An observational analysis on the influence of parental allergic rhinitis, asthma and smoking on exhaled nitric oxide in offspring.

Background: Parental allergic diseases and smoking influence respiratory disease in the offspring but it is not known whether they influence fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) in the offspring. We investigated whether parental allergic diseases, parental smoking and FeNO levels in parents were associated with FeNO levels in their offspring.

Methods: We studied 609 offspring aged 16-47 years from the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe, Spain and Australia generation (RHINESSA) study with parental information from the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe (RHINE) III study and the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) III.

Macular hole Delphi consensus statement (MHOST).

Purpose: To derive a Delphi method-based consensus for the surgical management of Full Thickness Macular Hole (FTMH) and Lamellar Macular Hole (LMH).

Methods: 37 expert VR surgeons from 21 mainly European countries participated in Delphi method-based questionnaire for diagnosis and treatment of FTMHs and LMHs.

Results: A total of 36 items were rated in round 1 by 37 participants, of which 10 items achieved consensus: intraoperative verification of PVD; clinical superiority of OCT-based FTMH classification; practical ineffectiveness of ocriplasmin; circular 360° ILM peeling for small macular holes; use of regular surgical technique for the size of the hole in concomitant retinal detachment; performing complete vitrectomy; SF6 gas as preferred tamponade; cataract surgery if crystalline lens is mildly/moderately opaque; removal of both ILM and LHEP in LMH surgery.

Sarcopenia-defining parameters, but not sarcopenia, are associated with cognitive domains in middle-aged and older European men.

Background: Previous research suggests that sarcopenia is associated with lower cognitive functioning. Evidence on the longitudinal relationship between cognition and sarcopenia, according to the revised criteria of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2), is scarce. This study aimed to investigate both cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between sarcopenia and its defining parameters (muscle strength, muscle mass and physical performance) and cognitive performance in middle-aged and older men.

Proteomic Analysis of Dupuytren's Contracture-Derived Sweat Glands Revealed the Synthesis of Connective Tissue Growth Factor and Initiation of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition as Major Pathogenetic Events.

Dupuytren's contracture (DC) is a chronic and progressive fibroproliferative disorder restricted to the palmar fascia of the hands. Previously, we discovered the presence of high levels of connective tissue growth factor in sweat glands in the vicinity of DC nodules and hypothesized that sweat glands have an important role in the formation of DC lesions. Here, we shed light on the role of sweat glands in the DC pathogenesis by proteomic analysis and immunofluorescence microscopy.

Matricellular proteins in cutaneous wound healing.

Cutaneous wound healing is a complex process that encompasses alterations in all aspects of the skin including the extracellular matrix (ECM). ECM consist of large structural proteins such as collagens and elastin as well as smaller proteins with mainly regulative properties called matricellular proteins. Matricellular proteins bind to structural proteins and their functions include but are not limited to interaction with cell surface receptors, cytokines, or protease and evoking a cellular response.

Association of age, hormonal, and lifestyle factors with the Leydig cell biomarker INSL3 in aging men from the European Male Aging Study cohort.

Background: Aging in men is accompanied by a broad range of symptoms, including sexual dysfunction, cognitive and musculoskeletal decline, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension, organ degeneration/failure, and increasing neoplasia, some of which are associated with declining levels of Leydig cell-produced testosterone. High natural biological variance, together with multiple factors that can modulate circulating testosterone concentration, may influence its interpretation and clinical implications. Insulin-like peptide 3 is a biomarker of Leydig cell function that might provide complementary information on testicular health and its downstream outcomes.

Olfactomedin 4 regulates migration and proliferation of immortalized non-transformed keratinocytes through modulation of the cell cycle machinery and actin cytoskeleton remodelling.

Olfactomedin 4 (OLFM4), a multifunctional matricellular protein, is involved in regulation of angiogenesis, innate immunity, inflammation, tumorigenesis and metastasis formation via modulation of important cellular processes like adhesion, proliferation, differentiation as well as apoptosis. In our previous work we demonstrated the upregulation of OLFM4 during liver regeneration and cutaneous wound healing. Here we studied the outcomes of OLFM4 downregulation in human immortalized keratinocytes - the HaCaT cells.

Inflammatory markers are associated with quality of life, physical activity, and gait speed but not sarcopenia in aged men (40-79 years).

Background: Age-related chronic low-grade inflammation (inflammaging) is one of the proposed mechanisms behind sarcopenia. However, findings regarding inflammatory markers in sarcopenic older adults are conflicting. This study aimed to determine the association between inflammatory markers, prevalent as well as incident sarcopenia, sarcopenia-defining parameters, quality of life (QoL), and physical activity in middle-aged and older men.

Burden and attitude to resistant and refractory migraine: a survey from the European Headache Federation with the endorsement of the European Migraine & Headache Alliance.

Background: New treatments are currently offering new opportunities and challenges in clinical management and research in the migraine field. There is the need of homogenous criteria to identify candidates for treatment escalation as well as of reliable criteria to identify refractoriness to treatment. To overcome those issues, the European Headache Federation (EHF) issued a Consensus document to propose criteria to approach difficult-to-treat migraine patients in a standardized way.

Self-Reported Shorter Than Desired Ejaculation Latency and Related Distress-Prevalence and Clinical Correlates: Results From the European Male Ageing Study.

Background: Few data have looked at the occurrence and clinical correlates of self-reported shorter than desired ejaculation latency (rapid ejaculation, RE) and its related distress in the general population.

Aim: To determine the prevalence and clinical correlates of self-reported RE and RE- related distress in middle age and older European men.

Methods: Subjects were recruited from population samples of men aged 40-79 years across 8 European centers.

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight.

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution.

Nasal symptoms increase the risk of snoring and snoring increases the risk of nasal symptoms. A longitudinal population study.

Purpose: Humans have a preference for nasal breathing during sleep. This 10-year prospective study aimed to determine if nasal symptoms can predict snoring and also if snoring can predict development of nasal symptoms. The hypothesis proposed is that nasal symptoms affect the risk of snoring 10 years later, whereas snoring does not increase the risk of developing nasal symptoms.

European headache federation consensus on the definition of resistant and refractory migraine : Developed with the endorsement of the European Migraine & Headache Alliance (EMHA).

Introduction: Despite advances in the management of headache disorders, some patients with migraine do not experience adequate pain relief with acute and preventive treatments. It is the aim of the present document to provide a definition of those migraines which are difficult-to-treat, to create awareness of existence of this group of patients, to help Healthcare Authorities in understanding the implications, and to create a basis to develop a better pathophysiological understanding and to support further therapeutic advances.

Main Body: Definitions were established with a consensus process using the Delphi method.

Sleep time and sleep-related symptoms across two generations - results of the community-based RHINE and RHINESSA studies.

Study Objectives: To analyze the association between sleep-related symptoms and sleep length in parents and their children in relation to other risk factors in both generations.

Method: The participants were parents (n = 5,855, age 54.3 ± 6.

Insomnia associated with traffic noise and proximity to traffic-a cross-sectional study of the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe III population.

Study Objectives: Exposure to traffic noise increases the risk of sleeping disturbance, but little is known about the effect of traffic-related air pollution on insomnia symptoms. We aimed to investigate the separate associations of self-reported proximity to traffic and traffic noise with insomnia.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of the population included in the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe study, consisting of randomly selected men and women born between 1945 and 1973, from 7 Northern European centers.

Headache service quality: the role of specialized headache centres within structured headache services, and suggested standards and criteria as centres of excellence.

In joint initiatives, the European Headache Federation and Lifting The Burden have described a model of structured headache services (with their basis in primary care), defined service quality in this context, and developed practical methods for its evaluation.Here, in a continuation of the service quality evaluation programme, we set out ten suggested role- and performance-defining standards for specialized headache centres operating as an integral component of these services. Verifiable criteria for evaluation accompany each standard.

Second-hand smoke exposure in adulthood and lower respiratory health during 20 year follow up in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey.

Background: Early life exposure to tobacco smoke has been extensively studied but the role of second-hand smoke (SHS) for new-onset respiratory symptoms and lung function decline in adulthood has not been widely investigated in longitudinal studies. Our aim is to investigate the associations of exposure to SHS in adults with respiratory symptoms, respiratory conditions and lung function over 20 years.

Methods: We used information from 3011 adults from 26 centres in 12 countries who participated in the European Community Respiratory Health Surveys I-III and were never or former smokers at all three surveys.

Immunoglobulin G modulation of the melanocortin 4 receptor signaling in obesity and eating disorders.

Melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) plays a key role in regulation of appetite activated by its main ligand α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) in both central and peripheral targets. α-MSH also binds to circulating immunoglobulins (Igs) but the functional significance of such immune complexes (ICs) in MC4R signaling in normal and pathological conditions of altered appetite has remained unknown. To address this question, we analyzed plasma levels, affinity kinetics, and binding epitopes of α-MSH-reactive IgG extracted from plasma samples of female patients with hyperphagic obesity, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, and healthy controls.

Change in the prevalence asthma, rhinitis and respiratory symptom over a 20 year period: associations to year of birth, life style and sleep related symptoms.

Background: The aim of this investigation was to study change in adults over a 20 year period in the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and disorders and its association to year of birth, life style and sleep related variables.

Method: Adults 20-44 years of age, 6085 women and 5184 men, were randomly selected from seven centres in Northern Europe and followed for 20 years. The number of participants in the first survey was 21,595 and 11,269 participated in all three surveys.

The association between migraine and physical exercise.

Background: There is an unmet need of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment options for migraine patients. Exercise can be used in the treatment of several pain conditions, including. However, what exact role exercise plays in migraine prevention is unclear.

Medication-overuse headache: a widely recognized entity amidst ongoing debate.

Medication overuse in primary headache disorders is a worldwide phenomenon and has a role in the chronification of headache disorders. The burden of disease on individuals and societies is significant due to high costs and comorbidities. In the Third Edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders, medication-overuse headache is recognized as a separate secondary entity next to mostly primary headache disorders, although many clinicians see the disease as a sole complication of primary headache disorders.