Publications by authors named "Martus P"

Objective: A health action process approach (HAPA)-based intervention was designed to support moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in individuals with osteoarthritis of the knee (OAK). In secondary analyses of the randomized controlled trial "preventing the impairment of primary osteoarthritis by high-impact long-term physical exercise regimen-psychological adherence program," we examined long-term effects of the intervention on HAPA determinants and MVPA, and explored the former as mediators of change.

Method: = 241 individuals with OAK (63% women, aged 44-80 years) were randomly assigned to the 12-month intervention condition (IC) or active control condition (CC).

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Background: Staphylococcus aureus (SA) colonisation increases the risk of wound infections in surgical procedures. Prevention strategies to date have focused primarily on the hospital, although there are recommendations for pre-hospital decontamination at home, which can be performed by patients themselves. The current study aimed to shift the process of screening and decontamination of SA (methicillin-resistant S.

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Unlabelled: Cancer peptide vaccination represents a promising therapeutic approach, but has been hampered by lack of suitable antigens and restricted applicability due to different HLA backgrounds of individual patients. We here introduce a novel warehouse-based concept for composition of personalized peptide vaccines and report on its successful application in a Phase II clinical trial in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) after first-line therapy. 26 CLL patients in at least partial remission (PR) after 6 months of immuno-chemotherapy were vaccinated with a personalized vaccine compiled from a premanufactured peptide warehouse comprising immunopeptidome-defined CLL-associated peptides.

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Importance: Pressure ulcers (PUs) are (1) prevalent secondary complications after spinal cord injury (SCI), (2) present with elevated systemic inflammatory tone, and (3) may interfere with healing processes underlying neurological recovery (disrepair).

Objective: To investigate whether PUs acquired during initial hospitalization are associated with neurological and functional long-term outcome and survival after SCI.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Multicenter cohort study at 20 centers of the prospective SCI Model Systems (SCIMS) Database (Birmingham, AL).

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Article Synopsis
  • * This study will evaluate the program's effectiveness by comparing a control group receiving standard treatment to an intervention group receiving additional supports over 12 months, involving 500 participants from job centers in Southern Germany.
  • * Outcomes will measure not only the participants' employment status but also improvements in mental health, social integration, and overall well-being, with analyses conducted through statistical methods to determine the efficacy of the interventions.
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Complementary and integrative healthcare (CIH) is increasingly recognized as a valuable approach to empowering and activating cancer patients. Studies have shown that higher patient activation is positively associated with improved health outcomes and reduced healthcare costs. The CCC-Integrativ study aimed to assess the implementation of an evidence-based counseling service on CIH at four Comprehensive Cancer Centers (CCC) in Germany.

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  • Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has a poor prognosis mainly due to the relapse driven by therapy-resistant leukemia progenitor/stem cells (LPCs), leading to the development of peptide-based immunotherapy targeting these cells to improve patient outcomes.
  • A therapeutic vaccine called AML-VAC-XS15 was created, consisting of specific peptides from common AML mutations, and is being tested in a phase I clinical trial for its effectiveness and safety in AML patients in remission.
  • The study is ethically approved and aims to evaluate the vaccine's ability to generate immune responses and assess its preliminary clinical efficacy while ensuring patient safety through monitoring over two years.
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Introduction: During the communicable coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, organizational infection control measures (oICMs) were introduced in the workplace. The employees' positive attitudes and active participation are relevant for full effectiveness regarding disease prevention. Therefore, we explore changes in employees' attitudes toward oICM at work from August-October 2020 (T0) over January 2021 (T1) to October-November 2021 (T2).

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  • Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have greatly improved survival rates for melanoma patients, but many suffer from serious side effects and there is a need for better early response indicators.
  • A study involving 104 patients used circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as a biomarker to assess treatment response and recurrence, employing advanced sequencing techniques.
  • Results showed that changes in ctDNA levels were linked to patient outcomes, indicating that tumor-informed liquid biopsies could effectively monitor treatment responses and detect early relapses in melanoma.
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Achieving universal access to affordable medicines and at the same time ensuring the quality of medicines presents a challenge, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Here, the relationship between medicine prices and medicine quality was investigated in three African countries. From different types of health facilities and medicine vendors, 711 samples of 18 different essential medicines were purchased and analyzed for quality (assay and dissolution) according to the United States Pharmacopeia.

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Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common form of leukemia among adults in Western countries. Despite the introduction of targeted therapies, including first-line Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor (BTKi) treatment, CLL remains largely incurable. Frequent disease relapses occur due to remaining treatment-resistant CLL cells, calling for novel therapies to eliminate minimal residual disease (MRD).

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Before revascularization, moyamoya patients require hemodynamic evaluation. In this study, we evaluated the scoring system , (PIRAMID). We also devised a new scoring system, (MARS-MMA), and compared the scoring systems with respect to the capability to predict impaired [O]water PET cerebral perfusion reserve capacity (CPR).

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Background: A growing body of evidence suggests that children of mothers with eating disorders (EDs) have a greater risk of early feeding problems. Recognizing and reacting adequately to the infant's signals during feeding is crucial for the child's development of internal and external regulatory mechanisms of food intake. Parental EDs might affect this ability.

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Background: Accurate assessment and enhancement of health-related skills among oncology patients are pivotal for optimizing cancer care. The Patient Activation Measure (PAM-13), a questionnaire designed to reflect an individual's knowledge, skills, and confidence in self-healthcare management, has been validated across diverse countries and settings. Concerns have been raised regarding the cross-situational applicability, as patients with specific diseases and cultural backgrounds interpret questionnaire items differently.

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  • Scientists found a special DNA fusion called DNAJB1-PRKACA that causes a rare liver cancer called fibrolamellar carcinoma (FL-HCC), which mainly affects young people.
  • * FL-HCC has a low chance of survival, and surgery is the only way to cure it if it hasn't spread yet; there isn’t a standard medicine for other treatments.
  • * A new clinical trial, FusionVAC22_01, is testing a vaccine and an immune booster to help the body fight the cancer by improving the immune system's response against it.
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Objective: Radical vaginal trachelectomy is a fertility-preserving treatment for patients with early cervical cancer. Despite encouraging oncologic and fertility outcomes, large studies on radical vaginal trachelectomy are lacking.

Method: Demographic, histological, fertility, and follow-up data of consecutive patients who underwent radical vaginal trachelectomy between March 1995 and August 2021 were prospectively recorded and retrospectively analyzed.

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The prevalence of COVID-19 breakthrough infections in healthcare workers (HCWs) remains an issue of concern. This study examines the different characteristics associated with breakthrough infections in HCWs. From the total participants in the TüSeRe:exact study (n = 1046), we specifically included study participants who had received three vaccinations and were not infected prior to the third vaccination.

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Background Coronary artery calcium (CAC) has prognostic value for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in asymptomatic individuals, whereas its role in symptomatic patients is less clear. Purpose To assess the prognostic value of CAC scoring for MACE in participants with stable chest pain initially referred for invasive coronary angiography (ICA). Materials and Methods This prespecified subgroup analysis from the Diagnostic Imaging Strategies for Patients With Stable Chest Pain and Intermediate Risk of Coronary Artery Disease (DISCHARGE) trial, conducted between October 2015 and April 2019 across 26 centers in 16 countries, focused on adult patients with stable chest pain referred for ICA.

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Importance: The effectiveness and safety of computed tomography (CT) and invasive coronary angiography (ICA) in different age groups is unknown.

Objective: To determine the association of age with outcomes of CT and ICA in patients with stable chest pain.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The assessor-blinded Diagnostic Imaging Strategies for Patients With Stable Chest Pain and Intermediate Risk of Coronary Artery Disease (DISCHARGE) randomized clinical trial was conducted between October 2015 and April 2019 in 26 European centers.

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Background: The American Joint Committee on Cancer 8th edition (AJCC v8) defines sentinel lymph nodes (SLN) containing any tumor cells as positive SLN. Consequently, even thin melanomas with isolated tumor cells (ic) in SLN are classified as stage IIIA, making them candidates for adjuvant therapy.

Objectives And Endpoints: We aimed to evaluate survival outcomes of melanoma stage IIIA (ic) and compare them with stage IIIA with lymph node (LN) metastases > 0.

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Background Recent trials support the role of cardiac CT in the evaluation of symptomatic patients suspected of having coronary artery disease (CAD); however, body mass index (BMI) has been reported to negatively impact CT image quality. Purpose To compare initial use of CT versus invasive coronary angiography (ICA) on clinical outcomes in patients with stable chest pain stratified by BMI category. Materials and Methods This prospective study represents a prespecified BMI subgroup analysis of the multicenter Diagnostic Imaging Strategies for Patients with Stable Chest Pain and Intermediate Risk of Coronary Artery Disease (DISCHARGE) trial conducted between October 2015 and April 2019.

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Vertical reading training (VRTr) increases reading speed (RS) significantly in patients with hemianopic field defects (HFD). We ask, how eye movements (EM) contribute to this improvement and whether EM-behavior is affected by the side of HFD. Twenty-one patients, randomly assigned to VRTr or horizontal RTr, trained reading single lines from a screen at home, for 4 weeks.

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BACKGROUND: Rivaroxaban and dabigatran were not superior to aspirin in trials of patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS). It is unknown whether apixaban is superior to aspirin in patients with ESUS and known risk factors for cardioembolism. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter, randomized, open-label, blinded-outcome trial of apixaban (5 mg twice daily) compared with aspirin (100 mg once daily) initiated within 28 days after ESUS in patients with at least one predictive factor for atrial fibrillation or a patent foramen ovale.

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