Sustainable Participation in Community Health Programs to Promote a Healthy Lifestyle and Prevent and Protect against Dementia among Rural Taiwanese Middle-Aged and Older Adults.

BACKGROUND: Resource and economic constraints limit access to health care in rural populations, and consequently, rates of chronic illnesses are higher in this population. Further, little is known about how rural populations adopt active and healthy lifestyle behavior for dementia prevention. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the impact of modification in lifestyle behaviors on changes in cognitive function among middle-aged and older adults living in a rural area of Taiwan. DESIGN: In this prospective longitudinal study, changes in lifestyle and cognitive function were compared between the experimental and control groups. SETTING: Six rural community care stations were randomly cluster sampled in southern Taiwan. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 155 participants were enrolled and classified into two groups according to their community activity participation rate (CAPR). The control group (n=68) had a CAPR < 1x/month, and the experimental group (n=87) had a CAPR ≥ 1x/month. MEASUREMENTS: Cognitive function of the participants was measured using the MMSE scale. Lifestyle behaviors were measured using a self-designed questionnaire based on the Transtheoretical Model. RESULTS: From 2018-2020, the experimental group successfully maintained a healthy lifestyle. The MMSE score in the experimental group was significantly higher in the 3rd year than that in the control group (25.37 vs 22.56, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Sustainable community participation and adopting a healthy lifestyle could effectively maintain the cognitive function of the study participants. However, more needs to be done to support rural older adults to maintain a healthy diet and control their weight.

COVID-19 and bone health.

A few patients who have recovered from COVID-19 develop persistent or new symptoms that last for weeks or months; this is called "long COVID" or "post-COVID-19 syndrome." Over time, awareness of the short- and long-term consequences of COVID-19 has increased. The pulmonary consequences are now fairly well established, but little is known about the extrapulmonary system of COVID-19, particularly its effects on bones. Current evidence and reports indicate a direct relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and bone health, with SARS-CoV-2 having a significant negative effect on bone health. In this review, we analyzed the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on bone health and assessed the impact of COVID-19 on the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis.

Endodontic considerations of survival rate for autotransplanted third molars: a nationwide population-based study.

AIM: To investigate whether the timing of root canal treatment (primary aim) or other endodontic parameters (secondary aim) is associated with the survival probability of autotransplanted third molars, using a nationwide population-based database. METHODOLOGY: A total of 1811 third molars autotransplanted between 2000 and 2013 met the inclusion criteria and were followed until the end of 2016. The teeth were classified into three groups on the basis of timing between root canal treatment and the autotransplantation: preoperative, extraoral and postoperative treatment groups. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the association between the timing of root canal treatment and the risk of tooth extraction after autotransplantation. RESULTS: Of the 1811 autotransplanted third molars, 462 were extracted, yielding a 17-year survival probability of 0.578. The survival probability of autotransplanted teeth that received postoperative root fillings after 17 years was 0.583, which was significantly higher than the 0.434 and 0.566 for teeth that received preoperative and extraoral root fillings, respectively (P = 0.0013). After adjustment for potential confounding factors, teeth that received postoperative root fillings were associated with a significantly lower tooth extraction hazard ratio (HR) compared with those that received extraoral root fillings (adjusted HR, 1.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14-1.78) and those that received preoperative root fillings (adjusted HR, 2.13; 95% CI, 1.19-3.82). Furthermore, the use of a rubber dam during postoperative root filling was associated with a significantly lower extraction rate after autotransplantation (adjusted HR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.43-0.69). CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative root canal treatment resulted in a significantly lower extraction rate than did preoperative or extraoral root canal treatment amongst autotransplanted third molars during a mean follow-up period of 8.33 years. Rubber dam use is recommended during postoperative root canal treatment to improve the outcomes of autotransplantation.

Prevention of Postdental Procedure Bacteremia: A Network Meta-analysis.

Postdental procedure bacteremia is common and troublesome. The comparative efficacy of multiple prophylactic interventions is unclear. We compared the efficacy of interventions for the prevention of postdental procedure bacteremia. We conducted a review of ClinicalKey, Cochrane CENTRAL, Embase, ProQuest, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov from inception to December 4, 2018. Randomized controlled trials that evaluated prophylactic interventions for the prevention of postdental procedure bacteremia were eligible. The primary outcome was the incidence of postdental procedure bacteremia. A total of 24 trials were included with 2,147 participants. Our network meta-analysis demonstrated that intravenous administration of 1,000/200 mg of amoxicillin/clavulanate provided the least incidence of postdental procedure bacteremia among all the prophylactic interventions (odds ratio = 0.03, 95% CI = 0.00 to 0.63) as compared with the placebo/controls. Oral 3 g of amoxicillin had the least incidence of postdental procedure bacteremia among all oral or topical forms of prophylactic interventions (odds ratio = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.02 to 0.44) as compared with the placebo/controls. No serious adverse events, such as anaphylactic shock, mortality, and the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, were reported. None of the included subjects were of high risk of infectious endocarditis. Our network meta-analysis demonstrates that intravenous amoxicillin/clavulanate and oral amoxicillin might be the best prophylactic interventions in preventing postdental procedure bacteremia among all the oral/topical forms of interventions for the overall populations.

HLA-A*26:160, a novel variant of HLA-A*26, discovered in a Taiwanese individual.

One nucleotide replacement at residue 755 of HLA-A*26:01:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-A*26:160.

HLA-B*40:400, a novel HLA-B*40 variant, identified in a Taiwanese individual.

One nucleotide substitution at residue 314 of HLA-B*40:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-B*40:400.

A possible association of HLA-C*07:18:01:01 and HLA-B*58:01.

HLA-C*07:18:01:01 is possibly in association on the same haplotype as HLA-B*58:01.

The novel HLA-DRB1*15:01:37 allele discovered in a Taiwanese individual.

One nucleotide substitution at residue 477 of HLA-DRB1*15:01:01:01 results in a new allele, HLA-DRB1*15:01:37.

Detection of a novel HLA-A*11 variant, A*11:292, in a Taiwanese individual.

One nucleotide substitution at residue 860 of HLA-A*11:01:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-A*11:292.

Detection of an HLA-C*03 variant, HLA-C*03:258, in a Taiwanese individual.

One nucleotide substitution at residue 506 of HLA-C*03:02:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-C*03:258.

Impact of Positive Donor-Specific HLA Antibodies Crossmatch on Graft Survival in ABO-Incompatible Liver-Kidney Transplantation: A Case Report.

We present a patient with positive donor-specific antibodies (DSA) and crossmatch of ABO-incompatible (ABOi) combined liver and kidney transplantation (CLKT). Antibody-mediated rejection did not occur and the graft had survived for over one year at the time of writing without infectious complications. A 56-year-old man with positive DSA and positive crossmatch underwent living donor CLKT. The preoperative protocol for ABOi consisted of a single dose of rituximab and total plasma exchange (TPE). The result of anti-B antibody titer for IgG was 1:32. The evaluations of complement-dependent cytotoxicity and flow cytometry cross-match revealed a change from T+/B+ to T-/B+. The patient required adult living donor CLKT. Acute rejection episodes were treated using antithymocyte globulin, and the kidney required 7 days' treatment to recover. No further rejection and infectious episodes have been observed in past 13 months since the transplant. DSA and crossmatches are important for antibody detection and analysis. In the rituximab era, TPE can be used to achieve a successful decrease in antibody titer. In countries with a severe shortage of cadaveric organ donors, it may be possible to select ABOi candidate donors with positive DSA and crossmatch.

The novel HLA-DRB1*15:158 allele discovered in a Taiwanese individual.

Three nucleotide substitutions in HLA-DRB1*15:01:01:01 result in a new allele, HLA-DRB1*15:158.

Discovery of HLA-B*58:92, a novel HLA-B*58 variant, in a Taiwanese individual.

One nucleotide substitution at residue 86 of HLA-B*58:01:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-B*58:92.

Detection of an HLA-C*03 variant, HLA-C*03:187, in a Taiwanese individual.

One nucleotide substitution at residue 527 of HLA-C*03:03:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-C*03:187.

HLA-A*24:386, a novel variant of HLA-A*24, discovered in a Taiwanese blood donor.

One nucleotide replacement at residue 181 of HLA-A*24:02:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-A*24:386.

The novel HLA-DRB1*15:149 allele discovered in a Taiwanese individual.

One nucleotide substitution at residue 85 of HLA-DRB1*15:02:01:01 results in a new allele, HLA-DRB1*15:149.

HLA-B*15:436, a novel variant of HLA-B*15, discovered in a Taiwanese individual.

Nucleotide substitutions in codons 43 and 45 of HLA-B*15:18:01:01 result in a new allele, HLA-B*15:436.

Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of preoperative serum epidermal growth factor levels in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) promotes tumourigenesis and tissue repair of epithelial and mesenchymal cells and has a role in chemotaxis, mitogenesis, cell motility, and cytoprotection. It also enhances the growth of cancers. EGF may therefore have a role in the initiation or promotion of oral carcinogenesis. The cases of 152 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma whose preoperative serum EGF level was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were analyzed retrospectively, along with those of 40 age- and sex-matched controls. Patients with higher levels of EGF were more likely to have neck lymph node metastasis (P=0.026), advanced stage cancer (P=0.04), and a worse survival status (P=0.0019). Multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model indicated that the EGF level was an independent predictor of poor survival (hazard ratio 1.99, P=0.018). Patients with higher preoperative serum EGF levels had significantly poorer cancer-specific survival by Kaplan-Meier analysis (P=0.032). This study indicates that a higher preoperative serum EGF level is associated with neck lymph node metastasis, more advanced stage, and poor survival. EGF should be considered as a potential prognostic biomarker and a therapeutic target for patients with oral cancer.

Identification of an HLA-B*27 variant, B*27:120, by sequence-based typing in a Taiwanese bone marrow stem cell donor.

One nucleotide substitution at residue 577 of HLA-B*27:04:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-B*27:120.

HLA-DQB1*03:01:40, an HLA-DQB1*03:01 variant, identified in a Taiwanese individual.

One nucleotide substitution at codon 106 of HLA-DQB1*03:01:01:01 results in a new allele, HLA-DQB1*03:01:40.