Two-year outcome of the paclitaxel-eluting Legflow balloon catheter in the treatment of long and complex femoropopliteal lesions.

Background: To investigate the long-term efficacy of the paclitaxel-eluting Legflow balloon catheter in the treatment of "real-world" long and complex femoropopliteal lesions.

Methods: The REFLOW study was a prospective, multi-national, non-randomized, single arm study evaluating the long-term safety and efficacy of the Legflow paclitaxel-eluting balloon dilatation catheter in the treatment of stenotic or occlusive lesions >150 mm long in the femoropopliteal arteries of symptomatic patients (Rutherford 2-5). A total of 120 study subjects were enrolled in a period of 30 months, between October 2015 and May 2018.

Point-of-care 3D printing: a low-cost approach to teaching carotid artery stenting.

Background: Carotid Artery Stenting (CAS) is increasingly being used in selected patients as a minimal invasive approach to carotid endarterectomy. Despite the long standing tradition of endovascular treatments, visual feedback during stent-deployment is impossible to obtain as deployment is performed under fluoroscopic imaging. Furthermore, the concept of stent-placement is often still unclear to patients.

Silver Sulfadiazine Cream Treatment Results in More Wound Contraction and More Itch in a Standardized Porcine Scald Model.

A variety of dressings is available for the treatment of partial-thickness wounds, but none has strong evidence supporting their beneficial effect on healing. This may be due to variation in the type and depth of wounds in clinical studies. The aim of this study was to use a standardized porcine wound model to compare three dressings commonly used in burn centers for partial-thickness burns.

Combining the Passeo-18 Lux Drug-Coated Balloon and the Pulsar-18 Bare Metal Stent: 12- and 24-Month Outcomes of the BIOLUX 4EVER Investigator-Initiated Trial.

Purpose: To report the outcomes after treating stenotic or occluded femoropopliteal lesions with a drug-coated balloon (DCB) followed by the implantation of a thin-strut self-expanding bare metal stent in the BIOLUX 4EVER trial ( identifier NCT02211664).

Materials And Methods: The prospective, multicenter, physician-initiated BIOLUX 4-EVER trial was conducted at 5 centers in Belgium and enrolled 120 patients (mean age 70.9±10.

One-year outcome of the paclitaxel-eluting Legflow balloon catheter in the treatment of long and complex femoropopliteal lesions.

Background: The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of the paclitaxel-eluting Legflow balloon catheter in the treatment of "real-world" long and complex femoropopliteal lesions.

Methods: The REFLOW study was a prospective, multi-national, non-randomized, single arm study evaluating the safety and efficacy of the Legflow paclitaxel-eluting balloon dilatation catheter in the treatment of stenotic or occlusive lesions >150 mm long in the femoropopliteal arteries of symptomatic patients (Rutherford 2-5). A total of 120 study subjects were enrolled in a period of 30 months, between October 2015 and May 2018.

The Peritoneal Surface Proteome in a Model of Chronic Peritoneal Dialysis Reveals Mechanisms of Membrane Damage and Preservation.

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) fluids are cytotoxic to the peritoneum. Recent studies have shown that alanyl-glutamine (AlaGln) modulates the cellular stress response, improves mesothelial cell survival, reduces submesothelial thickening in experimental models of PD, and in clinical studies improves PD effluent cell stress and immune responses. However, the mechanisms of AlaGln-mediated membrane protection are not yet fully understood.

High resolution annual average air pollution concentration maps for the Netherlands.

Long-term exposure to air pollution is considered a major public health concern and has been related to overall mortality and various diseases such as respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Due to the spatial variability of air pollution concentrations, assessment of individual exposure to air pollution requires spatial datasets at high resolution. Combining detailed air pollution maps with personal mobility and activity patterns allows for an improved exposure assessment.

EVOLUTION Study: 12-month results.

Background: The EVOLUTION Study is a prospective, non-randomized study, investigating the iVolution stent (iVascular, Barcelona, Spain). The study was conducted at the vascular departments of four hospitals in Belgium. This manuscript reports the findings up to 12-month follow-up time for the total cohort.

Health Outcomes for Definite Concurrent Chemoradiation in Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Prospective Study.

Background: In patients with locally advanced lung cancer treated with concurrent chemoradiation, outcome measurements have been mostly limited to survival.

Objectives: We aimed to measure outcomes that matter to these patients beyond survival in a general clinical practice.

Methods: In a prospective single-centre study, consecutive patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer reported their own outcomes using the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 at baseline, during therapy, at therapy stop and till 1 year after therapy end every 3 months.

Vitamin D Attenuates Endothelial Dysfunction in Uremic Rats and Maintains Human Endothelial Stability.

Background Dysfunctional endothelium may contribute to the development of cardiovascular complications in chronic kidney disease ( CKD ). Supplementation with active vitamin D has been proposed to have vasoprotective potential in CKD , not only by direct effects on the endothelium but also by an increment of α-Klotho. Here, we explored the capacity of the active vitamin D analogue paricalcitol to protect against uremia-induced endothelial damage and the extent to which this was dependent on increased α-Klotho concentrations.

Particulate matter air pollution components and incidence of cancers of the stomach and the upper aerodigestive tract in the European Study of Cohorts of Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE).

Introduction: Previous analysis from the large European multicentre ESCAPE study showed an association of ambient particulate matter <2.5 μm (PM) air pollution exposure at residence with the incidence of gastric cancer. It is unclear which components of PM are most relevant for gastric and also upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) cancer and some of them may not be strongly correlated with PM mass.

Air Pollution Exposure During Pregnancy and Symptoms of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder in Children in Europe.

Background: Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy may increase attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children, but findings have been inconsistent. We aimed to study this association in a collaborative study of eight European population-based birth/child cohorts, including 29,127 mother-child pairs.

Methods: Air pollution concentrations (nitrogen dioxide [NO2] and particulate matter [PM]) were estimated at the birth address by land-use regression models based on monitoring campaigns performed between 2008 and 2011.

Associations between traumatic stress symptoms, pain and bio-active components in burn wounds.

Objective: Pain and traumatic stress symptoms often co-occur. Evidence suggests that the neuropeptide oxytocine and pro-inflammatory cytokines are associated with both stress and pain. The aim of this pilot study was to explore relations between self-reported pain and traumatic stress, oxytocin and three cytokines in burn wounds.

Robotically Assisted Transthoracic Cervical Rib Resection.

Several different approaches to surgical decompression of the thoracic outlet have been described. This report describes a unique case of robotically assisted transthoracic cervical rib resection for neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome. This minimally invasive technique offers delicate tissue manipulation under optimal visualization of the thoracic outlet structures.

Differences in peritoneal response after exposure to low-GDP bicarbonate/lactate-buffered dialysis solution compared to conventional dialysis solution in a uremic mouse model.

Background: Long-term exposure of conventional peritoneal dialysis (PD) fluid is associated with structural membrane alterations and technique failure. Previously, it has been shown that infiltrating IL-17-secreting CD4+T cells and pro-fibrotic M2 macrophages play a critical role in the PD-induced pathogenesis. Although more biocompatible PD solutions are recognized to better preserve the peritoneal membrane integrity, the impact of these fluids on the composition of the peritoneal cell infiltrate is unknown.

Stabilization of cell-cell junctions by active vitamin D ameliorates uraemia-induced loss of human endothelial barrier function.

Background: Uraemia induces endothelial cell (EC) injury and impaired repair capacity, for which the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Active vitamin D (VD) may promote endothelial repair, however, the mechanism that mediates the effects of VD in chronic kidney disease are poorly understood. Thus, we investigated uraemia-induced endothelial damage and the protection against such damage by active VD.

Air pollution and incidence of cancers of the stomach and the upper aerodigestive tract in the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE).

Air pollution has been classified as carcinogenic to humans. However, to date little is known about the relevance for cancers of the stomach and upper aerodigestive tract (UADT). We investigated the association of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution with incidence of gastric and UADT cancer in 11 European cohorts.

Plasma citrulline levels are increased in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Background: Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system (CNS). Myelin basic protein (MBP), which is one of the main compounds of CNS myelin, appears to be hypercitrullinated in the brain of patients with MS. We hypothesized that MS is associated with an increased release of citrulline from the brain.

Effects of Oral Paricalcitol and Calcitriol Treatment on Peritoneal Membrane Characteristics of Peritoneal Dialysis Patients - A Pilot Study.

Background: Long-term peritoneal dialysis (PD) is frequently complicated by technique failure preceded by peritoneal remodeling. Vitamin D has potent immunomodulatory characteristics: anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic, anti-fibrotic properties, and influences on the macrophage phenotype. Little is known about the relation between pleiotropic effects attributed to vitamin D and the peritoneal membrane and what is the most appropriate vitamin D sterol in prevention of peritoneal remodeling in PD patients.

Effluent and serum protein N-glycosylation is associated with inflammation and peritoneal membrane transport characteristics in peritoneal dialysis patients.

Mass spectrometric glycomics was used as an innovative approach to identify biomarkers in serum and dialysate samples from peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. PD is a life-saving treatment worldwide applied in more than 100,000 patients suffering from chronic kidney disease. PD treatment uses the peritoneum as a natural membrane to exchange waste products from blood to a glucose-based solution.

Mediastinal staging by videomediastinoscopy in clinical N1 non-small cell lung cancer: a prospective multicentre study.

A quarter of patients with clinical N1 (cN1) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) based on positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) imaging have occult mediastinal nodal involvement (N2 disease). In a prospective study, endosonography alone had an unsatisfactory sensitivity (38%) in detecting N2 disease. The current prospective multicentre trial investigated the sensitivity of preoperative mediastinal staging by video-assisted mediastinoscopy (VAM) or VAM-lymphadenectomy (VAMLA).

Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Incidence of Postmenopausal Breast Cancer in 15 European Cohorts within the ESCAPE Project.

Background: Epidemiological evidence on the association between ambient air pollution and breast cancer risk is inconsistent.

Objective: We examined the association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and incidence of postmenopausal breast cancer in European women.

Methods: In 15 cohorts from nine European countries, individual estimates of air pollution levels at the residence were estimated by standardized land-use regression models developed within the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE) and Transport related Air Pollution and Health impacts – Integrated Methodologies for Assessing Particulate Matter (TRANSPHORM) projects: particulate matter (PM) ≤2.

Early intervention by Captopril does not improve wound healing of partial thickness burn wounds in a rat model.

The Renin Angiotensin System is involved in fibrotic pathologies in various organs such as heart, kidney and liver. Inhibition of this system by angiotensin converting enzyme antagonists, such as Captopril, has been shown beneficial effects on these pathologies. Captopril reduced the inflammatory reaction but also directly influenced the fibrotic process.

Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and incidence of brain tumor: the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE).

Background: Epidemiological evidence on the association between ambient air pollution and brain tumor risk is sparse and inconsistent.

Methods: In 12 cohorts from 6 European countries, individual estimates of annual mean air pollution levels at the baseline residence were estimated by standardized land-use regression models developed within the ESCAPE and TRANSPHORM projects: particulate matter (PM) ≤2.5, ≤10, and 2.

Initiation of peritoneal dialysis in the first weeks after catheter insertion: A comparison of a neutral-pH, low-GDP PD fluid and a conventional PD fluid .

Background: Chronic exposure to peritoneal dialysis (PD) fluid is associated with development of functional and structural alterations of the peritoneal membrane. The exact time point at which these changes actually occur is not known. Whether changes to the peritoneum occur immediately after installation of PD fluids and whether there is a difference between neutral-pH, low glucose degradation product (low-GDP) PD fluids and conventional PD fluids is not known either.