It was previously thought that the establishment of the gut microbiota was completed within the first two years of life, and this community maintains fairly stable throughout the adult lifetime thereafter. However, recent evidence shows that the gut microbiota composition is constantly changing in the gut environment and is heavily influenced by diet. The individual differences responding to diets would root on the fluctuations of gut microbiota if dietary fluctuations affect the composition of gut microbiota so significantly.

Background and Objectives: Combining modern medicine and traditional medicine in the rehabilitation of post-stroke motor deficit has shown interesting results. Many studies on modified acupuncture, a combination of modern and traditional techniques, have proven its effectiveness in motor rehabilitation in post-stroke patients. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the motor relearning method in the treatment of post-stroke paralysis has been elucidated. Therefore, our study aims to determine whether the combination between modified acupuncture and motor relearning method can improve treatment outcomes.

Method: Multicenter randomized controlled trial (Traditional Medicine Hospital of Ho Chi Minh City, General Hospital of Soc Trang Province, and People Military Hospital of Soc Trang Province) from July 2014 to July 2015. 66 post-stroke patients were divided into two groups: The control group received modified acupuncture combined with Bobath method and the trial group received modified acupuncture combined with motor relearning method. After six weeks, patients were evaluated according to the Barthel score, the 10-hole test, and the ability to walk.

Results: The trial group showed better results than the control group. There was a significant difference between the two groups in the Barthel score and the ability to walk, excluding the 10-hole test. After treatment, 77.42% of patients in the trial group showed improvement compared to only 51.61% in the control group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: The combination of modified acupuncture and motor relearning method is more effective than the combination of modified acupuncture and Bobath method in the rehabilitation of motor deficit after stroke.

Hydatidosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus. It mostly involves liver and lungs whereas the unusual sites are spleen, kidney, peritoneal cavity, skin, muscles, heart, brain, vertebral column, ovaries, pancreas, gallbladder, thyroid gland, breast, and bones.  Herein, we describe a unique case of intrapleural hydatid cyst which was solely confined to the pleural space without involvement of lung parenchyma and other associated structures. Despite the fact that Pakistan is an endemic country for hydatid disease, we could not identify any single documented case of intrapleural hydatid disease from Pakistan. The purpose of our case report is to promote awareness among fellow healthcare professionals about this rare variant of hydatid disease and to prevent any missed diagnosis and life-threatening complications. Hence, once the diagnosis was established, we performed a right-sided thoracotomy. Intraoperatively, the lung was collapsed due to the pressure effects of hydatid cysts. The hydatid cysts were evacuated completely from the pleural cavity and postoperatively the patient had an uneventful recovery and remained asymptomatic during all the follow-up visits. Conclusively, the hydatid disease may involve unusual sites such as the pleural space. A strong clinical suspicion, supportive radiological findings, and positive serological evidence play a critical role in the establishment of the diagnosis.

Coronary artery disease was the cause of half of morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases in 2013. Myocardial infarction (MI) has been a common medical emergency with high mortality rate and complications unless it is early and appropriately treated. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has been popularly used in assessment of health state among coronary artery disease patients undergone both medical and surgical therapies. Bayesian model averaging approach statistically facilitated for identifying potential predictors of HRQoL among post-MI patients following up at University Medical Center, Ho Chi Minh City. The cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 146 participants diagnosed and treated with acute myocardial infarction from April 1^st 2017 to June 30^th 2017. The better HRQoL in physical component summary was associated with higher educational levels (coeff­icient=1.2) and weekly moderate – intensity physical activity (coeff­icient=0.002) but the contrast status for the female (coeff­icient =-3.7) in the fit model with R²= 0.24, BIC=-25.7 and posterior probability=11.7%. The good economic household (coeff­icient=9.8), more daily sitting time (coeff­icient =1.4) and weekly moderate – intensity physical activity (coeff­icient =0.004) predicted the increase of mental component summary score in the given model with R²= 0.08, BIC=-20.3 and posterior probability=25%. The post – MI patients experienced low physical health much more than mental health. The female and suitable physical activity should be concerned in the rehabilitation program as well as follow-up care during the discharge process.

Brachial plexus injury in neonates is a rare obstetrical complication, but it can cause huge anxiety to parents if occurring and sometimes leading to legal disputes in obstetrical practice. Trauma during birth delivery is mainly due to the over-stretch of fetal neck which is the main cause of brachial plexus injury in infants. However, those injuries are self-limited and most of them will self-recover. We conducted a retrospective analysis on ten cases diagnosed of post-delivery brachial plexus injury under monitoring at Tu Du Hospital from January to November 2018. Such factors as maternal obstetrical history, labor characteristics, mode of delivery, clinical symptoms and treatment approach of those cases were collected and analyzed. The risk factors of brachial plexus injury in our study included large fetus, interventional delivery, prolonged second stage of labor and shoulder dystocia. All the cases were treated with physiotherapy and recovered after 3 – 6 months. Family counseling and infants’ recovery played an important role in the management of those cases.