Background: Inherited epidermolysis bullosa (EB) comprises a group of genetic disorders characterized by skin fragility and unique oral features. It requires interdisciplinary care from several health professionals, including oral health teams. Modern dentistry encompasses a wide range of therapeutic options performed by specialists from different fields.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Surgical techniques in two-stage revision total knee arthroplasty (rTKA) include the use of articulating spacers and static spacers. Shortening of the patellar tendon could be a reason for inferior functional outcomes in two-stage septic rTKA . The aim of this study was to determine if articulating spacers also have negative effects on the extensor mechanism in rTKA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: There is a scarcity of scientific data regarding the correlation between alignment techniques during total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and blood loss as well as transfusion rates. This study's hypothesis posited that intramedullary-aligned (IM) TKA exhibits higher blood loss and transfusion rates when contrasted with extramedullary-aligned (EM) TKA.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective examination of 883 patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in 2021 at a solitary orthopedic center in Germany.
Background: Little scientific evidence exists on blood loss and transfusion rates depending on the fixation technique. The hypothesis of this study was that the blood loss and transfusion rate are lower in cemented and hybrid total hip arthroplasty (THA) compared to cementless THA.
Methods: We retrospectively compared a total of 1500 patients who received either cementless, cemented, hybrid or reverse hybrid THA.
Background: The selection of patients with large-vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke for endovascular treatment (EVT) depends on patient characteristics and procedural metrics. The relation of these variables to functional outcome after EVT has been assessed in numerous datasets from both randomized controlled trials (RCT) and real-world registries, but whether differences in their case mix modulate outcome prediction is unknown.
Methods: We leveraged data from individual patients with anterior LVO stroke treated with EVT from completed RCTs from the Virtual International Stroke Trials Archive ( = 479) and from the German Stroke Registry ( = 4079).
Introduction: Lesions of the quadriceps or patellar tendon after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are a rare but serious complication which, if left untreated, can lead to loss of function of the knee joint. While acute and subacute extensor mechanism disruptions may have several causes, chronic deficiencies are often related to multiple prior revision surgeries for joint infection or aseptic TKA failure. Up to date, biological allograft reconstruction showed unsatisfying results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To analyse possible changes in oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) before and after dental treatment under dental general anaesthesia (DGA) among Austrian preschool children.
Methods: A consecutive sample of 89 parents of children aged 2 to 5 years, suffering from early childhood caries (ECC) and scheduled for DGA, were recruited from two locations in Austria (Vienna and Salzburg). Parents self-completed the German version of the ECOHIS before (baseline) and 4 weeks (T4) after their child's dental treatment.
Molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH) is an endemic pediatric disease with an unclear pathogenesis. Considering that saliva controls enamel remineralization and that MIH is associated with higher saliva flow rate, we hypothesized that the protein composition of saliva is linked to disease. To test this, we enrolled 5 children aged 6-14 years with MIH showing at least one hypersensitive molar and 5 caries-free children without hypomineralization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) nadir <0.2 ng/mL is generally considered as tissue ablative and at low risk for recurrence. After attaining such a low PSA nadir, we analyzed risk factors for recurrence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStaphylococcus aureus is a predominant cause of fatal pneumonia following influenza A virus (IAV) infection. Herein we investigate the influence of antecedent IAV infection on S. aureus virulence gene expression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new method based on the combination of small-angle scattering, reverse Monte Carlo simulations, and an aggregate recognition algorithm is proposed to characterize the structure of nanoparticle suspensions in solvents and polymer nanocomposites, allowing detailed studies of the impact of different nanoparticle surface modifications. Experimental small-angle scattering is reproduced using simulated annealing of configurations of polydisperse particles in a simulation box compatible with the lowest experimental q-vector. Then, properties of interest like aggregation states are extracted from these configurations and averaged.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The aim of this study was to compare early prostate-specific antigen (PSA) decline patterns and PSA nadirs between low-dose-rate seed prostate brachytherapy (LDR-PB) and different fractionations of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and their predictive importance for biochemical failure (bF).
Methods And Materials: Patients with D'Amico low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer who underwent a single-modality treatment without androgen deprivation were included in this study. Three different treatment groups were compared: (1) normofractionation EBRT up to 70.
Pulmonary hypertension subsequent to an infectious disease can be due to vascular structural remodeling or to functional alterations within various vascular cell types. In our previous mouse model of Pneumocystis-associated pulmonary hypertension, we found that vascular remodeling was not responsible for observed increases in right ventricular pressures. Here, we report that the vascular dysfunction we observed could be explained by an enhanced response to endothelin-1 (20% greater reduction in lumen diameter, P ≤ 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough acquired bone marrow failure (BMF) is considered a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease, few studies have considered contributing roles of innate immune deviations following otherwise innocuous infections as a cause underlying the immune defects that lead to BMF. Type I IFN signaling plays an important role in protecting hematopoiesis during systemic stress responses to the opportunistic fungal pathogen Pneumocystis. During Pneumocystis lung infection, mice deficient in both lymphocytes and type I IFN receptor (IFrag(-/-)) develop rapidly progressing BMF associated with accelerated hematopoietic cell apoptosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFK20 is a novel amphiphilic antifungal aminoglycoside that is synthetically derived from the antibiotic kanamycin A. Reported here are investigations of K20's antimicrobial activities, cytotoxicity, and fungicidal mechanism of action. In vitro growth inhibitory activities against a variety of human and plant pathogenic yeasts, filamentous fungi, and bacteria were determined using microbroth dilution assays and time-kill curve analyses, and hemolytic and animal cell cytotoxic activities were determined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHIV infection results in a complex immunodeficiency due to loss of CD4(+) T cells, impaired type I interferon (IFN) responses, and B cell dysfunctions causing susceptibility to opportunistic infections such as Pneumocystis murina pneumonia and unexplained comorbidities, including bone marrow dysfunctions. Type I IFNs and B cells critically contribute to immunity to Pneumocystis lung infection. We recently also identified B cells as supporters of on-demand hematopoiesis following Pneumocystis infection that would otherwise be hampered due to systemic immune effects initiated in the context of a defective type I IFN system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTumor vessels with resistance to anti-angiogenic therapy are characterized by the normalization of the vascular structures through integration of mature pericytes and smooth muscle cells (SMC) into the vessel wall, a process termed vessel stabilization. Unfortunately, stabilization-associated vascular remodeling can result in reduced sensitivity to subsequent anti-angiogenic therapy. We show here that blockade of VEGF by bevacizumab induces stabilization of angiogenic tumor blood vessels in human tumor specimen by recruiting Nestin-positive cells, whereas mature vessels down-regulated Nestin-expression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough acquired bone marrow failure (BMF) is considered a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease, possible innate immune defects as a cause for systemic immune deviations in response to otherwise innocuous infections have not been extensively explored. In this regard, we recently demonstrated an important role of type I IFNs in protecting hematopoiesis during systemic stress responses to the opportunistic fungal pathogen Pneumocystis in lymphocyte-deficient mice. Mice deficient in both lymphocytes and type I IFN receptor (IFrag(-/-) mice) develop rapidly progressing BMF due to accelerated bone marrow (BM) cell apoptosis associated with innate immune deviations in the BM in response to Pneumocystis lung infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report first non-covalent and exclusively extracellular inhibitors of 14-3-3 protein-protein interactions identified by virtual screening. Optimization by crystal structure analysis and in vitro binding assays yielded compounds capable of disrupting the interaction of 14-3-3σ with aminopeptidase N in a cellular assay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHIV infection causes loss of CD4(+) T cells and type 1 interferon (IFN)-producing and IFN-responsive dendritic cells, resulting in immunodeficiencies and susceptibility to opportunistic infections, such as Pneumocystis. Osteoporosis and bone marrow failure are additional unexplained complications in HIV-positive patients and patients with AIDS, respectively. We recently demonstrated that mice that lack lymphocytes and IFN a/b receptor (IFrag(-/-)) develop bone marrow failure after Pneumocystis lung infection, whereas lymphocyte-deficient, IFN α/β receptor-competent mice (RAG(-/-)) had normal hematopoiesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt is widely held that exposure to pathogens such as fungi can be an agent of comorbidity, such as exacerbation of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Although many studies have examined allergic responses to fungi and their effects on pulmonary function, the possible pathologic implications of the early innate responses to fungal pathogens have not been explored. We examined early responses to the atypical fungus Pneumocystis in two common strains of mice in terms of overall immunological response and related pathology, such as cell damage and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe recently demonstrated that lack of type I IFN signaling (IFNAR knockout) in lymphocyte-deficient mice (IFrag(-/-)) results in bone marrow (BM) failure after Pneumocystis lung infection, whereas lymphocyte-deficient mice with intact IFNAR (RAG(-/-)) had normal hematopoiesis. In the current work, we performed studies to define further the mechanisms involved in the induction of BM failure in this system. BM chimera experiments revealed that IFNAR expression was required on BM-derived but not stroma-derived cells to prevent BM failure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfection with the opportunistic fungal pathogen Pneumocystis is assumed to pass without persistent pathology in immunocompetent hosts. However, when immunocompetent BALB/c mice were inoculated with Pneumocystis, a vigorous Th2-like pulmonary inflammation ensued and peaked at 14 days postinfection. This coincided with a 10-fold increase in the number of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) in the lung, and these cells were capable of presenting antigen in vitro, as well as greater uptake of antigen in vivo.
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