Bortezomib, thalidomide, and dexamethasone versus bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone in transplant-eligible newly diagnosed multiple myeloma: a systemic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The current study aimed to compare treatment responses, the incidence of the need for auto-HSCT, and the occurrence of specific adverse events (AEs) between VTD and velcade, VRD induction regimens in patients with transplant-eligible newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM).

Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis included 15 studies: six evaluating the VTD regimen and nine evaluating the VRD one. The primary endpoints were response rates after induction therapy and the incidence of a need for autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantion (auto-HSCT) between the groups.

Noncryopexy versus cryopexy treatment during scleral buckling: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: To evaluate the differences in surgical outcomes between scleral buckling (SB) with noncryopexy and cryopexy methods.

Methods: We systematically searched the Embase, Medline, Cochrane Library, and Scopus databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published from their inception until January 1, 2024. A random-effects model was applied, and outcomes are presented as risk ratios (RRs) or standardized mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Postoperative Pain in Vitreoretinal Surgery With Combined Regional-General Anesthesia Versus General Anesthesia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Purpose: To investigate postoperative pain variations in vitreoretinal surgeries conducted with combined regional-general anesthesia or general anesthesia.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: A systematic search of the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases was conducted to identify relevant randomized controlled trials published before December 26, 2023.

Cataract Surgery and Incidence of Retinal Vascular Occlusion: Population-Based Cohort Study Using a Target Trial Emulation Framework.

Background: Previous studies suggested an association between cataract surgery and retinal vascular occlusion. However, the association may be attributable to detection bias because postoperative monitoring may be more frequent for those who receive cataract surgery than for those who do not.

Design: Population-based cohort study using target trial emulation framework.

Risk of age-related macular degeneration in men receiving 5α-reductase inhibitors: a population-based cohort study.

Background: Recent studies suggest that 5α-reductase inhibitors (5ARIs) for benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) result in abnormal retinal anatomical alteration.

Objective: To compare age-related macular degeneration (AMD) incidence in BPH patients receiving 5ARIs or tamsulosin.

Design: Retrospective, population-based cohort study using new-user and active-comparator design.

Brood success of sex-role-reversed pheasant-tailed jacanas: the effects of social polyandry, seasonality, and male mating order.

Multiple mating by avian females may increase hatching and overall brood success; however, reproductive effort and parental investment are costly, and females may be gradually depleted, with lowered outputs over time. Thus, males in social polyandry systems may differ greatly in their reproductive gains. In the present study, we investigated the reproductive outputs of social polyandrous and sex-role-reversed pheasant-tailed jacanas, Hydrophasianus chirurgus, to assess the effects of polyandry, seasonality, and male mating order on breeding success.

Acute, long-term or non-vincristine-induced peripheral neuropathy among non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivors: Symptoms, daily activities, functional status, and quality of life.

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the incidence and severity of vincristine-induced peripheral neuropathy (VIPN) in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) survivors (primary aim) and its impact on daily life by comparing common cancer symptoms, functional status, and quality of life (QoL) among survivors with acute, long-term, and non-VIPN (secondary aim).

Methods: This cross-sectional study examined 144 NHL survivors. Standardized questionnaires were used to assess common cancer symptoms, functional status, and QoL with the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer - Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC-QLQ-C30).

The Relationship between Dynapenic Abdominal Obesity and Fall: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 15,506 Middle to Older Adults.

Background: The main objective of this study was to investigate the risk of falls among middle-aged and older adults with dynapenic abdominal obesity.

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted to review and analyze relevant studies. Dynapenia was measured by handgrip strength, and abdominal obesity was measured by waist circumference.

Enhancing Prediction for Tumor Pathologic Response to Neoadjuvant Immunochemotherapy in Locally Advanced Esophageal Cancer by Dynamic Parameters from Clinical Assessments.

To develop accurate and accessible prediction methods for assessing pathologic response following NICT prior to surgery, we conducted a retrospective study including 137 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) who underwent surgery after two cycles of NICT between January 2019 and March 2022 at our center. We collected clinical parameters to evaluate the dynamic changes in the primary tumor. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the correlations between these parameters and the pathologic response of the primary tumor.

Subcellular Distribution of BALF2 and the Role of Rab1 in the Formation of Epstein-Barr Virus Cytoplasmic Assembly Compartment and Virion Release.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) replicates its genome in the nucleus and undergoes tegumentation and envelopment in the cytoplasm. We are interested in how the single-stranded DNA binding protein BALF2, which executes its function and distributes predominantly in the nucleus, is packaged into the tegument of virions. At the mid-stage of virus replication in epithelial TW01-EBV cells, a small pool of BALF2 colocalizes with tegument protein BBLF1, BGLF4 protein kinase, and the -Golgi marker GM130 at the perinuclear viral assembly compartment (AC).

Survival outcomes of patients with head and neck squamous cell cancer with hepatitis B virus infection: An analysis from an endemic tertiary center.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) affects the occurrence and survival outcome of various malignant disorders. The study aimed to evaluate the survival outcome of head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) patients with or without HBV infection.

Methods: This study included patients with HNSCC who visited Taichung Veterans General Hospital from 2007 to 2015.

Copper nanoclusters on specific-primer PCR fragments with magnetic capture for the label-free fluorescent sensing of the T315I single nucleotide variant in the - gene.

In this study, a simple and facile procedure using the all or none formation of double-stranded DNA-templated copper nanoclusters on specific-primer PCR fragments was designed to fluorescently identify the T315I single nucleotide variant on the - gene. Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), a disease caused by the - fusion of tyrosine kinase, is well known for the T315I mutation that causes tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) to be resisted due to the alternative structure of the drug-binding site. Therefore, it is an important single nucleotide variant for clinical detection.

The Relationship between Sarcopenia and Injury Events: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 98,754 Older Adults.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between sarcopenia and injury events (falls, fractures, hospitalization, disability, and death). This study systemically searched the literature from Embase, PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library and analyzed the collected literature using the random effects model to demonstrate the relationship between sarcopenia and injury events. This study followed the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and collected a total of 38 prospective studies, and the results showed that, when compared to robust individuals, the risk of injury events for older individuals with sarcopenia was significantly higher for fractures (HR = 9.

Comparison of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors vs Glucagonlike Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists and Incidence of Dry Eye Disease in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes in Taiwan.

Importance: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have been found to improve low-grade systemic and tissue inflammation; however, the association between SGLT2 inhibitor use and the incidence of dry eye disease (DED) has not been explored.

Objective: To investigate the association between SGLT2 inhibitor use and dry eye disease in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Design, Setting, And Participants: A retrospective cohort analysis of the largest multi-institutional electronic medical records database in Taiwan was conducted to identify patients with T2D newly receiving SGLT2 inhibitors or glucagonlike peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) from 2016 to 2018.

Efficacy and Safety of Innovative Experimental Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cells versus Axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta) for the Treatment of Relapsed/Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma (LBCL): Matching Adjusted Indirect Comparisons (MAICs) and Systematic Review.

Despite favorable results of CAR T-cell therapy for relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma (R/R LBCL), several challenges remain, including incomplete response, immune-mediated toxicity, and antigen-loss relapse. We delineated the relative clinical benefit of the novel approaches compared to the currently approved CAR T-cell therapies. In the absence of head-to-head comparisons and randomized controlled trials, we performed Matching Adjusted Indirect Comparisons to quantify the relative efficacy and safety of experimental CARs against Axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta), the first FDA-approved CAR.

Risk of dialysis in patients receiving intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment: a population-based cohort study.

We utilized the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database which was stemmed from the Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database to conduct a retrospective cohort study investigating the risk of becoming dialysis dependent after receiving intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents for retinal diseases. Patients newly receiving intravitreal ranibizumab or aflibercept from 2000 to 2017 for age-related macular degeneration, polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy, diabetic macular edema, retinal vein occlusions, or myopic choroid neovascularization were included as the study group, and patients with same retinal diseases but did not receive intravitreal anti-VEGFs served as controls extracted by age- and sex-matched (1:4) and further propensity score matching (PSM). Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the risk of dialysis.

Active-fluidics versus gravity-fluidics in lens extraction: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Objective: To investigate differences in outcomes between active-fluidics and gravity-fluidics phacoemulsification systems.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published no later than December 1, 2021. The Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool was used for quality assessment.

Clinical Features and Immunophenotypes of Double-Hit Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

Double-hit (DH) genetics induces a reduction in the complete remission (CR) and, consequently, in poor overall survival (OS) in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients. Unfortunately, DH identification is time-consuming. Here, we retrospectively reviewed 92 newly diagnosed DLBCL patients, stratified them into the DH ( = 14) and non-DH groups ( = 78), and compared their clinical features and outcomes.

Association between sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors and incident glaucoma in patients with type 2 diabetes: A multi-institutional cohort study in Taiwan.

Purpose: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is an important risk factor for glaucoma, and sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have been shown to protect the optic nerves. We therefore aimed to evaluate the association between SGLT2 inhibitors and incident glaucoma.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed the largest multi-institutional electronic medical records database in Taiwan, containing data of over a million individuals.

Redefining Remission Induction Chemotherapy Ineligibility by Early Mortality in De Novo Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

The therapeutic strategies for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients ineligible for remission induction chemotherapy have been improving in the past decade. Therefore, it is important to define ineligibility for remission induction chemotherapy. We retrospectively assessed 153 consecutive adult de novo AML patients undergoing remission induction chemotherapy and defined early mortality as death within the first 60 days of treatment.

Risk of diabetic macular oedema with sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors in type 2 diabetes patients: A multi-institutional cohort study in Taiwan.

Aims: To investigate the risk of diabetic macular oedema (DMO) associated with the use of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study by analysing a large multi-institutional electronic medical records database in Taiwan. We included adult patients with T2DM without DMO newly receiving either SGLT2 inhibitors or glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) during the period 2016 to 2018.

Chemoresponse of de novo Acute Myeloid Leukemia to "7+3" Induction can Be Predicted by c-Myc-facilitated Cytogenetics.

Identifying patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who will probably respond to the "7 + 3" induction regimen remains an unsolved clinical challenge. This study aimed to identify whether c-Myc could facilitate cytogenetics to predict a "7 + 3" induction chemoresponse in AML. We stratified 75 untreated patients (24 and 51 from prospective and retrospective cohorts, respectively) with AML who completed "7 + 3" induction into groups with and without complete remission (CR).