Purpose: Benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRAs), including benzodiazepines (BZDs) and Z drugs, are widely prescribed for anxiety and sleep. Therefore, issues of tolerance, dependence and adverse effects are of concern. Recent studies suggested a potential link between BZRAs and hearing problems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhite blood cell (WBC) subtypes reflect immune and inflammatory conditions in patients. This study aimed to examine the association between the ratio of platelets to WBC subtypes and mortality outcomes in patients with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). The Trauma Registry System of the hospital was retrospectively reviewed to gather medical records of 2397 adult patients who were hospitalized from 2009 to 2020 and had moderate-to-severe TBI with a head abbreviated injury scale (AIS) score of 3 or higher.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy (STARD) 2015 guideline facilitates evaluation of key aspects of diagnostic test accuracy (DTA) studies and their findings, including the risk of bias and applicability of findings.
Objective: To evaluate the completeness of reporting in medical imaging DTA research in a sample of studies published in 2023.
Materials And Methods: A systematic search of Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library was performed to identify medical imaging DTA studies published between January - June 2023 that assessed one or more index imaging tests compared to a reference standard and reported test performance using relevant outcome measures.
COVID-19 can increase the long-term risk of multiorgan dysfunction. Few studies investigated the long-term risk in Asian populations or investigated the association between viral load and long-term risk. We aimed to investigate the post-discharge rates of hospitalization and association with baseline viral load in all patients with COVID-19 in Hong Kong.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Throughout the perinatal period children are exposed to complex mixtures, including indoor chemicals such as phthalates, and biological agents. However, few studies focus on interactions between early-life co-exposures to shed light on how co-exposures modify their individual effects. Therefore, our study aims to assess whether early-life exposure to pets and related biological agents, namely pet allergens and endotoxin, modifies the association between di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and asthma and wheeze in preschoolers to gain insight into interactions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This study investigates the incidence and causes of diagnostic changes from primary open angle glaucoma suspect (POAGS) to primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), and vice versa, in clinical practice.
Design: This is a retrospective, single site, case-control study.
Participants: It includes patients over age 40 diagnosed with either POAG or POAGS between 2013-2020.
Recent advancements in spatial transcriptomics and spatial proteomics enabled the high-throughput profiling of single or multi-cell types and cell states with spatial information. They transformed our understanding of the higher-order architectures and paired cell-cell interactions within a tumor microenvironment (TME). Within less than a decade, this rapidly emerging field has discovered much crucial fundamental knowledge and significantly improved clinical diagnosis in the field of immuno-oncology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer adhesion to the mesothelium is critical for peritoneal metastasis, but how metastatic cells adapt to the biomechanical microenvironment remains unclear. Our study demonstrates that highly metastatic (HM), but not non-metastatic, ovarian cancer cells selectively activate the peritoneal mesothelium. HM cells exert a stronger adhesive force on mesothelial cells via P-cadherin, an adhesion molecule abundant in late-stage tumors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Correct and consistent condom use is the most effective method to reduce transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Objective: To compare the HIS-UK intervention to usual condom information and distribution care for effect on chlamydia test positivity.
Methods: Trial design A 3-parallel arm randomised controlled trial (1:1:1 allocation, two intervention arms vs.
Background: Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death globally for people aged 5-29 years, with 90% of mortality occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The STABLE (Slashing Two-wheeled Accidents by Leveraging Eyecare) trial was designed to determine whether providing spectacles could reduce risk among young myopic motorcycle users in Vietnam.
Methods: This investigator-masked, stepped-wedge, cluster randomised naturalistic driving trial will recruit 625 students aged 18-23 years, driving ≥ 50 km/week, with ≥ 1-year driving experience and using motorcycles as their primary means of transport, in 25 clusters of 25 students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Background: Several factors contribute to the known disparities in overall survival (OS) between non-Hispanic Black (NHB) patients and non-Hispanic White (NHW) patients with multiple myeloma (MM).
Patients And Methods: To explore whether socioeconomic status (SES) and healthcare resource (HCR) availability impacts OS, this retrospective study used linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare claims and Area Health Resource Files to identify NHB and NHW patients aged ≥66 years with MM (newly diagnosed 6/1/2013-12/31/2017). Continuous Medicare A and B enrollment until 12/31/2019 or preceding death was required.
Background And Objectives: Older people with cognitive impairment are unrepresented in clinical research. Our objective was to review evidence for strategies to support their research inclusion and participation.
Research Design And Methods: Systematic review of published reports of inclusion and participation strategies for older people with cognitive impairment in clinical research (PROSPERO CRD42020212092).
Teleost B cells producing neutralizing antibodies contribute to protection against salmonid alphavirus (SAV) infection, the etiological agent of pancreas disease, thereby reducing mortality and disease severity. Our previous studies show differences in B cell responses between the systemic immune tissues (head kidney (HK) and spleen) and the peritoneal cavity (PerC) after intraperitoneal SAV3 infection in Atlantic salmon () where the response in PerC dominates at the late time points. By employing the same infection model, we aimed to further characterize these B cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlobally, abuse of older people (AOP) affects one in six individuals aged 60 years and older every year. Despite the widespread prevalence of AOP, evidence-based interventions for preventing and responding to this issue are insufficient. To address this gap, WHO proposed an initiative to accelerate the development of effective interventions for AOP across all country income levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe recent Dark Energy Survey Year 1 (DES-Y1) analysis of galaxy cluster abundances and weak lensing produced Ω_{m} and σ_{8} constraints in 5.6σ tension with those derived from Planck. It is suggested in that work that this tension is driven by unmodeled systematics in optical cluster selection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: We study how clinical and socioeconomic factors influence colorectal cancer (CRC) costs for patients and Medicare in Australia. The study seeks to extend the limited Australian literature on CRC costs by analysing comprehensive patient-level medical services and pharmaceutical cost data.
Design, Setting And Participants: Using the Victorian Cancer Registry, we identified all patients in Victoria who were diagnosed with CRC from 2010 to 2019 and extracted their linked 2010-2021 Medicare data.
Purpose: To report outcomes of a 3-fraction HDR brachytherapy boost for the treatment of locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) at a large safety net hospital.
Methods And Materials: A retrospective review of 93 patients with FIGO 2018 Stage IA2 to IVB cervical cancer treated with HDR brachytherapy boost in 3 fractions between 2017 and 2022 was conducted. The 2-year local control (LC), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) was estimated using Kaplan-Meier estimators.
Background: Mislabelled penicillin allergies are associated with a myriad of adverse outcomes and development of anti-microbial resistance. With the overwhelming need for specialist allergy services, pharmacist initiatives such as the Hong Kong Penicillin Allergy Pharmacist Initiative (HK-PAPI) have been advocated. However, evidence of their effectiveness, safety and impact on health-related quality-of-life (HR-QoL) are lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Integr Complement Med
December 2024
Mind-body practices (MBPs), which include seated- (meditation) and movement-based practices (yoga, Tai Chi, ), have grown increasingly popular in the United States for improving mental and physical wellness. While literature has identified socioeconomic and health-related factors related to seated- and movement-MBP engagement separately, no studies have explored the factors associated with combined-MBP use. This study accordingly used Anderson's behavioral model of health service utilization to explore sociodemographic and health-related factors associated with seated-, movement-, and combined-MBP engagement among a representative adult sample in the 2017 National Health Interview Survey.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProliferating tumor cells take up glutamine for anabolic processes, engendering glutamine deficiency in the tumor microenvironment. How this might impact immune cells is not well understood. Using multiple mouse models of soft tissue sarcomas, glutamine antagonists, as well as genetic and pharmacological inhibition of glutamine utilization, we found that the number and frequency of conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) is dependent on microenvironmental glutamine levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF