University of Iowa

About: University of Iowa is a education organization based out in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 49229 authors who have published 109171 publications receiving 5021465 citations. The organization is also known as: UI & The University of Iowa.

Chronic Wound Healing: A Review of Current Management and Treatments

Abstract: Wound healing is a complex, highly regulated process that is critical in maintaining the barrier function of skin. With numerous disease processes, the cascade of events involved in wound healing can be affected, resulting in chronic, non-healing wounds that subject the patient to significant discomfort and distress while draining the medical system of an enormous amount of resources. The healing of a superficial wound requires many factors to work in concert, and wound dressings and treatments have evolved considerably to address possible barriers to wound healing, ranging from infection to hypoxia. Even optimally, wound tissue never reaches its pre-injured strength and multiple aberrant healing states can result in chronic non-healing wounds. This article will review wound healing physiology and discuss current approaches for treating a wound.

Articular cartilage: degeneration and osteoarthritis, repair, regeneration, and transplantation.

Abstract: The degeneration of articular cartilage as part of the clinical syndrome of osteoarthritis is one of the most common causes of pain and disability in middle-aged and older people. The strong correlation between increasing age and the prevalence of osteoarthritis, and recent evidence of important age-related changes in the function of chondrocytes, suggest that age-related changes in articular cartilage can contribute to the development and progression of osteoarthritis. Although the mechanisms responsible for osteoarthritis remain poorly understood lifelong moderate use of normal joints does not increase the risk. Thus, the degeneration of normal articular cartilage is not simply the result of aging and mechanical wear. However, high-impact and torsional loads may increase the risk of degeneration of normal joints, and individuals who have an abnormal joint anatomy, joint instability, disturbances of joint or muscle innervation, or inadequate muscle strength or endurance probably have a greater risk of degenerative joint disease. Recent work has shown the potential for the restoration of an articular surface. Currently, surgeons frequently debride joints and penetrate subchondral bone as well as perform osteotomies, with the intent of decreasing symptoms and restoring or maintaining a functional articular surface. The results of these procedures vary considerably among patients. Clinical and experimental work has shown the important influence of loading and motion on the healing of articular cartilage and joints. Experimental studies have revealed that transplantation of chondrocytes and mesenchymal stem cells; use of periosteal and perichondrial grafts, synthetic matrices, and growth factors: and other methods have the potential to stimulate the formation of a new articular surface. The long-term follow-up of small series of patients has shown that the transplantation of osteochondral autologous grafts and allografts can be effective for the treatment of focal defects of articular cartilage in selected patients. Thus far, none of these methods has been shown to predictably restore a durable articular surface to an osteoarthritic joint, and it is unlikely that any one of them will be uniformly successful. Rather, the available clinical and experimental evidence indicates that future optimum methods for the restoration of articular surfaces will begin with a detailed analysis of the structural and functional abnormalities of the involved joint and the patient's expectations for future use of the joint. On the basis of this analysis, the surgeon will develop a treatment plan that potentially combines correction of mechanical abnormalities (including malalignment, instability, and intra-articular causes of mechanical dysfunction), debridement that may or may not include hunted penetration of subchondral bone, and applications of growth factors of implants that may consist of a synthetic matrix that incorporates cells or growth factors or use of transplants followed by a postoperative course of controlled loading and motion.

The human amygdala in social judgment

Abstract: Studies in animals have implicated the amygdala in emotional1,2,3, and social4,5,6, behaviours, especially those related to fear and aggression Although lesion7,8,9,10, and functional imaging11,12,13,14, studies in humans have demonstrated the amygdala's participation in recognizing emotional facial expressions, its role in human social behaviour has remained unclear We report here our investigation into the hypothesis that the human amygdala is required for accurate social judgments of other individuals on the basis of their facial appearance We asked three subjects with complete bilateral amygdala damage to judge faces of unfamiliar people with respect to two attributes important in real-life social encounters: approachability and trustworthiness All three subjects judged unfamiliar individuals to be more approachable and more trustworthy than did control subjects The impairment was most striking for faces to which normal subjects assign the most negative ratings: unapproachable and untrustworthy looking individuals Additional investigations revealed that the impairment does not extend to judging verbal descriptions of people The amygdala appears to be an important component of the neural systems that help retrieve socially relevant knowledge on the basis of facial appearance

Attributable Mortality of Nosocomial Candidemia, Revisited

Abstract: We reexamined the attributable mortality of nosocomial candidemia 15 years after a retrospective cohort study performed at our hospital demonstrated an attributable mortality of 38%. For all episodes of nosocomial candidemia between 1 July 1997 and 30 June 2001, we matched control patients with case patients by age, sex, date of hospital admission, underlying disease(s), length of time at risk, and surgical procedure(s). We analyzed 108 matched pairs. There were no statistically significant differences in age, sex, underlying disease(s), time at risk, surgical procedure, or vital signs at admission between cases and controls. The crude mortality among case patients was 61% (66 of 108 patients), compared with 12% (13 of 108) among control patients, for an attributable mortality of 49% (95% CI, 38%-60%). Nosocomial candidemia is still associated with an extremely high crude and attributable mortality--much higher than that expected from underlying disease alone.

“Cognitive Dysmetria” as an Integrative Theory of Schizophrenia: A Dysfunction in Cortical-Subcortical-Cerebellar Circuitry?

Abstract: Earlier efforts to localize the symptoms of schizophrenia in a single brain region have been replaced by models that postulate a disruption in parallel distributed or dynamic circuits. Based on empirical data derived from both magnetic resonance and positron emission tomography, we have developed a model that implicates connectivity among nodes located in prefrontal regions, the thalamic nuclei, and the cerebellum. A disruption in this circuitry produces "cognitive dysmetria," difficulty in prioritizing, processing, coordinating, and responding to information. This "poor mental coordination" is a fundamental cognitive deficit in schizophrenia and can account for its broad diversity of symptoms.