Idecabtagene vicleucel or ciltacabtagene autoleucel for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma: An international multicenter study.

Idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel) and ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel) have revolutionized the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM), but direct comparisons are lacking. Leveraging an international multicenter RRMM cohort, we compared the outcome of ide-cel ( = 162) versus cilta-cel ( = 42). Co-primary efficacy endpoints of the study were overall response rate (ORR) and progression-free survival (PFS).

Germline structural variant as the cause of Lynch Syndrome in a family from Ecuador.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Lynch Syndrome (LS) is the most common form of hereditary CRC and it is caused by germline defects in the DNA-mismatch repair (MMR) pathway. It is of extreme importance for affected LS patients and their relatives to identify the germline causative alteration to provide intensified surveillance to those at risk and allow early diagnosis and cancer prevention.

Deep cascaded registration and weakly-supervised segmentation of fetal brain MRI.

Deformable image registration is a cornerstone of many medical image analysis applications, particularly in the context of fetal brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), where precise registration is essential for studying the rapidly evolving fetal brain during pregnancy and potentially identifying neurodevelopmental abnormalities. While deep learning has become the leading approach for medical image registration, traditional convolutional neural networks (CNNs) often fall short in capturing fine image details due to their bias toward low spatial frequencies. To address this challenge, we introduce a deep learning registration framework comprising multiple cascaded convolutional networks.

Advances in the Classification of Aggressive B-cell Lymphomas.

Aggressive B-cell lymphomas are a biologically and clinically very heterogeneous group of tumors that may be related to different stages of B-cell differentiation development. This review aims to summarize recent advances in the understanding of these tumors with a focus on the practical approach to the diagnosis of these entities. We analyze the defining characteristics of the different subtypes of aggressive B-cell lymphomas, including nodal and extranodal diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, virus-associated lymphomas, terminally differentiated B-cell lymphomas, high-grade B-cell lymphomas, and Burkitt lymphoma.

Effectiveness of positive allosteric modulators of metabotropic glutamate receptor 2/3 (mGluR2/3) in animal models of schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a deleterious brain disorder characterised by its heterogeneity and complex symptomatology consisting of positive, negative and cognitive deficits. Current antipsychotic drugs ameliorate the positive symptomatology, but are inefficient in treating the negative symptomatology and cognitive deficits. The neurodevelopmental glutamate hypothesis of SZ has opened new avenues in the development of drugs targeting the glutamatergic system.

Risk Factors and Outcomes Associated With Polymicrobial Infection in Community-Acquired Pneumonia.

Background: Polymicrobial pneumonia is a concern for clinicians due to its association with increased disease severity. Determining the prevalence of polymicrobial pneumonia and identifying patients who have an increased risk of this aetiology is important for the management of CAP patients. Here we describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of adult hospitalized patients with CAP, and identify the risk factors related to polymicrobial pneumonia and specifically to 30-day mortality.

Endothelial Damage in JAK2V617F Myeloproliferative Neoplasms with Splanchnic Vein Thrombosis.

Background:  V617F-mutated myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) exhibit abnormal proliferation of bone marrow progenitors and increased risk of thrombosis, specifically in splanchnic veins (SVT). The contribution of the endothelium to the development of the prothrombotic phenotype was explored.

Material And Methods:  Plasma and serum samples from V617F MPN patients with (n=26) or without (n=7) thrombotic debut and different treatments, were obtained (n=33).

Humoral and cellular immune responses after 6 months of a heterologous SARS-CoV-2 booster with the protein-based PHH-1V vaccine in a phase IIb trial.

The HIPRA-HH-2 was a multicentre, randomized, active-controlled, double-blind, non-inferiority phase IIb clinical trial comparing the immunogenicity and safety of the PHH-1V adjuvanted recombinant vaccine as a heterologous booster against homologous booster with BNT162b2. Interim results demonstrated strong humoral and cellular immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan-Hu-1 strain and the Beta, Delta, and Omicron BA.1 variants up to day 98 post-dosing.

Heterogeneity of reduced FEV in early adulthood: A looking forward, looking backwards analysis.

Background: Some individuals never achieve normal peak FEV in early adulthood. It is unknown if this is due to airflow limitation and/or lung restriction.

Methods: To investigate this, we: (1) looked forward in 19,791 participants in the Dutch Lifelines general population cohort aged 25-35 years with 5-year follow-up; and (2) looked backwards in 2032 participants in the Swedish BAMSE birth cohort with spirometry at 24 years of age but also at 16 and/or 8 years.

Study Protocol for a Prospective, Unicentric, Double-Blind, Randomized, and Placebo-Controlled Trial on the Efficacy of a Low-Histamine Diet and DAO Enzyme Supplementation in Patients with Histamine Intolerance.

Background/objectives: Histamine intolerance is primarily caused by a deficiency in the diamine oxidase (DAO) enzyme at the intestinal level. The reduced histamine degradation in the gut leads to its accumulation in plasma, thereby causing multiple clinical manifestations, such as urticaria, diarrhea, headache, dyspnea, or tachycardia, among others. The dietary management of this food intolerance consists of the follow-up of a low-histamine diet, often combined with DAO supplementation.

Transorbital laser surgery for epilepsy: Anatomic-radiological feasibility of transorbital magnetic resonance imaging-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRIgLITT) for amygdalohippocampectomy in refractory epilepsy.

Objective: to study the anatomical feasibility of laser fiber insertion for interstitial thermal therapy via transorbital approach to the temporo-mesial structures (amygdala-hippocampus-parahippocampus complex).

Methods: Anatomical dissections were performed bilaterally on two human cadaveric heads via a transorbital approach, in which screws and laser fibers were used for magnetic resonance imaging-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRIgLITT) assisted by neuronavigation. In addition, eight transorbital trajectories were simulated using the transorbital entry points obtained from a cadaveric radiological study of four patients previously operated on for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.

Risk of cancer and reoperation after ileorectal anastomosis and ileal pouch-anal anastomosis in familial adenomatous polyposis.

Objectives: To prevent colorectal cancer (CRC), most patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) undergo (procto)colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis (IRA) or ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA). After surgery, these patients remain at risk of developing cancer in the remnant rectum or rectal cuff/pouch. We aimed to compare the long-term risk of cancer following IRA or IPAA in FAP.

A data management system for precision medicine.

Precision, or personalised medicine has advanced requirements for medical data management systems (MedDMSs). MedDMS for precision medicine should be able to process hundreds of parameters from multiple sites, be adaptable while remaining in sync at multiple locations, real-time syncing to analytics and be compliant with international privacy legislation. This paper describes the LogiqSuite software solution, aimed to support a precision medicine solution at the patient care (LogiqCare), research (LogiqScience) and data science (LogiqAnalytics) level.

Safety of steroids in severe community-acquired pneumonia.

The systemic use of corticosteroids for patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (sCAP) remains controversial in clinical practice, particularly in terms of the safety profile of these drugs. This narrative review aims to analyse the available literature data concerning the safety of short-term steroid use in the treatment of sCAP, while also highlighting potential future research directions. Several trials and meta-analyses have evaluated corticosteroid therapy as an adjuvant treatment for sCAP, yielding heterogeneous results regarding its efficacy and safety.

Survival benefit associated with liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma based on tumor burden scores at listing.

Introduction: Liver transplantation (LT) provides significant survival benefits to patients with unresectable HCC. In the United States, organ allocation policies for HCCs within the United Network for Organ Sharing criteria do not prioritize patients based on their differences in oncological characteristics. This study assessed whether transplant-associated survival benefits (TASBs) vary among patients with different tumor burden scores (TBS) measured at the time of listing.

What intensivists need to know about cytomegalovirus infection in immunocompromised ICU patients.

Purpose: Advances in therapeutic care are leading to an increase in the number of patients living with overt immunosuppression. These patients are at risk of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and disease that can lead to or develop during ICU admission. This manuscript aims to describe the clinical presentation, risk factors, and management of CMV infection and disease in this patient population.

In Vitro Activity of Ampicillin Plus Ceftriaxone Against Non- and Non- Enterococcal Isolates With/Without VanC Phenotype: Clinical Implications for Infective Endocarditis.

(1) Background: Alternative antibiotics are needed to treat infective endocarditis (IE) caused by non-/non- enterococci; we aimed to assess the in vitro activity of ampicillin plus ceftriaxone (AMP + CTR) against these enterococci and to describe its clinical efficacy in IE cases. (2) Methods: Time-kill curves with standard (ISI) and high (IHI) inocula were performed to test isolates [3 (ECAS) and 1 (EGALL)] and non- isolates [1 (EDUR), 1 (EHIR) and 1 (ERAF)]. The narrative literature review of IE cases treated with AMP + CTR was analyzed alongside three study cases.

Pregnancy Outcomes in Non-Criteria Obstetric Antiphospholipid Syndrome: Analysis of a Cohort of 91 Patients.

: The clinical and laboratory features of patients with non-criteria obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome (NC-OAPS), as well as their pregnancy outcomes and ideal treatment are not clearly determined. The aim of this study is to describe the characteristics and outcomes of pregnancies in NC-OAPS and compare them with an obstetric APS (OAPS) cohort. : This is a retrospective study conducted on a cohort of women referred to a high-risk obstetric unit of a tertiary hospital.