The IL-6 hypothesis in COVID-19: A phase 2, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of free IL-6 sequestration by the monoclonal antibody sirukumab in severe and critical COVID-19.

Background: Upregulation of IL-6 has been associated with worse prognosis in COVID-19 patients. Impact on IL-6 signalling has mostly been limited to clinical outcomes in IL-6 receptor antagonist trials.

Methods: We performed a phase 2, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (NCT04380961) of US-based hospitalised adults (<85 years) with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe (low levels of supplemental oxygen) or critical disease (high levels of oxygen supplementation).

Feasibility of wearable sensor signals and self-reported symptoms to prompt at-home testing for acute respiratory viruses in the USA (DETECT-AHEAD): a decentralised, randomised controlled trial.

Background: Early identification of an acute respiratory infection is important for reducing transmission and enabling earlier therapeutic intervention. We aimed to prospectively evaluate the feasibility of home-based diagnostic self-testing of viral pathogens in individuals prompted to do so on the basis of self-reported symptoms or individual changes in physiological parameters detected via a wearable sensor.

Methods: DETECT-AHEAD was a prospective, decentralised, randomised controlled trial carried out in a subpopulation of an existing cohort (DETECT) of individuals enrolled in a digital-only observational study in the USA.

Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography: Clinical Utility and Future Directions.

Purpose: This work aims to review the principles of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), to survey its clinical utility, and to highlight the strengths of this technology as well as barriers to adoption.

Methods: A literature review with editorial discussion of the current applications for OCTA is presented.

Results: There have been recent advances in multiple domains in OCTA imaging, including devices, algorithms, and new observations pertaining to a range of pathologies.

A randomized controlled trial of presatovir for respiratory syncytial virus after lung transplant.

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in lung transplant recipients is associated with high morbidity. This study evaluated the RSV fusion inhibitor presatovir in RSV-infected lung transplant recipients.

Methods: In this international Phase 2b, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (NCT02534350), adult lung transplant recipients with symptomatic confirmed RSV infection for ≤7 days received oral presatovir 200 mg on day 1 and 100 mg daily on days 2 to 14, or placebo (2:1), with follow-up through day 28.

Immunocompromised Host Pneumonia: Definitions and Diagnostic Criteria: An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report.

Pneumonia imposes a significant clinical burden on people with immunocompromising conditions. Millions of individuals live with compromised immunity because of cytotoxic cancer treatments, biological therapies, organ transplants, inherited and acquired immunodeficiencies, and other immune disorders. Despite broad awareness among clinicians that these patients are at increased risk for developing infectious pneumonia, immunocompromised people are often excluded from pneumonia clinical guidelines and treatment trials.

The 100 Most Mentioned Glaucoma Articles Online With Highest Altmetric Attention Scores.

Prcis: Characteristics of the most mentioned glaucoma articles on the internet were analyzed, allowing a better understanding of the dissemination of glaucoma research to the general public.

Purpose: The aim was to determine the 100 most mentioned articles on the internet in the field of glaucoma and analyze their characteristics.

Materials And Methods: We identified the top 100 glaucoma articles with the highest Altmetric Attention Score (AAS), an automatically calculated metric for monitoring social media.

A comprehensive analysis of authorship trends in Skeletal Radiology since inception from 1976 to 2020.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to explore authorship trends within the musculoskeletal radiology subspecialty-focused journal, Skeletal Radiology, from inception to 2020.

Materials And Methods: Skeletal Radiology articles published in 1976, 1986, 1996, 2006, 2016, and 2020 were reviewed. For each article, the number of authors, the number of distinct institutions, the names of first and last authors, the country of the first author, the article length, and the number of article references were recorded.

Cigarette Smoke Exposure Promotes Virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Induces Resistance to Neutrophil Killing.

It is widely known that cigarette smoke damages host defenses and increases susceptibility to bacterial infections. , a Gram-negative bacterium that commonly colonizes the airways of smokers and patients with chronic lung disease, can cause pneumonia and sepsis and can trigger exacerbations of lung diseases. colonizing airways is consistently exposed to inhaled cigarette smoke.

Trends in Authorship of Original Scientific Articles in Journal of Glaucoma: An Analysis of 25 Years Since the Initiation of the Journal.

Unlabelled: PRéCIS:: Publications in glaucoma have seen an increase in the number of authors and disclosures per article, authors with dual degrees, and international authors, but contributions of women to articles published remains low.

Purpose: Authorship trends have been studied across many medical specialties and in ophthalmology as a whole, but not specifically in glaucoma. The authors explored the authorship trends of original scientific articles in the Journal of Glaucoma.

Assessment of Drug Resistance during Phase 2b Clinical Trials of Presatovir in Adults Naturally Infected with Respiratory Syncytial Virus.

This study summarizes drug resistance analyses in 4 recent phase 2b trials of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) fusion inhibitor presatovir in naturally infected adults. Adult hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients, lung transplant recipients, or hospitalized patients with naturally acquired, laboratory-confirmed RSV infection were enrolled in 4 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies with study-specific presatovir dosing. Full-length RSV sequences amplified from nasal swabs obtained at baseline and postbaseline were analyzed by population sequencing.

Drug Resistance Assessment Following Administration of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Fusion Inhibitor Presatovir to Participants Experimentally Infected With RSV.

Background: Presatovir is an oral respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) fusion inhibitor targeting RSV F protein. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study in healthy adults experimentally infected with RSV (Memphis-37b), presatovir significantly reduced viral load and clinical disease severity in a dose-dependent manner.

Methods: Viral RNA from nasal wash samples was amplified and the F gene sequenced to monitor presatovir resistance.

Evaluating Neuroradiology Fellowship Program Websites: A Critical Analysis of all 84 Programs in the United States.

Purpose: To investigate the accessibility and content of neuroradiology fellowship program websites (NRFW).

Methods: A list of neuroradiology fellowship programs were obtained from the official Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) website. A google search was used to identify each NRFW of individual programs.

Azithromycin Use and Increased Cancer Risk among Patients with Bronchiolitis Obliterans after Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.

Azithromycin exposure during the early phase of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) has been associated with an increased incidence of hematologic relapse. We assessed the impact of azithromycin exposure on the occurrence of relapse or new subsequent neoplasm (SN) in patients with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) after HCT who are commonly treated with azithromycin alone or in combination with other agents. In a retrospective study of patients with BOS from 2 large allograft centers, the effect of azithromycin exposure on the risk of relapse or SN was estimated from a Cox model with a time-dependent variable for treatment initiation.

E-cigarette use increases susceptibility to bacterial infection by impairment of human neutrophil chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and NET formation.

E-cigarettes are portrayed as safer relative to conventional tobacco. However, burgeoning evidence suggests that E-cigarettes may adversely affect host defenses. However, the precise mechanisms by which E-cigarette vapor alters innate immune cell function have not been fully elucidated.

OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAPHY DETECTS SUBCLINICAL RADIAL PERIPAPILLARY CAPILLARY DENSITY REDUCTION AFTER PLAQUE RADIOTHERAPY FOR CHOROIDAL MELANOMA.

Purpose: To evaluate radial peripapillary capillary density (RPCD) in irradiated eyes without radiation papillopathy clinically.

Methods: Patients treated with plaque radiotherapy for unilateral choroidal melanoma without radiation papillopathy clinically received optical coherence tomography and optical coherence tomography angiography imaging at ∼12- to 24-month follow-up. Comparison of RPCD globally and meridian closest to plaque and meridian farthest to plaque of irradiated versus nonirradiated eyes was performed.

The Enigmatic Canal-Associated Neurons Regulate Larval Development Through a cAMP Signaling Pathway.

larval development requires the function of the two Canal-Associated Neurons (CANs): killing the CANs by laser microsurgery or disrupting their development by mutating the gene results in early larval arrest. How these cells promote larval development, however, remains a mystery. In screens for mutations that bypass CAN function, we identified the gene , which encodes a member of the Salt-Inducible Kinase (SIK) family and a component of a conserved pathway that regulates various phenotypes.

Uncontrolled recurrent myasthenia gravis exacerbations secondary to chronic gabapentin use.

Gabapentin is an anticonvulsant medication that reduces synaptic transmission by decreasing presynaptic voltage-gated Ca2+ and Na+ channels. It is approved to treat focal seizures but also used to treat post-herpetic and neuropathic pain. Although uncommon, there have been three reported cases of myasthenia gravis exacerbation associated with gabapentin in the literature.

Inhibition of Human Neutrophil Extracellular Trap (NET) Production by Propofol and Lipid Emulsion.

Uncontrolled bacteremia is a common and life threatening condition that can lead to sepsis and septic shock with significant morbidity and mortality. Neutrophil granulocytes, the most abundant phagocytic leukocyte of the innate immune system, play an essential role in capturing and killing invading pathogens. Their antimicrobial repertoire includes the formation of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs), chromatin-based, web-like structures of DNA that facilitate the capture and killing of bacteria.

Midturbinate Swabs Are Comparable to Nasopharyngeal Swabs for Quantitative Detection of Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Infants.

Nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs are generally used to detect respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants. However, midturbinate (MT) swabs may provide comparable results. In this study, we enrolled hospitalized infants aged <24 months with RSV and collected NP and MT swabs.

Changes in Iridocorneal Angle and Anterior Chamber Structure in Eyes With Anatomically Narrow Angles: Laser Iridotomy Versus Pilocarpine.

Purpose: To compare the effects of laser iridotomy (LI) and pilocarpine on iridocorneal angle and anterior chamber structure in anatomically narrow angles (ANAs).

Materials And Methods: Temporal LI was performed 90 minutes after 2% pilocarpine administration in patients with occludable ANA. Swept-source optical coherence tomography B-scans of the anterior segment were obtained at baseline, 60 minutes after 2% pilocarpine administration, and 1 week after LI.

Phase 1 First-in-Human, Single- and Multiple-Ascending Dose, and Food Effect Studies to Assess the Safety, Tolerability, and Pharmacokinetics of Presatovir for the Treatment of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-associated respiratory tract infection is a leading cause of hospitalizations in infants for which no effective treatment exists. RSV infection is also an important cause of respiratory disease in adults and immunocompromised patients. Presatovir (GS-5806) is an orally bioavailable antiviral agent that inhibits fusion of RSV with host cell membranes.