• Gissel Morrison posted an update 5 hours, 6 minutes ago

    e., proclivity to minimize computational load and take short-cuts) can explain faceless humanoid-shadows and sensed presence hallucinations during sleep paralysis; and how the hypothalamus and anterior cingulate may be implicated during related dissociative states. Ultimately empirical research must shed light on the validity of this account. If this hypothesis is correct, patients with right hemisphere damage (i.e., in implicated areas) should be less likely to hallucinate ghosts during sleep paralysis; i.e., compared to those with intact hemispheres or damage to the left only. It may also be possible to temporarily disable right hemisphere functions during sleep paralysis using transcranial magnetic stimulation. Accordingly, this procedure should eradicate sleep paralysis ghost hallucinations.

    Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy development may have a strong relationship with hormone treatments during in vitro fertilization and hormonal changes during pregnancy.

    The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the frequency of papules and plaques of pregnancy and related factors in in vitro fertilization pregnancies and spontaneous pregnancies.

    In this study, 517 in vitro fertilization pregnancies and 1253 spontaneous pregnancies were retrospectively reviewed for papules and plaques of pregnancy frequency. The diagnosis of papules and plaques of pregnancy was performed by referral to the dermatology department and according to the typical clinical manifestations of the disease.

    The papules and plaques of pregnancy was more common in all in vitro fertilization pregnancies (including single pregnancies) than in spontaneous pregnancies. Age, Rh positivity, mother weight gain, onset of disease during gestation, duration of disease, birth weight and the frequency of male fetus were similar between the two groups (p>0.05). The rate of multiple pregnancies was higher in in vitro fertilization pregnancies with papules and plaques of pregnancy than in vitro fertilization pregnancies without papules and plaques of pregnancy (p<0.001). Duration of progesterone treatment was also significantly longer in in vitro fertilization pregnancies with papules and plaques of pregnancy compared to in vitro fertilization pregnancies without papules and plaques of pregnancy (p<0.001).

    The limitations of the study were the retrospective and single-centered design.

    The results of this study indicate that increased progesterone dosage or prolonged treatment may play a role in the pathogenesis papules and plaques of pregnancy.

    The results of this study indicate that increased progesterone dosage or prolonged treatment may play a role in the pathogenesis papules and plaques of pregnancy.The technological advancement of the pharmaceutical industry, resulting from the techniques of molecular biology and expansion of the knowledge of immunopathogenesis, has modified the therapeutic arsenal used in dermatology. Scientific research and regulatory standards cause drug costs to rise, thus making their use impossible in most public policies. In order to make high-cost drugs viable in the public health network, the Specialized Pharmaceutical Assistance Component was created. However, despite the frequent incorporation of medications, the constant requirement of drugs through lawsuits leads to exorbitant costs to the state budget. The present work analyzed through a descriptive observational study, the current situation of the Specialized Component and the involvement of medicines used in dermatology, through legal reviews, financial analyses, and medical articles, aiming at future incorporations for the specialty. When assessing the legal demands for dermatological drugs in the state of São Paulo, the specialty still has a low participation and psoriasis is the main disease involved in requiring drugs through the judicial system in the state. New methods of access to raw materials must be created to reduce legal issues. Cost-effectiveness and public planning studies are mandatory for incorporating new dermatological therapies.Skull vault hemangiomas are benign vascular tumours of the calvaria that are usually asymptomatic or present as firm, painless lumps. We present a case of a 59-year-old female with a giant intraosseous calvarial hemangioma that was admitted in our department with a palpable mass over the left frontoparietal region, personality changes and impaired emotional and cognitive functions. The patient was treated with a two-step approach involving endovascular and surgical treatment, and suffered two rare, but recognized complications, a contrecoup intracerebral haemorrhage and valproate-induced stupor and parkinsonism. At the 6-month follow-up, the patient had complete recovery with a good neurological outcome.Mounting evidence has demonstrated the critical role of the gut microbiome in different cancer treatment modalities showing intensive crosstalk between microbiota and the host immune system. In cancer patients receiving hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), conditioning regimens including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunosuppressive therapy, as well as antimicrobial prophylaxis, result in intestinal barrier disruption and massive changes in microbiota composition. According to clinical studies, a drastic loss of microbial diversity during HSCT is associated with enhanced pro-inflammatory immune response and an increased risk of transplant-related complications such as graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and mortality. In this review, we outline the current understanding of the role of microbiota diversity in the patient response to cancer therapies and highlight the impact of changes in the gut microbiome on clinical outcomes in post-HSCT patients. Moreover, the therapeutic implications of microbiota modulation by probiotics, prebiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in hematologic cancer patients receiving HSCT are discussed.

    Despite lacking scientific support, vaccine hesitancy is widespread. While serious vaccine damage as a scientific fact is real yet statistically highly uncommon, emerging social and technological forces have amplified perceptions of risk for “probable vaccine damage”, making it a widely shared intersubjective reality.

    Using the Eurobarometer 91.2 survey on a statistically representative EU27-UK sample interviewed in March 2019, we documented perceptions of vaccine risks and identified three belief configurations regarding vaccine effectiveness, safety, and usefulness, through exploratory cluster analysis.

    The public beliefs in significant vaccine risks are frequent. Approximatively one-tenth of the EU27-UK population consider that vaccines are not rigorously tested before authorization, one-third believe that vaccines can overload or weaken the immune system and that they can cause the disease against which they protect, and almost one-half believe that vaccines can cause serious side effects. click here We identified three belief configurations hesitant, confident, and trade-off clusters.