Evaluating Readability and Reliability of Online Information Provided by Pancreas Transplant Centers in the United States.

Background: The decision of proceeding with a pancreas transplant (PTx) is a complex one, and patient education is important to allow transplant candidates to make an informed and autonomous decision. In this study, we assessed the readability and reliability of online information provided by PTx centers in the United States.

Methods: Websites of PTx centers active between 2022 and 2023 were searched for patient information on pancreas transplantation.

Evaluating Quality and Readability of AI-generated Information on Living Kidney Donation.

Background: The availability of high-quality and easy-to-read informative material is crucial to providing accurate information to prospective kidney donors. The quality of this information has been associated with the likelihood of proceeding with a living donation. Artificial intelligence-based large language models (LLMs) have recently become common instruments for acquiring information online, including medical information.

Kidney Transplantation From Donors With Malignant Renal Masses: A Systematic Review.

Background: Small malignant renal tumors can be found in up to 1.3% of kidney donors. Several studies have investigated the use of these kidneys for transplantation, after ex vivo resection of the malignant mass.

The role of surgery in recurrent local cerebral metastases: a multi-institutional retrospective analysis.

Background: Local recurrent brain metastases are defined as lesions that recur in the brain at the same site after a previous local therapy. In patients already submitted to surgery, a second operation may be potentially challenging due to scar formation, infiltration of cerebral vessels or eloquent brain areas and local effect of previous radiotherapy. The aim of this study is to retrospectively review the results and complications of a second surgical treatment in a series of local recurrent lesions and to review the literature on this topic.

Impact of Scleral Lenses on Visual Acuity and Ocular Aberrations in Corneal Ectasia: A Comprehensive Review.

Corneal ectasias, including keratoconus (KC), pellucid marginal degeneration (PMD), and post-LASIK ectasia, poses significant visual rehabilitation challenges due to the resultant irregular astigmatism, myopia, and higher-order aberrations (HOAs). These conditions often resist traditional corrective methods, necessitating advanced optical solutions. Scleral lenses (SLs) have emerged as a primary non-surgical option for managing these complex corneal irregularities.

Validating the porcine model for microsurgical perforator training: Can surgeons trained on pig perforator dissection successfully perform human DIEP flap procedures? A pilot study.

Autologous breast reconstruction, especially using the deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP) flap, is increasingly seen as a reliable, safe, and long-term alternative to implant-based reconstruction. Despite the recognized advantages of the DIEP flap for breast reconstruction, successful realization demands excellent anatomical knowledge, a thorough understanding of autologous breast reconstruction concepts and advanced microsurgical skills. Given that the porcine model is widely employed in microsurgical training, our study aims to assess this model using validated outcomes, with the objective of evaluating the enhancement in a surgeon's learning curve following training with this model.

Provision of transplant education for patients starting dialysis: Disparities persist.

Background: All patients starting dialysis should be informed of kidney transplant as a renal replacement therapy option. Prior research has shown disparities in provision of this information. In this study, we aimed to identify patient sociodemographic and dialysis facility characteristics associated with not receiving transplant information at the time of dialysis initiation.

Similarities and differences between eating disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder in childhood and adolescence: a systematic review.

Background: The developmental age, comprising childhood and adolescence, constitutes an extremely important phase of neurodevelopment during which various psychiatric disorders can emerge. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Eating Disorders (ED) often manifest during this critical developmental period sharing similarities but also differences in psychopathology, neurobiology, and etiopathogenesis. The aim of this study is to focus on clinical, genetic and neurobiological similarities and differences in OCD and ED.

Second surgery for relapsed glioblastoma: an observational study on criteria for patient selection in real life.

There is little consensus on salvage management of glioblastoma after recurrence, for lack of evidence. A retrospective study of treatments in patients with recurrent glioblastoma. Surgery at recurrence was related to better overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).

Novel IL-4/HB-EGF-dependent crosstalk between eosinophils and macrophages controls liver regeneration after ischaemia and reperfusion injury.

Objective: Previous studies indicate that eosinophils are recruited into the allograft following orthotopic liver transplantation and protect from ischaemia reperfusion (IR) injury. In the current studies, we aim to explore whether their protective function could outlast during liver repair.

Design: Eosinophil-deficient mice and adoptive transfer of bone marrow-derived eosinophils (bmEos) were employed to investigate the effects of eosinophils on tissue repair and regeneration after hepatic IR injury.

Blood Management in a Liver Transplant Recipient with Kidd (Jka) and Rhesus (D) Antibodies: A Case Report.

A 67-year-old man presented for urgent liver transplantation (LT). Screening revealed the rare combination of antiRhesus (D) and antiKidd Jk(a) antibodies, requiring antigen-negative red blood cells (RBC) for both phenotypes. This combination has not been reported during LT.

Viscosity Flow Curves of Agar and the Model of the Gelation Onset.

The gelation kinetics of agar aqueous solutions were studied by means of the viscosity flow curves using a coaxial Couette cylinder viscometer. The viscosity curves show an unusual sigmoidal trend or an exponential decay to a viscous steady state. An original theory of gelation kinetics was developed considering the coarsening of increasingly larger and more stable clusters due to Ostwald ripening and the breakup of clusters that were too large due to the instability of rotating large particles induced by the shear rate.

REGOMA-OSS: a large, Italian, multicenter, prospective, observational study evaluating the efficacy and safety of regorafenib in patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

Background: In the randomized phase II REGOMA trial, regorafenib showed promising activity in patients with recurrent glioblastoma. We conducted a large, multicenter, prospective, observational study to confirm the REGOMA data in a real-world setting.

Patients And Methods: The major inclusion criteria were histologically confirmed diagnosis of glioblastoma according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2016 classification and relapse after radiotherapy with concurrent/adjuvant temozolomide treatment, good performance status [Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS 0-1)] and good liver function.

Clinicopathological and molecular landscape of 5-year IDH-wild-type glioblastoma survivors: A multicentric retrospective study.

Five-year glioblastoma (GBM) survivors (LTS) are the minority of the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-wild-type GBM patients, and their molecular fingerprint is still largely unexplored. This multicenter retrospective study analyzed a large LTS-GBM cohort from nine Italian institutions and molecularly characterized a subgroup of patients by mutation, DNA methylation (DNAm) and copy number variation (CNV) profiling, comparing it to standard survival GBM. Mutation scan allowed the identification of pathogenic variants in most cases, showing a similar mutational spectrum in both groups, and highlighted TP53 as the most commonly mutated gene in the LTS group.

Interplay between B7-H3 and HLA class I in the clinical course of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I defects are associated with cancer progression. However, their prognostic significance is controversial and may be modulated by immune checkpoints. Here, we investigated whether the checkpoint B7-H3 modulates the relationship between HLA class I and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) prognosis.

Efficacy and safety of chlorpromazine as an adjuvant therapy for glioblastoma in patients with unmethylated gene promoter: RACTAC, a phase II multicenter trial.

Introduction: Drug repurposing is a promising strategy to develop new treatments for glioblastoma. In this phase II clinical trial, we evaluated the addition of chlorpromazine to temozolomide in the adjuvant phase of the standard first-line therapeutic protocol in patients with unmethylated gene promoter.

Methods: This was a multicenter phase II single-arm clinical trial.

Effect of Preoperative Therapeutic Plasma Exchange With Albumin Replacement Before Kidney Transplant on Intraoperative Coagulation Measured By the Thrombelastograph (TEGR 6s): A Case Report.

Anesthesiologists should be aware of the coagulation implications of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) with albumin replacement for desensitization of kidney transplant (KT) recipients. We describe a case where the final preoperative TPE was performed with albumin. A TEGR 6s demonstrated defects in fibrinogen component to clot strength.

Chlorpromazine affects glioblastoma bioenergetics by interfering with pyruvate kinase M2.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most frequent and lethal brain tumor, whose therapeutic outcome - only partially effective with current schemes - places this disease among the unmet medical needs, and effective therapeutic approaches are urgently required. In our attempts to identify repositionable drugs in glioblastoma therapy, we identified the neuroleptic drug chlorpromazine (CPZ) as a very promising compound. Here we aimed to further unveil the mode of action of this drug.

HLA matching between donors and recipients improves clinical liver transplant graft survival.

Background And Aims: The importance of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matching between liver transplant donors and recipients on graft survival remains unclear and is not a clinical consideration in liver transplantation. This study aimed to determine the relationship between HLA matching and liver graft survival using a large-scale multi-centre database (UNOS/OPTN) and multivariate logistic analysis. The secondary aim was to determine whether this relationship was influenced by transplant indication and donor status.

The Molecular Tumor Board of the Regina Elena National Cancer Institute: from accrual to treatment in real-world.

Background: Molecular Tumor Boards (MTB) operating in real-world have generated limited consensus on good practices for accrual, actionable alteration mapping, and outcome metrics. These topics are addressed herein in 124 MTB patients, all real-world accrued at progression, and lacking approved therapy options.

Methods: Actionable genomic alterations identified by tumor DNA (tDNA) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) profiling were mapped by customized OncoKB criteria to reflect diagnostic/therapeutic indications as approved in Europe.