ABSTRACT
Introducción: El mareo postural perceptual persistente (MPPP) es una de las causas más frecuentes de vértigo crónico. Si bien, los pacientes con MPPP tienen alteraciones de la percepción espacial, se desconoce si presentan alteraciones en el miedo a las alturas. Para no exponer a pacientes con MPPP a ambientes reales con altura, nos propusimos utilizar la realidad virtual para estudiar el miedo a las alturas. Objetivo: Cuantificar el miedo a las alturas en pacientes con MPPP y controles mediante ambientes simulados con realidad virtual. Material y Método: Estudio transversal, prospectivo de casos y controles pareados por edad y sexo. Se reclutaron pacientes con MPPP del Servicio de Otorrinolaringología del Hospital Clínico de la Universidad de Chile entre los años 2020 y 2021. Se midió presencia subjetiva de miedo y taquicardia. Los escenarios se desarrollaron con el programa Blender 2.8 y Oculus Link para equipo Oculus Quest. Se utilizaron cinco escenarios a diferentes alturas (pisos 1, 3, 6, 12, 19). Resultados: Se reclutaron 20 sujetos (12 mujeres, 47 años en promedio), incluyendo 10 pacientes con MPPP y 10 controles sin síntomas vestibulares. Ningún sujeto del grupo control presentó miedo en los escenarios presentados, mientras que siete pacientes del grupo MPPP tuvieron miedo subjetivo a una altura menor a 40 metros virtuales (Fischer, p < 0,05). Conclusión: Los pacientes con MPPP presentan, con mayor frecuencia, miedo subjetivo a las alturas que los controles, pero se requiere de nuevos estudios para determinar si este miedo es específico de MPPP, o es general a otras causas de vértigo crónico.
Introduction: Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD) is one of the most common causes of chronic vertigo. While patients with PPPD have spatial perception alterations, it is unknown whether they present alterations in fear of heights. To avoid exposing patients with PPPD to high places, we aimed to use virtual reality to quantify fear of heights. Aim: To quantify fear of heights in patients with PPPD and controls using simulated environments with virtual reality. Material and Method: A prospective cross-sectional study of age- and sex-matched case-control pairs. PPPD patients were recruited from the Otolaryngology Service of the Clinical Hospital of the University of Chile between 2020 and 2021. Presence of subjective fear and tachycardia were measured. The scenarios were developed using Blender 2.8 and Oculus Link for the Oculus Quest. Five scenarios at different heights (floors 1, 3, 6, 12, 19) were used. Results: Twenty subjects were recruited (12 women, average age of 47 years), including 10 PPPD patients and 10 controls without vestibular symptoms. None of the control group subjects presented fear in the presented scenarios, while seven patients in the PPPD group had subjective fear at a height lower than virtual 40 meters (Fischer, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Patients with PPPD present a greater proportion of subjective fear to heights than controls, but further studies are required to determine if this fear is specific to PPPD or is general to other causes of chronic vertigo.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Aged , Young Adult , Posture/physiology , Vertigo/physiopathology , Dizziness/physiopathology , Virtual Reality , Motion Perception/physiology , Cross-Sectional StudiesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The prognostic role of intratumoral programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been investigated by several meta-analyses. However, the prognostic value of pretreatment peripheral PD-L1 (PPPD-L1) level in HCC remains undetermined. Thus, this systemic review aimed to establish PPPD-L1 as a new prognostic marker in HCC according to available evidence. METHODS: Case-control studies investigating the prognostic role of PPPD-L1 in HCC were systemically sought in the database of PubMed and Web of Science until March 25th, 2020. Our main concern is survival results, including overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and progression-free survival (PFS). The combined results were summarized in narrative form according to data extracted from each included study. RESULTS: Finally, nine studies published from 2011 to 2019, were incorporated into this systemic review. Among these, six studies evaluated the PD-L1 expression by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) from blood serum, and three studies evaluated the PD-L1 expression by flow cytometric analysis from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). According to the extracted evidence, high PPPD-L1 expression, measured in either blood serum or PBMC, is associated with poor OS, poor DFS, and poor PFS. Meanwhile, PPPD-L1 was also correlated with enlarged tumor size and more likely with advanced tumor stage as well as vascular invasion. CONCLUSION: High PPPD-L1 level is associated with increased mortality rate and increased recurrence rate in HCC. As a convenient serum marker, PPPD-L1 could be a promising marker of prognosis in HCC patients.