Current Research in Medical Sciences

From Symptom Diaries to Smart Diagnostics: A Systematic Review of Digital Technologies for the Early Detection of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)

Osasogie Idemudia — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is a severe mood disorder affecting approximately 3–8% of menstruating individuals, characterised by recurrent affective, cognitive, and physical symptoms during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Despite formal recognition in diagnostic manuals, PMDD remains substantially underdiagnosed due to symptom overlap with depressive and anxiety disorders, stigma, and limited clinical awareness. Prospective symptom tracking required for diagnosis is rarely implemented in routine practice, creating a persistent diagnostic gap.

This systematic review examines the role of digital technologies in supporting the diagnosis and early detection of PMDD, with a focus on diagnostic accuracy, usability, and ethical considerations.

A systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 and PRISMA-DTA guidelines. Searches were performed across seven electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, and IEEE Xplore) and supplemented by grey literature sources. Studies published between 2015 and 2025 evaluating digital tools for PMDD symptom monitoring, screening, or diagnostic support were included. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies were synthesised using meta-analytic and narrative approaches as appropriate.

Nineteen studies met inclusion criteria, encompassing mobile health applications, algorithmic and artificial intelligence-based models, telehealth platforms, and wearable-enabled systems. Evidence indicates that digital tools can enhance prospective symptom tracking, patient engagement, and early recognition of PMDD patterns. Algorithmic approaches, including probabilistic and Bayesian models, demonstrated potential for improving diagnostic precision, with one validated tool (C-PASS) achieving high agreement with clinician diagnosis. However, most digital solutions lacked external validation, clinical integration, and transparency. Usability and adoption were strongly influenced by perceived usefulness, trust, and self-efficacy. Ethical concerns related to data privacy, equity, and inclusivity were consistently reported.

Digital technologies offer promising avenues to address long-standing barriers in PMDD diagnosis by enabling scalable, patient-centred, and longitudinal symptom assessment. Nevertheless, their clinical utility remains constrained by limited validation, governance challenges, and inequitable design. Future efforts must prioritise rigorous diagnostic evaluation, ethical data stewardship, and integration within healthcare systems to realise the transformative potential of digital diagnostics in PMDD and women’s mental health.

Research Progress on the Relationship Between Carotid Artery Plaques and Ischemic Stroke Based on CTA Imaging

Tang Yu — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ischemic stroke accounts for more than 80% of all stroke cases and is closely related to carotid artery plaques. Early and accurate diagnosis and risk assessment are crucial for improving prognosis. Computed tomography angiography (CTA), as an efficient and non-invasive imaging technique, plays a significant role in the diagnosis and treatment of ischemic stroke. This article reviews the research progress of carotid CTA in this field, including plaque feature analysis, ischemic stroke risk prediction, and the application of the Plaque-RADS scoring system. It also points out technical limitations and prospects for future development, providing references for clinical practice and scientific research.

Relationship of Stereochemistry and Activity of Drugs

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The stereochemistry is important to drug action because the shape of the drug molecule is an important factor in determining how it interacts with various biological molecules (Enzymes – Receptors… etc.) e.g. dextromethorphan and levomethorphan, the dextromethorphan is antitussive and levomethorphan is opioid due to this difference of pharmacological activity is due to stereochemistry of methorphan (Dextro – Levo), cisplatin and transplatin, cisplatin is anti cancer, which is more active than transplatin, trans diethylstilbestrol and cis diethylstilbestrol, the trans form is more active than cis form, escitalopram is pure enantiomer for treat anxiety and depression, which is more active and more fast than citalopram which is mixture of two enantiomers of citalopram, cetirizine and levocetirizine are antihistaminic but the levo cetirizine is more safe and faster action than cetirizine, erythro ephedrine and threo ephedrine which is used in common rhinitis disease under names pseudo ephedrine, levodopa and dopa the levodopa used in treatment of parkinsonism, which is more active than dopa, levothyroxine and dextrothyroxine the levothyroxine used in hypothyroidism but the dextro inactive or less active, and levetiracetam which is levo enantiomer which used in treatment of epilepsy, the levo-enantiomer is more active than dextro enantiomer.

Linking Synaptic Pathology to Network-Level Reorganization in Neurological Disease

Ruben Smit — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Neurological diseases are increasingly recognized as disorders of distributed brain networks rather than consequences of isolated focal lesions, yet large-scale dysfunction originates in microscopic alterations of synaptic structure and function that propagate across hierarchical levels of neural organization. This paper develops a multilevel theoretical framework linking synaptic pathology to network-level reorganization by tracing how structural synaptic loss, functional transmission abnormalities, and disrupted plasticity reshape microcircuit dynamics through altered excitation–inhibition balance, impaired interneuron timing, and disturbed oscillatory coordination. These microcircuit changes propagate via long-range projections, leading to modifications in functional connectivity, modular architecture, and large-scale network dynamics. The model incorporates threshold effects and nonlinear amplification to explain abrupt transitions into pathological states such as hypersynchrony, network slowing, and instability. Cross-disease comparison across epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease demonstrates how distinct synaptic perturbations produce characteristic network phenotypes while following a common hierarchical cascade. By conceptualizing disease progression as a dynamic transformation from synaptic disturbance to consolidated network reconfiguration, this framework positions network remodeling as the core systems-level expression of neurological pathology and underscores the necessity of analyzing brain disorders across synaptic, circuit, and distributed network scales.

Institutional Mechanisms Shaping the Digital Divide Among Older Patients in China’s Appointment-Based Outpatient System

Wenjie Huang, Liang Chen — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Digital appointment systems have become the primary entry mechanism for outpatient care in China’s public hospitals. At the same time, rapid population aging has increased the proportion of older adults within the healthcare system. Although digital access among older adults has expanded, disparities remain in their ability to navigate complex procedural platforms. Existing discussions often interpret this situation as a problem of individual digital literacy. This paper adopts a different perspective and examines the digital divide as an institutional outcome.

Through a structural analysis of policy rationality, organizational restructuring, and micro-level interaction processes, the study shows how digital competence becomes embedded as an implicit entry condition. Platform-centered allocation mechanisms link procedural performance to resource access, especially in high-demand specialist services. Repeated differences in appointment acquisition gradually translate into disparities in medical quality and health trajectories. Over time, these patterns stabilize and become normalized within routine hospital governance.

The findings suggest that the digital divide in outpatient care is not merely a technological gap but a structured consequence of institutional design. Rebalancing efficiency and equity in aging societies requires adjustments in access pathways rather than sole reliance on individual adaptation.