Perceptions of sarcopenia in patients, health and care professionals, and the public: a scoping review of studies from different countries.

Rationale And Objective: Perceptions of sarcopenia have rarely been explored, yet understanding these will be key for successful translation of sarcopenia research findings into meaningful benefits for patients and the public. This scoping review aimed to explore how sarcopenia is perceived amongst patients, health and care professionals (HCP), and the public in different countries.

Methods: Seven electronic databases were searched from inception up to December 2023 with no geographical or language limitations.

Peripherally Restricted Activation of Opioid Receptors Influences Anxiety-Related Behaviour and Alters Brain Gene Expression in a Sex-Specific Manner.

Although effects of stress-induced anxiety on the gastrointestinal tract and enteric nervous system (ENS) are well studied, how ENS dysfunction impacts behaviour is not well understood. We investigated whether ENS modulation alters anxiety-related behaviour in rats. We used loperamide, a potent μ-opioid receptor agonist that does not cross the blood-brain barrier, to manipulate ENS function and assess changes in behaviour, gut and brain gene expression, and microbiota profile.

The Complete Genome Sequence of Splendidofilaria pectoralis (Onchocercidae, Rhabditida, Chromadorea, Nematoda).

We present the complete genome sequence of Splendidofilaria pectoralis, a nematode parasite of grouse (Aves: Galliformes: Tetraonini). Illumina paired-end reads were assembled by a de novo method followed by a finishing step. The raw and assembled data are publicly available via GenBank: Sequence Read Archive (SRR28509439) and assembled genome (JBFSWT000000000).

The effects of whey protein supplementation on indices of cardiometabolic health: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Introduction: The increasing prevalence of cardiometabolic diseases highlights the urgent need for practical interventions to mitigate their associated public health burden. Whey protein supplementation has emerged as a potential intervention for improving markers of cardiometabolic health. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the effect of whey protein ingestion on cardiometabolic profile in adults.

Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between glycaemic measures and grip strength in people without diabetes in the UK Biobank cohort study.

Purpose: To investigate associations between glycaemic measures (HbA1c, random glucose), and grip strength (GS) in adults without prevalent diabetes.

Methods: We included 381,715 UK Biobank participants aged 38-73 years without diabetes (any type) with complete baseline measures for GS and HbA1c (main analyses), and glucose (supplementary analyses). Cross-sectional sex- and age-stratified associations between each glycaemic measure, GS, and probable sarcopenia (low GS) were examined with regression analyses.

Real world effectiveness of early ensitrelvir treatment in patients with SARS-CoV-2, a retrospective case series.

Background: Ensitrelvir, a 3C-like protease inhibitor, received emergency approval in Japan in November 2022 for treating non-hospitalized patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. However, confirmation of its real-world clinical effectiveness is limited.

Methods: This retrospective study evaluated 18 vaccinated outpatients (15 men; median age, 39.

Novel intranasal phage-CaEDTA-ceftazidime/avibactam triple combination therapy demonstrates remarkable efficacy in treating Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection.

Given the rise of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections, alternative treatments are needed. Anti-pseudomonal phage therapy shows promise, but its clinical application is limited due to the development of resistance and a lack of biofilm penetration. Recently, adjuvants like CaEDTA have shown the ability to enhance the effectiveness of combined antimicrobial agents.

The feasibility and acceptability of engaging older adults living with multiple long-term conditions, frailty, and a recent deterioration in health in research: Findings from the Lifestyle in Later Life - Older People's Medicine (LiLL-OPM) study.

Background: Older adults living with multiple long-term conditions (MLTC, also known as multimorbidity) and frailty are more likely to experience a deterioration in their health requiring specialist referral or hospital admission than individuals without these syndromes. However, this group of older people are underserved by research meaning that there is a limited evidence base for their care. This study therefore aimed (1) to determine if it is feasible to recruit and collect quantitative data to describe the health and lifestyle of older adults living with MLTC, frailty and a recent deterioration in health and (2) to assess if taking part in research is acceptable to this group of older adults.

Challenges in Conducting Exercise Recovery Studies in Older Adults and Considerations for Future Research: Findings from a Nutritional Intervention Study.

Maximising the potential benefit of resistance exercise (RE) programs by ensuring optimal recovery is an important aim of exercise prescription. Despite this, research surrounding recovery from RE in older adults is limited and inconsistent. The following randomised controlled trial was designed to investigate the efficacy of milk consumption for improving recovery from RE in older adults.

The Benchmarking Exercise Programme for Older People (BEPOP): Design, Results and Recommendations from The First Wave of Data Collection.

Objectives: The Benchmarking Exercise Programme for Older People (BEPOP) service improvement project seeks to determine and promote the exercise training characteristics associated with positive outcomes for resistance exercise for older people living with, or at risk of, sarcopenia or physical frailty.

Methods: Mixed-methods service improvement project. Ten UK National Health Service physiotherapist-led therapy services delivering exercise interventions for older people submitted anonymized data for up to 20 consecutive patients.

Nomination of a novel plasma protein biomarker panel capable of classifying Alzheimer's disease dementia with high accuracy in an African American cohort.

Introduction: African Americans (AA) are widely underrepresented in plasma biomarker studies for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and current diagnostic biomarker candidates do not reflect the heterogeneity of AD.

Methods: Untargeted proteome measurements were obtained using the SomaScan 7k platform to identify novel plasma biomarkers for AD in a cohort of AA clinically diagnosed as AD dementia (n=183) or cognitively unimpaired (CU, n=145). Machine learning approaches were implemented to identify the set of plasma proteins that yields the best classification accuracy.

Health Utility Values Among Patients With Diabetic Retinopathy, Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration, and Cataract in Thailand: A Multicenter Survey Using Time Trade-Off, EQ-5D-5L, and Health Utility Index 3.

Objectives: This study aimed to establish normative health utility data in Thai patients with diabetic retinopathy, wet age-related macular degeneration, and cataract; evaluate the sensitivity of different utility instruments to visual impairment; explore the relationship among these health utility values with the vision-specific quality of life (QoL); and assess the association of baseline characteristics and visual acuity level with health utility values and vision-specific QoL.

Methods: This multicenter cross-sectional survey included 309 patients from tertiary eye centers. We used health utility instruments (time trade-off [TTO], EuroQol five-dimension [EQ-5D-5L], and Health Utility Index 3 [HUI3]) and vision-specific QoL instrument (National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire) for face-to-face interviews.

Psychosocial experiences are associated with human brain mitochondrial biology.

Psychosocial experiences affect brain health and aging trajectories, but the molecular pathways underlying these associations remain unclear. Normal brain function relies on energy transformation by mitochondria oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos). Two main lines of evidence position mitochondria both as targets and drivers of psychosocial experiences.

A two-generation study of attachment in mothers and their young adult offspring: Latent classes of attachment and associations with anxiety and depression.

Background: Evidence supports the conceptualization of adult attachment as existing along a continuum of attachment security and insecurity; however, ongoing debates persist regarding the use of categorical versus continuous approaches to studying attachment. Attachment data collected from a large community sample of mothers and their offspring in young adulthood were used to examine i) latent classes of adult attachment, ii) associations between mother and offspring attachment, iii) the relationship between adult attachment and mental health symptoms.

Methods: Mothers and offspring were each administered the Attachment Style Questionnaire when offspring were aged 21-years.

Patients with mesothelioma and their carer's experience of diet and appetite: A qualitative insight from the Help-Meso Study.

Background: People living with mesothelioma have a high symptom burden that can affect dietary intake and the development of malnutrition, subsequently impacting on patient-related and treatment outcomes. The present study aimed to develop a better understanding of the experiences of diet and appetite in people living with mesothelioma and their informal carers.

Methods: Twenty-three participants took part in semistructured interviews including 12 people living with mesothelioma (10 pleural and 2 peritoneal) aged 56-83 years and 12 informal carers, predominantly their spouses.

The quality of life impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns for people living with multiple sclerosis (MS): evidence from the Australian MS Longitudinal Study.

Purpose: People living with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) in metropolitan Victoria, Australia, experienced a 112-day, COVID-19-related lockdown in mid-2020. Contemporaneously, Australian PwMS elsewhere experienced minimal restrictions, resulting in a natural experiment. This study investigated the relationships between lockdowns, COVID-19-related adversity, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Early treatment with fluvoxamine, bromhexine, cyproheptadine, and niclosamide to prevent clinical deterioration in patients with symptomatic COVID-19: a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Repurposed drugs with host-directed antiviral and immunomodulatory properties have shown promise in the treatment of COVID-19, but few trials have studied combinations of these agents. The aim of this trial was to assess the effectiveness of affordable, widely available, repurposed drugs used in combination for treatment of COVID-19, which may be particularly relevant to low-resource countries.

Methods: We conducted an open-label, randomized, outpatient, controlled trial in Thailand from October 1, 2021, to June 21, 2022, to assess whether early treatment within 48-h of symptoms onset with combinations of fluvoxamine, bromhexine, cyproheptadine, and niclosamide, given to adults with confirmed mild SARS-CoV-2 infection, can prevent 28-day clinical deterioration compared to standard care.

Exploring indoor and outdoor dust as a potential tool for detection and monitoring of COVID-19 transmission.

This study investigated the potential of using SARS-CoV-2 viral concentrations in dust as an additional surveillance tool for early detection and monitoring of COVID-19 transmission. Dust samples were collected from 8 public locations in 16 districts of Bangkok, Thailand, from June to August 2021. SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in dust were quantified, and their correlation with community case incidence was assessed.

Prevalence of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis in Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: The burden of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) is not well quantified in TB endemic countries such as those in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to quantify that burden via a systematic review of the prevalence of EPTB in African countries.

Methods: Studies were retrieved by searching five databases; 105 studies published between 1990 and 2023 were included.