Efficacy Of Augmentation Research Articles

Vertebral augmentation plus pedicle screw fixation versus vertebral augmentation alone in the treatment of osteoporotic thoracolumbar fractures: A Meta-analysis.

This meta-analysis was conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of vertebral augmentation (VA) plus pedicle screw fixation (PSF) with VA for treating osteoporotic thoracolumbar fractures (OTLFs). A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) to identify studies comparing PSF+VA with VA for treating OTLF. The primary outcomes were operation time, blood loss, length of stay, visual analogue scale (VAS) score, Oswestry disability index (ODI), Cobb angle, anterior vertebral height (AVH), bone cement leakage, secondary fracture and other adverse events. Standardized mean deviation (SMD) and risk ratio(RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. Totally 14 studies met the entire inclusion criteria for our meta-analysis. The PSF+VA group was associated with significantly more operation time (SMD 4.41, 95% CI 3.32-5.51), blood loss (SMD=6.72, 95%CI 4.50 - 8.95), and length of stay (SMD=2.05, 95%CI 1.02 - 3.07). There was no significant VAS or ODI score difference at early follow-up. No significant difference was found in AVH between the two groups before two years. The remaining outcomes (VAS at six months and two years; ODI at six months and 1 year; Cobb angle at all follow-up periods; AVH at two years; bone cement leakage and secondary fracture) favored the PSF+VA group. PSF+VA was superior to VA for the VAS score, ODI, Cobb angle, AVH and complications, especially in the long-term follow-up. However, more operation time, blood loss and length of stay were the disadvantages for PSF+VA.

Safety and efficacy of early augmentation with Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder: A randomized controlled trial.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is an emerging modality with demonstrated efficacy in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), however, there is paucity of research in adolescent depression. This study attempts to evaluate the safety and efficacy of tDCS in adolescents with MDD as an early augmentation to drug therapy. Adolescents with MDD aged 10-18 years were enrolled in the study and allocated to active or sham groups as per randomization. Sertraline was given in the range of 25-50 mg to each participant. After baseline assessments, 10 sessions of tDCS were given with 2 mA current for 20 minutes, keeping anode at left DLPFC and cathode at right DLPFC. Side effects were assessed and rating scales were reapplied at 2 weeks and then 6 weeks. Results were analyzed. A total of 32 patients were analysed (15-active, 17-sham). At 2 weeks, the BDI and BAI scores of the true group were significantly lower than the sham group, and the reduction in the scores of the former was statistically greater. This significance did not persist at 6 weeks, and the reduction in the scores of the two groups was significantly different from baseline to 2-weeks and 6-weeks. Response and remission rates were higher in the active group at 6 weeks. Adverse effects were comparable. tDCS is safe and effective for early augmentation of drugs in adolescents with MDD. However, effects do not last long after termination of sessions. Further studies are needed with a larger sample size and longer follow-ups.

Efficacy and Safety of Xenograft Augmentation in Rotator Cuff Repair: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Efficacy and Safety of Xenograft Augmentation in Rotator Cuff Repair: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Efficacy and Complications of Interarytenoid Injection for Dysphagia in Infants 1-Year-Old and Under.

The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy and complication rates of interarytenoid injection augmentation (IAIA) for the treatment of dysphagia in patients 1 year of age and under and to determine if concurrent feeding therapy (FT) affects outcome. Retrospective case series. Tertiary pediatric hospital. Retrospective review of patients 13 months of age and younger with dysphagia treated by IAIA over a 4-year period. The efficacy of IAIA was determined by comparing perioperative videofluoroscopic swallow studies (VFSS) and Dysphagia Outcome and Severity Scale (DOSS) scores. Complication rates and utilization of concomitant FT were determined by evaluating postoperative admission and follow-up records. Sixty-five patients met inclusion criteria (median age 8 months, interquartile range [IQR]: 7-11). Sixty-seven percent of patients improved on postoperative VFSS scores (median improvement in aspiration of 2 thickness levels, IQR 0-3, P < .0001), and 56% improved in DOSS scores (median increase of 1, IQR: 0-1.5, P < .0001). Ninety-two percent of patients were discharged home on the day of surgery. The 30-day relevant readmission rate was 5%. No patients had intraoperative complications or severe complications at follow-up. No statistical difference in aspiration or DOSS was noted in the concomitant FT cohort due to a lack of sample size. This study demonstrates that IAIA in children under 13 months old shows comparable rates of success and complications to older patients reported in the literature. No patients had long-term complications and most were discharged home on the day of surgery. More studies are needed to determine the effect of concomitant FT on IAIA.

Impact of Cement Distribution on the Efficacy of Percutaneous Vertebral Augmentation for Osteoporotic Fractures: Assessment with an MRI-Based Reference Marker.

No studies have evaluated the impact of the cement distribution as classified on the basis of the fracture bone marrow edema area (FBMEA) in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on the efficacy of percutaneous vertebral augmentation (PVA) for acute osteoporotic vertebral fractures. The clinical data of patients with acute, painful, single-level thoracolumbar osteoporotic fractures were retrospectively analyzed. The bone cement distribution on the postoperative radiograph was divided into 4 types according to the distribution of the FBMEA on the preoperative MRI. The primary outcomes were the postoperative visual analog scale (VAS) for pain and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores. Cement leakage, adjacent vertebral fractures (an important concern in complications after vertebroplasty and a subset of new fractures), and recollapse of the treated vertebra were also evaluated. A total of 128 patients, 80.5% of whom were female, were included and had follow-up for 24 months. The mean patient age (and standard deviation) was 74.2 ± 8.6 years. The cement distribution was classified as Type I in 18 patients, Type II in 26, Type III in 46, and Type IV in 38. At the primary time point (6 months), there was a significant difference in the ODI score favoring the Type-III and Type-IV groups compared with the Type-I and Type-II groups (adjusted 95% confidence interval [CI]: Type I versus Type II, -2.40 to 4.50; Type I versus Type III, 1.35 to 7.63; Type I versus Type IV, 1.27 to 7.92; Type II versus Type III, 0.67 to 6.21; Type II versus Type IV, 0.63 to 6.46; adjusted p < 0.0083), whereas no significant differences were found between the 4 groups in the VAS pain score. The Type-II and Type-IV groups had a higher incidence of cement leakage, and the Type-III and Type-IV groups had a lower incidence of vertebral recollapse. An adequate distribution of bone cement is advantageous for functional improvement, short-term pain relief, and a lower rate of vertebral recollapse. The FBMEA appears to be a feasible reference marker for evaluating the performance of the PVA procedure. Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Pneumonia Detection from Chest X-Ray Images Using Deep Learning and Transfer Learning for Imbalanced Datasets.

Pneumonia remains a significant global health challenge, necessitating timely and accurate diagnosis for effective treatment. In recent years, deep learning techniques have emerged as powerful tools for automating pneumonia detection from chest X-ray images. This paper provides a comprehensive investigation into the application of deep learning for pneumonia detection, with an emphasis on overcoming the challenges posed by imbalanced datasets. The study evaluates the performance of various deep learning architectures, including visual geometry group (VGG), residual networks (ResNet), and Vision Transformers (ViT) along with strategies to mitigate the impact of imbalanced dataset, on publicly available datasets such as the Chest X-Ray Images (Pneumonia) dataset, BRAX dataset, and CheXpert dataset. Additionally, transfer learning from pre-trained models, such as ImageNet, is investigated to leverage prior knowledge for improved performance on pneumonia detection tasks. Our investigation extends to zero-shot and few-shot learning experiments on different geographical regions. The study also explores semi-supervised learning methods, including the Mean Teacher algorithm, to utilize unlabeled data effectively. Experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of transfer learning, data augmentation, and balanced weight in addressing imbalanced datasets, leading to improved accuracy and performance in pneumonia detection. Our findings emphasize the importance of selecting appropriate strategies based on dataset characteristics, with semi-supervised learning showing particular promise in leveraging unlabeled data. The findings highlight the potential of deep learning techniques in revolutionizing pneumonia diagnosis and treatment, paving the way for more efficient and accurate clinical workflows in the future.

BRD4 Degradation Enhanced Glioma Sensitivity to Temozolomide by Regulating Notch1 via Glu-Modified GSH-Responsive Nanoparticles.

Temozolomide (TMZ) serves as the principal chemotherapeutic agent for glioma; nonetheless, its therapeutic efficacy is compromised by the rapid emergence of drug resistance, the inadequate targeting of glioma cells, and significant systemic toxicity. ARV-825 may play a role in modulating drug resistance by degrading the BRD4 protein, thereby exerting anti-glioma effects. Therefore, to surmount TMZ resistance and achieve efficient and specific drug delivery, a dual-targeted glutathione (GSH)-responsive nanoparticle system (T+A@Glu-NP) is designed and synthesized for the co-delivery of ARV-825 and TMZ. As anticipated, T+A@Glu-NPs significantly enhanced penetration of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), facilitated drug uptake by glioma cells, and exhibited efficient accumulation in brain tissue. Additionally, T+A@Glu-NPs exhibited augmented efficacy against glioma both in vitro and in vivo through the induction of apoptosis, inhibition of proliferation, and cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, mechanistic exploration revealed that T+A@Glu-NPs degraded the BRD4 protein, leading to the downregulation of Notch1 gene transcription and the inhibition of the Notch1 signaling pathway, thereby augmenting the therapeutic efficacy of glioma chemotherapy. Taken together, the findings suggest that T+A@Glu-NPs represents a novel and promising therapeutic strategy for glioma chemotherapy.

Robust Multi-Class Classification for Real-Time Agricultural Applications Using Efficient and Adaptive Deep Learning

Plant diseases severely affect agricultural productivity, necessitating accurate and rapid detection methods. This research presents a robust, multi-class plant disease classification framework using adaptive deep learning. We utilize pre-trained convolutional neural networks (CNNs), specifically Xception, InceptionResNetV2, InceptionV3, ResNet50, and the proposed EfficientNetB3-based Adaptive Augmented Deep Learning (EfficientNetB3-AADL) model. Our approach leverages transfer learning combined with extensive data augmentation and trimming techniques to enhance model performance and mitigate overfitting. The EfficientNetB3-AADL architecture incorporates convolutional and max pooling layers, regularization strategies, and a dense feature learning layer, optimized to classify 52 disease categories from a publicly available leaf image dataset. The model’s performance is extensively evaluated using metrics such as accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score. Notably, EfficientNetB3-AADL achieves superior accuracy over 98%, outperforming other CNN models. The proposed methodology highlights the efficacy of compound scaling and adaptive data augmentation in ensuring robust and efficient disease classification, suitable for real-time agricultural applications. This advancement supports sustainable farming by offering a scalable, computationally efficient solution for early and accurate disease detection in diverse crop species.

Combined metformin and simvastatin therapy inhibits SREBP2 maturation and alters energy metabolism in glioma

This study aims to explore the inhibitory effects of combined metformin and simvastatin therapy on the malignant progression of glioma. The research specifically examines how the maturation of SREBP2 as a transcription factor affects the expression of GLUT1 and GLUT6 in glioma cells. Additionally, it investigates the impact of this combination therapy on the biological functions and energy metabolism of glioma cells. To assess the functions of GLUT1/6, sh-GLUT1/6 plasmids were employed. The study determined the half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of metformin and simvastatin using the CCK-8 assay. Subsequently, the effects of these drugs on glioma metabolism, proliferation, and apoptosis were explored in vitro and in vivo, using drug concentrations significantly lower than their respective IC50 values. The impact of drug treatment on GLUT1/6 and SREBP2 expression levels was also evaluated. The study elucidated the significant impact of GLUT1/6 on glioma cell functions, resulting in decreased glucose uptake. Moreover, it unveiled the regulatory role of SREBP2 in GLUT1 and GLUT6 transcription, alongside revealing differential expression of SREBP2 precursor and mature forms within gliomas. Following combined drug therapy, GLUT1/6 expression decreased, while the precursor form of SREBP2 increased, and mature SREBP2 reduced. This dual-drug treatment effectively modulated glioma cell energy metabolism. Subsequent in vivo experiments affirmed the augmented anti-tumor efficacy of combined drug therapy. Specifically, the synergistic action of metformin and simvastatin reshaped glioma metabolism, curbed malignant proliferation, promoted apoptosis, and demonstrated superior anti-tumor effects both in vitro and in vivo compared to individual administration of metformin or simvastatin. Importantly, the combination therapy achieved these effects at lower doses, rendering it a safer treatment option.

Targeted intervention in nerve-cancer crosstalk enhances pancreatic cancer chemotherapy.

Nerve-cancer crosstalk has gained substantial attention owing to its impact on tumour growth, metastasis and therapy resistance. Effective therapeutic strategies targeting tumour-associated nerves within the intricate tumour microenvironment remain a major challenge in pancreatic cancer. Here we develop Escherichia coli Nissle 1917-derived outer membrane vesicles conjugated with nerve-binding peptide NP41, loaded with the tropomyosin receptor kinase (Trk) inhibitor larotrectinib (Lar@NP-OMVs) for tumour-associated nerve targeting. Lar@NP-OMVs achieve efficient nerve intervention to diminish neurite growth by disrupting the neurotrophin/Trk signalling pathway. Moreover, OMV-mediated repolarization of M2-like tumour-associated macrophages to an M1-like phenotype results in nerve injury, further accentuating Lar@NP-OMV-induced nerve intervention to inhibit nerve-triggered proliferation and migration of pancreatic cancer cells and angiogenesis. Leveraging this strategy, Lar@NP-OMVs significantly reduce nerve infiltration and neurite growth promoted by gemcitabine within the tumour microenvironment, leading to augmented chemotherapy efficacy in pancreatic cancer. This study sheds light on a potential avenue for nerve-targeted therapeutic intervention for enhancing pancreatic cancer therapy.

Dampened α7 nAChR activity contributes to audiogenic seizures and hyperactivity in a mouse model of Fragile X Syndrome.

Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of inherited intellectual disability and often accompanied with debilitating pathologies including seizures and hyperactivity. FXS arises from a trinucleotide repeat expansion in the 5' UTR of the FMR1 gene that silences expression of the RNA-binding protein FMRP. Despite progress in understanding FMRP functions, the identification of effective therapeutic targets has lagged and at present there are no viable treatment options. Here we identify the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) as candidate target for intervention in FXS. In the early postnatal hippocampus of Fmr1 knockout (KO) mice, an established pre-clinical model of FXS, the α7 nAChR accessory protein Ly6H is abnormally enriched at the neuronal surface and mislocalized in dendrites. Ly6H, a GPI-anchored protein, binds α7 nAChRs with high affinity and can limit α7 nAChR surface expression and signaling. We find that α7 nAChR-evoked Ca2+ responses are dampened in immature glutamatergic and GABAergic Fmr1 KO neurons compared to wild type. Knockdown of endogenous Ly6H in Fmr1 KO neurons is sufficient to rescue dampened α7 nAChR Ca2+ responses in vitro, providing evidence of a cell-autonomous role for Ly6H aberrant expression in α7 nAChR hypofunction. In line with intrinsic deficits in α7 nAChR activity in Fmr1 KO neurons, in vivo administration of the α7 nAChR-selective positive allosteric modulator PNU-120596 reduced hyperactivity and seizure severity in adolescent Fmr1 KO mice. Our mechanistic studies together with evidence of the in vivo efficacy of α7 nAChR augmentation implicate α7 nAChR hypofunction in FXS pathology.

Nonopacification of Frontal and Parietal Branches After Middle Meningeal Artery Embolization: A Radiographic Benchmark

BackgroundMiddle meningeal artery embolization (MMAE) has revolutionized the armamentarium for chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) treatment. Technical and angiographic benchmarks to guide procedural and clinical success are less well-established. MethodsA single-center database was reviewed to compare outcomes after standalone MMAE with and without resultant residual angiographic opacification of frontal and parietal (F/P) branches. Primary outcome was surgical rescue for CSDH progression. Secondary outcomes included the efficiency and accumulated efficacy of hematoma-resolution. Effect sizes were adjusted via multivariable regression. ResultsOf 147 standalone MMAE for CSDH, the overall rate of surgical rescue was 6.8%. Non-opacification of F/P branches via proximal MMA or meningo-ophthalmic anastomosis, was achieved after 83% of procedures and was associated with a 7-fold decreased rate of surgical rescue (3.3% vs. 24%, P=0.001). At 90-day follow-up, a higher rate of hematoma-resolution ≥ 50% was achieved if no residual opacification was identified (82% vs. 56%, P=0.03). The median time-to-50%-hematoma-resolution was 44 days for the no-residual group versus 71 days for the residual group (P<0.001). The unfavorable effects of residual opacification of F/P branches were verified in a multivariate analysis: a higher risk of surgical-rescue (adjusted OR 24.6; P=0.001) and poor hematoma resolution were both confirmed (adjusted HR 0.3; P=0.001). ConclusionMMAE with non-opacification of F/P branches was associated with augmented efficacy. Nuanced MMAE adequately tackling culprit dural feeders should be considered for more effective procedures.

X-ray-triggered fenton-like nanocomposites for passive-activation and non-spontaneous chemodynamic therapy

Currently, many studies focused on the TME-regulating strategies to address the unsatisfactory therapeutic effect of single chemodynamic therapy (CDT). However, most of TME-regulating strategies were nonspecific, the CDT agents with spontaneous CDT activity would result in augmented killing effect not only in tumor but also in normal tissues. Furthermore, CDT efficiency was subject to attenuation due to the gradually exhausted active sites in CDT agents. Herein, the passive-activation and non-spontaneous CDT strategy was proposed by constructing a completely X-ray-triggered CDT agent (F-SCNPs) to target the therapeutic dilemma between the augmented CDT efficacy and high tumor specificity. In this study, the designed F-SCNPs can launch Fe2+ sites generation to initiate CDT activity only when they were exposed to X-ray, which were totally different from the traditional CDT agents including other stimuli-responsive CDT agents that always spontaneously exert CDT activity no matter they had accepted the stimuli or not. The X-ray-activated feature of F-SCNPs endowed their tumor specificity with less affect by nonspecific TME-regulating strategies. Meanwhile, X-ray can promote the Fe2+/Fe3+ cycling of F-SCNPs to enhance the •OH yield. This X-ray-mediated nanosystem with remarkable synergistic therapy of CDT and radiotherapy provided a promising avenue for high-efficiency and precise cancer treatments.

Diffusion models-based motor imagery EEG sample augmentation via mixup strategy

Deep representation learning has been widely explored for decoding motor imagery electroencephalogram (MI-EEG) to build EEG-tailored brain-computer interfaces. Due to the labor-intensive and time-consuming recording to MI-EEG, recently BCIs were suffered from sample scarcity, especially for the limitation of sample diversity. To solve this issue, we proposed a novel sample augmentation method, Diffusion models-based EEG Sample Augmentation method via Mixup strategy (DESAM), to solve sample scarcity and improve sample diversity for both multivariate time-series and time–frequency images forms. To reduce the characteristics conflicts brought by the augmented samples, a mixup strategy with data weighting was proposed for both forms. To validate the efficacy of sample augmentation by DESAM, we conducted comparative experiments on three publicly available MI-EEG datasets, and reported the average decoding accuracies and Kappa values on augmented samples by various deep learning models. For the BCI Competition IV datasets 2a, 2b, and 1, the two forms of DESAM sample augmentations achieved improvements for both accuracies and Kappa values. Ablation studies have demonstrated the necessity and significance of our DESAM method, and it makes a possible manner to solve sample scarcity issue of MI-EEG.

Protocol for Cancloz: multicentre randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group adaptive trial of cannabidiol for clozapine-resistant schizophrenia.

Although clozapine is the most effective antipsychotic for people with treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS), only 40% of people with TRS respond, and there is limited evidence for augmentation agents. Cannabidiol (CBD) reduces positive symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia, but no trials have specifically examined its efficacy in those with clozapine-resistant schizophrenia. To examine the clinical efficacy of CBD augmentation in people with clozapine-resistant schizophrenia. This is a 12-week randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group trial (registration number: ACTRN12622001112752). We will recruit 88 individuals with clozapine-resistant schizophrenia, randomised (1:1) to 1000 mg daily CBD versus placebo. Eligible individuals will be aged between 18 and 64 years, fulfil DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, have a total PANSS (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) score ≥60, have received oral clozapine for at least 18 weeks and have a clozapine level of >350 ng/mL. Interim analyses will be conducted at 25, 50 and 75% recruitment; these will also provide an opportunity to reallocate participants dependent on conditional power. The primary endpoint will be the difference in PANSS positive scores at the end of week 12. Secondary endpoints include depression, anxiety, sleep, quality of life, alcohol consumption, change in weight and metabolic syndrome components, and neurocognitive measures, as well as safety and tolerability. Novel treatments for clozapine-resistant schizophrenia are urgently needed. If found to be effective, CBD may have a role as a novel and safe adjunct to clozapine.

Efficacy of Ridge Augmentation with or without Ultrasonic Splitting in Pre-Implant Preparation of Narrow Alveolar Ridges Clinical, Radiographic and Histomorphologic study

Efficacy of Ridge Augmentation with or without Ultrasonic Splitting in Pre-Implant Preparation of Narrow Alveolar Ridges Clinical, Radiographic and Histomorphologic study

Efficacy of Autologous Cartilage Augmentation of Posterior Pharyngeal Wall in Management of Velopharyngeal Insufficiency A Meta-Analysis study

Abstract Background Velopharyngeal dysfunction is a disorder of the velopharyngeal sphincter or valve, which functions to separate the nasal and oral cavities during speech, swallowing, vomiting, blowing, and sucking. When the soft palate and pharyngeal walls are unable to form an effective seal, an abnormal connection between the nasal and oral cavities leads to hypernasal speech, increased nasal resonance, nasal regurgitation, nasal emission, and decreased intraoral pressure during speech. The overall result is decreased speech intelligibility and significant functional and social impairment. Objective To assess the efficacy of autologous cartilage augmentation of posterior pharyngeal wall in the treatment of velopharyngeal insufficiency. Patients and Methods An electronic database search (PubMed, SCOPUS, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane database) using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was conducted with the goal of identifying all available studies related to use of cartilage graft in posterior pharyngeal wall augmentation in Velopharyngeal insufficiency to 2022. Results Rate of improvement in nasal hyper resonance was 82%. Rate of improvement in speech intelligibility was 85%. Rate of improvement in velopharyngeal closure was 76%. Rate of improvement in nasal emission was 61%. Conclusion We conclude that cartilage augmentation of posterior pharyngeal wall is appropriate for patients with minimal velopharyngeal gap and is effective for improvement of velopharyngeal closure and speech.

Augmented Efficacy of Topical Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) with Corticosteroids on Cystoid Macular Edema after Uncomplicated phacoemulsification

Augmented Efficacy of Topical Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) with Corticosteroids on Cystoid Macular Edema after Uncomplicated phacoemulsification

Efficacy of modified electroconvulsive therapy as augmentation agent in treatment-resistant schizophrenia

AIM: The aim of the study was to study the efficacy of modified electroconvulsive therapy (MECT) as an augmentation agent in schizophrenia, with particular emphasis in treatment-resistant schizophrenia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective open-label, raters blinded within a group interventional study done over 1 year with 40 consenting adults with a diagnosis of treatment-resistant schizophrenia as per Conley and Kelly’s criteria. With preanesthetic clearance, they were put on a supervised regular MECT regimen after baseline clinical global impression (CGI), PANSS, and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) application with improvement recorded by repeat application of psychopathology measurement scales. RESULTS: after a mean of 11.10 ± 1.6 MECT sessions ranging from 8 to 14, we observed an improvement of 30.6% ± 3.5% in total PANSS score with significant improvement in CGI and BPRS. CONCLUSION: The study endorses the efficacy of MECT augmentation in treatment-resistant schizophrenia.

Lateral Alveolar Ridge Augmentation with Autogenous Tooth Roots and Staged Implant Placement-5-Year Follow-Up Case Series.

Background/Objectives: Alveolar bone augmentation before implant placement is a safe and effective treatment option for the reconstruction of a deficient alveolar ridge. According to recent research, permanent teeth have been used as bone graft materials, with studies confirming their clinical and histological results. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of alveolar ridge augmentation with autogenous tooth roots and staged implant placement, and peri-implant tissue stability in augmented sites. Methods: A total of 20 augmentations with autogenous tooth roots on mandibular alveolar ridges in 15 patients were performed. After 6 months, the ridge width (RWa) and ridge width gain (RWg) were measured. Titanium dental implants were placed in grafted sites and loaded 10 weeks after placement. Clinical parameters (bleeding on probing-BOP; probing depth-PD; mucosal recession-MR; and clinical attachment level-CAL) were assessed 2 months (T1), 3 years (T2), and 5 years (T3) after implant loading. Results: The mean RWa was 6.71 ± 0.74 mm, and the RWg was 3.15 ± 0.54 mm, respectively. No statistically significant differences were observed for clinical parameters (BOP, PD, MR, and CAL) among different time points (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Autogenous tooth roots represent a viable solution for alveolar ridge augmentation and implant placement, providing a stable environment for peri implant tissues.