Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for prostate cancer (PCa) is limited by the lack of specificity but is further complicated in the benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) population which also exhibit elevated PSA, representing a clear unmet need to distinguish BPH from PCa. Herein, we evaluated the utility of FLNA IP-MRM, age, and prostate volume to stratify men with BPH from those with PCa. Diagnostic performance of the biomarker panel was better than PSA alone in discriminating patients with negative biopsy from those with PCa, as well as those who have had multiple prior biopsies (AUC 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most prevalent congenital heart defect affecting 1% to 2% of the population. It is associated with ascending aorta dilatation. Valve morphology, aortic stenosis (AS), and aortic insufficiency (AI) have been proposed as potential risk factors; however, evaluating their role is difficult, as these factors are inherently related.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Radium-223 (Ra223) prolongs the survival and improves the quality of life of men with metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) to bones. However, compared to other mCRPC therapies, using Ra223 comes with its unique challenges. Hence, we aimed to identify Ra223 utilization patterns under real-world conditions, as well as factors predicting treatment completion and outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Prostate cancer patients receiving androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) often experience a combination of disease symptoms and treatment side effects. The therapeutic use of cannabis to alleviate these side effects has not been studied, despite increasing patient interest. With the increasing availability of cannabis, it is important for clinicians to understand the prevalence, predictors, and perceived benefits of cannabis use among patients with prostate cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Crying, a complex neurobiological behavior with psychosocial and communication features, has been little studied in relationship to the menstrual cycle.
Methods: In the Mood and Daily Life study (MiDL), a community sample of Canadian women aged 18-43 years, n=76, recorded crying proneness and crying frequency daily for six months along with menstrual cycle phase information.
Results: Crying proneness was most likely during the premenstruum, a little less likely during menses and least likely during the mid-cycle phase, with statistically significant differences although the magnitude of these differences were small.
Objective: This study aimed to assess the temporal relationship of subjective sleep quality to menstrual cycle phase in a community (non help-seeking) sample of adult women over six months. Previous work has produced contradictory results and often used student samples.
Patients/methods: This was a cohort study, using daily electronic data collection in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada; 76 women aged 18-42 years recruited by random digit telephone dialing, recorded mood, sleep quality, and other health variables on a daily basis for 24 weeks.
Background: Premenstrual mood symptoms are considered common in women, but such prevailing attitudes are shaped by social expectations about gender, emotionality and hormonal influences. There are few prospective, community studies of women reporting mood data from all phases of the menstrual cycle (MC). We aimed (i) to analyze daily mood data over 6 months for MC phase cyclicity and (ii) to compare MC phase influences on a woman's daily mood with that attributable to key alternate explanatory variables (physical health, perceived stress and social support).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The human menstrual cycle (MC) has historically been the focus of myth and misinformation, leading to ideas that constrain women's activities.
Objectives: We wished to examine one pervasive idea, that the MC is a cause of negative mood, by studying the scientific literature as a whole. We briefly reviewed the history of the idea of premenstrual syndrome and undertook a systematic review of quality studies.
Aims: Knowledge of prevailing community ideas about mood determination can guide research about variability in mood. A random sample of urban Canadian women, aged 18-40 years (n = 507), was asked to compare the relative importance of three specified domains (physical health, social support, stress) as influences on their mood and then to list additional life experiences they considered important. They also rated the frequency and recurrence patterns (cyclicity) of their daily positive and negative moods.
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