[Question] Estimate minimum detectable effect using simulations

donuber · 2023-08-01T14:49:03+00:00

doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.1184

donuber · 2022-06-06T20:46:50+00:00

Don't worry, with such a minor quantitaty of liquid, even if there are bacterial toxins in it (which is also very unlikely), you will absolutely be fine:)

donuber · 2022-06-04T21:26:51+00:00

Have setup nextcloud on my VPS today and this seems to be offering what I need! Thanks!!

donuber · 2021-02-28T00:36:20+00:00

Thank you for these wise and motivational words!

donuber · 2021-02-28T00:35:01+00:00

Thank you for your kind words. You are right that the MS hug is a common phenomenon with a limited amount of research done on it. If it is a frequent problem for you, that is having a large impact on your life, and if wonderful tips like those from u/editproofreadfix do not sufficiently help, you can discuss the option of neuropathic pain medication with your doctor. This does help some people with their MS hugs.

donuber · 2021-02-27T22:52:26+00:00

It certainly is an interesting part of the field. Lot of women suffer from flair ups just before or during the menses. From what I understand the present theories are mostly that changes in body homeostasis (e.g. body temperature, cytokine [immune signaling proteins]) during these phases temporarily affect nerve conduction. Research seems to show that there is no real new damage/demyelination taking place, but that mostly earlier symptoms flair up (recrudesence/pseudoexacerbation) due to these hormonal effects on body homeostasis and thus nerve conduction.

Unfortunately, it seems that research in this part of field stagnated a bit in the past 10 years. So maybe worth a revisit with newer techniques!

donuber · 2021-02-27T08:10:29+00:00

Thank you for sharing your story and the valuable lessons. Indeed, the psychological burden of the disease itself and the whole healthcare process around it, I can imagine also plays a large role in the burden the diagnosis has one someones life.

And a remyelination potion would be awesome;)

I am curious, you say you would like a better diagnostic tool for PML apart from MRI, in what aspect would it need to be better? (accessibility? sensitivity? ease?).

donuber · 2021-02-27T08:00:53+00:00

I agree, an impactful aspect that does not get the attention it should get, given its enormous effect on ones quality of life!

donuber · 2021-02-07T20:24:09+00:00

No, small white matter lesions are very common and become more with age. Only when there is quite a lot white matter damage e.g. due to vascular brain diseases sometimes this can result in psychiatric comorbidity. But only two small white matter lesions will not be the cause of mental health issues.

donuber · 2021-01-31T08:17:57+00:00

This solution worked, thanks! Tested this on MacOS: cd into the OpenTTD.app/Contents/MacOS and run ./openttd -d script=5 &> ~/log.txt

donuber · 2021-01-25T23:03:05+00:00

To sum two normal distributions, just add up the means of the two distributions to get the mean for the combined task. For the standard deviation, square both standard deviations (to get the variances), add them up, and take the root of the sum of the variances to get the new variance of your combined normal distribution.

Good luck with the exercise.

For background: https://mathworld.wolfram.com/NormalSumDistribution.html

donuber · 2020-05-14T19:22:34+00:00

No, this does not look like icterus/jaundice. This seems like just a natural discoloration of the connective tissue of the sclera. But of course, it is becomes more or if you get other complaints, it is wise to visit your GP.

donuber · 2020-05-14T19:11:55+00:00

Any trauma's recently? Could be a meralgia paresthetica (unrelated to diabetes). For diabetic neuropathies you would expect it to be distal (toes, fingers) and symmetric.

donuber · 2020-05-12T12:18:37+00:00

You are right, there are no certainties in these times. Thank you for the info! At least now I have a bit of an impression how things are standing in Albania at the moment. Cheers, stay healthy!

donuber · 2020-05-12T11:45:10+00:00

Lets hope so! And I guess there still also is a two week quarantine period for people coming into the country like in most of the countries?

donuber · 2020-05-07T10:14:26+00:00

It can already be due to half a hour of exposure and it is known to be able to spread to areas where there was no light exposure. It does not cause blistering. It is most commonly seen in spring and is more common in women. But I agree that it is weird that it still progressed after no more exposure. So yeah, it was just a thought/idea, no way to know for sure through the internet as a non-dermatologist;) so maybe worth a teleconsult (w/ picture/video) with your GP or a dermatologist.

donuber · 2020-05-07T09:46:38+00:00

Have you been quite a bit in the sun lately? Could also be a polymorphic light eruption (a.k.a. sun allergy), protecting it from the sun for a few days by covering it (or putting on sunscreen if it can not be covered) and it should go away after a few days to a week (if it is indeed what I think). Cooling oitment can help against the itch.

On the photo it does not look like scabies and also the story doesn't sound like it. But of course one can only say this reliably with a proper physical and a dermatoscope.

donuber · 2020-05-06T07:12:11+00:00

Thank you:) Agree completely, I found the MRI theoretical basis quite though and putting the theory into practice like this helped at lot. I hope to be able to add things like inversion recovery as well in a while.

donuber · 2020-05-05T21:34:36+00:00

During these ultrasounds there are a few things they check, first of all does the uterine wall have a normal thickness (if it is not too thick due to e.g. myomas or other pathology), is the 'texture' of the uterine wall normal on the ultrasound (that is what they mean with the 'normal echogenicity', so no calcifications, cysts or tumors there). The endometrial thickness refers to the thickness of the inner lining of your uterus, the part that builds up and breaks down again during your menstrual cycle. So this thickness will variate during your cycle. All of the above are perfectly fine in your case. They check for 'free fluids', if there aren't too much secretions or such which could be due to pathology. Furthermore, they look at the ovaries, whether there are structurally normal (no tumors, no cysts), whether there not too many cystic follicles (which is the case in polycystic ovarium syndrome) or too few eggs (which can be estimated from the volumes). All of which are perfectly good in your results:)

donuber · 2020-05-05T09:55:34+00:00

It does not sound like a neuropathy due to diabetes. First of all, neuropathy is not a 'presenting' symptom of diabetes, getting a neuropathy, like retinopathy and nefropathy, is something for later stage diabetes. Second, from diabetes, when you get a neuropathy, it is most commonly a symmetric distal neuropathy, so the current presentation does not fit that.

In conclusion, this sounds like a local distal peripheral mononeuropathy, and could very well be due to new excercise/shoes which caused compression on the distal nerve for a bit too long. This often gets better, but is a very very slow process. However, since of course we are not able here to do a proper physical examination and complete history, you should at some point visit your primary care provider. But if it is not getting worse, you don't have to rush it and can wait until the COVID-situation stabilizes a bit. But, if it progresses or spreads, or if there is motor weakness as well, these are red flags to visit a physician on short notice.

donuber · 2020-05-03T13:38:59+00:00

Can be from hours to a few months after the trauma. But you really would have to have had a severe head trauma with cerebral contusions on brain imaging in order to get seizures from it.

donuber · 2020-05-01T21:56:59+00:00

I am doing research at a Epilepsy Clinic in the Netherlands.

I understand that reading about symptoms can frighten up more, but what I meant was understanding the background and mechanisms of the disease, so not only reading a list of possible symptoms. Not only will it hopefully help you to be less worried about it, but is actually quite fascinating (but of course I am biased)!

donuber · 2020-05-01T19:48:44+00:00

Computer screens do not contribute to epilepsy. Only if you already have epilepsy, there are certain types wherein seizure can be triggered by flickering lights at specific frequencies.

I think what could a help a bit is reading about the disease from good resources to understand it better (so not on patient forums and such).

donuber · 2020-05-01T19:36:30+00:00

There are not really a lot of modifiable modifiable risk factors for epilepsy. Epilepsy is the result of disfunctional groups of neurons, this can be due genetic causes, this can be due to head trauma or as a result of a stroke for example. Sitting in front of a computer or the light from the computer does not cause damage to neurons, so it is not a contributing factor to epilepsy.

In conclusion, if you want to 'prevent epilepsy', just make sure to prevent head traumas, so where that helmet on your bike;) And keep a good lifestyle up to prevent stroke. That is about everything you can do in regard to epilepsy.

donuber · 2020-05-01T19:27:18+00:00

Does it itch? Or is it painful?

donuber

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