Kidney Function Decline After COVID-19 Infection.

Importance: COVID-19 infection has been associated with acute kidney injury. However, its possible association with long-term kidney function is not well understood.

Objective: To investigate whether kidney function decline accelerated after COVID-19 compared with after other respiratory tract infections.

Clinical importance of patient-reported outcome measures in severe asthma: results from U-BIOPRED.

Rationale: Knowledge about the clinical importance of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in severe asthma is limited.

Objectives: To assess whether and to what extent asthma exacerbations affect changes in PROMS over time and asthma-specific PROMs can predict exacerbations in adult patients with severe asthma in usual care.

Methods: Data of 421 patients with severe asthma (62% female; mean age 51.

Distinct Tissue-Dependent Composition and Gene Expression of Human Fetal Innate Lymphoid Cells.

The human fetal immune system starts to develop in the first trimester and likely plays a crucial role in fetal development and maternal-fetal tolerance. Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are the earliest lymphoid cells to arise in the human fetus. ILCs consist of natural killer (NK) cells, ILC1s, ILC2s, and ILC3s that all share a common lymphoid origin.

Epigenetic suppression of creatine kinase B in adipocytes links endoplasmic reticulum stress to obesity-associated inflammation.

In white adipose tissue, disturbed creatine metabolism through reduced creatine kinase B (CKB) transcription contributes to obesity-related inflammation. However, the mechanisms regulating CKB expression in human white adipocytes remain unclear. By screening conditions perturbed in obesity, we identified endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress as a key suppressor of CKB transcription across multiple cell types.

Development and External Validation of a Combined Clinical-Radiomic Model for Predicting Insufficient Hypertrophy of the Future Liver Remnant following Portal Vein Embolization.

Objectives: This study aimed to develop and externally validate a model for predicting insufficient future liver remnant (FLR) hypertrophy after portal vein embolization (PVE) based on clinical factors and radiomics of pretreatment computed tomography (CT) PATIENTS AND METHODS: Clinical information and CT scans of 241 consecutive patients from three Swedish centers were retrospectively collected. One center (120 patients) was applied for model development, and the other two (59 and 62 patients) as test cohorts. Logistic regression analysis was adopted for clinical model development.

Emerging mutation in SARS-CoV-2 facilitates escape from NK cell recognition and associates with enhanced viral fitness.

In addition to adaptive immunity, natural killer (NK) cells of the innate immune system contribute to the control of viral infections. The HLA-E-restricted SARS-CoV-2 Nsp13232-240 epitope VMPLSAPTL renders infected cells susceptible to NK cells by preventing binding to the inhibitory receptor NKG2A. Here, we report that a recently emerged methionine to isoleucine substitution at position 2 (pM2I) of Nsp13232-240 impairs binding of the mutated epitope to HLA-E and diminishes HLA-E/peptide complex stability.

Exploring the Anxiolytic Potential of NPY by a Dipeptidyl Peptidase-IV Inhibitor in an Animal Model of PTSD.

Background: The regulatory neuropeptide Y (NPY) is implicated in anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-related behaviors. NPY exerts its effects through 5 receptor subtypes, with Y1 and Y2 receptors being predominantly expressed in the rat brain. Activation of Y1 by full-length NPY1-36 induces anxiolytic effects, whereas Y2 binds truncated peptides, eliciting region-specific anxiogenic responses.

Longitudinal changes in regional fat and muscle composition and cardiometabolic biomarkers over 5 years of hormone therapy in transgender individuals.

Background: Longitudinal studies investigating hormone therapy in transgender individuals are rare and often limited to 1- to 2-year follow-up periods.

Objectives And Methods: We examined changes in body composition, muscle volumes, and fat distribution as well as muscle strength, arterial stiffness, and cardiometabolic biomarkers in both transgender men (TM; n = 17, age 25 ± 5 years) and transgender women (TW; n = 16, age 28 ± 5 years) at baseline and after 1 and 5-6 years of hormone therapy in a longitudinal prospective cohort design. Whole-body and regional fat and muscle volumes were analyzed using magnetic resonance imaging, and blood samples were taken.

Clinical spectrum of primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis: experience of reference centers in Central and Southeast Anatolia.

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a life-threatening disease, with a high mortality if left untreated. In addition, the disease has unique diagnostic challenges. Therefore, despite the existing guidelines on management, current clinical practice data is informative on the course and outcome.

Impaired branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) catabolism during adipocyte differentiation decreases glycolytic flux.

Dysregulated branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) metabolism has emerged as a key metabolic feature associated with the obese insulin-resistant state, and adipose BCAA catabolism is decreased in this context. BCAA catabolism is upregulated early in adipogenesis, but the impact of suppressing this pathway on the broader metabolic functions of the resultant adipocyte remains unclear. Here, we use CRISPR/Cas9 to decrease BCKDHA in 3T3-L1 and human pre-adipocytes, and ACAD8 in 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes to induce a deficiency in BCAA catabolism through differentiation.

A genome-wide association study in Swedish colorectal cancer patients with gastric- and prostate cancer in relatives.

Background: A complex inheritance has been suggested in families with colorectal-, gastric- and prostate cancer. Therefore, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in colorectal cancer patients, who's relatives had prostate-, and/or gastric cancer.

Methods: The GWAS analysis consisted of 685 cases of colorectal cancer and 4780 healthy controls from Sweden.

Assessing Pharmacokinetics and Safety of Therapeutic Alpha-1-Microglobulin in First-in-Human Kidney Transplantation: A Noncomparative Open-Label Multiple-Dose Phase 1b Study.

Background: RMC-035 is a modified version of alpha-1-microglobulin, an endogenous protein developed as a renoprotective agent. Its intended use is to reduce the risk of irreversible loss of kidney function in cardiac surgery patients and to reduce delayed graft function in kidney transplant recipients. This first-in-human study aimed to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and safety of RMC-035 in kidney transplant recipients.

Augmented glycerosomes as a promising approach against fungal ear infection: Optimization and microbiological, and assessments.

In the current study, voriconazole (VCZ) augmented glycerosomes were optimized for topical otomycosis management according to a 2 factorial design, employing a thin film hydration method. By optimizing Glycerol volume, limonene: VCZ ratio and Span® 60: soybean phosphatidyl choline (PC) ratio, glycerosomes with maximum percentage entrapment efficiency (%EE) and zeta potential (ZP) and minimum vesicle size (VS) and polydispersity index (PDI) were to be obtained. An optimal augmented glycerosomal formula (OAG) that contained 10 mg VCZ, 150 mg PC, and 3 mL glycerol, comprising 2.

Weight Changes Are Linked to Adipose Tissue Genes in Overweight Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have varying difficulties in achieving weight loss by lifestyle intervention, which may depend on adipose tissue metabolism. The objective was to study baseline subcutaneous adipose tissue gene expression as a prediction of weight loss by lifestyle intervention in obese/overweight women with PCOS. This is a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial where women with PCOS, aged 18-40 and body mass index (BMI) ≥ 27 were initially randomized to either a 4-month behavioral modification program or minimal intervention according to standard care.

Long-term effects of pelvic floor training in male chronic pelvic pain, correlation between subjective and objective outcomes: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Chronic primary pelvic pain syndrome (CPPPS) is a condition characterised by pain in the pelvic area together with lower urinary tract symptoms. Pathophysiology remains largely unclear. Common treatment modalities show unsatisfactory results.

Intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring compared with blood glucose monitoring is associated with lower HbA and a reduced risk of hospitalisation for diabetes-related complications in adults with type 2 diabetes on insulin therapies.

Aims/hypothesis: We assessed the impact of initiating intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring (isCGM) compared with capillary blood glucose monitoring (BGM) on HbA levels and hospitalisations for diabetes-related complications in adults with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes in Sweden.

Methods: This retrospective comparative cohort study included adults with type 2 diabetes who had a National Diabetes Register initiation date for isCGM after 1 June 2017. Prescribed Drug Register records identified subgroups treated with multiple daily insulin injections (T2D-MDI) or basal insulin (T2D-B), with or without other glucose-lowering drugs.

Antibiotic biocompatibility assay and anti-biofilm strategies for Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in bioengineered artificial skin substitutes.

Objectives: Bioengineered artificial skin substitutes (BASS) are an advanced therapy for treating extensively burned patients. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) infections represent a major challenge in these patients as formation of biofilms impede wound healing and perpetuate a chronic inflammatory state.

Assisted peritoneal dialysis compared to in-centre hemodialysis - an observational study of outcomes from the Swedish Renal Registry.

Background: In-center hemodialysis (IHD) is the most common dialysis modality. Assisted peritoneal dialysis (assPD) is an option for frail and/or incapacitated patients. Both modalities can be used to alleviate uremic symptoms towards the end of life.

The Association of Outdoor Temperature with Severe Hyponatremia: A Study Based on the Stockholm Sodium Cohort.

Background: Hyponatremia is a common condition with unspecific symptoms and a complicated etiology. The impact of outdoor temperature on hyponatremia is not well-studied and varies depending on the climate and location. This study aimed to investigate the association between outdoor temperature and the prevalence of severe hyponatremia.