International Validation of Echocardiographic AI Amyloid Detection Algorithm.

Background: Diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is often missed or delayed due to confusion with other causes of increased left ventricular wall thickness. Conventional transthoracic echocardiographic measurements like global longitudinal strain (GLS) has shown promise in distinguishing CA, but with limited specificity. We conducted a study to investigate the performance of a computer vision detection algorithm in across multiple international sites.

Isoflurane increases cell membrane fluidity significantly at clinical concentrations.

There is an on-going debate whether anesthetic drugs, such as isoflurane, can cause meaningful structural changes in cell membranes at clinical concentrations. In this study, the effects of isoflurane on lipid membrane fluidity were investigated using fluorescence anisotropy and spectroscopy. In order to get a complete picture, four very different membrane systems (erythrocyte ghosts, a 5-lipid mixture that mimics brain endothelial cell membrane, POPC/Chol, and pure DPPC) were selected for the study.

Safety and Efficacy of Aminolevulinic Acid 10% Topical Gel versus Aminolevulinic Acid 20% Topical Solution Followed by Blue-light Photodynamic Therapy for the Treatment of Actinic Keratosis on the Face and Scalp: A Randomized, Double-blind Study.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) using 10% 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) gel (GEL) has been shown to be highly effective for treating actinic keratosis (AK) but has only been studied using red-light activation. The goal of this study was to compare GEL and a 20% ALA solution (SOL) using blue-light activation under typical clinical conditions. This double-blind, split-face study randomized subjects to GEL or SOL application to contiguous 25cm fields containing 4 to 8 AK lesions on either side of the face or scalp (no curettage, 1-hour incubation, no occlusion) followed by blue light exposure (1,000 seconds, 417nm, 10J/cm).

Sterol methyltransferase is required for optimal mitochondrial function and virulence in Leishmania major.

Limited knowledge on the exact functions of ergostane-based sterols has hampered the application of sterol synthesis inhibitors against trypanosomatid parasites. Sterol methyltransferase (SMT) is directly involved in the synthesis of parasite-specific C24-methylated sterols, including ergosterol and 5-dehydroepisterol. While pharmacological studies hint at its potential as a drug target against trypanosomatids, direct evidence for the cellular function and essentiality of SMT is lacking.