Motivators and Barriers to Seeking Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Among Adolescents: A Qualitative Study.

Background: The prevalence of severe obesity among adolescents has increased the use of metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) as a therapeutic option. Understanding factors influencing adolescent MBS choice and the support needed to undergo MBS is crucial for improving health outcomes. This study examines the motivations and support needs of a diverse sample of adolescents seeking MBS via the patient voice.

Medical researchers' perception of sharing of metadata from case report forms.

Introduction: Publishing medical metadata stored in case report forms (CRFs) is a prerequisite for the development of a learning health system (LHS) by fostering reuse of metadata and standardization in health research. The aim of our study was to investigate medical researchers' (MRs) willingness to share CRFs, to identify reasons for and against CRF sharing, and to determine if and under which conditions MRs might consider sharing CRF metadata via a public registry.

Methods: We examined CRF data sharing commitments for 1842 interventional trials registered on the German Clinical Trials Registry (DRKS) from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021.

DAA-PASS: A Prospective Evaluation of HCC Recurrence After Direct Acting Antiviral Therapy.

Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy is associated with a significant reduction in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) incidence among patients with cirrhosis, but data are conflicting about the risk of recurrence following DAA therapy. DAA-PASS was a prospective, pragmatic, observational study designed to estimate the risk of HCC recurrence associated with DAA therapy exposure during routine clinical care. Eligible patients were DAA treatment naive with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage A.

Reproducible, Scale-Up Production of Human Brain Organoids (HBOs) on a Pillar Plate Platform via Spheroid Transfer.

Human brain organoids (HBOs) derived from pluripotent stem cells hold great potential for disease modeling and high-throughput compound screening, given their structural and functional resemblance to fetal brain tissues. These organoids can mimic early stages of brain development, offering a valuable in vitro model to study both normal and disordered neurodevelopment. However, current methods of generating HBOs are often low throughput and variable in organoid differentiation and involve lengthy, labor-intensive processes, limiting their broader application in both academic and industrial research.

Reproducible, Scale-Up Production of Human Liver Organoids (HLOs) on a Pillar Plate Platform via Microarray 3D Bioprinting.

Human liver organoids (HLOs) derived from pluripotent stem cells hold potential for disease modeling and high-throughput compound screening due to their architectural and functional resemblance to human liver tissues. However, reproducible, scale-up production of HLOs for high-throughput screening (HTS) presents challenges. These include the high costs of additives and growth factors required for cell differentiation, variability in organoid size and function from batch to batch, suboptimal maturity of HLOs compared to primary hepatocytes, and low assay throughput due to excessive manual processes and the absence of assay-ready plates with HLOs.

Comparison of two point-of-care lung ultrasound techniques and their associated outcomes for bronchiolitis in the pediatric emergency department.

Background: Acute bronchiolitis (AB) is the most common lower respiratory tract infection in infants. Clinician diagnosis and management vary due to limited objective assessment tools. Point-of-care lung ultrasound (LUS) offers a promising diagnostic and prognostic tool in the emergency department (ED), however, the time to perform LUS is of concern in the emergency setting.

Dynamic Culture of Bioprinted Liver Tumor Spheroids in a Pillar/Perfusion Plate for Predictive Screening of Anticancer Drugs.

Recent advancements in three-dimensional (3D) cell culture technologies, such as cell spheroids, organoids, and 3D bioprinted tissue constructs, have significantly improved the physiological relevance of in vitro models. These models better mimic tissue structure and function, closely emulating in vivo characteristics and enhancing phenotypic analysis, critical for basic research and drug screening in personalized cancer therapy. Despite their potential, current 3D cell culture platforms face technical challenges, which include user-unfriendliness in long-term dynamic cell culture, incompatibility with rapid cell encapsulation in biomimetic hydrogels, and low throughput for compound screening.

Delivering Guideline-Concordant Care for Patients With High-Risk HPV and Normal Cytologic Findings.

Importance: As US health care systems shift to human papillomavirus (HPV)-based cervical cancer screening, more patients are receiving positive high-risk non-16/18 genotype HPV results and negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy (NILM) cytological findings. Risk-based management guidelines recommend 2 consecutive negative annual results to return to routine screening.

Objective: To quantify patterns of surveillance testing and associated outcomes for patients after an HPV-positive results and NILM cytologic findings.

Resetting of the Human Circadian Melatonin Rhythm by Ambient Hypoxia.

Circadian clocks in the body drive daily cycles in physiology and behavior. A master clock in the brain maintains synchrony with the environmental day-night cycle and uses internal signals to keep clocks in other tissues aligned. Work in cell cultures uncovered cyclic changes in tissue oxygenation that may serve to reset and synchronize circadian clocks.

Hepcidin, Incident Heart Failure and Cardiac Dysfunction in Older Adults: the ARIC Study.

Aims: Hepcidin regulates plasma and tissue iron levels. We studied the association of hepcidin levels with the risk of incident heart failure (HF) and cardiac dysfunction in older adults.

Methods: We included adults from the ongoing, longitudinal Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study who were free from prevalent anemia and HF at Visit 5 (2011-2013) and had available hepcidin and covariate data.

Stroke Prevention in Hispanic Children with Sickle Cell Anemia: the SACRED trial.

Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is recognized globally, but little is known about affected Hispanic populations. In partnership with Dominican Republic, a Hispanic Caribbean Island with a large SCA population, a TCD screening program provided hydroxyurea to children with conditional velocities. Building local capacity, ten Dominican medical graduates were certified in TCD examinations and trained in hydroxyurea management.

Torsion-Induced Traumatic Optic Neuropathy (TITON): A physiologically relevant animal model of traumatic optic neuropathy.

Traumatic optic neuropathy (TON) is a common cause of irreversible blindness following head injury. TON is characterized by axon damage in the optic nerve followed by retinal ganglion cell death in the days and weeks following injury. At present, no therapeutic or surgical approach has been found to offer any benefit beyond observation alone.

Once-weekly IcoSema versus once-weekly semaglutide in adults with type 2 diabetes: the COMBINE 2 randomised clinical trial.

Aims/hypothesis: COMBINE 2 assessed the efficacy and safety of once-weekly IcoSema (a combination therapy of basal insulin icodec and semaglutide) vs once-weekly semaglutide (a glucagon-like peptide-1 analogue) 1.0 mg in individuals with type 2 diabetes inadequately managed with GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) therapy, with or without additional oral glucose-lowering medications.

Methods: This 52 week, randomised, multicentre, open-label, parallel group, Phase IIIa trial was conducted across 121 sites in 13 countries/regions.

Development, review, and activation of thoracic oncology investigator-initiated trials.

Background: Investigator-initiated trials (IITs) may address important biological and clinical questions that may not be prioritized by pharmaceutical sponsors. However, little is known about the process by which IIT proposals are evaluated and activated.

Methods: We performed a retrospective study of IIT concepts submitted through the Academic Thoracic Oncology Medical Investigators Consortium (ATOMIC), which comprises 13 institutions in the U.

Utility of Papilledema for Detection of Elevated Intracranial Pressure in Craniosynostosis.

Papilledema is swelling of the optic disk due to fluid accumulation around the optic nerve and is commonly used to detect increased intracranial (ICP) in craniosynostosis. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and utility of papilledema detection in patients with single-suture, multi-suture, and syndromic craniosynostosis and the differences before and after surgical intervention. A retrospective review of ophthalmology examinations of patients diagnosed with craniosynostosis treated between 2008 and 2023 was performed.

Is there a role for neoadjuvant therapies followed by radical cystectomy in oligometastatic bladder cancer?

Purpose Of Review: This review explores the potential role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) followed by radical cystectomy (RC) for oligometastatic bladder cancer (OMBC) treatment. We focused on extrapolating evidence from studies including lymph node-positive only and metastatic bladder cancer to address the key challenges and therapeutic strategies for OMBC.

Recent Findings: Current evidence for NAC and RC in OMBC is limited, with most data derived from studies in locally advanced bladder cancer.

Electroencephalography in Clinical Practice: Neurology Professionals' Views on Optimal Standards of Care.

Purpose: Delivering optimal care to patients with seizures and epilepsy requires all EEGs to be interpreted accurately and reliably. This study investigated neurology professionals' opinions on the ideal standards for EEG in clinical care.

Methods: We developed an anonymous e-survey targeting practicing and trainee neurologists focused on participants' demographics, clinical practice characteristics, and views on optimal EEG standards of care-including whether an EEG certification test is needed and whether postresidency/fellowship training in EEG/epilepsy is necessary for neurologists who interpret outpatient/routine EEGs in practice.

Detection of Elder Abuse Through Emergency Care Technicians Screening Tool Revision for Home-Based Primary Care (DETECT-RPC): a cluster randomised controlled trial study protocol.

Introduction: The annual prevalence of elder mistreatment (EM) in cognitively intact older adults is estimated to be 11%, yet the annual prevalence in older adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) is estimated to be as high as 75%. Associated with a decrease in quality of life and increase in risk of mortality, EM represents a significant public health burden. Home-based primary care (HBPC) providers are uniquely positioned to address the critical need for robust EM screening and reporting, especially among individuals with AD/ADRD.

Associations of Cardiorespiratory Fitness with Cerebral Cortical Thickness and Gray Matter Volume Across the Adult Lifespan.

High cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is associated with reduced cortical thinning and gray matter (GM) shrinkage in older adults. We investigated associations of CRF measured with peak oxygen consumption (V̇ O) with cortical thickness and GM volume across the adult lifespan. We hypothesized that higher CRF is associated with less cortical thinning and GM shrinkage across the adult lifespan, which is associated with better cognitive performance.

Age-Related Ventricular Tachycardia Substrate Characteristics for Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot Before Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve Placement.

Background: Ventricular tachycardia (VT) substrate characteristics before transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (TPVR) in repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) are unknown.

Objectives: In this study, the authors sought to evaluate substrates for sustained monomorphic VT before TPVR in rTOF.

Methods: Retrospective (2017 to 2021) and prospective (commencing 2021) rTOF patients with native right ventricular outflow tract referred for electrophysiology study (EPS) before TPVR were included.