Cardiopulmonary exercise testing as a prognosis-assessing tool in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Aims: Patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction represent half of the heart failure patients nowadays, an at least steady trend due to the aging of the population. We investigated whether the parameters obtained from cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) correlated with the prognosis of these patients. This prospective observational cohort study assesses the relationship between the CPET parameters peakVO and VE/VCO slope and the number of heart failure hospitalizations or cardiovascular death of these patients.

German evidence- and consensus-based guideline on the management of penile urethritis.

Urethritis is a common condition predominantly caused by sexually transmitted pathogens such as Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Mycoplasma genitalium. It is not possible to differentiate with certainty between pathogens on the basis of clinical characteristics alone. However, empirical antibiotic therapy is often initiated in clinical practice.

Pre-chewing of infant food - expectations towards an old, traditional feeding habit for potential allergy prevention.

Premastication is a traditional feeding method whereby solids are pre-chewed by the mother or sometimes by other relatives and then given to the infant along with the oral microbiota. The aim of this study was to assess if premastication is known or performed among the German population as well as to evaluate the expectations regarding this feeding method, particularly in the context of allergy prevention. Two surveys about premastication were conducted.

Ion permeability profiles of renal paracellular channel-forming claudins.

Aim: Members of the claudin protein family are the major constituents of tight junction strands and determine the permeability properties of the paracellular pathway. In the kidney, each nephron segment expresses a distinct subset of claudins that form either barriers against paracellular solute transport or charge- and size-selective paracellular channels. It was the aim of the present study to determine and compare the permeation properties of these renal paracellular ion channel-forming claudins.

[Utilization of healthcare services by young adults with first psychotic episodes at the FRITZ am Urban in Berlin considering the migration background].

Background: In Germany, there are hardly any studies that investigated the care pathways in the early course of psychosis and the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) and took the migration background into account.

Objective: The study examined whether young adults with (PwM) and without a migration background (PoM) who had a first psychotic episode or first contact with the psychiatric care system within the last 5 years differ in their utilization of care services and DUP.

Material And Methods: The data collection and post hoc analyses were carried out as a part of a cohort study (84 inpatients) at the Early Intervention and Therapy Center (FRITZ) in Berlin.

Surveillance of Clostridioides difficile on hospital admission and outpatient antibiotic use in Germany-a 9 year ecological analysis.

Background: Antibiotic consumption is considered an important risk factor for Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). This ecological analysis investigates the influence of outpatient antibiotic prescriptions in statutory health insurance (SHI) on the admission prevalence of CDI in German hospitals participating in voluntary CDI surveillance through the hospital infection surveillance system (Krankenhaus-Infektions-Surveillance-System; KISS).

Methods: The annual CDI admission prevalence of a hospital at the federal state level was associated with the outpatient antibiotic consumption of the corresponding federal state.

N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor hypofunction causes recurrent and transient failures of perceptual inference.

Perception integrates external sensory signals with internal predictions that reflect prior knowledge about the world. Previous research suggests that this integration is governed by slow alternations between an external mode, driven by sensory signals, and an internal mode, shaped by prior knowledge. Using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over experiment in healthy human participants, we investigated the effects of the N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist S-ketamine on the balance between external and internal modes.

[Cutaneous ulceration in dermatomyositis : Case reports with positive anti-NXP-2/anti-TIF1-gamma antibody status].

Painful ulcerations developed in a 33-year-old woman with anti-NXP-2-positive dermatomyositis in the facial and trunk areas and a 67-year-old woman with TIF1-gamma-positive dermatomyositis on the hands, while undergoing systemic therapy with azathioprine or low-dose methylprednisolone and cyclic administration of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG), respectively. In the laboratory workup, the anti-MDA‑5 antibody status remained negative and the creatine kinase (CK) normal in both patients, while histopathological examinations were nonspecific. Intensive topical class 4 corticosteroid therapy and continuation of the immunosuppressive or immunomodulating therapy led to healing of the ulcerative skin lesions.

Biomechanics of flail chest injuries: tidal volume and respiratory work changes in multiple segmental rib fractures.

Background: Flail chest (FC) injuries are segmental osseous injuries of the thorax that typically result from high-energy blunt trauma and regularly occur in multiple trauma (MT) patients. FC injuries are associated with paradoxical chest wall movements and, thus, have a high risk of respiratory insufficiency or even death. An increasing number of studies recommend an early surgical stabilization of FC injuries, but a definite trigger that would indicate surgery has, thus far, not been identified.

Instruments for Evaluating Undergraduate Medical Education in Complementary and Integrative Medicine: A Systematic Review.

The provision of courses in complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) varies widely between medical schools. To effectively improve CIM education, it is essential to use robust evaluation instruments that measure the impact of different educational interventions. This review aimed to identify and critically appraise qualitative and quantitative instruments used to evaluate CIM courses in undergraduate medical education.

Structural brain correlates of externalizing traits and symptoms in the IMAGEN sample.

The evidence supporting the presence of individual brain structure correlates of the externalizing spectrum (EXT) is sparse and mixed. To date, large-sample studies of brain-EXT relations have mainly found null to very small effects by focusing exclusively on either EXT-related personality traits (e.g.

Associations Between the Neural Stress Response and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression.

Anxiety and depression disorders show high prevalence rates, and stress is a significant risk factor for both. However, studies investigating the interplay between anxiety, depression, and stress regulation in the brain are scarce. The present manuscript included 124 law students from the LawSTRESS project.

Is Kaposi sarcoma a novel comorbidity of cutaneous lymphoma? A systematic review of the literature.

Background And Objectives: Patients with cutaneous lymphomas (CL) are at an increased risk of developing secondary malignancies. This study aimed to assess the frequency of association between CL and Kaposi sarcoma (KS) and to identify factors that may promote the co-occurrence of these two diseases.

Patients And Methods: On January 25, 2024, we conducted a systematic search of four electronic medical databases to identify all published cases of KS associated with CL.

Digital solutions for migrant and refugee health: a framework for analysis and action.

Digital technologies can help support the health of migrants and refugees and facilitate research on their health issues. However, ethical concerns include security and confidentiality of information; informed consent; how to engage migrants in designing, implementing and researching digital tools; inequitable access to mobile devices and the internet; and access to health services for early intervention and follow-up. Digital technical solutions do not necessarily overcome problems that are political, social, or economic.

Slamming hepatocellular carcinoma: targeting immunosuppressive macrophages via SLAMF7 reprograms the tumor microenvironment.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common form of primary liver cancer and one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide due to limited treatment options. The tumor microenvironment (TME), which is usually immunosuppressive in HCC, appears to be a decisive factor for response to immunotherapy and strategies aimed at inducing a more inflamed TME hold promise to overcome resistance to immunotherapy. Within the TME, the interplay of various cell types determines whether immunotherapy is successful.

Impact of myelodysplasia-related and additional gene mutations in intensively treated patients with -mutated AML.

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the myelodysplasia-related gene (MRG) as well as additional gene mutations on outcomes in intensively treated patients with -mutated ( ) AML. Targeted DNA sequencing of 263 genes was performed in 568 AML patients (median age: 59 years) entered into the prospective AMLSG 09-09 treatment trial. Most commonly co-mutated genes were (49.

Single-cell microbiota phenotyping reveals distinct disease and therapy-associated signatures in Crohn's disease.

IgA-coated fractions of the intestinal microbiota of Crohn's disease (CD) patients have been shown to contain taxa that hallmark the compositional dysbiosis in CD microbiomes. However, the correlation between other cellular properties of intestinal bacteria and disease has not been explored further, especially for features that are not directly driven by the host immune-system, e.g.

Evaluation of synaptotagmin-1 action models by all-atom molecular dynamics simulations.

Neurotransmitter release is triggered in microseconds by the two C domains of the Ca sensor synaptotagmin-1 and by SNARE complexes, which form four-helix bundles that bridge the vesicle and plasma membranes. The synaptotagmin-1 CB domain binds to the SNARE complex via a 'primary interface', but the mechanism that couples Ca-sensing to membrane fusion is unknown. Widespread models postulate that the synaptotagmin-1 Ca-binding loops accelerate membrane fusion by inducing membrane curvature, perturbing lipid bilayers or helping bridge the membranes, but these models do not seem compatible with SNARE binding through the primary interface, which orients the Ca-binding loops away from the fusion site.

Sleep and circadian rhythms in delayed sleep-wake phase disorder: Phenotypic differences between patients with and without comorbid depression.

Delayed sleep-wake phase disorder involves chronic difficulty going to bed and waking up at conventional times and often co-occurs with depression. This study compared sleep and circadian rhythms between patients with delayed sleep-wake phase disorder with depression (DSWPD-D) and without (DSWPD-ND) comorbid depression. Clinical records of 162 patients with delayed sleep-wake phase disorder (70 DSWPD-D, 92 DSWPD-ND) were analysed, including a subset of 76 patients with circadian phase determined by the dim light melatonin onset.

A rare haplotype of the GJD3 gene segregating in familial Meniere's disease interferes with connexin assembly.

Background: Familial Meniere's disease (FMD) is a rare polygenic disorder of the inner ear. Mutations in the connexin gene family, which encodes gap junction proteins, can also cause hearing loss, but their role in FMD is largely unknown.

Methods: We retrieved exome sequencing data from 94 individuals in 70 Meniere's disease (MD) families.