China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Companion Animals Models of Human Disease
Published in Rebecca A. Krimins, Learning from Disease in Pets, 2020
Hypoadrenocorticism is an uncommon disease in dogs and rare in humans, where it is known as Addison’s disease (ADD). The disease is characterized by a deficiency in corticosteroid production from the adrenal cortex, requiring lifelong hormone replacement therapy(22,23). When compared with humans, the pathogenesis of hypoadrenocorticism in dogs is not well established, although the evidence supports a similar autoimmune etiology of adrenocortical pathology. Several immune response genes have been implicated in determining susceptibility to Addison’s disease in humans, some of which are shared with other autoimmune syndromes. Indeed, other types of autoimmune disease are common (approximately 50%) in human patients affected with ADD. Several lines of evidence suggest a genetic component to the etiology of canine hypoadrenocorticism. Certain dog breeds are overrepresented in epidemiologic studies, reflecting a likely genetic influence, supported by data from pedigree analysis. Molecular genetic studies have identified similar genes and signaling pathways, involved in ADD in humans, to be also associated with susceptibility to canine hypoadrenocorticism. Immune response genes such as the dog leukocyte antigen (DLA) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA4) genes seem to be particularly important. It is clear that there are genetic factors involved in determining susceptibility to canine hypoadrenocorticism, although similar to the situation in humans, this is likely to represent a complex genetic disorder.
Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Published in Jay A. Goldstein, Chronic Fatigue Syndromes, 2020
Nowadays, in a more scientifically advanced medical environment, people are like rats at times. The pain clinic environment popularized by Fordyce works by not reinforcing pain behavior. It can reduce pain perception in many cases of chronic pain by operant conditioning. More sophisticated programs add cognitive-behavioral therapy, which can also be done on an outpatient basis. The same paradigms can apply to the CFS patient as to the chronic pain patient. In a recent work,62 it is suggested that there are three main mechanisms which act in hypochondriacal states to increase anxiety, as well as to enhance preoccupation with illness and the misinterpretation of bodily variations that characterize unexplained somatic concerns: Increased physiologic arousal, leading to increased occurrence of autonomically mediated sensations;Selective attention (that which has previously been termed somatosensory amplification); andAvoidant behaviors based on perceptions of such symptoms which would constitute illness behavior.
Dermal and Transdermal Drug Delivery Systems
Published in Tapash K. Ghosh, Dermal Drug Delivery, 2020
Kenneth A. Walters, Majella E. Lane
Several orally administered methylphenidate products are approved for the treatment of ADD and ADHD. These products include immediate-release and sustained-release methylphenidate tablets. Both of these products contain racemic threo-methylphenidate hydrochloride (i.e., a 1:1 mixture of d-threo-methyl-phenidate hydrochloride and l-threo-methylphenidate hydrochloride). Immediate-release methylphenidate is available in 5, 10 and 20 mg tablets. Sustained-release methylphenidate is available in 20 mg tablets. An average daily dose of oral methylphenidate of 20–30 mg may be sufficient to obtain therapeutic effect in adults. For children, daily oral doses in the range of 10–60 mg are appropriate for therapeutic effect, the exact optimal dose being determined by titration.
Is the use of IVF add-on treatments driven by patients or clinics? Findings from a UK patient survey
Published in Human Fertility, 2023
Stevan Cirkovic, Jack Wilkinson, Sarah Lensen, Emily Jackson, Joyce Harper, Katy Lindemann, Joan Costa-Font
An increasing number of additional IVF treatments options (add-ons) have become available. Add-ons may be described as interventions, including drugs, devices, surgical procedures and diagnostic tests, which are not essential for treatment. Add-ons usually claim to increase the chance of success and are often provided at an extra cost to the patient (Harper et al., 2017; Lensen et al., 2021). However, for many IVF add-ons, there is no conclusive evidence that they increase live birth rates, and some have been demonstrated to be of no benefit, or even harmful to the overall probability of having a baby (Armstrong et al., 2019; Cornelisse et al., 2020; Harper et al., 2017; Kamath et al., 2019; Lensen et al., 2019). The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s ‘traffic light’ system for add-ons rates all of them as either amber (where the evidence is conflicting) or red (where there is no evidence of effectiveness from high-quality trials) (HFEA, 2022). Despite this, use of IVF add-ons is believed to be widespread. In the UK, add-ons are offered by most fertility centres and were reported to be used by 74% of people undergoing IVF (HFEA, 2018).
‘Illuminating determinants of implementation of non-dispensing pharmacist services in home care: a qualitative interview study’
Published in Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care, 2023
Karl-Erik Bø, Kjell H. Halvorsen, Torsten Risør, Elin C. Lehnbom
A root cause of medication-related issues was the lack of information technology infrastructure in the home care setting; poor information handover made it difficult to obtain an accurate and up-to-date medication list for patients. One medication-work malpractice related to this latent characteristic of the setting was illuminated through the situation in which missing information caused nurses to spend several hours re-dispensing machine-packed multi-dose medications every week. Automated dose dispensing (ADD) is a service targeted at people using multiple medications. Medicines are machine-packed into multi-dose units and thoroughly labeled according to the patients’ reconciled medication list. Even though there have been raised questions concerning the excellence of the ADD system over the last years, unit dosing is documented to improve rates of medication errors [4]. Moreover, the use of ADD is expected to reduce healthcare professionals’ workload, and decrease the medication cost [26]. The act of re-dispensing machine-packed medications is likely to counteract the advantages of ADD and increase the risk of medication error as additional steps are introduced into the medication work process [27]. Moreover, these actions will potentially thwart any preceding medication improvement services made by the pharmacist, e.g. medicines reconciliation [10,19–21,23–27].
Prescription Stimulant Use and Associated Risk Factors for Non-oral Use among 10 to 18 Year Olds
Published in Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2020
Yiyang Liu, Nathan D. L. Smith, Shawnta L. Lloyd, Catherine W. Striley, Linda B. Cottler
Stimulant use disorder symptoms were assessed by ascertaining if participants: 1) ever wanted to quit, tried to quit, or tried to cut down on using prescription stimulants, 2) ever took more prescription stimulants than they did before to get the effect they wanted, 3) ever felt sick because they had withdrawal symptoms in the first few hours or days of not taking prescription stimulants, 4) ever felt they needed to take prescription stimulants to feel okay, and 5) ever caused them to have problems with their family, teachers, bosses, or friends. Each symptom was coded yes or no. ADHD was assessed by asking if participants had ever been told by a doctor or parent that they had Attention-Deficient Disorder (ADD) or ADHD. Depression symptoms were assessed by asking if youth lost interest in things or felt down/depressed for two weeks or more in the last 12 months. Anxiety symptoms were assessed by asking if youth had felt worried or stressed for six months or more. Past 30-day use of prescription opioids, sedatives, alcohol, and marijuana was also measured, as was lifetime tobacco use and other illicit drug use (cocaine, heroin, club drugs, hallucinogens, anabolic steroids, methamphetamine, inhalants, or cough syrup to get high). Mental health conditions and other substance use were all coded yes or no in the current analyses.