Longitudinal changes in mental health outcomes after COVID-19 hospitalization: A prospective study.

BACKGROUND: The long-term trends of COVID-19 mental sequelae remain unknown. Thus, this study aimed to survey the one-year temporal trends of PTSD and health-related quality of life of COVID-19 survivors. METHODS: Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were followed up at three, six, and 12 months after discharge. Patients with COVID-19 who were able to communicate and complete the questionnaires were included in the study. All participants were asked to complete the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health (SF-36) survey and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). The cutoff point of 24/25 of IES-R was defined as preliminary PTSD. Patients exhibiting PTSD symptoms at six months or later were regarded as "delayed patients," while those exhibiting PTSD symptoms at all the time points were "persistent patients." RESULTS: Of the 98 patients screened between June and November 2020, 72 participated in the study. A total of 11 (15.3%) had preliminary PTSD at three months, 10 (13.9%) at six months, and 10 (13.9%) at 12 months; delayed and persistent patients were four patients (7.54%) each. Patients with preliminary PTSD had lower mental summary scores in SF-36; 47 (IQR 45, 53) for patients with preliminary PTSD and 60 (49, 64) without preliminary PTSD at three months, 50 (45, 51) and 58 (52, 64) at six months, and 46 (38, 52) and 59 (52, 64) at 12 months. CONCLUSION: Healthcare providers should care about the courses of PTSD in COVID-19 survivors and be aware that patients with PTSD symptoms may have a lower health-related quality of life.

Visualization of orthodontic forces generated by aligner-type appliances.

Recently, the number of patients who request esthetically pleasing aligner-type orthodontic appliances (referred to as aligners) has been increasing. However, the orthodontic forces generated by these aligners are still unknown. This study aimed to verify whether the orthodontic force in aligners can be estimated by measuring near infrared 2D birefringence, and to visualize the orthodontic force. We measured the mechanical and photoelastic properties of transparent orthodontic thermoplastic specimens to correlate the optical retardation with the applied load. The results confirmed equivalence between the mechanical properties and the photoelasticity. In addition, the 2D retardation distribution that occurred when stress was applied to the sample was mapped and visualized. This indicates that it is possible to estimate and visualize the orthodontic force using the retardation obtained by near infrared 2D birefringence measurement.

Gastrointestinal perforation following dabrafenib and trametinib administration in non-small cell lung carcinoma with BRAF V600E mutation: a case report and literature review.

Gastrointestinal perforation related to mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) inhibitors has been reported previously; however, there has been no case report of such a condition in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Herein, we report a case of small intestinal perforation secondary to dabrafenib and trametinib administration, but not related to tumor regression. A 62-year-old man with non-small cell lung cancer harboring BRAF V600E mutation was treated with dabrafenib and trametinib. Four months after the initiation of treatment, a small intestinal perforation was diagnosed. Dabrafenib and trametinib rechallenge was performed after gastrointestinal perforation. The patient responded well to therapy and did not experience recurrence of gastrointestinal perforation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of gastrointestinal perforation in a patient with NSCLC treated with a MEK inhibitor. The mechanism and risk factors of trametinib-induced perforation are currently unknown. Physicians should be aware of such severe gastrointestinal side effects of trametinib.

Skin regeneration of amphibians: A novel model for skin regeneration as adults.

Adult mammals do not regenerate the dermis of the skin but form a scar after a deep skin injury. Since a scar causes serious medical problems, skin regeneration, instead of formation of a scar, has been strongly desired from a clinical point of view. Recent studies have suggested multiple origins of myofibroblasts, which are scar-forming cells in skin wound healing of mammals. While amphibians have skin structures that are basically common to mammals as tetrapods, both urodele and anuran amphibians regenerate almost complete skin structures including the dermis and secretion glands without forming a remarkable scar after a deep skin injury. In skin regeneration of a metamorphosed Xenopus laevis, an amphibian, cells that resemble limb blastema cells accumulate under the epidermis after injury and cells from subcutaneous tissues (tissues underlying the skin) contribute to skin regeneration. The skin of urodele amphibians and that of anuran amphibians provide valuable models for studying skin regeneration as adults. Recent progress in transgenesis and genome editing techniques with whole genome sequencing in Xenopus and an axolotl have enabled comparative analyses by molecular genetics of mammal skin and amphibian skin. Such comparative analyses would enable direct comparison of scar-forming myofibroblasts in mammals and blastema-like cells that contribute to skin regeneration in amphibians, ultimately leading to realization of skin regeneration in adult mammals. Amphibian skin regeneration will also be useful for determining how to step up skin regeneration to a higher level of regeneration such as limb regeneration in the future.