Improvement in Uncontrolled Eating Behavior after Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy Is Associated with Alterations in the Brain-Gut-Microbiome Axis in Obese Women.

Background: Bariatric surgery is proven to change eating behavior and cause sustained weight loss, yet the exact mechanisms underlying these changes are not clearly understood. We explore this in a novel way by examining how bariatric surgery affects the brain-gut-microbiome (BGM) axis.

Methods: Patient demographics, serum, stool, eating behavior questionnaires, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were collected before and 6 months after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG).

Birthweight and Chemotherapy Exposure in Women Diagnosed with Breast Cancer during Pregnancy.

Objective: Breast cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers in pregnancy and is commonly treated with chemotherapy. To date, studies examining effects of chemotherapy during pregnancy on fetal growth have yielded conflicting results, and most are limited by small sample sizes or are nonspecific with respect to cytotoxic regimen or type of cancer treated. We sought to evaluate the effect of chemotherapy for breast cancer in pregnancy on birthweight and small for gestational age infants.

A Distinct Brain-Gut-Microbiome Profile Exists for Females with Obesity and Food Addiction.

Background: Alterations in brain-gut-microbiome interactions have been implicated as an important factor in obesity. This study aimed to explore the relationship between food addiction (FA) and the brain-gut-microbiome axis, using a multi-omics approach involving microbiome data, metabolomics, and brain imaging.

Methods: Brain magnetic resonance imaging was obtained in 105 females.

Can self-management programmes change healthcare utilisation in COPD?: A systematic review and framework analysis.

Objective: The study aims to evaluate the ability of self-management programmes to change the healthcare-seeking behaviours of people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and any associations between programme design and outcomes.

Methods: A systematic search of the literature returned randomised controlled trials of SMPs for COPD. Change in healthcare utilisation was the primary outcome measure.

Deoxynivalenol Has the Capacity to Increase Transcription Factor Expression and Cytokine Production in Porcine T Cells.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin that frequently contaminates the feed of farm animals. Pigs with their monogastric digestive system are in particular sensitive to DON-contaminated feed. At high concentrations, DON causes acute toxic effects, whereas lower concentrations lead to more subtle changes in the metabolism.

Galectin-3, GDF-15, and sST2 for the assessment of disease severity and therapy response in patients suffering from inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

Purpose: This study examined sST2, GDF-15, and galectin-3 as indicators of disease severity and therapy response in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).

Methods: This study included 57 inoperable CTEPH patients who underwent balloon pulmonary angioplasty and 25 controls without cardiovascular disease. Biomarker levels were examined in relation to advanced hemodynamic impairment [tertile with worst right atrial pressure (RAP) and cardiac index], hemodynamic therapy response [normalized hemodynamics (meanPAP ≤25 mmHg, PVR ≤3 WU and RAP ≤6 mmHg) or a reduction of meanPAP ≥25%; PVR ≥ 35%, RAP ≥25%].

Brain-gut-microbiome interactions in obesity and food addiction.

Normal eating behaviour is coordinated by the tightly regulated balance between intestinal and extra-intestinal homeostatic and hedonic mechanisms. By contrast, food addiction is a complex, maladaptive eating behaviour that reflects alterations in brain-gut-microbiome (BGM) interactions and a shift of this balance towards hedonic mechanisms. Each component of the BGM axis has been implicated in the development of food addiction, with both brain to gut and gut to brain signalling playing a role.

TBCRC 030: a phase II study of preoperative cisplatin versus paclitaxel in triple-negative breast cancer: evaluating the homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) biomarker.

Background: Cisplatin and paclitaxel are active in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Despite different mechanisms of action, effective predictive biomarkers to preferentially inform drug selection have not been identified. The homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) assay (Myriad Genetics, Inc.

Pregnancy-associated plasma protein A - a new indicator of pulmonary vascular remodeling in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension?

Background: In chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) impaired pulmonary hemodynamics lead to right heart failure. Natriuretic peptides reflect hemodynamic disease severity. Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) might address another aspect of CTEPH - chronic tissue injury and inflammation.

Supervised Exercise Training in Patients with Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension as Early Follow-Up Treatment after Pulmonary Endarterectomy: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Data on exercise training in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) after pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) as well as data on clinical and haemodynamic changes shortly after PEA are lacking.

Objective: The objective of this prospective study was to analyse the safety, feasibility, and the effectiveness of combined supervised inpatient rehabilitation in patients with CTEPH directly after PEA.

Methods: CTEPH patients started a 19-week rehabilitation program (3 weeks as inpatients and continued at home for another 16 weeks) with supervised exercise training as follow-up treatment shortly after PEA.

Subgroup stratification and outcome in recently diagnosed generalized myasthenia gravis.

Objective: To describe disease outcomes of myasthenia gravis (MG) subgroups and which factors influence outcomes by reviewing individual patient records of a representative cohort.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 199 patients with generalized MG and disease onset after the year 2000 who were treated at 2 tertiary referral centers in Austria. We stratified patients as early- and late-onset acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive, muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) antibody-positive, and seronegative patients and patients with thymoma regardless of antibody status.

National Trends in Use of Regional Anesthesia and Postoperative Patterns of Opioid Prescription Filling in Shoulder Arthroscopy: A Procedure-Specific Analysis in Patients With or Without Recent Opioid Exposure.

Background: There are few large database studies on national trends in regional anesthesia for various arthroscopic shoulder procedures and the effect of nerve blocks on the postoperative rate of opioid prescription filling.

Hypothesis: The use of regional nerve block will decrease the rate of opioid prescription filling after various shoulder arthroscopic procedures. Also, the postoperative pattern of opioid prescription filling will be affected by the preoperative opioid prescription-filling history.

Food and mood: how do diet and nutrition affect mental wellbeing?

Poor nutrition may be a causal factor in the experience of low mood, and improving diet may help to protect not only the physical health but also the mental health of the population, say

Value of Blood Cultures in the Management of Children Hospitalized with Community-Acquired Pneumonia.

Background and objectives Current guidelines for the management of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children recommend obtaining a blood culture for children with moderate to severe pneumonia; yet, there is no guidance to assess the severity of the disease. Thus, a blood culture is obtained for the majority of children admitted with CAP, regardless of the severity of their symptoms. The study was designed to investigate and identify the prevalence of bacteremia in pediatric patients hospitalized with CAP and to evaluate the clinical and laboratory variables associated with bacteremia.

The Multidisciplinary Approach to The Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) Research Network*: Design and implementation of the Symptom Patterns Study (SPS).

Aims: The Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) Research Network initiated a second observational cohort study-the Symptom Patterns Study (SPS)-to further investigate the underlying pathophysiology of Urologic Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (UCPPS) and to discover factors associated with longitudinal symptom changes and responses to treatments.

Methods: This multisite cohort study of males and females with UCPPS features a run-in period of four weekly web-based symptom assessments before a baseline visit, followed by quarterly assessments up to 36 months. Controls were also recruited and assessed at baseline and 6 months.

Cross sectional analysis of scoliosis-specific information on the internet: potential for patient confusion and misinformation.

Background Context: Patients and their families are increasingly turning to the internet for medical information. Most of these patients believe the information to be accurate and reliable. However, the quality and accuracy of that information on the internet is variable and unregulated.

Importance of trauma-related fear in patients with irritable bowel syndrome and early adverse life events.

Background: Although early adverse life events (EALs) are prevalent among patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the impact of fear or dissociation experienced during the trauma has not been evaluated. We investigated the prevalence of fear at the time of trauma and its association with IBS status among individuals with early-life trauma before the age of 18.

Methods: Among participants with ≥1 EAL, association of fear and dissociation with IBS status was determined with logistic regression, and improvement in prediction of IBS over ETI score alone was determined with the likelihood ratio test.

Return to Sport After Hip Arthroscopy for Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome in NCAA Division I Athletes: Experience at a Single Institution.

Background: The rate of return to sport after surgical treatment of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) syndrome (FAIS) has been studied in high-level athletes. However, few studies examining this rate have focused exclusively on National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athletes.

Purpose: To evaluate the return-to-sport rate after hip arthroscopy for FAIS and to examine the influence of sport type on the clinical presentation of FAIS in collegiate athletes.

Impact of providing patients access to electronic health records on quality and safety of care: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of sharing electronic health records (EHRs) with patients and map it across six domains of quality of care (ie, patient-centredness, effectiveness, efficiency, timeliness, equity and safety).

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data Sources: CINAHL, Cochrane, Embase, HMIC, Medline/PubMed and PsycINFO, from 1997 to 2017.

Sex Differences and Commonalities in the Impact of a Palatable Meal on Thalamic and Insular Connectivity.

The neural mechanisms underlying subjective responses to meal ingestion remain incompletely understood. We previously showed in healthy men an increase in thalamocortical, and a decrease in insular-cortical connectivity in response to a palatable meal. As sex is increasingly recognized as an important biological variable, we aimed to evaluate sex differences and commonalities in the impact of a well-liked meal on thalamic and anterior insular connectivity in healthy individuals.

Postmenopausal women with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have more severe symptoms than premenopausal women with IBS.

Background: Although irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is more common in women, little is known about the role of hormonal changes and menopause in IBS. This study aimed to evaluate for differences in gastrointestinal (GI) and psychological symptoms between pre- and postmenopausal women with IBS compared to age-matched men with IBS.

Methods: Patients with Rome-positive IBS were identified.

Glutamatergic hypo-function in the left superior and middle temporal gyri in early schizophrenia: a data-driven three-dimensional proton spectroscopic imaging study.

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) studies have examined glutamatergic abnormalities in schizophrenia, mostly in single voxels. Though the critical brain nodes remain unknown, schizophrenia involves networks with broad abnormalities. Hence, glutamine plus glutamate (Glx) and other metabolites were examined with whole-brain H-MRS, in early schizophrenia.

Myeloproliferative Diseases as Possible Risk Factor for Development of Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension-A Genetic Study.

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a rare disease which is often caused by recurrent emboli. These are also frequently found in patients with myeloproliferative diseases. While myeloproliferative diseases can be caused by gene defects, the genetic predisposition to CTEPH is largely unexplored.