Publications by authors named "Lucia Li"

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of 2-valent, 4-valent and 9-valent HPV vaccination in preventing persistent HPV infections and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or higher (CIN2+) lesions among women with different infection statuses at baseline.

Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, Embase and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched from their inception to March 2024.

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Aim: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are thought to exert a clinical effect through various mechanisms, including through alteration in synaptic plasticity. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation can induce temporary changes in synaptic excitability in cerebral cortex that resemble long-term potentiation and long-term depression that serve as a measure of synaptic plasticity in vivo. A version of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation called continuous theta burst stimulation can induce inhibition of cortical excitability that can be measured through a motor evoked potential.

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Background: Home monitoring systems utilising artificial intelligence hold promise for digitally enhanced healthcare in older adults. Their real-world use will depend on acceptability to the end user i.e.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study explores the complex pathophysiology and outcomes of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), highlighting that current classifications do not adequately reflect the underlying biological processes involved.
  • - Using advanced proteomic techniques, researchers analyzed plasma samples from 88 participants to identify 16 proteins with significant expression differences in TBI patients compared to non-injured controls, focusing on various markers related to neurons, astrocytes, and inflammation.
  • - Their findings indicated correlations between specific plasma proteins and brain injury measures, suggesting that certain biomarkers like UCH-L1 and total tau could serve as potential indicators for TBI severity and progression.
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Objective: The major challenge in routine endocervical curettage (ECC) among Human Papillomavirus (HPV) 16/18-positive patients is that only a small fraction benefit. Nevertheless, current reported models often overestimate the validity and necessity of ECC, making it difficult to improve benefits for patients. This research hypothesized that assessing paired boxed gene 1 methylation levels (PAX1) and clinical characteristics could enhance the predictive accuracy of detecting additional high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions or worse (HSIL +) through ECC that were not identified by colposcopy-directed biopsy (CDB).

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Background: Endometrial cancer (EC) as one of the most common gynecologic malignancies is increasing in incidence during the past 10 years. Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) extended to metabolic and protein phenotypes inspired us to employ multiomics methods to analyze the causal relationships of plasma metabolites and proteins with EC to advance our understanding of EC biology and pave the way for more targeted approaches to its diagnosis and treatment by comparing the molecular profiles of different EC subtypes.

Methods: Two-sample mendelian randomization (MR) was performed to investigate the effects of plasma metabolites and proteins on risks of different subtypes of EC (endometrioid and nonendometrioid).

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  • Urinary tract infections (UTIs) significantly contribute to hospitalizations and fatalities among individuals with dementia compared to matched controls and those with diabetes.
  • A large study analyzed data from over 2.4 million people aged 50+ in Wales between 2000-2021, finding that UTIs in dementia and diabetes were linked to increased mortality rates, especially in those with both conditions.
  • Delayed or untreated UTIs led to a notable increase in the risk of death, with 5.4% of untreated individuals with dementia dying within 60 days after diagnosis, rising to 5.9% for those also having diabetes.
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Background: Surgical removal of the tumour is the gold standard treatment for early stage invasive breast cancer. However, with a global ageing population, a larger number of diagnoses are occurring in women with comorbidities that render them unsuitable for surgery. Hence, it is of interest to explore alternative treatment strategies for this group of women.

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Right hemisphere stroke patients frequently present with a combination of lateralised and non-lateralised attentional deficits characteristic of the neglect syndrome. Attentional deficits are associated with poor functional outcome and are challenging to treat, with non-lateralised deficits often persisting into the chronic stage and representing a common complaint among patients and families. In this study, we investigated the effects of non-invasive brain stimulation on non-lateralised attentional deficits in right-hemispheric stroke.

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Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) provides researchers and clinicians with a powerful tool to examine functional connectivity across large-scale brain networks, with ever-increasing applications to the study of neurological disorders, such as traumatic brain injury (TBI). While rsfMRI holds unparalleled promise in systems neurosciences, its acquisition and analytical methodology across research groups is variable, resulting in a literature that is challenging to integrate and interpret. The focus of this narrative review is to address the primary methodological issues including investigator decision points in the application of rsfMRI to study the consequences of TBI.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to find the best procedure for triaging endometrial biopsies in postmenopausal women with abnormal transvaginal ultrasonography (TVU) findings and/or postmenopausal bleeding.
  • - A total of 470 women were analyzed, and the results showed that referring those with TVU abnormalities led to identifying all malignant or premalignant lesions, but with low specificity. The study identified key predictive factors such as postmenopausal bleeding, diabetes, and endometrial thickness for malignancy.
  • - A nomogram prediction model was developed that helps determine the need for an endometrial biopsy based on a score, with a clear cutoff established at 22.5; a score
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Despite growing appreciation that traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an important public health burden, our understanding of the psychiatric and behavioural consequences of TBI remains limited. These changes are particularly detrimental to a person's sense of self, their relationships and their participation in the wider community, and they continue to have devastating individual and cumulative effects long after TBI. This Review relates specifically to TBIs that confer objective clinical or biomarker evidence of structural brain injury; symptomatic head injuries without such evidence are outside the scope of this article.

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Internet of things (IOT) based in-home monitoring systems can passively collect high temporal resolution data in the community, offering valuable insight into the impact of health conditions on patients' day-to-day lives. We used this technology to monitor activity and sleep patterns in older adults recently discharged after traumatic brain injury (TBI). The demographics of TBI are changing, and it is now a leading cause of hospitalisation in older adults.

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Introduction And Aims: Digital biomarkers can provide a cost-effective, objective and robust measure for neurological disease progression, changes in care needs and the effect of interventions. Motor function, physiology and behaviour can provide informative measures of neurological conditions and neurodegenerative decline. New digital technologies present an opportunity to provide remote, high-frequency monitoring of patients from within their homes.

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Article Synopsis
  • Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is linked to chronic neurodegeneration, potentially due to systemic inflammation signaling the brain and activating microglia, which can lead to widespread brain damage.
  • The study, TBI-braINFLAMM, will analyze data from two major TBI research projects—CREACTIVE and BIO-AX-TBI—to assess the relationship between systemic inflammation, injury severity, and ongoing neurodegeneration.
  • Ethical approval has been obtained, and findings will be shared through peer-reviewed publications and conferences to enhance understanding and inform future research in this area.
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Introduction: The prevalence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among older adults is increasing exponentially. The sequelae can be severe in older adults and interact with age-related conditions such as multimorbidity. Despite this, TBI research in older adults is sparse.

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Background: Online technology could potentially revolutionise how patients are cognitively assessed and monitored. However, it remains unclear whether assessments conducted remotely can match established pen-and-paper neuropsychological tests in terms of sensitivity and specificity.

Methods: This observational study aimed to optimise an online cognitive assessment for use in traumatic brain injury (TBI) clinics.

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Background: Internet of Things (IoT) technology enables physiological measurements to be recorded at home from people living with dementia and monitored remotely. However, measurements from people with dementia in this context have not been previously studied. We report on the distribution of physiological measurements from 82 people with dementia over approximately 2 years.

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Background: Survivors of moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (msTBI) frequently experience troublesome unexplained somatic symptoms. Autonomic dysfunction may contribute to these symptoms. However, there is no previous study of clinical subjective and objective autonomic dysfunction in msTBI.

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Low-intensity transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), including alternating or direct current stimulation, applies weak electrical stimulation to modulate the activity of brain circuits. Integration of tES with concurrent functional MRI (fMRI) allows for the mapping of neural activity during neuromodulation, supporting causal studies of both brain function and tES effects. Methodological aspects of tES-fMRI studies underpin the results, and reporting them in appropriate detail is required for reproducibility and interpretability.

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To further fulfil their missions of promoting teaching, education and research in neurology and related clinical-academic disciplines, the Guarantors of Brain and the journal family invited delegates to the first Brain Conference in Spring of this year. This event aimed to deliver excellent teaching and scientific presentations across a broad spectrum of neuroscience fields, with the key aim of making the content as accessible as possible. We hoped to capitalize on the benefits of an online format, whilst trying to capture a little of the joy of the in-person meeting.

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Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a form of noninvasive brain stimulation whose potential as a cognitive therapy is hindered by our limited understanding of how participant and experimental factors influence its effects. Using functional MRI to study brain networks, we have previously shown in healthy controls that the physiological effects of tDCS are strongly influenced by brain state. We have additionally shown, in both healthy and traumatic brain injury (TBI) populations, that the behavioral effects of tDCS are positively correlated with white matter (WM) structure.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers conducted single-cell RNA sequencing to analyze different types of pancreatic duct cells in mice, focusing on their varied functions and states.* -
  • They discovered an important transition between epithelial and mesenchymal cell states in these cells and identified osteopontin as a key factor influencing this transition and dedifferentiation in human cells.* -
  • The study revealed how geminin contributes to DNA damage in chronic pancreatitis, highlighting the complex roles of pancreatic duct cell subpopulations in maintaining identity and influencing disease development.*
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Following hyperacute management after traumatic brain injury (TBI), most patients receive treatment which is inadequate or inappropriate, and delayed. This results in suboptimal rehabilitation outcome and avoidable detrimental chronic effects on patients' recovery. This worsens long-term disability, and magnifies costs to the individual and society.

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