Lipid-Lowering Efficiency and Safety of Alirocumab 300 mg Using a 2-mL Autoinjector Device in Real-World Practice: The MARS Study.

Background: Alirocumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody to proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 used for the reduction of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in high-risk patients not reaching their LDL-C target. Recently, a 2-mL prefilled autoinjector has been developed to support the monthly 300-mg dosing regimen with a single-injection administration.

Methods And Objectives: Monthly application of 300 mg AlirRocumab (Praluent) using the 2-mL SYDNEY Device (MARS) is a non-interventional, open, prospective, multi-center cohort study conducted in Germany between 2021 and 2023 with an observational period of 12 weeks.

Rational choices elicit stronger sense of agency in brain and behavior.

The sense of agency is the subjective feeling of control over one's own actions and the associated outcomes. Here, we asked whether and to what extent the reasons behind our choices (operationalized by value differences, expected utility, and counterfactual option sets) drive our sense of agency. We simultaneously tested these three dimensions during a novel value-based decision-making task while recording explicit (self-reported) and implicit (brain signals) measures of agency.

[The intestinal microbiota in inflammatory bowel diseases].

Background: The intestinal microbiota comprises all living microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract and is crucial for its function. Clinical observations and laboratory findings confirm a central role of the microbiota in chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). However, many mechanistic details remain unclear.

Effective eradication of acute myeloid leukemia stem cells with FLT3-directed antibody-drug conjugates.

Refractory disease and relapse are major challenges in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) therapy attributed to survival of leukemic stem cells (LSC). To target LSCs, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) provide an elegant solution, combining the specificity of antibodies with highly potent payloads. We aimed to investigate if FLT3-20D9h3-ADCs delivering either the DNA-alkylator duocarmycin (DUBA) or the microtubule-toxin monomethyl auristatin F (MMAF) can eradicate quiescent LSCs.

Acute respiratory tract infections during the first six years of life - results from the German birth cohort study LoewenKIDS.

Objectives: Acute respiratory infections (ARI) often occur in early childhood and are mostly self-limited. However, they impose a high socioeconomic burden and can be associated with chronic diseases later in life. To date, data on self-reported ARI beyond infancy are limited.

Nickel(II) complexes with covalently attached quinols rely on ligand-derived redox couples to catalyze superoxide dismutation.

Although nickel is found in the active sites of a class of superoxide dismutase (SOD), nickel complexes with non-peptidic ligands normally do not catalyze superoxide degradation, and none has displayed activity comparable to those of the best manganese-containing SOD mimics. Here, we find that nickel complexes with polydentate quinol-containing ligands can exhibit catalytic activity comparable to those of the most efficient manganese-containing SOD mimics. The nickel complexes retain a significant portion of their activity in phosphate buffer and under operando conditions and rely on ligand-centered redox processes for catalysis.

Propensity score matched comparison of lymph node upstaging in early-stage lung cancer: open versus minimally invasive surgery with standardized lymphadenectomy.

Background: Lymph node upstaging represents a quality criterion for standardized lymphadenectomy in lung cancer surgery. The aim of the study was to compare whether the quality of standardized lymphadenectomy in lung cancer surgery is comparable in minimally invasive (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery) and the open approach (thoracotomy). Furthermore, factors associated with lymph node upstaging were assessed, as was its impact on overall survival and progression-free survival.

Accuracy of full arch scans performed with nine different scanning patterns- an in vitro study.

Objective: Evaluation of the accuracy of direct digitization of maxillary scans depending on the scanning strategy.

Materials And Methods: A maxillary model with a metal bar as a reference structure fixed between the second molars was digitized using the CEREC Primescan AC scanner (N = 225 scans). Nine scanning strategies were selected (n = 25 scans per strategy), differing in scan area segmentation (F = full jaw, H = half jaw, S = sextant) and scan movement pattern (L = linear, Z = zig-zag, C = combined).

Adding checkpoint inhibitors to first-line chemotherapy for NUT carcinoma patients.

Rare cancers present significant challenges in diagnosis, treatment, and research, accounting for up to 25% of global cancer cases. Due to their rarity and atypical presentations, they are often misdiagnosed, resulting in late-stage detection and poor outcomes. Here, we describe a patient case with advanced metastatic nasopharynx NUT carcinoma, one of the rarest and most aggressive cancers.

Effect of artificial intelligence-aided differentiation of adenomatous and non-adenomatous colorectal polyps at CT colonography on radiologists' therapy management.

Objectives: Adenomatous colorectal polyps require endoscopic resection, as opposed to non-adenomatous hyperplastic colorectal polyps. This study aims to evaluate the effect of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted differentiation of adenomatous and non-adenomatous colorectal polyps at CT colonography on radiologists' therapy management.

Materials And Methods: Five board-certified radiologists evaluated CT colonography images with colorectal polyps of all sizes and morphologies retrospectively and decided whether the depicted polyps required endoscopic resection.

Joint analysis of germline genetic data from over 29,000 cases with suspected hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) as part of the NASGE initiative.

As multigene panel testing is becoming routine in clinical care, there are recommendations at national and international level, as to which genes should be analyzed in the context of a hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC). However, the individual composition of gene panels offered by testing laboratories vary, resulting in a different variant diagnostic rate. Therefore, we performed a retrospective NGS dataset analysis of suspected HBOC patients who had been tested at different German diagnostic laboratories that are part of the NASGE network.

The Effect of Ga-Ion Irradiation on Sub-Micron-Wavelength Spin Waves in Yttrium-Iron-Garnet Films.

We investigate the effect of focused-ion-beam (FIB) irradiation on spin waves with sub-micron wavelengths in Yttrium-Iron-Garnet (YIG) films. Time-resolved scanning transmission X-ray (TR-STXM) microscopy was used to image the spin waves in irradiated regions and deduce corresponding changes in the magnetic parameters of the film. We find that the changes of Gairradiation can be understood by assuming a few percent change in the effective magnetizationof the film due to a trade-off between changes in anisotropy and effective film thickness.

[The Cluster Headache Impact Questionnaire : Measuring headache-related impairment in cluster headache patients].

Cluster headache is a severe primary headache disorder, which can be associated with a substantial impairment for sufferers. The Cluster Headache Impact Questionnaire (CHIQ) is a short questionnaire for measuring the cluster headache-specific impairment. A 5-stage severity grading from "no to low impairment" to "'extreme impairment" was established based on the results of an English-speaking patient collective.

Positive real-time PCR in pneumococcal meningitis 12 hours after initiation of antibiotic therapy - case report.

Background: Purulent meningitis poses a significant clinical challenge with high mortality. We present the case of a 54-year-old female transferred to our emergency department with suspected bacterial meningitis, later diagnosed as an Austrian syndrome.

Case Presentation: The patient exhibited subacute somnolence, severe headache, nausea and fever.

ARID1A mutations protect follicular lymphoma from FAS-dependent immune surveillance by reducing RUNX3/ETS1-driven FAS-expression.

The cell death receptor FAS and its ligand (FASLG) play crucial roles in the selection of B cells during the germinal center (GC) reaction. Failure to eliminate potentially harmful B cells via FAS can lead to lymphoproliferation and the development of B cell malignancies. The classic form of follicular lymphoma (FL) is a prototypic GC-derived B cell malignancy, characterized by the t(14;18)(q32;q21)IGH::BCL2 translocation and overexpression of antiapoptotic BCL2.

Pre-emptive Endovascular Repair for Uncomplicated Type B Dissection - Is this an Option?

Type B aortic dissection (TBAD) primarily affects men aged 60-65, with hypertension in over 80% of cases. The gold standard for the treatment of uncomplicated acute TBAD is Best Medical Therapy (BMT), which focused on controlling blood pressure and heart rate. However, Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair (TEVAR) has gained attention over the years, especially for complicated TBAD cases, by covering the primary entry tear, lowering false lumen pressure, and promoting aortic remodeling.

Aging platelets shift their hemostatic properties to inflammatory functions.

Platelets are crucial players in hemostasis and thrombosis, but also contribute to immune regulation and host defense, using different receptors, signaling pathways and effector functions, respectively. Whether distinct subsets of platelets specialize in these diverse tasks is insufficiently understood. Here, we employed an in vivo pulse-labelling method in Mus musculus models for tracking in vivo platelet ageing and its functional implications.

A novel micelleplex for tumour-targeted delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 against KRAS-mutated lung cancer.

CRISPR-Cas9 has emerged as a highly effective and customizable genome editing tool, holding significant promise for the treatment of KRAS mutations in lung cancer. In this study, we introduce a novel micelleplex, named C14-PEI, designed to co-deliver Cas9 mRNA and sgRNA efficiently to excise the mutated KRAS allele in lung cancer cells. C14-PEI is synthesised from 1,2-epoxytetradecane and branched PEI 600 Da a ring-opening reaction.