"They Make It So Hard on You": How Rurality Shapes Veterans' Health Experiences When Managing Gulf War Illness.

Background: Gulf War illness (GWI) is characterized by multiple, persistent symptoms (e.g., fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, concentration problems, and gastrointestinal disorders) across more than one body system that are severe enough to interfere with daily functioning.

Normothermic Machine Perfusion Reconstitutes Porcine Kidney Tissue Metabolism But Induces an Inflammatory Response, Which Is Reduced by Complement C5 Inhibition.

Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) is a clinical strategy to reduce renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). Optimal NMP should restore metabolism and minimize IRI induced inflammatory responses. Microdialysis was used to evaluate renal metabolism.

Activation of the Innate Immune System in Brain-Dead Donors Can Be Reduced by Luminal Intestinal Preservation During Organ Procurement Surgery - A Porcine Model.

Organs obtained from brain dead donors can have suboptimal outcomes. Activation of the innate immune system and translocation of intestinal bacteria could be causative. Thirty two pigs were assigned to control, brain death (BD), BD + luminal intestinal polyethylene glycol (PEG), and BD + luminal intestinal University of Wisconsin solution (UW) groups.

Ex-Vivo Kidney Perfusion With Hemoglobin-Based Oxygen Carriers, Red Blood Cells, or No Oxygen Carrier.

Introduction: Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) of donor kidneys provides the opportunity to assess and improve organ viability prior to transplantation. This study explored the necessity of an oxygen carrier during NMP and whether the hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (HBOC-201) is a suitable alternative to red blood cells (RBCs).

Methods: Porcine kidneys were perfused with a perfusion solution containing either no-oxygen carrier, RBCs, or HBOC-201 for 360 min at 37°C.

Correction: P-NGAL Day 1 predicts early but not one year graft function following deceased donor kidney transplantation-The CONTEXT study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Magnetic resonance imaging as a noninvasive adjunct to conventional assessment of functional differences between kidneys in vivo and during ex vivo normothermic machine perfusion.

Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) is increasingly considered for pretransplant kidney quality assessment. However, fundamental questions about differences between in vivo and ex vivo renal function, as well as the impact of ischemic injury on ex vivo physiology, remain unanswered. This study utilized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), alongside conventional parameters to explore differences between in vivo and ex vivo renal function and the impact of warm ischemia on a kidney's behavior ex vivo.

Effect of Spironolactone on Kidney Function in Kidney Transplant Recipients (the SPIREN trial): A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

Key Points: Spironolactone is safe for kidney transplant patients. Spironolactone reduces kidney function by an acute effect, whereafter it remains stable. Spironolactone does not affect the progression of interstitial fibrosis in protocol biopsies.

External Validation of Proposed American Heart Association Algorithm for Cardiovascular Screening Before Kidney Transplantation.

Background: Screening for cardiovascular disease is currently recommended before kidney transplantation. The present study aimed to validate the proposed algorithm by the American Heart Association (AHA-2022) considering cardiovascular findings and outcomes in kidney transplant candidates, and to compare AHA-2022 with the previous recommendation (AHA-2012).

Methods And Results: We applied the 2 screening algorithms to an observational cohort of kidney transplant candidates (n=529) who were already extensively screened for coronary heart disease by referral to cardiac computed tomography between 2014 and 2019.

Renal cortex microperfusion evaluated by laser speckle contrast imaging in an ex vivo perfused kidney model-A proof-of-concept study.

Background: Validated quantitative biomarkers for assessment of renal graft function during normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) conditions are lacking. The aim of this project was to quantify cortex microperfusion during ex vivo kidney perfusion using laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI), and to evaluate the sensitivity of LSCI when measuring different levels of renal perfusion. Furthermore, we aimed to introduce LSCI measurements during NMP in differentially damaged kidneys.

β-Trace Protein and β2-Microglobulin do not Improve Estimation of Glomerular Filtration Rate in Kidney Transplant Recipients Compared With Creatinine and Cystatin C.

Background: Reliable estimates of glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) are important for detecting changes in graft function in kidney transplant recipients. Current eGFR equations are based on plasma creatinine and/or cystatin C; however, these are associated with significant bias. This study investigated if equations based on β-trace protein (BTP) and β2-microglobulin (B2M) performed better than the 2021 Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equations based on creatinine and cystatin C among kidney transplant recipients.

The Diagnostic Yield and Clinical Impact of Systematic Screening of Kidney Transplant Candidates by Cardiac Computed Tomography: A Cohort Study.

Background: Although cardiovascular screening of kidney transplant candidates is recommended, the optimal approach is debated. Previous studies show that noninvasive imaging provides prognostic information, but systematic screening may have less recognized effects, such as additional investigations, incidental findings, procedural complications, and delay of transplantation. To address this, we characterized the diagnostic yield and clinical implications of systematic screening for cardiovascular disease using cardiac computed tomography (CT) in potential kidney transplant candidates.

A prospective evaluation of the diagnostic potential of EBV-DNA in plasma and whole blood.

Background: Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-DNA is an important diagnostic tool for EBV-associated disease, but interpretation of its clinical significance is challenging.

Objectives: We assessed the diagnostic and clinical performance of WHO-standardised qPCR for EBV-DNA (WHO EBV-qPCR) in plasma and whole blood (WB) for proven EBV disease in a prospectively accrued patient cohort.

Study Design: Central Denmark Region patients, tested with WHO EBV-qPCR from November 2017 to March 2019, were screened for EBV disease.

Paediatric end-of-life care at home.

Background: A terminally ill child should have the possibility to be at home with their family during the end of life. Provision of care from primary care nurses (PCNs) is crucial, but no model exists on how specialised paediatric palliative care teams (SPPCTs) support the PCNs to perform this task.

Aim: To investigate how PCNs evaluated a shared care model between a SPPCT and PCNs in paediatric end-of-life care.

Endotrophin Levels Are Associated with Allograft Outcomes in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Early prediction of kidney graft function may assist clinical management, and for this, reliable non-invasive biomarkers are needed. We evaluated endotrophin (ETP), a novel non-invasive biomarker of collagen type VI formation, as a prognostic marker in kidney transplant recipients. ETP levels were measured with the PRO-C6 ELISA in the plasma (P-ETP) of 218 and urine (U-ETP/Cr) of 172 kidney transplant recipients, one (D1) and five (D5) days, as well as three (M3) and twelve (M12) months, after transplantation.

In a real-life setting, risk factors, coronary artery calcium score, and coronary stenosis at computed tomography angiography are associated with major adverse cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality among kidney transplant candidates.

Kidney failure is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death. This single-center, a retrospective study evaluated the association between risk factors, coronary artery calcium score (CACS), coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA), major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), and all-cause mortality in kidney transplant candidates. Data on clinical risk factors, MACE, and all-cause mortality were collected from patient records.

Awake Laser Ablation with Continuous Neuropsychological Testing During Treatment of Brain Tumors and Epilepsy.

MR-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) is feasible and safe in the awake patient. Awake LITT may be performed with analgesics for head fixation in a head-ring, no sedation during laser ablation, and with continuous neurological testing in patients with brain tumors and epilepsy. In the LITT treatment of lesions near eloquent areas and subcortical fiber tracts, neurological function can potentially be preserved by monitoring the patient during laser ablation.

Local networks from different parts of the human cerebral cortex generate and share the same population dynamic.

A major goal of neuroscience is to reveal mechanisms supporting collaborative actions of neurons in local and larger-scale networks. However, no clear overall principle of operation has emerged despite decades-long experimental efforts. Here, we used an unbiased method to extract and identify the dynamics of local postsynaptic network states contained in the cortical field potential.

GDNF Increases Inhibitory Synaptic Drive on Principal Neurons in the Hippocampus via Activation of the Ret Pathway.

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) has been shown to counteract seizures when overexpressed or delivered into the brain in various animal models of epileptogenesis or chronic epilepsy. The mechanisms underlying this effect have not been investigated. We here demonstrate for the first time that GDNF enhances GABAergic inhibitory drive onto mouse pyramidal neurons by modulating postsynaptic GABA receptors, particularly in perisomatic inhibitory synapses, by GFRα1 mediated activation of the Ret receptor pathway.

Dosing Limitation for Intra-Renal Arterial Infusion of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells.

The immunomodulatory and regenerative properties of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) make MSC therapy a promising therapeutic strategy in kidney disease. A targeted MSC administration via the renal artery offers an efficient delivery method with limited spillover to other organs. Although local administration alleviates safety issues with MSCs in systemic circulation, it introduces new safety concerns in the kidneys.

Three underdogs among galenic veins: anatomical analysis and literature review of surgical relevant veins in the quadrigeminal cistern.

Recent studies (Alaou-Ismaili et al. 2020; Kilic et al. Eur J Radiol 56:212-219, 2005) among experienced sub-specialized neurosurgeons described divergent perceptions of surgical risk for venous sacrifice in posterior fossa surgery.