Elderly and Patients with Large Breast Volume Have an Increased Risk of Seroma Formation after Mastectomy-Results of the SerMa Pilot Study.

The collective of the SerMa pilot study included 100 cases of primary breast cancer or Carcinoma in situ who had undergone a mastectomy procedure with or without reconstruction of the breast using an implant or expander at Augsburg University Hospital between 12/2019 and 12/2022. The study aimed to investigate possible causes of seroma formation; reported here are the clinicopathological correlations between seroma formation and tumor biology and surgical procedures. Seroma occurred significantly more often in patients with older age (median patient age in cases with seroma was 73 years vs.

Th2/Th17 cell associated cytokines found in seroma fluids after breast cancer surgery.

Purpose: The development of a seroma after breast cancer surgery is a common postoperative complication seen after simple mastectomy and axillary surgery. We could recently demonstrate that breast cancer patients undergoing a simple mastectomy with subsequent seroma formation developed a T-helper cell increase within the aspirated fluid measured by flow cytometry. The same study revealed a Th2 and/or a Th17 immune response in peripheral blood and seroma fluid of the same patient.

Clinical Knowledge Platform (CKP): A Collaborative Ecosystem to Share Interoperable Clinical Forms, Viewers, and Order Sets with Various EMRs.

A large number of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) are currently available with a variety of features and architectures. Existing studies and frameworks presented some solutions to overcome the problem of specification and application of clinical guidelines toward the automation of their use at the point of care. However, they could not yet support thoroughly the dynamic use of medical knowledge in EMRs according to the clinical contexts and provide local application of international recommendations.

Impairment of Cognitive Function in Different Domains Early After Lung Transplantation.

In this prospective observational pilot study patients with the diagnosis of end-stage lung disease and listed for lung transplantation underwent a cognitive function test battery before and after lung transplantation to investigate postoperative cognitive function in three domains (visual and verbal memory, executive functioning, concentration/speed of processing). Additionally we investigated intraoperative risk factors for postoperative cognitive dysfunction. In total, 24 patients were included in this pilot study.

Intronic miR-744 Inhibits Glioblastoma Migration by Functionally Antagonizing Its Host Gene MAP2K4.

Background: The second intron of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinase 4 (MAP2K4), an important hub in the pro-invasive MAPK pathway, harbors miR-744. There is accumulating evidence that intronic micro-RNAs (miRNAs) are capable of either supporting or restraining functional pathways of their host genes, thereby creating intricate regulative networks. We thus hypothesized that miR-744 regulates glioma migration by interacting with its host's pathways.

Idiopathic internal mammary artery aneurysm.

Aneurysms of the internal mammary artery are extremely rare, and their presentation and treatment are variable. Since these aneurysms often tend to rupture and cause haemothorax and life-threatening conditions, the knowledge of secure treatment options is indispensable. We here report the case of an idiopathic internal mammary aneurysm in a 46-year-old man.

MicroRNA-665 is involved in the regulation of the expression of the cardioprotective cannabinoid receptor CB2 in patients with severe heart failure.

The myocardial endocannabinoid system has been linked to stress response and cardioprotection. In chronic heart failure (CHF), protective CB2 receptors are markedly up-regulated while CB1 receptors are slightly down-regulated. We here provide evidence that myocardial CB receptors are subject to microRNA regulation.

Indocyanine green clearance as an outcome prediction tool in cardiac surgery: a prospective study.

Purpose: To evaluate the role of plasma disappearance rate of indocyanine green (PDR-ICG) as an outcome prediction tool in cardiac surgery.

Patients And Methods: One hundred ninety patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting, valve surgery or combined procedures were enrolled. PDR-ICG measurements along with standard lab values were performed preoperative and on postoperative days 1, 2, and on discharge from the intensive care unit.

Daptomycin as supportive treatment option in patients developing mediastinitis after open cardiac surgery.

Background: Mediastinitis is a severe complication after cardiac surgery. While improvement of prophylaxis and of medical and surgical therapy has reduced its incidence, the treatment of mediastinitis continues to be a challenging problem. Within this study, we report the successful use of daptomycin as supportive therapy in patients developing mediastinitis after open cardiac surgery.

Haematocrit is invalid for estimating red cell volume: a prospective study in male volunteers.

Background: Although haematocrit and haemoglobin value are concentrations, they are commonly used to guide clinical decisions involving red cell and plasma volumes. A study challenging this convention systematically co-determined and compared these measures.

Materials And Methods: Using a non-radioactive double-tracer technique to assess blood volume components, measurements were taken once in 46 healthy male endurance athletes.

MicroRNAs as potential therapeutic agents in the treatment of myocardial infarction.

In spite of enormous efforts, myocardial infarction is one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The molecular mechanisms underlying the pathological myocardial alterations in affected patients are not fully elucidated. Recent studies have uncovered an important regulatory role for microRNAs (miRNAs), a family of small non-coding RNA molecules which - by translational repression or messenger RNA (mRNA) degradation - primarily act as negative regulators of gene expression.

Medical suppression of hypercortisolemia in Cushing's syndrome with particular consideration of etomidate.

Cushing's syndrome is associated with excessive cortisol secretion by the adrenal gland or ectopic tumours and may result in diabetes, hypertension, and life-threatening infections with high mortality rates especially in the case of surgical resection. Although surgical resection is the treatment of choice, patients may benefit from preceding medical therapy. This may especially be useful as an adjunctive approach in emergency settings, if patients cannot undergo surgery, if surgery or radiotherapy fails, or if the tumour recurs.

DSGeo: software tools for cross-platform analysis of gene expression data in GEO.

The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) is the largest resource of public gene expression data. While GEO enables data browsing, query and retrieval, additional tools can help realize its potential for aggregating and comparing data across multiple studies and platforms. This paper describes DSGeo-a collection of valuable tools that were developed for annotating, aggregating, integrating, and analyzing data deposited in GEO.

Towards large-scale sample annotation in gene expression repositories.

Background: Large repositories of biomedical research data are most useful to translational researchers if their data can be aggregated for efficient queries and analyses. However, inconsistent or non-existent annotations describing important sample details such as name of tissue or cell line, histopathological type, and subject characteristics like demographics, treatment, and survival are seldom present in data repositories, making it difficult to aggregate data.

Results: We created a flexible software tool that allows efficient annotation of samples using a controlled vocabulary, and report on its use for the annotation of over 12,500 samples.

Evaluation of a large-scale biomedical data annotation initiative.

Background: This study describes a large-scale manual re-annotation of data samples in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), using variables and values derived from the National Cancer Institute thesaurus. A framework is described for creating an annotation scheme for various diseases that is flexible, comprehensive, and scalable. The annotation structure is evaluated by measuring coverage and agreement between annotators.

An artificial intelligence tool to predict fluid requirement in the intensive care unit: a proof-of-concept study.

Introduction: The goal of personalised medicine in the intensive care unit (ICU) is to predict which diagnostic tests, monitoring interventions and treatments translate to improved outcomes given the variation between patients. Unfortunately, processes such as gene transcription and drug metabolism are dynamic in the critically ill; that is, information obtained during static non-diseased conditions may have limited applicability. We propose an alternative way of personalising medicine in the ICU on a real-time basis using information derived from the application of artificial intelligence on a high-resolution database.