Publications by authors named "Metzger C"

Aims: Aortic stenosis (AS) is a common and progressive disease, which, if left untreated, results in increased morbidity and mortality. Monitoring and follow-up care can be challenging due to significant variability in disease progression. This study aimed to develop machine learning models to predict the risks of disease progression and mortality in patients with mild AS.

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Background: Fast-acting Sub-perception Therapy (FAST) is a novel spinal cord stimulation (SCS) modality delivering paresthesia-free pain relief. Our study evaluated the longer-term, real-world impact of FAST on chronic pain.

Research Design And Methods: As part of a multicenter, real-world, consecutive case series, we retrospectively identified patients who used FAST-SCS and analyzed their data.

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Gallbladder cancer (GBC) presents as an aggressive malignancy with poor patient outcome. Like other epithelial cancers, the mechanisms of GBC cancer progression remain vague and efforts in finding targeted therapies fall below expectations. This study combined proteomic analysis of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) GBC samples, functional and molecular characterization of potential oncogenes and identification of potential therapeutic strategies for GBC.

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Design: Psychometric study.

Objective: To develop a reliable and valid patient-reported outcome measure to assess functional ability in adolescents with low back pain (LBP) using the Rasch model.

Summary Of Background Data: LBP is quite common in adolescence.

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For endovascular treatment of below-the-knee (BTK) peripheral artery disease (PAD), independently adjudicated real-world outcomes comparing non-stent-based balloon angioplasty (percutaneous transluminal angioplasty) and adjunctive treatments with or without a concomitant ipsilateral femoropopliteal (FP) artery intervention are scarce. A total of 1,060 patients from the multicenter XLPAD registry who underwent non-stent-based BTK PAD intervention between 2006 and 2021 were included. The primary outcome was the 1-year incidence of major adverse limb events (MALEs), a composite of all-cause death, any amputation, or clinically driven repeat revascularization.

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  • People with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are at a significant risk of developing biliary tract cancer (BTC), and this study used whole-exome sequencing to analyze the genetic changes in BTC associated with PSC.
  • The researchers identified 53 candidate cancer genes, including some that had not been previously linked to BTC, while also recognizing genes known to be involved in other cancers.
  • Their findings reveal specific and common genetic alterations that could improve understanding of BTC development in PSC, paving the way for personalized treatment strategies.
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Background: Bisphosphonates are widely used in equine athletes to reduce lameness associated with skeletal disorders. Widespread off-label use has led to concern regarding potential negative effects on bone healing, but little evidence exists to support or refute this.

Objectives: To investigate the influence of clinically relevant doses of tiludronate on bone remodelling and bone healing.

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  • Postmenopausal osteoporosis, driven by estrogen deficiency, significantly increases fracture risk, making early fracture prediction crucial yet difficult.
  • A study on ovariectomized rats aimed to investigate changes in inflammation, oxidative stress, and bone properties post-surgery, testing new imaging techniques for early detection of bone alterations.
  • Results indicated that while OVX rats showed increased inflammation and oxidative stress, changes in bone hydration measured by ultrashort echo time MRI were noticeable as early as 2 weeks after surgery, although these did not correlate with bone turnover rates in the assessed time frame.
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Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) report high pain levels, but reduced renal clearance eliminates many analgesic options; therefore, 30-50% of CKD patients have chronic opioid prescriptions. Opioid use in CKD is associated with higher fracture rates. Opioids may directly alter bone turnover directly through effects on bone cells and indirectly via increasing inflammation.

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Background: Despite effectiveness of the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) in saving patients with life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias (VAs), the temporal occurrence of VA after ICD implantation is unpredictable.

Objective: The study aimed to apply machine learning (ML) to intracardiac electrograms (IEGMs) recorded by ICDs as a unique biomarker for predicting impending VAs.

Methods: The study included 13,516 patients who received Biotronik ICDs and enrolled in the CERTITUDE registry between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2020.

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As international incidence of diabetes and diabetes-driven comorbidities such as chronic kidney disease (CKD) continue to climb, interventions are needed that address the high-risk skeletal fragility of what is a complex disease state. Romosozumab (Romo) is an FDA-approved sclerostin inhibitor that has been shown to increase bone mineral density and decrease fracture rates in osteoporotic patients with mild to severe CKD, but its effect on diabetes-weakened bone is unknown. We aimed to test Romo's performance in a model of combined diabetes and CKD.

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  • A clinical trial assessed the Cross-Seal vascular closure device's ability to effectively and safely achieve hemostasis in patients using large sheaths (8F-18F) for interventional procedures.
  • Conducted on 147 participants, the trial showed a quick average time to hemostasis of just 0.4 minutes, with high technical success (92.3%) and a low rate of major complications (5.7%).
  • Results indicate that the Cross-Seal device is a safe and effective option for patients undergoing percutaneous endovascular procedures with large-bore access.
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Spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to significant sublesional bone loss and high fracture rates. While loss of mechanical loading plays a significant role in SCI-induced bone loss, animal studies have demonstrated mechanical loading alone does not fully account for loss of bone following SCI. Indeed, we have shown that bone loss occurs below the level of an incomplete moderate contusion SCI, despite the resumption of weight-bearing and stepping.

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Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) increases fracture risk due to changes in bone quantity and quality caused by mutations in collagen and its processing proteins. Current therapeutics improve bone quantity, but do not treat the underlying quality deficiencies. Male and female G610C+/- mice, a murine model of OI, were treated with a combination of raloxifene and in vivo axial tibial compressive loading starting at 10 weeks of age and continuing for 6 weeks to improve bone quantity and quality.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led many countries to drastically limit social activities. The objective of this study is to describe the factors associated with compliance with protective measures and social distancing in the general adult population in France, between March and December 2020 (first and second waves of the epidemic), before vaccination began at the end of December 2020.

Method: The data come from the CoviPrev repeated cross-sectional descriptive survey, conducted between March 2020 and December 2022 in metropolitan France.

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Skeletal fragility and high fracture rates are common in CKD. A key component of bone loss in CKD with secondary hyperparathyroidism is high bone turnover and cortical bone deterioration through both cortical porosity and cortical thinning. We hypothesized that RANKL drives high bone resorption within cortical bone leading to the development of cortical porosity in CKD (study 1) and that systemic inhibition of RANKL would mitigate the skeletal phenotype of CKD (study 2).

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Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) negatively affects musculoskeletal health, leading to reduced mobility, and quality of life. In healthy populations, carnitine supplementation and aerobic exercise have been reported to improve musculoskeletal health. However, there are inconclusive results regarding their effectiveness and safety in CKD.

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The brain's default mode network (DMN) and the executive control network (ECN) switch engagement are influenced by the ventral attention network (VAN). Alterations in resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) within this so-called triple network have been demonstrated in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) or anxiety disorders (ADs). This study investigated alterations in the RSFC in patients with comorbid MDD and ADs to better understand the pathophysiology of this prevalent group of patients.

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Chronic kidney disease (CKD)-mineral bone disorder (CKD-MBD) leads to fractures and cardiovascular disease. Observational studies suggest beneficial effects of dietary fiber on both bone and cardiovascular outcomes, but the effect of fiber on CKD-MBD is unknown. To determine the effect of fiber on CKD-MBD, we fed the Cy/+ rat with progressive CKD a casein-based diet of 0.

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  • * A new two-stage diagnostic workflow has been developed, allowing for rapid testing and drug susceptibility analysis from a single sputum sample, completed in just three days.
  • * The first stage utilizes automated qPCR to detect TB and resistance to key antibiotics, followed by targeted next generation sequencing (tNGS) for complete resistance profiling when necessary.
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  • - The study investigates the effects of etelcalcetide, a treatment for secondary hyperparathyroidism in dialysis patients, on bone health, specifically aiming to improve bone quality and strength without harming bone tissue.
  • - Conducted over 36 weeks with 22 participants, the results showed significant reductions in parathyroid hormone levels and increases in bone mineral density and trabecular quality, suggesting positive impacts on bone health.
  • - However, bone biopsies indicated a decrease in bone formation rate, highlighting a complex interaction between treatment and bone remodeling processes.
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Introduction: Reductions in energy availability leading to weight loss can induce loss of bone and impact important endocrine regulators of bone integrity. We sought to elucidate whether endurance exercise (EX) can mitigate bone loss observed in sedentary (SED) skeletally mature rodents subjected to graded energy deficits.

Methods: Female virgin rats (n=84, 5-mo-old; 12/group) were randomized to baseline controls and either sedentary (SED) or exercise (EX) conditions, and within each exercise status to adlib-fed (ADLIB), or moderate (MOD) or severe (SEV) energy restriction diets for 12 weeks.

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Straightforward linguistic measures may be indicators of reduced language production and lexical diversity among individuals with schizophrenia with negative symptoms and neurocognitive impairments. We compared 98 patients with schizophrenia to 101 unaffected controls on six language variables ( e.g.

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  • Chronic kidney disease (CKD) can lead to increased cortical porosity and a higher chance of hip fractures due to secondary hyperparathyroidism.
  • This study aimed to determine if ultrashort echo time magnetic resonance imaging (UTE-MRI) could effectively measure changes in bone porosity in a rat model of CKD.
  • Results showed that while UTE-MRI correlates with microCT imaging at some skeletal sites, inconsistencies in findings suggest it may need further refinement before being used clinically, but it could still be a useful tool for assessing fracture risk without radiation exposure.
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