Multicenter Validation of the Ocular Myasthenia Gravis Rating Scale Questionnaire.

Background And Objectives: Ocular myasthenia gravis (OMG) causes disabling ocular symptoms of ptosis and diplopia, but a validated disease-specific patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) has not been reported. We sought to validate a novel PROM for OMG, OMG Rating Scale Questionnaire (OMGRate-q), as a measure of visual functioning to support patient-centered care.

Methods: This was a prospective study of patients aged 18 years and older with OMG receiving care at 3 medical centers (January 2022-October 2023).

The C-terminal activating domain promotes pannexin 1 channel opening.

Pannexin 1 (Panx1) constitutes a large pore channel responsible for the release of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) from apoptotic cells. Strong evidence indicates that caspase-mediated cleavage of the C-terminus promotes the opening of the Panx1 channel by unplugging the pore. However, this simple pore-plugging mechanism alone cannot account for the observation that a Panx1 construct ending before the caspase cleavage site remains closed.

Modifiable risk factors for dementia in India: A cross-sectional study revisiting estimates and reassessing prevention potential and priorities.

Background: About 16% of worldwide dementia cases are in India. Evaluating the prospects for dementia prevention in India requires knowledge of context-specific risk factors, as relationships between risk factors and dementia observed in high-income countries (HICs) may not apply.

Methods: We computed population attributable fractions (PAFs) for dementia in India by estimating associations between risk factors and dementia, their prevalence and communality, within the same nationally representative sample of 4,096 Indians aged 60 and older, surveyed through the Harmonized Diagnostic Assessment of Dementia for the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI-DAD).

Performance of stool-based molecular tests and processing methods for paediatric tuberculosis diagnosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: There has been a global pursuit to improve the diagnosis of tuberculosis in young children by applying diagnostic methods on accessible biospecimens such as stool. We aimed to conduct a systematic review on the accuracy of stool-based molecular tests for tuberculosis diagnosis in children and to assess the impact of the available pre-processing methods and other design characteristics.

Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we evaluated studies in children younger than 16 years with presumptive tuberculosis that were published in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese from Jan 1, 2000, to May 3, 2024, in MEDLINE, Embase, and Embase Classic, comparing the molecular detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in stool with microbiological tests on other samples or a clinical diagnosis.

Prevalence of Glaucoma Among US Adults in 2022.

Importance: Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide and, in the US, disproportionately affects people from racial and ethnic minority groups. Glaucoma prevalence has not been estimated for the US in more than a decade, and state- and county-level estimates are not available.

Objective: To estimate glaucoma and vision-affecting glaucoma prevalence by demographic factors and US state and county for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System (VEHSS).

Cytoskeleton adaptation to stretchable surface relaxation improves adherent cryopreservation of human mesenchymal stem cells.

Adherent cell systems are usually dissociated before being cryopreserved, as standard protocols are established for cells in suspension. The application of standard procedures to more complex systems, sensitive to dissociation, such as adherent monolayers, especially comprising mature cell types or tissues remains unsatisfactory. Uncontrolled cell detachment due to intracellular tensile stress, membrane ruptures and damages of adhesion proteins are common during freezing and thawing of cell monolayers.

Expanding Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra® and LF-LAM testing for diagnosis of tuberculosis among HIV-positive adults admitted to hospitals in Tanzania and Mozambique: a randomized controlled trial (the EXULTANT trial).

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among people living with HIV (PLHIV). Current WHO-recommended strategies for diagnosing TB among hospitalized PLHIV rely on symptom screening and disease severity to assess eligibility for urine lipoarabinomannan lateral flow (LF-LAM) and molecular testing. Despite these recommendations, autopsy studies show a large burden of undiagnosed TB among admitted PLHIV.

Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation in Elderly Patients: an Updated Meta-analysis of Comparative Studies.

Background: Age is a relevant risk factor for the development of atrial fibrillation (AF) and is associated with increased recurrence rates in the setting of rhythm control. Catheter ablation is increasingly advocated in elderly despite conflicting data regarding its efficacy and safety in this patient cohort. Therefore, we aimed to analyse currently available evidence regarding catheter ablation for AF in patients ≥ 75 years old compared with younger patients.

Lead Poisoning in a Mother and Her Four Children Using a Traditional Eye Cosmetic - New York City, 2012-2023.

Even low levels of lead in children's blood are associated with developmental delays, difficulty learning, and behavioral issues. Adults are also vulnerable to the detrimental health effects of lead exposure. The New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene receives blood lead test results for NYC residents and conducts investigations of lead poisoning cases.

Angiotensin Receptor-Neprilysin Inhibitor Is Associated With Improved Cardiac Autonomic Function in Heart Failure.

Background: Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction is associated with potentially deleterious imbalance of the cardiac autonomic nervous system. Sacubitril/valsartan (angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor [ARNI]) reduces cardiovascular mortality and hospitalization for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Whether ARNI affects the cardiac autonomic nervous system has not been studied.

Pulmonary Vein Isolation or Pace and Ablate in Elderly Patients With Persistent Atrial Fibrillation (ABLATE Versus PACE)-Rationale, Methods, and Design.

Age is a major risk-factor for atrial fibrillation (AF) and associated hospitalisations. With increasing emphasis on rhythm control, pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is often suggested, even to elderly patients (≥ 75 years of age). Efficacy of PVI aiming at rhythm control is limited in persistent AF.

Cross-sectional study of cognitive impairment and visual impairment among the elderly population in residential care in India: the Hyderabad Ocular Morbidity in Elderly Study (HOMES).

Objective: To report the relationship between visual impairment (VI) and cognitive impairment (CI) among the older population living in residential care homes in Hyderabad, India.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: 41 homes for the aged centres in the Hyderabad region.

Insights into the diet and feeding behavior of immature polar cod (Boreogadus saida) from the under-ice habitat of the central Arctic Ocean.

Polar cod (Boreogadus saida) is an endemic key species of the Arctic Ocean ecosystem. The ecology of this forage fish is well studied in Arctic shelf habitats where a large part of its population lives. However, knowledge about its ecology in the central Arctic Ocean (CAO), including its use of the sea-ice habitat, is hitherto very limited.

The C-terminal activating domain promotes Panx1 channel opening.

Pannexin 1 (Panx1) constitutes a large pore channel responsible for the release of ATP from apoptotic cells. Strong evidence indicates that caspase-mediated cleavage of the C-terminus promotes the opening of the Panx1 channel by unplugging the pore. However, this simple pore-plugging mechanism alone cannot account for the observation that a Panx1 construct ending before the caspase cleavage site remains closed.

Vision impairment and food insecurity in the national health and aging trends study.

Introduction: Vision impairment (VI) may further exacerbate older adults' vulnerability to experiencing food insecurity and may be a unique and important target for policies addressing access to nutritional food. The purpose of this study is to determine the association of VI in older adults with food insecurity.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of round 11 (2021) of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), a nationally representative survey of U.

Place-Based Measures of Inequity and Vision Difficulty and Blindness.

Importance: Known social risk factors associated with poor visual and systemic health in the US include segregation, income inequality, and persistent poverty.

Objective: To investigate the association of vision difficulty, including blindness, in neighborhoods with measures of inequity (Theil H index, Gini index, and persistent poverty).

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional study used data from the 2012-2016 American Community Survey and 2010 US census tracts as well as Theil H index, Gini index, and persistent poverty measures from PolicyMap.