Photopsias are associated with greater levels of depression and anxiety.

Clinical Relevance: Vitreous floaters have been associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms. However, there is a scarcity in the literature regarding the possible impact of vitreous flashes on the psychological status of the patients.

Background: Photopsias and vitreous floaters frequently co-exist.

Experimental Evaluation of Ocular Rigidity and Pressure-Volume Relationship After Ex-Vivo Scleral Cross-Linking With Riboflavin and Ultraviolet A in Porcine Eyes.

Purpose: Scleral cross-linking (SXL) with ultraviolet A (UVA) and riboflavin has already been used in laboratory studies for scleral stiffness increase as a potential treatment for progressive myopia and scleral ectasia. This study aims to investigate whether the regional application of scleral cross-linking (SXL) with ultraviolet A (UVA) and riboflavin in fresh porcine eye globes affects the ocular rigidity as well as its impact on intraocular pressure after an induced acute increase in the volume of intraocular fluid.

Methods: The study included two groups of fresh porcine eyes: an experimental group (n=20) that underwent scleral cross-linking (SXL) with riboflavin and UVA applied to the posterior sclera and a control group (n=20) that did not receive SXL treatment.

Real-World Effectiveness and Safety of Selective JAK Inhibitors in Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease: A Retrospective, Multicentre Study.

: Data on the real-world effectiveness and safety of selective JAK inhibitors (JAKis) in ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) are limited. : We conducted a multicentre, retrospective study to assess clinical, biochemical, and endoscopic outcomes of selective JAKis in bio-experienced UC and CD. : A total of 246 patients (mean age: 40.

Proteomic Changes of Glycolipid Pathways in Age-Related, Diabetic, and Post-Vitrectomy Cataracts.

: Alterations in glycolipid and glycosphingolipid pathways lead to compromised cell membranes and may be involved in cataract formation. However, the exact role of glycolipids in lens opacification is not completely understood. The aim of the current study is to investigate proteome complexity and the role of glycolipid and glycosphingolipid pathways in cataract formation.

Synthetic vs. biologic mesh for abdominal wall reconstruction in contaminated surgical fields. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and observational studies.

Purpose: Biologic meshes had been the first choice for abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR) in contaminated surgical fields. However, due to increased cost and questioned effectiveness, synthetic meshes have been also implemented. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to compare synthetic and biologic mesh in terms of recurrence and postoperative outcomes.

Clarithromycin for improved clinical outcomes in community-acquired pneumonia: A subgroup analysis of the ACCESS trial.

Background: In the ACCESS trial, the addition of clarithromycin to standard-of-care antibiotics (SoC) enhanced early clinical response and attenuated the inflammatory burden in adults with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) requiring hospitalisation. A post-hoc analysis was performed to investigate the benefit in specific subgroups.

Methods: The primary endpoint comprised two conditions to be met during the first 72 h: ≥50% decrease in respiratory symptom severity score; and any of ≥30% decrease in sequential organ failure assessment score and favourable change in the kinetics of procalcitonin (PCT, defined as ≥80% PCT decrease or PCT <0.

Anakinra efficacy in COVID-19 pneumonia guided by soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor: Association with the inflammatory burden of the host.

Background: Anakinra was approved by the European Medicines Agency and received Emergency Use Authorization by the United States Food and Drug Administration for patients with COVID-19 pneumonia at risk for severe respiratory failure (SRF) with blood levels of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) ≥ 6 ng/mL. We report the final results of the phase II open-label single-arm SAVE trial in a large population.

Methods: Patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and suPAR levels ≥ 6 ng/mL received subcutaneous anakinra 100 mg once daily for 10 days.

Towards Metaclinical Medicine - The Non-Human Physician as Our Destiny.

Medicine, and human healing more generally, have been constantly evolving for millennia as part of humanity's persistent efforts to heal its injuries and diseases, to maintain wellbeing, and to delay the inevitable: death. The philosophy underlying medicine has always been closely intertwined with the prevailing ideas in each historical period. Prejudices, religious beliefs, even magical herbs, as well as rational thought and advanced sciences, make up the fabric of over 2,000 years of western medicine.

Peak left atrial longitudinal strain and incident atrial fibrillation in the general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the commonest supraventricular arrhythmia in adults. Timely AF diagnosis seems to ameliorate patients prognosis.

Purpose: To investigate the association between peak left atrial longitudinal strain (PALS) and new onset AF in the general population.

Relugolix for the treatment of prostate cancer.

Introduction: Androgen deprivation therapy consists of the cornerstone of prostate cancer medical treatment. Until recently, castration of hypothalamus-hypophysis-gonadal axial was based on injectable medical agents. A few years ago, a novel per os administered GnRH antagonist was approved leading testosterone to castration level.

The Combined Administration of Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and Gamma-Linolenic Acid (GLA) in Experimentally Induced Colitis: An Experimental Study in Rats.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease with limited effective treatments, prompting the need for investigation of novel therapeutic approaches. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) have demonstrated potential anti-inflammatory properties, but their combined effects on UC have not been thoroughly investigated. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the combined administration of EPA and GLA on clinical and histopathologic features of experimental UC models.

Retinal Microvascular Changes in Association with Endothelial Glycocalyx Damage and Arterial Stiffness in Patients with Retinal Vein Occlusion: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background/objectives: To investigate the potential association between the endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness with retinal changes observed through optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT-angiography (OCT-A) in patients with retinal vein occlusion (RVO).

Methods: Participants in this cross-sectional study were 28 patients with RVO. The demographic and clinical characteristics of all participants were recorded.

Efficacy of atezolizumab-bevacizumab combination therapy early after recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma following resection or ablation with a curative intent.

Background: The pattern of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after resection/ablation is intrahepatic and/or systemic. The efficacy of atezolizumab-bevacizumab treatment as early therapy after recurrence has not been extensively evaluated.

Methods: We evaluated 32 patients (group A) with early HCC recurrence after resection/ablation and 24 patients (group B) initially diagnosed as Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC)-C, all treated with atezolizumab-bevacizumab.

Sepsis pathogenesis and outcome are shaped by the balance between the transcriptional states of systemic inflammation and antimicrobial response.

Patients with sepsis differ in their clinical presentations and immune dysregulation in response to infection, but the fundamental processes that determine this heterogeneity remain elusive. Here, we aim to understand which types of immune dysregulation characterize patients with sepsis. To that end, we investigate sepsis pathogenesis in the context of two transcriptional states: one represents the immune response to eliminate pathogens (resistance, R) and the other is associated with systemic inflammation (SI).

Robotic Versus Laparoscopic Versus Open Surgery for Non-Metastatic Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors (pNETs): A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.

: This systematic review, using pairwise and network meta-analyses, aimed to compare the intraoperative, short-term, and long-term postoperative outcomes of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and open surgery (OS) for the management of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs). : Studies reporting on the effects of robotic, laparoscopic, and open surgery on pNETs published before November 2023 on PubMed, Scopus, and CENTRAL were analyzed. : Thirty-two studies with 5379 patients were included in this review, encompassing 2251 patients undergoing MIS (1334 laparoscopic, 508 robotic, and 409 unspecified MIS) and 3128 patients undergoing OS for pNETs management.

Clinical, Lab, and Radiological Evolution of an Adult Patient With Unilateral Cortical Lesion in Anti-Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG)-Associated Encephalitis With Seizures and Anti-Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) Positive Antibodies.

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody-associated disease refers to a clinical and radiological spectrum of demyelinating disorders of the Central Nervous System. We report the case of a female adult patient presenting to our department with an episode of seizures and cognitive dysfunction, compatible with Gerstmann syndrome. Brain MRI revealed a high T2 and DWI signal unilateral cortical lesion at the inferior left parietal lobe and leptomeningeal contrast enhancement.

Transfusion-related acute lung injury/transfusion-associated circulatory overload in a child with non-transfusion dependent thalassemia and aplastic crisis due to acute parvovirus B19 infection.

We present a never-transfused girl with thalassemia intermedia who was admitted for febrile aplastic crisis due to human parvovirus B19. After a first transfusion of packed red blood cells, she developed pulmonary oedema. She improved with supportive care including the use of intravenous diuretics.

Interferon-gamma driven elevation of CXCL9: a new sepsis endotype independently associated with mortality.

Background: Endotype classification becomes the cornerstone of understanding sepsis pathogenesis. Macrophage activation-like syndrome (MALS) and immunoparalysis are the best recognized major endotypes, so far. Interferon-gamma (IFNγ) action on tissue macrophages stimulates the release of the cytotoxic chemokine CXCL9.

Simultaneous Bilateral Primary Choroidal Melanoma Linked to Bilateral Ocular Melanocytosis: A Rare Case Study.

BACKGROUND Choroidal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular tumor in adults. Most primary choroidal melanomas are unilateral and unifocal. Bilateral primary choroidal melanomas are considered to be a rare occurrence.

Modulation of Metabolomic Profile in Sepsis According to the State of Immune Activation.

Objective: To investigate the metabolomic profiles associated with different immune activation states in sepsis patients.

Design: Subgroup analysis of the PROVIDE (a Personalized Randomized trial of Validation and restoration of Immune Dysfunction in severe infections and Sepsis) prospective clinical study.

Setting: Results of the PROVIDE study showed that patients with sepsis may be classified into three states of immune activation: 1) macrophage-activation-like syndrome (MALS) characterized by hyperinflammation, sepsis-induced immunoparalysis, and 3) unclassified or intermediate patients without severe immune dysregulation.