Enhancing safety in CT-guided lung biopsies: correlation of MinIP imaging with pneumothorax risk prediction.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate whether minimum-intensity projection (MinIP) images could predict complications in CT-guided lung biopsies.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 72 procedures from January 2019 to December 2023, categorizing patients by pneumothorax and the severity of hemorrhage (grade 2 or higher). Radiodensity measurements were performed using lung window (LW) and MinIP (10-mm slab) images.

Supportive Touch in Psychedelic Assisted Therapy.

In August 2024, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected Lykos Therapeutics, Inc.

Investigation of the Mesencephalic Astrocyte Derived Neurotrophic Factor-Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Pathway in Mood Disorders.

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) has been associated with impaired cellular resilience. Recent studies have shown abnormalities in the unfolded protein response (UPR) in BD. The UPR is the cellular response to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress.

Risk of stroke with reduced dose direct oral anticoagulants vs standard dose anticoagulation after cardioversion of atrial fibrillation: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: There is consensus on the safety of standard dose direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) for stroke prevention in patients undergoing cardioversion of atrial fibrillation (AF), but outcomes of reduced dose DOACs in this setting remain unclear.

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare the rate of cardioversion-associated thromboembolic events between patients taking reduced dose DOACs and those receiving standard dose anticoagulation.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted for studies published between January 1, 2009, and February 16, 2024 in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials.

2024 HRS perspective on advancing workflows for CIED remote monitoring.

Cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) generate substantial data, often stored in image or PDF formats. Remote monitoring, now an integral component of patient care, places considerable administrative burdens on clinicians and staff, in large part due to the challenge of integrating these data seamlessly into electronic health records. Since 2006, the Heart Rhythm Society, in collaboration with the CIED industry, has led an initiative to establish a unified standard nomenclature.

Metaverse technologies in acute care medical education: A scoping review.

Background: The concept of the metaverse is a virtual world that immerses users, allowing them to interact with the digital environment. Due to metaverse's utility in collaborative and immersive simulation, it can be advantageous for medical education in high-stakes care settings such as emergency, critical, and acute care. Consequently, there has been a growth in educational metaverse use, which has yet to be characterized alongside other simulation modalities literature.

Identification of Candidate Characteristics that Predicted a Successful Anesthesiology Residency Program Match in 2024: An Anonymous, Prospective Survey.

Background: The primary aim of our study was to identify candidate characteristics that predicted a successful outcome for applicants to anesthesiology residency programs in the 2024 Main Residency Match. The secondary aim of our study was to assess the impact of gold and silver signals on the application process.

Methods: The Baylor Scott & White Research Institute institutional review board approved this study.

Sphere transgressions: reflecting on the risks of Big Tech expansionism.

The rapid expansion of Big Tech companies into various societal domains (e.g., health, education, and agriculture) over the past decade has led to increasing concerns among governments, regulators, scholars, and civil society.

Identifying biomarker-driven subphenotypes of cardiogenic shock: analysis of prospective cohorts and randomized controlled trials.

Background: Cardiogenic shock (CS) is a heterogeneous clinical syndrome, making it challenging to predict patient trajectory and response to treatment. This study aims to identify biological/molecular CS subphenotypes, evaluate their association with outcome, and explore their impact on heterogeneity of treatment effect (ShockCO-OP, NCT06376318).

Methods: We used unsupervised clustering to integrate plasma biomarker data from two prospective cohorts of CS patients: CardShock (N = 205 [2010-2012, NCT01374867]) and the French and European Outcome reGistry in Intensive Care Units (FROG-ICU) (N = 228 [2011-2013, NCT01367093]) to determine the optimal number of classes.

Flipped binding modes for the same agonist in closely related neuropeptide-gated ion channels.

Neuropeptides are inter-cellular signaling molecules occurring throughout animals. Most neuropeptides bind and activate G-protein coupled receptors, but some also activate ionotropic receptors (or "ligand-gated ion channels"). This is exemplified by the tetra-peptide H-Phe-Met-Arg-Phe-NH (FMRFa), which activates mollusc and annelid FMRFa-gated sodium channels (FaNaCs) from the trimeric degenerin/epithelial sodium channel superfamily.

Associations of fire smoke and other pollutants with incident rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease.

Objective: Determine whether pollutants such as fire smoke-related particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns (PM) are associated with incident rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and RA-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD).

Methods: This case-control study used Veterans Affairs data 10/1/2009-12/31/2018.

Impact of age-related changes in buccal epithelial cells on pediatric epigenetic biomarker research.

Cheek swabs, heterogeneous samples consisting primarily of buccal epithelial cells, are widely used in pediatric DNA methylation studies and biomarker creation. However, the decrease in buccal proportion with age in adults remains unexamined in childhood. We analyzed cheek swabs from 4626 typically developing children 2-months to 20-years-old.

Blarcamesine for the treatment of Early Alzheimer's Disease: Results from the ANAVEX2-73-AD-004 Phase IIB/III trial.

Background: There are no approved oral disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess efficacy and safety of blarcamesine (ANAVEX®2-73), an orally available small-molecule activator of the sigma-1 receptor (SIGMAR1) in early AD through restoration of cellular homeostasis including autophagy enhancement.

Design: ANAVEX2-73-AD-004 was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 48-week Phase IIb/III trial.

Occluded Fenestration is Associated with Improved Long-Term Outcomes in Patients Undergoing the Fenestrated Fontan Operation.

Objective: The modified Fontan operation, a palliative approach for single ventricular circulation patients, often incorporates a fenestration to facilitate postoperative management. Postoperative fenestration closure is sometimes performed to mitigate potential risks such as low oxygen saturation. However, the benefits and potential risks of this procedure remain under investigation.

Phase 3, Randomized, Comparison Study of Intracameral Bimatoprost Implant 10 µg and Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty.

Purpose: To evaluate the intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering effect and safety of up to two bimatoprost implant administrations versus selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT).

Design: Phase 3 (Stage 2), randomized, 24-month, multicenter, patient- and efficacy evaluator-masked, paired-eye clinical trial (NCT02507687).

Participants: Patients (n=183) with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension inadequately managed with topical IOP-lowering medication for reasons other than efficacy.

Delayed or forgone medical care associated with increased resource utilization and health care expenditures among patients with peripheral artery disease in the United States.

Background: PAD affects >12 million Americans and poses significant financial burdens on patients, but the relationship between delayed/forgone (D/F) care and resource use in this population is unknown. We sought to assess the relationship between D/F care, resource use, and health care expenditures among patients with PAD.

Methods: Adults with PAD in the US were identified in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey for years 2007-2017.

A ten-year prospective randomized trial comparing non-operative treatment to hook plate fixation for Rockwood III acromio-clavicular dislocation.

Background: Despite new modern surgical techniques, no short-term functional differences have been demonstrated between operative and non-operative treatment for acute acromio-clavicular (AC) dislocations Rockwood III-V. Few studies describe the long-term clinical and radiological results of these lesions. We aim to compare the one- and ten-year outcome of patients either treated non-operatively or with hook plate fixation for Rockwood III AC lesions.

Disclosure costs: The impact of bipolar diagnosis and social desirability on stigma.

Background: The previous literature concerned with understanding stigma affecting patients with bipolar disorder relies predominantly on qualitative and survey approaches, and rarely contends with the potential role of social desirability on disclosure. The current project employs a 2 × 2 experimental approach to establish the presence of stigmatizing attitudes in a context with real social consequences (i.e.

Evaluation of a machine learning-based metabolic marker for coronary artery disease in the UK Biobank.

Background And Aims: An in silico quantitative score of coronary artery disease (ISCAD), built using machine learning and clinical data from electronic health records, has been shown to result in gradations of risk of subclinical atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease (CAD) sequelae, and mortality. Large-scale metabolite biomarker profiling provides increased portability and objectivity in machine learning for disease prediction and gradation. However, these models have not been fully leveraged.

The association between self-reported total gestational weight gain by pre-pregnancy body mass index and moderate to late preterm birth.

Background: Inadequate and excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) defined by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has been associated with preterm birth. However, studies demonstrate inconsistent associations.

Objectives: We examined the associations between categorical and continuous total GWG and moderate to late preterm birth (32-<37 weeks), and evaluated differences in these associations by pre-pregnancy BMI.