Association between BRAF V600E mutation and recurrence of papillary thyroid cancer.

Purpose: To investigate the prognostic value of BRAF V600E mutation for the recurrence of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC).

Patients And Methods: This was a retrospective multicenter study of the relationship between BRAF V600E mutation and recurrence of PTC in 2,099 patients (1,615 women and 484 men), with a median age of 45 years (interquartile range [IQR], 34 to 58 years) and a median follow-up time of 36 months (IQR, 14 to 75 months).

Results: The overall BRAF V600E mutation prevalence was 48.

Achondroplasia in children: correlation of ventriculomegaly, size of foramen magnum and jugular foramina, and emissary vein enlargement.

Purpose: Achondroplasia is a skeletal dysplasia with diminished growth of the skull base secondary to defective enchondral bone formation. This leads to narrowing of the foramen magnum and jugular foramina, which further leads to ventricular dilatation and prominence of the emissary veins. The primary goal of our study was to determine a correlation between the degree of ventricular dilatation, jugular foramina and foramen magnum narrowing, as well as emissary vein enlargement.

UK audit of glomerular filtration rate measurement from plasma sampling in 2013.

Introduction: An audit was carried out into UK glomerular filtration rate (GFR) calculation. The results were compared with an identical 2001 audit.

Methods: Participants used their routine method to calculate GFR for 20 data sets (four plasma samples) in millilitres per minute and also the GFR normalized for body surface area.

The Neonatal Pain, Agitation and Sedation Scale and the bedside nurse's assessment of neonates.

Objective: To determine the reliability of an objective measure of pain, agitation and sedation using the Neonatal Pain, Agitation and Sedation Scale (N-PASS) compared with nursing bedside assessment.

Study Design: Neonates admitted in neonatal intensive care unit over a 6-month period were eligible. Pain and sedation were assessed with N-PASS, and a subjective questionnaire was administered to the bedside nurse.

Safety of varenicline tartrate and counseling versus counseling alone for smoking cessation: a randomized controlled trial for inpatients (STOP study).

Introduction: Inpatient medical settings offer an opportunistic environment for initiating smoking cessation interventions to patients reflecting on their health. Current evidence has shown the superior efficacy of varenicline tartrate (VT) for smoking cessation compared with other tobacco cessation therapies; however, recent evidence also has highlighted concerns about the safety and tolerability of VT. Given these apprehensions, we aimed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of VT plus quitline-counseling compared to quitline-counseling alone in the inpatient medical setting.

Culturally relevant treatment services for perinatal depression in socio-economically disadvantaged women: the design of the MOMCare study.

Background: Depression during pregnancy has been demonstrated to be predictive of low birthweight, prematurity, and postpartum depression. These adverse outcomes potentially have lasting effects on maternal and child well-being. Socio-economically disadvantaged women are twice as likely as middle-class women to meet diagnostic criteria for antenatal major depression (MDD), but have proven difficult to engage and retain in treatment.

Cultural competence and perceptions of community health workers' effectiveness for reducing health care disparities.

Introduction: Community health worker (CHW) interventions improve health outcomes of patients from underserved communities, but health professionals' perceptions of their effectiveness may impede integration of CHWs into health care delivery systems. Whether health professionals' attitudes and skills, such as those related to cultural competence, influence perceptions of CHWs, is unknown.

Methods: A questionnaire was administered to providers and clinical staff from 6 primary care practices in Maryland from April to December 2011.

Ambulatory oxygen for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who are not hypoxaemic at rest.

Background: People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often become transiently hypoxaemic (low oxygen levels in blood) on exercise, necessitating oxygen therapy to improve breathlessness and exercise capacity and to reduce disability. Ambulatory oxygen therapy refers to provision of oxygen therapy during exercise and activities of daily living. Ambulatory oxygen therapy is often used by patients on long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) during exercise or by non-LTOT users with or without resting hypoxaemia when they show evidence of exercise de-saturation and demonstrate improvement in exercise capacity with supplemental oxygen.

Improving urban African Americans' blood pressure control through multi-level interventions in the Achieving Blood Pressure Control Together (ACT) study: a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Given their high rates of uncontrolled blood pressure, urban African Americans comprise a particularly vulnerable subgroup of persons with hypertension. Substantial evidence has demonstrated the important role of family and community support in improving patients' management of a variety of chronic illnesses. However, studies of multi-level interventions designed specifically to improve urban African American patients' blood pressure self-management by simultaneously leveraging patient, family, and community strengths are lacking.

Deletion of potD, encoding a putative spermidine-binding protein, results in a complex phenotype in Legionella pneumophila.

L. pneumophila is an intracellular pathogen that replicates in a membrane-bound compartment known as the Legionella-containing vacuole (LCV). We previously observed that the polyamine spermidine, produced by host cells or added exogenously, enhances the intracellular growth of L.

Vitamin D and subclinical cerebrovascular disease: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities brain magnetic resonance imaging study.

Importance: Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and incident stroke. Little is known about the association between vitamin D and subclinical cerebrovascular disease.

Objective: To examine the relationship of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels with cerebrovascular abnormalities as assessed on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) among participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Brain MRI study.

Surveillance imaging for lymphoma: pros and cons.

There is no international consensus on the optimal frequency or duration of computed tomography or positron emission tomography scanning for surveillance in patients who achieve complete remission after initial therapy for lymphoma. Although some clinical practice guidelines suggest periodic imaging is reasonable, others suggest little or no benefit to this practice. From a theoretical perspective, the frequency and duration of surveillance imaging is largely dependent upon the lymphoma subtype.

Genetic deletion of Mst1 alters T cell function and protects against autoimmunity.

Mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1 (Mst1) is a MAPK kinase kinase kinase which is involved in a wide range of cellular responses, including apoptosis, lymphocyte adhesion and trafficking. The contribution of Mst1 to Ag-specific immune responses and autoimmunity has not been well defined. In this study, we provide evidence for the essential role of Mst1 in T cell differentiation and autoimmunity, using both genetic and pharmacologic approaches.

Vitamin D and cognitive function and dementia risk in a biracial cohort: the ARIC Brain MRI Study.

Background And Purpose: Some recent studies in older, largely white populations suggest that vitamin D, measured by 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], is important for cognition, but such results may be affected by reverse causation. Measuring 25(OH)D in late middle age before poor cognition affects behavior may provide clearer results.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort analysis of 1652 participants (52% white, 48% black) in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Brain MRI Study.

Comparative effectiveness on survival of zoledronic acid versus pamidronate in multiple myeloma.

Zoledronic acid and pamidronate are the two bisphosphonates approved in the United States to reduce multiple myeloma skeletal complications. Little prior evidence exists comparing survival outcomes between the two. We evaluated the incidence of skeletal-related events and overall survival in patients with myeloma treated with zoledronic acid versus pamidronate using a cohort of 1018 United States veterans.

Diffusion tensor imaging of the brainstem in children with achondroplasia.

Aim: The aims of this study were to compare, using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the brainstem, microstructural integrity of the white matter in children with achondroplasia and age-matched participants and to correlate the severity of craniocervical junction (CCJ) narrowing and neurological findings with DTI scalars in children with achondroplasia. This study also aimed to assess the potential role of fibroblast growth factor receptor type 3 on white matter microstructure.

Method: Diffusion tensor imaging was performed using a 1.

A drug safety evaluation of rituximab and risk of hepatitis B.

Introduction: Rituximab is a widely prescribed anti-CD20 mAb for the treatment of CD20(+) B-cell non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and many other immune mediated conditions. There is a well-described association between rituximab containing chemo-immunotherapy treatment and reactivation of the hepatitis B virus (HBV). This review summarizes the current literature surrounding rituximab-associated HBV reactivation.

The skinny on obesity and plasma cell myeloma: a review of the literature.

Despite tremendous advances in treatments for myeloma in the past decade, the disease remains incurable in the majority of patients. Here, we review recent data demonstrating an association between obesity and increased risk of myeloma development. This may be due to the pro-inflammatory cytokine profile caused by obesity.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of incidence and correlates of recurrence of takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

Aim: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) is a disorder of myocardial inflammation induced by high catecholamine levels and is associated with acute complications. In the long-term TTC is associated with a risk of single or multiple recurrences, but risk of such occurrences is not clear. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and consolidate the evidence on the incidence and clinical correlates of cases of TTC recurrence.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy associated with brentuximab vedotin therapy: a report of 5 cases from the Southern Network on Adverse Reactions (SONAR) project.

Background: Brentuximab vedotin (BV) is an anti-CD30 monoclonal antibody-drug conjugate that was approved in 2011 for the treatment of patients with anaplastic large cell and Hodgkin lymphomas. The product label indicates that 3 patients who were treated with BV developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a frequently fatal JC virus-induced central nervous system infection. Prior immunosuppressive therapy and compromised immune systems were postulated risk factors.

Meta-analysis of clinical correlates of acute mortality in takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

The incidence and clinical correlates of acute in-hospital mortality of takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) are not clear. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to consolidate the current evidence on acute mortality in TTC. We then assessed the impact of "secondary" TTC, male gender, advancing age, and catecholamine use on mortality.

Usefulness of coronary and carotid imaging rather than traditional atherosclerotic risk factors to identify firefighters at increased risk for cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for 45% of deaths in on-duty firefighters, in contrast to 15% of all deaths occurring on conventional jobs. Therefore, with the goal of developing a tailored prevention program, we assessed CVD risk in a cohort of 50 firefighters using imaging and traditional risk factors. Participants were aged ≥40 years without a history of CVD or diabetes.