P38MAPK inhibition in aged astrocytes decreases reactive astrocytes, inflammation and increases nutritive capacity after oxygen-glucose deprivation.

Proper astroglial functioning is essential for the development and survival of neurons and oligodendroglia under physiologic and pathological circumstances. Indeed, malfunctioning of astrocytes represents an important factor contributing to brain injury. However, the molecular pathways of this astroglial dysfunction are poorly defined.

MUC4 is a novel mediator in infection-related pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a common malignant disease worldwide. Among the potential pathogenic factors, () infection has been associated with the tumorigenesis of PC. The present study aimed to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of infection-associated PC and to investigate the key factors involved in PC tumorigenesis.

Reliability of a Caton-Deschamps-derived patella height index for knee arthroplasty.

Purpose: The original Caton-Deschamps index (oCDI) detects functional patella height. It cannot be used in knees with an implanted endoprosthesis. The "modified Caton-Deschamps index" (mCDI) for knee arthroplasty can miss pseudo-patella-infera (PPI), which is common after TKA.

Exemplar scoring identifies genetically separable phenotypes of lithium responsive bipolar disorder.

Predicting lithium response (LiR) in bipolar disorder (BD) may inform treatment planning, but phenotypic heterogeneity complicates discovery of genomic markers. We hypothesized that patients with "exemplary phenotypes"-those whose clinical features are reliably associated with LiR and non-response (LiNR)-are more genetically separable than those with less exemplary phenotypes. Using clinical data collected from people with BD (n = 1266 across 7 centers; 34.

Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization and Polymerase Chain Reaction to Detect Infections in Patients With Left Ventricular Assist Devices.

The development of driveline infections following left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation remains a major problem. We investigated the impact of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) combined with 16S rRNA gene sequencing on the diagnosis of driveline infections. LVAD drivelines (n = 61) from 60 consecutive patients were obtained during LVAD explantation and subjected to FISH analysis.

Rotation osteotomy of the distal femur influences coronal femoral alignment and the ischiofemoral space.

Introduction: Despite the fact that osteotomies around the knee represent well-established treatment options for the redistribution of loads and forces within and around the knee joint, unforeseen effects of these osteotomies on the remaining planes and adjacent joints are still to be defined. It was, therefore, the aim of this study to determine the influence of a distal femoral rotation osteotomy on the coronal limb alignment and on the ischiofemoral space of the hip joint.

Materials And Methods: Long-leg standing radiographs and CT-based torsional measurements of 27 patients undergoing supracondylar rotational osteotomies of the femur between 2012 and 2019 were obtained and utilized for the purpose of this study.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Self-Reported Health.

Background: The pandemic caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the countermeasures taken to protect the public are having a substantial effect on the health of the population. In Germany, nationwide protective measures to halt the spread of the virus were implemented in mid-March for 6 weeks.

Methods: In May, the impact of the pandemic was assessed in the German National Cohort (NAKO).

Iatrogenic severe hyperglycemia due to parenteral administration of glucose in children - a case series.

Background: Iatrogenic severe hyperglycemia (ISH) caused by glucose-containing i.v. solution is a potentially fatal treatment error.

Adaptive T-cell immunity controls senescence-prone MyD88- or CARD11-mutant B-cell lymphomas.

Aberrant B-cell receptor/NF-κB signaling is a hallmark feature of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas, especially in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Recurrent mutations in this cascade, for example, in CD79B, CARD11, or NFKBIZ, and also in the Toll-like receptor pathway transducer MyD88, all deregulate NF-κB, but their differential impact on lymphoma development and biology remains to be determined. Here, we functionally investigate primary mouse lymphomas that formed in recipient mice of Eµ-myc transgenic hematopoietic stem cells stably transduced with naturally occurring NF-κB mutants.

Nanoparticle-complexed antimiRs for inhibiting tumor growth and metastasis in prostate carcinoma and melanoma.

Background: MiRNAs act as negative regulators of gene expression through target mRNA degradation or inhibition of its translation. In cancer, several miRNAs are upregulated and play crucial roles in tumorigenesis, making the inhibition of these oncomiRs an interesting therapeutic approach. This can be achieved by directly complementary single-stranded anti-miRNA oligonucleotides (antimiRs).

Safety and efficacy of the endothelin receptor antagonist macitentan in pediatric pulmonary hypertension.

Background: Macitentan, a dual endothelin receptor antagonist (ERA), was approved in 2014 for the treatment of adults with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Once-per-day dosing and low potential hepatic toxicity make macitentan an appealing therapeutic option for children with PAH, but reports on its use in pediatric patients are still lacking.

Methods: Prospective observational study of 18 children [10 male; median age: 8.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: the role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors.

The increasing epidemic of obesity worldwide is linked to serious health effects, including increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD is the liver manifestation of the metabolic syndrome and includes the spectrum of liver steatosis (known as nonalcoholic fatty liver) and steatohepatitis (known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis), which can evolve into progressive liver fibrosis and eventually cause cirrhosis. Although NAFLD is becoming the number one cause of chronic liver diseases, it is part of a systemic disease that affects many other parts of the body, including adipose tissue, pancreatic β-cells and the cardiovascular system.

Patent Ductus Arteriosus of the Preterm Infant.

Postnatal ductal closure is stimulated by rising oxygen tension and withdrawal of vasodilatory mediators (prostaglandins, nitric oxide, adenosine) and by vasoconstrictors (endothelin-1, catecholamines, contractile prostanoids), ion channels, calcium flux, platelets, morphologic maturity, and a favorable genetic predisposition. A persistently patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in preterm infants can have clinical consequences. Decreasing pulmonary vascular resistance, especially in extremely low gestational age newborns, increases left-to-right shunting through the ductus and increases pulmonary blood flow further, leading to interstitial pulmonary edema and volume load to the left heart.

Dynamic locking screws in proximal humeral plate osteosynthesis demonstrate superior fixation properties: a biomechanical study.

Purpose: Angular stable implants reduced the complication rate in the treatment of humeral head fractures. But the failure rate is still high. To further reduce the risk of cut-out, cement augmentation of screws was introduced.

Early Prediction of Malignant Cerebellar Edema in Posterior Circulation Stroke Using Quantitative Lesion Water Uptake.

Background: Malignant cerebellar edema (MCE) is a life-threatening complication of ischemic posterior circulation stroke that requires timely diagnosis and management. Yet, there is no established imaging biomarker that may serve as predictor of MCE. Early edematous water uptake can be determined using quantitative lesion water uptake, but this biomarker has only been applied in anterior circulation strokes.

Author Correction: AP-1 imprints a reversible transcriptional programme of senescent cells.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Invasive and Non-Invasive Ventilation in Patients With COVID-19.

Background: The reported high mortality of COVID-19 patients in intensive care has given rise to a debate over whether patients with this disease are being intubated too soon and might instead benefit from more non-invasive ventilation.

Methods: This review is based on articles published up to 12 June 2020 that were retrieved by a selective literature search on the topic of invasive and non-invasive ventilation for respiratory failure in COVID-19. Guideline recommendations and study data on patients with respiratory failure in settings other than COVID-19 are also considered, as are the current figures of the intensive care registry of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Deutsche Interdisziplinäre Vereinigung für Intensiv- und Notfallmedizin).

Developmental outcome of extremely preterm infants is improved after less invasive surfactant application: Developmental outcome after LISA.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate neurocognitive outcome at 24 months of corrected age after less invasive surfactant application (LISA) in preterm infants born at 23-26 weeks of gestational age.

Methods: Surviving participants of a LISA trial conducted in 13 German level III neonatal intensive care units were reviewed for assessment of developmental outcome, hearing and vision problems, growth and rehospitalisation days. Maternal depression, breastfeeding rates and socio-economic factors were evaluated as potentially confounding factors.

Increased Body Mass Index and Type 2 Diabetes Are the Main Predictors of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Advanced Fibrosis in Liver Biopsies of Patients With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Monoinfection.

Background: Liver disease is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH), of which nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an increasingly recognized cause. There are limited data investigating NAFLD in HIV monoinfection and histologically defined disease. We aimed to identify who is at risk of fibrosis, NAFLD, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) among PLWH and explore the diagnostic accuracy of noninvasive markers of fibrosis.

Overdiagnosis of melanoma - causes, consequences and solutions.

Malignant melanoma is the skin tumor that causes most deaths in Germany. At an early stage, melanoma is well treatable, so early detection is essential. However, the skin cancer screening program in Germany has been criticized because although melanomas have been diagnosed more frequently since introduction of the program, the mortality from malignant melanoma has not decreased.

COVID-19 and immunological regulations - from basic and translational aspects to clinical implications.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has far-reaching direct and indirect medical consequences. These include both the course and treatment of diseases. It is becoming increasingly clear that infections with SARS-CoV-2 can cause considerable immunological alterations, which particularly also affect pathogenetically and/or therapeutically relevant factors.

H3K9me3-mediated epigenetic regulation of senescence in mice predicts outcome of lymphoma patients.

Lesion-based targeting strategies underlie cancer precision medicine. However, biological principles - such as cellular senescence - remain difficult to implement in molecularly informed treatment decisions. Functional analyses in syngeneic mouse models and cross-species validation in patient datasets might uncover clinically relevant genetics of biological response programs.

Modern therapies in atopic dermatitis: biologics and small molecule drugs.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a frequent, chronic remittent skin disease. The pathophysiology of AD has been increasingly understood within the last years, which may help to identify different endotypes suitable for defined therapies in the future. A patient-oriented therapy considers phenotypical features in addition to genetic and biological markers.

Evaluating the didactic value of 3D visualization in otosurgery.

Introduction: Improvements of surgical visualization add value to the quality of clinical routine and offer the opportunity to improve surgical education of medical staff. The aim of this study was to determine whether otorhinolaryngology trainees gain additional comprehension of the anatomical structures and the surgical site when 3D visualization is used.

Methods: Data were collected from ENT trainees of microsurgical courses of the middle ear, inner ear and lateral skull base at four university ENT departments (Charité (Berlin), Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (Halle/Saale), Ludwig Maximilian University (Munich) and Rostock University Medical Center).