CALR frameshift mutation detection in myeloproliferative neoplasms by microfluidic chip analysis.

Background: CALR mutation analysis is routinely used to diagnose BCR/ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms. The 2 most common CALR mutations are a 52-base pair (bp) deletion and a 5-bp insertion, which account for approximately 85% of cases.

Methods: To evaluate our new microfluidic chip assay, we tested CALR mutant and wild-type specimens that were previously analyzed using conventional methods at a reference laboratory.

Molecular epidemiology of in non-pregnant populations: a systematic review.

(group B , GBS) has recently emerged as an important pathogen among adults. However, it is overlooked in this population, with all global efforts being directed towards its containment among pregnant women and neonates. This systematic review assessed the molecular epidemiology and compared how the lineages circulating among non-pregnant populations relate to those of pregnant and neonatal populations worldwide.

"If I don't take my treatment, I will die and who will take care of my child?": An investigation into an inclusive community-led approach to addressing the barriers to HIV treatment adherence by postpartum women living with HIV.

Introduction: Initiatives to support adherence to HIV treatment in South Africa are often centred on service delivery thereby avoiding key challenges to adherence: stigma and poverty. In contrast, this study aims to demonstrate the strength of an inclusive research and programme approach to improving the lives of people living with HIV and simultaneously ARV adherence.

Methods: Participatory Action Research combined with a visual participatory method (Photovoice) was used by postpartum women to share their experience of taking ARVs.

Giant cell arteritis.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA, also known as temporal arteritis) is classified as a vasculitis of large and medium sized vessels and can involve the cranial vessels as well as the aorta and great vessels. It is a systemic rheumatic disease that virtually never occurs in adults younger than 50 years of age. GCA is the most common idiopathic systemic vasculitis.

Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection in the Setting of COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Stressors: A Case Report.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is an uncommon but important cause of acute myocardial infarction, particularly in younger women and in patients with underlying fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD). There is increasing literature on patients with SCAD reporting significant emotional stress, particularly stress related to unemployment, in the week prior to their cardiac event, and emotional triggers appear to be associated with worse in-hospital and follow-up cardiac events. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant societal stressors and increased unemployment, which have been associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity.