Determinants of decreasing major amputation rates in Germany.

Background: We analysed a potential association between the decrease in major amputations in Germany and the number of doctors, prescribed podologic foot care (PFC) and antidiabetic drugs, and performed percutaneous endoluminal angioplasties (PTA).

Patients And Methods: Data of all lower limb major amputations between 2007 and 2011, the cases hospitalised with an additional diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, and the numbers of PTAs, and the number of doctors in private practices and in hospitals were obtained from the Federal Statistical Office. Furthermore, the number of PFC treatments and prescribed antidiabetics for each of the five years were derived from the federal report of the statutory health insurance.

High-throughput DNA methylation analysis in anorexia nervosa confirms TNXB hypermethylation.

Objectives: Patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) are ideally suited to identify differentially methylated genes in response to starvation.

Methods: We examined high-throughput DNA methylation derived from whole blood of 47 females with AN, 47 lean females without AN and 100 population-based females to compare AN with both controls. To account for different cell type compositions, we applied two reference-free methods (FastLMM-EWASher, RefFreeEWAS) and searched for consensus CpG sites identified by both methods.

Healthcare costs and productivity costs of hand and wrist injuries by external cause: A population-based study in working-age adults in the period 2008-2012.

Background: Hand and wrist injuries are very common at the Emergency Departments (ED), and among the most costly injury types in the working population. The purpose of this study was to explore the causes of non-trivial hand and wrist injuries (i.e.

Analysis of Genes Involved in Body Weight Regulation by Targeted Re-Sequencing.

Introduction: Genes involved in body weight regulation that were previously investigated in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and in animal models were target-enriched followed by massive parallel next generation sequencing.

Methods: We enriched and re-sequenced continuous genomic regions comprising FTO, MC4R, TMEM18, SDCCAG8, TKNS, MSRA and TBC1D1 in a screening sample of 196 extremely obese children and adolescents with age and sex specific body mass index (BMI) ≥ 99th percentile and 176 lean adults (BMI ≤ 15th percentile). 22 variants were confirmed by Sanger sequencing.

Long-Term Results From Tonsillectomy in Adults.

Background: Tonsillectomy is performed more than 400 000 times in the European Union each year, making it one of the most common operations. Nonetheless, there have been only a few long-term studies of quality of life after tonsillectomy.

Methods: In 2004, data on the quality of life after tonsillectomy were obtained from adult German-speaking tonsillectomy patients by means of the Glasgow Benefit Inventory and a questionnaire specifically designed for that study.

Differential proteomic and tissue expression analyses identify valuable diagnostic biomarkers of hepatocellular differentiation and hepatoid adenocarcinomas.

The exact discrimination of lesions with true hepatocellular differentiation from secondary tumours and neoplasms with hepatocellular histomorphology like hepatoid adenocarcinomas (HAC) is crucial. Therefore, we aimed to identify ancillary protein biomarkers by using complementary proteomic techniques (2D-DIGE, label-free MS). The identified candidates were immunohistochemically validated in 14 paired samples of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and non-tumourous liver tissue (NT).

Prescription of enoxaparin is associated with decreasing pulmonary embolism mortality rate in Germany.

We analysed time trends in the pulmonary embolism (PE) mortality rates in Germany from 2004 and assessed for an association between the use of anticoagulants and PE caused mortality. We extracted age-specific number of deaths due to PE (ICD-10 I26) from 2004 to 2011 as available from the WHO mortality databases. In addition we derived defined daily dosage (DDD) of prescribed anticoagulants and the low molecular heparin Enoxaparin for the years 2004-2011 from the statutory health insurance-drug-information system reports.

Neoadjuvant, anthracycline-free chemotherapy with carboplatin and docetaxel in triple-negative, early-stage breast cancer: a multicentric analysis of rates of pathologic complete response and survival.

Introduction: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has the highest mortality rates of all subtypes. Anthracycline and taxane regimens yield unsatisfactorily low rates of pathologic complete response (pCR) and are often not feasible in cardiac comorbidity. This study seeks to increase pCR and survival by introducing platin agents.

Tooth loss prior to radiation in relation to tumor location in patients with head and neck cancer.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the impact of preradiation tooth loss in patients with head and neck cancer.

Materials And Methods: Records of 397 (partially) dentate patients who were referred for preradiation oral screening were included. Number and location of teeth lost and occluding pairs lost were determined for different tumor locations.

Fine Mapping of a GWAS-Derived Obesity Candidate Region on Chromosome 16p11.2.

Introduction: Large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified 97 chromosomal loci associated with increased body mass index in population-based studies on adults. One of these SNPs, rs7359397, tags a large region (approx. 1MB) with high linkage disequilibrium (r2>0.

Effects of integrated dental care on oral treatment needs in residents of nursing homes older than 70 years.

Aim: To determine effects of integrated dental care in older nursing home residents.

Methods: In three nursing homes offering integrated dental care, we studied the oral treatment need of 355 residents older than 70 years. To determine effects of integrated care, we discriminated between short-stay residents (≤6 months) and long-term residents (>6 months).

A structured proteomic approach identifies 14-3-3Sigma as a novel and reliable protein biomarker in panel based differential diagnostics of liver tumors.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major lethal cancer worldwide. Despite sophisticated diagnostic algorithms, the differential diagnosis of small liver nodules still is difficult. While imaging techniques have advanced, adjuvant protein-biomarkers as glypican3 (GPC3), glutamine-synthetase (GS) and heat-shock protein 70 (HSP70) have enhanced diagnostic accuracy.

The association of clinical and microbiologic parameters with histologic observations in relatively healthy peri-implant conditions- a preliminary short-term in vivo study.

Purpose: To determine whether clinical findings-bleeding on probing, pocket depth, recession, and bacterial sampling-correlate with histologic outcomes in relatively healthy peri-implant soft tissues in people.

Materials And Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a convenience sample of 20 edentulous subjects received two endosseous mandibular implants each. The abutments were either zirconia (ZrO₂) or titanium (Ti) (nonsubmerged implant placement, within-subject comparison, leftright randomization).

Severe blunt muscle trauma in rats: only marginal hypoxia in the injured area.

Background: After severe muscle trauma, hypoxia due to microvascular perfusion failure is generally believed to further increase local injury and to impair healing. However, detailed analysis of hypoxia at the cellular level is missing. Therefore, in the present work, spectroscopic measurements of microvascular blood flow and O2 supply were combined with immunological detection of hypoxic cells to estimate O2 conditions within the injured muscle area.

Assessment of the oral health condition of nursing home residents by primary care nurses.

We interviewed 36 primary care nurses in three Dutch nursing homes regarding the functional oral health and dental treatment needs of 331 care-dependent residents (average age 77.8 years). The nurses assessed the residents' oral health condition as good (8.

Health-related quality of life after upper extremity injuries and predictors for suboptimal outcome.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of upper extremity injuries (UEIs) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adult patients compared with victims of other types of injuries and with the general population, in order to establish recovery patterns of different types of UEIs and determine predictors for suboptimal outcome in the long term.

Methods: Data were obtained from the Dutch Injury Surveillance System, from the National Hospital Discharge Registry, and from a patient follow-up survey. A total of 608 patients (aged ≥18 years) with an UEI were included.

Increase in upper extremity fractures in young male soccer players in the Netherlands, 1998-2009.

Young male soccer players have been identified as a target group for injury prevention, but studies addressing trends and determinants of injuries within this group are scarce. The goal of this study was to analyze age-specific trends in hospital-treated upper extremity fractures (UEF) among boys playing soccer in the Netherlands and to explore associated soccer-related factors. Data were obtained from a national database for the period 1998-2009.

Impact of repetitive exposure to strong static magnetic fields on pregnancy and embryonic development of mice.

Purpose: To evaluate possible risks of strong static magnetic fields for embryo implantation, gestation, organogenesis, and embryonic development.

Materials And Methods: Pregnant mice were exposed for 75 minutes daily during the entire course of pregnancy at the bore entrance, representing the position of medical staff, and at the isocenter, representing the position of patients, of a 1.5 T and a 7 T human MRI scanner.

Repetitive exposure of mice to strong static magnetic fields in utero does not impair fertility in adulthood but may affect placental weight of offspring.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of daily exposure in utero to static magnetic fields during prenatal development on germ cell development and fertility of exposed offspring in adulthood.

Materials And Methods: Mice were exposed daily in utero to different static magnetic field strengths at the bore entrance or in the isocenter of 1.5 T and 7 T MRI systems during the entire course of prenatal development.

Integrated versus incidental dental care in nursing homes.

Purpose/aim: In most of the 334 Dutch nursing homes, incidental dental care is provided upon indication by the medical and nursing staff. However, more and more nursing homes offer integrated dental care, where a dentist works on a structural basis in facilities within the home.

Methods: To evaluate the costs and effects of integrated versus incidental care, we studied the oral status and treatment needs in two nursing homes in the same city with 175 and 120 residents an average age of 81.

No impact of obesity susceptibility loci on weight regain after a lifestyle intervention in overweight children.

Objective: An obesity risk allele at the NEGR1 locus was shown to be associated with weight regain after a lifestyle intervention in obese adults. Independent confirmation and studies in children are lacking. Therefore, we analyzed the impact of this and 11 additional obesity susceptibility loci on weight regain after a lifestyle intervention in overweight children.

Augmented mandibular bone structurally adapts to functional loading.

Long-term changes in trabecular bone structure during the 10 years following onlay grafting with simultaneous mandibular implant placement were studied. Extraoral radiographs of both mandibular sides in eight patients were taken regularly. Bone structure was analysed using a custom-written image analysis program.

Bipolar disorder risk alleles in children with ADHD.

Bipolar disorder (BD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may share common genetic risk factors as indicated by the high co-morbidity of BD and ADHD, their phenotypic overlap especially in pediatric populations, the high heritability of both disorders, and the co-occurrence in families. We therefore examined whether known polygenic BD risk alleles are associated with ADHD. We chose the eight best SNPs of the recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) of BD patients of German ancestry and the nine SNPs from international GWAS meeting a 'genome-wide significance' level of α = 5 × 10(-8).

Common obesity risk alleles in childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a higher rate of obesity than children without ADHD. Obesity risk alleles may overlap with those relevant for ADHD. We examined whether risk alleles for an increased body mass index (BMI) are associated with ADHD and related quantitative traits (inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity).