Measuring the impact of hospitalisation for infectious diseases on the quality of life of older patients in four European countries: the AEQUI longitudinal matched cohort study (2020-2023).

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of hospitalisation for infectious diseases on the Health-Related Quality of life (HRQOL), multidimensional frailty, and functioning of older patients, we conducted a longitudinal matched cohort study in four European countries.

Methods: HRQOL, frailty, and functioning were assessed using validated questionnaires at inclusion, at discharge, and up to six months later (M6) in patients aged over 65 years hospitalised for severe acute respiratory or bloodstream infections, and matched controls hospitalised for non-infectious conditions. Comparative analyses employed multilevel mixed-effect linear or logistic models to assess changes from inclusion.

High-Sensitivity and Conventional Cardiac Troponin-I Assays in AL Amyloidosis.

Background: Circulating cardiac troponin-I (cTnI) plays a crucial role in biomarker staging systems, offering important information for prognostification and risk stratification of patients with AL amyloidosis. High-sensitivity cTnI (HS-cTnI) assays have been introduced in practice; however, the data on the concordance between conventional and HS-cTnI and the utility of HS-cTnI in cardiac biomarker staging are lacking.

Methods: Seventy-eight consecutive patients with AL amyloidosis who were prospectively evaluated at the Boston University Amyloidosis Center from October 2022 through March 2023 were included.

A longevity-specific bank of induced pluripotent stem cells from centenarians and their offspring.

Centenarians provide a unique lens through which to study longevity, healthy aging, and resiliency. Moreover, models of human aging and resilience to disease that allow for the testing of potential interventions are virtually non-existent. We obtained and characterized over 96 centenarian and offspring peripheral blood samples including those connected to functional independence data highlighting resistance to disability and cognitive impairment.

Expanding the adenovirus toolbox: reporter viruses for studying the dynamics of human adenovirus replication.

To streamline standard virological assays, we developed a suite of nine fluorescent or bioluminescent replication competent human species C5 adenovirus reporter viruses that mimic their parental wild-type counterpart. These reporter viruses provide a rapid and quantitative readout of various aspects of viral infection and replication based on EGFP, mCherry, or NanoLuc measurement. Moreover, they permit real-time non-invasive measures of viral load, replication dynamics, and infection kinetics over the entire course of infection, allowing measurements that were not previously possible.

A longevity-specific bank of induced pluripotent stem cells from centenarians and their offspring.

Centenarians provide a unique lens through which to study longevity, healthy aging, and resiliency. Moreover, models of aging and resilience to disease that allow for the testing of potential interventions are virtually non-existent. We obtained and characterized over 50 centenarian and offspring peripheral blood samples including those connected to functional independence data highlighting resistance to disability and cognitive impairment.