Race and Socioeconomic Status Impact Diagnosis and Clinical Outcomes in Transthyretin Cardiac Amyloidosis.

Background: Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) is associated with significant mortality. The Val122Ile variant, highly prevalent in Black patients, portends poorer survival compared with other ATTR-CM subtypes. Although Val122Ile is biologically more aggressive, the contribution of race and socioeconomic status (SES) to disease outcomes in patients with ATTR-CM is undefined.

Presence of Activated (Phosphorylated) STAT3 in Radiation Necrosis Following Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Brain Metastases.

Brain radiation necrosis (RN) is a subacute or late adverse event following radiotherapy, involving an exacerbated inflammatory response of the brain tissue. The risk of symptomatic RN associated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) as part of the treatment of brain metastases (BMs) has been a subject of recent investigation. The activation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) was shown in reactive astrocytes (RA) associated with BMs.

Effectiveness of cell culture-based influenza vaccines compared with egg-based vaccines: What does the literature say?

Objective: Influenza vaccination is an effective way of reducing the burden of seasonal influenza. Chicken egg embryos are the most common source of influenza vaccines, but cell culture production has emerged as an alternative that could be advantageous. This article reviews the available literature on the efficacy/effectiveness of cell culture-based influenza vaccines compared with egg-based vaccines.

KESTREL and KITE: 52-Week Results From Two Phase III Pivotal Trials of Brolucizumab for Diabetic Macular Edema.

Purpose: To compare the efficacy and safety of brolucizumab with aflibercept in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME).

Design: Double-masked, 100-week, multicenter, active-controlled, randomized trials.

Methods: Subjects were randomized 1:1:1 to brolucizumab 3 mg/6 mg or aflibercept 2 mg in KESTREL (n = 566) or 1:1 to brolucizumab 6 mg or aflibercept 2 mg in KITE (n = 360).

Marked factor V activity elevation in severe COVID-19 is associated with venous thromboembolism.

Coagulopathy causes morbidity and mortality in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Yet, the mechanisms are unclear and biomarkers are limited. Early in the pandemic, we observed markedly elevated factor V activity in a patient with COVID-19, which led us to measure factor V, VIII, and X activity in a cohort of 102 consecutive inpatients with COVID-19.