Air Pollution and Myocardial Infarction-A New Smoker's Paradox?

Ambient air pollution is a significant public health concern, known to affect cardiovascular health adversely. Research has identified both long-term and short-term cardiovascular risks associated with various air pollutants, including those linked to acute coronary syndromes. However, the observed effects are rather small, with most data sourced from highly polluted regions.

Eradication of skin microbiota restores cytokine production and release in polymorphic light eruption.

Polymorphic light eruption (PLE) has been mechanistically linked to cytokine abnormalities. Emerging preclinical evidence posits the skin microbiome as a critical modulator of ultraviolet (UV)-induced cytokine expression, thereby influencing subsequent immune responses. This intricate relationship remains underexplored in the context of PLE.

Rhabdoid tumors in patients conceived following ART: is there an association?

Study Question: In children affected by rhabdoid tumors (RT), are there clinical, therapeutic, and/or (epi-)genetic differences between those conceived following ART compared to those conceived without ART?

Summary Answer: We detected a significantly elevated female predominance, and a lower median age at diagnosis, of children with RT conceived following ART (RT_ART) as compared to other children with RT.

What Is Known Already: Anecdotal evidence suggests an association of ART with RT.

Study Design, Size, Duration: This was a multi-institutional retrospective survey.

Narrowband-ultraviolet B vs Broadband-ultraviolet B in Treatment of Chronic Pruritus: A Randomized, Single-blinded, Non-inferiority Study.

Narrowband-ultraviolet B has shown increased efficacy over broadband-ultraviolet B in pruritic skin diseases, such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. In patients with chronic pruritus, e.g.

Indications for surgical resection of complicated infantile hemangiomas in the β-blocker's era: a single-institution experience from a retrospective cohort study.

Background And Objectives: This study aims to review how the introduction of propranolol as the primary treatment option for children with infantile hemangiomas (IHs) has affected the use of other treatment options at our institution and to determine the indications for surgical treatment of children with IHs in the propranolol era.

Patients And Methods: The authors conducted a single-center, noncompeting, historical/retrospective cohort study to review all cases referred to the institution for IH evaluation from 2005 to 2020. The authors analyzed the complete charts of patients who received surgery from 2011 to 2020 and evaluated the reasons for each surgical intervention.

Splint Duration and Not the Mode of Anesthesia Is the Main Factor Influencing Avascular Necrosis After Closed Reduction for Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip in Kosovo.

The aim of this study was to determine whether the use of analgesia and sedation (AS) as opposed to general anesthesia (GA) for closed reduction and spica casting of children with severe developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) influenced the long-term incidence of avascular necrosis (AVN). In a prospective, randomized, single-blinded clinical trial we investigated 100 pediatric patients with DDH type IIIa, IIIb, and IV (according to Graf classification), who were randomly assigned into the group receiving AS, and the group receiving GA. Baseline demographics, splint duration, and type of DDH were carefully assessed.

The value of MRI compared to conventional radiography in analysing morphologic changes in the spine in axial spondyloarthritis.

Background: Imaging of morphologic changes in the vertebral spine in axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) is routinely performed with conventional radiography limited by superposition in the thoracic segments and radiation exposure. The objective was to assess the reliability of MRI compared to conventional radiography in depicting morphologic vertebral lesions in patients with axial SpA. Forty patients diagnosed with axial SpA were included in this cross-sectional study.

The Immune Deficiency and Dysregulation Activity (IDDA2.1 'Kaleidoscope') Score and Other Clinical Measures in Inborn Errors of Immunity.

Quantifying the phenotypic features of rare diseases such as inborn errors of immunity (IEI) helps clinicians make diagnoses, classify disorders, and objectify the disease severity at its first presentation as well as during therapy and follow-up. Furthermore, it may allow cross-sectional and cohort comparisons and support treatment decisions such as an evaluation for transplantation. On the basis of a literature review, we provide a descriptive comparison of ten selected scores and measures frequently used in IEI and divide these into three categories: (1) diagnostic tools (for Hyper-IgE syndrome, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome), (2) morbidity and disease activity measures (for common variable immune deficiency [CVID], profound combined immune deficiency, CTLA-4 haploinsufficiency, immune deficiency and dysregulation activity [IDDA], IPEX organ impairment, and the autoinflammatory disease activity index), and (3) treatment stratification scores (shown for hypogammaglobulinemia).

Effectiveness and clinical predictors of drug survival in psoriasis patients receiving apremilast: A registry analysis.

Background: Little is known about the effectiveness and drug survival associated with apremilast under real-world conditions.

Objective: To investigate the influence of patient and disease characteristics on drug survival associated with apremilast and to elucidate clinical effectiveness with regard to the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) reduction.

Methods: This was an observational, retrospective, multicenter analysis from the Austrian Psoriasis Registry.

Long-Term Course of Polymorphic Light Eruption: A Registry Analysis.

Little is known about the long-term course of polymorphic light eruption (PLE). To predict disease course, a questionnaire was sent to patients whose PLE had been diagnosed between March 1990 and December 2018 and documented in the Austrian Cooperative Registry for Photodermatoses. In January 2019, 205 PLE patients were contacted by mail and asked to complete a questionnaire on their disease course, including whether the skin's sun sensitivity had normalized (i.

Contrast media dose adjustment to allometric parameters of body mass in multiphasic CT of the liver: A comparison of different metrics.

Purpose: To assess correlations of lean body weight (LBW) calculated with various formulas, total body weight (TBW), body height (BH), body mass index (BMI), body surface area (BSA) and fat-free mass (FFM) with vascular and parenchymal enhancement in multiphasic CT of the liver.

Method: Thirty consecutive patients underwent multiphasic CT of the liver using constant iodine dose and flow rate. Contrast enhancement of aorta, portal vein and liver was calculated by measuring mean vascular and parenchymal attenuation in pre-contrast and post-contrast phases.

Higher cMET dependence of sacral compared to clival chordoma cells: contributing to a better understanding of cMET in chordoma.

Chordomas are rare slow growing, malignant bone tumors of the axial skeleton with no approved medical treatment. As the majority of chordomas express cMET and its ligand, HGF, and crosstalks between EGFR and MET-signaling exist, we aimed to explore cMET activity in chordoma cell lines and clinical samples. We investigated nine chordoma patients and four chordoma cell lines for cMET expression.

The clinical relevance of anti-dsDNA antibodies determined by the Elia™ dsDNA assay in patients with negative indirect immunofluorescence on the HEp-2 cell.

Objectives: Data on the clinical importance of the detection of anti-dsDNA antibodies in patients with negative indirect immunofluorescence on the HEp-2 cell (IIF) are sparse and are especially not available for all common commercially available assays. This study aimed to assess the clinical significance of anti-dsDNA antibodies determined by the Elia™ dsDNA assay in patients with negative IIF.

Methods: We retrospectively examined the medical records of 234 consecutive subjects with detectable anti-dsDNA antibodies determined by the Elia™ dsDNA assay.

Periodontal treatment and vascular inflammation in patients with advanced peripheral arterial disease: A randomized controlled trial.

Background And Aims: Observational studies support an association between periodontitis and cardiovascular diseases. The study objective was to assess vascular inflammation after periodontal treatment in patients with peripheral arterial disease.

Methods: Ninety patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and severe periodontitis were enrolled in a randomized, controlled trial.

Quality of Life, Anxiety, and Depression in Patients With Early-Stage Mycosis Fungoides and the Effect of Oral Psoralen Plus UV-A (PUVA) Photochemotherapy on it.

Little is known about psychological discomfort and quality of life (QoL) in early stage mycosis fungoides (MF) and the effect of psoralen plus UV-A (PUVA) on it. To evaluate QoL, anxiety, and depression with validated instruments in early stage MF patients and whether PUVA treatment improves it. Patients with stage IA to IIA MF were treated with PUVA twice weekly for 12-24 weeks, followed by maintenance treatment or not, in a prospective randomized clinical trial.

Distribution and prognostic significance of gluconeogenesis and glycolysis in lung cancer.

Inhibition of glycolysis has been considered as a therapeutic approach in aggressive cancers including lung cancer. Abbreviated gluconeogenesis, mediated by phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), was recently discovered to partially circumvent the need for glycolysis in lung cancer cells. However, the interplay of glycolysis and gluconeogenesis in lung cancer is still poorly understood.

Sensitive and broadly applicable residual disease detection in acute myeloid leukemia using flow cytometry-based leukemic cell enrichment followed by mutational profiling.

Persistent measurable residual disease (MRD) is an increasingly important prognostic marker in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Currently, MRD is determined by multi-parameter flow cytometry (MFC) or PCR-based methods detecting leukemia-specific fusion transcripts and mutations. However, while MFC is highly operator-dependent and difficult to standardize, PCR-based methods are only available for a minority of AML patients.

Increased Expression of Micro-RNA-23a Mediates Chemoresistance to Cytarabine in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Resistance to chemotherapy is one of the primary obstacles in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) therapy. Micro-RNA-23a (miR-23a) is frequently deregulated in AML and has been linked to chemoresistance in solid cancers. We, therefore, studied its role in chemoresistance to cytarabine (AraC), which forms the backbone of all cytostatic AML treatments.

Basophilia of the peripheral blood in patients with ulcerative colitis.

Basophilia of the peripheral blood (PBB) has rarely been described in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). This study aimed to determine the frequency of PBB in patients with UC and to examine a potential correlation of PBB with markers of inflammation. We compared retrospectively the basophil counts and the occurrence of basophilia (>200 basophils/µL) between 165 patients with UC and 35 controls, and analysed the correlation between the basophil count and the C-reactive protein (CRP).

Contrast Induced Acute Kidney Injury and its Impact on Mid-Term Kidney Function, Cardiovascular Events and Mortality.

The existence and clinical relevance of contrast induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) is still heavily debated and angiographic procedures are often withheld in fear of CI-AKI, especially in CKD-patients. We investigated the incidence of CI-AKI in cardiovascular high risk patients undergoing intra-arterial angiography and its impact on mid-term kidney function, cardiovascular events and mortality. We conducted a prospective observational trial on patients undergoing planned intra-arterial angiographic procedures.