Vaginal Antiseptic Preparation at the Time of Hysterectomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: To compare the rates of surgical site infection (SSI) after hysterectomy using vaginal antisepsis with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) versus povidone-iodine (PI).

Data Sources: PubMed, Embase, and Clinicaltrials.gov databases were queried from January 1, 1985 through Dec 7, 2023.

Global Epidemiology of Alcohol-Related Liver Disease, Liver Cancer, and Alcohol Use Disorder, 2000-2021.

Background/aims: Alcohol represents a leading burden of disease worldwide, including alcohol use disorder (AUD) and alcohol-related liver disease (ALD). We aim to assess the global burden of AUD, ALD, and alcohol-attributable primary liver cancer between 2000-2021.

Methods: We registered the global and regional trends of AUD, ALD, and alcohol-related liver cancer using data from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 Study, the largest and most up-to-date global epidemiology database.

Surgical Site Infection After Sacral Neuromodulation: Impact of Postoperative Antibiotics.

Importance: There are limited data to guide practices to reduce surgical site infections following sacral neuromodulation; however, many surgeons prescribe prophylactic postoperative antibiotics after device implantation.

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare the proportion of patients with sacral neuromodulation device-associated surgical site infections after use of prophylactic postoperative antibiotics versus none.

Study Design: This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing sacral neuromodulation device implantation at 11 institutions from January 2014 to December 2023, comparing outcomes in patients who did versus did not receive prophylactic postoperative antibiotic treatment.

Biomarkers.

Background: As new anti-amyloid immunotherapies emerge for Alzheimer's disease (AD), it is clear that early diagnosis of AD pathology is crucial for treatment success. This can be challenging in atypical presentations of AD and, together with our reliance on CSF or PET scans, can, at times, lead to delayed diagnosis. Here, we further explore the possible role of plasma tau phosphorylated at threonine 217 (P-tau217) for the detection of primary AD or AD co-pathology when frontotemporal dementia spectrum disorders are the main clinical presentation.

Biomarkers.

Background: Approximately 10% of patients with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection present with persistent symptoms recognized as the long-COVID. Neurological and cognitive symptoms are prevalent in long-COVID, requiring a deeper understanding of the biological basis of this condition for potential therapeutic interventions. Cerebrovascular complications are observed during acute infection, underscoring the importance of understanding cerebrovascular outcomes.

Alzheimer's Imaging Consortium.

Background: Approximately 10% of patients with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection present with persistent symptoms recognized as the long-COVID. Neurological and cognitive symptoms are prevalent in long-COVID, requiring a deeper understanding of the biological basis of this condition for potential therapeutic interventions. Cerebrovascular complications are observed during acute infection, underscoring the importance of understanding cerebrovascular outcomes.

Drug Development.

Background: Global epidemiological studies involving over nine million participants have shown a 35% lower incidence of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) in older cancer survivors compared to those without a history of cancer. This inverse relationship, consistent across recent studies with methodological controls, suggests that cancer itself, rather than cancer treatments, may offer protective factors against AD. This insight opens avenues for novel therapeutic strategies targeting early AD by harnessing cancer-associated protective factors.

Pancreatic organogenesis mapped through space and time.

The spatial organization of cells within a tissue is dictated throughout dynamic developmental processes. We sought to understand whether cells geometrically coordinate with one another throughout development to achieve their organization. The pancreas is a complex cellular organ with a particular spatial organization.

Mortality of gastrointestinal cancers attributable to smoking, alcohol, and metabolic risk factors, and its association with socioeconomic development status 2000-2021: GI Cancer Mortality and Risk Factors.

Objective: Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers account for one-third of global cancer mortality, with nearly half being preventable. This study updates the global burden of GI cancers attributed to major risk factors: smoking, alcohol, and metabolic disturbances.

Methods: We utilized data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 to examine trends in death and age-standardized death rates related to GI cancers caused by smoking, alcohol, high body mass index (BMI), and high fasting blood glucose (FBG) from 2000 to 2021.

Increased MASH-associated liver cancer in younger demographics.

Background: The incidence of cancer and the prevalence of metabolic disease and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease is increasing in young adults. However, updated global data on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH)-associated primary liver cancer (PLC) in young adults remains scarce.

Methods: This study analyzed data from the Global Burden of Disease study between 2000 and 2021 to assess the age-standardized incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years rates from MASH-associated PLC in young adults (15-49 y).

Differential Neutralization Profiles of 17DD Vaccinated Population to 17D-204 and 17DD Vaccine Strains.

: Yellow fever virus (YFV) (, ) is the etiologic agent of yellow fever (YF), a vector-borne disease with significant morbidity and mortality across the tropics and neotropics, despite having a highly efficacious and safe vaccine (17D). Vaccination provides lifelong protection from YF disease mediated by humoral immunity. There are several versions of the original 17D vaccine: 17D-204 (marketed in the USA as YF-VAX, in France as Stamaril, and in China as Tiantan-V), 17D-213 (Russian Federation), and 17DD (by FIOCRUZ in Brazil).

Vitamin B, B, and B Intakes and Risk of Gastric Cancer: Findings from a Case-Control Study.

Background/objectives: Gastric cancer is one of the leading malignancies worldwide. B vitamins play important roles in DNA synthesis and methylation because they are considered co-enzymes in one-carbon metabolism. There is inconclusive evidence regarding the associations between dietary vitamins B, B, and B with the risk of gastric cancer in different epidemiologic studies.

Defensive Medicine in an Emergency Department: The Overuse of High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin I Testing.

Introduction: Cardiac troponin I is routinely measured in patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome. However, when a high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) test is ordered without a clear clinical indication, unexpectedly elevated levels can lead to unnecessary diagnostic workups and inappropriate management. This study aimed to investigate physicians' rationale for performing hs-cTnI tests in an emergency department (ED).

Transcutaneous Spinal Stimulation Combined with Locomotor Training Improves Functional Outcomes in a Child with Cerebral Palsy: A Case Study.

Background And Purpose: activities-based locomotor training (AB-LT) is a restorative therapeutic approach to the treatment of movement deficits in people with non-progressive neurological conditions, including cerebral palsy (CP). Transcutaneous spinal stimulation (TSS) is an emerging tool in the rehabilitation of individuals with sensorimotor deficits caused by neurological dysfunction. This non-invasive technique delivers electrical stimulation over the spinal cord, leading to the modulation of spinal sensorimotor networks.

ZFP36L2 Is a Potential Prognostic Marker of IL1β Osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma stands as the predominant bone malignancy afflicting children and young adults. Despite strides in treatment, the enduring reality is that the long-term survival rates for patients grappling with recurrences and metastases linger at a mere 30%. This underscores the pressing demand for novel prognostic markers and therapeutic avenues to improve outcomes and offer hope to those battling this formidable disease.

A Whodunnit: Anterior ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction in a Patient Found to Have Apparent Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy, Left Anterior Descending Artery Disease, and Myocardial Bridging.

We present a case of a 52-year-old male with no known past medical history who presented to an outside hospital with acute chest pain. Initial workup revealed anteroseptal ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) for which the patient was transferred to our facility for emergent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, the patient's hospital course revealed numerous confounding pathologies that can also present as STEMI, including transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) abnormalities consistent with takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TCM) as well as myocardial bridging presenting as post-PCI STEMI in the setting of nitroglycerin use.

Patients with dementia with Lewy bodies display a signature alteration of their cognitive connectome.

Cognition plays a central role in the diagnosis and characterization of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). However, the complex associations among cognitive deficits in different domains in DLB are largely unknown. To characterize these associations, we investigated and compared the cognitive connectome of DLB patients, healthy controls (HC), and Alzheimer's disease patients (AD).

The Exposome and Cardiovascular Health: Webcast December 12 2024.

This 61-minute webcast features a conversation about "The Exposome and Cardiovascular Health"-the focus of Issue 20.5. Led by the issue's editors, the discussion engages the authors on emerging themes and lessons learned while researching and writing the articles.

Estimating the Risk of Cardiovascular Events in U.S. Veterans Using the SMART Risk Score.

Background: Estimation of long-term risk for cardiovascular events using the SMART (Secondary Manifestations of Arterial Disease) risk score can be potentially valuable in devising risk mitigation strategies.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to apply the SMART risk score to compute the risk for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in the U.S.

Depletion of myeloid-derived suppressor cells sensitizes murine multiple myeloma to PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors.

Background: Cancer immunotherapy using immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has revolutionized cancer treatment. However, patients with multiple myeloma (MM) rarely respond to ICB. Accumulating evidence indicates that the complicated tumor microenvironment (TME) significantly impacts the efficacy of ICB therapy.

Fortilin binds CTNNA3 and protects it against phosphorylation, ubiquitination, and proteasomal degradation to guard cells against apoptosis.

Fortilin, a 172-amino acid polypeptide, is a multifunctional protein that interacts with various protein molecules to regulate their functions. Although fortilin has been shown to interact with cytoskeleton proteins such as tubulin and actin, its interactions with the components of adherens junctions remained unknown. Using co-immunoprecipitation western blot analyses, the proximity ligation assay, microscale thermophoresis, and biolayer interferometry, we here show that fortilin specifically interacts with CTNNA3 (α-T-catenin), but not with CTNNA1, CTNNA2, or CTNNB.