Navigating SARS-CoV-2-related immunopathology in Crohn's disease: from molecular mechanisms to therapeutic challenges.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) not only posed major health and economic burdens to international societies but also threatens patients with comorbidities and underlying autoimmune disorders, including Crohn's disease (CD) patients. As the vaccinated population is gradually relieved from the stress of the latest omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 due to competent immune responses, the anxiety of CD patients, especially those on immunosuppressive treatment, has not subsided. Whether the use of immunosuppressants for remission of CD outweighs the potential risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has long been discussed.

Myocardial Bridging Increases the Risk of Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients without Coronary Atherosclerosis.

Myocardial bridging (MB) is a congenital coronary anomaly and an important cause of chest pain. The long-term effects of MB on cardiovascular events remain elusive. We used the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan to conduct an analysis.

Effects of Lymphaticovenous Anastomosis on Quality of Life, Body Image, and Spiritual Health in Lymphedema Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Lymphedema is a debilitating condition that significantly affects quality of life due to its chronic nature and visible symptoms. Lymphaticovenous anastomosis (LVA) has emerged as a promising surgical intervention, yet its effects on body image and spiritual health alongside physical symptoms have not been thoroughly examined. This study evaluates the efficacy of LVA in improving symptoms, quality of life (QOL), body image, and spiritual well-being in lymphedema patients.

Porphyromonas gingivalis GroEL exacerbates orthotopic allograft transplantation vasculopathy via impairment of endothelial cell function.

Orthotopic allograft transplantation (OAT) is a significant approach to addressing organ failure. However, persistent immune responses to the allograft affect chronic rejection, which induces OAT vasculopathy (OATV) and organ failure. Porphyromonas gingivalis can infiltrate remote organs via the bloodstream, thereby intensifying the severity of cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.

Identification of Genetic Variants Associated with Severe Myocardial Bridging through Whole-Exome Sequencing.

Myocardial bridging (MB) is a congenital coronary artery anomaly and an important cause of angina. The genetic basis of MB is currently unknown. This study used a whole-exome sequencing technique and analyzed genotypic differences.

Exploring the Potential Performance of Fibroscan for Predicting and Evaluating Metabolic Syndrome using a Feature Selected Strategy of Machine Learning.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) includes several conditions that can increase an individual's predisposition to high-risk cardiovascular events, morbidity, and mortality. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a predominant cause of cirrhosis, which is a global indicator of liver transplantation and is considered the hepatic manifestation of MetS. FibroScan provides an accurate and non-invasive method for assessing liver steatosis and fibrosis in patients with NAFLD, via a controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM or E) scores and has been widely used in current clinical practice.

Animal Models for Heart Transplantation Focusing on the Pathological Conditions.

Cardiac transplant recipients face many complications due to transplant rejection. Scientists must conduct animal experiments to study disease onset mechanisms and develop countermeasures. Therefore, many animal models have been developed for research topics including immunopathology of graft rejection, immunosuppressive therapies, anastomotic techniques, and graft preservation techniques.

GroEL of Porphyromonas gingivalis-induced microRNAs accelerate tumor neovascularization by downregulating thrombomodulin expression in endothelial progenitor cells.

We found that GroEL in Porphyromonas gingivalis accelerated tumor growth and increased mortality in tumor-bearing mice; GroEL promoted proangiogenic function, which may be the reason for promoting tumor growth. To understand the regulatory mechanisms by which GroEL increases the proangiogenic function of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), we explored in this study. In EPCs, MTT assay, wound-healing assay, and tube formation assay were performed to analyze its activity.

Prediction of the Duration to Next Admission for an Acute Affective Episode in Patients with Bipolar I Disorder.

Objective: Predicting disease relapse and early intervention could reduce symptom severity. We attempted to identify potential indicators that predict the duration to next admission for an acute affective episode in patients with bipolar I disorder.

Methods: We mathematically defined the duration to next psychiatric admission and performed single-variate regressions using historical data of 101 patients with bipolar I disorder to screen for potential variables for further multivariate regressions.

Tumor Necrosis Factor Superfamily 14 (LIGHT) Restricts Neovascularization by Decreasing Circulating Endothelial Progenitor Cells and Function.

Tumor necrosis factor superfamily 14 (TNFSF14) is also known as the LT-related inducible ligand (LIGHT). It can bind to the herpesvirus invasion mediator and lymphotoxin-β receptor to perform its biological activity. LIGHT has multiple physiological functions, including strengthening the synthesis of nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species, and cytokines.

Transcriptomic Profiling Unravels Novel Deregulated Gene Signatures Associated with Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Bioinformatics Approach.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a severe disease with elevated morbidity and mortality rate worldwide. This is attributed to great losses of cardiomyocytes, which can trigger the alteration of gene expression patterns. Although several attempts have been made to assess the AMI biomarkers, to date their role in rescuing myocardial injury remains unclear.

Identification of Patients with Potential Atrial Fibrillation during Sinus Rhythm Using Isolated P Wave Characteristics from 12-Lead ECGs.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is largely underdiagnosed. Previous studies using deep neural networks with large datasets have shown that screening AF with a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) during sinus rhythm (SR) is possible. However, the poor availability of these trained models and the small size of the retrievable datasets limit its reproducibility.

Luminal pressure gradient and risk of arteriovenous fistula nonmaturation.

While arteriovenous fistula (AVF) nonmaturation is a major issue of hemodialysis care, an effective treatment to improve AVF maturation remains lacking. AVF introduces pulsatile arterial blood flow into its venous limb and produces high luminal pressure gradient, which may have adverse effect on vascular remodeling. As such, the aim of the present study is to investigate effect of luminal pressure gradient on AVF nonmaturation.

Far-Infrared Therapy Decreases Orthotopic Allograft Transplantation Vasculopathy.

Orthotopic allograft transplantation (OAT) is a major strategy for solid heart and kidney failure. However, the recipient's immunity-induced chronic rejection induces OAT vasculopathy that results in donor organ failure. With the exception of immunosuppressive agents, there are currently no specific means to inhibit the occurrence of OAT vasculopathy.

Health belief model in predicting treatment intention among healthy and gynecologic cancer women with sexual dysfunction: Structural equation modeling.

Objective: Few large-scale studies have focused on the effect of gynecologic cancer compared with other biopsychosocial factors on willingness to seek treatment among women with sexual dysfunction. The aim of study was to identify predictors of the intention to treat female sexual dysfunction (FSD) among sociodemographic factors, physiologic factors, psychologic factors, gynecologic cancer, and health belief model (HBM).

Materials And Methods: This study was a cross-sectional, hospital-based survey conducted from October 2013 to September 2019.

Annoying Psoriasis and Atopic Dermatitis: A Narrative Review.

Skin is an important organ that mainly functions as a barrier. Skin diseases can damage a person's self-confidence and reduce their willingness to socialize, as well as their social behavior and willingness. When the skin appearance is abnormal, in addition to affecting the quality of life, it often leads to personal, social, and psychological dysfunction and even induces depression.

Identification of a Novel Theranostic Signature of Metabolic and Immune-Inflammatory Dysregulation in Myocardial Infarction, and the Potential Therapeutic Properties of Ovatodiolide, a Diterpenoid Derivative.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a multifactorial global disease, recognized as one of the leading causes of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Timely and correct diagnoses and effective treatments could significantly reduce incidence of complications and improve patient prognoses. In this study, seven unconventional differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (MAN2A2, TNFRSF12A, SPP1, CSNK1D, PLAUR, PFKFB3, and CXCL16, collectively termed the MTSCPPC signature) were identified through integrating DEGs from six MI microarray datasets.

Inhibition of β-catenin signaling attenuates arteriovenous fistula thickening in mice by suppressing myofibroblasts.

Background: Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the most important vascular access for hemodialysis; however, preventive treatment to maintain the patency of AVFs has not been developed. In endothelium, β-catenin functions in both the intercellular adherens complex and signaling pathways that induce the transition of endothelial cells to myofibroblasts in response to mechanical stimuli. We hypothesize that mechanical disturbances in the AVF activate β-catenin signaling leading to the transition of endothelial cells to myofibroblasts, which cause AVF thickening.

Evaluation of sexual dysfunction in gynecologic cancer survivors using DSM-5 diagnostic criteria.

Background: In gynecologic cancer survivors, female sexual dysfunction (FSD) remains under-investigated. We attempted to estimate the prevalence of FSD associated with distress in gynecologic cancer survivors using diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders fifth edition (DSM-5) diagnostic criteria and to identify women at risk for FSD.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of premenopausal women aged 20-50 with various gynecologic cancers at least one year after treatment between January 2017 and December 2019.

The Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Infection, and Application of Immunosuppressive Agents in Kidney Transplant Recipients Suffering from COVID-19.

In December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic began to ravage the world quickly, causing unprecedented losses in human life and the economy. A statistical study revealed that the proportion of solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients with severe symptoms and deaths after being infected by SARS-CoV-2 is considerably higher than that of non-SOT recipients, and the prognosis is relatively poor. In addition, the clinical manifestation of SOT recipients suffering from COVID-19 is different from that of general COVID-19 patients.

Tissue-Engineered Vascular Graft with Co-Culture of Smooth Muscle Cells and Human Endothelial Vein Cells on an Electrospun Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) Microtube Array Membrane.

Coronary artery disease is one of the major diseases that plagues today's modern society. Conventional treatments utilize synthetic vascular grafts such as Dacron and Teflon in bypass graft surgery. Despite the wide adaptation, these synthetic grafts are often plagued with weaknesses such as low hemocompatibility, thrombosis, intimal hyperplasia, and risks of graft infection.

Association of multiple preventive therapies postdischarge and long-term health outcomes after acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Statins, beta-blockers, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers have been advocated by guidelines as secondary prevention medications to improve the long-term outcomes of post-acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients. However, adequate drug adherence has always been challenging, and different treatment regimens may lead to divergent outcomes that remain unclear under current myocardial infarction (MI) care standards. This study investigated the association between use of different preventive regimens post-AMI and patients' long-term outcomes.

Influence of Vincristine, Clinically Used in Cancer Therapy and Immune Thrombocytopenia, on the Function of Human Platelets.

Vincristine is a clinically used antimicrotubule drug for treating patients with lymphoma. Due to its property of increasing platelet counts, vincristine is also used to treat patients with immune thrombocytopenia. Moreover, antiplatelet agents were reported to be beneficial in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP).