Brain microstructural damage through serial diffusion tensor imaging and outcomes in Susac syndrome: A prospective cohort study.

Background: Susac syndrome (SuS) is a rare immune-mediated microangiopathy with potential disabling evolution. We aimed to analyze brain microstructural damage through diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in SuS and determine its association with poor outcomes.

Method: CarESS study is a prospective multicenter national cohort study of patients with SuS.

Clinical Outcomes in Atrial Fibrillation Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement With Contemporary Devices.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been identified as a marker of advanced cardiac damage in aortic stenosis patients. However, the factors associated with poorer outcomes among AF patients in contemporary TAVR practice, particularly regarding mortality and heart failure (HF)-related hospitalizations, remain largely unknown.

Methods: Multicenter study including consecutive patients with a history of AF, evaluating the clinical outcomes and predictors of mortality, and HF-related hospitalization, who underwent TAVR with newer-generation devices using balloon or self-expandable valves.

Risk of admission to hospital for self-harm after admission to hospital for COVID-19: French nationwide longitudinal study.

Background: Assessing the risk of subsequent self-harm after hospitalisation for COVID-19 is critical for mental health care planning during and after the pandemic.

Aims: This study aims to compare the risk of admission to hospital for self-harm within 12 months following a COVID-19 hospitalisation during the first half of 2020, with the risk following hospitalisations for other reasons.

Method: Using the French administrative healthcare database, logistic regression models were employed to analyse data from patients admitted to hospitals in metropolitan France between January and June 2020.

Real-life use of the PEXIVAS reduced-dose glucocorticoid regimen in granulomatosis with polyangiitis and microscopic polyangiitis.

Background: The PEXIVAS (Plasma exchange and glucocorticoids in severe antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis) trial showed that a reduced-dose glucocorticoid regimen (redGC) was non-inferior to a standard-dose regimen (standGC) with respect to death or end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). However, the primary endpoint did not include disease progression or relapse, cyclophosphamide was the main induction therapy and rituximab (RTX)-treated patients tended to have a higher risk of death or ESKD with redGC. We aimed to evaluate the real-world use of redGC.

Mitral Annular Disjunction in Heritable Thoracic Aortic Disease: Insights From the Montalcino Aortic Consortium.

Background: Mitral annular disjunction (MAD), posterior displacement of the mitral valve leaflet hinge point, predisposes to arrhythmias or sudden cardiac death. We evaluated the burden of MAD, mitral valve prolapse (MVP), and mitral regurgitation (MR) by heritable thoracic aortic disease gene in a cross-sectional analysis of 2014-2023 data in the Montalcino Aortic Consortium registry.

Methods And Results: MAD was determined by direct measurement of echocardiographic images.

Transcatheter or Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis and Small Aortic Annulus: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: The optimal treatment in patients with severe aortic stenosis and small aortic annulus (SAA) remains to be determined. This study aimed to compare the hemodynamic and clinical outcomes between transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in patients with a SAA.

Methods: This prospective multicenter international randomized trial was performed in 15 university hospitals.

Benralizumab for eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis.

Background: Benralizumab is effective in the treatment of eosinophilic asthma and is being investigated for the treatment of other eosinophil-associated diseases. Reports on the use of benralizumab for the treatment of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) are limited to case reports and small case series.

Methods: We conducted a multicentre, retrospective study including EGPA patients treated with off-label benralizumab.

Efficacy of Lorlatinib in Treatment-Naive Patients With ALK-Positive Advanced NSCLC in Relation to EML4::ALK Variant Type and ALK With or Without TP53 Mutations.

Introduction: Lorlatinib, a third-generation ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitor, improved outcomes compared with crizotinib in patients with previously untreated ALK-positive advanced NSCLC in the phase 3 CROWN study. Here, we investigated response correlates using plasma circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and tumor tissue profiling.

Methods: ALK fusions and ALK with or without TP53 mutations were assessed by next-generation sequencing.

Are Confirmatory Assays Reliable for HIV-1/HIV-2 Infection Differentiation? A Multicenter Study.

Immunoblots remain the gold standard for HIV-1/HIV-2 infection confirmation. However, their ability to differentiate HIV-1 from HIV-2 infection on an antigenically diversified HIV-1 and HIV-2 panel remain uncommon. We performed a multicenter study on 116 serum samples accounting for most of the diversity of HIV-1 (9 different subtypes in group M, 17 circulating recombinant forms (CRFs), and 3 group O) and HIV-2 (groups A and B), evaluating seven confirmatory assays (six commercially available assays and one in-house assay) with genotyping as the reference.

Detection of Nine Oncogenes Amplification in Lung and Colorectal Cancer Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded Tissue Samples using Combined Next-Generation Sequencing-Based Script and Digital Droplet Polymerase Chain Reaction.

Introduction: Gene copy number variations have theranostic impact and require reliable methods for their identification. We aimed to evaluate the reliability of combined next-generation sequencing (NGS) and digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) method for gene amplification evaluation.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective multicentric observational study.

Inhaled corticosteroids for the treatment of COVID-19.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has caused severe illness and mortality for millions worldwide. Despite the development, approval and rollout of vaccination programmes globally to prevent infection by SARS-CoV-2 and the development of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), treatments are still urgently needed to improve outcomes. Early in the pandemic it was observed that patients with pre-existing asthma or COPD were underrepresented among those with COVID-19.

Differential activation of human neutrophils by SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.

The emerging SARS-CoV-2 virus has affected the entire world with over 600 million confirmed cases and 6.5 million deaths as of September 2022. Since the beginning of the pandemic, several variants of SARS-CoV-2 have emerged, with different infectivity and virulence.

Factors associated with insomnia symptoms: A cross-sectional study during a Covid-19 fully restrictive lockdown.

Insomnia is the most frequent sleep disorder and a public health concern that increased during the Covid 19 pandemic. Fully restrictive lockdowns during Covid are interesting periods to examine the impact of environmental and behavioural changes on the emergence of insomnia symptoms. In this cross-sectional study we aimed to (1) determine the main factors associated with insomnia symptoms during a Covid-19 fully restrictive lockdown examining the associated daily life alterations and (2) create a predictive model of insomnia symptoms.

Molecular Alterations in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: A Hope for Effective Treatment by Targeting YAP.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive neoplasm, which has primarily been attributed to the exposure to asbestos fibers (83% of cases); yet, despite a ban of using asbestos in many countries, the incidence of malignant pleural mesothelioma failed to decline worldwide. While little progress has been made in malignant pleural mesothelioma diagnosis, bevacizumab at first, then followed by double immunotherapy (nivolumab plus ipilumumab), were all shown to improve survival in large phase III randomized trials. The morphological analysis of the histological subtyping remains the primary indicator for therapeutic decision making at an advanced disease stage, while a platinum-based chemotherapy regimen combined with pemetrexed, either with or without bevacizumab, is still the main treatment option.

The Impact of an Interactive Guidance Intervention on Sustained Social Withdrawal in Preterm Infants in Chile: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Sustained social withdrawal is a key indicator of child emotional distress and a risk factor for psychological development. Preterm infants have a higher probability of developing sustained social withdrawal than infants born full-term during their first year.

Objective: To compare the effect of a behavioral guidance intervention to that of routine pediatric care on sustained social withdrawal behavior in preterm infants.