A case series in vertebral body tethering results in improvement in coronal Cobb angle but deterioration in axial rotation: a 3-dimensional analysis.

Background: Vertebral body tethering (VBT) has shown improvements in coronal and sagittal plane correction in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients, but axial correction over time remains unexplored. Three-dimensional (3D) spine reconstruction was used to analyse correctional changes in all spinal planes post VBT surgery.

Case Description: AIS subjects who underwent thoracic VBT surgery with a minimum 2-year follow-up were assessed.

Brief report: Impact of consolidation durvalumab on unresectable non-small lung cancer with driver mutations.

Unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) carries a poor prognosis. The PACIFIC trial established consolidation durvalumab after chemoradiation as a standard treatment; however, its efficacy in patients with driver mutations remains uncertain. This retrospective cohort study analyzed data from three oncology centers in Hong Kong, covering the period from January 2019 to December 2022.

Distinctive But Not Exceptional: The Risks of Psychedelic Ethical Exceptionalism.

When used clinically, psychedelics may appear unusual or even unique when compared to more familiar or long-standing medical interventions, prompting some to suggest that the ethical issues raised may likewise be exceptional. If that is correct, then perhaps psychedelics should be treated differently from other medical substances: for example, by being subjected to different ethical or evidentiary standards. Alternatively, it may be that psychedelics have more in common with various existing medical interventions than first meets the eye.

Conversational agents in physical and psychological symptom management: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Effective management of physical and psychological symptoms is a critical component of comprehensive care for both chronic disease patients and apparently healthy individuals experiencing episodic symptoms. Conversational agents, which are dialog systems capable of understanding and generating human language, have emerged as a potential tool to enhance symptom management through interactive support.

Objective: To examine the characteristics and effectiveness of conversational agent-delivered interventions reported in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the management of both physical and psychological symptoms.

Research Progress on the Relationship Between Artificial Sweeteners and Breast Cancer.

Artificial sweeteners, as low-calorie sugar substitutes, have attracted much attention in recent years, especially in terms of their potential health effects. Although they add almost no calories, studies have shown that artificial sweeteners may affect metabolism by stimulating insulin secretion and changing the intestinal microbiota, increasing the risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Breast cancer, as the most common cancer in the world, is related to multiple factors such as genetics and hormone levels.