Response of Blood Pressure to Renal Denervation Is Not Associated With Genetic Variants.

Background: Renal denervation lowers blood pressure (BP) in patients with uncontrolled hypertension. We conducted an unbiased genomic screen to identify genetic variants that may associate with BP response to renal denervation (RDN).

Methods: Patients (n=268) with uncontrolled resistant hypertension (baseline BP, 166±21/90±15 mm Hg) who underwent endovascular RDN using the Symplicity catheter (Medtronic, Inc, Santa Rosa, CA) were included.

Long-term safety and efficacy of endovascular ultrasound renal denervation in resistant hypertension: 8-year results from the ACHIEVE study.

Background: Ultrasound renal sympathetic denervation (uRDN) reduces blood pressure (BP) in the absence and presence of antihypertensive treatment at 2 months. Beyond 3 years, there is a lack of follow-up data. This study investigated the long-term safety and efficacy of uRDN.

Decoding the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of microbiota using pan-body pan-disease microbiomics.

The human microbiome emerges as a promising reservoir for diagnostic markers and therapeutics. Since host-associated microbiomes at various body sites differ and diseases do not occur in isolation, a comprehensive analysis strategy highlighting the full potential of microbiomes should include diverse specimen types and various diseases. To ensure robust data quality and comparability across specimen types and diseases, we employ standardized protocols to generate sequencing data from 1931 prospectively collected specimens, including from saliva, plaque, skin, throat, eye, and stool, with an average sequencing depth of 5.

Expert assessment of illegal collecting impacts on Venus flytraps and priorities for research on illegal trade.

Illegal collecting of wild Venus flytraps (Dionaea muscipula) for the horticultural trade represents a persistent threat to populations of the species across their endemic range in the coastal plain of North and South Carolina (United States). Although wild collecting of Venus flytraps is not a novel threat, there has been very little research on the impacts of collecting on the species' conservation to date or why an illegal trade persists alongside a legal one. We drew on qualitative expert stakeholder elicitation to contextualize the threat of illegal collecting to the long-term conservation of Venus flytraps in relation to other anthropogenic threats.

Studying drug excretion into exhaled breath aerosol - A workflow based on an impaction sampling device and LC-HRMS/MS analysis.

Background: Exhaled breath (EB) aerosol was in principle shown to be a suitable matrix for bioanalysis of volatile but also non-volatile compounds. This attracted particular interest in the field of drug analysis. However, a big gap still exists in the understanding how and which drugs and/or their metabolites are excreted into exhaled breath and could thus actually be detected.

On the Application of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) in Late-Stage Clinical Development.

Whereas AI/ML methods were considered experimental tools in clinical development for some time, nowadays they are widely available. However, stakeholders in the health care industry still need to answer the question which role these methods can realistically play and what standards should be adhered to. Clinical research in late-stage clinical development has particular requirements in terms of robustness, transparency and traceability.

Use of fixed-dose combinations for cardiovascular indications from 2018 to 2023: a nationwide population-based study.

Aims: Clinical guidelines support the use of fixed-dose combinations (FDC) for prevention of cardiovascular disease. Implementation of FDC into clinical care remains challenging, and current population-based data are scarce.

Methods And Results: Claims data on dispensed drugs in an outpatient care setting of approximately 87% of the German population were analysed regarding the use of FDC according to time, age of the insured persons, and active ingredients.

Impact of Renal Denervation on Urinary Peptide-Based Biomarkers in Hypertension.

Background: Catheter-based renal denervation (RDN) reduces blood pressure in hypertension. Urinary peptides are associated with cardiovascular and renal disease and provide prognostic information. We aimed to investigate the effect of RDN on urinary peptide-based classifiers associated with chronic kidney and heart disease and to identify urinary peptides affected by RDN.

Ultra-long-term efficacy and safety of catheter-based renal denervation in resistant hypertension: 10-year follow-up outcomes.

Background: Randomized sham-controlled trials have confirmed the efficacy and safety of catheter-based renal denervation in hypertension. Data on the very long-term effects of renal denervation are scarce.

Aims: This study evaluates the 10-year safety and efficacy of renal denervation in resistant hypertension.

Patient and dermatologists' perspectives on augmented intelligence for melanoma screening: A prospective study.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) shows promising potential to enhance human decision-making as synergistic augmented intelligence (AuI), but requires critical evaluation for skin cancer screening in a real-world setting.

Objectives: To investigate the perspectives of patients and dermatologists after skin cancer screening by human, artificial and augmented intelligence.

Methods: A prospective comparative cohort study conducted at the University Hospital Basel included 205 patients (at high-risk of developing melanoma, with resected or advanced disease) and 8 dermatologists.

Comparison of three creatinine-based equations to predict adverse outcome in a cardiovascular high-risk cohort: an investigation using the SPRINT research materials.

Background: Novel creatinine-based equations have recently been proposed but their predictive performance for cardiovascular outcomes in participants at high cardiovascular risk in comparison to the established CKD-EPI 2009 equation is unknown.

Method: In 9361 participants from the United States included in the randomized controlled SPRINT trial, we calculated baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using the CKD-EPI 2009, CKD-EPI 2021, and EKFC equations and compared their predictive value of cardiovascular events. The statistical metric used is the net reclassification improvement (NRI) presented separately for those with and those without events.

Hidden sodium in effervescent-tablet dietary supplements and over-the-counter drugs: a comparative cross-sectional study.

Objective: Dietary sodium intake represents a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality. The study sought to analyse the sodium content of effervescent dietary supplements and drugs in Germany and the USA.

Design: Comparative cross-sectional study.

Radio frequency-based renal denervation: a story of simplicity?

Radio frequency-based renal denervation is a safe and effective way of lowering blood pressure, a common condition associated with high cardiovascular risk. Several catheters have been developed to administer energy to the renal arteries and their side branches, thereby modulating sympathetic renal activity. The Symplicity Flex™ and Symplicity Spyral™ are first- and second-generation devices, respectively, for radio frequency-based renal denervation.

A randomized, placebo-controlled, trial to assess the photosensitizing, phototoxic and carcinogenic potential of hydrochlorothiazide in healthy volunteers.

Background And Aims: Pharmacovigilance reports, associating hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) with skin cancer, resulted in a significant decrease of HCT prescriptions for hypertension and heart failure. Whether HCT exhibits phototoxic properties thereby causing skin cancer remains unknown. This study aimed to examine the photosensitizing, phototoxic and carcinogenic potential of HCT in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial in vivo and also in vitro .

Histological examination of renal nerve distribution, density, and function in humans.

Background: Renal denervation is optimised when guided by knowledge of nerve distribution.

Aims: We aimed to assess sympathetic nerve distribution along the renal arteries, especially in post-bifurcation vessel segments.

Methods: Renal arteries and surrounding tissue from 10 body donors were collected and examined histologically.

Arterial Hypertension-clinical trials update 2023.

Arterial hypertension is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and research in the field is highly dynamic. This summary reviews the most important clinical trials published in 2022 and early 2023. Findings on new pharmacological approaches to treat resistant hypertension are presented and new knowledge about the optimal timing of the antihypertensive medication intake is discussed.

Educational level-dependent melanoma awareness in a high-risk population in Switzerland.

Introduction: The worldwide incidence of melanoma has been increasing rapidly in recent decades with Switzerland having one of the highest rates in Europe. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is one of the main risk factors for skin cancer. Our objective was to investigate UV protective behavior and melanoma awareness in a high-risk cohort for melanoma.

Human epidermis organotypic cultures, a reproducible system recapitulating the epidermis in vitro.

The translatability of research is highly dependent on models that recapitulate human tissues and organs. Here, we describe a procedure for the generation of human epidermis organotypic cultures (HEOCs) from primary keratinocytes isolated from foreskin and adult skin as well as from an immortalized keratinocyte cell line (KerTr). We tested several media conditions to develop a defined HEOC growing and expansion media.

Association of hydrochlorothiazide treatment compared with alternative diuretics with overall and skin cancer risk: a propensity-matched cohort study.

Introduction: Hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) has been suggested to induce photosensitivity, thereby increasing the incidence of skin cancers. After a pharmacovigilance alert, HCT was frequently withdrawn or substituted by other diuretics. The aim of this study was to compare the association of exposure to HCT with cancer risk versus alternative diuretics.