SGLT2 inhibitors reduce the risk of renal failure in CKD stage 5 patients with Type 2 DM.

Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have emerged as a promising therapy for diabetes and CKD patients. However, the pros and cons of SGLT2i in Type2 diabetes patients with CKD stage 5 remained largely unexplored. By using Taiwan's national health insurance research database (NHIRD), this observational cohort study enrolled T2DM patients with newly identified as having CKD5, and the index date defined as the date of CKD5 identification.

Unbiased CSF Proteomics in Patients With Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus to Identify Molecular Signatures and Candidate Biomarkers.

Background And Objectives: Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a reversible neurologic disorder that remains poorly understood. Accurate differential diagnosis of iNPH and Alzheimer disease (AD) is complicated by overlapping clinical manifestations. Beyond neuroimaging, there are currently no biomarkers available for iNPH leading to frequent misdiagnosis, and proteomic studies into iNPH have been limited by low sample sizes and inadequate analytical depth.

Early Anti-Drug Antibodies Predict Adalimumab Response in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

Adalimumab, a TNF-alpha inhibitor, is approved to treat juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), helping control disease activity and reduce flare frequency. This study aims to investigate predictors of treatment response, including anti-drug antibodies. We reviewed 65 JIA patients (mean age 10.

Biologics promote catch-up growth in young Juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients with lower body height.

Background: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is accompanied by growth retardation especially in severe cases. While the use of biologics has shown efficacy in restoring growth impairment, data from Asia are limited. We aim to investigate the growth of JIA patients and identify those who can benefit from the use of biologics in Taiwan.

Cognitive and Alzheimer's disease biomarker effects of oral nicotinamide riboside (NR) supplementation in older adults with subjective cognitive decline and mild cognitive impairment.

Introduction: Age-associated depletion in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) concentrations has been implicated in metabolic, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative disorders. Supplementation with NAD+ precursors, such as nicotinamide riboside (NR), offers a potential therapeutic avenue against neurodegenerative pathologies in aging, Alzheimer's disease, and related dementias. A crossover, double-blind, randomized placebo (PBO) controlled trial was conducted to test the safety and efficacy of 8 weeks' active treatment with NR (1 g/day) on cognition and plasma AD biomarkers in older adults with subjective cognitive decline and mild cognitive impairment.

A case of Sjögren's syndrome with selective anion exchanger 1 defect causing distal renal tubular acidosis.

Distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) is a significant clinical expression of Sjögren's syndrome (SS). While SS-related dRTA is traditionally linked to impaired H-ATPase, we report a unique case demonstrating selectively decreased anion exchanger 1 (AE1) expression with preserved H-ATPase expression. A 16-year-old girl with SS presented with muscle weakness, difficulty in ambulation, and severe hypokalemia.

Life-Space Mobility Is Related to Loneliness Among Living-Alone Older Adults: Longitudinal Analysis With Motion Sensor Data.

Background: Life-space mobility can be a behavioral indicator of loneliness. This study examined the association between life-space mobility measured with motion sensors and weekly vs. annually reported loneliness.

I-CONECT intervention effects on weekly time spent outside of home and social contacts among socially isolated older adults.

Background: Socially isolated individuals tend to have less access to cognitively stimulating activities, which could adversely impact their cognitive health. The Internet-Based Conversational Engagement Clinical Trial (I-CONECT) intervention was designed to deliver online conversation sessions to socially isolated older old adults to prevent cognitive decline. The current study examined the intervention efficacy on participants' weekly time spent out-of-home and their social interaction with family and friends.

Using Apple Watches to Monitor Health and Behaviors of Individuals with Cognitive Impairment: A Case Series Study.

Objectives: This study explores the potential of developing digital biomarkers from wearables for monitoring individuals with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias, focusing on the feasibility of using Apple Watches for tracking health and behaviors in older adults with cognitive impairment.

Method: Data collection used the Amissa Health technology stack, which passively collects time-series data from smartwatches and provides a high-frequency cloud database for secure data storage, query, and visualization by clinicians and researchers. The platform consists of i) AmissaWear, a software app that runs on smartwatches and sends information to a cloud database using a secure API; and ii) AmissaOrbis, a centralized cloud portal for the collected data.

PPAR-γ agonist pioglitazone and the risks of malignancy among type2 diabetes mellitus patients.

Aims: PPAR-gamma shows promise in inhibiting malignancy cell progression. However, pioglitazone, the sole current PPAR-gamma agonist, was reported to have risks of bladder cancer in previous clinical researches. This study is aimed to assess the influence of pioglitazone on the development of tumors.

A proposed clinical tool to identify high-risk patients for monogenic lupus: a pilot study.

Objectives: To develop an easy-to-use and efficient clinical score to identify monogenic lupus based on clinical presentations and to stratify patients who may benefit from confirmatory molecular genetic testing.

Methods: A comprehensive literature review identified 55 distinct items across 12 clinical and laboratory domains, narrowed down to the top ten by a panel of 12 expert paediatric rheumatologists with 80% consensus. The proposed score was tested in a pilot study on 10 patients with monogenic lupus and 30 control subjects with various autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases.

Clinical features and lymphocyte immunophenotyping analysis in primary immunodeficiency patients with non-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders.

Lymphoproliferative disorders (LPD) comprise a heterogeneous group and are originally classified into the "Disease of immune dysregulation" category. Of 96 Taiwanese patients during 2003-2022, 31 (median 66, range 0.03-675 months) developed LPD, mainly including palpable lymphadenopathy (in 10 patients), intestinal lymphadenopathy associated with refractory inflammatory bowel disease (IBD in 8) and hepatosplenomegaly (in 7) during long-term follow-up (median 144, range 3-252 months).

Cerebrospinal fluid biomarker profiling of diverse pathophysiological domains in Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: While Alzheimer's disease (AD) is defined by amyloid-β plaques and tau tangles in the brain, it is evident that many other pathophysiological processes such as inflammation, neurovascular dysfunction, oxidative stress, and metabolic derangements also contribute to the disease process and that varying contributions of these pathways may reflect the heterogeneity of AD. Here, we used a previously validated panel of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers to explore the degree to which different pathophysiological domains are dysregulated in AD and how they relate to each other.

Methods: Twenty-five CSF biomarkers were analyzed in individuals with a clinical diagnosis of AD verified by positive CSF AD biomarkers (AD, = 54) and cognitively unimpaired controls negative for CSF AD biomarkers (CU-N, = 26) using commercial single- and multi-plex immunoassays.

Identification of Novel Biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Using Unbiased Plasma Proteomics.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD) is a complex disease with multiple pathophysiological drivers that determine clinical symptomology and disease progression. These diseases develop insidiously over time, through many pathways and disease mechanisms and continue to have a huge societal impact for affected individuals and their families. While emerging blood-based biomarkers, such as plasma p-tau181 and p-tau217, accurately detect Alzheimer neuropthology and are associated with faster cognitive decline, the full extension of plasma proteomic changes in ADRD remains unknown.

Clinical manifestations and outcomes associated with PICU admission in children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in Taiwan: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare and serious systemic inflammatory disorder that occurs following a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. This study aims to investigate the clinical manifestations, risk factors associated with pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission, and outcome among children with MIS-C in Taiwan.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted among pediatric patients diagnosed with MIS-C between June 2022 and February 2023 at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan.

Internet-Based Conversational Engagement Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial (I-CONECT) Among Socially Isolated Adults 75+ Years Old With Normal Cognition or Mild Cognitive Impairment: Topline Results.

Background And Objectives: Social isolation is a risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia. We conducted a randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) of enhanced social interactions, hypothesizing that conversational interactions can stimulate brain functions among socially isolated older adults without dementia. We report topline results of this multisite RCT (Internet-based conversational engagement clinical trial [I-CONECT]; NCT02871921).

Feasibility of common, enjoyable game play for assessing daily cognitive functioning in older adults.

Background: Frequent digital monitoring of cognition is a promising approach for assessing endpoints in prevention and treatment trials of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). This study evaluated the feasibility of the MIND GamePack for recurrent semi-passive assessment of cognition across a longitudinal interval.

Methods: The MIND GamePack consists of four iPad-based games selected to be both familiar and enjoyable: Word Scramble, Block Drop, FreeCell, and Memory Match.

Differences in Life Space Activity Patterns Between Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment Living Alone or as a Couple: Cohort Study Using Passive Activity Sensing.

Background: Measuring function with passive in-home sensors has the advantages of real-world, objective, continuous, and unobtrusive measurement. However, previous studies have focused on 1-person homes only, which limits their generalizability.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the life space activity patterns of participants living alone with those of participants living as a couple and to compare people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) with cognitively normal participants in both 1- and 2-person homes.

Clinical outcomes between elderly ESKD patients under peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis: a national cohort study.

With ageing populations, new elderly end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) cases rise. Unlike younger patients, elderly ESKD patients are less likely to undergo kidney transplant, and therefore the decision of receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD) and hemodialysis (HD) is more crucial. A total of 36,852 patients, aged more than 65, who were newly diagnosed with ESKD and initiated renal replacement therapy between 2013 and 2019 were identified.

Using Continuous Passive Assessment Technology to Describe Health and Behavior Patterns Preceding and Following a Cancer Diagnosis in Older Adults: Proof-of-Concept Case Series Study.

Background: Describing changes in health and behavior that precede and follow a sentinel health event, such as a cancer diagnosis, is challenging because of the lack of longitudinal, objective measurements that are collected frequently enough to capture varying trajectories of change leading up to and following the event. A continuous passive assessment system that continuously monitors older adults' physical activity, weight, medication-taking behavior, pain, health events, and mood could enable the identification of more specific health and behavior patterns leading up to a cancer diagnosis and whether and how patterns change thereafter.

Objective: In this study, we conducted a proof-of-concept retrospective analysis, in which we identified new cancer diagnoses in older adults and compared trajectories of change in health and behaviors before and after cancer diagnosis.

C1-C2 subluxation in enthesitis-related arthritis: two case reports and literature review of ten cases.

Background: C1-C2 subluxation is a rare complication of enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA). If left untreated, it may lead to functional impairment or cervical spinal cord compression. This study aims to highlight key points regarding the management of C1-C2 subluxation in ERA.

Immunosenescence, gut dysbiosis, and chronic kidney disease: Interplay and implications for clinical management.

Immunosenescence refers to the immune system changes observed in individuals over 50 years old, characterized by diminished immune response and chronic inflammation. Recent investigations have highlighted similar immune alterations in patients with reduced kidney function. The immune system and kidney function have been found to be closely interconnected.

Prevalence, associated factors, and impact of adolescent asthma in Taiwan: Global Asthma Network phase I survey.

Background: The prevalence of asthma in Taiwan was increasing in the past 30 years, causing a great impact on adolescent health. This study aimed to investigate the current prevalence, impact, and associated factors of asthma in Taiwanese adolescents.

Material And Methods: Parents or guardians provided passive consent at home prior to the survey.