Antipsychotic continuation during pregnancy and risk of postpartum relapse in women with schizophrenia: nationwide register-based study.

Background: Women with schizophrenia frequently discontinue antipsychotic medications during pregnancy. However, evidence on the risk of postpartum relapse associated with antipsychotic use during pregnancy is lacking.

Aims: To investigate the within-individual association between antipsychotic continuation during pregnancy and postpartum relapse in women with schizophrenia.

Water, sanitation, handwashing, and nutritional interventions can reduce child antibiotic use: evidence from Bangladesh and Kenya.

Antibiotics can trigger antimicrobial resistance and microbiome alterations. Reducing pathogen exposure and undernutrition can reduce infections and antibiotic use. We assess effects of water, sanitation, handwashing (WSH) and nutrition interventions on caregiver-reported antibiotic use in Bangladesh and Kenya, longitudinally measured at three timepoints among birth cohorts (ages 3-28 months) in a cluster-randomized trial.

Direct View of Gate-Tunable Miniband Dispersion in Graphene Superlattices Near the Magic Twist Angle.

Superlattices from twisted graphene mono- and bilayer systems give rise to on-demand many-body states such as Mott insulators and unconventional superconductors. These phenomena are ascribed to a combination of flat bands and strong Coulomb interactions. However, a comprehensive understanding is lacking because the low-energy band structure strongly changes when an electric field is applied to vary the electron filling.

New users of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors are at low risk of incident pancreatic cancer: a nationwide population-based cohort study.

Aim: We aimed to investigate whether sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) are associated with a decreased risk of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) compared to other glucose lowering medications (oGLMs).

Methods: This active-comparator, new-user cohort study used the nationwide National Health Insurance Service database of the Republic of Korea from September 2014 to June 2020. From 79,423 new users of SGLT2is and 294,707 new users of oGLMs, we used a propensity score to match 59,954 from each of these two treatment groups.

Association of lung function with visceral adiposity and skeletal muscle mass considering myosteatosis.

Background: Changes in body composition, including loss of muscle mass and obesity, adversely affect lung function.

Research Question: What is the relationship between lung function, visceral adiposity, and skeletal muscle mass, considering myosteatosis measured using computed tomography (CT) scans in middle-aged Korean adults?

Study Design And Methods: We reviewed 15,827 participants (9237 men and 6590 women), with a mean age of 52.5 ± 8.

Circulating apelin levels fail to link sarcopenia-related muscle parameters in older adults.

Background: Based on the compelling experimental evidence supporting apelin's beneficial effects on muscle metabolism, our study aimed to evaluate the role of circulating apelin levels as a biomarker for muscle health in humans.

Methods: This investigation employed a cross-sectional design, encompassing 237 community-dwelling older adults aged ≥65 years who underwent comprehensive geriatric evaluations in South Korea. Sarcopenia diagnosis was based on Asian-specific criteria, and serum apelin concentrations were determined using enzyme immunoassay techniques.

Protection against tuberculosis by vaccination of secreted chorismate mutase (Rv1885c) combined with a hepatitis B virus (HBV)-derived peptide, Poly6, and alum adjuvants.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant global health issue due to the limited efficacy of the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, highlighting the need for the development of an improved TB vaccine. In this study, we created a novel TB subunit vaccine consisting of TB-secreted chorismate mutase (TBCM) (Rv1885c) and a hepatitis B virus (HBV)-derived peptide (Poly6), which elicits Type I interferon responses, both with and without an alum adjuvant. We evaluated the immunogenicity, protective efficacy, and therapeutic efficacy of this vaccine candidate in an in vivo mouse model.

Evaluation of RMplex system for differentiating father-son pairs using Y-STRs in a Korean population.

Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (Y-STRs) at rapidly mutating (RM) loci have been suggested as tools for differentiating paternally related males. RMplex is a recently developed system that incorporates 26 RM loci and four fast-mutating (FM) loci, targeting 44 male-specific loci. Here, we evaluated the RMplex by estimating Y-STR mutation rates and the overall differentiation rates for 542 Korean father-son pairs, as well as the genetic population values for 409 unrelated males.

Optimizing Intravenous Patient-Controlled Analgesia for Cancer Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial on Adjusted Background Infusion Rates.

Purpose: Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) has been considered for managing cancer pain; however, limited research has been conducted on optimizing continuous infusion rates with PCA. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a method that optimizes background infusion (BI) alongside PCA for titrating intravenous (IV) morphine in managing cancer-related pain.

Methods: Forty-four patients with solid tumors who could not manage pain with oral or transdermal opioid analgesics were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive IV morphine through PCA or the conventional method.

Treadmill belt accelerations may not accurately replicate kinematic responses to tripping on an obstacle in older people.

Background: Treadmill belt perturbations have high clinical feasibility for use in perturbation-based training in older people, but their kinematic validity is unclear. This study examined the kinematic validity of treadmill belt accelerations as a surrogate for overground walkway trips during gait in older people.

Methods: Thirty-eight community-dwelling older people were exposed to two unilateral belt accelerations (8 m s-2) whilst walking on a split-belt treadmill and two trips induced by a 14 cm trip-board whilst walking on a walkway with condition presentation randomised.

Effect of Glomerular Hyperfiltration on Incident Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: The effects of glomerular hyperfiltration (GHF) on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were explored.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study enrolled 1,952,053 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database between 2015 and 2016. Based on age- and sex-specific estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) percentiles, patients were classified into five groups: <5 (low filtration), 5-40, 40-60, 60-95, and >95 (GHF).

C-Reactive Protein Levels and Outcomes in Infarct-Related Cardiogenic Shock: Data from the ECLS-SHOCK Trial.

Background: The impact of systemic inflammation in acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock (AMI-CS) is still a matter of debate. The present ECLS-SHOCK sub-study investigates the association of C-reactive protein (CRP) levels with short-term outcomes in patients with AMI-CS.

Methods: Patients with AMI-CS enrolled in the multicenter, randomized ECLS-SHOCK trial between 2019 and 2022 were included.

Biomarkers.

Background: Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) permits characterizing differences in white matter microstructure associated with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer's dementia (AD). However, most dMRI measures aggregate signals across multiple axonal fiber populations with varying spatial orientations, which limits the sensitivity and specificity of clinical diagnosis. To overcome this shortcoming, we estimated fiber density (FD) measures, independently from crossing fiber populations, and extracellular cerebral spinal fluid (CSF).

Biomarkers.

Background: Normative percentile (NP) quantifies brain atrophy by comparing regional brain volumes of a subject against age and sex-matched cognitively normal populations. Accurate intracranial volume (ICV) adjustment is vital in NP quantification to minimize the effect of an individual's head size. However, which intracranial volume adjustment method yields reliable normative percentiles remains unclear.

Biomarkers.

Background: Phase four of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI4) began in 2023. This time-period corresponded to MRI vendors introducing product sequences with compressed sensing (CS), cross-vendor adoption of arterial spin-labelling (ASL) and multi-band slice excitation, and hardware improvements (head-coils, increased gradient amplitudes). These advances enabled the acquisition of new imaging measures and reduced scan times.

Biomarkers.

Background: Clinical diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) can be challenging, requiring an accurate tool dedicated to this diagnostic hurdle. Since FTD exhibits distinct regional atrophy patterns on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), AI-aided automated brain volume analysis could enhance the clinical diagnostic assessment of FTD, including the detection of the disease and the classification of subtypes, which encompass behavioral variant (BV), semantic variant (SV), and progressive non-fluent aphasia (PNFA). In this study, we leverage automated brain volumetry software to approach both FTD detection and the differential diagnosis among its subtypes.

Biomarkers.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology occurs in the brain before manifestation of significant cognitive decline. Growing evidence suggests that brain networks such as default mode network (DMN) or salience network, identified through resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are affected by AD pathology. In this study, we investigated the relationship between network segregation and the key in vivo AD pathologies including beta-amyloid (Aβ) and tau deposition in old adults with no cognitive impairment.

Biomarkers.

Background: Rapid eye movement(REM) sleep alterations are increasingly recognized as an early manifestation of Alzheimer's disease as well as Lewy body disease. The pedunculopontine nucleus(PPN), the main brain source of cholinergic innervation, is known to play an important role in the regulation of REM sleep and has been reported to be one of the early brainstem regions where hyperphosphorylated tau accumulates. Nevertheless, little information is available about the relationship between tau pathology in the PPN(PPN-tau) and REM sleep disturbance.

Biomarkers.

Background: Semantic cognition refers to our ability to manipulate and generalize knowledge and plays a critical role in communication and daily activities. Therefore, impairments in semantic cognition can have a severe impact on quality of life (e.g.

Biomarkers.

Background: Highly specific ATN plasma biomarker assays for neurodegenerative diseases have been developed, but their associations with cognition vary in different populations. Kidney disease, common in diabetes, may decrease the predictive precision of those biomarkers. The aim of this study was to characterize for the first time the relationships between plasma ATN biomarkers and cognitive function in adults with T1D.

Biomarkers.

Background: Cognitive dysfunction is more common in individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D) compared to the general population. Blood-based biomarkers are accurate in identifying early signs of neurodegeneration. However, studies using these biomarkers in T1D are lacking.

Biomarkers.

Background: Choroid plexus enlargement is implicated in the exacerbation of cognitive impairments characteristic of Alzheimer's dementia (AD). Manual volumetric assessment by radiologists, while accurate, is impractical for large-scale application due to its resource-intensive nature. We examine the use of automated brain volumetry software as an efficient and cost-effective alternative for quantifying choroid plexus volume.