Airway MMP-12 and DNA methylation in COPD: an integrative approach.

Background: In COPD, the balance between matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their natural inhibitors [tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs)] is shifted towards excessive degradation, reflected in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) as increased MMP concentrations. Because of their critical role in lung homeostasis, MMP activity is tightly regulated, but to what extent this regulation occurs through epigenetic mechanisms remains unknown.

Methods: To explore the interplay between MMPs, TIMPs, and DNA methylation (DNAm) we (1) analysed MMP-9, -12, and TIMP-1 concentrations in BAL fluid, and profiled DNAm in BAL cells from 18 COPD and 30 control subjects, (2) estimated protein-COPD relationships using multivariable regression, (3) identified protein quantitative trait methylation loci (pQTMs) with COPD as a potential modifier in a separate interaction model, and (4) integrated significant interactions with a previous COPD GWAS meta-analysis.

Clinical importance of patient-reported outcome measures in severe asthma: results from U-BIOPRED.

Rationale: Knowledge about the clinical importance of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in severe asthma is limited.

Objectives: To assess whether and to what extent asthma exacerbations affect changes in PROMS over time and asthma-specific PROMs can predict exacerbations in adult patients with severe asthma in usual care.

Methods: Data of 421 patients with severe asthma (62% female; mean age 51.

Effects of customized corneal cross-linking on higher-order aberrations in progressive keratoconus and low-grade myopia.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of customized corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) on higher-order aberrations (HOAs) in keratoconus (KC): vertical coma (VC), horizontal coma (HC), spherical aberration (SA), trefoil (TF) and astigmatism, compared with the same effects in healthy eyes undergoing CXL for low-grade myopia.

Methods: This mixed-designed study included 38 eyes of 38 patients with KC, treated and followed prospectively, who received customized epi-on CXL in high oxygen, and a retrospective control group of 23 eyes from 23 patients who underwent central 4-mm CXL treatment for low-grade myopia. VC, HC, SA, TF and keratometry values were obtained from Pentacam HR® measurements at baseline and at 1, 6, 12 and 24 months post-treatment.

Ten-year trends of delayed sequential bilateral cataract surgery (DSBCS) in Sweden: a register-based study.

Purpose: To study the trend of delayed sequential bilateral cataract surgery (DSBCS) in Sweden in the past decade.

Methods: This register-based cohort study utilized data from the Swedish National Cataract Register (NCR) from 2010 through 2019. Register files from patients who underwent cataract surgery in both eyes during the study period were linked using their social security numbers.

Prioritizations in Swedish cataract surgery - when resources are limited-Exemplified by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: To study the prioritization effects of the of COVID-19 pandemic on Swedish cataract surgery using a national healthcare registry with high coverage.

Setting: A study from the Swedish National Cataract Register (NCR), involving all patients undergoing cataract surgery in Sweden during 2019-2022 - before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results: With the pandemic outbreak, the number of cataract surgeries fell by 22% in 2020 (15 369 procedures), albeit with large regional differences (-43% to +58%).

The challenges of recruiting never-smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from the large population-based Swedish CArdiopulmonary bioImage study (SCAPIS) cohort.

Background: A substantial proportion of individuals with COPD have never smoked, and it is implied to be more common than previously anticipated but poorly studied.

Aim: To describe the process of recruitment of never-smokers with COPD from a population-based cohort ( = 30 154).

Methods: We recruited never-smokers with COPD, aged 50-75 years, from six University Hospitals, based on: 1) post broncho-dilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity (FEV/FVC) < 0.

Safety of an Intracameral Fixed Combination for Mydriasis and Intraocular Anaesthesia During Cataract Surgery.

Purpose: To compare the safety of a standardized, commercially available intracameral combination of mydriatics and anesthetic (ICMA) with a reference topical mydriatic regimen for cataract surgery.

Patients And Methods: The safety results from two international, randomized, controlled clinical studies were combined to compare ICMA at the beginning of cataract surgery (ICMA group) to the reference topical mydriatic regimen (reference group). Data were collected on ocular and systemic adverse events, corneal and anterior chamber examination, endothelial cell density, retinal thickness and visual acuity.

Randomized clinical trial comparing customized corneal crosslinking: epi-on in high oxygen and epi-off in room air for keratoconus.

Purpose: To compare clinical outcomes of customized transepithelial (epi-on) corneal crosslinking (CXL) in high oxygen and customized CXL with epithelial removal (epi-off) in room air for keratoconus (KC).

Setting: Umeå University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden.

Design: Prospective, randomized, single-masked, intraindividually comparing study.

[2.6 million cataract surgeries: 31 years with the Swedish National Cataract Register 1992-2022].

This review summarizes data collected by the Swedish National Cataract Register (NCR), which by the end of 2022 contained data on more than 2.6 million cataract surgeries between 1992-2022. During these 31 years, the cataract surgery rate (CSR) rose from 3 700 to 14 407.

Impact of individual level uncertainty of lung cancer polygenic risk score (PRS) on risk stratification.

Background: Although polygenic risk score (PRS) has emerged as a promising tool for predicting cancer risk from genome-wide association studies (GWAS), the individual-level accuracy of lung cancer PRS and the extent to which its impact on subsequent clinical applications remains largely unexplored.

Methods: Lung cancer PRSs and confidence/credible interval (CI) were constructed using two statistical approaches for each individual: (1) the weighted sum of 16 GWAS-derived significant SNP loci and the CI through the bootstrapping method (PRS-16-CV) and (2) LDpred2 and the CI through posteriors sampling (PRS-Bayes), among 17,166 lung cancer cases and 12,894 controls with European ancestry from the International Lung Cancer Consortium. Individuals were classified into different genetic risk subgroups based on the relationship between their own PRS mean/PRS CI and the population level threshold.

Human exposure to diesel exhaust induces CYP1A1 expression and AhR activation without a coordinated antioxidant response.

Background: Diesel exhaust (DE) induces neutrophilia and lymphocytosis in experimentally exposed humans. These responses occur in parallel to nuclear migration of NF-κB and c-Jun, activation of mitogen activated protein kinases and increased production of inflammatory mediators. There remains uncertainty regarding the impact of DE on endogenous antioxidant and xenobiotic defences, mediated by nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) respectively, and the extent to which cellular antioxidant adaptations protect against the adverse effects of DE.

Thermographic analysis of the corneal surface in epi-on and epi-off corneal crosslinking for keratoconus.

Purpose: To analyse the temperature of the corneal surface in keratoconus during corneal customized crosslinking (CXL) with a preserved epithelium (epi-on) under oxygen flow, and epi-off CXL in room air, and to assess the effect of pre-heating the oxygen.

Methods: This masked, intra-individual comparing randomized study included 14 participants with bilateral progressive keratoconus treated with bilateral CXL: one eye with epi-on CXL under a flow of 2.5 L/min oxygen; the fellow eye with epi-off CXL in room air.

Low levels of endogenous anabolic androgenic steroids in females with severe asthma taking corticosteroids.

Rationale: Patients with severe asthma are dependent upon treatment with high doses of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and often also oral corticosteroids (OCS). The extent of endogenous androgenic anabolic steroid (EAAS) suppression in asthma has not previously been described in detail. The objective of the present study was to measure urinary concentrations of EAAS in relation to exogenous corticosteroid exposure.

Reduced bronchoalveolar macrophage phagocytosis and cytotoxic effects after controlled short-term exposure to wood smoke in healthy humans.

Background: Exposure to wood smoke has been shown to contribute to adverse respiratory health effects including airway infections, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. A preceding study failed to confirm any acute inflammation or cell influx in bronchial wash (BW) or bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) 24 h after wood smoke exposure but showed unexpected reductions in leukocyte numbers. The present study was performed to investigate responses at an earlier phase, regarding potential development of acute inflammation, as well as indications of cytotoxicity.

Two point four million cataract surgeries: 30 years with the Swedish National Cataract Register, 1992-2021.

The present review summarizes data collected by the Swedish National Cataract Register (NCR), which by the end of 2021 contained data for more than 2.4 million cataract surgeries between 1992 and 2021. During these 30 years, the cataract surgery rate rose from 3700 to 12 800.

Ten-year trends of immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery (ISBCS) as reflected in the Swedish National Cataract Register.

Purpose: To analyse trends of ISBCS reported to the Swedish National Cataract Register (NCR) over a 10-year period.

Methods: Since 2010 the NCR contains social security number of all individuals in the list of parameters reported to NCR after each cataract procedure. Bilateral surgeries were mapped out using social security numbers.

Development of machine learning models to predict posterior capsule rupture based on the EUREQUO registry.

Purpose: To evaluate the performance of different probabilistic classifiers to predict posterior capsule rupture (PCR) prior to cataract surgery.

Methods: Three probabilistic classifiers were constructed to estimate the probability of PCR: a Bayesian network (BN), logistic regression (LR) model, and multi-layer perceptron (MLP) network. The classifiers were trained on a sample of 2 853 376 surgeries reported to the European Registry of Quality Outcomes for Cataract and Refractive Surgery (EUREQUO) between 2008 and 2018.

Repositioning of in-the-bag Dislocated Intraocular Lenses: A Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing Two Surgical Methods.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate intraocular lens (IOL) tilt, IOL-induced astigmatism (IIA), refractive change, and impact of capsular fibrosis on IOL position after scleral fixation of dislocated IOL using two methods: ab externo scleral suture loop fixation (group A) and a modification, embracing the continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis (group B).

Methods: In this prospective randomized clinical trial conducted at St. Erik Eye Hospital, 117 patients with dislocated IOL were randomized to group A (n = 61) or B (n = 56).

A cross-sectional study of inflammatory markers as determinants of circulating kynurenines in the Lung Cancer Cohort Consortium.

Circulating concentrations of metabolites (collectively called kynurenines) in the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism increase during inflammation, particularly in response to interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). Neopterin and the kynurenine/tryptophan ratio (KTR) are IFN-γ induced inflammatory markers, and together with C-reactive protein (CRP) and kynurenines they are associated with various diseases, but comprehensive data on the strength of associations of inflammatory markers with circulating concentrations of kynurenines are lacking. We measured circulating concentrations of neopterin, CRP, tryptophan and seven kynurenines in 5314 controls from 20 cohorts in the Lung Cancer Cohort Consortium (LC3).

Cataract surgery in patients with uveitis: Data from the Swedish National Cataract Register.

Purpose: To investigate the surgical and pharmacological management and outcomes of patients with cataract and concurrent uveitis.

Methods: Data from the Swedish National Cataract Register, 2018-2019, were collected and analysed. Uveitic eyes were identified and eyes without uveitis were used as controls.

Anesthesia techniques and the risk of complications as reflected in the European Registry of Quality Outcomes for Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

Purpose: To determine the trends in anesthesia techniques for cataract surgery over the past decade and their relationship to surgical complications.

Setting: Clinics affiliated with the European Registry of Quality Outcomes for Cataract and Refractive Surgery (EUREQUO).

Design: Retrospective cross-sectional register-based study.

Birch pollen, air pollution and their interactive effects on airway symptoms and peak expiratory flow in allergic asthma during pollen season - a panel study in Northern and Southern Sweden.

Background: Evidence of the role of interactions between air pollution and pollen exposure in subjects with allergic asthma is limited and need further exploration to promote adequate preventive measures. The objective of this study was to assess effects of exposure to ambient air pollution and birch pollen on exacerbation of respiratory symptoms in subjects with asthma and allergy to birch.

Methods: Thirty-seven subjects from two Swedish cities (Gothenburg and Umeå) with large variation in exposure to both birch-pollen and air pollutants, participated in the study.

A Large-Scale Genome-Wide Gene-Gene Interaction Study of Lung Cancer Susceptibility in Europeans With a Trans-Ethnic Validation in Asians.

Introduction: Although genome-wide association studies have been conducted to investigate genetic variation of lung tumorigenesis, little is known about gene-gene (G × G) interactions that may influence the risk of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Leveraging a total of 445,221 European-descent participants from the International Lung Cancer Consortium OncoArray project, Transdisciplinary Research in Cancer of the Lung and UK Biobank, we performed a large-scale genome-wide G × G interaction study on European NSCLC risk by a series of analyses. First, we used BiForce to evaluate and rank more than 58 billion G × G interactions from 340,958 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).