Clinical, radiological and molecular responses to combination chemotherapy with MAPK pathway inhibition in relapsed and refractory Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

Optimal therapeutic approaches for advanced Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) are not known. We assessed the safety and efficacy of combined chemotherapy with MAPK pathway inhibition in 10 patients with refractory systemic disease and/or LCH-associated neurodegeneration. Overall response rate was 9/10 (90%) for the entire cohort: 5/5 (100%) for patients with systemic disease and 6/7 (86%) for patients with central nervous system disease.

Clofarabine monotherapy in aggressive, relapsed and refractory Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

Over 50% of patients with systemic LCH are not cured with front-line therapies, and data to guide salvage options are limited. We describe 58 patients with LCH who were treated with clofarabine. Clofarabine monotherapy was active against LCH in this cohort, including heavily pretreated patients with a systemic objective response rate of 92.

Darolutamide: An Evidenced-Based Review of Its Efficacy and Safety in the Treatment of Prostate Cancer.

Men treated with androgen deprivation therapy for rising PSA after failed local therapy will often develop castrate resistance, and the appearance of metastases predicts a poor prognosis. Thus, researchers have long sought to prolong the onset of metastasis in patients with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Until 2018, patients in this group had no FDA-approved treatment options.

Assessment of high-grade prostate cancer risk using prostate cancer biomarkers.

Introduction: To identify patients at risk of high-grade prostate cancer using prostate cancer biomarkers.

Materials And Methods: A total of 601 men were screened for prostate cancer in 2012, 2015, and 2016 using prostate cancer biomarkers: prostate health index (phi), 4KScore, and SelectMDx. The first two are blood tests that incorporate several PSA isoforms; SelectMDx measures mRNA levels of homeobox C6 and distal-less homeobox 1 in post-digital rectal examination urine samples.

Factors Affecting Measurement of Salivary Cortisol and Secretory Immunoglobulin A in Field Studies of Athletes.

Aims: Biological and lifestyle factors, such as daily rhythm, caffeine ingestion, recent infection, and antibiotic intake, have been shown to influence measurements of salivary cortisol (SC) and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA). Current methodology in unsynchronized, field-based biomarker studies does not take these effects into account. Moreover, very little is known about the combined effects of biological and lifestyle factors on SC and sIgA.

Predicting football injuries using size and ratio of the multifidus and quadratus lumborum muscles.

Deficits in muscles of the lumbo-pelvic region, such as a relatively small multifidus muscle, have been used to predict lower limb injuries in professional football players. Results have been less consistent for the size of the quadratus lumborum (QL) muscle. Changes in size of the multifidus and QL muscles could be functionally related to each other, and modeling this relationship could improve prediction of lower limb injuries.

Quality of life among adults following bariatric and body contouring surgery: a systematic review.

Background: Weight loss following bariatric surgery is associated with significant improvements in obesity-related comorbidities, body satisfaction and psychosocial outcomes, at least in the short term. However, in the context of extreme weight loss, body image and appearance may worsen again because the "excess" or "loose" skin can lead to both functional and profound dissatisfaction with appearance. These concerns have led to an increasing uptake of post-bariatric surgery, "body-contouring" procedures but the implications for quality of life (QoL) have not been thoroughly considered.

The effect of motor control training on abdominal muscle contraction during simulated weight bearing in elite cricketers.

Objectives: To investigate whether motor control training alters automatic contraction of abdominal muscles in elite cricketers with low back pain (LBP) during performance of a simulated unilateral weight-bearing task.

Design: Clinical trial.

Methods: 26 male elite-cricketers attended a 13-week cricket training camp.

Changes in multifidus and abdominal muscle size in response to microgravity: possible implications for low back pain research.

Purpose: In microgravity, muscle atrophy occurs in the intrinsic muscles of the spine, with changes also observed in the abdominal muscles. Exercises are undertaken on the International Space Station and on Earth following space flight to remediate these effects. Similar effects have been seen on Earth in prolonged bed rest studies and in people with low back pain (LBP).

Activation of the hip adductor muscles varies during a simulated weight-bearing task.

Objective: To investigate the pattern of muscle activation of the individual hip adductor muscles using a standardised simulated unilateral weight-bearing task.

Design: A repeated measures design.

Setting: Laboratory.

The relationship between the piriformis muscle, low back pain, lower limb injuries and motor control training among elite football players.

Objectives: Australian Football League (AFL) players have a high incidence of back injuries. Motor control training to increase lumbopelvic neuromuscular control has been effective in reducing low back pain (LBP) and lower limb injuries in elite athletes. Control of pelvic and femoral alignment during functional activity involves the piriformis muscle.

Small Multifidus Muscle Size Predicts Football Injuries.

Background: In Australian football, lower limb injuries have had the highest incidence and prevalence rates. Previous studies have shown that football players with relatively more severe preseason and playing season hip, groin, and thigh injuries had a significantly smaller multifidus muscle compared with players with no lower limb injuries. Rehabilitation of the multifidus muscle, with restoration of its size and function, has been associated with decreased recurrence rates of episodic low back pain and decreased numbers of lower limb injuries in football players.

Public attitudes to death and dying in the UK: a review of published literature.

Background: Public attitudes are important in shaping public policy and the political will that determines future service provision. They also help to identify priorities for public education. This paper presents a review and synthesis of published literature on public attitudes to death and dying in the UK from 1990.

Interventions for non-metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the skin: systematic review and pooled analysis of observational studies.

Objectives: To assess the effects of treatments for non-metastatic invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the skin using evidence from observational studies, given the paucity of evidence from randomised controlled trials.

Design: Systematic review of observational studies.

Data Sources: Medline, Embase, to December 2012.

Can motor control training lower the risk of injury for professional football players?

Purpose: Among injuries reported by the Australian Football League (AFL), lower limb injuries have shown the highest incidence and prevalence rates. Deficits in the muscles of the lumbopelvic region, such as a smaller size of multifidus (MF) muscle, have been related to the occurrence of lower limb injuries in the preseason in AFL players. Motor control training programs have been effective in restoring the size and control of the MF muscle, but the relationship between motor control training and occurrence of injuries has not been extensively examined.

Repeated-sprint ability and team selection in Australian football league players.

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between selected physical capacities and repeated-sprint performance of Australian Football League (AFL) players and to determine which physical capacities contributed to being selected for the first competition game.

Methods: Sum of skinfolds, 40-m sprint (with 10-, 20-, 30-, and 40-m splits), repeated-sprint ability (6 × 30-m sprints), and 3-km-run time were measured during the preseason in 20 AFL players. The physical qualities of players selected to play the first match of the season and those not selected were compared.

How effective are drug treatments for children with ADHD at improving on-task behaviour and academic achievement in the school classroom? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has a significant impact on children's classroom behaviour, daily functioning and experience of school life. However, the effects of drug treatment for ADHD on learning and academic achievement are not fully understood. This review was undertaken to describe the effects of methylphenidate, dexamfetamine, mixed amfetamine salts and atomoxetine on children's on-task behaviour and their academic performance, and to perform a meta-analysis to quantify these effects.

Muscle imbalance among elite Australian rules football players: a longitudinal study of changes in trunk muscle size.

Context: Trunk muscles, such as the transversus abdominis (TrA) and multifidus, play a key role in lumbopelvic stability, which is important in athletic performance. Asymmetry or imbalance in these and other trunk muscles could result from the specific requirements of the game of Australian rules football.

Objective: To determine whether seasonal variations in the sizes of key trunk muscles associated with lumbopelvic stability occur in Australian Football League players.

Multifidus muscle size and symmetry among elite weightlifters.

Objectives: To examine muscle cross-sectional areas (CSA) and symmetry of lumbar multifidus (LM) muscles in elite weightlifters.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study

Setting: Neuromuscular and Pain Research Unit.

Participants: Thirty-one elite weightlifters (15 males) participated in the study, representing the population of Thai weightlifters eligible for national selection.

Effect of motor control training on muscle size and football games missed from injury.

Purpose: This panel-randomized intervention trial was designed to examine the effect of a motor control training program for elite Australian Football League players with and without low back pain (LBP).

Methods: The outcome measures included cross-sectional area (CSA) and symmetry of multifidus, quadratus lumborum, and psoas muscles and the change in CSA of the trunk in response to an abdominal drawing-in task. These measures of muscle size and function were performed using magnetic resonance imaging.

Screening the lumbopelvic muscles for a relationship to injury of the quadriceps, hamstrings, and adductor muscles among elite Australian Football League players.

Study Design: Longitudinal observational study.

Objectives: To examine the relationship between severity of preseason hip, groin, and thigh (HGT) muscle injuries, and lumbopelvic muscle size, asymmetry, and function at the start and end of the preseason.

Background: In Australian Rules Football, HGT muscle injuries have the highest prevalence and incidence.

Abdominal muscle response to a simulated weight-bearing task by elite Australian Rules football players.

The aim of this study was to examine the automatic recruitment of the deep abdominal muscles during a unilateral simulated weight-bearing task by elite Australian Rules football (AFL) players with and without low back pain (LBP). An observational cross-sectional study was conducted using ultrasound imaging to measure the thickness of the internal oblique (IO) and transversus abdominis (TrA) muscles. Thirty-seven elite male AFL players participated.

The relationship of transversus abdominis and lumbar multifidus clinical muscle tests in patients with chronic low back pain.

Introduction: Previous research of transversus abdominis (TrA) and multifidus muscle function in the presence of chronic low back pain (LBP) has investigated these muscles in isolation. In clinical practice, it is assumed that a relationship exists between these muscles and so they are often assessed and rehabilitated together. However, no studies have tested or documented this association.