[Silicosis].

Background: Silicosis is a potentially severe but preventable occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of silica particles. There is a wide application in the usage of silica especially in lesser known industries. This disease has yet not been eradicated due to insufficient application of protective measures.

COVID-19 on Chest Radiographs: A Multireader Evaluation of an Artificial Intelligence System.

Background Chest radiography may play an important role in triage for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), particularly in low-resource settings. Purpose To evaluate the performance of an artificial intelligence (AI) system for detection of COVID-19 pneumonia on chest radiographs. Materials and Methods An AI system (CAD4COVID-XRay) was trained on 24 678 chest radiographs, including 1540 used only for validation while training.

Mild Hypogammaglobulinemia Can Be a Serious Condition.

Most patients with primary antibody deficiency (PAD) suffer from less well-described and understood forms of hypogammaglobulinemia (unclassified primary antibody deficiency, unPAD). Because of the moderately decreased immunoglobulin levels compared to CVID, unPAD is generally considered to be clinically mild and not very relevant. To describe our cohort of-mainly-unPAD patients, and to analyze whether subgroups can be identified.

Loss of entorhinal cortex and hippocampal volumes compared to whole brain volume in normal aging: the SMART-Medea study.

In non-demented elderly age-related decline in hippocampal volume has often been observed, but it is not clear if this loss is disproportionate relative to other brain tissue. Few studies examined age-related volume loss of the entorhinal cortex. We investigated the association of age with hippocampal and entorhinal cortex (ERC) volumes in a large sample of middle-aged and older persons without dementia.

Depression, hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis, and hippocampal and entorhinal cortex volumes--the SMART Medea study.

Background: Structural brain changes have often been found in major depressive disorder (MDD), and it is thought that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis hyperactivity may explain this relation. We investigated the association of MDD and history of depression with hippocampal and entorhinal cortex volumes and whether HPA axis activity explained this association.

Methods: In 636 participants with a history of atherosclerotic disease (mean age 62 ± 9 years, 81% male) from the second Manifestation of ARTerial disease-Memory depression and aging (SMART-Medea) study, a 12-month diagnosis of MDD and history of depression were assessed.

Age-related changes in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in patients with manifest arterial disease.

Reports on age-related changes of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity are equivocal. In addition, subtle changes in HPA axis activity are associated with cardiovascular risk factors. This study evaluates the effect of age in a large sample of patients with arterial disease on several parts of the circadian rhythm of the HPA axis.

Basal hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis activity and hippocampal volumes: the SMART-Medea study.

Background: It has frequently been hypothesized that high levels of glucocorticoids have deleterious effects on the hippocampus and increase risk for cognitive decline and dementia, but no large-scale studies in humans have examined the direct relation between hippocampal volumes and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity.

Methods: Cross-sectional analyses within the Second Manifestations of ARTerial disease-Magnetic Resonance (SMART)-Medea study, an ancillary study to the SMART-MR study on brain changes on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) among patients with arterial disease. In 575 patients (mean age 62 +/- 9 years), diurnal cortisol rhythm was assessed with six saliva samples, collected at awakening; at 30, 45, and 60 min thereafter; and at 10 pm and 11 pm.

Total cerebral blood flow and hippocampal volume in patients with arterial disease. The SMART-MR study.

It has been suggested that compared with other brain tissues, the hippocampus in particular is vulnerable to chronic hypoperfusion. We investigated whether total parenchymal cerebral blood flow (pCBF) was associated with hippocampal atrophy, and also whether this relationship was modified by white matter lesions (WMLs). In a cross-sectional analysis within the SMART-MR (Second Manifestations of ARTerial disease-magnetic resonance) study, which is a cohort study among patients with arterial disease, total CBF (tCBF) and hippocampal volume were assessed in 392 patients (mean age: 62+/-9 years, 84% men).

Visual rating of the hippocampus in non-demented elders: Does it measure hippocampal atrophy or other indices of brain atrophy? The SMART-MR study.

Visual rating of hippocampal atrophy is often used to differentiate between normal aging and Alzheimer's disease. We investigated whether two visual rating scales of hippocampal atrophy were related to hippocampal volumes, and if visual rating was related to global, cortical and subcortical brain atrophy in persons without dementia. Within the SMART-MR study, a prospective cohort study among patients with manifest arterial disease, medial temporal lobe atrophy was qualitatively rated in 95 participants without dementia (mean age 62 +/- 10 years) using two visual rating scales: the medial temporal lobe (MTA) score was rated on coronal oriented images and the perihippocampal cerebrospinal fluid (HCSF) score was rated on axial oriented images.