Exploring Metabolomic Patterns in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Response to Glucose-Lowering Medications-Review.

The spectrum of information related to precision medicine in diabetes generally includes clinical data, genetics, and omics-based biomarkers that can guide personalized decisions on diabetes care. Given the remarkable progress in patient risk characterization, there is particular interest in using molecular biomarkers to guide diabetes management. Metabolomics is an emerging molecular approach that helps better understand the etiology and promises the identification of novel biomarkers for complex diseases.

Patient perspectives on telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed-methods community-based study.

Background: Detailed community-based perspectives on patient experiences with telemedicine are currently lacking, yet essential to assess clinical applicability of telemedicine during and beyond pandemics, alike COVID-19. The aim of this study was to expose patient perspectives on virtual compared to in-person consultations, including determinants of these preferences.

Methods: We invited 5864 participants of the population-based Rotterdam Study to fill in a validated questionnaire using both close-ended and free-text questions.

Lower cerebral blood flow predicts cognitive decline in patients with vascular cognitive impairment.

Introduction: Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion is one of the assumed pathophysiological mechanisms underlying vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). We investigated the association between baseline cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cognitive decline after 2 years in patients with VCI and reference participants.

Methods: One hundred eighty-one participants (mean age 66.

A Longitudinal Study of Stress During Pregnancy, Children's Sleep and Polygenic Risk for Poor Sleep in the General Pediatric Population.

Early life stress is robustly associated with poor sleep across life. Preliminary studies suggest that these associations may begin already in utero. Here, we study the longitudinal associations of prenatal psychosocial stress with sleep across childhood, and assess whether prenatal stress interacts with genetic liability for poor sleep.

Differences in cortical morphology and child internalizing or externalizing problems: Accounting for the co-occurrence.

Background: Childhood internalizing and externalizing problems frequently co-occur. Many studies report neural correlates of either internalizing or externalizing problems, but few account for their co-occurrence. We aimed to assess specific cortical substrates of these psychiatric problems.

Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections for the Treatment of Ankle Osteoarthritis.

Background: Ankle osteoarthritis is debilitating and usually affects relatively young people, often as a result of previous ankle traumas, frequently occurring in sports. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections for ankle osteoarthritis have shown no evidence of benefit over the course of 26 weeks. Previous studies on PRP for knee osteoarthritis showed that clinically significant improvements with PRP occurred between 6 to 12 months in the absence of initial benefit.

Functional MRI but not white matter fibre dissection identifies language dominance.

Objectives: Lateralisation of some language pathways has been reported in the literature using diffusion tractography, which is more feasible than functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in challenging patients. Our retrospective study investigates whether a correlation exists between threshold-independent fMRI language lateralisation and structural lateralisation using tractography in healthy controls and brain tumour patients.

Methods: Fifteen healthy subjects and 61 patients underwent language fMRI and diffusion-weighted MRI.

Decreased role of neuropeptides in the microvascular function in migraine patients with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Background And Aims: To understand pathophysiological mechanisms underlying migraine as a cardiovascular risk factor, we studied neuropeptide action and endothelial function as measures of peripheral microvascular function in middle-aged women with or without migraine.

Methods: We included women with the endocrine disorder polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a population with supposed elevated cardiovascular risk, with and without comorbid migraine. In 26 women without and 23 women with migraine in the interictal phase (mean age 50.

Economic evaluation of participatory women's groups scaled up by the public health system to improve birth outcomes in Jharkhand, eastern India.

An estimated 2.4 million newborn infants died in 2020, 80% of them in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. To achieve the Sustainable Development Target for neonatal mortality reduction, countries with high mortality need to implement evidence-based, cost-effective interventions at scale.

The Rise of AI: How Artificial Intelligence is Revolutionizing Infectious Disease Control.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has proven to be an effective tool in predicting, detecting, and mitigating the spread of infectious diseases, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The technology is increasingly playing a role in preventing future health crises by predicting outbreaks, identifying high-risk areas, and aiding in vaccine development. AI can track and trace infected individuals and identify potential hotspots, help reduce the spread of infectious diseases, and monitor patient symptoms, enabling healthcare professionals to provide effective treatment.

Methotrexate Polyglutamates Exposure - Response Modeling in a Large Cohort of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Starting Methotrexate.

Methotrexate polyglutamates (MTX-PG) concentrations in red blood cells (RBCs) have been suggested as a biomarker of response in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving low-dose MTX therapy. We investigated the association and interpatient variability between RBC-MTX-PG -exposure and response in patients with RA starting MTX. Data of three prospective cohorts were available.

Prognostic Value of [F]FDG PET Radiomics to Detect Peritoneal and Distant Metastases in Locally Advanced Gastric Cancer-A Side Study of the Prospective Multicentre PLASTIC Study.

Aim: To improve identification of peritoneal and distant metastases in locally advanced gastric cancer using [F]FDG-PET radiomics.

Methods: [F]FDG-PET scans of 206 patients acquired in 16 different Dutch hospitals in the prospective multicentre PLASTIC-study were analysed. Tumours were delineated and 105 radiomic features were extracted.

Rationale and design of the ABOARD project (A Personalized Medicine Approach for Alzheimer's Disease).

Unlabelled: The key to stopping Alzheimer's disease (AD) lies in the pre-dementia stages, with the goal to stop AD before dementia has started. We present the rationale and design of the ABOARD (A Personalized Medicine Approach for Alzheimer's Disease) project, which aims to invest in personalized medicine for AD. ABOARD is a Dutch public-private partnership of 32 partners, connecting stakeholders from a scientific, clinical, and societal perspective.

Prevalence and clinical correlates of ascending aortic dilatation in patients with noncompaction cardiomyopathy.

Ascending aortic (AoAsc) dilatation can lead to acute aortic syndromes and has been described in various familial cardiac diseases. Its prevalence and clinical significance in patients with noncompaction cardiomyopathy (NCCM) are however unknown. Establishing the prevalence can facilitate recommendations on routine screening in NCCM.

Discrepancies in Embryonic Staging: Towards a Gold Standard.

For over half a century, the Carnegie staging system has been used for the unification of chronology in human embryo development. Despite the system's establishment as a "universal" system, Carnegie staging reference charts display a high level of variation. To establish a clear understanding for embryologists and medical professionals, we aimed to answer the following question: does a gold standard of Carnegie staging exist, and if so, which set of proposed measures/characteristics would it include? We aimed to provide a clear overview of the variations in published Carnegie staging charts to compare and analyze these differences and propose potential explanatory factors.

System identification: a feasible, reliable and valid way to quantify upper limb motor impairments.

Background: Upper limb impairments in a hemiparetic arm are clinically quantified by well-established clinical scales, known to suffer poor validity, reliability, and sensitivity. Alternatively, robotics can assess motor impairments by characterizing joint dynamics through system identification. In this study, we establish the merits of quantifying abnormal synergy, spasticity, and changes in joint viscoelasticity using system identification, evaluating (1) feasibility and quality of parametric estimates, (2) test-retest reliability, (3) differences between healthy controls and patients with upper limb impairments, and (4) construct validity.

Immune Responses 6 Months After mRNA-1273 COVID-19 Vaccination and the Effect of a Third Vaccination in Patients with Inborn Errors of Immunity.

Purpose: Patients with inborn errors of immunity (IEI) are at increased risk of severe coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Effective long-term protection against COVID-19 is therefore of great importance in these patients, but little is known about the decay of the immune response after primary vaccination. We studied the immune responses 6 months after two mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccines in 473 IEI patients and subsequently the response to a third mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in 50 patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID).

A scoping review of how early-stage knee osteoarthritis has been defined.

Background: Early-stage knee osteoarthritis (KOA) classification criteria will enable consistent identification and trial recruitment of individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA) at an earlier stage of the disease when interventions may be more effective. Toward this goal, we identified how early-stage KOA has been defined in the literature.

Methods: We performed a scoping literature review in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, and Web of Science, including human studies where early-stage KOA was included as a study population or outcome.

A Systematic Review of Cardiorespiratory Fitness Tests Used in Dance.

Dancers need adequate cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) levels in order to cope with the demands of dance classes and choreographies. Screening and monitoring of CRF is advised. The aim of this systematic review was to provide an overview of tests used to assess CRF in dancers and to examine the measurement properties of these tests.

Nocturnal pain and fatigue in middle-aged persons with hip symptoms suspected to be osteoarthritis, is there a link in 10-year follow-up of the CHECK study?

Objective: To explore the prevalence of nocturnal pain and fatigue in participants with hip symptoms suspected to be early osteoarthritis (OA) and to test the mediating effect of nocturnal pain on the association between hip OA pain and fatigue.

Methods: We included participants with hip pain but no knee pain at baseline, from the Cohort Hip and Cohort Knee (CHECK)-study. Severity of hip OA pain was determined using the Numeric-Rating-Scale-pain-score last week.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Times of COVID-19: Examining Emotional and Behavioral Problems, Parental Well-Being, and Resilience.

This longitudinal study assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 62; M = 13 years) by measuring emotional and behavioral problems before and during the pandemic, and by comparing this change to a matched sample of children without ASD (n = 213; M = 16 years). Moreover, we examined whether indicators of parental well-being promoted resilience of children with ASD. Results showed that the mean change in problems did not differ between children with and without ASD.