The association between height and risk of hip fracture has been investigated in several studies, but the evidence is inconclusive. We therefore conducted this meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies to explore whether an association exists between height and risk of hip fracture. We searched PubMed and EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library for studies of height and risk of hip fracture up to February 16, 2016. The random-effects model was used to combine results from individual studies. Seven prospective cohort studies, with 7,478 incident hip fracture cases and 907,913 participants, were included for analysis. The pooled relative risk (RR) was 1.65 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.26-2.16) comparing the highest with the lowest category of height. Result from dose-response analysis suggested a linear association between height and hip fracture risk (P-nonlinearity = 0.0378). The present evidence suggests that height is positively associated with increased risk of hip fracture. Further well-designed cohort studies are needed to confirm the present findings in other ethnicities.

The association of physical activity with dementia and its subtypes has remained controversial in the literature and has continued to be a subject of debate among researchers. A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies on the relationship between physical activity and the risk of cognitive decline, all-cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular dementia among nondemented subjects are considered. A comprehensive literature search in all available databases was conducted up until April 2016. Well-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed with focus on prospective studies ≥ 12 months. The overall sample from all studies is 117410 with the highest follow-up of 28 years. The analyses are performed with both Bayesian parametric and nonparametric models. Our analysis reveals a protective effect for high physical activity on all-cause dementia, odds ratio of 0.79, 95% CI (0.69, 0.88), a higher and better protective effect for Alzheimer's disease, odds ratio of 0.62, 95% CI (0.49, 0.75), cognitive decline odds ratio of 0.67, 95% CI (0.55, 0.78), and a nonprotective effect for vascular dementia of 0.92, 95% CI (0.62, 1.30). Our findings suggest that physical activity is more protective against Alzheimer's disease than it is for all-cause dementia, vascular dementia, and cognitive decline.

Numerous studies have investigated the prognostic role of frailty in elderly patients with heart failure (HF), but the limited size of the reported studies has resulted in continued uncertainty regarding its prognostic impact. The aim of this study was to integrate the findings of all available studies and estimate the impact of frailty on the prognosis of HF by performing a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Surgical site infection represents the most severe complication in prosthetic breast reconstruction. Risk profiling represents a useful tool for both clinicians and patients.

Antihypertensive drug use is inconsistently associated with the risk of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, cognitive impairment, and cognitive decline. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis of available prospective cohort studies to summarize the evidence on the strength of these relationships.

Purpose. To investigate the evidence of minimally invasive (MI) versus open (OP) posterior lumbar fusion in treatment of lumbar spondylolisthesis from current prospective literatures. Methods. The electronic literature database of Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane library was searched at April 2016. The data of operative time, estimated blood loss and length of hospital stay, visual analog scale (VAS) of both lower back pain and leg pain, Oswestry disability index (ODI), SF-36 PCS (physical component scores) and SF-36 MCS (mental component scores), complications, fusion rate, and secondary surgery were extracted and analyzed by STATA 12.0 software. Results. Five nonrandom prospective comparative studies were included in this meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed that the MI group had a significantly longer operative time than OP group, less blood loss, and shorter hospital stay. No significant difference was found in back pain, leg pain, ODI, SF-36 PCS, SF-36 MCS, complications, fusion rate, and secondary surgery between MI and OP groups. Conclusion. The prospective evidence suggested that MI posterior fusion for spondylolisthesis had less EBL and hospital stay than OP fusion; however it took more operative time. Both MI and OP fusion had similar results in pain and functional outcomes, complication, fusion rate, and secondary surgery.

The growth or multiplication of harmful microorganisms in addition to harmful human activities has led to many disorders in humans. Consequently, there is a search for medications to treat these disorders. Interestingly, medicines of plant origin are known to be among the most attractive sources of new drugs and have shown promising results in the treatment of various diseases including peptic ulcers. This review, therefore, is aimed at obtaining knowledge on some Ghanaian ethnomedicinal plants used to treat peptic ulcers, their folkloric uses, their phytochemicals, and their antiulcer and related pharmacological activities as well as finding areas for prospective studies.

Few studies evaluated the effects of spa therapy on pain perception and quality of life in older people with osteoarthritis. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the short- and long-term effects of spa therapy on quality of life and pain in patients aged 60 years and older with osteoarthritis.

Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) are common after major surgeries. However, the number of studies regarding PPCs following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is limited. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of early PPCs following TKA by computed tomography (CT) scan and to identify associated risk factors.

Human mesenchymal stem cells can be isolated from various organs and are in studies on therapeutic cell transplantation. Positive clinical outcomes of transplantations have been attributed to both the secretion of cytokines and growth factors as well as the fusion of donor cells with that of the host. We compared human mesenchymal stem cells from six different tissues for their transplantation-relevant potential. Furthermore, for prospective allogenic transplantation we developed a semipermeable hollow-fiber membrane enclosure, which would prevent cell fusion, would provide an immune barrier, and would allow for easy removal of donor cells from patients after recovery. We investigated human mesenchymal stem cells from adipose tissue, amniotic tissue, bone marrow, chorionic tissue, liver, and umbilical cord. We compared their multilineage differentiation potential, secretion of growth factors, and the expression of genes and surface markers. We found that although the expression of typical mesenchymal stem cell-associated gene THY1 and surface markers CD90 and CD73 were mostly similar between mesenchymal stem cells from different donor sites, their expression of lineage-specific genes, secretion of growth factors, multilineage differentiation potential, and other surface markers were considerably different. The encasement of mesenchymal stem cells in fibers affected the various mesenchymal stem cells differently depending on their donor site. Conclusively, mesenchymal stem cells isolated from different tissues were not equal, which should be taken into consideration when deciding for optimal sourcing for therapeutic transplantation. The encasement of mesenchymal stem cells into semipermeable membranes could provide a physical immune barrier, preventing cell fusion.

The value of contact force information for ablation of LA anterior line is unknown. In a prospective randomized clinical trial, we investigated if information on contact force during left atrial (LA) anterior line ablation reduces total radiofrequency time and results in higher rates of bidirectional line block in patients undergoing pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) plus substrate modification.

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death noticed in women across the world. Of late the most successful treatments rendered are the use of aromatase inhibitors (AIs). In the current study, a two-way approach for the identification of novel leads has been adapted. 81 chemical compounds were assessed to understand their potentiality against aromatase along with the four known drugs. Docking was performed employing the CDOCKER protocol available on the Discovery Studio (DS v4.5). Exemestane has displayed a higher dock score among the known drug candidates and is labeled as reference. Out of 81 ligands 14 have exhibited higher dock scores than the reference. In the second approach, these 14 compounds were utilized for the generation of the pharmacophore. The validated four-featured pharmacophore was then allowed to screen Chembridge database and the potential Hits were obtained after subjecting them to Lipinski's rule of five and the ADMET properties. Subsequently, the acquired 3,050 Hits were escalated to molecular docking utilizing GOLD v5.0. Finally, the obtained Hits were consequently represented to be ideal lead candidates that were escalated to the MD simulations and binding free energy calculations. Additionally, the gene-disease association was performed to delineate the associated disease caused by CYP19A1.

Ischemia-reperfusion injury and inflammation after tourniquet deflation in total knee arthroplasty are known to be associated with endothelial glycocalyx (EG) injury. This study is aimed at comparing EG injury between desflurane- and propofol-based anesthesia in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty.

Recovery of walking outdoors after hip fracture is important for equal participation in the community. The causes of poor recovery are not fully understood. This study investigates recovery of walking outdoors and associated determinants after hip fracture.

Excision and primary anastomotic (EPA) urethroplasty remains the gold standard definitive treatment for short urethral stricture disease. For patients, postoperative erectile function and quality of life are the main goals of the surgery. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are therefore of major importance.

One of the causes of uncontrolled secondary hyperparathyroidism (sHPT) is patient's poor drug adherence. We evaluated the clinical benefits of an integrated care approach on the control of sHPT by cinacalcet.

Classic Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL) is characterized by the unique biology in which rare Hodgkin-Reed-Sternberg cells propagate an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Checkpoint inhibitors that target the interaction of PD-1 immune checkpoint receptors have demonstrated remarkable activities in various cancers, such as cHL. This study aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of PD-1 inhibitors in treating relapsed or refractory cHL (rrHL).

Purpose. To evaluate implant survival, peri-implant bone loss, and complications affecting fixed full-arch (FFA) restorations supported by implants with a knife-edge thread design and nanostructured, calcium-incorporated surface. Methods. Between January 2013 and December 2015, all patients referred for implant-supported FFA restorations were considered for enrollment in this study. All patients received implants with a knife-edge thread design and nanostructured calcium-incorporated surface (Anyridge®, Megagen, South Korea) were restored with FFA restorations and enrolled in a recall program. The final outcomes were implant survival, peri-implant bone loss, biologic/prosthetic complications, and "complication-free" survival of restorations. Results. Twenty-four patients were selected. Overall, 215 implants were inserted (130 maxilla, 85 mandible), 144 in extraction sockets and 71 in healed ridges. Thirty-six FFAs were delivered (21 maxilla, 15 mandible): 27 were immediately loaded and 9 were conventionally loaded. The follow-up ranged from 1 to 3 years. Two fixtures failed, yielding an implant survival rate of 95.9% (patient-based). A few complications were registered, for a "complication-free" survival of restorations of 88.9%. Conclusions. FFA restorations supported by implants with a knife-edge thread design and nanostructured, calcium-incorporated surface are successful in the short term, with high survival and low complication rates; long-term studies are needed to confirm these outcomes.

To evaluate, with three-dimensional analysis, the effectiveness of alveolar ridge preservation (ARP) after maxillary molar extraction in reducing alveolar bone resorption and maxillary sinus pneumatization when compared to unassisted socket healing.

Objective. To investigate whether prior treatment of atorvastatin reduces the frequency of hospital acquired pneumonia (HAP). Methods. Totally, 492 patients with acute ischemic stroke and Glasgow Coma Scale ≤ 8 were enrolled in this study. Subjects were assigned to prior atorvastatin treatment group (n = 268, PG) and no prior treatment group (n = 224, NG). All the patients were given 20 mg atorvastatin every night during their hospital stay. HAP frequency and 28-day mortality were measured. Levels of inflammatory biomarkers [white blood cell (WBC), procalcitonin (PCT), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6)] were tested. Results. There was no significant difference in the incidence of HAP between PG and NG (25.74% versus. 24.55%, p > 0.05) and 28-day mortality (50.72% versus 58.18%, p > 0.05). However, prior statin treatment did modify the mortality of ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) (36.54% versus 58.14%, p = 0.041) and proved to be a protective factor (HR, 0.564; 95% CI, 0.310~0.825, p = 0.038). Concentrations of TNF-α and IL-6 in PG VAP cases were lower than those in NG VAP cases (p < 0.01). Conclusions. Prior atorvastatin treatment in patients with ischemic stroke was associated with a lower concentration of IL-6 and TNF-α and improved the outcome of VAP. This clinical study has been registered with ChiCTR-ROC-17010633 in Chinese Clinical Trial Registry.