Heterotopic Triplet Pregnancy After Assisted Reproductive Techniques: A Systematic Review.

Heterotopic pregnancy is defined as the simultaneous presence of an intrauterine and an extrauterine pregnancy and is considered a rare condition. As a part of this entity, heterotopic triplet pregnancy, defined as the presence of three embryos, with at least one being ectopic, is exceedingly rare. In recent years, the broad use of assisted reproductive techniques to help infertile couples has contributed to the constant rise of non-spontaneous heterotopic triplets.

Exploring hope and expectations amidst the shadows: Navigating through the hearts of cancer patients admitted to a palliative care unit.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to conduct an in-depth exploration of the psychological well-being, hope, and expectations of cancer patients receiving care in a palliative care unit, utilizing a qualitative research approach.

Methods: We employed the methodology of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Our data collection involved conducting 1-hour semi-structured interviews with the patients.

Deep learning helps discriminate between autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cholangitis.

Background & Aims: Biliary abnormalities in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and interface hepatitis in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) occur frequently, and misinterpretation may lead to therapeutic mistakes with a negative impact on patients. This study investigates the use of a deep learning (DL)-based pipeline for the diagnosis of AIH and PBC to aid differential diagnosis.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter study across six European referral centers, and built a library of digitized liver biopsy slides dating from 1997 to 2023.

Transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease (TA-GVHD) and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD): Pathophysiology and management (contrasted and compared).

Transfusion of blood products is a common lifesaving medical procedure in clinical practice. However, it poses the risk of potential adverse reactions for the recipient. Transfusion-associated graft-versus-host-disease (TA-GVHD) is a rare adverse event, fatal in >90% of cases.

The impact of the styloid process angulation on the carotid arteries.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of the temporal bone styloid process (SP) angulation on the carotid arteries (CA), both internal and external carotid arteries (ICA and ECA). The SP topographical variability and the clinical significance will be further discussed.

Materials: One hundred computed tomography angiographies (CTAs) (200 sides of 50 male and 50 female patients) were retrospectively studied.

Landscape of B lymphocytes and plasma cells in digestive tract carcinomas.

Digestive tract carcinomas are the most commonly occurring cancers worldwide, but their prognosis with traditional treatments remains poor. T lymphocytes are well-recognized as crucial components of effective anti-tumor immunity, and current immunotherapeutic strategies concentrate mainly on T-cell-mediated immunity reinforcement, whereas the role of B lymphocytes and plasma cells (PCs) has been neglected in the past, and it is only recently that these cells have been considered as key players in the tumor microenvironment (TME). In this review, we describe the complex dual role of B lymphocytes and PCs in promoting and inhibiting tumor progression in the TME of digestive tract carcinomas, and we demonstrate their prognostic value.

Daughters of PCOS mothers and AMH plasma concentrations in pre-puberty and puberty: A meta-analysis.

Purpose: to compare the Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) plasma concentrations of pre-pubertal and pubertal daughters born to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) mothers to daughters born to control mothers and to investigate their alterations during pre-puberty and all stages of puberty.

Methods: We critically investigated and meta-analyzed observational studies, which compared the plasma concentrations of AMH in pre-pubertal and pubertal daughters of PCOS pregnancies. A search of the literature was completed till the end of June of 2024 in the PubMed, Scopus, and Medline for the eligible studies.

Expression of the IGF‑1Ea isoform in human placentas from third trimester normal and idiopathic intrauterine growth restriction singleton pregnancies: Correlations with clinical and histopathological parameters.

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is the second most common obstetric complication after preterm labor. Appropriate trophoblast differentiation and placental structure, growth and function are key for the maintenance of pregnancy and normal fetal growth, development and survival. Extravillous trophoblast cell proliferation, migration and invasion are regulated by molecules produced by the fetomaternal interface, including autocrine factors produced by the trophoblast, such as insulin‑like growth factor (IGF)‑1.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist protocols for pituitary suppression in assisted reproduction.

Background: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa) are commonly used in assisted reproduction technology (ART) cycles to prevent a luteinising hormone (LH) surge during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) prior to planned oocyte retrieval, thus optimising the chances of live birth. We compared the benefits and risks of the different GnRHa protocols used.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of different GnRHa protocols used as adjuncts to COH in women undergoing ART.

Hypercoagulable Rotational Thromboelastometry During Hospital Stay Is Associated with Post-Discharge DLco Impairment in Patients with COVID-19-Related Pneumonia.

Hypercoagulation is central to the pathogenesis of acute and post-acute COVID-19. This prospective observational study explored whether rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM), a method that unveils coagulation status, predicts outcomes of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. We investigated 62 patients using ROTEM that was conducted at enrollment, clinical deterioration, discharge and follow-up visits 1 and 3 months post-discharge.

Detection rate for ESR1 mutations is higher in circulating-tumor-cell-derived genomic DNA than in paired plasma cell-free DNA samples as revealed by ddPCR.

Plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis to track estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) mutations is highly beneficial for the identification of tumor molecular dynamics and the improvement of personalized treatments for patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Plasma-cfDNA is, up to now, the most frequent liquid biopsy analyte used to evaluate ESR1 mutational status. Circulating tumor cell (CTC) enumeration and molecular characterization analysis provides important clinical information in patients with MBC.

Lymphopenia is an adverse prognostic factor in rectal adenocarcinoma patients receiving long-course chemoradiotherapy.

Purpose: Neoadjuvant radiotherapy (RT) or chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is the standard treatment for locally advanced rectal adenocarcinoma. The recent emerging data on preoperative immunotherapy as an effective therapeutic modality for mismatch repair deficient rectal carcinomas suggests that the immune system plays a significant role in tumor eradication. Although RT has been shown to stimulate anti-tumor immunity, it also leads to substantial lymphopenia, hindering the effect of immune response.

HIV Disclosure and Low HIV Stigma in a Gay Serodiscordant Couple: An Interpretative Phenomenological Case Study of the Discloser-Confidant Dynamics.

Introduction HIV stigma levels are high in Greece. HIV stigma hinders testing, healthcare access, and treatment adherence, often leading to non-disclosure. The discloser navigates challenges by balancing the confidant's potential reactions, ranging from rejection and discrimination to the benefits of increased intimacy and liking.

Intestinal oxygen utilisation and cellular adaptation during intestinal ischaemia-reperfusion injury.

The gastrointestinal tract can be deranged by ailments including sepsis, trauma and haemorrhage. Ischaemic injury provokes a common constellation of microscopic and macroscopic changes that, together with the paradoxical exacerbation of cellular dysfunction and death following restoration of blood flow, are collectively known as ischaemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). Although much of the gastrointestinal tract is normally hypoxemic, intestinal IRI results when there is inadequate oxygen availability due to poor supply (pathological hypoxia) or abnormal tissue oxygen use and metabolism (dysoxia).

"Complete" duplication of the posterior cerebral artery: a rare variant detected on computed tomography angiography.

The cerebral arterial circle morphologic variability has been extensively studied. The posterior cerebral artery (PCA) variants are rarely identified, except from the first segment (P1) hypoplasia or absence. Due to its unique morphology, the computed tomography angiography (CTA) of a 34-year-old female patient was further investigated.

Egg Cryopreservation for Social Reasons-A Literature Review.

This paper provides an overview of the social reasons that lead women to consider egg cryopreservation, as well as the attitudes and knowledge of women towards this procedure. Methods: For the creation of this article, a literature review was carried out both in the existing medical literature and in search engines. The key points are as follows: (1) The main reasons women choose to delay childbearing are the lack of a suitable male partner, education and career advancement, and financial instability.

Effect of pelvic floor muscle training on urinary incontinence symptoms in postmenopausal women: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Urinary incontinence (UI) is common in women of all age groups, but postmenopausal women (MW) have a higher incidence of these symptoms. The International Continence Society suggests that women with UI should first try a conservative treatment, such as pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT), which aims to enhance the strength and rectify the activation patterns of the pelvic floor muscles. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of PFMT, either on its own, or in conjunction with other physical therapy, in reducing the severity of UI symptoms in MW.

Thrombosis in Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH): From Pathogenesis to Treatment.

Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) constitutes a rare bone marrow failure syndrome characterized by hemolytic anemia, thrombotic events (TEs), and bone marrow aplasia of variable degrees. Thrombosis is one of the major clinical manifestations of the disease, affecting up to 40% of individuals with PNH. Venous thrombosis is more prevalent, affecting mainly unusual sites, such as intrabdominal and hepatic veins.