Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Zenker’S Diverticulum And Squamous Esophageal Cancer: A Case Report, Ion Dina, Octav Ginghina, Corina D. Toderescu, Cristian Bălălău, Bianca Galateanu, Carolina Negrei, Claudia Iacobescu

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Zenker’s diverticulum represents a rare esophageal lesion developed especially in the elderly population due to herniation of esophageal mucosa above the cricopharyngeus muscle. The condition leads to food retention, regurgitation, aspiration, and dysphagia in affected patients. Progressive dysphagia also characterizes malignant diseases of the esophagus like squamous esophageal carcinoma that typically appears in male patients in the seventh decade of life, with a history of cigarette smoking and alcohol abuse. We report a case of a male patient who presented with dysphagia for both solids and liquids along with significant weight loss, and who was diagnosed with medium esophageal cancer …

Therapeutic Challenges In A Case Of Psoriasis With Nail Onset, Mădălina I. Mitran, Cristina I. Mitran, Maria I. Sârbu, Vasile Benea, Mircea Tampa, Simona R. Georgescu

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Nail psoriasis affects a large number of patients with psoriasis and has a major psychosocial impact. Furthermore, it may be regarded as a predictor of more severe forms of psoriasis and early sign of psoriatic arthritis. The clinical presentations vary depending on the structure affected (nail matrix or nail bed), the nail lesions may range from minor to severe, but they are not specific. Treatment is a challenge, in most cases the lesions being resistant to therapy. We present a rare case of psoriasis with nail onset in a 59-year-old woman. The nail involvement confined to the fingernails was severe, …

Protective Role Of S-Adenosylmethionine Against Fructose-Induced Oxidative Damage In Obesity, Kameliya Zh Bratoeva, Mariya A. Radanova, Albena V. Merdzhanova, Ivan S. Donev

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Introduction. It has been shown that S-adenosylmethionine (S-AMe) stimulates glutathione synthesis and increases cell resistance to the cytotoxic action of free radicals and pro-inflammatory cytokines. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of S-adenosylmethionine on the oxidative stress in adipose tissue in a model of fructose-induced obesity. Methods. The study was performed on male Wistar rats divided into 3 groups: control, fructose fed (HFD) (35%, 16 weeks), and HFD + S-AMe (20 mg/kg). We examined the changes in the ratio of retroperitoneal adipose tissue weight / body weight; levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in …

Cesarean Scar Defects And Placental Abnormalities – A 3 Year Survey Study, Denisa Oana Bălălău, Nicolae Bacalbașa, Anca D. Stănescu

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

The placenta is an essential organ for embryonic and fetal development, ensuring nutrient uptake, gas exchange (via the mother's blood supply), waste elimination, thermo-regulation, immunological and hormonal factors, etc. The most common placental abnormalities are represented by placenta previa, and a morbidly adherent placenta (in the form of accreta, increta, and percreta placenta). This study was performed on a sample of 99 patients diagnosed with abnormalities of placentation who underwent cesarian delivery during a period of 3 years in Bucur Maternity Hospital. Seven patients were diagnosed with morbidly adherent placenta (5 accreta and 2 percreta subtypes), the others having placenta …

Emergency Surgery And Limitation Of Therapeutic Effort In Relation To Neurologic Deterioration In Elderly Patients – A Survey Of European Surgeons, Mihai Paduraru, Luca Ponchietti, Isidro M. Casas, Jorge Pereira, Aitor Landaluce-Olavarria, Diego Mariani

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Background. In emergency surgery, a very heterogeneous approach is required in the decision making process, especially when considering the patient’s postoperative quality of life as well as medical, ethical, and legal factors. In some cases, the presence of an Advance Directive (AD) form may potentially help resolve the surgeon’s dilemma. Objectives. The primary objective of this survey was to investigate the opinions of surgeons across a representative cross-section of European countries regarding the decision making process using a specific case scenario so as to identify similarities and differences in practice. A secondary objective was to identify the possibility of establishing …

Is There A Utility For Qrs Dispersion In Clinical Practice?, Ionuț Donoiu, Georgică Costinel Târtea, Elibet Chávez-González

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Prognostic markers derived from standard ECG have always been seductive. Increased dispersion of durations of the P wave, of the QRS complex, or of the QT interval has been associated with the risk of atrial fibrillation, ventricular arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death, as well as with a general negative prognosis in various settings. However, these markers have intrinsic and methodological issues that question their utility. This paper presents data supporting the utility of QRS dispersion in clinical practice. Our investigation shows that QRS dispersion is a simple electrocardiographic marker with potential value in the assessment of patients in a variety of …

Finasteride As A Model For Personalized Medicine, Ion G. Motofei, David L. Rowland, Ioana Păunică, Octavian C. Tănăsescu, Petrişor Banu, Stana Păunică

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

The side effects of Finasteride are currently a subject of controversy. Some studies report minor or acceptable adverse effects, which decrease after a variable period of time so that they do not necessitate terminating Finasteride administration. However, several clinical and neuro-endocrine studies show that some adverse effects persist indefinitely in the form of post-Finasteride syndrome, even after the drug cessation. This paper presents a possible explanation for these inconsistent findings. First, the study design of either informing or not informing patients prior therapy about possible adverse effects can influence the incidence and magnitude of reported adverse effects. Second, structural and …

Psycho-Physiologic Emergentism; Four Minds In A Body, David L. Rowland, Ion G. Motofei

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

The mind-body problem represents one of the most debated topics in the neurosciences. From a psychological standpoint, abstract/non-material data are an intrinsic part of the mind, intervening to a large extent in reasoning and decision making processes. Imaging studies also show a strong correlation between higher cognitive functions (such as working memory) and specific cerebral brain regions (a fronto-parietal network of interacting left and right brain areas). In contrast, the physical/material brain would be unable to interact with abstract-immaterial data, such that the psychological processing of abstract data (processes such as thinking, reasoning, and judgment) is attributed to the mind, …

Melatonin Modulates Inflammatory Response And Suppresses Burn-Induced Apoptotic Injury, Ganka Bekyarova, Milena Atanasova, Maria Tzaneva, Anelia Dimitrova

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Introduction: Melatonin, the principal secretory product of the pineal gland, has antioxidant functions as a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger. Objectives of the present study were to investigate the effect of melatonin against inflammatory response, burn-induced oxidative damage and apoptotic changes of rat liver. Methods: Melatonin (10 mg /kg, i.p.) was applied immediately after 30% of total body surface area (TBSA) burns on male Wistar rats. The level of malondialdehyde (MDA) as a marker of an oxidative stress was quantified by thiobarbituric method. Hepatic TNFα and IL-10 as inflammatory markers were assayed by ELISA. Using light immunоchistochemistry …

Natural Killer (Nk) Cells And Their Involvement In Different Types Of Cancer. Current Status Of Clinical Research, Isadora Zaharescu, Adina D. Moldovan, Cristiana Tanase

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Natural killer cells are the main agents of innate immunity. Since 1970, various studies have repeatedly confirmed their involvement in decreasing local tumor growth and also decreasing the risk of metastasis, due to their cytotoxic effects and also through the release of immunostimulatory cytokines such as IFN-gamma. In the 1990s, several studies demonstrated the existence of certain inhibiting and stimulating receptors of these cells, leading to the concept of “induced self”, thus explaining why tumors with MHC-1 are destroyed and autologous cells without it are saved out. Recognition and destruction of tumor cells by the NK cells are the result …

Informational Dichotomy Of The Mind; The Role Of Sexual Neuromodulators, Ion G. Motofei, David L. Rowland

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Many basic physiological mechanisms of sexuality were initially studied on animal subjects and conclusions regarding human subjects extrapolated afterward. These ancestral reflexes are assumed to have ascended during human evolution to the cerebral level, where cognition would intermediate (being an environmental operator) both sexual and mental processes. Accordingly, the study of human sexuality suggests an additional/ particular documentation regarding mental existence and its implication, phenomena that are not characteristic of animals.

In a previously published paper we presented ideas regarding the structural dichotomy of the mind and its subsequent implications to sexuality. In this paper we present a general perspective …