A Genetic Association Test Accounting for Skewed X-Inactivation With Application to Biotherapy Immunogenicity in Patients With Autoimmune Diseases.

Despite being assayed on commercialized DNA chips, the X chromosome is commonly excluded from genome-wide association studies (GWAS). One of the reasons is the complexity to analyze the data taking into account the X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) process in women and in particular the XCI process with a potentially skewed pattern. This is the case when investigating the role of X-linked genetic variants in the occurrence of anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) in patients with autoimmune diseases treated by biotherapies.

"Triple low" free-breathing CTPA protocol for patients with dyspnoea.

Aim: To assess the performance of a "triple-low" free-breathing protocol for computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) evaluated on patients with dyspnoea and suspected pulmonary embolism and discuss its application in routine clinical practice for the study of the pulmonary parenchyma and vasculature.

Material And Methods: This study was conducted on a selected group of dyspnoeic patients referred for CTPA. The protocol was designed using fast free-breathing acquisition and a small, fixed volume (35 ml) of contrast agent in order to achieve a low-exposure dose.

Management of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury: an update for the intensivist.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains one of the most fatal and debilitating conditions in the world. Current clinical management in severe TBI patients is mainly concerned with reducing secondary insults and optimizing the balance between substrate delivery and consumption. Over the past decades, multimodality monitoring has become more widely available, and clinical management protocols have been published that recommend potential interventions to correct pathophysiological derangements.

Influence of breast cancer prognostic factors on oocyte in vitro maturation outcomes performed for urgent fertility preservation.

Study Question: Do breast cancer (BC) characteristics influence IVM of oocytes outcomes in patients undergoing fertility preservation (FP)?

Summary Answer: Scarff-Bloom-Richardson (SBR) III grade, triple-negative BC and HER2 overexpression are independent predictors of fewer oocytes or poor IVM outcomes in young women seeking FP.

What Is Known Already: SBR grade, triple-negative status and overexpression of HER2, as well as a high Ki67 proliferation index are all established prognostic factors for BC, influencing patients' therapeutic management. Yet there are also concerns about the potential impact of cancer status on ovarian reserve and function.

Development and preliminary validation of the Sjögren's Tool for Assessing Response (STAR): a consensual composite score for assessing treatment effect in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective: To develop a composite responder index in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS): the Sjögren's Tool for Assessing Response (STAR).

Methods: To develop STAR, the NECESSITY (New clinical endpoints in primary Sjögren's syndrome: an interventional trial based on stratifying patients) consortium used data-driven methods based on nine randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and consensus techniques involving 78 experts and 20 patients. Based on reanalysis of rituximab trials and the literature, the Delphi panel identified a core set of domains with their respective outcome measures.

Socio-Demographic Factors Associated With COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Middle-Aged Adults During the Quebec's Vaccination Campaign.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to characterize the combinations of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics associated to the unwillingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccines during the 2021 Quebec's vaccination campaign.

Materials And Methods: In March-June 2021, we conducted an online survey of the participants of the CARTaGENE population-based cohort, composed of middle-aged and older adults. After comparing the vaccinated and unvaccinated participants, we investigated vaccine hesitancy among participants who were unvaccinated.

EULAR recommendations for the management and vaccination of people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases in the context of SARS-CoV-2: the November 2021 update.

The first EULAR provisional recommendations on the management of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) in the context of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), largely based on expert opinion, were published in June 2020. Since then, an unprecedented number of clinical studies have accrued in the literature. Several SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have been approved for population-wide vaccination programmes in EULAR-affiliated countries.

Mental health of medical students during the COVID19: Impact of studies years.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic had led to severe education disruption in many countries, including for medical students (MS). We aimed to evaluate MS mental health in France and search for a difference depending on studies' years and clinical activities.

Methods: In a cross-sectional, survey-based study during the first confinement, 668 (8.

Five-year absolute risk estimates of colorectal cancer based on CCRAT model and polygenic risk scores: A validation study using the Quebec population-based cohort CARTaGENE.

The objective was to evaluate the predictive performance of the Colorectal Cancer Risk Assessment Tool (CCRAT) and three polygenic risk scores (Hsu et al., 2015; Law et al., 2019, Archambault et al.

Osteogenesis Imperfecta: characterization of fractures during pregnancy and post-partum.

Background: Pregnancy and breastfeeding are associated with bone density loss. Fracture occurrence during pregnancy and post-partum, and its determinants, remain poorly known in Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI). The aim of this study was to characterize fractures that occurred during pregnancy and post-partum in OI patients.

Control of Postoperative Hypotension Using a Closed-Loop System for Norepinephrine Infusion in Patients After Cardiac Surgery: A Randomized Trial.

Background: Vasopressors are a cornerstone for the management of vasodilatory hypotension. Vasopressor infusions are currently adjusted manually to achieve a predefined arterial pressure target. We have developed a closed-loop vasopressor (CLV) controller to help correct hypotension more efficiently during the perioperative period.

Evaluation of a new smartphone optical blood pressure application (OptiBP™) in the post-anesthesia care unit: a method comparison study against the non-invasive automatic oscillometric brachial cuff as the reference method.

We compared blood pressure (BP) values obtained with a new optical smartphone application (OptiBP™) with BP values obtained using a non-invasive automatic oscillometric brachial cuff (reference method) during the first 2 h of surveillance in a post-anesthesia care unit in patients after non-cardiac surgery. Three simultaneous BP measurements of both methods were recorded every 30 min over a 2-h period. The agreement between measurements was investigated using Bland-Altman and error grid analyses.

New Method to Estimate Central Systolic Blood Pressure From Peripheral Pressure: A Proof of Concept and Validation Study.

The non-invasive estimation of central systolic blood pressure (cSBP) is increasingly performed using new devices based on various pulse acquisition techniques and mathematical analyses. These devices are most often calibrated assuming that mean (MBP) and diastolic (DBP) BP are essentially unchanged when pressure wave travels from aorta to peripheral artery, an assumption which is evidence-based. We tested a new empirical formula for the direct central blood pressure estimation of cSBP using MBP and DBP only (DCBP = MBP/DBP).

Post-COVID-19 syndrome in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Objectives: To analyse the frequency and characteristics of post-COVID-19 syndrome in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) affected by acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Methods: By the first week of April 2021, all centres included in the Big Data Sjögren Consortium were contacted asking for patients included in the Registry diagnosed with SARSCoV-2 infection according to the ECDC guidelines. According to the NICE definitions, symptoms related to COVID-19 were classified as acute COVID-19 (signs and symptoms for up to 4 weeks), ongoing symptomatic COVID-19 (presence of signs and symptoms from 4 to 12 weeks) and post-COVID-19 syndrome (signs and symptoms that continue for > 12 weeks not explained by an alternative diagnosis after a protocolized study).

Prediagnostic alterations in circulating bile acid profiles in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Bile acids (BAs) play different roles in cancer development. Some are carcinogenic and BA signaling is also involved in various metabolic, inflammatory and immune-related processes. The liver is the primary site of BA synthesis.