HIV-1 Viremia and Cancer Risk in 2.8 Million People: the South African HIV Cancer Match Study.

Background: Most research on HIV-1 viremia and cancer risk is from high-income countries. We evaluated the association between HIV-1 viremia and the risk of various cancer types among people with HIV (PWH) in South Africa.

Methods: We analysed data from the South African HIV Cancer Match study, based on laboratory measurements from the National Health Laboratory Services and cancer records from the National Cancer Registry from 2004-2014.

Impact of Metastatic Pattern on Survival Following Pancreatectomy for Cancer.

Background And Methods: The incidence of pancreatic cancer is increasing, and up to 55% of patients present with metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis. Many patients also develop metastatic disease following surgical resection. The impact of metastatic patterns on outcomes has not been described.

Cardiovascular Involvement in Tuberculosis Patients Treated in Southern Africa.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death among people with HIV and a major global health challenge. Subclinical cardiovascular manifestations of TB are poorly documented in high TB and HIV burden countries.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to quantify the prevalence of cardiovascular involvement in TB patients and investigate changes after completion of anti-TB treatment.

The effect of combining antibiotics on resistance: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Under which conditions antibiotic combination therapy decelerates rather than accelerates resistance evolution is not well understood. We examined the effect of combining antibiotics on within-patient resistance development across various bacterial pathogens and antibiotics.

Methods: We searched CENTRAL, EMBASE, and PubMed for (quasi)-randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published from database inception to 24 November 2022.

Climate Change and Medical Mycology.

This review explores how climate change influences fungal disease dynamics, focusing on emergence of new fungal pathogens, increased antifungal resistance, expanding geographic ranges of fungal pathogens, and heightened host susceptibility. Rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns enhance fungal growth and resistance mechanisms, complicating treatment efforts. Climate-driven geographic shifts are expanding the range of diseases like Valley fever, histoplasmosis, and blastomycosis.

High-Density Lipoprotein Predicts Intrahospital Mortality in Influenza.

Although it is known that high-density lipoprotein (HDL) exerts important anti-inflammatory effects and that low HDL plasma concentrations represent a negative prognostic marker in bacterial infections and sepsis, not much is known about possible implications of HDL in acute viral infections such as influenza. We performed a retrospective, single-centre analysis of influenza patients hospitalised during the 2018/19 and 2019/20 influenza seasons and analysed the impact of HDL concentrations on inflammation and mortality. : 199 influenza patients (173 male patients) were admitted during the 2018/19 and 2019/20 influenza seasons with a mortality rate of 4.

Comprehensive assessment and progression of health status during neurorehabilitation in survivors of critical illness: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Critical illness survivors frequently suffer from long-term impairments, often described as post-intensive care syndrome (PICS). PICS encompasses physical, cognitive, and mental impairments. Additionally, the term intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired weakness (ICUAW) was coined for muscle weakness after critical illness.

The Contribution of Noncommunicable and Infectious Diseases to the Effect of Depression on Mortality: A Longitudinal Causal Mediation Analysis.

Background: The increased prevalence of physical diseases among individuals with mental illness contributes to their increased risk of mortality. However, the mediating role of specific diseases in the effect of mental illness on mortality is not well understood.

Method: We conducted a longitudinal causal mediation analysis using data from beneficiaries of a South African medical insurance scheme from 2011 to 2020.

S100A1ct: A Synthetic Peptide Derived From S100A1 Protein Improves Cardiac Performance and Survival in Preclinical Heart Failure Models.

Background: The EF-hand Ca sensor protein S100A1 has been identified as a molecular regulator and enhancer of cardiac performance. The ability of S100A1 to recognize and modulate the activity of targets such as SERCA2a (sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca ATPase) and RyR2 (ryanodine receptor 2) in cardiomyocytes has mostly been ascribed to its hydrophobic C-terminal α-helix (residues 75-94). We hypothesized that a synthetic peptide consisting of residues 75 through 94 of S100A1 and an N-terminal solubilization tag (S100A1ct) could mimic the performance-enhancing effects of S100A1 and may be suitable as a peptide therapeutic to improve the function of diseased hearts.

Mind the fragmentation gap.

The Global Plastics Treaty presents an opportunity to “end plastic pollution”. Legacy plastics will continue to fragment to secondary microplastics for decades, without additional mitigation measures. We identify this flux as a “fragmentation gap”, currently overlooked in global policy targets.

Effect of erector spinae plane block and thoracic epidural anesthesia on hospital length of stay and postoperative opioid use after mastectomy.

Background: Adequate postoperative pain control is essential after mastectomy. This study compares the influence of 2 regional analgesia techniques on length of stay and opioid use to systemic analgesia alone.

Methods: Patients treated with mastectomy from 2014 to 2020 were stratified according to perioperative analgesic modality (systemic analgesia versus thoracic epidural anesthesia or erector spinae plane block).

HIV replication and tuberculosis risk among people living with HIV in Europe: A multicohort analysis, 1983-2015.

Introduction: HIV replication leads to a change in lymphocyte phenotypes that impairs immune protection against opportunistic infections. We examined current HIV replication as an independent risk factor for tuberculosis (TB).

Methods: We included people living with HIV from 25 European cohorts 1983-2015.

Observed Changes in the Distribution of Colon Cancer Metastasis: A National Cancer Database Review and Institutional Experience.

Background: The University of Louisville has observed a near 70% drop in resectable/borderline resectable metastatic colorectal cancer in the past 5 years. The aim of this study was to evaluate the distribution of colon cancer metastasis at diagnosis and at recurrence.

Patients And Methods: Stage was defined by the American joint committee on cancer (AJCC) eighth edition.

Dual ablation of the RyR2-Ser2808 and RyR2-Ser2814 sites increases propensity for pro-arrhythmic spontaneous Ca releases.

During exercise or stress, the sympathetic system stimulates cardiac contractility via β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) activation, resulting in phosphorylation of the cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2). Three RyR2 phosphorylation sites have taken prominence in excitation-contraction coupling: S2808 and S2030 are described as protein kinase A specific and S2814 as a Ca/calmodulin kinase type-2-specific site. To examine the contribution of these phosphosites to Ca signalling, we generated double knock-in (DKI) mice in which Ser2808 and Ser2814 phosphorylation sites have both been replaced by alanine (RyR2-S2808A/S2814A).

Preoperative liquid biopsy for optimal patient selection in metastatic colorectal cancer.

Objective: In this pilot study, we sought to determine if preoperative circulating tumor DNA could be a useful predictor to avoid futile metastasectomy, predict early postoperative recurrence, and determine optimal chemotherapy duration during the management of patients with resectable metastatic colorectal cancer.

Methods: Patients from 2021 to 2023 were enrolled prospectively and evaluated with circulating tumor DNA preoperatively and postoperatively for detection of recurrence. Clinicopathologic and treatment factors as well as disease-free survival were compared between those with undetectable versus detectable preoperative circulating tumor DNA.

Courier delivery of antiretroviral therapy: a cohort study of a South African private-sector HIV programme.

Introduction: Courier delivery has become a popular antiretroviral therapy (ART) distribution method in some HIV care settings, yet data on ART courier delivery and how it relates to ART outcomes are scarce. We studied the differences in viral suppression rates between individuals from a South African private sector HIV programme receiving ART by courier delivery and those receiving ART through traditional retail dispensing.

Methods: Individuals aged 15 years or older who were actively enrolled in the Aid for AIDS programme between January 2011 and July 2022 were eligible for the analysis.

Patient-derived Organoids in Bladder Cancer: Opportunities and Challenges.

Background And Objective: Bladder cancer (BLCa) remains a prevalent malignancy with high recurrence rates and limited treatment options. In recent years, patient-derived organoids (PDOs) have emerged as a promising platform for studying cancer biology and therapeutic responses in a personalized manner. Using drug screening, PDOs facilitate the identification of novel therapeutic agents and translational treatment strategies.

Developing clinical prediction models: a step-by-step guide.

Predicting future outcomes of patients is essential to clinical practice, with many prediction models published each year. Empirical evidence suggests that published studies often have severe methodological limitations, which undermine their usefulness. This article presents a step-by-step guide to help researchers develop and evaluate a clinical prediction model.

Changes in Incidence of Cirrhotic and Noncirrhotic Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the United States.

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurs most often in a background of cirrhosis. Patients with noncirrhotic HCC represent a distinct population, which has been characterized in single-center studies, but has not been fully evaluated on a population level in the United States.

Materials And Methods: HCC cases from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End-Results diagnosed between 2000 and 2020 were categorized as cirrhotic or noncirrhotic.

HIV-1 subtype-specific drug resistance on dolutegravir-based antiretroviral therapy: protocol for a multicentre study (DTG RESIST).

Introduction: HIV drug resistance poses a challenge to the United Nation's goal of ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The integrase strand transfer inhibitor (InSTI) dolutegravir, which has a higher resistance barrier, was endorsed by the WHO in 2019 for first-line, second-line and third-line antiretroviral therapy (ART). This multiplicity of roles of dolutegravir in ART may facilitate the emergence of dolutegravir resistance.

Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 prevalence from repeated pooled testing: application to Swiss routine data.

Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 through reported positive RT-PCR tests is biased due to non-random testing. Prevalence estimation in population-based samples corrects for this bias. Within this context, the pooled testing design offers many advantages, but several challenges remain with regards to the analysis of such data.