Publications by authors named "Dam K"

Chylothorax is a rare condition in which chylous fluid accumulates in the pleural cavity, most often due to iatrogenic injury of the thoracic duct. This paper reports a case of a woman in her 50s presenting with chyle leakage after a video-assisted mediastinoscopic lymphadenectomy (VAMLA) for staging of a nodule suspected of non-small cell lung carcinoma. After the VAMLA, a Uniportal Video Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery lobectomy was scheduled during which the chylothorax was observed.

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  • Methotrexate (MTX) is a common medicine for rheumatoid arthritis, but it may affect how well people’s immune systems respond to vaccines and infections.
  • In a study, researchers looked at how MTX treatment affected immune responses in patients who received a COVID-19 vaccine compared to healthy people and others not on MTX.
  • They found that while many immune cells were similar between patients and controls, those on MTX had fewer activated CD4 T cells, leading to slower antibody responses after vaccination.
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Background: Weight recurrence, suboptimal clinical response and functional disorder (such as reflux) after a Sleeve Gastrectomy (SG) are problems that may require conversional surgery. For reflux, conversion to Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB) is considered effective. Regarding treatment for suboptimal clinical response, the technique of choice remains a subject of debate.

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Background And Purpose: There are concerns for safety regarding SARS-CoV-2 vaccines for patients with autoimmune neuromuscular disease. We compared daily functioning using disease-specific patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) before and after SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations.

Methods: In this substudy of a prospective observational cohort study (Target-to-B!), patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN), and idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 were included.

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  • The study explores how patients on immunosuppressants (ISPs) respond to SARS-CoV-2 infections compared to healthy controls, particularly looking at antibody levels post-infection.
  • Patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) on different ISP therapies showed variable antibody responses, with those on anti-CD20 and sphingosine-1 phosphate therapies having lower antibody levels.
  • Despite lower antibody titers, the breakthrough infections in these patients were mostly mild, indicating that ISPs may not severely impede the overall immune response to SARS-CoV-2.
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  • mRNA vaccines effectively protect against SARS-CoV-2 in healthy individuals, but their effectiveness in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with ocrelizumab (OCR) is unclear.
  • A study found that 63% of OCR-treated MS patients did not produce detectable antibodies after vaccination, and they showed lower antibody responses compared to healthy subjects.
  • The research suggests that scheduling vaccinations carefully for OCR-treated patients can improve their immune responses, highlighting potential markers (CD38 and HLA-DR) for assessing vaccine efficacy in these patients.
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Background: Rheumatoid factors (RFs) are autoantibodies that target the Fc region of IgG, and are found in patients with rheumatic diseases as well as in the healthy population. Many studies suggest that an immune trigger may (transiently) elicit RF responses. However, discrepancies between different studies make it difficult to determine if and to which degree RF reactivity can be triggered by vaccination or infection.

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Background: The noninflammatory immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) is linked to tolerance and is unique to humans. Although poorly understood, prolonged antigenic stimulation and IL-4-signaling along the T helper 2-axis may be instrumental in IgG4 class switching. Recently, repeated SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination has been linked to IgG4 skewing.

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Background: Responsible digital care refers to any intentional systematic effort designed to increase the likelihood of a digital care technology developed through ethical decision-making, being socially responsible and aligned with the values and well-being of those impacted by it.

Objective: We aimed to present examples of action opportunities for (1) designing "technology"; (2) shaping the "context" of use; and (3) adjusting the behavior of "users" to guide responsible digital care for people with intellectual disabilities.

Methods: Three cases were considered: (1) design of a web application to support the preparation of meals for groups of people with intellectual disabilities, (2) implementation of an app to help people with intellectual disabilities regulate their stress independently, and (3) implementation of a social robot to stimulate interaction and physical activity among people with intellectual disabilities.

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  • SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8 T cells play a crucial role in protecting against viral variants and reducing disease severity, especially in patients lacking cross-reactive antibodies.
  • mRNA vaccines elicit strong immune responses, but the effectiveness among patients with chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disorders (IMIDs), particularly those on TNF inhibitors (TNFi), is less understood.
  • Analysis revealed that both TNFi-treated and untreated inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients generate strong spike-specific CD8 T cell responses after mRNA vaccination, comparable to healthy individuals, indicating that vaccination is beneficial regardless of treatment status.
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HIV-1 envelope (Env) exhibits distinct conformational changes in response to host receptor (CD4) engagement. Env, a trimer of gp120 and gp41 heterodimers, has been structurally characterized in a closed, prefusion conformation with closely associated gp120s and coreceptor binding sites on gp120 V3 hidden by V1V2 loops and in fully saturated CD4-bound open Env conformations with changes including outwardly rotated gp120s and displaced V1V2 loops. To investigate changes resulting from substoichiometric CD4 binding, we solved single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of soluble, native-like heterotrimeric Envs bound to one or two CD4 molecules.

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Background: Humoral responses after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination are greatly impaired in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients on fingolimod. Effects of repeated vaccination and infections on long-term responses are unclear.

Methods: Prospective study in 60 MS patients on fingolimod measuring humoral responses after up to four vaccinations and 8 months after fourth vaccination.

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HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins (Envs) mediate viral entry and are the sole target of neutralizing antibodies. Envs of most primary HIV-1 strains exist in a closed conformation and occasionally sample more open states. Thus, current knowledge guides immunogen design to mimic the closed Env conformation as the preferred target for eliciting broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) to block HIV-1 entry.

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Background: Thyroid dysfunction may have adverse effects on Fontan hemodynamics. Data on thyroid function in pediatric Fontan patients with or without protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) are limited.

Methods: This retrospective multicenter study included 67 Fontan patients (median age 10.

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Background: Gaining insight into sleep-wake patterns of persons with intellectual disabilities is commonly done using wrist actigraphy. For some people, contactless alternatives are needed. This study compares a contactless bed sensor with wrist actigraphy to monitor sleep-wake patterns of people with moderate to profound intellectual disabilities.

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Metachronous colorectal cancer is relatively rare, occurring in 0.7-3.6% of patients diagnosed with colorectal adenocarcinoma.

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Background: Treatment options for premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) are limited to hormone replacement and donor oocytes. A novel induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) transplant paradigm in a mouse model has potential translational applications for management of POI.

Methods: Mouse ovarian granulosa cell derived-iPSCS were labelled with green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter and differentiated in vitro into oocytes.

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Aim: In this study we aimed to assess the responsiveness of the symptom score of the recently developed Patient-Reported Outcome Measure-Haemorrhoidal Impact and Satisfaction Score (PROM-HISS). Furthermore, the minimally relevant difference (MRD) was determined.

Method: The responsiveness of PROM-HISS was tested using a criterion-based (i.

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Metastatic disease in the vagina of other origins such as rectal cancer is rare and only very few cases have been reported. A female patient developed an isolated metachronic metastasis located at the lower part of the rectovaginal septum, 8 months after curative resection for proximal rectal cancer. An excision of the tumour was performed with primary closure of the vaginal wall.

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Background: Patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) on immunosuppressants (ISPs) may have impaired long-term humoral immune responses and increased disease activity after SARS-CoV-2 infection. We aimed to investigate long-term humoral immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 and increased disease activity after a primary SARS-CoV-2 infection in unvaccinated IMID patients on ISPs.

Methods: IMID patients on active treatment with ISPs and controls (i.

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Advancing age is a major risk factor of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The worldwide prevalence of AD is approximately 50 million people, and this number is projected to increase substantially. The molecular mechanisms underlying the aging-associated susceptibility to cognitive impairment in AD are largely unknown.

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