Risks associated with chronic cannabis use on opioid use, length of stay, and revision rate for patients undergoing posterior lumbar interbody fusion.

Background Context: Opioids are commonly prescribed to treat spinal pain, especially those undergoing surgery. Cannabis has been suggested as an agent that can modulate opioid needs in these patients.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of cannabis use on perioperative opioid requirement and revision surgery rate in patients undergoing lumbar fusion.

Molecular mechanisms and treatment responses of pulmonary fibrosis in severe COVID-19.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients can develop pulmonary fibrosis (PF), which is associated with impaired outcome. We assessed specific leukocytic transcriptome profiles associated with PF and the influence of early dexamethasone (DEXA) treatment on the clinical course of PF in critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Methods: We performed a pre-post design study in 191 COVID-19 patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) spanning two treatment cohorts: the pre-DEXA- (n = 67) and the DEXA-cohort (n = 124).

Host-dependent impairment of parasite development and reproduction in the acanthocephalan model.

Background: A central question in parasitology is why parasites mature and reproduce in some host species but not in others. Yet, a better understanding of the inability of parasites to complete their life cycles in less suitable hosts may hold clues for their control. To shed light on the molecular basis of parasite (non-)maturation, we analyzed transcriptomes of thorny-headed worms (Acanthocephala: Pomphorhynchus laevis), and compared developmentally arrested worms excised from European eel (Anguilla anguilla) to developmentally unrestricted worms from barbel (Barbus barbus).