Treatment-free Survival After First-line Therapies for Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma: An International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium Analysis.

Background And Objective: Patients receiving immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy may experience periods of prolonged disease control without a need for systemic therapy. Treatment-free survival (TFS) is an important measure for this period, but no data are available for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) starting first-line agents. Our aim was to analyze TFS outcomes for patients with mRCC starting first-line therapy.

Quantitative Coronary Angiography Guidance for Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation: A Narrative Review.

Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using drug-eluting stents is an established strategy for the treatment of significant obstructive coronary artery disease. Evidence supports that intravascular imaging-guided PCI offers advantages over conventional angiography-guided PCI, though its use is limited, likely due to high costs. Angiography-guided PCI relies on visual estimation, leading to inter- and intra-observer variability and suboptimal outcomes.

Combined Effects of Air Pollution and Changes in Physical Activity With Cardiovascular Disease in Patients With Dyslipidemia.

Background: Sedentary behavior elevates cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in patients with dyslipidemia. Increasing physical activity (PA) is recommended alongside pharmacological therapy to prevent CVD, though benefits across environmental conditions are unclear.

Methods And Results: We analyzed data from 113 918 newly diagnosed patients with dyslipidemia (2009-2012) without prior CVD, sourced from the Korea National Health Insurance Service.

Developmental and functional roles of androgen and interactive signals for external genitalia and erectile tissues.

Background: Recent progress in molecular and signal analyses revealed essential functions of cellular signals including androgen and related growth factors such as Wnt regulators for external genitalia (ExG) development and its pathogenesis. Accumulated data showed their fundamental functions also for erectile tissue (corporal body) development and its abnormalities. The current review focuses on such signals from developmental and functional viewpoints.

Papillomavirus infection and male infertility: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background And Aims: Increasing attention is being paid to the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in men and specifically reproduction. Growing evidence suggests an association between HPV infection with many adverse effects including the impairment of semen parameters, the increase of blastocyst apoptosis, the reduction of endometrial implantation of trophoblastic cells, as well as the increase rate of miscarriages and spontaneous preterm birth.

Methods: We systematically searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, CINHAL, PsycINFO, and ERIC from inception to 2nd of July 2024, for studies that investigated the association between HPV infection with sperm parameters and fertility outcomes.

Association Between the Timing of Atrial Fibrillation Detection and Functional Outcome Following Mechanical Thrombectomy.

Background: Atrial fibrillation detected after stroke (AFDAS) refers to the identification of newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF) following an ischemic stroke in patients without known AF (KAF). The objective of this study was to compare the functional outcomes of patients diagnosed with AFDAS and those with KAF who underwent mechanical thrombectomy.

Methods And Results: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy and with either new AF diagnosed during hospitalization or KAF.

Simultaneous cochlear implantation with early endoscopic surgery in small acoustic neuroma.

Objectives: The exclusive endoscopic transcanal transpromontorial approach (EETTA) has recently been developed for the removal of small-sized acoustic neuromas in the labyrinth (intralabyrinthine schwannoma [ILS]) or internal auditory canal (IAC). Although small tumors that meet the indications for EETTA are also good candidates for cochlear implantation (CI), there are few reports on CI after schwannoma removal using EETTA. Here we present an outcome of patients who underwent simultaneous EETTA and CI.

Impact of malnutrition and nutritional support after gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer.

Malnutrition, characterized by altered body composition and impaired function, is particularly prevalent among gastric cancer patients, affecting up to 60% of them. Malnutrition in these patients can manifest both before and after surgery, due to factors such as gastric outlet obstruction, cancer cachexia, and anatomical changes. Notably, total gastrectomy (TG) presents the most significant nutritional challenges.

Risk of Heart Disease in Patients With Amputation: A Nationwide Cohort Study in South Korea.

Background: Amputation confers disabilities upon patients and is linked to substantial morbidity and death attributed to heart disease. While some studies have focused on traumatic amputees in veterans, few studies have focused on traumatic amputees within the general population. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the risk of heart disease in patients with traumatic amputation with disability within the general population using a large-scale nationwide population-based cohort.

Association of Age- and Body Mass Index-Stratified High On-Treatment Platelet Reactivity With Coronary Intervention Outcomes in East Asian Patients.

Background: Although age and body mass index (BMI) significantly affect platelet reactivity units and clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention, there are limited data on the relationship between high on-treatment platelet reactivity (HPR) and clinical outcomes on age and BMI differences. Thus, we investigated the association of HPR with clinical outcomes according to age and BMI.

Methods And Results: The study analyzed 11 714 patients who underwent platelet function tests after percutaneous coronary intervention.

Validation of TRI-SCORE for Outcome Prediction After Isolated Tricuspid Valve Surgery in Asian Patients.

Background: TRI-SCORE was recently developed in Europe as a risk model for predicting in-hospital death after isolated tricuspid valve surgery. We aimed to validate TRI-SCORE in an Asian population and investigate its value for predicting long-term outcomes.

Methods And Results: The TRI-SCORE was calculated for 202 patients (65±11 years, 61% women, 81% functional tricuspid regurgitation) who underwent isolated tricuspid valve surgery for severe tricuspid regurgitation at 2 Korean centers and was based on 8 parameters: age, New York Heart Association class, right-sided heart failure signs, furosemide daily dose, glomerular filtration rate, bilirubin, left ventricular ejection fraction, and moderate/severe right ventricular dysfunction.

Risk factors and cognitive correlates of white matter hyperintensities in ethnically diverse populations without dementia: The COSMIC consortium.

Introduction: White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are an important imaging marker for cerebral small vessel diseases, but their risk factors and cognitive associations have not been well documented in populations of different ethnicities and/or from different geographical regions.

Methods: We investigated how WMHs were associated with vascular risk factors and cognition in both Whites and Asians, using data from five population-based cohorts of non-demented older individuals from Australia, Singapore, South Korea, and Sweden ( = 1946). WMH volumes (whole brain, periventricular, and deep) were quantified with UBO Detector and harmonized using the ComBat model.

Prediction of In-Hospital Mortality for Ischemic Cardiogenic Shock Requiring Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

Background: Clinical outcome of ischemic cardiogenic shock (CS) requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is highly variable, necessitating appropriate assessment of prognosis. However, a systemic predictive model estimating the mortality of refractory ischemic CS is lacking. The PRECISE (Prediction of In-Hospital Mortality for Patients With Refractory Ischemic Cardiogenic Shock Requiring Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Support) score was developed to predict the prognosis of refractory ischemic CS due to acute myocardial infarction.

Treatment outcome and prognostic factors of inverted papilloma involving the frontal sinus.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the characteristics and treatment outcomes of inverted papillomas involving the frontal sinus.

Methods: Patients treated for inverted papilloma involving the frontal sinus between 2003 and 2020 were reviewed. Tumors were classified based on their extent (Extent 1: partially encroaching on the frontal sinus; Extent 2: completely filling the frontal sinus; Extent 3: eroding bony borders beyond the frontal sinus) and site of origin (Origin 1: originating outside the frontal sinus and prolapsing into the frontal sinus; Origin 2: originating from the frontal sinus walls medial to the vertical plane of the lamina papyracea; Origin 3: originating from the frontal sinus walls lateral to the vertical plane of the lamina papyracea).

Role of human dural fibroblasts in the angiogenic responses of human endothelial cells: An in vitro dural model and the application of lab-on-a-chip for EDAS.

Encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis (EDAS), an indirect anastomosis procedure, is widely accepted as a primary treatment for moyamoya disease (MMD) to improve collateral blood flow. During surgical intervention, dural fibroblasts (DuF) are thought to produce various proteins that create an angiogenic microenvironment. However, the biophysiological evidence supporting the angiogenic properties of this surgical technique has not been thoroughly elucidated.

Emerging structural and pathological analyses on the erectile organ, corpus cavernous containing sinusoids.

Background: The corpus cavernosum (CC) containing sinusoids plays fundamental roles for erection. Analysis of pathological changes in the erectile system is studied by recent experimental systems. Various in vitro models utilizing genital mesenchymal-derived cells and explant culture systems are summarized.

Clinical and Vessel Characteristics Associated With Hard Outcomes After PCI and Their Combined Prognostic Implications.

Background Cardiac death or myocardial infarction still occurs in patients undergoing contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We aimed to identify adverse clinical and vessel characteristics related to hard outcomes after PCI and to investigate their individual and combined prognostic implications. Methods and Results From an individual patient data meta-analysis of 17 cohorts of patients who underwent post-PCI fractional flow reserve measurement after drug-eluting stent implantation, 2081 patients with available clinical and vessel characteristics were analyzed.

Treatment outcomes of the external auditory canal and temporal bone malignancy with dura invasion.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the characteristics and surgical outcomes of patients with external auditory canal (EAC) and temporal bone (TB) malignancy with dura invasion.

Methods: The medical records of patients with EAC and TB malignancy with dura invasion were retrospectively reviewed. Survival outcomes (overall survival [OS], disease-specific survival [DSS], recurrence-free survival [RFS], and distant metastasis-free survival [DMFS]) were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method.