Gray and white matter changes linking cerebral small vessel disease to gait disturbances.

Objective: To investigate the topographic changes of white matter (WM) integrity and cortical thickness related to gait disturbances and determine whether these neural correlates mediate the association between cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) and gait disturbances.

Methods: A total of 129 patients with subcortical vascular cognitive impairment were included. CSVD severity was quantified as global and regional WM hyperintensities (WMH) volume and lacune and microbleed numbers.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with cognitive function in adults.

Objective: We hypothesized that nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is independently associated with cognitive impairment in a representative sample of the general US population regardless of the presence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) or its risk factors.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 4,472 adults aged 20-59 years who participated in the Third National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey. The participants underwent assessment of liver enzyme activity and hepatic steatosis by ultrasound, and underwent cognitive evaluation using the following computer-administered tests: the Simple Reaction Time Test (SRTT), the Symbol-Digit Substitution Test (SDST), and the Serial Digit Learning Test (SDLT).

Medication Adherence and the Risk of Cardiovascular Mortality and Hospitalization Among Patients With Newly Prescribed Antihypertensive Medications.

The importance of adherence to antihypertensive treatments for the prevention of cardiovascular disease has not been well elucidated. This study evaluated the effect of antihypertensive medication adherence on specific cardiovascular disease mortality (ischemic heart disease [IHD], cerebral hemorrhage, and cerebral infarction). Our study used data from a 3% sample cohort that was randomly extracted from enrollees of Korean National Health Insurance.

Angiotensin II Regulation of Proliferation, Differentiation, and Engraftment of Hematopoietic Stem Cells.

Emerging evidence indicates that differentiation and mobilization of hematopoietic cell are critical in the development and establishment of hypertension and hypertension-linked vascular pathophysiology. This, coupled with the intimate involvement of the hyperactive renin-angiotensin system in hypertension, led us to investigate the hypothesis that chronic angiotensin II (Ang II) infusion affects hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) regulation at the level of the bone marrow. Ang II infusion resulted in increases in hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (83%) and long-term HSC (207%) in the bone marrow.

Early- vs late-onset subcortical vascular cognitive impairment.

Objective: To evaluate the differences between early-onset subcortical vascular cognitive impairment (EO-SVCI) and late-onset subcortical vascular cognitive impairment (LO-SVCI) with regard to pathologic burden, structural changes, and cognitive function.

Methods: We prospectively recruited 142 patients from a single referral center. Patients were divided into EO-SVCI (n = 30, age at onset <65 years) and LO-SVCI (n = 112, age at onset ≥ 65 years) groups.

Safety and Efficacy of New-Generation Drug-Eluting Stents in Women at High Risk for Atherothrombosis: From the Women in Innovation and Drug-Eluting Stents Collaborative Patient-Level Pooled Analysis.

Background: The safety and efficacy of new-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) in women with multiple atherothrombotic risk (ATR) factors is unclear.

Methods And Results: We pooled patient-level data for women enrolled in 26 randomized trials. Study population was categorized based on the presence or absence of high ATR, which was defined as having history of diabetes mellitus, prior percutaneous or surgical coronary revascularization, or prior myocardial infarction.

Quantitative Assessment of Neovascularization after Indirect Bypass Surgery: Color-Coded Digital Subtraction Angiography in Pediatric Moyamoya Disease.

Background And Purpose: For the postoperative follow-up in pediatric patients with Moyamoya disease, it is essential to evaluate the degree of neovascularization status. Our aim was to quantitatively assess the neovascularization status after bypass surgery in pediatric Moyamoya disease by using color-coded digital subtraction angiography.

Materials And Methods: Time-attenuation intensity curves were generated at ROIs corresponding to surgical flap sites from color-coded DSA images of the common carotid artery, internal carotid artery, and external carotid artery angiograms obtained pre- and postoperatively in 32 children with Moyamoya disease.

Multifocal Intraocular Lens Results in Correcting Presbyopia in Eyes After Radial Keratotomy.

Objectives: To report results of multifocal intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in 2 patients with refractive error and presbyopia after previous radial keratotomy (RK).

Methods: A refractive multifocal IOL with rotational asymmetry (LS313-MF30; Oculentis, Berlin, Germany) was implanted.

Results: The first patient was a 60-year-old man with myopia who underwent unilateral RK 20 years before.

Different Antiplatelet Strategies in Patients With New Ischemic Stroke While Taking Aspirin.

Background And Purpose: Selecting among different antiplatelet strategies when patients experience a new ischemic stroke while taking aspirin is a common clinical challenge, currently addressed by a paucity of data.

Methods: This study is an analysis of a prospective multicenter stroke registry database from 14 hospitals in South Korea. Patients with acute noncardioembolic stroke, who were taking aspirin for prevention of ischemic events at the time of onset of stroke, were enrolled.

Applicability of the Sparse Temporal Acquisition Technique in Resting-State Brain Network Analysis.

Background And Purpose: The ability of sparse temporal acquisition to minimize the effect of scanner background noise is of utmost importance in auditory fMRI; however, it has considerably lower temporal efficiency and resolution than the conventional continuous acquisition method. The purpose of this study was to determine whether sparse sampling could be applied to resting-state research by comparing its results with those obtained by using continuous acquisition.

Materials And Methods: We identified resting-state networks by using independent component analysis and measured their functional connectivity strength in 14 healthy subjects who underwent two 6-minute sparse (60 volumes) and continuous (360 volumes) imaging sessions.

Deletion of IGF-1 Receptors in Cardiomyocytes Attenuates Cardiac Aging in Male Mice.

IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R) signaling is implicated in cardiac hypertrophy and longevity. However, the role of IGF-1R in age-related cardiac remodeling is only partially understood. We therefore sought to determine whether the deletion of the IGF-1R in cardiomyocytes might delay the development of aging-associated myocardial pathologies by examining 2-year-old male cardiomyocyte-specific IGF-1R knockout (CIGF1RKO) mice.

Effects of amyloid and vascular markers on cognitive decline in subcortical vascular dementia.

Objective: To determine the independent and synergistic effects of amyloid and small vessel disease (SVD) burden on longitudinal cognitive decline in patients with subcortical vascular dementia (SVaD).

Methods: A longitudinal cohort study was conducted involving patients from outpatient clinics of 2 tertiary referral centers. Sixty-one patients with SVaD were prospectively recruited and underwent MRI, 11C-Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) PET at baseline, and a 3-year annual neuropsychological follow-up.

A Trial of Calcium and Vitamin D for the Prevention of Colorectal Adenomas.

Background: Epidemiologic and preclinical data suggest that higher intake and serum levels of vitamin D and higher intake of calcium reduce the risk of colorectal neoplasia. To further study the chemopreventive potential of these nutrients, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of supplementation with vitamin D, calcium, or both for the prevention of colorectal adenomas.

Methods: We recruited patients with recently diagnosed adenomas and no known colorectal polyps remaining after complete colonoscopy.

Quantitative Sonographic Texture Analysis in Preterm Neonates With White Matter Injury: Correlation of Texture Features With White Matter Injury Severity.

Objectives: To analyze the texture features on cranial sonography in preterm neonates with white matter injury quantitatively and to correlate these features with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: The study included 33 preterm neonates treated in our neonatal intensive care unit who underwent serial cranial sonography and brain MRI near term. Patients were subdivided into 3 groups according to the presence and severity of white matter injury as revealed by MRI: normal (group 1; n = 20), mild (group 2; n = 5), and severe (group 3; n = 8).

Effects of education on aging-related cortical thinning among cognitively normal individuals.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the relationship between education and cortical thickness in cognitively normal individuals to determine whether education attenuated the association of advanced aging and cortical thinning.

Methods: A total of 1,959 participants, in whom education levels were available, were included in the final analysis. Cortical thickness was measured on high-resolution MRIs using a surface-based method.

Effects of condylar head surface changes on mandibular position in patients with temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis.

Purpose: This study evaluated condylar surface changes in patients after temporomandibular (TMJ) osteoarthritis (OA) treatment, and used cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) to investigate the relationship between condylar surface and mandibular position changes.

Material And Methods: Thirty-six patients diagnosed with TMJ OA and receiving non-surgical treatments for TMJ OA were enrolled in this study. Patients were assigned to study groups according to the affected side.

17β-Estradiol Ameliorates Tight Junction Disruption via Repression of MMP Transcription.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) or blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) formed by capillary endothelial cells provides a physical wall between the central nervous system (CNS) and circulating blood with highly selective permeability. BBB/BSCB disruption by activation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) has been shown to result in further neurological damage after CNS injury. Recently it has been discovered that estrogen attenuates BBB/BSCB disruption in in vitro and in vivo models.

Clinical effect of white matter network disruption related to amyloid and small vessel disease.

Background: We tested our hypothesis that the white matter network might mediate the effect of amyloid and small vessel disease (SVD) on cortical thickness and/or cognition.

Methods: We prospectively recruited 232 patients with cognitive impairment. Amyloid was assessed using Pittsburgh compound B-PET.

Efficacy and Safety of Radiofrequency Ablation for Treatment of Locally Recurrent Thyroid Cancers Smaller than 2 cm.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for localized small recurrent thyroid cancers less than 2 cm by comparing them with those at repeat surgery.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study was institutional review board-approved, and informed consent was waived. From December 2008 to December 2011, this study evaluated 73 patients (17 men and 56 women; age, 50.

Unveiling surface redox charge storage of interacting two-dimensional heteronanosheets in hierarchical architectures.

Two-dimensional (2D) heteronanosheets are currently the focus of intense study due to the unique properties that emerge from the interplay between two low-dimensional nanomaterials with different properties. However, the properties and new phenomena based on the two 2D heteronanosheets interacting in a 3D hierarchical architecture have yet to be explored. Here, we unveil the surface redox charge storage mechanism of surface-exposed WS2 nanosheets assembled in a 3D hierarchical heterostructure using in situ synchrotron X-ray absorption and Raman spectroscopic methods.

Cortical superficial siderosis: a marker of vascular amyloid in patients with cognitive impairment.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and associations of cortical superficial siderosis (cSS) utilizing MRI markers of cerebral small vessel disease and amyloid burden assessed through in vivo amyloid imaging in a cognitively impaired population.

Methods: Gradient-recalled echo, T2*-weighted MRIs from 232 patients (Alzheimer disease-related cognitive impairment [ADCI], n = 90; subcortical vascular cognitive impairment [SVCI], n = 142) were reviewed for cSS. All subjects underwent in vivo amyloid imaging using [(11)C] Pittsburgh compound B (PiB)-PET.

Advanced adenocarcinoma of the lung: comparison of CT characteristics of patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase gene rearrangement and those with epidermal growth factor receptor mutation.

Purpose: To study the differences in computed tomographic (CT) characteristics between patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma who have anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangement and those who have epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board. Informed consent was waived.

1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 causes ADAM10-dependent ectodomain shedding of tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 in vascular smooth muscle cells.

1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25D3) has a potential antiatherosclerotic effect through anti-inflammatory actions. We investigated how 1,25D3 regulates tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 (LOX-1) expression in cultured human aortic smooth muscle cells. TNF-α activated Rac1/reactive oxygen species/spleen tyrosine kinase and transcriptional factors, activator protein-1, and nuclear factor κB, which led to LOX-1 expression.

Production and characterisation of hyaluronidase and elastase inhibitory protein hydrolysates from Venus clam.

The hydrolysates of fresh and boiled Venus clams with five different proteases for the production of low-molecular protein hydrolysates were optimised by response surface methodology. Alcalase hydrolysates exhibited the strongest hyaluronidase inhibitory activity. The optimum hydrolysis conditions of fresh and boiled clams were< enzyme-to-substrate ratio (E/S), 2.

Use and outcomes associated with bridging during anticoagulation interruptions in patients with atrial fibrillation: findings from the Outcomes Registry for Better Informed Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation (ORBIT-AF).

Background: Temporary interruption of oral anticoagulation for procedures is often required, and some propose using bridging anticoagulation. However, the use and outcomes of bridging during oral anticoagulation interruptions in clinical practice are unknown.

Methods And Results: The Outcomes Registry for Better Informed Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation (ORBIT-AF) registry is a prospective, observational registry study of US outpatients with atrial fibrillation.