Psychometric evaluation and computerized adaptive testing simulations of age-related macular degeneration quality of life item banks.

Purpose: To optimize the psychometric properties of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) quality of life (QoL) item banks (IBs), and evaluate their performance using computerized adaptive testing (CAT) simulations.

Design: Cross-sectional, clinical study.

Methods: 261 AMD patients answered 219 items within seven IBs: Activity Limitation (AL); Lighting (LT); Mobility (MB); Emotional (EM); Concerns (CN); AMD Management (AM); and Work (WK), referred to collectively as "MacCAT".

Hypoxia-Induced Cardiopulmonary Remodeling and Recovery: Critical Roles of the Proximal Pulmonary Artery, Macrophages, and Exercise.

Hypoxemia impairs cardiopulmonary function. We investigated pulmonary artery remodeling in mice exposed to chronic hypoxia for up to five weeks and quantified associated changes in cardiac and lung function, without or with subsequent normoxic recovery in the absence or presence of exercise or pharmacological intervention. Hypoxia-induced stiffening of the proximal pulmonary artery stemmed primarily from remodeling of the adventitial collagen, which resulted in part from altered inter-cellular signaling associated with phenotypic changes in the mural smooth muscle cells and macrophages.

The Association Between Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease and Change in Liver Stiffness in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B.

Background And Aims: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is associated with an increased risk of liver-related events in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), possibly by accelerating fibrosis progression. Therefore, we studied the influence of MASLD on liver stiffness measurement (LSM) kinetics in CHB patients.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study of CHB patients with at least two LSM with FibroScan.

Epigenetic age acceleration in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis revealed by DNA methylation clocks.

In this research, we delve into the association between epigenetic aging and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a debilitating lung disease that progresses over time. Utilizing the Illumina MethylationEPIC array, we assessed DNA methylation levels in donated human lung tissue from patients with IPF, categorizing the disease into mild, moderate, and severe stages based on clinical assessments. We used seven epigenetic clocks to determine age acceleration, which is the discrepancy between biological (epigenetic) and chronological age.

Levothyroxine supplementation trials in preconception and pregnant women.

Thyroid disorders are common in women of childbearing age, representing the second most prevalent endocrine disorder in this population. Low thyroid function preconception and during pregnancy has been associated with a range of adverse outcomes including subfertility, miscarriage, preterm birth, and ongoing health problems in the neonate. Levothyroxine (LT4) treatment is routinely used in women with overt hypothyroidism (OH) to achieve a euthyroid status and consequently reduce the risk of these adverse outcomes.