The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating disorder features and comorbid psychopathology among adolescents with anorexia nervosa and matched controls: a comparative cohort design study.

Purpose: To examine implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating disorder (ED) features and psychopathology in female adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN).

Method: In total 79 females with first-onset AN (aged 12-22 years) were included and were followed up across a period of 1 year. We assessed AN participants recruited pre-pandemic (n = 49) to those recruited peri-pandemic (n = 30).

Comparison of whole body versus thoracic bioimpedance in relation to ultrafiltration volume and systolic blood pressure during hemodialysis.

In contrast to whole body bioimpedance, which estimates fluid status at a single point in time, thoracic bioimpedance applied by a wearable device could enable continuous measurements. However, clinical experience with thoracic bioimpedance in patients on dialysis is limited. To test the reproducibility of whole body and thoracic bioimpedance measurements and to compare their relationship with hemodynamic changes during hemodialysis, these parameters were measured pre- and end-dialysis in 54 patients during two sessions.

High-precision spatial analysis of mouse courtship vocalization behavior reveals sex and strain differences.

Mice display a wide repertoire of vocalizations that varies with sex, strain, and context. Especially during social interaction, including sexually motivated dyadic interaction, mice emit sequences of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) of high complexity. As animals of both sexes vocalize, a reliable attribution of USVs to their emitter is essential.

Childhood growth hormone treatment and metabolic and cardiovascular risk in adults born small for gestational age after growth hormone cessation in the Netherlands: a 12-year follow-up study.

Background: Childhood growth hormone treatment has been associated with increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in adults born small for gestational age (SGA) compared with the general population, but these risks have not been compared with untreated control groups. We aimed to investigate longitundinal metabolic and cardiovascular health in adults born SGA after cessation of growth hormone treatment.

Methods: We longitudinally investigated the metabolic and cardiovascular health profile of 167 adults born SGA and previously treated with growth hormone during the 12 years after growth hormone cessation.

Breathing Pattern Estimation Using Wearable Bioimpedance for Assessing COPD Severity.

Breathing pattern has been shown to be different in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients compared to healthy controls during rest and walking. In this study we evaluated respiratory parameters and the breathing variability of COPD patients as a function of their severity. Thoracic bioimpedance was acquired on 66 COPD patients during the performance of the six-minute walk test (6MWT), as well as 5 minutes before and after the test while the patients were seated, i.

Physicians' perspectives on using a patient decision aid in female stress urinary incontinence.

Introduction And Hypothesis: A treatment choice for female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is preference sensitive for both patients and physicians. Multiple treatment options are available, with none being superior to any other. The decision-making process can be supported by a patient decision aid (PDA).

Differential effects of Wnt-β-catenin signaling in Purkinje cells and Bergmann glia in spinocerebellar ataxia type 1.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) is a dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive ataxia and degeneration of specific neuronal populations, including Purkinje cells (PCs) in the cerebellum. Previous studies have demonstrated a critical role for various evolutionarily conserved signaling pathways in cerebellar patterning, such as the Wnt-β-catenin pathway; however, the roles of these pathways in adult cerebellar function and cerebellar neurodegeneration are largely unknown. In this study, we found that Wnt-β-catenin signaling activity was progressively enhanced in multiple cell types in the adult SCA1 mouse cerebellum, and that activation of this signaling occurs in an ataxin-1 polyglutamine (polyQ) expansion-dependent manner.

Predicting 6-minute walking test outcomes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease without physical performance measures.

Background And Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) requires a multifactorial assessment, evaluating the airflow limitation and symptoms of the patients. The 6-min walk test (6MWT) is commonly used to evaluate the functional exercise capacity in these patients. This study aims to propose a novel predictive model of the major 6MWT outcomes for COPD assessment, without physical performance measurements.

The Level of Anatomical Knowledge, Hard to Establish: a Systematic Narrative Review.

Objective: This literature review aimed to gain more insight into the level of anatomical knowledge based on published measurements among medical students, residents, fellows, and specialists.

Methods: We performed an extensive literature search in three online databases: Medline (using PubMed), Web of Science, and Education Resources Information Centre (ERIC).

Results: A total of 30 relevant studies were found.

SGA-born adults with postnatal catch-up have a persistently unfavourable metabolic health profile and increased adiposity at age 32 years.

Background: Catch-up in weight-for-length in the first year of life results in more insulin resistance, an adverse lipid profile and more fat mass (FM) in 21-year-old adults born small for gestational age (SGA-CU) compared to peers born SGA without catch-up and those born appropriate for gestational age (AGA). The aim of present study was to investigate if the adverse metabolic health profile in the SGA-CU group would worsen or remain stable over the years and to determine the cardiometabolic health at 32 years between the SGA and AGA groups.

Methods: We longitudinally investigated 287 adults, 170 SGA with catch-up growth (SGA-CU) or persistent short stature (SGA-S) and 117 AGA at ages 21 and 32 years.

Data Augmentation and Transfer Learning for Data Quality Assessment in Respiratory Monitoring.

Changes in respiratory rate have been found to be one of the early signs of health deterioration in patients. In remote environments where diagnostic tools and medical attention are scarce, such as deep space exploration, the monitoring of the respiratory signal becomes crucial to timely detect life-threatening conditions. Nowadays, this signal can be measured using wearable technology; however, the use of such technology is often hampered by the low quality of the recordings, which leads more often to wrong diagnosis and conclusions.

Association between levator ani avulsion and urinary incontinence in women: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Urinary incontinence is a bothersome symptom. Although the relationship between stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and vaginal delivery is established, the pathology underlying SUI after vaginal birth remains to be elucidated.

Objectives: To determine whether levator ani muscle avulsion predisposes for SUI in women.

Cerebellar developmental deficits underlie neurodegenerative disorder spinocerebellar ataxia type 23.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 23 (SCA23) is a late-onset neurodegenerative disorder characterized by slowly progressive gait and limb ataxia, for which there is no therapy available. It is caused by pathogenic variants in PDYN, which encodes prodynorphin (PDYN). PDYN is processed into the opioid peptides α-neoendorphin and dynorphins (Dyn) A and B; inhibitory neurotransmitters that function in pain signaling, stress-induced responses and addiction.

Short-Term Exercise Progression of Cardiovascular Patients throughout Cardiac Rehabilitation: An Observational Study.

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a highly recommended secondary prevention measure for patients with diagnosed cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, participation rates are low due to enrollment and adherence issues. As such, new CR delivery strategies are of interest, as to improve overall CR delivery.

Combining Bioimpedance and Myographic Signals for the Assessment of COPD During Loaded Breathing.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is one of the most common chronic conditions. The current assessment of COPD requires a maximal maneuver during a spirometry test to quantify airflow limitations of patients. Other less invasive measurements such as thoracic bioimpedance and myographic signals have been studied as an alternative to classical methods as they provide information about respiration.

Towards personalized fluid monitoring in haemodialysis patients: thoracic bioimpedance signal shows strong correlation with fluid changes, a cohort study.

Background: Haemodialysis (HD) patients are burdened by frequent fluid shifts which amplify their comorbidities. Bioimpedance (bioZ) is a promising technique to monitor changes in fluid status. The aim of this study is to investigate if the thoracic bioZ signal can track fluid changes during a HD session.

Wearable Monitoring and Interpretable Machine Learning Can Objectively Track Progression in Patients during Cardiac Rehabilitation.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are often characterized by their multifactorial complexity. This makes remote monitoring and ambulatory cardiac rehabilitation (CR) therapy challenging. Current wearable multimodal devices enable remote monitoring.

Using Biosensors and Digital Biomarkers to Assess Response to Cardiac Rehabilitation: Observational Study.

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is known for its beneficial effects on functional capacity and is a key component within current cardiovascular disease management strategies. In addition, a larger increase in functional capacity is accompanied by better clinical outcomes. However, not all patients respond in a similar way to CR.

Can the PROPER intervention reduce psychotropic drug prescription in nursing home residents with dementia? Results of a cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of the PROPER intervention in nursing home residents with dementia on the prevalence of psychotropic drug use and neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Design: A cluster-randomized controlled design with two parallel groups (intervention versus usual care) and assessments at 0, 6, 12, and 18 months.

Setting: Thirty-one dementia special care units within 13 long-term care organizations in the Netherlands.

The Added Value of In-Hospital Tracking of the Efficacy of Decongestion Therapy and Prognostic Value of a Wearable Thoracic Impedance Sensor in Acutely Decompensated Heart Failure With Volume Overload: Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Incomplete relief of congestion in acute decompensated heart failure (HF) is related to poor outcomes. However, congestion can be difficult to evaluate, stressing the urgent need for new objective approaches. Due to its inverse correlation with tissue hydration, continuous bioimpedance monitoring might be an effective method for serial fluid status assessments.

A Vendor-Independent Mobile Health Monitoring Platform for Digital Health Studies: Development and Usability Study.

Background: Medical smartphone apps and mobile health devices are rapidly entering mainstream use because of the rising number of smartphone users. Consequently, a large amount of consumer-generated data is being collected. Technological advances in innovative sensory systems have enabled data connectivity and aggregation to become cornerstones in developing workable solutions for remote monitoring systems in clinical practice.

Implementing a multidisciplinary psychotropic medication review among nursing home residents with dementia: a process evaluation.

Objectives: Before drawing conclusions on the contribution of an effective intervention to daily practice and initiating dissemination, its quality and implementation in daily practice should be optimal. The aim of this process evaluation was to study these aspects alongside a randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of a multidisciplinary biannual medication review in long-term care organizations (NTR3569).

Design: Process evaluation with multiple measurements.

Does three-dimensional anatomy improve student understanding?

We aim to provide an overview of the various digital three-dimensional visualizations used for learning anatomy and to assess whether these improve medical students' understanding of anatomy compared to traditional learning methods. Furthermore, we evaluate the attitudes of the users of three-dimensional visualizations. We included articles that compared advanced newer three-dimensional anatomy visualization methods (i.

Process evaluation of a social support platform 'Inlife' for caregivers of people with dementia.

Introduction: Informal caregivers of persons with dementia have an increased risk of facing social isolation. Online social media interventions might offer a new opportunity to increase access to social support. An online social support platform, 'Inlife', was developed and launched in the Netherlands to enhance social support, positive interactions and information sharing in informal support networks.

Systematic Comparison of Respiratory Signals for the Automated Detection of Sleep Apnea.

Sleep apnea is one of the most common sleep disorders. It is characterized by the cessation of breathing during sleep due to airway blockages (obstructive sleep apnea) or disturbances in the signals from the brain (central sleep apnea). The gold standard for diagnosing sleep apnea is performing an overnight polysomnography recording which contains, among others, a wide array of respiratory signals.