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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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There is currently no specific treatment for megalencephaly, however periodic head measurements may be assessed to determine the rate of brain growth.
Those individuals who develop neurological disorders may be prescribed anti-epileptic drugs for seizures. Studies have shown that reducing epilepsy can increase cell apoptosis and reduce the proliferation of neurons that ultimately leads to brain overgrowth.
Since there are very few treatment methods focused on managing megalencephaly, future research is targeted at inhibiting mutation of the pathway. However, this next step could be met with several complications as understanding the underlying mechanism of the mutation is a difficult task. The genetic coding that initiates a single mutation is sporadic and patterns are hard to detect in many cases.
Even thought very little research has been done to create inhibitors of the PI3K-AKT pathway, several pharmaceutical companies have begun to focus their interests in designing a prevention method for this purpose.
Management entails careful examination and monitoring for malignant degenerations. Surgical interventions can correct or minimize deformities.
Treatment is only necessary if the degree of curvature is sufficient to cause disability or if it causes emotional distress. Splinting does not routinely correct the deformity. Surgical treatments are closing wedge osteotomy, opening wedge osteotomy, and reversed wedge osteotomy. Radiographs of the fingers are useful in planning the surgical procedure. Severe clinodactyly may require soft tissue alterations to the digit such as release of skin, extensor tendon relocation, and collateral ligament advancement.
The first aims of management should be to identify and treat the cause of the condition, where this is possible, and to relieve the patient's symptoms, where present. In children, who rarely appreciate diplopia, the aim will be to maintain binocular vision and, thus, promote proper visual development.
Thereafter, a period of observation of around 9 to 12 months is appropriate before any further intervention, as some palsies will recover without the need for surgery.
This is most commonly achieved through the use of fresnel prisms. These slim flexible plastic prisms can be attached to the patient's glasses, or to plano glasses if the patient has no refractive error, and serve to compensate for the inward misalignment of the affected eye. Unfortunately, the prism only correct for a fixed degree of misalignment and, because the affected individual's degree of misalignment will vary depending upon their direction of gaze, they may still experience diplopia when looking to the affected side. The prisms are available in different strengths and the most appropriate one can be selected for each patient. However, in patients with large deviations, the thickness of the prism required may reduce vision so much that binocularity is not achievable. In such cases it may be more appropriate simply to occlude one eye temporarily. Occlusion would never be used in infants though both because of the risk of inducing stimulus deprivation amblyopia and because they do not experience diplopia.
Other management options at this initial stage include the use of botulinum toxin, which is injected into the ipsilateral medial rectus (botulinum toxin therapy of strabismus). The use of BT serves a number of purposes. Firstly, it helps to prevent the contracture of the medial rectus which might result from its acting unopposed for a long period. Secondly, by reducing the size of the deviation temporarily it might allow prismatic correction to be used where this was not previously possible, and, thirdly, by removing the pull of the medial rectus it may serve to reveal whether the palsy is partial or complete by allowing any residual movement capability of the lateral rectus to operate. Thus, the toxin works both therapeutically, by helping to reduce symptoms and enhancing the prospects for fuller ocular movements post-operatively, and diagnostically, by helping to determine the type of operation most appropriate for each patient.
Hemihypertrophy, now more commonly referred to as hemihyperplasia in the medical literature, is a condition in which one side of the body or a part of one side of the body is larger than the other to an extent considered greater than the normal variation. As it is difficult to establish a set clinical criteria for diagnosis of hemihyperplasia, the dictum is often used that the clinician should be able to see the asymmetry "from the end of the bed".
Hemihyperplasia is a congenital overgrowth disorder and the asymmetry can range from mild to severe. It is important to establish a diagnosis because hemihyperplasia is associated with an increased risk for embryonal tumors, mainly Wilms tumor and hepatoblastoma. Due to the heightened tumor risk, there is a tumor screening protocol that is recommended for all children with isolated hemihyperplasia and Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome. Some of the other syndromes associated with hemihyperplasia may also follow this tumor surveillance protocol. The recommended tumor surveillance protocol is:
1. Any child with suspected isolated hemihyperplasia should be referred to a clinical geneticist for evaluation.
2. Abdominal ultrasound every 3 months until 7 years
3. Serum alpha fetoprotein measurement every 3 months until 4 years
4. Daily caretaker abdominal examination at the discretion of the provider/parent
In some cases, children with hemihyperplasia may have different leg lengths. There are two main surgical options for the treatment of uneven leg lengths- shortening and lengthening. Epiphysiodesis, which involves removing part of the growth plate of the longer leg, allowing the shorter leg to "catch up", may be performed on patients still able to grow. Bone resection is performed on patients who have no growth left and involves removing part of the bone. Leg lengthening procedures are more painful, involving the insertion of pins to be turned, moving parts of the bone apart (Ilizarov's Method). This process is reserved mainly for patients with a discrepancy greater than 4 cm, although some leg lengthening procedures are now done cosmetically. Non-surgical options include attachment of a lift to the shoe, allowing the patient to walk normally.
Children with hemihypertrophy may also develop scoliosis, a curvature of the spine.
Hemifacial hyperplasia is believed to be a minor form of hemihypertrophy.
Treatments for Glycerol Kinase Deficiency are targeted to treat the symptoms because there are no permanent treatments for this disease. The main way to treat these symptoms is by using corticosteroids, glucose infusion, or mineralocorticoids. Corticosteroids are steroid hormones that are naturally produced in the adrenal glands. These hormones regulate stress responses, carbohydrate metabolism, blood electrolyte levels, as well as other uses. The mineralocorticoids, such as aldosterone control many electrolyte levels and allow the kidneys to retain sodium. Glucose infusion is coupled with insulin infusion to monitor blood glucose levels and keep them stable.
Due to the multitude of varying symptoms of this disease, there is no specific treatment that will cure this disease altogether. The symptoms can be treated with many different treatments and combinations of medicines to try to find the correct combination to offset the specific symptoms. Everyone with Glycerol Kinase Deficiency has varying degrees of symptoms and thereby requires different medicines to be used in combination to treat the symptoms; however, this disease is not curable and the symptoms can only be managed, not treated fully.
Benign hereditary chorea (BHC), also known as benign familial chorea, is a rare autosomal dominant neurogenetic syndrome. It typically presents in childhood with isolated chorea. Unlike other neurogenetic causes of chorea such as Huntington's disease, BHC is not progressive, and not associated with cognitive decline or psychiatric problems in the vast majority of cases.
BHC is caused by a single-nucleotide insertion mutation in "TITF1", which encodes thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1). This gene is also known as NK2 homeobox 1 (NKX2-1)
In some cases, additional developmental abnormalities of lung and thyroid tissue are found in BHC, leading to the suggested alternative name "brain-lung-thyroid syndrome".
Hypoglossia is a short, incompletely developed tongue. It can occur either as an isolated malformation or in association with other deformities, particularly limb defects in a syndrome known as "oromandibular limb hypogenesis syndrome".
Sporadic hemiplegic migraine (SHM) is a form of hemiplegic migraine headache isolated cases of which are observed. It is a rare disease. It is considered to be a separate type of migraine.
Aniridia is the absence of the iris, usually involving both eyes. It can be congenital or caused by a penetrant injury. Isolated aniridia is a congenital disorder which is not limited to a defect in iris development, but is a panocular condition with macular and optic nerve hypoplasia, cataract, and corneal changes. Vision may be severely compromised and the disorder is frequently associated with a number of ocular complications: nystagmus, amblyopia, buphthalmos, and cataract. Aniridia in some individuals occurs as part of a syndrome, such as WAGR syndrome (kidney nephroblastoma (Wilms tumour), genitourinary anomalies and intellectual disability), or Gillespie syndrome (cerebellar ataxia).
Acute GPP typically requires inpatient management including both topical and systemic therapy, and supportive measures. Systemic glucocorticoid withdrawal is a common causative agent. Withdrawal or administration of certain drugs in the patient's previous medication regimen may be required. Oral retinoids are the most effective treatment, and are considered first line. Cyclosporine or infliximab may be required for particularly acute cases.
Sporadic hemiplegic migraine (SHM) has clinical symptoms identical to familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) and distinct from migraine with aura. By definition the neurodeficits are supposed to be reversible. However, some cases with permanent neurological deficits have also been noted.
There is no consensus on what degree of angulation justifies a diagnosis, an incline between 15° and 30° is typical. A similar-sounding term, camptodactyly, is a fixed flexion deformity of a digit.
Adermatoglyphia is an extremely rare genetic disorder which causes a person to have no fingerprints. There are only four known extended families worldwide which are affected by this condition.
In 2011, the description of a case of a person from Switzerland lacking fingerprints as an isolated finding was published. The phenotype was mapped to chromosome 4q22. In the splice-site of a 3' exon of the gene for SMARCAD1-helicase, a point mutation was detected. It results in a shortened form of the skin-specific protein. The heterozygous mode of mutation suggests an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance.
Other conditions can cause a lack of fingerprints, but unlike them, adermatoglyphia has no other side effects. Mutations in helicases are involved in other rare genetic diseases, for instance Werner syndrome.
Males and females may be treated with hormone replacement therapy (i.e., with androgens and estrogens, respectively), which will result in normal sexual development and resolve most symptoms. In the case of 46,XY (genetically male) individuals who are phenotypically female and/or identify as the female gender, they should be treated with estrogens instead. Removal of the undescended testes should be performed in 46,XY females to prevent their malignant degeneration, whereas in 46,XY males surgical correction of the genitals is generally required, and, if necessary, an orchidopexy (relocation of the undescended testes to the scrotum) may be performed as well. Namely in genetic females presenting with ovarian cysts, GnRH analogues may be used to control high FSH and LH levels if they are unresponsive to estrogens.
Maffucci syndrome is a sporadic disease characterized by the presence of multiple enchondromas associated with multiple hemangiomas. Also lymphangiomas may be apparent.
Aniridia may be broadly divided into hereditary and sporadic forms. Hereditary aniridia is usually transmitted in an autosomal dominant manner (each offspring has a 50% chance of being affected), although rare autosomal recessive forms (such as Gillespie syndrome) have also been reported. Sporadic aniridia mutations may affect the WT1 region adjacent to the AN2 aniridia region, causing a kidney cancer called nephroblastoma (Wilms tumor). These patients often also have genitourinary abnormalities and intellectual disability (WAGR syndrome).
Several different mutations may affect the PAX6 gene. Some mutations appear to inhibit gene function more than others, with subsequent variability in the severity of the disease. Thus, some aniridic individuals are only missing a relatively small amount of iris, do not have foveal hypoplasia, and retain relatively normal vision. Presumably, the genetic defect in these individuals causes less "heterozygous insufficiency," meaning they retain enough gene function to yield a milder phenotype.
- AN
- Aniridia and absent patella
- Aniridia, microcornea, and spontaneously reabsorbed cataract
- Aniridia, cerebellar ataxia, and mental deficiency (Gillespie syndrome)
A Posterior Circulation Infarct (POCI) is a type of cerebral infarction affecting the posterior circulation supplying one side of the brain.
Posterior Circulation Stroke Syndrome (POCS) refers to the symptoms of a patient who clinically appears to have had a posterior circulation infarct, but who has not yet had any diagnostic imaging (e.g. CT Scan) to confirm the diagnosis.
It can cause the following symptoms:
- Cranial nerve palsy AND contralateral motor/sensory defect
- motor or sensory defect
- Eye movement problems (e.g.nystagmus)
- Cerebellar dysfunction
- Isolated homonymous hemianopia
It has also been associated with deafness.
The ideal treatment for IgAN would remove IgA from the glomerulus and prevent further IgA deposition. This goal still remains a remote prospect. There are a few additional caveats that have to be considered while treating IgA nephropathy. IgA nephropathy has a very variable course, ranging from a benign recurrent hematuria up to a rapid progression to chronic kidney failure. Hence the decision on which patients to treat should be based on the prognostic factors and the risk of progression. Also, IgA nephropathy recurs in transplants despite the use of ciclosporin, azathioprine or mycophenolate mofetil and steroids in these patients. There are persisting uncertainties, due to the limited number of patients included in the few controlled randomized studies performed to date, which hardly produce statistically significant evidence regarding the heterogeneity of IgA nephropathy patients, the diversity of study treatment protocols, and the length of follow-up.
Patients with isolated hematuria, proteinuria < 1 g/day and normal renal function have a benign course and are generally just followed up annually. In cases where tonsillitis is the precipitating factor for episodic hematuria, tonsillectomy has been claimed to reduce the frequency of those episodes. However, it does not reduce the incidence of progressive kidney failure. Also, the natural history of the disease is such that episodes of frank hematuria reduce over time, independent of any specific treatment. Similarly, prophylactic antibiotics have not been proven to be beneficial. Dietary gluten restriction, used to reduce mucosal antigen challenge, also has not been shown to preserve kidney function. Phenytoin has also been tried without any benefit.
A subset of IgA nephropathy patients, who have minimal change disease on light microscopy and clinically have nephrotic syndrome, show an exquisite response to steroids, behaving more or less like minimal change disease. In other patients, the evidence for steroids is not compelling. Short courses of high dose steroids have been proven to lack benefit. However, in patients with preserved renal function and proteinuria (1-3.5 g/day), a recent prospective study has shown that 6 months regimen of steroids may lessen proteinuria and preserve renal function. However, the risks of long-term steroid use have to be weighed in such cases. It should be noted that the study had 10 years of patient follow-up data, and did show a benefit for steroid therapy; there was a lower chance of reaching end-stage renal disease (renal function so poor that dialysis was required) in the steroid group. Importantly, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors were used in both groups equally.
Cyclophosphamide had been used in combination with anti-platelet/anticoagulants in unselected IgA nephropathy patients with conflicting results. Also, the side effect profile of this drug, including long term risk of malignancy and sterility, made it an unfavorable choice for use in young adults. However, one recent study, in a carefully selected high risk population of patients with declining GFR, showed that a combination of steroids and cyclophosphamide for the initial 3 months followed by azathioprine for a minimum of 2 years resulted in a significant preservation of renal function. Other agents such as mycophenolate mofetil, ciclosporin and mizoribine have also been tried with varying results.
A study from Mayo Clinic did show that long term treatment with omega-3 fatty acids results in reduction of progression to kidney failure, without, however, reducing proteinuria in a subset of patients with high risk of worsening kidney function. However, these results have not been reproduced by other study groups and in two subsequent meta-analyses. However, fish oil therapy does not have the drawbacks of immunosuppressive therapy. Also, apart from its unpleasant taste and abdominal discomfort, it is relatively safe to consume.
The events that tend to progressive kidney failure are not unique to IgA nephropathy and non-specific measures to reduce the same would be equally useful. These include low-protein diet and optimal control of blood pressure. The choice of the antihypertensive agent is open as long as the blood pressure is controlled to desired level. However, Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and Angiotensin II receptor antagonists are favoured due to their anti-proteinuric effect.
The treatment is some form of Vitamin E supplementation.
Aggressive vitamin E replacement therapy has been shown to either prevent, halt or improve visual abnormalities.
Isolated congenital asplenia (ICAS) is a rare disease in humans that can cause life-threatening bacterial infections in children due to primary immunodeficiency. The infections can include pneumococal sepsis and meningitis.
ICAS is a ribosomopathy, due to autosomal dominant mutation of the "RPSA" gene on chromosome 3p21. Unlike heterotaxy syndrome, the absent spleen is not associated with other structural developmental defects.
Percutaneous Coil Embolization of the aberrant obturator artery was performed. Arterial flow rapidly improved through the left dorsal penile artery, and brisk opacification was seen through to the glans penis. Post-procedure, the patient experienced an immediate improvement in erectile function.
Henri Gougerot and Alexandre Carteaud originally described the condition in 1927. The cause remains unknown, but the observation that the condition may clear with Minocycline turned attention to an infectious agent. "Actinomycete Dietzia" strain X was isolated from one individual. Other antibiotics found useful include azithromycin, fusidic acid, clarithromycin, erythromycin, tetracycline and cefdinir.