol is a prospective follow-up study that builds up from 933 Malaysian adolescents who were initially recruited from three southern states in Peninsular Malaysia in 2016 (aged 13 years then). Two sessions are planned; the first session will involve the collection of socio-economy, physical activity, dietary intakes, mental well-being, body image, risk taking behaviour, sun exposure, family functioning and menstrual (in women) information. The second session of data collection will be focused on direct assessments such as venesection for blood biochemistry, anthropometry and ultrasonography imaging of liver and bilateral carotid arteries. Z-scores for an empirical DP will be identified at 16 years using reduced rank regression. Multilevel modelling will be conducted to assess the tracking of DP and prospective analysis between the DP, cardiometabolic health, NAFLD, CIMT and mental well-being.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval for the conduct of this follow-up study was obtained from the Universiti Putra Malaysia's Ethics Committee for Research Involving Human Subjects (JKEUPM) (Reference number: JKEUPM-2019-267). The findings from this study will be disseminated in conferences and peer-reviewed journals.
DISCUSSION: The findings gathered from this study will provide evidence on prospective relationships between DPs, cardiometabolic risk factors, NAFLD, early atherosclerosis and mental well-being and that it may be mediated particularly DED and added sugar during adolescence.
PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of stochastic resonance on lateralization of auditory working memory regions, and also to examine the brain-behavior relationship during stochastic resonance.
STUDY TYPE: Cross-sectional.
POPULATION/SUBJECTS: Forty healthy young adults (18-24 years old).
FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3.0T, T1 , and T2 *-weighted imaging.
ASSESSMENT: The auditory working memory performance was assessed using a backward recall task. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activity during task performance. Functional MRI data were analyzed using SPM12 and WFU PickAtlas.
STATISTICAL TESTS: One-way independent analyses of variance (ANOVA) were conducted on the behavioral and functional data to examine the main effect of noise level on performance (P
METHOD: A prospective cross-sectional otoscopic and audiological analysis was conducted on 102 cleft palate children (204 ears) aged 1-18 years old who were treated for middle ear effusion at our centre. Retrospective chart review was done to determine patient characteristics and prior patient management. The aim was to assess the effect of ventilation tube insertion (VTI) on hearing, speech and chronic otitis media; comparing the timing and number of ventilation tubes per ear and determining other factors affecting the short-term and long-term outcome.
RESULTS: 68 children or 130 ears (63% of all cases) were selectively treated with ventilation tube insertion. Repeat procedures (more than 2) were performed in 41 ears. Among children with VTI performed, the incidence of chronic otitis media in children after the age of 4 was 17%. Overall, abnormal tympanic membrane findings and hearing loss were detected in nearly half the cases who were previously treated with VTI. Early ventilation tube insertion at less than 1 year of age, resulted in a better middle ear and hearing outcome in children less than 4 years old (p
CASE DESCRIPTION: The case described here is of a 13-year-old girl who presented with refractory seizures. She had been on antiepileptic medication and had also received anti-parasitic treatment for neurocysticercosis. Surgical intervention was recommended because the seizures were resistant to treatment and also because the diagnosis could not be clearly established. Following surgery, the seizures have been under control and the patient has been doing well.
CONCLUSION: Neurocysticercosis can be a potential cause of refractory seizure even in non-endemic countries. Some cases may be difficult to diagnose. Clinical presentation of seizure and brain imaging should be given priority over blood investigations for diagnosing neurocysticercosis and advanced neurosurgical intervention can be considered in suitable cases for better outcome.