Correlations between postmortem quantitative MRI parameters and demyelination, axonal loss and gliosis in multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is frequently used to monitor disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS). This study aims to systematically evaluate the correlation between MRI measures and histopathological changes, including demyelination, axonal loss, and gliosis, in the central nervous system of MS patients. We systematically reviewed post-mortem histological studies evaluating myelin density, axonal loss, and gliosis using quantitative imaging in MS.

Fear of cancer recurrence in long-term colorectal cancer survivors: a nationwide cross-sectional study.

Purpose: Knowledge about fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) among recurrence-free long-term colorectal cancer survivors (CRCS) is limited. This national cross-sectional study aimed to (1) assess the prevalence and correlates of FCR among CRCS; (2) investigate associations between colorectal cancer-specific symptoms and FCR; and (3) identify predictors of interest in engaging in FCR treatment.

Methods: We identified 9638 living Danish CRCS, age above 18 years, diagnosed between 2014 and 2018 through the Danish Clinical Registries.

An Exploration of the Interplay Between Caffeine and Antidepressants Through the Lens of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics.

Caffeine consumption is regarded as a widespread phenomenon, and its usage has continued to increase. In addition, the growing usage of antidepressants worldwide and increase in mental health disorders were shown in recent statistical analyses conducted by the World Health Organisation. The coadministration of caffeine and antidepressants remains a concern due to potential interactions that can alter a patient's response to therapy.

Machine learning meta-analysis identifies individual characteristics moderating cognitive intervention efficacy for anxiety and depression symptoms.

Cognitive training is a promising intervention for psychological distress; however, its effectiveness has yielded inconsistent outcomes across studies. This research is a pre-registered individual-level meta-analysis to identify factors contributing to cognitive training efficacy for anxiety and depression symptoms. Machine learning methods, alongside traditional statistical approaches, were employed to analyze 22 datasets with 1544 participants who underwent working memory training, attention bias modification, interpretation bias modification, or inhibitory control training.

International myeloma working group immunotherapy committee recommendation on sequencing immunotherapy for treatment of multiple myeloma.

T-cell redirecting therapy (TCRT), specifically chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR T-cells) and bispecific T-cell engagers (TCEs) represent a remarkable advance in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM). There are several products available around the world and several more in development targeting primarily B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) and G protein-coupled receptor class C group 5 member D (GRPC5D). The relatively rapid availability of multiple immunotherapies brings the necessity to understand how a certain agent may affect the safety and efficacy of a subsequent immunotherapy so MM physicians and patients can aim at optimal sequential use of these therapies.

NIRS-BIDS: Brain Imaging Data Structure Extended to Near-Infrared Spectroscopy.

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an increasingly popular neuroimaging technique that measures cortical hemodynamic activity in a non-invasive and portable fashion. Although the fNIRS community has been successful in disseminating open-source processing tools and a standard file format (SNIRF), reproducible research and sharing of fNIRS data amongst researchers has been hindered by a lack of standards and clarity over how study data should be organized and stored. This problem is not new in neuroimaging, and it became evident years ago with the proliferation of publicly available neuroimaging datasets.

Lateral pterygoid muscle enthesis reconstruction in alloplastic total temporomandibular joint replacement: An animal experiment with histological verification.

In current alloplastic total temporomandibular joint replacements (TMJRs) typically the lateral pterygoid muscle (LPM) insertion is sacrificed, affecting joint function. This study assesses a novel additively manufactured TMJR (CADskills BV, Gent, Belgium) designed to enable LPM reinsertion through a scaffold feature on the implant. Thirteen TMJRs were implanted in Swifter crossbreed sheep, with follow-up CT scans after 288 days to evaluate LPM reintegration.

Psychological, social and cultural influences on smoking among lesbian, bisexual and queer women.

Background: Smoking rates have declined markedly in Australia over time; however, lesbian, bisexual and queer (LBQ) women continue to smoke at higher rates than heterosexual women. Understanding the factors influencing smoking in this population is crucial for developing targeted cessation interventions and other supports.

Methods: Experiences of and motivations for smoking among 42 LBQ cisgender and transgender women and non-binary people in Australia who currently or previously smoked were explored through semi-structured interviews.

Minor head trauma precipitating acute syndromes in neurogenetic disease.

Most minor head injuries have no immediate neurological sequelae. We present a case where acute neurological symptoms followed a very minor head injury, and an underlying genetic cause was identified. We highlight the role that head injuries, even when innocuous, may have in precipitating and worsening a neurogenetic disorder.

Impact of Antibiotic Shortages on Antibiotic Utilisation in the Community.

Background: Drug shortages are an increasing and worldwide problem. Oral antibiotics are one of the most used medicines worldwide and have recently been affected by drug shortages. Despite this, little is known about the impact of antibiotic shortages on prescribing practices.

Post-infectious acute cerebellar ataxia in a young adult.

Acute cerebellar ataxia is a clinical syndrome that involves loss of balance and coordination, typically within less than 72 hours. It usually presents in children and rarely affect adults. A woman in her early 20s presented with acute onset dizziness, vertigo, truncal ataxia and dysarthria 2 weeks following an acute viral illness.

A High Fat, High Sugar Diet Exacerbates Persistent Post-Surgical Pain and Modifies the Brain-Microbiota-Gut Axis in Adolescent Rats.

Persistent post-surgical pain (PPSP) occurs in a proportion of patients following surgical interventions. Research suggests that specific microbiome components are important for brain development and function, with recent studies demonstrating that chronic pain results in changes to the microbiome. Consumption of a high fat, high sugar (HFHS) diet can drastically alter composition of the microbiome and is a modifiable risk factor for many neuroinflammatory conditions.

Maternal obesity associates with altered humoral immunity in blood and colostrum.

Maternal obesity is a condition with increasing prevalence worldwide, that correlates with negative infant outcomes. Here we performed an observational cross-sectional study, where peripheral blood and colostrum samples from 37 mothers with BMI between 18.5-25 or > 30 kg/m (21 and 16 mothers, respectively) were collected 24-48 h postpartum.

Impact of Second Internal Thoracic Artery on Long-term Survival After Coronary Bypass Surgery.

Background: The survival advantages of bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) grafts in coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) remain unclear. Therefore, this study aims to systematically evaluate the time-dependent influence of BITA on long-term survival in elective CABG patients presenting with stable multi-vessel coronary artery disease.

Methods: Data from 3,693 patients undergoing isolated CABG with single internal thoracic artery (SITA) or BITA, with or without additional vein grafts, between 2002 and 2012 were retrospectively analyzed.

Zonal Characteristics of Collagen Ultrastructure and Responses to Mechanical Loading in Articular Cartilage.

The biomechanical properties of articular cartilage arise from a complex bioenvironment comprising hierarchically organised collagen networks within the extracellular matrix (ECM) that interact with the proteoglycan-rich interstitial fluid. This network features a depth-dependent fibril organisation across different zones. Understanding how collagen fibrils respond to external loading is key to elucidating the mechanisms behind lesion and managing degenerative conditions like osteoarthritis.

TractGraphFormer: Anatomically informed hybrid graph CNN-transformer network for interpretable sex and age prediction from diffusion MRI tractography.

The relationship between brain connections and non-imaging phenotypes is increasingly studied using deep neural networks. However, the local and global properties of the brain's white matter networks are often overlooked in convolutional network design. We introduce TractGraphFormer, a hybrid Graph CNN-Transformer deep learning framework tailored for diffusion MRI tractography.

Rural and remote health care: the case for spatial justice.

Almost universally, people living in rural and remote places die younger, poorer, and sicker than urban-dwelling citizens of the same country. Despite clear need, health services are commonly less available, and more costly and challenging to access, for rural and remote people. Rural geography is commonly cited as a reason for these disparities, that is, rural people are said to live in places too distant, too underpopulated, and too difficult to access.

The present and future of peer review: Ideas, interventions, and evidence.

What is wrong with the peer review system? Is peer review sustainable? Useful? What other models exist? These are central yet contentious questions in today's academic discourse. This perspective critically discusses alternative models and revisions to the peer review system. The authors highlight possible changes to the peer review system, with the goal of fostering further dialog among the main stakeholders, including producers and consumers of scientific research.

Understanding the consumer, carer and stakeholder experiences of residential respite care.

Objectives: Residential aged care respite clients are vulnerable and prone to poor health-care outcomes. Improvements in the quality of care for this cohort are urgently needed. However, before proposing changes in care models, a nuanced understanding of relevant issues affecting respite care consumers and professionals is required.

Negative Pressure Dressings to Prevent Surgical Site Infection After Emergency Laparotomy: The SUNRRISE Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Patients undergoing unplanned abdominal surgical procedures are at increased risk of surgical site infection (SSI). It is not known if incisional negative pressure wound therapy (iNPWT) can reduce SSI rates in this setting.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of iNPWT in reducing the rate of SSI in adults undergoing emergency laparotomy with primary skin closure.

Predicting Individual Pain Sensitivity Using a Novel Cortical Biomarker Signature.

Importance: Biomarkers would greatly assist decision-making in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of chronic pain.

Objective: To undertake analytical validation of a sensorimotor cortical biomarker signature for pain consisting of 2 measures: sensorimotor peak alpha frequency (PAF) and corticomotor excitability (CME).

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study at a single center (Neuroscience Research Australia) recruited participants from November 2020 to October 2022 through notices placed online and at universities across Australia.

Strength of Genetic Associations with Thyrotropin Values Differs Between Populations with Similarity to African and European Reference Populations.

Epidemiological data suggest the population distribution of thyrotropin (TSH) values is shifted toward lower values in self-identified Black non-Hispanic individuals compared with self-identified White non-Hispanic individuals. It is unknown whether genetic differences between individuals with genetic similarities to African reference populations (GSA) and those with similarities to European reference populations (GSE) contribute to these observed differences. We aimed to compare genome-wide associations with TSH and putative causal TSH-associated variants between GSA and GSE groups.

Integrated care for mental health in epilepsy: A systematic review and meta-synthesis by the International League Against Epilepsy Integrated Mental Health Care Pathways Task Force.

Mental health (MH) comorbidities are prevalent among people with epilepsy (PWE), but many experience challenges accessing care. To address this, suggestions have been made to integrate MH care into epilepsy care settings, yet the current approaches, benefits, and implementation determinants to MH care integration are unclear. This review aims to synthesize existing integrated MH care models for PWE to inform the development and planning of future initiatives.

From errors to excellence: the pre-analytical journey to improved quality in diagnostics. A scoping review.

This scoping review focuses on the evolution of pre-analytical errors (PAEs) in medical laboratories, a critical area with significant implications for patient care, healthcare costs, hospital length of stay, and operational efficiency. The Covidence Review tool was used to formulate the keywords, and then a comprehensive literature search was performed using several databases, importing the search results directly into Covidence (n=379). Title, abstract screening, duplicate removal, and full-text screening were done.