Declaration of Sweeteners on Food Labels: A Scoping Review of Methodological Issues and Prevalence.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently published a guideline that recommends against the use of nonsugar sweeteners. Food labels are a key source of information for consumers, to enable them to make informed decisions regarding the consumption of food additives. However, discrepancies in the concepts and categorizations of sweeteners in labeling recommendations and regulations may influence the results of studies on the prevalence of sweeteners in foods.

Cerebral vasculitis related to neurosarcoidosis: a case series and systematic literature review.

Cerebral vasculitis is a rare but severe manifestation of neurosarcoidosis (NS) that has received little attention. The aim of the present study was to characterize clinical and diagnostic features as well as potential treatment strategies of cerebral vasculitis related to NS. We assessed 29 patients with cerebral vasculitis related to NS (15 female, mean age at time of diagnosis 45 years, SD = 11.

Pipeline for development of acylated peptide based CGRP receptor antagonist with extended half-life for migraine treatment.

Migraine is a debilitating headache disorder. The disease has neurovascular origin and migraine attacks can be elicited by vasodilative neuropeptides such as alpha calcitonin gene-related peptide (αCGRP). Antagonizing CGRP actions in migraine patients has proven clinically efficient.

Disruption of seasonal influenza circulation and evolution during the 2009 H1N1 and COVID-19 pandemics in Southeastern Asia.

East, South, and Southeast Asia (together referred to as Southeastern Asia hereafter) have been recognized as critical areas fuelling the global circulation of seasonal influenza. However, the seasonal influenza migration network within Southeastern Asia remains unclear, including how pandemic-related disruptions altered this network. We leveraged genetic, epidemiological, and airline travel data between 2007-2023 to characterise the dispersal patterns of influenza A/H3N2 and B/Victoria viruses both out of and within Southeastern Asia, including during perturbations by the 2009 A/H1N1 and COVID-19 pandemics.

MRI-based morphometric structural changes correlate with histopathology in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Background And Objectives: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neurohistopathology are important correlates for evaluation of disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS). Here we used experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) as an animal model of MS to determine the correlation between clinical EAE severity, MRI and histopathological parameters.

Methods: N = 11 female C57BL/6J mice were immunized with human myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein 1-125, while N = 9 remained non-immunized.

Visual quality of life in NMOSD and MOGAD: profiles, dynamics and associations with ageing and vision.

Objective: In this multicentric study, we were interested in the vision-related quality of life and its association with visual impairment in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) in comparison to multiple sclerosis (MS) and healthy controls.

Methods: We analysed extracted data from the German NEMOS registry including National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ) scores, high and low contrast visual acuity (HCVA, LCVA), visually evoked potentials (VEP) and the scores for the expanded disability status scale (EDSS) and other neurological tests which assessed their disease-related impairment. The mean follow-up time of our patients was 1.

Dengue virus importation risks in Africa: a modelling study.

Background: Dengue is a significant global public health concern that poses a threat in Africa. Particularly, African countries are at risk of viral introductions through air travel connectivity with areas of South America and Asia in which explosive dengue outbreaks frequently occur. Limited reporting and diagnostic capacity hinder a comprehensive assessment of continent-wide transmission dynamics and deployment of surveillance strategies in Africa.

Dynamics and ecology of a multi-stage expansion of Oropouche virus in Brazil.

In March 2024, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an alert in response to a rapid increase in Oropouche fever cases across South America. Brazil has been particularly affected, reporting a novel reassortant lineage of the Oropouche virus (OROV) and expansion to previously non-endemic areas beyond the Amazon Basin. Utilising phylogeographic approaches, we reveal a multi-scale expansion process with both short and long-distance dispersal events, and diffusion velocities in line with human-mediated jumps.

Assessing Dengue Virus Importation Risks in Africa: A Climate and Travel-Based Model.

Background: Dengue is a significant global public health concern that poses a threat to Africa. Particularly, African countries are at risk of viral introductions through air travel connectivity with areas of South America and Asia that experience frequent explosive outbreaks. Limited reporting and diagnostic capacity hinder a comprehensive assessment of continent-wide transmission dynamics and deployment of surveillance strategies in Africa.

Routes of importation and spatial dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 variants during localized interventions in Chile.

Human mobility is strongly associated with the spread of SARS-CoV-2 via air travel on an international scale and with population mixing and the number of people moving between locations on a local scale. However, these conclusions are drawn mostly from observations in the context of the global north where international and domestic connectivity is heavily influenced by the air travel network; scenarios where land-based mobility can also dominate viral spread remain understudied. Furthermore, research on the effects of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) has mostly focused on national- or regional-scale implementations, leaving gaps in our understanding of the potential benefits of implementing NPIs at higher granularity.

COVID-19 pandemic interventions reshaped the global dispersal of seasonal influenza viruses.

The global dynamics of seasonal influenza viruses inform the design of surveillance, intervention, and vaccination strategies. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a singular opportunity to evaluate how influenza circulation worldwide was perturbed by human behavioral changes. We combine molecular, epidemiological, and international travel data and find that the pandemic's onset led to a shift in the intensity and structure of international influenza lineage movement.

COVID-19 testing and reporting behaviours in England across different sociodemographic groups: a population-based study using testing data and data from community prevalence surveillance surveys.

Background: Understanding underlying mechanisms of heterogeneity in test-seeking and reporting behaviour during an infectious disease outbreak can help to protect vulnerable populations and guide equity-driven interventions. The COVID-19 pandemic probably exerted different stresses on individuals in different sociodemographic groups and ensuring fair access to and usage of COVID-19 tests was a crucial element of England's testing programme. We aimed to investigate the relationship between sociodemographic factors and COVID-19 testing behaviours in England during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bidirectional Effect of Long-Term Δ-Tetrahydrocannabinol Treatment on mTOR Activity and Metabolome.

Brain aging is associated with cognitive decline, reduced synaptic plasticity, and altered metabolism. The activity of mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) has a major impact on aging by regulating cellular metabolism. Although reduced mTOR signaling has a general antiaging effect, it can negatively affect the aging brain by reducing synaptogenesis and thus cognitive functions.

Hemorrhagic Moyamoya Angiopathy in European Patients.

Background: Moyamoya angiopathy (MMA) is an important cause of juvenile stroke but an overall rare disease among European populations compared with East Asian cohorts. Consecutively, hemorrhagic MMA is described well in East Asian cohorts, but knowledge in non-Asian patients is limited. Literature suggests that disease presentation may vary between those cohorts, also including hemorrhage frequencies.

Spatial scales of COVID-19 transmission in Mexico.

During outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases, internationally connected cities often experience large and early outbreaks, while rural regions follow after some delay. This hierarchical structure of disease spread is influenced primarily by the multiscale structure of human mobility. However, during the COVID-19 epidemic, public health responses typically did not take into consideration the explicit spatial structure of human mobility when designing nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs).

Medical gendered racism and Black women's experiences of genito-pelvic pain/penetration disorder in the USA - A conceptual exploration.

Medical gendered racism in the USA has been and continues to be a significant issue for Black women across various healthcare domains, including sexual and pelvic healthcare. The experiences of Black women with Genito-Pelvic Pain/Penetration Disorder, characterised by pain with sexual intercourse, are particularly understudied in relation to medical gendered racism. This paper advances existing research on Genito-Pelvic Pain/Penetration Disorder by employing Black feminist thought and intersectionality as theoretical frameworks.

High-resolution epidemiological landscape from ~290,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes from Denmark.

Vast amounts of pathogen genomic, demographic and spatial data are transforming our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 emergence and spread. We examined the drivers of molecular evolution and spread of 291,791 SARS-CoV-2 genomes from Denmark in 2021. With a sequencing rate consistently exceeding 60%, and up to 80% of PCR-positive samples between March and November, the viral genome set is broadly whole-epidemic representative.

Genomic characterization of Dengue virus circulation in Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia, dengue virus (DENV) infections have been reported in several regions, however, little is known about the circulating genetic diversity. Here, we conducted clinical surveillance for DENV during the 2023 nationwide outbreak and sequenced DENV whole genomes for the first time in Ethiopia. We enrolled patients at three sentinel hospital sites.

Broader anti-EBV TCR repertoire in multiple sclerosis: disease specificity and treatment modulation.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection has long been associated with the development of multiple sclerosis (MS). MS patients have elevated titers of EBV-specific antibodies in serum and show signs of CNS damage only after EBV infection. Regarding CD8+ T-cells, an elevated but ineffective response to EBV was suggested in MS patients, who present with a broader MHC-I-restricted EBV-specific T-cell receptor beta chain (TRB) repertoire compared to controls.

Presentation and Outcome in S1P-RM and Natalizumab-Associated Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

Background And Objectives: Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a severe neurologic disease resulting from JC virus reactivation in immunocompromised patients. Certain multiple sclerosis (MS) disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are associated with PML risk, such as natalizumab and, more rarely, sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor modulators (S1P-RMs). Although natalizumab-associated PML is well documented, information on S1P-RM-associated PML is limited.

Human movement and environmental barriers shape the emergence of dengue.

Understanding how emerging infectious diseases spread within and between countries is essential to contain future pandemics. Spread to new areas requires connectivity between one or more sources and a suitable local environment, but how these two factors interact at different stages of disease emergence remains largely unknown. Further, no analytical framework exists to examine their roles.

Interrater Agreement of Height Assessment by Rigid Proctoscopy/Rectoscopy for Rectal Carcinoma.

Background: Some guidelines for rectal carcinoma consider 12 cm, measured by rigid endoscopy, to be the cutoff tumor height for optional neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy. Measuring differences of only a few centimeters may predetermine the choice of further therapy. However, rigid endoscopy may exhibit similar operator dependence to most other clinical examination methods.