Large myelinated fibres in the rat inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) exhibit age-related aberrations partly similar to alterations in target-deprived nerves. Shortly after entering the mandibular canal the rat IAN splits into a mental (MN) and an inferior dental (IDN) portion. This offers a possibility to compare the occurrence of age-related aberrations in the MN and the IDN, which project to different target types. Hence, we examined the relation between internodal length (L) and fibre diameter (D) in teased fibre preparations of MNs and IDNs from adult rats of different ages. The results show that the relation L/D is similar in MNs and IDNs of 6- to 24-month-old rats and that it is significantly more irregular in IDNs than in MNs of 26- to 30-month-old rats. This difference may be related to the fact that the IDN-innervated mandibular dentition is deteriorating in rats older than 2 years, whereas the muco-cutaneous target of the MN is not. We suggest that target deterioration may be one major factor behind the increasing incidence of structural aberrations in large myelinated peripheral nerve fibres.

Age Factors↗

PubMedDate not supplied

DIABCARD--an application of a portable medical record for persons with diabetes.

The medical record is central to the management of patients. For people with a chronic disease their many records, held at different locations, often pose a problem. Electronic patient records have been discussed for a long time. This article reports on the paradigm of a portable computer-based patient record on a smart card. It describes the development of the chip card based medical information system for chronic diseases in ambulatory and hospital care. The system has been implemented, tested and evaluated. DIABCARD could demonstrate that for a speciality patient record the capacity and functionality of the existing card is sufficient. Finally, the perspectives of chip cards in health care are discussed.

Computing Methodologies↗

PubMedDate not supplied

DIABCARD a smart card for patients with chronic diseases.

Within the European Union-sponsored project DIABCARD, the core of a chip-card-based medical information system for patients with chronic diseases, exemplified on diabetes mellitus, has been developed. The long-term goal of the project is to improve the medical record and the quality of care for patients with chronic diseases. The basic idea is to have a portable electronic medical record on a smart card. This will improve the communication between the different healthcare personnel and between different institutions and, at the same time, promote shared care. The DIABCARD chip-card-based medical information system will offer controlled access to the necessary and up-to-date patient record to everyone involved in the patient's treatment, and it will help reduce the constantly rising healthcare expenditure. The system first was implemented in a small version. The system architecture contains hardware, software, and orgware. It considers especially the memory of the chip card, the processor, the data structure, security functions, the operating system on the chip card, the interface between the chip card and the application, and various application areas. The DIABCARD dataset was defined via an information model, which describes the different communication processes, via acknowledged diabetes datasets and medical scenarios. It includes, among others, emergency data, data for quality assurance, and data for blood glucose self-monitoring. The first prototype has been developed, and a pilot was run for 3 months.

Chronic Disease↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Conditioning yourself for a successful future in dentistry.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗