Preliminary Follow-up Results Research Articles

Robot-Assisted Percutaneous Balloon Compression in Elderly Patients with Trigeminal Neuralgia.

To investigate the clinical effects of percutaneous balloon compression (PBC) for trigeminal neuralgia in elderly patients with the assistance of a neurosurgical navigation and positioning planning system (referred to hereafter as the robot). We performed a retrospective analysis of 11 patients with trigeminal neuralgia. Preoperative TOF MRA, T2WI-SPACE, and thin-slice CT scans were performed, and the volume of Meckel's Cave was calculated by multi-modal image fusion on a workstation. Surgical planning involved two paths. Path A was the actual puncture path, the target point was the anterior inner quadrant of the inner opening of the foramen ovale; Path B represented a virtual path for measurement, and was used to plan the depth of balloon placement. The foramen ovale puncture for path A was completed under the guidance of a robotic arm adapter, while path B was completed under lateral X-ray fluoroscopy with a DSA machine. The balloon was placed at a predetermined depth, and filled to a "pear" shape to complete the operation. Preliminary follow-up results were obtained by considering VAS score and BNI classification. The foramen ovale was successfully punctured in all 11 patients and entered Meckel's Cave, the balloon was then filled to create a "pear shape". Immediate complete healing was achieved in 10 patients and delayed healing was achieved in one patient by the 5th postoperative day. No serious complications were identified that were related to surgery, and over a follow-up time of 1-12 months, there was no recurrence of pain, and a BNI numbness grade of 2-3 points. The appropriate ratio of the balloon inflated volume to the preoperative Meckel's Cave volume was approximately 1.7. Preliminary clinical application and short-term follow-up showed that robot-assisted PBC surgery is a safe and effective surgical method for elderly patients with trigeminal neuralgia.

Zürcher Sprechstunde für Jugendliche mit Genderdysphorie – erste Verlaufsergebnisse

The Zurich Specialist Clinic for Adolescent with Gender Dysphoria - Preliminary Follow-up Results The specialist clinic for children and adolescents with gender dysphoria (GD) of the Psychiatric University Hospital of Zurich shows an increasing number of referrals since its foundation in 2009. Since 2014 we started an observational study including adolescents aged 13 years and older. At the time of the first appointment (T0) N = 77 participants completed a battery of questionnaires assessing demographic factors, general psychopathology, quality of life as well as gender identity, social transitioning and GD treatment modalities. Few of the adolescents were socially transitioned and had hormone therapy but 77.9 % wished to get hormone therapy. Follow up assessment T1 was performed after at least one year of treatment in our specialist clinic. 51 adolescents completed an online follow-up examination including the same questionnaires and baseline parameters as well as a scale measuring treatment satisfaction. At T0, 77.3 % of the adolescents scored in the clinical range of the Youth Self Report (YSR) total score, which did not decrease significantly until T1 in our preliminary follow up sample. Puberty blocking before T0 correlated negatively with the YSR score, indicating less psychopathology in treated patients. Preliminary longitudinal analysis suggests that social transitioning influences quality of life (Kidscreen subscale autonomy and parental relationship). At T1, 52 % of the adolescents were socially transitioned in all contexts and 70 % received gender affirming hormonal treatment. Gender identity changed between T0 and T1 in about 18 % of the cases. Treatment satisfaction in most cases was high.

Family nurture intervention in the NICU increases autonomic regulation in mothers and children at 4-5 years of age: Follow-up results from a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundMaturation of multiple neurobehavioral systems, including autonomic regulation, is altered by preterm birth. The purpose of this study was to determine the long-term effects of Family Nurture Intervention (FNI) in the NICU on autonomic regulation of preterm infants and their mothers.MethodA subset of infants and mothers (48% of infants, 51% of mothers) randomly assigned to either standard are (SC), or SC plus the FNI in the NICU in a prior RCT (ClincalTrials.gov; NCT01439269) returned for follow-up assessments when the children were 4 to 5 years corrected age (CA). ECGs were collected for 10 minutes in mothers and their children while children were in their mothers’ laps. Heart rate, standard deviation for heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)–an index of parasympathetic regulation, and a measure of vagal efficiency were quantified.ResultsBoth children and mothers in the FNI group had significantly greater levels of RSA compared to the SC group (child: mean difference = 0.60, 95% CI 0.17 to 1.03, p = 0.008; mother: mean difference = 0.64, 95% CI 0.07 to 1.21, p = 0.031). In addition, RSA increased more rapidly in FNI children between infancy and the 4 to 5-year follow-up time point (SC = +3.11±0.16 loge msec2, +3.67±0.19 loge msec2 for FNI, p<0.05). These results show that the rate of increase in RSA from infancy to childhood is more rapid in FNI subjects.ConclusionAlthough these preliminary follow-up results are based on approximately half of subjects originally enrolled in the RCT, they suggest that FNI-NICU led to healthier autonomic regulation in both mother and child, when measured during a brief face-to-face socioemotional interaction. A Pavlovian autonomic co-conditioning mechanism may underly these findings that can be exploited therapeutically.

Only overlapping stents therapy for intracranial vertebral artery dissection aneurysms

To evaluate the feasibility, safety, clinical, and angiographic follow-up of only overlapping stents therapy for intracranial vertebral artery dissection aneurysms (VADA). Eight consecutive patients (6 men, 2 women; mean age 46.8 years ranging from 34 to 62 years) with intracranial VADA admitted to Department of Neurology, Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital from June 2008 to June 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. All patients were diagnosed intracranial VADA by MRI or digital subtraction angiography (DSA). All patients were treated by only overlapping stents therapy under general anesthesia. In the endovascular treatment process 2 to 3 Solitaire, Neuroform or Wingspan self-expandable stents were overlapping implanted in the segment of the aneurysms. All patients received routine antiplatelet therapy before and after endovascular treatment. The operative procedures were succeeded in all patients. Eight patients were implanted 18 stents (2 patients, 3 stents; 6 patients, 2 stents). The stents were located accurately and implanted smoothly, none perioperative complications occurred. All patients lived and worked normally and had no recurrent symptoms on follow-up of 6 to 48 months. All patients performed DSA reexamination on follow-up. The aneurysm blocked in 2 patients, the size lessened in 2 patients, and the size had no change in 3 patients. Only overlapping stents therapy for treating intracranial VADA is feasible and has good operation safety. Preliminary follow-up results show that it can reduce the probability of thrombosis or hemorrhage and can improve the patients' life quality.

Music facilitates mental rotation performance in women

Many people listen to music while performing tasks requiring working memory, but it is unclear whether simultaneous music affects working memory performance. To address this question, we used a classic visuospatial working memory task, Shepard's mental rotation. This task requires visuospatial mental manipulation to determine whether two simultaneously presented 3-D objects depicted from different viewpoints are the same object. Participants performed the mental rotation task in two conditions: 1) in silence and 2) while listening to Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, a calming piece of music. Condition order was counterbalanced across participants (N=40; 20 female). In both conditions, we asked participants to press one key if they thought the objects were the same and another if they thought the objects were different. Speed and accuracy were both emphasized in the instructions. As has been shown previously in silence, women's responses were slower than men's (accuracy was equivalent). In music, women's responses became significantly faster while men’s responses became somewhat slower. A gender by condition interaction confirmed the effect (all rotation angles: F[1,38]=5.728, p<0.03; only angles 140 to 220 degrees: F[1,38]=13.242, p<0.001). There were no main effects or interactions involving accuracy. Thus, for women, mental rotation performance can be transiently improved with the simple manipulation of playing music. Is the effect due to the calming influence of Moonlight Sonata, or the arousal induced by music? When we used a highly arousing musical piece (Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries), preliminary follow-up results (N=32; 16 female) indicate that although both women and men responded faster in music, women’s performance improved in music while men's performance degraded, so that men’s advantage in silence (in accuracy in this case) disappeared in music. In summary, our results suggest that listening to music improves mental-rotation performance in women likely because women benefit from increased auditory arousal. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2013

Lasting Effects of an Interdisciplinary Home Visiting Program on Child Behavior: Preliminary Follow-Up Results of a Randomized Trial

Child mental health is of great concern requiring effective and appropriate parenting interventions. This pilot study was the first attempt to examine the intermediate effects of an ongoing parenting home visiting program, Minding the Baby (MTB), on parental reflective functioning (RF) and child behavior. Results indicated that the women who participated in the MTB intervention described their children-when assessed post-intervention-as having significantly fewer externalizing child behaviors. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups on parental RF from the end of the intervention to follow-up. The central finding that children who participated with the MTB program were reported to have significantly fewer externalizing behaviors following the intervention has important clinical and public health implications. Recommendations for the design of future follow-up studies and for further exploration of parental RF as it relates to the MTB outcomes are discussed.

P03-120 Diagnostic stability and clinical characteristics in first-episode psychosis

Introduction:Diagnostic stability in first-episode psychosis shows a wide variability between studies. Amini and cols reported a 50% rate of patients schizophreniform disorder shifting to schizophrenia during the first 12 months period. We report the preliminary follow-up results of our recently ongoing first- episode psychosis unit.Methods:Forty-six patients admitted for a first-episode psichosis to our Inpatient Psychiatric Unit from January 2006 to January 2008 were recruited. Clinical and socio-demographic characteristics were registered during admission period and during the follow-up period.Results:At admission 52% of the first-episode subjects had a diagnosis of psychosis NOS and 32% a schizophreniform disorder diagnosis. after discharge, most of the patients (72%) had a diagnosis of schizophreniform disorder, 16% psychosis NOS and 8% brief psychotic disorder. Six months later, half of the followed-up patients had a schizophreniform disorder diagnosis, and 23% had a diagnosis of schizophrenia. 30% of the patients were drop-outs, mainly referred to other out-patient services. Patients shifting to schizophrenia were younger, predominantly male (75% vs 50% in non-schizophrenia shift), had a lower proportion of university studies and presented a longer hospitalization period at admission. No differences in familial history of psychosis and cannabis use were found. after one-year follow-up period, 50% preserved a schizophreniform disorder diagnosis and 30% were diagnosed as schizophrenia.Conclusions:Schizophrenia spectrum disorders have a high stability in first-episode psychosis during first year follow-up. as in previous studies, male gender is one of the factors that best predicts the shift to schizophrenia.

Acute and Preliminary Follow-up Results of the “OPTimization With ICUS to Reduce Stent Restenosis” (OPTICUS) Trial

Acute and Preliminary Follow-up Results of the “OPTimization With ICUS to Reduce Stent Restenosis” (OPTICUS) Trial

Acute and preliminary follow-up results of the “OPTimization with ICUS to reduce stent restenosis” (OPTICUS) trial

Acute and preliminary follow-up results of the “OPTimization with ICUS to reduce stent restenosis” (OPTICUS) trial

Madelung's deformity a surgical technique

15 wrists with Madelung's deformity were operated on between 1972 and 1990, constituting the largest series of radial osteotomies reported for this deformity to date. The technique that evolved is described in detail, as are the preliminary follow-up results. All patients reported symptomatic relief and return to normal activity levels.

Transluminal atherectomy of saphenous vein aortocoronary bypass grafts

Angioplasty of stenotie saphenous vein aorto-coronary bypass grafts is often unsatisfactory because of the relatively high incidence of acute complications and restenosis. During an initial evaluation of transluminal coronary atherectomy, 14 patients had atherectomy of saphenous vein graft lesions (15 grafts). Atherectomy was successful in 13 of 14 patients, decreasing the mean diameter of stenosis from 85 to 15%. in 1 patient, the lesion could not be crossed by the atherectomy device. The following 3 minor complications occurred: 1 embolus of atheromatous material; 1 air embolism; and 1 transient thrombosis leading to subendocardial myocardial Infarction. Of the 14 patients, 8 underwent anglography 4 to 6 months after atherectomy; 5 patients had restenosis and 3 had widely patent grafts. Four other patients were clinically evaluated at 3 months after atherectomy. Two were asymptomatic, 1 had class 11 angina and 1 had class III angina. Transluminal adarectomy achieved excellent immediate results with a low incidence of major complications in the treatment of stenosed saphenous vein bypass grafts. However, preliminary follow-up results suggest a high incidence of restenosis.

Circulating lipoprotein and blood glucose levels in association with low-tension and chronic simple glaucoma.

Circulating lipoprotein and blood glucose levels were determined for 53 patients with low-tension glaucoma and 39 patients with chronic simple glaucoma. The incidence of hypercholesterolaemia was significantly higher in the low-tension group than in the chronic simple glaucoma group and control data obtained elsewhere. Preliminary follow-up results of the effects of treatment are also reported. The incidence of raised fasting blood glucose levels was not significantly increased in either group.

Aortocoronary bypass in the diabetic patient

One hundred twelve patients undergoing aortocoronary bypass—35 with diabetes of adult onset and 77 without diabetes—were studied to determine whether diabetic patients have additional operative risks and greater operative mortality and whether their coronary disease differs from that of nondiabetic patients. Among the diabetic patients there was a greater prevalence of preoperative unstable angina, prior myocardial infarction and class IV functional disability (New York Heart Association criteria). The major coronary arteries angiographically and at operation appeared similar in both groups. The blood flow rates measured in aortocoronary bypass vein grafts were similar in both groups, raising doubt about the presence of microvascular disease in the myocardium of the diabetic patient. Preliminary follow-up results demonstrated relief of anginal symptoms in 76 percent of diabetic and 78 percent of nondiabetic patients. The operative mortality rate of 9 percent in diabetic and 4 percent in nondiabetic patients occurred among the first 40 patients in the series; no patient in either group has died in the immediate postoperative period during the last 18 months of the study. Aortocoronary bypass should be recommended to diabetic patients with symptomatic coronary arteriosclerosis using the same criteria for operability applied to the nondiabetic population.