Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is a disabling, polio-like illness mainly affecting children. Outbreaks of AFM have occurred across multiple global regions since 2012, and the disease appears to be caused by non-polio enterovirus infection, posing a major public health challenge. The clinical presentation of flaccid and often profound muscle weakness (which can invoke respiratory failure and other critical complications) can mimic several other acute neurological illnesses. There is no single sensitive and specific test for AFM, and the diagnosis relies on identification of several important clinical, neuroimaging, and cerebrospinal fluid characteristics. Following the acute phase of AFM, patients typically have substantial residual disability and unique long-term rehabilitation needs. In this Review we describe the epidemiology, clinical features, course, and outcomes of AFM to help to guide diagnosis, management, and rehabilitation. Future research directions include further studies evaluating host and pathogen factors, including investigations into genetic, viral, and immunological features of affected patients, host-virus interactions, and investigations of targeted therapeutic approaches to improve the long-term outcomes in this population.

Background: We examined cervical cancer incidence before and after nationwide cervical cancer screening was initiated in Taiwan in mid-1995. Results: The invasive cancer incidence decreased by 47.8% during 1995–2006. The carcinoma in situ incidence increased 1.7-fold during 1995–2000, and decreased by 19.6% during 2000–2006. Conclusion: The Taiwan national programme has significantly decreased invasive cervical cancer.

Changes in renal dimensions, including total kidney volume, not only inform ongoing renal disease but also disease progression. Determination of renal dimensions can inform drug efficacy, is important for matching recipients with potential donors, and to inform debulking of renal tumors. Imaging of kidney and application of the ellipse-based formula has become standard for estimating renal dimensions. Nevertheless, the existing ellipse-based formula underestimates renal dimensions including total kidney volume, regardless of the imaging modality used. Based on a model of murine kidney disease, this laboratory has previously proposed a modification to this formula which exhibits better estimation of renal dimensions. The present study sought to determine whether this modified formula is applicable to additional models of kidney disease. Kidneys were sourced from etiologically distinct murine and rat models of renal scarring. In each case, renal dimensions calculated using the existing ellipse-based formula was significantly lesser than the measured dimensions. By contrast, there was no difference between the measured dimensions and those calculated using the modified formula. In a model of polycystic kidney disease, total kidney volume calculated using the existing formula significantly underestimated measured kidney volume whereas use of the modified formula yielded a calculated kidney volume in excellent agreement with the measured volume. Use of this modified formula provides a better estimate of renal dimensions across a number of disease models.