Alternative splicing and intron retention: Their profiles and roles in cutaneous fibrosis of systemic sclerosis.

Background: Alternative splicing (AS) and intron retention (IR) implicated in multiple pathophysiological processes, have rarely been reported in systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods: We integrated bulk RNA-seq and 4D label-free mass spectrometry to perform a multi-omics analysis of AS and IR in SSc skin tissue and fibroblasts. RMATS and iREAD were used to identify AS and IR, which were validated by real-time PCR.

Trends and outcomes in colorectal cancer surgery: a multicenter cross-sectional study of minimally invasive versus open techniques in Germany.

Background: The objective of this study was to assess the trend from open to modern minimally invasive (laparoscopic and robot-assisted) surgical techniques for colorectal cancer (CRC) in Germany, with a particular focus on hospital mortality, postoperative complications, and length of hospital stay.

Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted using data from 36 German hospitals, encompassing 1,250,029 cases from January 2019 to December 2023. The study included all hospitalized patients aged ≥ 18 with CRC who underwent surgery.

Rhekiss-The German Register for Child Wish and Pregnancies in Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases.

In pharmacoepidemiology, robust data are needed to judge the impact of drug treatment on pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes and breast-fed infants. As pregnant and breastfeeding women are usually excluded from randomised clinical trials, observational studies are required. One of those data sources are pregnancy registers specifically developed to focus on certain diseases or disease groups.

Fibroblast-like synoviocytes preferentially induce terminal differentiation of IgD memory B cells instead of naïve B cells.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease driven by highly active autoantibody-producing B cells. Activation of B cells is maintained within ectopic germinal centres found in affected joints. Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) present in inflamed joints support B-cell survival, activation, and differentiation.

Long-range inhibition from prelimbic to cingulate areas of the medial prefrontal cortex enhances network activity and response execution.

It is well established that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) exerts top-down control of many behaviors, but little is known regarding how cross-talk between distinct areas of the mPFC influences top-down signaling. We performed virus-mediated tracing and functional studies in male mice, homing in on GABAergic projections whose axons are located mainly in layer 1 and that connect two areas of the mPFC, namely the prelimbic area (PrL) with the cingulate area 1 and 2 (Cg1/2). We revealed the identity of the targeted neurons that comprise two distinct types of layer 1 GABAergic interneurons, namely single-bouquet cells (SBCs) and neurogliaform cells (NGFs), and propose that this connectivity links GABAergic projection neurons with cortical canonical circuits.

Treatment Outcomes for Maple Syrup Urine Disease Detected by Newborn Screening.

Objective: Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD), a life-threatening metabolic disorder, is included in newborn screening (NBS) programs worldwide. The study aims to evaluate the impact of NBS on the long-term outcome of MSUD patients.

Methods: We performed a prospective, national, multicenter, observational study.

Treat-to-target and shared decision-making in systemic lupus erythematosus from the patients' perspective: results from an international patient survey.

Objectives: Treat-to-target (T2T) is being recognised as a promising concept to significantly improve the outcomes of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Despite its success being closely tied to patients' involvement, the patients' perspective regarding T2T has not been evaluated. We aimed to investigate patients' attitude towards T2T and their involvement in treatment decisions.

Noncanonical WNT5A controls the activation of latent TGF-β to drive fibroblast activation and tissue fibrosis.

Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) signaling is a core pathway of fibrosis, but the molecular regulation of the activation of latent TGF-β remains incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate a crucial role of WNT5A/JNK/ROCK signaling that rapidly coordinates the activation of latent TGF-β in fibrotic diseases. WNT5A was identified as a predominant noncanonical WNT ligand in fibrotic diseases such as systemic sclerosis, sclerodermatous chronic graft-versus-host disease, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, stimulating fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition and tissue fibrosis by activation of latent TGF-β.

Helicobacter pylori infection associated with an increased incidence of cholelithiasis: A retrospective real-world cohort study of 50 832 patients.

Background And Aim: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is a bacterial disease of the stomach that has been associated with an increased incidence of cholelithiasis. While the updated German guideline emphasizes the relevance of H.

Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor levels predict survival in patients with portal hypertension undergoing TIPS.

Background & Aims: Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is the most effective therapy for complications of portal hypertension. However, clinical outcomes following TIPS placement vary widely between patients and identifying ideal candidates remains a challenge. Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) is a circulating marker of immune activation that has previously been associated with liver inflammation, but its prognostic value in patients receiving TIPS is unknown.

MASLD-Related HCC-Update on Pathogenesis and Current Treatment Options.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common complication of chronic liver diseases and remains a relevant cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. The global prevalence of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) as a risk factor for hepatocarcinogenesis is on the rise. Early detection of HCC has been crucial in improving the survival outcomes of patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), even in the absence of cirrhosis.

Apolipoprotein E controls Dectin-1-dependent development of monocyte-derived alveolar macrophages upon pulmonary β-glucan-induced inflammatory adaptation.

The lung is constantly exposed to the outside world and optimal adaptation of immune responses is crucial for efficient pathogen clearance. However, mechanisms that lead to lung-associated macrophages' functional and developmental adaptation remain elusive. To reveal such mechanisms, we developed a reductionist model of environmental intranasal β-glucan exposure, allowing for the detailed interrogation of molecular mechanisms of pulmonary macrophage adaptation.

Associating Appendicitis with Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD): A Novel Insight into an Unexpected Connection.

Background: The gut microbiome modulates the liver immune microenvironment and is deeply integrated into the pathophysiology of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Appendectomies, which are performed in almost all patients diagnosed with appendicitis, cause long-term alterations to the gut microbiome, providing a potential link with the development of MASLD. We therefore investigated a potential link between appendicitis and the presence of MASLD in a large cohort of outpatients in Germany.

Attenuation of fibroblast activation and fibrosis by adropin in systemic sclerosis.

Fibrotic diseases impose a major socioeconomic challenge on modern societies and have limited treatment options. Adropin, a peptide hormone encoded by the energy homeostasis-associated () gene, is implicated in metabolism and vascular homeostasis, but its role in the pathogenesis of fibrosis remains enigmatic. Here, we used machine learning approaches in combination with functional in vitro and in vivo experiments to characterize adropin as a potential regulator involved in fibroblast activation and tissue fibrosis in systemic sclerosis (SSc).

The protective effect of tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors in COVID-19 in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases compared to the general population-A comparison of two German registries.

Objectives: To investigate, whether inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD) inpatients are at higher risk to develop a severe course of SARS-CoV-2 infections compared to the general population, data from the German COVID-19 registry for IRD patients and data from the Lean European Survey on SARS-CoV-2 (LEOSS) infected patients covering inpatients from the general population with SARS-CoV-2 infections were compared.

Methods: 4310 (LEOSS registry) and 1139 cases (IRD registry) were collected in general. Data were matched for age and gender.

Medical care services provision and stress experience in urologists during all waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.

Purpose: Urologists' practices reported decreasing medical care provision and increasing stress experience in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, long-term effects of the pandemic are unknown.

Methods: Medical record data of n = 127 urologists were used to assess changes in healthcare provision, comparing the pandemic with the pre-pandemic period.

Impact of daily physical therapy over 2 weeks on spinal mobility including objective electronic measurements and function in patients with axial spondyloarthritis.

Background: Patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) are often compromised by impaired function and mobility. The standardized 2-week inpatient program 'multimodal rheumatologic complex treatment' (MRCT) was designed for patients with axSpA. The Epionics SPINE (ES) is an objective tool validated to assess mobility.

Population-based epidemiological projections of rheumatoid arthritis in Germany until 2040.

Objectives: Our aim was to conduct a population-based projection to estimate the number of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) cases in Germany until 2040.

Method: Data obtained from a report published in 2017 (doi:10.20364/VA-17.

Association between iron deficiency anemia and subsequent stomach and colorectal cancer diagnosis in Germany.

Purpose: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common form of anemia worldwide, resulting in a high burden of disease. Accumulating evidence suggests that IDA is associated with the development of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers.

Methods: Data from the IDA database (IQVIA) of primary care practices in Germany of adult patients first diagnosed with IDA between January 2005 and December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed and compared with a 1:1 propensity score-adjusted cohort without IDA.

Patient-reported outcomes in large vessel vasculitis: insights from a retrospective analysis of disease activity and associated factors.

Background: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) play a crucial role in assessing rheumatic diseases, offering insights into disease evaluation and treatment efficacy. This study focuses on PRO assessment in large vessel vasculitides, including Takayasu Arteritis and Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed routine data from patients treated at our rheumatology clinic over a 10-year span.