Point-of-care ultrasound scan as the primary modality for evaluating parotid tumors.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore ultrasonography as a single imaging modality for the initial assessment of parotid lesions compared to computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed on 264 parotid gland lesions evaluated in a dedicated point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) clinic with concurrent fine needle biopsy (FNB). Two hundred and nine of these lesions also underwent CT or MRI imaging.

Tachyarrhythmias During Hospitalization for COVID-19 or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children and Adolescents.

Background Cardiac complications related to COVID-19 in children and adolescents include ventricular dysfunction, myocarditis, coronary artery aneurysm, and bradyarrhythmias, but tachyarrhythmias are less understood. The goal of this study was to evaluate the frequency, characteristics, and outcomes of children and adolescents experiencing tachyarrhythmias while hospitalized for acute severe COVID-19 or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. Methods and Results This study involved a case series of 63 patients with tachyarrhythmias reported in a public health surveillance registry of patients aged <21 years hospitalized from March 15, 2020, to December 31, 2021, at 63 US hospitals.

Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: A Prodromal Subtype of Functional Movement Disorders?

Background: The phenotypic diversity of functional movement disorders (FMD) is considered a reflection of its many etiological subtypes. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a joint hypermobility syndrome, also has variable phenotypes, which may include functional symptoms.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of combined diagnoses of FMD and EDS.

Review of the microbiome in skin aging and the effect of a topical prebiotic containing thermal spring water.

Background: Interest in the skin microbiome and the cosmetic benefits of probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics is increasing.

Aim: The current review explores the influence of the skin microbiome on facial skin aging and the effects of oral and topical probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics use on skin aging and cosmetic outcomes.

Methods: Five dermatologists who treat clinical signs of facial skin aging and a microbiome scientist (advisors) explored the relationship between the skin microbiome and skin aging.

Mouse Model of Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction Driven by Hyperlipidemia and Enhanced Cardiac Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor Expression.

Background The pathways of diastolic dysfunction and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction driven by lipotoxicity with metabolic syndrome are incompletely understood. Thus, there is an urgent need for animal models that accurately mimic the metabolic and cardiovascular phenotypes of this phenogroup for mechanistic studies. Methods and Results Hyperlipidemia was induced in WT-129 mice by 4 weeks of biweekly poloxamer-407 intraperitoneal injections with or without a single intravenous injection of adeno-associatedvirus 9-cardiac troponin T-low-density lipoprotein receptor (n=31), or single intravenous injection with adeno-associatedvirus 9-cardiac troponin T-low-density lipoprotein receptor alone (n=10).

SARS-CoV-2 Effects on the Male Genitourinary System.

SARS-CoV-2 infection arose in 2019 and has changed life as we know it. With our ever-advancing knowledge, therapies, and vaccines, more functions of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are being investigated outside of its pulmonary invasion. Here, we set out to review the current and pertinent literature on the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the male genitourinary system including the bladder, lower urinary tract, prostate, testis, and penis.

Is the Omicron variant truly less virulent in solid organ transplant recipients?

Solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients are at high risk for severe disease with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Emerging variants of concern have disproportionately affected this population. Data on severity and outcomes with the Omicron variant in SOT recipients are limited.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Association Between Classical Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Common Carotid Intima-Media Thickness: An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis.

Background The major risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease differ by race or ethnicity but have largely been defined using populations of European ancestry. Despite the rising prevalence of cardiovascular disease in Africa there are few related data from African populations. Therefore, we compared the association of established cardiovascular risk factors with carotid-intima media thickness (CIMT), a subclinical marker of atherosclerosis, between African, African American, Asian, European, and Hispanic populations.

Factor structure of Pre-Loss Grief-12 in caregivers of people living with dementia.

Introduction: The objective was to develop and refine a version of the Prolonged-Loss Grief-12 (PG-12) specific to caregivers of people living with dementia. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to test the fit of the data from the caregivers and to assess the factor structure of the PG-12 in order to evaluate pre-loss grief accurately by identifying relevant items and eliminating items that are not appropriate for caregivers of persons with dementia.

Methods: A total of 699 eligible caregivers of persons living with dementia (PLWDs) were recruited through relevant dementia associations and organizations.

A comprehensive review of coronary artery disease in patients with end-stage liver disease.

The prevalence of coronary artery disease has increased in patients with end stage liver disease. In the near future, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis is expected to be the leading cause of end stage liver disease and shares common risk factors with coronary artery disease such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity and diabetes mellitus. At present, liver transplantation is the only definitive treatment for end stage liver disease, with post-operative mortality associated with the presence of coronary artery disease.

Predictors of Recurrent Stroke After Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source in the RE-SPECT ESUS Trial.

Background We sought to determine recurrent stroke predictors among patients with embolic strokes of undetermined source (ESUS). Methods and Results We applied Cox proportional hazards models to identify clinical features associated with recurrent stroke among participants enrolled in RE-SPECT ESUS (Randomized, Double-Blind, Evaluation in Secondary Stroke Prevention Comparing the Efficacy and Safety of the Oral Thrombin Inhibitor Dabigatran Etexilate Versus Acetylsalicylic Acid in Patients With Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source) trial, an international clinical trial evaluating dabigatran versus aspirin for patients with ESUS. During a median follow-up of 19 months, 384 of 5390 participants had recurrent stroke (annual rate, 4.

Frontal lobe position after single-layer cadaveric dermal matrix repair of large anterior skull base defects.

Objective: Endoscopic repair of large anterior skull base (ASB) defects has excellent results when using multilayered repairs with a nasoseptal flap. However, in extensive intranasal tumors, a nasoseptal flap may not always be available. One alternative option is a flexible single-layer ASB repair.

Obesity, Galectin-3, and Incident Heart Failure: The ARIC Study.

Background Laboratory data suggest obesity is linked to myocardial inflammation and fibrosis, but clinical data are limited. We aimed to examine the association of obesity with galectin-3, a biomarker of cardiac inflammation and fibrosis, and the related implications for heart failure (HF) risk. Methods and Results We evaluated 8687 participants (mean age 63 years; 21% Black) at ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) Visit 4 (1996-1998) who were free of heart disease.

S-Nitrosoglutathione Reductase Deficiency Causes Aberrant Placental S-Nitrosylation and Preeclampsia.

Background Preeclampsia, a leading cause of maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity, is characterized by an increase in S-nitrosylated proteins and reactive oxygen species, suggesting a pathophysiologic role for dysregulation in nitrosylation and nitrosative stress. Methods and Results Here, we show that mice lacking S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (), a denitrosylase regulating protein S-nitrosylation, exhibit a preeclampsia phenotype, including hypertension, proteinuria, renal pathology, cardiac concentric hypertrophy, decreased placental vascularization, and fetal growth retardation. Reactive oxygen species, NO, and peroxynitrite levels are elevated.

Consensus Definitions of BK Polyomavirus Nephropathy in Renal Transplant Recipients for Clinical Trials.

Background: BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) infection and BK polyomavirus nephropathy (BKPyVAN) are important causes of allograft dysfunction and premature allograft loss in renal transplant recipients.

Results And Discussion: Controlled clinical trials to evaluate new agents for prevention and treatment are needed but are hampered by the lack of outcome measures that accurately assess the effect of the intervention, are clinically relevant, and are acceptable from a regulatory perspective.

Methods: To facilitate consistent end points in clinical trials and to support clinical research and drug development, definitions of BKPyV infection and disease have been developed by the BK Disease Definitions Working Group of the Transplantation Associated Virus Infection Forum with the Forum for Collaborative Research, which consists of scientists, clinicians, regulators, and industry representatives.

Efficacy and Safety of COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma in Hospitalized Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: There is clinical equipoise for COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) use in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

Objective: To determine the safety and efficacy of CCP compared with placebo in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 receiving noninvasive supplemental oxygen.

Design, Setting, And Participants: CONTAIN COVID-19, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of CCP in hospitalized adults with COVID-19, was conducted at 21 US hospitals from April 17, 2020, to March 15, 2021.