Long-term Efficacy of Prostatic Artery Embolization Alone Versus Prostatic Artery Embolization Followed by HoLEP for Large (> 80 cm) Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.

Rationale And Objectives: To compare the long-term efficacy of prostatic artery embolization (PAE) with PAE followed by holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in patients with large prostatic volume (PV>80 cm), and to identify the appropriate population for PAE+HoLEP.

Methods: From March 2015 to December 2023, 208 consecutive BPH patients were enrolled into two groups: PAE monotherapy (Group A, n=168) and PAE followed by HoLEP (Group B, n=40). Differences in clinical and functional parameters between baseline and each follow-up point were compared.

Technique of Distal Tendon Excision for the Treatment of Chronic Pain Caused by Isolated Proximal Gracilis Tears.

Proximal gracilis tear is a rare sports-related injury that can easily lead to misdiagnosis and underdiagnosis. Clinical manifestations are dominated by localized pain, tenderness, and dysfunction. Here, we report a therapy of proximal segmental tear of the gracilis and demonstrate its treatment process and clinical outcome.

A prospective cohort study of cochlear implantation as a treatment for tinnitus in post-lingually deafened individuals.

Background: Cochlear implants have helped over one million individuals restore functional hearing globally, but their clinical utility in suppressing tinnitus has not been firmly established.

Methods: In a decade-long study, we examined longitudinal effects of cochlear implants on tinnitus in 323 post-lingually deafened individuals including 211 with pre-existing tinnitus and 112 without tinnitus. The primary endpoints were tinnitus loudness and tinnitus handicap inventory.

Proteolysis-targeting vaccines (PROTAVs) for robust combination immunotherapy of melanoma.

Protein/peptide subunit vaccines are promising to promote the tumor therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). However, current protein/peptide vaccines elicit limited antitumor T cell responses, leading to suboptimal therapeutic efficacy. Here, we present proteolysis-targeting vaccines (PROTAVs) that facilitate antigen proteolytic processing and cross-presentation to potentiate T cell responses for robust ICB combination immunotherapy of melanoma.

Biocompatible Hydrogel Coating on Silicone Rubber with Improved Antifouling and Durable Lubricious Properties.

Silicone rubber is widely used in various medical applications. However, silicone rubber is prone to biofouling due to their affinity for lipids and has a high friction coefficient, which can significantly impact their efficacy and performance used as medical devices. Thus, the development of hydrogels with antifouling and lubricious abilities for the modification of silicone rubber is in high demand.

Ziresovir in Hospitalized Infants with Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection.

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of severe illness in infants, with no effective treatment. Results of a phase 2 trial suggested that ziresovir may have efficacy in the treatment of infants hospitalized with RSV infection.

Methods: In a phase 3, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial conducted in China, we enrolled participants 1 to 24 months of age who were hospitalized with RSV infection.

Gadoxetic Acid-Enhanced MRI-Based Radiomic Models for Preoperative Risk Prediction and Prognostic Assessment of Proliferative Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Rationale And Objectives: Proliferative hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with high invasiveness and poor prognosis. This study aimed to investigate the preoperative risk prediction and prognostic value of different radiomics models and a nomogram for proliferative HCC.

Materials And Methods: Patients were randomly divided into a training cohort (n = 156) and a validation cohort (n = 66) in a 7:3 ratio.

Radiomics-Based Differentiation of Glioblastoma and Metastatic Disease: Impact of Different T1-Contrast-Enhanced Sequences on Radiomics Features and Model Performance.

Background And Purpose: Even though glioblastoma (GB) and brain metastases (BM) can be differentiated using radiomics, it remains unclear if the model performance may vary based on the contrast-enhanced sequence used. Our aim was to evaluate the radiomics-based model performance for differentiation between GB and brain metastases BM using MPRAGE and volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE) T1-contrast-enhanced sequence.

Materials And Methods: T1 contrast-enhanced (T1-CE) MPRAGE and VIBE sequences acquired in 108 patients (31 GBs and 77 BM) during the same MRI session were retrospectively evaluated.

The Epidemiologic and Clinical Features of Radiographic-Confirmed Community-Acquired Pneumonia Among Chinese Children: A Retrospective Hospital-Based Study.

Background: To help understand the disease burden of vaccine-preventable bacterial disease, we delineated the epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of radiographic-confirmed community-acquired pneumonia (CXR-CAP) among Chinese children.

Methods: We retrospectively screened the electronic database of the hospital information system to identify all pediatric CAP cases admitted to the Children's Hospital of Soochow University between 2010 and 2014. Radiographic findings and clinical data were extracted from the medical charts through individual chart reviews.

Effect of Stroke Etiology on Endovascular Treatment for Acute Basilar-Artery Occlusion: A Post Hoc Analysis of the ATTENTION Randomized Trial.

Background: Stroke etiology could influence the outcomes in patients with basilar-artery occlusion (BAO). This study aimed to evaluate the differences in efficacy and safety of best medical treatment (BMT) plus endovascular treatment (EVT) versus BMT alone in acute BAO across different stroke etiologies.

Methods: The study was a post hoc analysis of the ATTENTION trial (Trial of Endovascular Treatment of Acute Basilar-Artery Occlusion), which was a multicenter, randomized trial at 36 centers in China from February 2021 to September 2022.

An Ultrasensitive Biosensor for Probing Subcellular Distribution and Mitochondrial Transport of l-2-Hydroxyglutarate.

l-2-Hydroxyglutarate (l-2-HG) is a functionally compartmentalized metabolite involved in various physiological processes. However, its subcellular distribution and mitochondrial transport remain unclear owing to technical limitations. In the present study, an ultrasensitive l-2-HG biosensor, sfLHGFR, composed of circularly permuted yellow fluorescent protein and l-2-HG-specific transcriptional regulator, is developed.

Identification of Noncoding Functional Regulatory Variants of Gene in Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Background: STIM1 (stromal interaction molecule 1) regulates store-operated calcium entry and is involved in pulmonary artery vasoconstriction and pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell proliferation, leading to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

Methods: Bioinformatics analysis and a 2-stage matched case-control study were conducted to screen for noncoding variants that may potentially affect transcriptional regulation in 242 patients with idiopathic PAH and 414 healthy controls. Luciferase reporter assay, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blot, 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) assay, and intracellular Ca measurement were performed to study the mechanistic roles of those noncoding variants in PAH.

The Milk of Cows Immunized with Trivalent Inactivated Vaccines Provides Broad-Spectrum Passive Protection against Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease in Neonatal Mice.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a contagious viral infection predominantly affecting infants and young children, caused by multiple enteroviruses, including Enterovirus 71 (EV71), Coxsackievirus A16 (CA16), Coxsackievirus A10 (CA10), and Coxsackievirus A6 (CA6). The high pathogenicity of HFMD has garnered significant attention. Currently, there is no specific treatment or broad-spectrum preventive measure available for HFMD, and existing monovalent vaccines have limited impact on the overall incidence or prevalence of the disease.

Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid Reverses Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis in Mice via Modulation of Intestinal Barrier Dysfunction and Microbiome Dysregulation.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease that can lead to persistent damage and even cancer without any intervention. Conventional treatments can alleviate UC symptoms but are costly and cause various side effects. Tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), a secondary bile acid derivative, possesses anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective properties for various diseases, but its potential therapeutic benefits in UC have not been fully explored.

A potent Henipavirus cross-neutralizing antibody reveals a dynamic fusion-triggering pattern of the G-tetramer.

The Hendra and Nipah viruses (HNVs) are highly pathogenic pathogens without approved interventions for human use. In addition, the interaction pattern between the attachment (G) and fusion (F) glycoproteins required for virus entry remains unclear. Here, we isolate a panel of Macaca-derived G-specific antibodies that cross-neutralize HNVs via multiple mechanisms.

Etiological diagnostic performance of probe capture-based targeted next-generation sequencing in bloodstream infection.

Background: A rapid and precise etiological diagnosis is crucial for the effective treatment of bloodstream infection (BSI). In this study, the performance of probe capture-based targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS) was compared to that of blood culture and metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in detecting potential pathogens in patients with BSI.

Methods: A total of 80 patients with suspected BSI were prospectively enrolled from 24 November 2023 to 30 December 2023 at Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai, China.

ABBV-319: a CD19-targeting glucocorticoid receptor modulator antibody-drug conjugate therapy for B-cell malignancies.

Glucocorticoids are key components of the standard-of-care treatment regimens for B-cell malignancy. However, systemic glucocorticoid treatment is associated with several adverse events. ABBV-319 is a CD19-targeting antibody-drug conjugate engineered to reduce glucocorticoid-associated toxicities while possessing 3 distinct mechanisms of action (MOA) to increase therapeutic efficacy: (1) antibody-mediated delivery of a glucocorticoid receptor modulator (GRM) payload to activate apoptosis, (2) inhibition of CD19 signaling, and (3) enhanced fragment crystallizable (Fc)-mediated effector function via afucosylation of the antibody backbone.

Intravenous administration of IL-12 encoding self-replicating RNA-lipid nanoparticle complex leads to safe and effective antitumor responses.

Interleukin 12 (IL-12) is a potent immunostimulatory cytokine mainly produced by antigen-presenting cells (e.g., dendritic cells, macrophages) and plays an important role in innate and adaptive immunity against cancers.

Engineering cGAS-agonistic oligonucleotides as therapeutics for cancer immunotherapy.

Activating cyclic GMP-AMP synthase-stimulator of interferon genes (cGAS-STING) holds great potential for cancer immunotherapy by eliciting type-I interferon (IFN-I) responses. Yet, current approaches to cGAS-STING activation rely on STING agonists, which suffer from difficult formulation, poor pharmacokinetics, and marginal clinical therapeutic efficacy. Here, we report nature-inspired oligonucleotide, Svg3, as a cGAS agonist for cGAS-STING activation in tumor combination immunotherapy.

A Clinical and Imaging Fused Deep Learning Model Matches Expert Clinician Prediction of 90-Day Stroke Outcomes.

Background And Purpose: Predicting long-term clinical outcome in acute ischemic stroke is beneficial for prognosis, clinical trial design, resource management, and patient expectations. This study used a deep learning-based predictive model (DLPD) to predict 90-day mRS outcomes and compared its predictions with those made by physicians.

Materials And Methods: A previously developed DLPD that incorporated DWI and clinical data from the acute period was used to predict 90-day mRS outcomes in 80 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke from a single-center registry.

Genomic heterozygosity is associated with a lower risk of osteoarthritis.

Background: Genomic heterozygosity has been shown to confer a health advantage in humans and play a protective role in complex diseases. Given osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly polygenic disease, we set out to determine if an association exists between OA and genomic heterozygosity.

Results: End-stage knee and hip OA patients and healthy controls were recruited from the Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) population.