A "people-like-me" approach to predict individual recovery following lumbar microdiscectomy and physical therapy for lumbar radiculopathy.

Background Context: Lumbar microdiscectomy is an effective treatment for short-term pain relief and improvements in disability in patients with lumbar radiculopathy, however, many patients experience residual pain and long-term disability. The 'people like me' approach seeks to enhance personalized prognosis and treatment effectiveness, utilizing historical data from similar patients to forecast individual outcomes.

Purpose: The primary objective was to develop and test the 'people-like-me' approach for leg pain intensity and disability at 12-month follow-up after lumbar microdiscectomy and postoperative physical therapy.

(Cost-)effectiveness of personalised multimodal physiotherapy compared to surgery in patients with cervical radiculopathy: A systematic review.

Rationale: Cervical radiculopathy is initially typically managed conservatively. Surgery is indicated when conservative management fails or with severe/progressive neurological signs. Personalised multimodal physiotherapy could be a promising conservative strategy.

Pyrazinoic acid, the active form of the anti-tuberculosis drug pyrazinamide, and aromatic carboxylic acid analogs are protonophores.

Pyrazinoic acid is the active form of pyrazinamide, a first-line antibiotic used to treat infections. However, the mechanism of action of pyrazinoic acid remains a subject of debate, and alternatives to pyrazinamide in cases of resistance are not available. The work presented here demonstrates that pyrazinoic acid and known protonophores including salicylic acid, benzoic acid, and carbonyl cyanide -chlorophenyl hydrazone all exhibit pH-dependent inhibition of mycobacterial growth activity over a physiologically relevant range of pH values.

The impact of being overweight or obese on 12 month clinical recovery in patients following lumbar microdiscectomy for radiculopathy.

Background Context: The proportion of patients who undergo lumbar microdiscectomy due to lumbar radiculopathy who are also overweight or obese is high. However, whether high body mass index (BMI) affects clinical outcomes is not well-studied.

Purpose: To investigate the difference in the clinical course between normal weight, overweight, and obese patients with radiculopathy who underwent lumbar microdiscectomy followed by physical therapy and to evaluate whether high BMI is associated with poor recovery.

Variability in recovery following microdiscectomy and postoperative physiotherapy for lumbar radiculopathy: A latent class trajectory analysis.

Objectives: The clinical course of lumbar radiculopathy following microdiscectomy and post-operative physiotherapy varies substantially. No prior studies assessed this variability by deriving outcome trajectories. The primary aims of this study were to evaluate the variability in long-term recovery after lumbar microdiscectomy followed by post-operative physiotherapy and to identify outcome trajectories.

A Clinical Journey Mobile Health App for Perioperative Patients: Cross-sectional Study.

Background: Mobile eHealth apps are important tools in personal health care management. The Patient Journey app was developed to inform patients with musculoskeletal disorders during their perioperative period. The app contains timely information, video exercises, and functional tasks.

Risk factors for subsequent recurrence after surgical treatment of recurrent pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland.

Background: Recurrent pleomorphic adenoma (PA) can be a lifelong disease, and rates of subsequent recurrence are high.

Methods: Patients between 2000 and 2015 were identified. Primary outcome was subsequent recurrence after surgical salvage.

Risk factors for carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma in patients presenting with recurrence after resection of pleomorphic adenoma.

Background: In patients presenting with recurrent pleomorphic adenoma (rPA), clinical evaluation can fail to recognize carcinoma ex PA (cxPA). We aim to identify the risk factors for cxPA.

Methods: This is a single institution retrospective case-control study from 2000 to 2015.

Recurrent pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland: A comparison of radiographic and pathologic tumor burden.

Purpose: To compare recurrent pleomorphic adenoma tumor burden as detected on magnetic resonance and computerized tomography imaging with postoperative histopathology.

Materials And Methods: 44 patients were identified at a tertiary medical center between 2000 and 2015. Patients were included if they had viewable preoperative imaging and a postoperative diagnosis of recurrent pleomorphic adenoma.

Baseline Patient Characteristics Commonly Captured Before Surgery Do Not Accurately Predict Long-Term Outcomes of Lumbar Microdiscectomy Followed by Physiotherapy.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Objective: To develop and internally validate prognostic models based on commonly collected preoperative data for good and poor outcomes of lumbar microdiscectomy followed by physiotherapy.

Summary Of Background Data: Lumbar microdiscectomy followed by physiotherapy is a common intervention for lumbar radiculopathy.

The Rise of the Neophallus: A Systematic Review of Penile Prosthetic Outcomes and Complications in Gender-Affirming Surgery.

Background: Penile prostheses are commonly used to achieve erectile rigidity after phalloplasty in trans masculine patients. Implantation poses significant challenges because of the delicate nature of the neophallus and lack of native erectile tissue. Many groups have developed novel phalloplasty and prosthesis insertion techniques, but none have proven superior.

Mycobacterial MenJ: An Oxidoreductase Involved in Menaquinone Biosynthesis.

MenJ, annotated as an oxidoreductase, was recently demonstrated to catalyze the reduction (saturation) of a single double bond in the isoprenyl side-chain of mycobacterial menaquinone. This modification was shown to be essential for bacterial survival in J774A.1 macrophage-like cells, suggesting that MenJ may be a conditional drug target in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other pathogenic mycobacteria.

The diagnostic accuracy and test-retest reliability of the Dutch PainDETECT and the DN4 screening tools for neuropathic pain in patients with suspected cervical or lumbar radiculopathy.

Background: It is important to identify neuropathic pain early to guide treatment decisions and prevent chronicity. There is lack of evidence whether the Dutch painDETECT questionnaire and Douleure Neuropathique en 4 questions (DN4) can adequately assess neuropathic pain.

Methods: Patients suspected of cervical or lumbar radiculopathy were eligible for inclusion.

NRAS and EPHB6 mutation rates differ in metastatic melanomas of patients in the North Island versus South Island of New Zealand.

Melanoma, the most aggressive skin cancer type, is responsible for 75% of skin cancer related deaths worldwide. Given that New Zealand (NZ) has the world's highest melanoma incidence, we sought to determine the frequency of mutations in NZ melanomas in recurrently mutated genes. NZ melanomas were from localities distributed between North (35°S-42°S) and South Islands (41°S-47°S).

Wnt Acts as a Prosurvival Signal to Enhance Dentin Regeneration.

Wnt proteins are lipid-modified, short-range signals that control stem cell self-renewal and tissue regeneration. We identified a population of Wnt responsive cells in the pulp cavity, characterized their function, and then created a pulp injury. The repair response was evaluated over time using molecular, cellular, and quantitative assays.

Wnt signaling promotes Müller cell proliferation and survival after injury.

Purpose: Müller glia respond to retinal injury by a reactive gliosis, but only rarely do mammalian glial cells re-enter the cell cycle and generate new neurons. In the nonmammalian retina, however, Müller glia act as stem/progenitor cells. Here, we tested the function of Wnt signaling in the postinjury retina, focusing on its ability to influence mammalian Müller cell dedifferentiation, proliferation, and neurogenesis.

Novel FH mutations in families with hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer (HLRCC) and patients with isolated type 2 papillary renal cell carcinoma.

Background: Hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer (HLRCC) is an autosomal dominant disorder predisposing humans to cutaneous and uterine leiomyomas; in 20% of affected families, type 2 papillary renal cell cancers (PRCCII) also occur with aggressive course and poor prognosis. HLRCC results from heterozygous germline mutations in the tumour suppressor fumarate hydratase (FH) gene.

Methods: As part of the French National Cancer Institute (INCa) 'Inherited predispositions to kidney cancer' network, sequence analysis and a functional study of FH were preformed in 56 families with clinically proven or suspected HLRCC and in 23 patients with isolated PRCCII (5 familial and 18 sporadic).

Comparison of 45 variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) and two direct repeat (DR) assays to restriction endonuclease analysis for typing isolates of Mycobacterium bovis.

Restriction endonuclease analysis (REA), developed 25 years ago for genotyping Mycobacterium bovis strains, is an important tool for bovine tuberculosis control in New Zealand. While REA gives excellent discrimination, it is technically difficult to perform compared to PCR-based typing systems which are faster and simpler to operate. Genotyping of M.

Effectiveness of the 2009 seasonal influenza vaccine against pandemic influenza A(H1N1)2009 in healthcare workers in New Zealand, June-August 2009.

There is uncertainty whether the 2009 seasonal influenza vaccination influences the risk of infection with the 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) virus. This issue was investigated in 548 healthcare workers from Capital and Coast District Health Board, Wellington, New Zealand, presenting with influenza-like illness during the influenza pandemic between June and August 2009. All workers completed an assessment sheet and had a nasopharyngeal swab tested by real-time RT-PCR.

The acceleration of implant osseointegration by liposomal Wnt3a.

The strength of a Wnt-based strategy for tissue regeneration lies in the central role that Wnts play in healing. Tissue injury triggers local Wnt activation at the site of damage, and this Wnt signal is required for the repair and/or regeneration of almost all tissues including bone, neural tissues, myocardium, and epidermis. We developed a biologically based approach to create a transient elevation in Wnt signaling in peri-implant tissues, and in doing so, accelerated bone formation around the implant.