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Background Although greater impairments in nerve functions parameters are most likely to occur with a lower kidney function, there is a paucity of information on the relationship between the kidney and peripheral nerve functions parameters in Type 2 diabetes. Aim To address the impact of peripheral nerve functions in Type 2 diabetes patients in different stages of chronic kidney diseases (CKD). Design This prospective study enrolled 238 patients with Type 2 diabetes at a tertiary medical center. Method We designed composite amplitude scores of nerve conductions (CAS) as a measure of severity of peripheral neuropathy (PN), and used estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urine albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) parameters to stage CKD in Type 2 diabetes patients. The intrapersonal mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation of eGFR for 238 patients were obtained in the 3 years prior to the study. Results The patients who had lower eGFR and higher UACR were older, with longer diabetes duration, a greater percentage of retinopathy and PN and higher CAS. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that diabetes duration and eGFR were independently associated with CAS, and a cut-off value of eGFR in the presence of PN was 65.3 ml/min/1.73 m2. Conclusion We observed a close relationship between the severity of kidney and peripheral nerve function in patients with diabetes. If a patient's eGFR value is below 65.3 ml/min/1.73 m2 or the UACR value is above 98.6 mg/dl, caution is needed with the presence of PN even in diabetic patients who are asymptomatic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Acute stroke is the third leading cause of death in Taiwan. Although statin therapy is widely recommended for stroke prevention, little is known about the epidemiology of statin therapy after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in Taiwan. To investigate the effects of statin therapy on recurrent stroke, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), coronary artery disease (CAD), cost of hospitalization and mortality, we conducted a nationwide population-based epidemiologic study. Methods Cases of AIS were identified from the annual hospitalization discharge diagnoses of the National Health Insurance Research Database with the corresponding International Classification of Diseases, ninth revision codes from January 2001 to December 2010. We divided the AIS patients into three groups: non-statin, pre-stroke statin and post-stroke statin. Results A total of 422 671 patients with AIS (including 365 419 cases in the non-statin group, 22 716 cases in the pre-stroke statin group and 34 536 cases in the post-stroke statin group) were identified. When compared to the non-statin group, both statin groups had a lower recurrent stroke risk [pre-stroke statin: odds ratio (OR) = 0.84; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.82–0.87; P  <   0.0001; post-stroke statin: OR = 0.89; 95% CI = 0.86–0.91; P  <   0.0001], lower ICH risk (pre-statin: OR = 0.75; 95% CI = 0.69–0.82; P  <   0.0001; post-stroke statin: OR = 0.75; 95% CI = 0.71–0.81; P  <   0.0001), and a lower mortality rate (pre-stroke statin: OR = 0.56; 95% CI = 0.53–0.59; P  <   0.0001; post-stroke statin: OR = 0.51; 95% CI = 0.48–0.53; P  <   0.0001). In terms of CAD, only the post-statin group had a lower risk (OR = 0.81; 95% CI = 0.79–0.84; P  <   0.0001) than the non-statin group. The post-statin group had the lowest 1-year medical costs after index discharge among the three groups. Conclusions Statin therapy reduced the risks of recurrent stroke, CAD, ICH and the first year mortality in patients after AIS. Treatment with statin therapy after AIS is a cost-effective strategy in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renal vein thrombosis (RV Thromb) is a serious complication of nephrotic syndrome. Anticoagulation is usually recommended as the treatment of choice. This study reports 3 nephrotic patients diagnosed to have RVThromb combined with thromboembolic events. Low-molecular weight heparin (LMWHep) was given subcutaneously every 12 hours following the diagnosis of RVTromb, which continued at the outpatient clinic after an average of 11 in-hospital days. The patients visited the nephrology outpatient clinic every other week and underwent magnetic resonance image (MRI) studies at 6-week intervals for follow-up of patency of the involved renal vein. LMWHep was discontinued when MRI showed this patency. The average outpatient treatment period was 74 days. There was no recurrent RVThromb in the follow-up course of 6 months after discontinuation of LMWHep. Kidney function was preserved, as indicated by image studies and serial renal function tests. LMWHep produced a more predictable anti-coagulant effect, a superior bioavailability, a longer half-life and a dose-independent effect than unfractionated heparin and coumadin. These benefits made the outpatient treatment of RVThromb possible. Our report recommends outpatient treatment of RVThromb by LMWHep because it is feasible, effective and safe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale Y2O3:Eu nanotubes have been successfully fabricated by an improved sol–gel method within the nanochannels of porous anodic alumina templates. In this method, yttrium nitrate, europium nitrate and urea were used as precursors, yttrium nitrate and europium nitrate were acting as sources of europium and yttrium ions, and urea offered a basic medium through its hydrolysis. X-ray diffraction techniques, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and selected-area electron diffraction were used to characterize the Y2O3:Eu nanotubes obtained. It is found that the prepared Y2O3:Eu nanotubes can be indexed as a polycrystalline cubic structure and their outer diameters are about 50–80 nm, with the thickness of the tube wall estimated to be around 5 nm. The emission peaks of the as-prepared Y2O3:Eu nanotubes are broader than those of bulk Y2O3:Eu because of the disordering of the crystal phase possibly induced by the increase of the surface/volume ratio in the nanotubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Ensuring careful selection of heart transplant recipients with pretransplant malignancies (PTM) has been suggested in several retrospective studies. However, cancer survival rates continue to increase and we still lack outcomes data on PTM patients who have undergone heart transplantation (HT) within the Asian region. Herein we report pretransplant characteristics and outcomes among PTM patients with HT. Methods A total of 354 patients underwent HT from January 2004 to January 2016. Eight of these patients had a history malignancy that was being treated before transplantation. Posttransplant outcomes and clinical characteristics were collected and possible prognostic factors analyzed. Results The median age of the patients with a preexisting malignancy was 60 years. The PTM group included 5 males and 3 females, with a median duration of follow-up of 43 months. In this group there were 2 patients with lymphoma after chemotherapy, 1 with colon cancer postoperatively, and 1 was on chemotherapy. In the other 4 patients, nasopharyngeal cancer, thyroid cancer, breast cancer, and endometrial cancer were identified, and each had undergone treatment. Only 1 premalignancy patient, with nasopharyngeal cancer, had disease recurrence. The 5-year overall survival of these patients was 50.0 ± 17.7%, but 5-year survival for those without PTM was 68.7 ± 2.0%. Conclusion PTM was 2.3% in our cohort. PTM is associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality. Thus, our findings suggest careful consideration when selecting PTM patients for HT. Highlights • Current outcomes are discussed for patients with preexisting malignancies after heart transplantation in Asia. • Preexisting malignancies are associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality, but may be unrelated to malignancy directly. Careful posttransplantation follow-up is necessary. • Findings from similar studies on patients receiving heart transplantation with preexisting malignancies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract We report a heart transplantation in a patient with no heart. A 60-year-old man suffered from severe infective endocarditis, and due to extensive involvement of the myocardium, only minimal myocardium was left after debridement of the necrotic myocardium and aortic annulus. We finally excised the entire heart to eradicate the infection source and employed 2 extracorporeal membrane oxygenations for full life support. The infection was controlled with strong antibiotics. The patient underwent successful heart transplantation 16 days following the excision and the patient fully recovered without any complications. Highlights • A patient survived under full ECMO support for 16 days without a heart. • For infective endocarditis patients, successful heart transplantation can be achieved after full control of infection. • ECMO-only support may be a useful practice in patients without a heart for a successful bridge to transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]