Neuroinflammation in the Rat Brain After Exposure to Diagnostic Ultrasound.

Objective: To date there have been no studies exploring the potential for neuroinflammation as an intracranial bio-effect associated with diagnostic ultrasound during neonatal cranial scans in a mammalian in vivo model. The study described here was aimed at investigating the effects of B-mode and Doppler mode ultrasound on inflammation in the rat brain.

Methods: Twelve Wistar rats (7-9 wk old) were divided into a control group and an ultrasound-exposed group (n = 6/group).

Neutrophil Extracellular Traps and Respiratory Disease.

Extracellular traps made by neutrophils (NETs) and other leukocytes such as macrophages and eosinophils have a key role in the initial immune response to infection but are highly inflammatory and may contribute to tissue damage. They are particularly relevant to lung disease, with the pulmonary anatomy facilitating their ability to fully extend into the airways/alveolar space. There has been a rapid expansion in the number of published studies demonstrating their role in a variety of important respiratory diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis, asthma, pneumonia, COVID-19, rhinosinusitis, interstitial lung disease and lung cancer.

An update on the use of antihistamines in managing chronic urticaria.

Introduction: Urticaria, a mast cell-mediated skin disease, manifests as acute or chronic, with the latter divided into spontaneous and inducible types and requires individualized management, including identifying triggers and comorbidities. Antihistamines, particularly the second generation group, form the mainstay of primary treatment plans consisting of dosage adjustments and/or in combination with other treatment modalities depending on underlying disease control.

Areas Covered: A literature search was conducted using 'antihistamines,' 'urticaria,' 'pharmacogenomics,' 'genomics,' 'biomarkers' and 'treatment response' as key words.

Optimising patient outcomes: temporal trends in remission rates of rheumatoid arthritis patients in the Australian OPAL dataset between 2009 and 2022.

Objective: To describe the trends in remission rates among RA patients in the OPAL dataset, spanning from 2009 to 2022, and provide insights into the effectiveness of evolving RA management approaches in real-world clinical settings.

Methods: Patients with a physician diagnosis of RA and at least 3 visits between 1 January 2009 and December 2022 were identified in the OPAL dataset, an aggregated collection of data extracted from the electronic medical records of patients managed by 117 Australian rheumatologists. Demographics, disease history, prescribed medications and proportions of patients in Disease Activity Score 28-joint count C-reactive protein (DAS28CRP)) categories (remission, low disease activity (LDA), moderate disease activity (MDA) and high disease activity (HDA)) were described.

ReClassification of Patients with Ambiguous CA125 for Optimised Pre-Surgical Triage.

Pre-surgical clinical assessment of an adnexal mass is a complex process, and ideally requires accurate and rapid identification of disease status. Gold standard biomarker CA125 is extensively used off-label for this purpose; however its performance is typically inadequate, particularly for the detection of early stage disease and discrimination between benign versus malignant status. We recently described a multi-marker panel (MMP) and associated risk index for the differentiation of benign from malignant ovarian disease.

Factors influencing decision-making processes for intensive care therapy goals: A systematic integrative review.

Background: Delivering intensive care therapies concordant with patients' values and preferences is considered gold standard care. To achieve this, healthcare professionals must better understand decision-making processes and factors influencing them.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore factors influencing decision-making processes about implementing and limiting intensive care therapies.

Exploring Age-Related Variations in Carpal Bone Volume: Implications for Clinical Practice and Anatomical Understanding.

Background: Clinically recognizing the changes in carpal bone volumes and understanding their implications in predicting osteoarthritis (OA) is crucial in clinical practice This study aimed to explore age-related differences in carpal bone volumes across genders, leveraging computed tomography (CT) wrist scans to create 3D surface models of these bones.

Methods: Carpal bone volumes were calculated using the 3D Slicer software from CT scans obtained from Frankston Hospital and additional datasets from Brown and Auckland Universities. The data were statistically processed using Stata V13.

A Diagnostic Dilemma of Prevertebral Abscess Versus Food Bolus on Lateral Neck X-Ray: A Case Report.

In this case, a 76-year-old female presenting with globus sensation post-oral intake demonstrated radiographical evidence of mottled radiolucency and prevertebral widening on a lateral neck X-ray at the inferior C4/cricoid cartilage, leading to concern for a prevertebral abscess. A decision was made to proceed with an urgent gastrointestinal endoscopy, and a food bolus was identified and removed, leading to a full remission of the patients' symptoms. In this case, an appropriate diagnosis was achieved by combining multiple investigations, which highlights to clinicians that taking investigations in isolation, with the aforementioned lateral neck X-ray being the primary example, could lead to potential misdiagnosis and mismanagement of patients.

"Hypertension in Pregnancy Intervention Trial At Term" and "Disproportionate Intrauterine Growth Intervention Trial At Term" Studies.

In 2003, in the context of a national research funding program in which obstetric research was prioritized, several perinatal centers took the initiative to jointly submit a number of applications to the subsidy programs of Effectiveness Research and Prevention of ZonMw. This has led to the funding of the Obstetric Consortium with several projects, including the "Hypertension in Pregnancy Intervention Trial At Term" and the "Disproportionate Intrauterine Growth Intervention Trial At Term" studies. The studies showed that induction of labor for hypertension and growth restriction at term was the appropriate management.

Deep learning denoising reconstruction enables faster T2-weighted FLAIR sequence acquisition with satisfactory image quality.

Introduction: Deep learning reconstruction (DLR) technologies are the latest methods attempting to solve the enduring problem of reducing MRI acquisition times without compromising image quality. The clinical utility of this reconstruction technique is yet to be fully established. This study aims to assess whether a commercially available DLR technique applied to 2D T2-weighted FLAIR brain images allows a reduction in scan time, without compromising image quality and thus diagnostic accuracy.

Myeloperoxidase-specific antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis.

Myeloperoxidase (MPO)-specific antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis) is one of two major ANCA-associated vasculitis variants characterised by systemic necrotising vasculitis with few or no immune deposits. MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis predominantly affects small blood vessels and, in contrast to its counterpart proteinase 3-ANCA-associated vasculitis, is generally not associated with granulomatous inflammation. The kidneys and lungs are the most commonly affected organs.

Comparison of Goal Achievement during an Early, Intensive Nutrition Intervention Delivered to People with Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer by Telephone Compared with Mobile Application.

Objective: This study is aimed at exploring whether the mode of nutrition intervention delivery affected participant goal achievement in a three-arm randomised controlled trial of early and intensive nutrition intervention delivered to upper gastrointestinal cancer patients.

Methods: Newly diagnosed upper gastrointestinal cancer patients were recruited from four tertiary hospitals in Melbourne, Australia. Participants in the intervention groups received a regular nutrition intervention for 18 weeks from an experienced dietitian via telephone or mobile application (app) using behaviour change techniques to assist in goal achievement.

What does cognitive screening reveal about early cognitive performance following endovascular clot retrieval and intravenous thrombolysis in acute ischaemic stroke?

Background Little is known regarding cognitive outcomes following treatment with endovascular clot retrieval (ECR) and intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA). We aimed to determine if there were any differences on a measure of cognitive screening between patients treated with ECR, t-PA, and those who were managed conservatively. Methods The medical records of ischaemic stroke patients admitted to Monash Medical Centre between January 2019 and December 2019 were retrospectively reviewed.

A Human Homozygous Missense Variant Does Not Cause Premature Ovarian Insufficiency in a Mouse Model.

Disruption of meiosis and DNA repair genes is associated with female fertility disorders like premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). In this study, we identified a homozygous missense variant in the gene (c.596 A>C; p.

Indolent T Cell Lymphoproliferation of the Gastrointestinal Tract: An Evolving Disease Entity.

Indolent T cell lymphoproliferation of the gastrointestinal tract is a novel entity recently added to the 2016 WHO classification of lymphoid neoplasms. Classically, these patients demonstrate an immunophenotype consistent with T cell proliferation and can be either CD4-positive or CD8-positive but with a low Ki67 index, highlighting the indolent nature of this disease compared to its more aggressive T cell lymphoma counterparts such as enteropathy-associated T cell lymphoma and monomorphic epitheliotropic intestinal T cell lymphoma. Here, we describe one rare case of such a neoplasm under our care, initially presenting with non-specific signs and symptoms and requiring extensive investigations to diagnose.

Selenium binding protein 1 protects renal tubular epithelial cells from ferroptosis by upregulating glutathione peroxidase 4.

Ferroptosis is a form of programmed cell death involved in various types of acute kidney injury (AKI). It is characterized by inactivation of the selenoprotein, glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), and upregulation of acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4). Since urinary selenium binding protein 1 (SBP1/SELENBP1) is a potential biomarker for AKI, this study investigated whether SBP1 plays a role in AKI.

Validation of the Italian version of the ANCA-associated vasculitis patient-reported outcome (AAV-PRO) questionnaire.

Objectives: The primary objective of this study was the translation and validation of the ANCA-associated vasculitis patient-reported outcome (AAV-PRO) questionnaire into Italian, denoted as AAV-PRO_ita. The secondary objective was to evaluate the impact of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) on quality of life (QoL) and work impairment in a large cohort of Italian patients.

Methods: The study design took a prospective cohort study approach.

Podocyte number and glomerulosclerosis indices are associated with the response to therapy for primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

Corticosteroid therapy, often in combination with inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system, is first-line therapy for primary focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) with nephrotic-range proteinuria. However, the response to treatment is variable, and therefore new approaches to indicate the response to therapy are required. Podocyte depletion is a hallmark of early FSGS, and here we investigated whether podocyte number, density and/or size in diagnostic biopsies and/or the degree of glomerulosclerosis could indicate the clinical response to first-line therapy.