Cardiovascular Benefits and Safety Profile of Macrolide Maintenance Therapy in Patients with Bronchiectasis.

Background: Macrolide maintenance therapy (MMT) has demonstrated notable efficacy in reducing exacerbation in patients with bronchiectasis, which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular events. However, a comprehensive assessment of the cardiovascular benefits and safety profile of MMT in this population is lacking.

Methods: This territory-wide cohort study analyzed patients diagnosed with bronchiectasis in Hong Kong between 2001 and 2018.

Incident dementia in ischaemic stroke patients with early cardiac complications: A propensity-score matched cohort study.

Introduction: The risk of dementia in patients with stroke-heart syndrome (SHS) remains unexplored.

Patients And Methods: Retrospective analysis using the TriNetX network, including patients with ischaemic stroke from 2010 to 2020. These patients were categorised into two groups: those with SHS (heart failure, myocardial infarction, ventricular fibrillation, or Takotsubo cardiomyopathy within 30 days post-stroke) and those without SHS.

Early statin use is associated with improved survival and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation and recent ischaemic stroke: A propensity-matched analysis of a global federated health database.

Introduction: Statins reduce recurrent stroke and cardiovascular events in patients with non-cardioembolic stroke. The benefits of statins in patients with AF and recent IS remain unclear. We aimed to investigate the benefits of statins in patients with AF and recent IS.

The association of haemoglobin A1c variability with adverse outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation prescribed anticoagulants.

Aims: The association of haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) variability with the risk of adverse outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) prescribed anticoagulants remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the association of HbA1c variability with the risk of ischaemic stroke (IS)/systemic embolism (SE) and all-cause mortality among patients with non-valvular AF prescribed anticoagulants.

Methods And Results: Patients newly diagnosed with AF from 2013 to 2018 were included.

Major adverse cardiovascular events of enzalutamide versus abiraterone in prostate cancer: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: While the cardiovascular risks of androgen receptor pathway inhibitors have been studied, they were seldom compared directly. This study compares the risks of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) between enzalutamide and abiraterone among prostate cancer (PCa) patients.

Methods: Adult PCa patients receiving either enzalutamide or abiraterone in addition to androgen deprivation therapy in Hong Kong between 1 December 1999 and 31 March 2021 were identified in this retrospective cohort study.

Risk of hyperkalaemia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus prescribed with SGLT2 versus DPP-4 inhibitors.

Aims: To investigate the risk of hyperkalaemia in new users of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors vs. dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods And Results: Patients with T2DM who commenced treatment with an SGLT2 or a DPP-4 inhibitor between 2015 and 2019 were collected.

Psychological well-being and coping strategies of healthcare students during the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the psychological well-being, and stress coping strategies, as well as their relationships, among healthcare students during prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: An online questionnaire was used to assess psychological well-being (the Ryff Scale) and coping strategies (the brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory [COPE] Scale). COPE scores were categorized to identify the primary coping strategies: "approach" indicates more active coping strategies; "avoidant" indicates more dysfunctional and maladaptive mechanisms.

Palatal Motion After Primary and Secondary Furlow Palatoplasty.

Importance: Indications for Furlow palatoplasty include primary repair of cleft palate as well as secondary repair, or secondary palatoplasty for treatment of velopharyngeal insufficiency. Speculation exists surrounding the benefit of secondary Furlow palatoplasty in cases of a previously well-reconstructed palate or a short but otherwise anatomically normal soft palate because it has been theorized that reorientation of a previously reconstructed or normal muscular levator sling should in fact worsen palatal motion.

Objective: To compare palatal motion following primary and secondary Furlow palatoplasty using footage from postoperative nasopharyngoscopy videos.

Intramuscular myxoma of the cervical paraspinal musculature: case report and review of the literature.

Case: A 57year old female patient presented with a painful right-sided neck mass that on MRI was shown to be adherent to the posterior aspect of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. The mass was surgically resected en bloc without complications. Histopathologic analysis revealed the mass to be a myxoma.

Characterization of presynaptic septin complexes in mammalian hippocampal neurons.

Septins are GTPases that form heteromeric complexes and are linked to neurological disorders. Although several septin subcomplexes have been reported in various mammalian tissues, the cellular and subcellular distribution of these complexes is largely unexplored. Using antibodies against ten mammalian septins, we show that septins diverge with respect to their tissue distribution implying that septin complexes in various tissues have unique composition.

Systemic therapy for metastatic non-clear-cell renal cell carcinoma: recent progress and future directions.

Insights into the biology of clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC) have identified multiple pathways associated with the pathogenesis and progression of this cancer. This progress has led to the development of multiple agents targeting these pathways, including the tyrosine kinase inhibitors sorafenib, sunitinib, and pazopanib, the monoclonal antibody bevacizumab, and the mTOR inhibitors temsirolimus and everolimus. With the exception of temsirolimus, phase 3 trials tested these agents in patients with clear-cell histology; therefore, their efficacy in non-CCRCC is unclear.

Septins regulate developmental switching from microdomain to nanodomain coupling of Ca(2+) influx to neurotransmitter release at a central synapse.

Neurotransmitter release depends critically on close spatial coupling of Ca(2+) entry to synaptic vesicles at the nerve terminal; however, the molecular substrates determining their physical proximity are unknown. Using the calyx of Held synapse, where "microdomain" coupling predominates at immature stages and developmentally switches to "nanodomain" coupling, we demonstrate that deletion of the filamentous protein Septin 5 imparts immature synapses with striking morphological and functional features reminiscent of mature synapses. This includes synaptic vesicles tightly localized to active zones, resistance to the slow Ca(2+) buffer EGTA and a reduced number of Ca(2+) channels required to trigger single fusion events.

NOS1AP associates with Scribble and regulates dendritic spine development.

The formation and function of the neuronal synapse is dependent on the asymmetric distribution of proteins both presynaptically and postsynaptically. Recently, proteins important in establishing cellular polarity have been implicated in the synapse. We therefore performed a proteomic screen with known polarity proteins and identified novel complexes involved in synaptic function.

Superfluous role of mammalian septins 3 and 5 in neuronal development and synaptic transmission.

The septin family of GTPases, first identified for their roles in cell division, are also expressed in postmitotic tissues. SEPT3 (G-septin) and SEPT5 (CDCrel-1) are highly expressed in neurons, enriched in presynaptic terminals, and associated with synaptic vesicles. These characteristics suggest that SEPT3 or SEPT5 might be important for synapse formation, maturation, or synaptic vesicle traffic.

Septins: traffic control at the cytokinesis intersection.

The physical division of one cell into two requires the highly orchestrated separation of genetic and cytoplasmic contents during M phase of the cell cycle. Mitosis, the physical segregation of the genetic material of a cell into two daughter cells, has traditionally received more attention than cytokinesis, the partitioning of the cytoplasmic contents, yet clearly the two processes must be intimately co-ordinated and tightly regulated. While plant cells divide by the formation of a membranous cell barrier called the phragmoplast, animal cell division is largely driven by contraction of an actomyosin ring.

Septin 3 (G-septin) is a developmentally regulated phosphoprotein enriched in presynaptic nerve terminals.

The septins are GTPase enzymes with multiple roles in cytokinesis, cell polarity or exocytosis. The proteins from the mammalian septin genes are called Sept1-10. Most are expressed in multiple tissues, but the mRNA for Sept5 (CDCrel-1) and Sept3 (G-septin) appear to be primarily expressed in brain.

The mammalian septin MSF localizes with microtubules and is required for completion of cytokinesis.

Cytokinesis in animal cells involves the contraction of an actomyosin ring formed at the cleavage furrow. Nuclear division, or karyokinesis, must be precisely timed to occur before cytokinesis in order to prevent genetic anomalies that would result in either cell death or uncontrolled cell division. The septin family of GTPase proteins has been shown to be important for cytokinesis although little is known about their role during this process.