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Deep Learning Technology: Sebastian Arnold, Betty van Aken, Paul Grundmann, Felix A. Gers and Alexander Löser. Learning Contextualized Document Representations for Healthcare Answer Retrieval. The Web Conference 2020 (WWW'20)
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The risk of aneurysm enlargement may be diminished with attention to the patient's blood pressure, smoking and cholesterol levels. There have been proposals to introduce ultrasound scans as a screening tool for those most at risk: men over the age of 65. The tetracycline antibiotic doxycycline is currently being investigated for use as a potential drug in the prevention of aortic aneurysm due to its metalloproteinase inhibitor and collagen stabilizing properties. In contrast, fluoroquinolones antibiotics are being investigated as a potential contributor to aortic aneurysms, given their tendency to break down collagen fibrils.
Anacetrapib is a cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitor that raises high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and reduces low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.
Anacetrapib reduces progression of atherosclerosis, mainly by reducing non-HDL-cholesterol, improves lesion stability and adds to the beneficial effects of atorvastatin
Elevating the amount of HDL cholesterol in the abdominal area of the aortic artery in mice both reduced the size of aneurysms that had already grown and prevented abdominal aortic aneurysms from forming at all. In short, raising HDL cholesterol is beneficial because it induces programmed cell death. The walls of a failing aorta are replaced and strengthened. New lesions should not form at all when using this drug.
Conservative management is indicated in people where repair carries a high risk of mortality and in patients where repair is unlikely to improve life expectancy. The mainstay of the conservative treatment is smoking cessation.
Surveillance is indicated in small asymptomatic aneurysms (less than 5.5 cm) where the risk of repair exceeds the risk of rupture. As an AAA grows in diameter, the risk of rupture increases. Surveillance until an aneurysm has reached a diameter of 5.5 cm has not been shown to have a higher risk as compared to early intervention.
Historically, the treatment of arterial aneurysms has been limited to either surgical intervention, or watchful waiting in combination with control of blood pressure. In recent years, endovascular or minimally invasive techniques have been developed for many types of aneurysms. Aneurysm Clips are used for surgical procedure i.e. clipping of aneurysms.
The treatment options for asymptomatic AAA are management, surveillance with a view to eventual repair, and immediate repair. Two modes of repair are available for an AAA: open aneurysm repair, and endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). An intervention is often recommended if the aneurysm grows more than 1 cm per year or it is bigger than 5.5 cm. Repair is also indicated for symptomatic aneurysms.
The size cut off for aortic aneurysm is crucial to its treatment. A thoracic aorta greater than 4.5 cm is generally defined as aneurysmal, while a size greater than 6 cm is the distinction for treatment, which can be either endovascular or surgical, with the former reserved for pathology at the descending aorta.
Indication for surgery may depend upon the size of the aneurysm. Aneurysms in the ascending aorta may require surgery at a smaller size than aneurysms in the descending aorta.
Treatment may be via open or via endovascular means.
Incidence rates of cranial aneurysms are estimated at between 0.4% and 3.6%. Those without risk factors have expected prevalence of 2–3%. In adults, females are more likely to have aneurysms. They are most prevalent in people ages 35 – 60, but can occur in children as well. Aneurysms are rare in children with a reported prevalence of .5% to 4.6%. The most common incidence are among 50-year-olds, and there are typically no warning signs. Most aneurysms develop after the age of 40.
Surgery (open or endovascular) is the definite treatment of an aortic aneurysm. Medical therapy is typically reserved for smaller aneurysms or for elderly, frail patients where the risks of surgical repair exceed the risks of non-operative therapy (observation alone).
Vein of Galen malformations are devastating complications. Studies have shown that 77% of untreated cases result in mortality. Even after surgical treatment, the mortality rate remains as high as 39.4%. Most cases occur during infancy when the mortality rates are at their highest. Vein of Galen malformations are a relatively unknown affliction, attributed to the rareness of the malformations. Therefore, when a child is diagnosed with a faulty Great Cerebral Vein of Galen, most parents know little to nothing about what they are dealing with. To counteract this, support sites have been created which offer information, advice, and a community of support to the afflicted (, ).
Emergency treatment for individuals with a ruptured cerebral aneurysm generally includes restoring deteriorating respiration and reducing intracranial pressure. Currently there are two treatment options for securing intracranial aneurysms: surgical clipping or endovascular coiling. If possible, either surgical clipping or endovascular coiling is usually performed within the first 24 hours after bleeding to occlude the ruptured aneurysm and reduce the risk of rebleeding.
While a large meta-analysis found the outcomes and risks of surgical clipping and endovascular coiling to be statistically similar, no consensus has been reached. In particular, the large randomised control trial International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial appears to indicate a higher rate of recurrence when intracerebral aneurysms are treated using endovascular coiling. Analysis of data from this trial has indicated a 7% lower eight-year mortality rate with coiling, a high rate of aneurysm recurrence in aneurysms treated with coiling—from 28.6-33.6% within a year, a 6.9 times greater rate of late retreatment for coiled aneurysms, and a rate of rebleeding 8 times higher than surgically-clipped aneurysms.
Treatment for brain AVMs can be symptomatic, and patients should be followed by a neurologist for any seizures, headaches, or focal neurologic deficits. AVM-specific treatment may also involve endovascular embolization, neurosurgery or radiosurgery.
Embolization, that is, cutting off the blood supply to the AVM with coils, particles, acrylates, or polymers introduced by a radiographically guided catheter, may be used in addition to neurosurgery or radiosurgery, but is rarely successful in isolation except in smaller AVMs. Gamma knife may also be used.
Aneurysms can be treated by clipping the base of the aneurysm with a specially-designed clip. Whilst this is typically carried out by craniotomy, a new endoscopic endonasal approach is being trialled. Surgical clipping was introduced by Walter Dandy of the Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1937
After clipping, a catheter angiogram or CTA can be performed to confirm complete clipping.
Head circumference measurements should be obtained regularly and monitored carefully to detect hydrocephalus. Neurosurgical procedures to relieve hydrocephalus are important. A ventriculoperitoneal shunt may be required in some infants. A pediatric cardiologist should be consulted to manage high-output failure, if present. Often patients need to be intubated. In most cases, the fistulous arteries feeding into the Vein of Galen must be blocked, thereby reducing the blood flow into the vein. Open surgery has a high morbidity and mortality. Recent advances over the past few decades have made endovascular embolization the preferred method of treatment. These treatments are preferred because they offer little threat to the surrounding brain tissue. However, there have been several reported cases of arteriovenous malformations recurring. The young age of many patients, the complex vascular anatomy, and the sensitive location of the Vein of Galen offer considerable challenges to surgeons. Another treatment option is Radiotherapy. Radiotherapy, also called radiosurgery, involves the use of focused beams to damage the blood vessel. Radiotherapy is often not pursued as a treatment because the effects of the procedure can take months or years and there is risk of damaging adjacent brain tissue.
Each year in the United States, some 45,000 people die from diseases of the aorta and its branches. Acute aortic dissection, a life-threatening event due to a tear in the aortic wall, affects 5 to 10 patients per million population each year, most often men between the ages of 50 and 70; of those that occur in women younger than 40, nearly half arise during pregnancy. The majority of these deaths occur as a result of complications of thoracic aneurysmal disease.
For newborns with transposition, prostaglandins can be given to keep the ductus arteriosus open which allows mixing of the otherwise isolated pulmonary and systemic circuits. Thus oxygenated blood that recirculates back to the lungs can mix with blood that circulates throughout the body. The arterial switch operation is the definitive treatment for dextro- transposition. Rarely the arterial switch is not feasible due to particular coronary artery anatomy and an atrial switch operation is preferred.
Manual carotid self compression is a controversial treatment for DAVF. Patients using this method are told to compress the carotid with the opposite hand for approximately 10 minutes daily, and gradually increasing the frequency and duration of compression. Currently, it is unclear whether this method is an effective therapy.
It is unclear whether stenting or open surgery is a better for those with aneurysms that are not causing symptoms.
Some people live with this type of aneurysm for many years without any specific treatment. Treatment is limited to surgery (ventricular reduction) for this defect of the heart. However, surgery is not required in most cases but, limiting the patient's physical activity levels to lower the risk of making the aneurysm bigger is advised. Also ACE Inhibitors seem to prevent Left Ventricular remodeling and aneurysm formation.
Blood thinning agents may be given to help reduce the likelihood of blood thickening and clots forming, along with the use of drugs to correct the irregular rhythm of the heart (seen on the electrocardiogram)
Despite many years of research, the central question of whether to treat AVMs has not been answered. All treatments, whether involving surgery, radiation, or drugs, have risks and side-effects. Therefore, it might be better in some cases to avoid treatment altogether and simply accept a small risk of coming to harm from the AVM itself. This question is currently being addressed in clinical trials.
One approach used for treatment is embolization. A six-vessel angiogram is employed to determine the vascular supply to the fistula. Detachable coils, liquid embolic agents like NBCA, and onyx, or combinations of both are injected into the blood vessel to occlude the DAVF. Preoperative embolization can also be used to supplement surgery.
Simple l-TGA has a very good prognosis, with many individuals being asymptomatic and not requiring surgical correction.
In a number of cases, the (technically challenging) "double switch operation" has been successfully performed to restore the normal blood flow through the ventricles.
Although the exact cause is unknown, some risk factors associated with individuals with IAA are:
Tobacco Use: Cigarette smoking and other forms of tobacco use appear to increase your risk of aortic aneurysms. In addition to the damaging effects that smoking causes directly to the arteries, smoking contributes to the buildup of fatty plaques in your arteries (atherosclerosis) and high blood pressure. Smoking can also cause your aneurysm to grow faster by further damaging your aorta.
Hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). Atherosclerosis occurs when fat and other substances build up on the lining of a blood vessel, increasing your risk of an aneurysm.
Infection in the aorta (vasculitis). In rare cases, abdominal aortic aneurysm may be caused by an infection or inflammation that weakens a section of the aortic wall.
IIAs are uncommon, accounting for 2.6% to 6% of all intracranial aneurysms in autopsy studies.
Inflammatory aortic aneurysm (IAA), also known as Inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysm (IAAA), is a type of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) where the walls of the aneurysm become thick and inflamed. Similar to AAA, IAA occurs in the abdominal region. IAA is closely associated and believed to be a response to and extensive peri-anuerysmal fibrosis, which is the formation of excess fibrous connective tissue in an organ or tissue in a reparative or reactive process IAA accounts for 5-10% of aortic aneurysms. IAA is occurs mainly in a population that is on average younger by 10 years than most AAA patients. Some common symptoms of IAA may include back pain, abdominal tenderness, fevers, weight loss or elevated Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) levels. Corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive drugs have been found to decrease symptoms and the degree of peri-aortic inflammation and fibrosis
Treatment depends on the location and size of the AVM and whether there is bleeding or not.
The treatment in the case of sudden bleeding is focused on restoration of vital function. Anticonvulsant medications such as phenytoin are often used to control seizure; medications or procedures may be employed to relieve intracranial pressure. Eventually, curative treatment may be required to prevent recurrent hemorrhage. However, any type of intervention may also carry a risk of creating a neurological deficit.
Preventive treatment of as yet unruptured brain AVMs has been controversial, as several studies suggested favorable long-term outcome for unruptured AVM patients not undergoing intervention. The NIH-funded longitudinal ARUBA study ("A Randomized trial of Unruptured Brain AVMs) compares the risk of stroke and death in patients with preventive AVM eradication versus those followed without intervention. Interim results suggest that fewer strokes occur as long as patients with unruptured AVM do not undergo intervention. Because of the higher than expected event rate in the interventional arm of the ARUBA study, NIH/NINDS stopped patient enrollment in April 2013, while continuing to follow all participants to determine whether the difference in stroke and death in the two arms changes over time.
Surgical elimination of the blood vessels involved is the preferred curative treatment for many types of AVM. Surgery is performed by a neurosurgeon who temporarily removes part of the skull (craniotomy), separates the AVM from surrounding brain tissue, and resects the abnormal vessels. While surgery can result in an immediate, complete removal of the AVM, risks exist depending on the size and the location of the malformation. The AVM must be resected en bloc, for partial resection will likely cause severe hemorrhage. The preferred treatment of Spetzler-Martin grade 1 and 2 AVMs in young, healthy patients is surgical resection due to the relatively small risk of neurological damage compared to the high lifetime risk of hemorrhage. Grade 3 AVMs may or may not be amenable to surgery. Grade 4 and 5 AVMs are not usually surgically treated.
Radiosurgery has been widely used on small AVMs with considerable success. The Gamma Knife is an apparatus used to precisely apply a controlled radiation dosage to the volume of the brain occupied by the AVM. While this treatment does not require an incision and craniotomy (with their own inherent risks), three or more years may pass before the complete effects are known, during which time patients are at risk of bleeding. Complete obliteration of the AVM may or may not occur after several years, and repeat treatment may be needed. Radiosurgery is itself not without risk. In one large study, nine percent of patients had transient neurological symptoms, including headache, after radiosurgery for AVM. However, most symptoms resolved, and the long-term rate of neurological symptoms was 3.8%.
Embolization is performed by interventional neuroradiologists and the occlusion of blood vessels most commonly is obtained with Ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (Onyx) or N-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA). These substances are introduced by a radiographically guided catheter, and block vessels responsible for blood flow into the AVM. Embolization is frequently used as an adjunct to either surgery or radiation treatment. Embolization reduces the size of the AVM and during surgery it reduces the risk of bleeding. However, embolization alone may completely obliterate some AVMs. In high flow intranidal fistulas balloons can also be used to reduce the flow so that embolization can be done safely.
A popliteal aneurysm is a bulging (aneurysm) of the popliteal artery. People with popliteal aneurysms rarely have symptoms, and they are typically discovered during a routine physical examination. The cause of these aneurysms is unknown, but they are more common in older people and men and occur in both legs about 50% of the time.