A Phase II Clinical Trial of an Aromatase Inhibitor for Postmenopausal Women with Lymphangioleiomyomatosis.

Rationale: Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a progressive cystic lung disease that predominantly affects women and can worsen with pregnancy, estrogen treatment, and the menstrual cycle, suggesting an important role for estrogen in disease pathogenesis.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy and safety of the aromatase inhibitor letrozole in the treatment of LAM.

Methods: Seventeen postmenopausal women with LAM were enrolled in this phase II trial and randomized to receive letrozole 2.

Effects of electroconvulsive therapy on amygdala function in major depression - a longitudinal functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the most effective treatments for severe depression. However, little is known regarding brain functional processes mediating ECT effects.

Method: In a non-randomized prospective study, functional magnetic resonance imaging data during the automatic processing of subliminally presented emotional faces were obtained twice, about 6 weeks apart, in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) before and after treatment with ECT (ECT, n = 24).

A Rare Case of Cor Triatriatum Leading to Respiratory Failure and Shock in an 8-Month-Old Boy.

An 8-month-old boy presents with 1 week of gradually worsening respiratory distress. After chest radiograph shows bilateral airspace opacities, he is treated for pneumonia with antibiotics and intravenous fluids. Shortly after this, he decompensates requiring intubation, followed by cardiopulmonary support with pressors and eventually extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Size Matters! Differences in Nutritional Care between Small, Medium and Large Nursing Homes in Germany.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to comprehensively describe nutritional care in German nursing homes (NHs) and to examine if nutritional care differs between small, medium and large NHs.

Design: Nationwide cross-sectional postal survey.

Setting: Nursing homes.

Differential Abnormal Pattern of Anterior Cingulate Gyrus Activation in Unipolar and Bipolar Depression: an fMRI and Pattern Classification Approach.

Distinguishing bipolar disorder from major depressive disorder is a major challenge in psychiatric treatment. Consequently, there has been growing interest in identifying neuronal biomarkers of disorder-specific pathophysiological processes to differentiate affective disorders. Thirty-six depressed bipolar patients, 36 depressed unipolar patients, and 36 matched healthy controls (HCs) participated in an fMRI experiment.

Stochastic resonance whole body vibration increases perceived muscle relaxation but not cardiovascular activation: A randomized controlled trial.

Aim: To investigate the acute effects of stochastic resonance whole body vibration (SR-WBV), including muscle relaxation and cardiovascular activation.

Methods: Sixty-four healthy students participated. The participants were randomly assigned to sham SR-WBV training at a low intensity (1.

Radiofrequency-activated PMMA-augmentation through cannulated pedicle screws: A cadaver study to determine the biomechanical benefits in the osteoporotic spine.

Introduction: PMMA-augmentation of pedicle screws strengthens the bone-screw-interface reducing cut-out risk. Injection of fluid cement bears a higher risk of extravasation, with difficulty of application because of inconsistent viscosity and limited injection time.

Objective: To test a new method of cement augmentation of pedicle screws using radiofrequency-activated PMMA, which is suspected to be easier to apply and have less extravasations.

CD70 limits atherosclerosis and promotes macrophage function.

The co-stimulatory molecule CD70 is expressed on activated immune cells and is known to modulate responses of T, B, and NK cells via its receptor CD27. Until now, there is only limited data describing the role of CD70 in atherosclerosis. We observed that ruptured human carotid atherosclerotic plaques displayed higher CD70 expression than stable carotid atherosclerotic plaques, and that CD70 expression in murine atheroma localized to macrophages.

Visualization of bond rearrangements in acetylene using near single-cycle laser pulses.

The migration of hydrogen atoms resulting in the isomerization of hydrocarbons is an important process which can occur on ultrafast timescales. Here, we visualize the light-induced hydrogen migration of acetylene to vinylidene in an ionic state using two synchronized 4 fs intense laser pulses. The first pulse induces hydrogen migration, and the second is used for monitoring transient structural changes via Coulomb explosion imaging.

An observational study of inhaled-treprostinil respiratory-related safety in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Inhaled treprostinil (Tyvaso) has been shown to be a safe and effective addition to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) oral therapies; however, the respiratory-related safety profile of inhaled treprostinil required further elucidation in the setting of routine clinical care. The objectives of this study were to characterize respiratory-related adverse events (AEs) associated with current or recent treatment with inhaled treprostinil and to compare the incidence of respiratory-related AEs in PAH patients treated with inhaled treprostinil with that in patients treated with other Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved PAH therapies. This was a long-term, prospective, observational study.

[The Role of a Modular Universal Tumour and Revision System (MUTARS®) in Lower Limb Endoprosthetic Revision Surgery - Outcome Analysis of 25 Patients].

With extended life expectancy, the number of primary joint arthroplasties has also increased. Revision surgery is also more often necessary, due to aseptic or septic loosening of the prosthesis or periprosthetic fracture. Large bone defects often occur in these patients and several non-modular, conventional implants are available to handle this difficult situation.

Can a Six-Minute Walk Distance Predict Right Ventricular Dysfunction in Patients with Diffuse Parenchymal Lung Disease and Pulmonary Hypertension?

Objectives: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is commonly observed in patients with diffuse parenchymal lung disease (DPLD). The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) as a simple, non-invasive tool to assess right ventricular (RV) function in patients with DPLD and to identify the need for an echocardiogram (ECHO) to screen for PH.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 48 patients with PH secondary to DPLD, who were evaluated in the PH clinic at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, from January 1999 to December 2014.

The supramolecular structure of bone: X-ray scattering analysis and lateral structure modeling.

The evolution of vertebrates required a key development in supramolecular evolution: internally mineralized collagen fibrils. In bone, collagen molecules and mineral crystals form a nanocomposite material comparable to cast iron in tensile strength, but several times lighter and more flexible. Current understanding of the internal nanoscale structure of collagen fibrils, derived from studies of rat tail tendon (RTT), does not explain how nucleation and growth of mineral crystals can occur inside a collagen fibril.

Alterations in systemic levels of Th1, Th2, and Th17 cytokines in overweight adolescents and obese mice.

Background: Obesity represents a major problem for patients and health care systems in most industrialized countries. A chronic inflammatory state in obese individuals leads to disease conditions associated with activation of cellular immune mechanisms. Here, we sought to investigate the role of Th1-, Th2-, and Th17-related cytokines in overweight adolescents and mice on a high-fat diet.

Traversing the Skin Barrier with Nano-emulsions.

Background: In recent years, colloidal delivery systems based on nano-emulsion are gaining popularity; being used for encapsulation and delivery of many drugs. This review therefore aims at summarizing various methods of nano-emulsion formulation and their use as a topical and transdermal delivery vehicle for a number of active pharmaceutical ingredients from different pharmacological classes.

Methods: This article represents a systematic review of nano-emulsions for topical and transdermal drug delivery.

Neuroinflammatory challenges compromise neuronal function in the aging brain: Postoperative cognitive delirium and Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that targets memory and cognition, and is the most common form of dementia among the elderly. Although AD itself has been extensively studied, very little is known about early-stage preclinical events and/or mechanisms that may underlie AD pathogenesis. Since the majority of AD cases are sporadic in nature, advancing age remains the greatest known risk factor for AD.

TNF receptors 1 and 2 exert distinct region-specific effects on striatal and hippocampal grey matter volumes (VBM) in healthy adults.

Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) has been implicated in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disease, with research highlighting a role for TNFα in hippocampal and striatal regulation. TNFα signals are primarily transduced by TNF receptors 1 and 2 (TNFR1 and TNFR2), encoded by TNFRSF1A and TNFRSF1B, which exert opposing effects on cell survival (TNFR1, neurodegenerative; TNFR2, neuroprotective). We therefore sought to explore the respective roles of TNFR1 and TNFR2 in the regulation of hippocampal and striatal morphology in an imaging genetics study.

Progesterone-induced miR-133a inhibits the proliferation of endometrial epithelial cells.

Aim: This study aimed to understand the role of miR-133a in progesterone actions, explore the regulative mechanism of the progesterone receptor, and investigate the effects of miR-133a on the progesterone-inhibited proliferation of mouse endometrial epithelial cells.

Methods: The expression of miR-133a induced by progesterone was detected by quantitative real-time PCR both in vivo and in vitro. Ishikawa subcell lines stably transfected with progesterone receptor subtypes were used to determine the receptor mechanism of progesterone inducing miR-133a.

Long-term effectiveness of a combined student-parent and a student-only smoking prevention intervention among 7th grade school children in Berlin, Germany.

Background And Aims: In Germany, the smoking prevalence among adolescents is among the highest in Europe. Our aim was to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of a combined student-parent and a student-only smoking prevention programme to reduce the smoking prevalence among 7th grade students in Berlin.

Design: Three-armed cluster-randomized controlled trial (RCT).

Ovarian Stimulation for In Vitro Fertilization and Long-term Risk of Breast Cancer.

Importance: Previous studies of breast cancer risk after in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment were inconclusive due to limited follow-up.

Objective: To assess long-term risk of breast cancer after ovarian stimulation for IVF.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Historical cohort (OMEGA study) with complete follow-up through December 2013 for 96% of the cohort.

[Long-term-management of organ transplant recipients].

Due to advances in immunosuppressive therapy and surgical techniques, survival rates after solid organ transplantation have constantly improved over the last decades. In long-term care after transplantation, physicians need to focus as much on diagnosis and treatment of allograft-related complications as they should consider comorbidities and evaluate risk-factors and adverse events of immunosuppressive agents to prevent secondary diseases. In particular, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, malignancy and infection play a major role in long-term survival.