Health symptoms and associated factors in times of a pandemic: a population-based study.

Background: Non-specific symptoms, such as headaches and sleep problems, are more common after disasters. They can become chronic, and impact emotional and physical functioning. However, limited research has focused on such symptoms in the context of a pandemic.

Neuronal dynamics of cerebellum and medial prefrontal cortex in adaptive motor timing.

Precise temporal control of sensorimotor coordination and adaptation is a fundamental basis of animal behavior. How different brain regions are involved in regulating the flexible temporal adaptation remains elusive. Here, we investigated the neuronal dynamics of the cerebellar interposed nucleus (IpN) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) neurons during temporal adaptation between delay eyeblink conditioning (DEC) and trace eyeblink conditioning (TEC).

Frailty index predicts adverse short- and long-term outcomes in older adults with rib fractures.

Background: Older adults with rib fractures pose an increasing clinical and financial burden on healthcare. Identifying and addressing the increased risk of adverse outcomes has been a key objective in geriatric co-management of surgical patients. The Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment-based Frailty Index (FI-CGA) is a useful predictor of complications and mortality in older adults, but its value in rib fracture management remains unclear.

Point of view: Challenges in implementation of new immunotherapies for Alzheimer's disease.

The advancement of disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) for Alzheimer's disease (AD), along with the approval of three amyloid-targeting therapies in the US and several other countries, represents a significant development in the treatment landscape, offering new hope for addressing this once untreatable chronic progressive disease. However, significant challenges persist that could impede the successful integration of this class of drugs into clinical practice. These challenges include determining patient eligibility, appropriate use of diagnostic tools and genetic testing in patient care pathways, effective detection and monitoring of side effects, and improving the healthcare system's readiness by engaging both primary care and dementia specialists.

Maintaining level of modifiable dementia risk scores is associated with better cognitive outcomes than increasing risk scores: A population-based prospective cohort study.

Background: A brain healthy lifestyle, consisting of good cardiometabolic health and being cognitively and socially active in midlife, is associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline years later. However, it is unclear whether lifestyle changes over time also affect the risk for mild cognitive impairment (MCI)/dementia, and rate of cognitive decline.

Objectives: To investigate if lifestyle changes over time are associated with incident MCI/dementia risk and rate of cognitive decline.

Informal care for people with dementia in Europe.

Introduction: Informal care estimates for use in health-economic models are lacking. We aimed to estimate the association between informal care time and dementia symptoms across Europe.

Methods: A secondary analysis was performed on 13,529 observations in 5,369 persons from 9 European pooled cohort or trial studies in community-dwelling persons with dementia.

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.

Diagnostic accuracy in coronary CT angiography analysis: artificial intelligence versus human assessment.

Background: Visual assessment of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) is time-consuming, influenced by reader experience and prone to interobserver variability. This study evaluated a novel algorithm for coronary stenosis quantification (atherosclerosis imaging quantitative CT, AI-QCT).

Methods: The study included 208 patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing CCTA in Perfusion Imaging and CT Coronary Angiography With Invasive Coronary Angiography-1.

Protocol for the development of a global core outcome set for the surgical treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer: a literature review and international Delphi survey.

Introduction: There is a lack of consensus on the optimal surgical strategy for differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), partly due to inconsistent reporting of outcomes. This limits the ability to compare study results, hindering the ability to draw conclusions regarding novel treatment strategies. The development of a core outcome set (COS) reduces heterogeneity in the selection and reporting of clinical trial outcomes.

Engaging with young professionals in transfusion medicine: Insights from a needs assessment survey targeting an international cohort.

Background And Objectives: Professionals who work or study in transfusion medicine under 40 years of age are considered young professionals (YPs) by the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT). While the ISBT provides opportunities for YPs, their needs have to be assessed to customize initiatives in a way that could potentially improve their engagement. This survey aimed to assess the needs of YPs in transfusion medicine and understand their perspectives on future ISBT initiatives.

Cancer vaccines compensate for the insufficient induction of protective tumor-specific immunity of CD3 bispecific antibody therapy.

Background: CD3 bispecific antibody (CD3 bsAb) therapy has become an established treatment modality for some cancer types and exploits endogenous T cells irrespective of their specificity. However, durable clinical responses are hampered by immune escape through loss of tumor target antigen expression. Induction of long-lasting tumor-specific immunity might therefore improve therapeutic efficacy, but has not been studied in detail yet for CD3 bsAbs.

Conference report from the abstracts of the canine section at The 9th International Conference on Canine and Equine Locomotion, Utrecht 2023.

This conference report summarises the abstracts on canine locomotion research presented in The 9th International Conference on Canine and Equine Locomotion, discusses the most relevant literature in relation to the topics presented in the meeting and highlights the importance of canine locomotion in veterinary medicine.

Proton radiotherapy significantly reduces pneumonia in oesophageal cancer patients.

Background: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by surgical resection is the current standard of care for oesophageal cancer (EC) patients. This treatment is associated with a variety of complications, with pneumonia being the most common. We hypothesize that proton radiotherapy (PRT) can significantly reduce the incidence of pneumonia compared to photon radiotherapy (PhRT).

Tolerance to Factor VIII in the Era of Non-Factor Therapies: Immunological Perspectives and a Systematic Review of the Literature.

Persons with hemophilia A (PWHA) lack clotting factor VIII (FVIII) due to a genetic mutation in the F8 gene. The administration of FVIII concentrate leads to the development of neutralizing anti-FVIII antibodies (inhibitors) in about 30% of children with severe hemophilia A. The other 70% of children do not mount a detectable antibody response, suggesting that they may have developed tolerance towards FVIII.

Acute pulmonary embolism with and without hemodynamic instability (2003-2022): A Swiss nationwide epidemiological study.

Background: Data on the epidemiological burden of acute pulmonary embolism (PE) in Switzerland is unavailable. Knowledge gaps remain on trends in PE-related comorbidities, PE severity, and length of in-hospital stay (LOS) at a nationwide level.

Methods: We used nationwide, patient-level data including all patients aged 15 years or older hospitalized for PE in Switzerland from 2003 to 2022, amounting to N=180,600.

The Effect of Aneurysm Diameter on Perioperative Outcomes Following Complex Endovascular Repair.

Objectives: Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) for large infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) has been associated with worse outcomes compared to EVAR for smaller AAAs. Whether these findings apply to complex AAAs (cAAA) remains uncertain.

Methods: We identified all intact complex EVAR (cEVAR) from 2012-2024 in the Vascular Quality Initiative.

Mini Fragment and Small Fragment Screws are Comparable in Acute Syndesmotic Injury.

Ankle fractures are often accompanied by syndesmotic injuries, contributing to instability and potential long term complications. Syndesmotic injuries are traditionally fixed with either small fragment (3.5-mm diameter) or large fragment (4.

Enhanced detection of atrial fibrillation in single-lead electrocardiograms using a cloud-based artificial intelligence platform.

Background: Although smartphone-based devices have been developed to record 1-lead ECG, existing solutions for automatic atrial fibrillation (AF) detection often has poor positive predictive value.

Objective: This study aimed to validate a cloud-based deep learning platform for automatic AF detection in a large cohort of patients using 1-lead ECG records.

Methods: We analyzed 8,528 patients with 30-second ECG records from a single-lead handheld ECG device.

A distinct immunophenotype in children carrying the Blautia enterotype: The generation R study.

Objective: Studies in mouse models and human adults have shown that the intestinal microbiota composition can affect peripheral immune cells. We here examined whether the gut microbiota compositions affect B and T-cell subsets in children.

Methods: The intestinal microbiota was characterized from stool samples of 344 10-year-old children from the Generation R Study by performing 16S rRNA sequencing.

Histopathological marks of tongue in a mouse model for oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy suggest biomechanical defects.

The tongue facilitates vital activities such as swallowing. Swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) are common in the elderly and in many adult-onset neuromuscular diseases. In oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD), dysphagia is often the first symptom.

Symptoms at population Eliciting Doses ≤ED05 for 11 priority allergenic foods are mild to moderate.

Insight into symptoms at low doses of protein from priority allergenic foods may support decision making and acceptance of harmonized reference doses for Precautionary Allergen Labeling (PAL). Symptoms were extracted from double-blind placebo-controlled food challenges underlying the full range Eliciting Dose (ED) distributions (Houben et al., 2020).

Aedes-borne arboviral human infections in Europe from 2000-2023: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Aedes-borne arboviral infections, both imported and autochthonous, are reported in Europe. We evaluated the landscape of these infections in Europe over 23 years and attempted to pre-empt the trajectory of impact of these infections in the climatic context of Aedes mosquito expansion in Europe.

Methods: This systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines and registered in Prospero (CRD42023360259).

Assessing the scientific integrity of the collected work of one author or author-group.

Objective: No published methods for research integrity review include both statistical techniques applied to groups of randomised trials and individual assessment of papers. We propose a method based on practical experience of investigating data integrity across the collected papers of one author or author-group.

Study Design And Setting: We report our approach to investigating the collected papers of an author or author-group suspected of academic misconduct.

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Individual Participant Data: Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trials of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors for Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Objective: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the first choice in pharmacotherapy for children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). SSRI-trials for pediatric OCD have never been investigated using individual participant data (IPD), which is crucial for detecting patient-level effect modifiers. Here, we performed an IPD meta-analysis on the efficacy of SSRIs compared to placebo, and a meta-regression on baseline patient characteristics which might modify efficacy.