Impact of disease-modifying therapies on pregnancy outcomes in multiple sclerosis: a prospective cohort study from the German multiple sclerosis and pregnancy registry.

Background: In recent decades, relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) became more treatable through new disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). Identifying safe treatments with minimal fetal risks for family planning is needed.

Methods: In this prospective cohort from the German MS and Pregnancy Registry (DMSKW), we analyzed pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in MS-patients using descriptive statistics and logistic/linear regression models to compare DMT-exposed pregnancies to DMT-unexposed pregnancies.

Acceptance, Safety, and Effect Sizes in Online Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder: Interventional Pilot Study.

Background: The potential of telehealth psychotherapy (ie, the online delivery of treatment via a video web-based platform) is gaining increased attention. However, there is skepticism about its acceptance, safety, and efficacy for patients with high emotional and behavioral dysregulation.

Objective: This study aims to provide initial effect size estimates of symptom change from pre- to post treatment, and the acceptance and safety of telehealth dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) for individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD).

The role of CNBP in brain atrophy and its targeting in myotonic dystrophy type 2.

Myotonic Dystrophy type 2 (DM2) is a multisystem disease affecting many tissues, including skeletal muscle, heart, and brain. DM2 is caused by unstable expansion of CCTG repeats in an intron 1 of a gene coding for cellular nuclear binding protein (CNBP). The expanded CCTG repeats cause DM2 pathology due to the accumulation of RNA CCUG repeats, which affect RNA processing in patients' cells.

Determining the feasibility of linked claims and vaccination data for a COVID-19 vaccine pharmacoepidemiological study in Germany-RiCO feasibility study protocol.

Introduction: In Germany, there has been no population-level pharmacoepidemiological study on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines. One factor preventing such a study so far relates to challenges combining the different relevant data bodies on vaccination with suitable outcome data, specifically statutory health insurance claims data. Individual identifiers used across these data bodies are of unknown quality and reliability for data linkage.

The Value of Multidisciplinary Neuro-oncological Tumor Boards to Increase the Accuracy of FET PET for Identifying Brain Tumor Relapse.

Purpose: Especially in Europe, amino acid PET is increasingly integrated into multidisciplinary neuro-oncological tumor boards (MNTBs) to overcome diagnostic uncertainties such as treatment-related changes. We evaluated the accuracy of MNTB decisions that included the O-(2-[18F]-fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine (FET) PET information compared with FET PET results alone to differentiate tumor relapse from treatment-related changes.

Patients And Methods: In a single academic center, we retrospectively evaluated 180 MNTB decisions of 151 patients with CNS WHO grade 3 or 4 gliomas (n = 122) or brain metastases (n = 29) presenting equivocal MRI findings following anticancer treatment.

Structural determinants of oxygen resistance and Zn-mediated stability of the [FeFe]-hydrogenase from .

[FeFe]-hydrogenases catalyze the reversible two-electron reduction of two protons to molecular hydrogen. Although these enzymes are among the most efficient H-converting biocatalysts in nature, their catalytic cofactor (termed H-cluster) is irreversibly destroyed upon contact with dioxygen. The [FeFe]-hydrogenase CbA5H from has a unique mechanism to protect the H-cluster from oxygen-induced degradation.

Identification of Use Cases, Target Groups, and Motivations Around Adopting Smart Speakers for Health Care and Social Care Settings: Scoping Review.

Background: Conversational agents (CAs) are finding increasing application in health and social care, not least due to their growing use in the home. Recent developments in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing have enabled a variety of new uses for CAs. One type of CA that has received increasing attention recently is smart speakers.

Fast, bioluminescent blinks attract group members of the nocturnal flashlight fish Anomalops katoptron (Bleeker, 1856).

Background: During their nighttime shoaling, the flashlight fish Anomalops katoptron produce fascinating, bioluminescent blink patterns, which have been related to the localization of food, determination of nearest neighbor distance, and initiation of the shoal's movement direction. Information transfer e.g.

Balloon atrioseptostomy for transposition of the great arteries in Europe: characteristics and outcomes.

Introduction And Objectives: Balloon atrial septostomy (BAS) improves oxygenation in neonates with transposition of the great arteries (TGA) and restrictive foramen ovale. Currently, there is a global shortage of dedicated BAS catheters, while new unmarked catheters have recently become available at some European centers. This study aimed to characterize BAS outcomes using the currently available BAS catheters in Europe.

Neurological post-COVID syndrome is associated with substantial impairment of verbal short-term and working memory.

A substantial proportion of patients suffer from Post-COVID Syndrome (PCS) with fatigue and impairment of memory and concentration being the most important symptoms. We here set out to perform in-depth neuropsychological assessment of PCS patients referred to the Neurologic PCS clinic compared to patients without sequelae after COVID-19 (non-PCS) and healthy controls (HC) to decipher the most prevalent cognitive deficits. We included n = 60 PCS patients with neurologic symptoms, n = 15 non-PCS patients and n = 15 healthy controls.

Axial spondyloarthritis.

Axial spondyloarthritis manifests as a chronic inflammatory disease primarily affecting the sacroiliac joints and spine. Although chronic back pain and spinal stiffness are typical initial symptoms, peripheral (ie, enthesitis, arthritis, and dactylitis) and extra-musculoskeletal (ie, uveitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis) manifestations are also common. Timely and accurate diagnosis is challenging and relies on identifying a clinical pattern with a combination of clinical, laboratory (HLA-B27 positivity), and imaging findings (eg, structural damage on pelvic radiographs and bone marrow oedema on MRI of the sacroiliac joints).

Effect of Immunoadsorption on clinical presentation and immune alterations in COVID-19-induced and/or aggravated ME/CFS.

Autoreactive antibodies (AAB) are currently being investigated as causative or aggravating factors during post-COVID. In this study we analyze the effect of immunoadsorption therapy on symptom improvement and the relationship with immunological parameters in post-COVID patients exhibiting symptoms of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) induced or aggravated by an SARS-CoV-2 infection. This observational study includes 12 post-COVID patients exhibiting a predominance of ME/CFS symptoms alongside increased concentrations of autonomic nervous system receptors (ANSR) autoantibodies and neurological impairments.

Discharge Against Medical Advice in Cancer Patients: Insights from a Multicenter Study in Germany.

Background: Discharge against medical advice (DAMA) disrupts continuity of care and is associated with increased readmission rates, morbidity, and mortality. While extensively studied in general hospital populations, its prevalence and associated factors in cancer patients, where treatment adherence is critical for outcomes, remain underexplored.

Methods: This multicenter, cross-sectional study analyzed anonymized data from the IQVIA hospital database, including cancer patients hospitalized in 36 German hospitals between January 2019 and December 2023.

Dynamics and development of interhemispheric conflict solving in pigeons.

The dominance of one hemisphere for cognitive operations and decision making may be an efficient mechanism solving interhemispheric conflicts. To understand the ecological significance of the so-called metacontrol, we need better knowledge of its frequency and ontogenetic foundations. Since in pigeons, embryonic light experiences influence degree and direction of interhemispheric specialization and communication, it is conceivable that light affects metacontrol mechanisms.

Oppositional and competitive instigation of hippocampal synaptic plasticity by the VTA and locus coeruleus.

The novelty, saliency, and valency of ongoing experiences potently influence the firing rate of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the locus coeruleus (LC). Associative experience, in turn, is recorded into memory by means of hippocampal synaptic plasticity that is regulated by noradrenaline sourced from the LC, and dopamine, sourced from both the VTA and LC. Two persistent forms of synaptic plasticity, long-term potentiation (LTP), and long-term depression (LTD) support the encoding of different kinds of spatial experience.

Extracorporeal Shock Waves Therapy for the Treatment of Acute and Chronic Wounds-A Prospective, Monocentric Clinical Trial to Examine the Effect of Shock Waves on Wound Healing.

Introduction: The aim of our prospective blinded clinical study was to examine a possible improvement and acceleration of epithelialization by treatment with low-energy extracorporeal shock waves on skin graft donor and recipient sites in patients with chronic wounds. In addition, several secondary parameters were investigated to evaluate the compatibility of the therapeutic method, its influence on infection occurrence and bacterial colonization.

Materials And Methods: A total of 35 patients were included in the study.

Systematic Review: Efficacy of Medical Therapy on Outcomes Important to Pediatric Patients with X-Linked Hypophosphatemia.

Objective: To examine the evidence addressing the management of X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) in children to inform treatment recommendations.

Methods: We searched Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central up to May 2023. Eligible studies included RCTs and observational studies of individuals less than 18yrs with clinically or genetically confirmed XLH.

Dehydrogenase oxidase function: the interplay between substrate binding and flavin microenvironment.

Redox enzymes, mostly equipped with metal or organic cofactors, can vary their reactivity with oxygen by orders of magnitudes. Understanding how oxygen reactivity is controlled by the protein milieu remains an open issue with broad implications for mechanistic enzymology and enzyme design. Here, we address this problem by focusing on a widespread group of flavoenzymes that oxidize phenolic compounds derived from microbial lignin degradation, using either oxygen or a cytochrome c as electron acceptors.

Gene regulation by convergent promoters.

Convergent transcription, that is, the collision of sense and antisense transcription, is ubiquitous in mammalian genomes and believed to diminish RNA expression. Recently, antisense transcription downstream of promoters was found to be surprisingly prevalent. However, functional characteristics of affected promoters are poorly investigated.

Deep-learning-based image compression for microscopy images: An empirical study.

With the fast development of modern microscopes and bioimaging techniques, an unprecedentedly large amount of imaging data is being generated, stored, analyzed, and shared through networks. The size of the data poses great challenges for current data infrastructure. One common way to reduce the data size is by image compression.

Reliability and validity of four cognitive interpretation bias measures in the context of social anxiety.

People with social anxiety disorder tend to interpret ambiguous social information in a negative rather than positive manner. Such interpretation biases may cause and maintain anxiety symptoms. However, there is considerable variability in the observed effects across studies, with some not finding a relationship between interpretation biases and social anxiety.

Real-World Prevalence, Incidence and Management of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Germany: A Retrospective Claims Data Analysis.

Introduction: This study evaluated the prevalence and incidence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Germany and explored real-world data on sequence of therapy (SOT; sequence of drugs as prescribed in clinical practice).

Methods: This retrospective, observational, longitudinal cohort study using German claims data from the WIG2 GmbH Scientific Institute for Health Economics and Health System Research database (January 2011-December 2019), extrapolated to the statutory health insurance (SHI)-insured population, evaluated prevalence and incidence in an epidemiological analysis group and SLE treatment patterns in an incident cohort (subgroup ≥ 18 years of age with incident disease and ≥ 24-month follow-up post index date). Analyses were descriptive.