Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a transient episode of neurologic dysfunction caused due to loss of blood flow to the brain or spinal cord without acute infarction. Depending on the area of the brain involved, symptoms of TIA vary widely from patient to patient. Since the blockage period in TIA is very short-lived, there is no permanent damage. Risk factors for TIA include family history of stroke or TIA, age above 55 years or older, higher risk of TIA in males than females, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, and tobacco smoking. Genetics, race, and imbalance in lipid profile are other risk factors of TIA. TIA is usually diagnosed after taking a thorough history and a physical examination. Several radiological tests such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are useful in the evaluation of patients who have had a TIA. Ultrasound of the neck and an echocardiogram of the heart are other tests useful in the diagnosis and evaluation of the attack. The treatment following acute recovery from a TIA depends on the underlying cause. Patients who have more than 70% stenosis of the carotid artery, removal of atherosclerotic plaque is usually done by carotid endarterectomy surgery. One-third of the people with TIA can later have recurrent TIAs and one-third can have a stroke because of permanent nerve cell loss. Having a TIA is a risk factor for eventually having a stroke. Educating the patients and inculcating lifestyle modifications in them are initial steps to minimize the prevalence of transient ischemic attack.
Lhermitte's sign was described by Marie and Chatelin and named after Jean Lhermitte. This sign is mostly described as an electric shock like condition by some patients of multiple sclerosis. This sensation occurs when the neck is moved in a wrong way or rather flexed. It can also travel down to the spine, arms, and legs, and sometimes the trunk. Demyelination and hyperexcitability are the main pathophysiological reasons depicted for the Lhermitte's sign. Other causes for Lhermitte's sign include transverse myelitis, behçet's disease, trauma, etc. This article reviews the Lhermitte's sign, its history, and its etiopathophysiology. Very few studies are available on Lermitte's sign and more research need to be done on the same to ensure its sensitivity and specificity.
Emphysematous cholecystitis is an acute infection of the gallbladder wall caused by gas-forming organisms. It is infrequent with insidious onset and diagnosed by the use of radiographs detecting presence of air within the gallbladder wall or lumen. The report describes the case of a 42-year-old alcoholic male who presented with sudden onset of pain in the right upper quadrant of abdomen, fever and bilious vomiting of two days duration. The patient did not have symptoms of jaundice. Emergency partial cholecystectomy was done and the culture directed antibiotics were given. The patient was followed up for 4 years and he remained asymptomatic.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic, often debilitating psychological state disorder that may develop after a traumatic life event. Most patients get over the initial symptoms naturally, but those that experience persistent symptoms require standard treatment approaches such as 1: 1 psychotherapy, psychotropic medications, or both whichever have relevance. However, there are secondary hindrances such as drug safety and drug tolerability associated with these psychotropic medications, that interdict an appropriate course of treatment. The upshot of those events is that it creates a breach in our potential to properly manage PTSD in a significant number of patients, leaving them endangered to surfacing complications like employment-related incapacities, suicidal ideations, co-morbid medical disorders, and illicit drug abuse. Thus, there is a need for more worthwhile, tolerable, and long-standing approaches. Transcranial magnetic stimulation may be a safe and non-invasive treatment technique used to treat various psychiatric and neurological disorders. This neuromodulation technique involves stimulation of specific deep brain regions by the assembly of high and low-intensity magnetic fields thus filling the therapeutic void. This text mainly focuses on the results of controlled and pragmatic trials for efficacy, safety, and tolerability of patients affected by PTSD. The alternative treatment for PTSD currently is psychotherapy and antidepressant medications.Despite receiving these alternatives, there are about 50% of patients who continue to experience major symptoms..That is, the reason why TMS came out as another suitable option. Atleast 5 directories such as MEDLINE, CINAHL, Psych INFO, SCOPUS and EMBASE were probed to pinpoint pragmatic studies and randomized controlled trials that were designed for the treatment of PTSD with TMS. A total of 28 studies were found worthy for this review, out of which 5 are mentioned in this article. Although, so far it looks propitious in spite of the manifoldness as far as its outcomes and its clinical importance are concerned. Hence, still researches involving stimulation constraints are to be conducted in the near future.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.