Chronic hypertension is an increasingly prevalent condition that constitutes a risk factor for superimposed preeclampsia during pregnancy. In this study, we assessed the gut microbiome in a rat model of superimposed preeclampsia to characterize the microbial signature associated with defective placentation processes identified at the preclinical disease stage. The blood pressure profile, renal function parameters and fetal phenotype were evaluated in pregnant Stroke-prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHRSP) and their normotensive controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: This study describes the management of patients on oral anticoagulation (OAC) undergoing endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery (EETS) and analyzes the risk of postoperative hematoma and epistaxis following treatment of pituitary adenoma (PA).
Methods: Patients with OAC prior to EETS for PA were analyzed in a single center retrospective case series of consecutive patients with PA, who were treated between December 2008 and July 2022. Patient data (age, sex, clinical, endocrinology, tumor histology) were entered into a SPSS database.
Background: Patients with urinary tract infection (UTI) in German outpatient care are usually treated by general practitioners (GPs), as well as by other specialties. To prevent antibiotic resistances and side effects, German guidelines recommend fosfomycin, nitrofurantoin, pivmecillinam and nitroxoline as first-line treatments, and advice against broad-spectrum antibiotics such as fluoroquinolones and cephalosporins. However, data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control indicates a significant proportion of second-line antibiotics in German outpatient care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLead poisoning is a global public health concern. Maternal exposure during intrauterine and lactational periods can present a higher susceptibility of harm to the offspring. Thus, pregnant female Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus) were randomly divided in two experimental groups: control group and Lead group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Although the number of places at medical schools and physicians in Germany has increased continuously over the past 25 years, there is a threat of a shortage of physicians. Based on data from the Bavarian Medical Association (BLÄK) and the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians of Bavaria (KVB), an analysis of the number of physicians in Bavaria over a longer period of time was carried out in order to understand current developments and possible starting points for the future organization of medical care. The figures were analyzed with regard to the distribution of physicians by outpatient and inpatient sector as well as with regard to the development of the number of employees, the scope of employment and the gender distribution in the outpatient sector.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Circumpolar Health
December 2024
Arctic populations are amongst the highest exposed populations to long-range transported contaminants globally, with the main exposure pathway being through the diet. Dietary advice is an important immediate means to address potential exposure and help minimize adverse health effects. The objective of this work is to enable easier access to dietary advice and communication guidance on contaminants with a focus on the Arctic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo analyze the correlation of KI-67-Proliferation Index (KI-67-PI) with preoperative patients and MRI characteristics, WHO grading, histological subtype and long-term-course of patients with newly diagnosed intracranial meningiomas (IM). In this single-center retrospective study, all consecutive patients with IM were analyzed from January 2007 to August 2019. Patient´s demographics (age, sex), imaging parameters (location, volume, edema, necrosis), and tumor features (WHO grade, histology) were assessed and correlated with KI-67-PI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Patients in Germany have free choice of physicians in the ambulatory care sector and can consult them as often as they wish without a referral. This can lead to inefficiencies in treatment pathways. In response, some physicians have formed networks to improve the coordination and quality of care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Endoscopic endonasal skull base surgery has gained acceptance worldwide. Comparative analysis has demonstrated that endoscopic skull base surgery may have advantages for many pathologies of the anterior skull base, e. g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis a food-borne pathogen able to cause a wide spectrum of diseases ranging from mild gastroenteritis to systemic infections. During almost all stages of the infection process is likely to be exposed to a wide variety of host-derived antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). AMPs are important components of the innate immune response which integrate within the bacterial membrane, thus forming pores which lead ultimately to bacterial killing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Treatment for autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), idiopathic inflammatory myositis, and systemic sclerosis often involves long-term immune suppression. Resetting aberrant autoimmunity in these diseases through deep depletion of B cells is a potential strategy for achieving sustained drug-free remission.
Methods: We evaluated 15 patients with severe SLE (8 patients), idiopathic inflammatory myositis (3 patients), or systemic sclerosis (4 patients) who received a single infusion of CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells after preconditioning with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide.
This study aimed to examine the association of prior mental health diagnoses with the onset of Post-COVID-19 condition (PCC). We conducted a retrospective comparative cohort study and secondary analysis of routinely collected claims data from participants in statutory health insurance in Bavaria, Germany, from January 2015 to June 2022. Study participants were 619,560 patients with confirmed COVID-19, 42,969 with other respiratory tract infection (ORI), and 438,023 controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlgal-bacterial interactions are ubiquitous in both natural and industrial systems, and the characterization of these interactions has been reinvigorated by potential applications in biosystem productivity. Different growth conditions can be used for operational functions, such as the use of low-quality water or high pH/alkalinity, and the altered operating conditions likely constrain microbial community structure and function in unique ways. However, research is necessary to better understand whether consortia can be designed to improve the productivity, processing, and sustainability of industrial-scale cultivations through different controls that can constrain microbial interactions for maximal light-driven outputs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Mater Interfaces
January 2024
Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) has emerged as a novel technology with the potential to produce building materials through lower-temperature processes. The formation of calcium carbonate bridges in MICP allows the biocementation of aggregate particles to produce biobricks. Current approaches require several pulses of microbes and mineralization media to increase the quantity of calcium carbonate minerals and improve the strength of the material, thus leading to a reduction in sustainability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: First-line prolactin-secreting tumor (PST) management typically involves treatment with dopamine agonists and the role of surgery remains to be further explored. We examined the international experience of 12 neurosurgical centers to assess the patient characteristics, safety profile, and effectiveness of surgery for PST management.
Methods: Patients surgically treated for PST from January 2017 through December 2020 were evaluated for surgical characteristics, outcomes, and safety.
Water is not only essential to sustain life on Earth, but also is a crucial resource for long-duration deep space exploration and habitation. Current systems in space rely on the resupply of water from Earth, however, as missions get longer and move farther away from Earth, resupply will no longer be a sustainable option. Thus, the development of regenerative reclamation water systems through which useable water can be recovered from "waste streams" ( used waters) is sorely needed to further close the loop in space life support systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Among brain tumor patients, frailty is associated with poor outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased frailty in the general population. To date, evidence on changes in frailty among brain tumor patients during the pandemic is lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe proportion of VREfm among all isolated from blood cultures in German hospitals has increased in the period 2015-2020 from 11.9% to 22.3% with a country-wide spread of the clonal lineage ST117/CT71 .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The complex (ECC) species are potential neonatal pathogens, and ECC strains are among the most commonly encountered spp. associated with nosocomial bloodstream infections. Outbreaks caused by ECC can lead to significant morbidity and mortality in susceptible neonates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSurgery of the skull base includes interventions between the nose or paranasal sinuses (anterior skull base) or ear/temporal bone (lateral skull base) and the intracranial space. As interventions at the anterior skull base almost exclusively involve complex pathologies in a demanding anatomical region, in many cases two experienced surgeons from different disciplines are required who should be experienced in operating together. The technical and time requirements are also considerable in many cases; however, for many procedures there are no specific skull base operational and procedural keys (OPS) codes that take the considerable personnel and structural effort into account.
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