Detection of clinically relevant variants in the gene below 10% allelic frequency: A multicenter study by ERIC, the European Research Initiative on CLL.

In chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the reliability of next-generation sequencing (NGS) to detect variants ≤10% allelic frequency (low-VAF) is debated. We tested the ability to detect 23 such variants in 41 different laboratories using their NGS method of choice. The sensitivity was 85.

The Association Between Myasthenia Gravis and Higher Extrathymic Cancer Risk.

Background: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is strongly associated with thymic tumors, but whether it is also associated with extrathymic cancers is debatable or whether MG can be considered a paraneoplastic disorder for extrathymic cancers.

Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of the MG cohort for 23 years' time (January 2000 to May 2023), extracting cancer rates with clinical, electrophysiological, and biochemical cancer associations and the effect of chronic medications.

Results: We identified 436 patients with MG and 3924 controls.

Baseline Drug Clearance Predicts Outcomes in Children With Inflammatory Bowel Disease Treated With Vedolizumab: Results From the VedoKids Prospective Multicentre Study.

Background: The pharmacokinetics of biologic agents can differ between children and adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), often necessitating modified paediatric dosing strategies.

Aims: To define the exposure-response relationship of vedolizumab in the paediatric IBD VedoKids cohort including the effect of baseline clearance on deep biochemical remission (normal C-reactive protein [CRP]/erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR] and steroid-free remission) at 30 weeks, and to use population pharmacokinetic models to find the best matches between adult and paediatric pharmacokinetic profiles.

Methods: We sought a pharmacokinetic model on 312 serum vedolizumab concentrations from 129 children, assisted by a published adult model as a Bayesian prior.

Differences in the factor structure of the Eating Attitudes Test-26 in female adolescent patients with eating disorders before and after treatment.

Objective: The Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) is considered the screening instrument of choice to identify eating disorders (ED) symptoms in clinical and community populations, showing a classical three-factor structure. This study assessed whether the factor structure of the EAT-26 in patients with ED was stable at admission and discharge from inpatient treatment.

Methods: We administered the EAT-26 to 207 female adolescents with ED at both admission and discharge.

Dura fenestration is non-inferior and with lower complication incidence compared to augmented duraplasty in decompressive craniectomy.

Decompressive craniectomy is a procedure for managing elevated intracranial pressure (ICP). However, it carries a high morbidity and mortality toll. While there is relative consensus regarding the bony part of the decompression, the role of dura opening and the optimal technique to perform it are under debate.

Retreatment of Failed Regenerative Endodontic Therapy: Outcome and Treatment Considerations.

Introduction Regenerative endodontic therapy (RET) has been suggested for treating immature necrotic teeth, and failures after RET may be observed during follow-up examinations, even two years after the initial treatment. The study aimed to examine the outcomes of RET and suggest a decision-making guide for the retreatment of failed cases. Methods Around 414 endodontically treated immature teeth from patients aged six and 17 were screened to identify eight patients who presented with a failed RET.

Characteristics and Outcomes of Over a Million Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Seven Countries: Multinational Cohort Study and Open Data Resource.

Background And Aims: Observational healthcare data are an important tool for delineating patients' inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) journey in real-world settings. However, studies that characterize IBD cohorts typically rely on a single resource, apply diverse eligibility criteria, and extract variable sets of attributes, making comparison between cohorts challenging. We aim to longitudinally describe and compare IBD patient cohorts across multiple geographic regions, employing unified data and analysis framework.

Perceptual learning and neural correlates of virtual navigation in subjective cognitive decline: A pilot study.

Spatial navigation deficits in age-related diseases involve brain changes affecting spatial memory and verbal cognition. Studies in blind and blindfolded individuals show that multisensory training can induce neuroplasticity through visual cortex recruitment. This proof-of-concept study introduces a digital navigation training protocol, integrating egocentric and allocentric strategies with multisensory stimulation and visual masking to enhance spatial cognition and brain connectivity in 17 individuals (mean age 57.

Upper Rectal Cancer: To Irradiate or Not?

Introduction This study examines the ongoing debate surrounding treatment strategies for upper rectal cancer. While neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) is well established for mid and low rectal cancers, its efficacy for upper rectal cancers remains contentious. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety, clinical outcomes, and oncologic results of chemoradiation in upper rectal cancer.

Prognostic Factors Associated With Increased Mortality in Pediatric Veno-Occlusive Disease Following Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.

Background: Hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) is a life-threatening complication of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and is categorized as a transplant-related, systemic endothelial disease. Severe VOD can lead to multi-organ dysfunction (MOF) and is associated with a high mortality rate.

Objective: To evaluate the incidence of VOD in children after HCT and analyze the outcomes and risk factors associated with increased mortality.

[INTUSSUSCEPTION IN CHILDREN - GUIDELINES FOR DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT].

Ileocolic intussusception is the most common cause of acute intestinal obstruction in infancy. Without rapid diagnosis and intervention, as well as collaboration among physicians from multiple disciplines, the patient's condition can deteriorate significantly, leading to ischemia and bowel necrosis. This position paper is the work of a committee of the Israel Pediatric Association, the Israel Pediatric Surgery Association, the Israel Radiological Association (Pediatric Imaging Section), and the Israel Association of Emergency Medicine (Pediatric Emergency Medicine Section) with the aim of establishing guidelines and thereby improving the treatment of children.

Real-Time Perfusion and Leak Assessment in Bariatric Surgery: Bridging Traditional and Advanced Techniques.

This comprehensive literature review explores the efficacy of real-time perfusion and leak assessment methods in bariatric surgery, comparing traditional techniques with advanced imaging modalities. As the global incidence of obesity and related comorbidities rises, the demand for bariatric surgeries such as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy has increased, along with the risk of serious complications like anastomotic and staple line leaks. Traditional intraoperative leak testing methods, including the air leak and methylene blue dye tests, are commonly employed but exhibit inconsistent sensitivity in leak detection.

Parameningeal Rhabdomyosarcoma: Results of the European Pediatric Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study Group RMS 2005 Study.

Background: Parameningeal (PM) site is an unfavorable characteristic in rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). We described the treatment and outcome for patients with PM RMS and investigated the prognostic value of risk factors. We scored PM site by originating site and by highest risk extension.

Optimizing Anti-Myelin-Associated Glycoprotein and IgM-Gammopathy Testing for Neuropathy Treatment Evaluation.

Background And Objectives: Patients with typical anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein (anti-MAG) neuropathy have IgM-gammopathy, mimic distal chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP), and are treatment resistant. Anti-MAG patients go unrecognized when IgM-gammopathy is undetected or with atypical phenotypes. We investigated an optimal anti-MAG titration cutoff for excluding CIDP and the impact of IgM-gammopathy detection on neuropathy treatment evaluation without anti-MAG antibodies.

Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio as a Biomarker for Clinical Response After Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Systemic Sclerosis.

Introduction: Systemic sclerosis is a complex disease that affects various target organs, making it difficult to assess response and determine remission or relapse. A baseline Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) >2.95 is associated with severe progressive skin and lung disease and decreased 5-year survival in systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Longitudinal safety and efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in children aged 4-11 years with juvenile-onset autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases: A prospective multicenter study.

This prospective, longitudinal, multicenter study assessed the safety and efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine among children 4-11 years-old with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatologic disease (AIIRD), compared to healthy controls. The study was conducted from 11/2021-12/2022 at 4 tertiary pediatric rheumatology units in Israel. Participants received at least 2 vaccine doses.

Thromboembolic Complications in Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy.

Apical ballooning syndrome, commonly known as Takotsubo syndrome, is a distinct cardiomyopathy often resembling acute myocardial infarction in presentation. Takotsubo syndrome patients exhibit varied patterns of left ventricular wall motion abnormalities, most frequently apical dyskinesis with basal hyperkinesis, that are characteristically transient. Although emotional or physical stressors precipitate Takotsubo syndrome in most cases, a significant proportion presents without identifiable triggers, with a pronounced female predominance.

Striving for healthy lungs: Enhancing respiratory outcomes of prematurity.

Infants born prematurely are born in a critical developmental time period and because of arrest of lung maturation at that period their pulmonary functions are below the normal for their age. Early lung development has a lifelong effect on respiratory health and disease. Can we affect that sequence of events and change the outcome of chronic lung disease of prematurity?

Methylphenidate and the risk of acute central nervous system oxygen toxicity: a rodent model and observational data in human divers.

Introduction: The effects of methylphenidate, a stimulant often prescribed for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), on the development of central nervous system oxygen toxicity (COT) have not been experimentally evaluated.

Methods: The records of all pure-oxygen-rebreather divers evaluated at our institution from 1975-2022 were assessed. Cases of COT were defined as a new onset of tinnitus, tunnel vision, myoclonus, headache, nausea, loss of consciousness, or seizures resolving within 15 minutes from breathing normobaric air, and matched 4:1 with similar controls.