Central Nervous System Metastases in Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer metastasizing to the central nervous system (CNS) encompasses two distinct entities: brain metastases involving the cerebral parenchyma and infiltration of the leptomeningeal space, i.e., leptomeningeal disease.

Genomic profiling reveals SMARCA4 mutations are associated with shorter overall and intracranial progression free survival in melanoma brain metastasis patients.

Purpose: Melanoma brain metastases (MBMs) are a common, lethal complication of metastatic melanoma. Despite improvements in treatments, subsets of MBM patients experience rapid decline, and few prognostic biomarkers have been identified. An improved understanding of the molecular features specifically associated with MBM overall survival (OS) and intracranial progression free survival (PFS) could facilitate the development of more effective clinical management strategies.

The Impact of Cash Transfers to Poor Mothers on Family Structure and Maternal Well-Being.

We use newly collected data for 16,000 women who applied for Mothers' Pensions, America's first welfare program, to investigate the effect of means-tested cash transfers on lifetime family structure and maternal well-being. In the short term, cash transfers delayed marriage and lowered geographic mobility. In the long run, transfers had no impact on the probability of remarriage, spouse quality, or fertility.

Catheter ablation in rate-controlled atrial fibrillation with severely reduced ejection fraction: intervention for irregularity-mediated cardiomyopathy.

Background: Recent evidence suggests atrial fibrillation (AF) causes cardiomyopathy due to remodeling driven by both irregular rate and rhythm. Atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation in patients with reduced ejection fraction (EF) ≤ 35% has been shown to improve EF and mortality. It is unknown whether the benefits of AF ablation among patients with reduced EF are affected by the degree of pre-ablation rate control.

The Utility of Coronary Revascularization to Reduce Ventricular Arrhythmias in Coronary Artery Disease Patients: A Systematic Review.

Ventricular arrhythmias (VA) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Current guidelines recommend revascularization of significant CAD to improve survival in patients with ventricular fibrillation (VF), polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT), or those who are post-cardiac arrest. However, revascularization is not recommended for CAD patients with suspected scar-mediated monomorphic VT.

The Lifetime Impacts of the New Deal's Youth Employment Program.

We study the lifetime effects of the first and largest American youth employment and training program in the United States-the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), 1933-1942. We match newly digitized enrollee records to census, World War II enlistment, Social Security, and death records. We find that longer service in the CCC led to improvements in height, health status, longevity, geographic mobility, and lifetime earnings but did not improve short-term labor market outcomes, including employment and wages.

Catheter ablation alone versus catheter ablation with combined percutaneous left atrial appendage closure for atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Combined catheter ablation (CA) with percutaneous left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) may produce comprehensive treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF) whereby rhythm control is achieved and stroke risk is reduced without the need for chronic oral anticoagulation. However, the efficacy and safety of this strategy is still controversial.

Methods: This meta-analysis was reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

Catheter ablation compared to medical therapy for ventricular tachycardia in sarcoidosis: nationwide outcomes and hospital readmissions.

Background: Catheter ablation (CA) for ventricular tachycardia (VT) can be a useful treatment strategy, however, few studies have compared CA to medical therapy (MT) in the sarcoidosis population.

Objective: To assess in-hospital outcomes and unplanned readmissions following CA for VT compared to MT in patients with sarcoidosis.

Methods: Data was obtained from the Nationwide Readmissions Database between 2010 and 2019 to identify patients with sarcoidosis admitted for VT either undergoing CA or MT during elective and non-elective admission.

A Hospice Transitions Program for Patients in the Emergency Department.

Importance: Patients often visit the emergency department (ED) near the end of life. Their common disposition is inpatient hospital admission, which can result in a delayed transition to hospice care and, ultimately, an inpatient hospital death that may be misaligned with their goals of care.

Objective: To assess the association of hospice use with a novel multidisciplinary hospice program to rapidly identify and enroll eligible patients presenting to the ED near end of life.

Leptomeningeal metastases from solid tumors: A Society for Neuro-Oncology and American Society of Clinical Oncology consensus review on clinical management and future directions.

Leptomeningeal metastases (LM) are increasingly becoming recognized as a treatable, yet generally incurable, complication of advanced cancer. As modern cancer therapeutics have prolonged the lives of patients with metastatic cancer, specifically in patients with parenchymal brain metastases, treatment options, and clinical research protocols for patients with LM from solid tumors have similarly evolved to improve survival within specific populations. Recent expansions in clinical investigation, early diagnosis, and drug development have given rise to new unanswered questions.

Embryos derived from single pronucleus are suitable for preimplantation genetic testing.

Objective: To study and compare the preimplantation genetic testing for monogenic disorders (PGT-M) results, and to evaluate the treatment cycle outcomes of embryos derived from a single pronucleus (1PN) vs. two pronuclei (2PN).

Design: A retrospective cohort study from January 2018 to December 2022 involving in vitro fertilization (IVF)-PGT-M treatment cycles.

Does extreme psychological burden (Hamas terrorist attack on October 7th, 2023) affect in vitro fertilization outcome?

Objective: We aim to investigate the effect of extreme emotional and psychological trauma following Hamas terrorist attack on October 7th, 2023, on IVF cycle outcome.

Patients And Methods: The study population consisted of all couples undergoing 2 consecutive IVF attempts with ovum pick-up in our institute, before and during the week of October 8th to 12th, 2023. Embryological/ laboratory variables of the IVF cycles were assessed and compared between the patients' IVF cycle before and those that underwent OPU during the spoken week.

Risk of malignant ventricular arrhythmias in patients with mildly to moderately reduced ejection fraction after permanent pacemaker implantation.

Background: Many patients with mildly to moderately reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) who require permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation do not have a concurrent indication for implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy. However, the risk of ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF) in this population is unknown.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the risk of VT/VF after PPM implantation in patients with mildly to moderately reduced LVEF.

What is the maximal timeframe between sperm acquisition to sperm cryopreservation, in different "culture" conditions?

Objective: Most of the literature about postmortem sperm retrieval (PMSR) deals with the controversies surrounding ethical and legal aspects, while the optimal time interval between the death and viable sperm acquisition is indefinite. In an attempt to aid fertility specialists, while counseling whether to pursue and adopt PMSR, we aim to explore the maximal time frame from ejaculated sperm acquisition to sperm cryopreservation in different "culture" conditions, observations that might be extrapolated to PMSR requests.

Patients And Methods: Five healthy men with normal semen analysis were enrolled.

Amplification of Wild-Type Represents a Novel Molecular Subtype of Several Cancer Types With Clinical Response to Selpercatinib.

Purpose: rearrangements and activating point mutations represent targetable genomic alterations in advanced solid tumors. However, the frequency and clinicopathologic characteristics of wild-type amplification in cancer and its potential role as a targetable oncogenic driver are not well-characterized.

Methods: In two institutional cohorts of patients with solid cancers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) whose tumors underwent next-generation sequencing (NGS), the frequency and clinicopathologic features of wild-type amplification in the absence of rearrangements or activating mutations was assessed.

Left Atrial Appendage Tilt-Up-and-Turn-Left Maneuver: A Novel Three-Dimensional Transesophageal Echocardiography Imaging Maneuver to Characterize the Left Atrial Appendage and to Improve Transcatheter Closure Guidance.

• Precise LAA anatomy must be established for LAA occlusion device selection. • We have developed the TUPLE maneuver, an acronym for “tilt up and turn left”. • The TUPLE maneuver facilitates LAA device selection and intraprocedural guidance.

External validation of three prognostic scores for brain metastasis velocity in patients treated with intracranial stereotactic radiotherapy.

Background And Introduction: Brain metastasis velocity (BMV) has been proposed as a prognostic factor for overall survival (OS) in patients with brain metastases (BMs). In this study, we conducted an external validation and comparative assessment of the performance of all three BMV scores.

Materials And Methods: Patients treated with intracranial stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) for BM at a single center between 2014 and 2018 were identified.