187 results match your criteria: "Utrecht (S.H.); and Maastricht University Medical Centre[Affiliation]"

Effective targeting of somatic cancer mutations to enhance the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy requires an individualized approach. Autogene cevumeran is a uridine messenger RNA lipoplex-based individualized neoantigen-specific immunotherapy designed from tumor-specific somatic mutation data obtained from tumor tissue of each individual patient to stimulate T cell responses against up to 20 neoantigens. This ongoing phase 1 study evaluated autogene cevumeran as monotherapy (n = 30) and in combination with atezolizumab (n = 183) in pretreated patients with advanced solid tumors.

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Background And Objectives: Epcoritamab is a CD3xCD20 bispecific antibody approved for the treatment of adults with different types of relapsed or refractory (R/R) B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) after ≥ 2 lines of systemic therapy. Here we report the first results from a population pharmacokinetic model-based analysis using data from 2 phase 1/2 clinical trials (EPCORE NHL-1, NCT03625037 and EPCORE NHL-3, NCT04542824) evaluating epcoritamab in patients with R/R B-NHL.

Methods: Plasma concentration-time data included 6819 quantifiable pharmacokinetic samples from 327 patients with R/R B-NHL.

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Background And Objective: The role of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-based positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in addition to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for local staging of prostate cancer (PC) has been poorly addressed so far. Our aim was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of PSMA PET/CT and MRI, alone and combined, for detection of extraprostatic extension (EPE) and seminal vesicle invasion (SVI) in PC.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter retrospective study evaluating patients undergoing PSMA PET/CT and MRI before radical prostatectomy.

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Background And Objective:  Clinical practice guidelines for prostate cancer (PCa) are a valuable resource for everyday clinical practice. The clinical practice guidelines and recommendations produced by various societies should demonstrate a considerable level of consistency in terms of quality, regardless of the society that developed these given the common evidence base. However, to date, no study has assessed the quality of PCa clinical practice guidelines.

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Radiation Lobectomy in Adjunct to Double Vein Embolization to Reach Sufficient Future Liver Remnant in Patients with Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases: A Case Series.

Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol

November 2024

Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Cancer Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Purpose: To describe the outcome of radiation lobectomy (RL) after double vein embolization (portal vein embolization + hepatic vein embolization) for patients with insufficient future liver remnant growth.

Materials And Methods: All patients with insufficient FLR function (as determined by hepatobiliary scintigraphy (HIDA); < 2.7%/min/m) after double vein embolization who underwent RL between 2020 and 2023 were selected.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the frequency and reasons for changes in ticagrelor treatment among patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), revealing that many patients discontinue it prematurely.
  • Data from over 4,200 patients showed that 26.7% had physician-recommended discontinuations and 20.1% had alterations in their treatment within a year.
  • Treatment interruptions and disruptions significantly increased the risk of serious heart-related issues, while discontinuation and alterations did not show the same level of risk.
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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to investigate how removing one ovary for ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) affects the remaining ovary's function in girls with Turner syndrome, monitoring them over several years to track pubertal development and hormone levels.
  • - Conducted at a university hospital in the Netherlands, the research involved 28 girls aged 5-19, each with different karyotypes associated with Turner syndrome, and analyzed their hormone levels and pubertal milestones post-OTC.
  • - Results showed a mixed response; while many participants experienced normal pubertal developments like thelarche and menarche, a notable decline in anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels occurred shortly after OTC, leading to some girls requiring hormone replacement
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Computed tomography-derived fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR) enhances the specificity of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) to that of the most specific non-invasive imaging techniques, while maintaining high sensitivity in stable coronary artery disease (CAD). As gatekeeper for invasive coronary angiography (ICA), use of CT-FFR results in a significant reduction of negative ICA procedures and associated costs and complications, without increasing cardiovascular events. It is expected that CT-FFR algorithms will continue to improve, regarding accuracy and generalisability, and that introduction of new features will allow further treatment guidance and reduced invasive diagnostic testing.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study evaluated the PACAS risk model's ability to identify patients at high risk for severe asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis (ACAS) and predict future strokes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.
  • It involved 26,384 patients aged 45-80, finding that 6.3% had severe ACAS at baseline and that higher PACAS scores correlated with increased incidences of stroke and CVD over roughly 70,000 patient-years of follow-up.
  • The PACAS model was confirmed to effectively discriminate and calibrate risk levels, indicating that patients with higher scores had a significantly higher prevalence of severe ACAS and related events during the follow-up period.
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Antibody-dependent complement activation plays a key role in the natural human immune response to infections. Currently, the understanding of which antibody-antigen combinations drive a potent complement response on bacteria is limited. Here, we develop an antigen-agnostic approach to stain and single-cell sort human IgG memory B cells recognizing intact bacterial cells, keeping surface antigens in their natural context.

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Adding ethnicity to cardiovascular risk prediction: External validation and model updating of SCORE2 using data from the HELIUS population cohort.

Int J Cardiol

December 2024

Department of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of General Practice, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Electronic address:

Background: Current prediction models for mainland Europe do not include ethnicity, despite ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. SCORE2 performance was evaluated across the largest ethnic groups in the Netherlands and ethnic backgrounds were added to the model.

Methods: 11,614 participants, aged between 40 and 70 years without CVD, from the population-based multi-ethnic HELIUS study were included.

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The impact of cut-off values on the prevalence of short cervical length in pregnancy.

Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol

November 2024

Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam, Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Reproduction and Development Research Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Background: A prior study suggested that implementing a cut-off value of ≤30 mm for a short cervical length (CL) could potentially introduce selection bias and alter the distribution of CL measurements. As such, the objective of this study is to evaluate how CL distribution and incidence of short CL are affected when using different cut-off values for a short CL.

Study Design: This is a secondary analysis of the Quadruple P (QP) Screening study; a prospective cohort study that included low-risk patients with singleton pregnancies undergoing fetal anomaly scan at 18-22 weeks of gestation, including a CL measurement.

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Continuation versus Interruption of Oral Anticoagulation during TAVI.

N Engl J Med

August 2024

From the Department of Cardiology, St. Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein (D.J.G., W.L.B., J.P., B.J.W.M.R., L.T., M.J.S., J.B., V.J.N., D.C.O., J.M.B.), the Department of Cardiology, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam (H.M.A., J.G.P.T., R.D.), the Department of Cardiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht (H.M.A., M. Voskuil), the Department of Cardiology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen (M.J.P.R., V.J.N., N.R.), the Department of Cardiology, Maastricht University Medical Center (L.V., A.J.J.I., P.A.V., A.W.J.H.), and Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (L.V., P.A.V., A.W.J.H., J.M.B.), Maastricht, the Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden (F.K., J.M.M.-C.), the Department of Cardiology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen (K.H.B., J.J.W.), the Department of Cardiology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam (N.M.V.M.), the Department of Cardiology, Haga Hospital, the Hague (C.E.S.), the Department of Cardiology, Amphia Hospital, Breda (A.J.J.I., J.H., B.J.L.V.B.), the Department of Cardiology, Isala Hospital, Zwolle (R.S.H., R.L.), and the Department of Cardiology, Elisabeth-Tweesteden Hospital, Tilburg (J.H.) - all in the Netherlands; the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University Hospital Leuven, Leuven (C.D., T.A.), the Department of Cardiology, Algemeen Stedelijk Hospital Aalst (L.R.), and Cardiovascular Center Aalst, Onze Lieve Vrouw Hospital (E.B., M. Vanderheyden), Aalst, the Department of Cardiology, Hospital Network Antwerp (ZNA) Middelheim, Antwerp (P.A., H.E.J.), the Department of Cardiology, Sint-Jan Hospital, Bruges (J.A.S.V.D.H.), the Department of Cardiology, AZ Delta, Roeselare (K.D.), and the Department of Cardiology, Hospital Oost-Limburg, Genk (B.F.) - all in Belgium; the Heart Center, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen (O.D.B., Y.K.); the Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome (E.B.), and the Cardiothoracovascular Department, University of Trieste, Trieste (E.F.) - both in Italy; the Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland (D.M.); and the Department of Cardiology, Institut National de Chirurgie Cardiaque et de Cardiologie Interventionnelle, Luxembourg (P.F., M.L.).

Article Synopsis
  • * In a trial with 858 patients, results showed no significant difference in major complications between those who continued anticoagulation (16.5% experienced primary outcomes) and those who interrupted it (14.8%).
  • * Continuation of anticoagulation led to higher incidences of major bleeding (31.1% vs. 21.3%), suggesting that interrupting anticoagulation is safer in this patient population undergoing TAVI.
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Probing the killing potency of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes on microarrayed colorectal cancer tumoroids.

NPJ Precis Oncol

August 2024

Laboratory of Stem Cell Bioengineering, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Life Sciences and School of Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.

Immunotherapy has emerged as a new standard of care for certain cancer patients with specific cellular and molecular makeups. However, there is still an unmet need for ex vivo models able to readily assess the effectiveness of immunotherapeutic treatments in a high-throughput and patient-specific manner. To address this issue, we have developed a microarrayed system of patient-derived tumoroids with recreated immune microenvironments that are optimized for the high-content evaluation of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte functionality.

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Longevity of a Brain-Computer Interface for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

N Engl J Med

August 2024

From the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands (M.J.V., S.L., M.P.B., Z.V.F., S.H.G., P.H.G., M.R., A.S., M.V., E.J.A., N.F.R.); the Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore (N.E.C.); and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom (T.D.).

The durability of communication with the use of brain-computer interfaces in persons with progressive neurodegenerative disease has not been extensively examined. We report on 7 years of independent at-home use of an implanted brain-computer interface for communication by a person with advanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the inception of which was reported in 2016. The frequency of at-home use increased over time to compensate for gradual loss of control of an eye-gaze-tracking device, followed by a progressive decrease in use starting 6 years after implantation.

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Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of acute respiratory infections in young children. Limited data are available on RSV disease burden in primary care and emergency departments (EDs). This review synthesizes the evidence on population-based incidence rates of RSV infections in young children (< 5 years) in primary care and EDs.

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The association of quantitative PSMA PET parameters with pathologic ISUP grade: an international multicenter analysis.

Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging

December 2024

Division of Oncology/Unit of Urology, Soldera Prostate Cancer Lab, URI, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.

Purpose: To assess if PSMA PET quantitative parameters are associated with pathologic ISUP grade group (GG) and upgrading/downgrading.

Methods: PCa patients undergoing radical prostatectomy with or without pelvic lymph node dissection staged with preoperative PSMA PET at seven referral centres worldwide were evaluated. PSMA PET parameters which included SUV, PSMA, and total PSMA accumulation (PSMA) were collected.

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Brain Care Score and Neuroimaging Markers of Brain Health in Asymptomatic Middle-Age Persons.

Neurology

August 2024

From the Department of Neurology (C.A.R., S.C.-T., S.H., D.R., K.N.S., G.J.F.), Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health (C.A.R., S.C.-T., S.H., D.R., S.P., K.N.S., G.J.F.); Henry and Allison McCance Center for Brain Health (S.S., J.S., R.W.T., S.M., Z.C., C.K., M.B.W., G.F., R.E.T., N.Y., C.D.A., J.R.); Departments of Neurology (S.S., J.S., R.W.T., S.M., Z.C., C.K., M.B.W., N.Y., C.D.A., J.R.), Psychiatry (A.N.), and Medicine (A.N.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (S.S., J.S., R.W.T., S.M., C.K., N.Y., C.D.A., J.R.), Cambridge, MA; Department of Neurology (S.S., J.S., R.W.T., H.B.B.), Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands; Cancer Epidemiology Unit (K.P.), Nuffield Department of Population Health (M.C., T.J.L., C.M.V.D.), Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, United Kingdom; UAB McKnight Brain Institute (R.M.L.), Department of Neurology, UAB Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Department of Medicine (Neurology) (A.P.), University of Toronto; Krembil Brain Institute (A.P.), Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Program for Health System and Technology Evaluation (S.I.); Toronto General Hospital Research Institute; The Jay and Sari Sonshine Centre for Stroke Prevention & Cerebrovascular Brain Health (A.P., S.I.), University Health Network, Toronto; Centre for Advancing Collaborative Healthcare & Education (CACHE) and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), Dalla Lana School of Public Health (S.I.), University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Departments of Epidemiology (V.J.H.) and Biostatistics (G.H.), School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Department of Neurosurgery (H.B.B.), Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital, Tilburg, the Netherlands; Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine (G.F.), Massachusetts General Hospital; and Department of Neurology (C.D.A.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA.

Objectives: To investigate associations between health-related behaviors as measured using the Brain Care Score (BCS) and neuroimaging markers of white matter injury.

Methods: This prospective cohort study in the UK Biobank assessed the BCS, a novel tool designed to empower patients to address 12 dementia and stroke risk factors. The BCS ranges from 0 to 21, with higher scores suggesting better brain care.

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Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk scores provide point estimates of individual risk without uncertainty quantification. The objective of the current study was to demonstrate the feasibility and clinical utility of calculating uncertainty surrounding individual CVD-risk predictions using Bayesian methods.

Study Design And Setting: Individuals with established atherosclerotic CVD were included from the Utrecht Cardiovascular Cohort-Secondary Manifestations of ARTerial disease (UCC-SMART).

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Gene-Gene Interaction Between Factor- and Genes in Cerebral Venous Thrombosis: The BEAST Study.

Neurology

June 2024

From the Institute of Cardiovascular Research Royal Holloway (G.K.-D., P.S.), University of London (ICR2UL), United Kingdom; Fondazione IRCCS Ca'Granda-Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico (I.M., S.M.P., M.A., P.B., E.P.), A. Bianchi Bonomi Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center, Milan, Italy; Moncucco Hospital Group (I.M., E.G.), Lugano, Switzerland; Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis Unit (E.G., G.F., D.C.), I.R.C.C.S. Fondazione "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", S. Giovanni Rotondo; Medical and Surgical Department (E.G.), University of Foggia, Italy; Department of Obstetrics (E.G.), Gynaecology and Perinatal Medicine, First Sechenov University, Moscow, Russia; Neurology (S.H., J.P., E.H., T.T.), Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Finland; Department of Clinical Neuroscience (E.L., K.J., T.T.), Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg; Department of Neurology (E.L., K.J., T.T.), Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden; Medical Genetics (M. Margaglione, R.S.), Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Italy; Normandy University (V.L.C.D.), UNIROUEN, INSERM U1096, Rouen University Hospital, Vascular Hemostasis Unit and INSERM CIC-CRB 1404; Department of Neurology (A.B.T.), Rouen University Hospital, France; Neurology Unit (M.Z.), Stroke Unit, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale-IRCCS of Reggio Emilia; Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine (M. Mancuso), Neurological Institute, University of Pisa, Italy; UMC Utrecht Brain Center (Y.M.R.), Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands; Department of Neurology (B.B.W.), University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA; Department of Neurology (J.J.M., A.T.), University of Utah, Salt Lake City; Department of Neurology (S.Z., M.C.B., J.M.C.), Amsterdam University Medical Centers, location AMC, Amsterdam Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Neurosciences (R.L.), Experimental Neurology, KU Leuven-University of Leuven; VIB Center for Brain & Disease Research; Department of Neurology, University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium; Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation (E.P.), Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan; Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences (P. Costa), Neurology Clinic; Division of Biology and Genetics (M.C.), Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Italy; Stroke Center (D.A.D.S.), Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Central; CEEM and Institute of Anatomy (D.A.D.S.), Faculdade de Medicina; Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes (D.A.D.S., J.M.F.), Universidade de Lisboa; Department of Neurosciences (S.G.R., P. Canhao), Hospital of Santa Maria, University of Lisbon, Portugal; Stroke Clinic (A.A.), National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery Manuel Velasco Suarez, Mexico City; Department of Neurology (K.S.), University of Athens School of Medicine, Eginition Hospital, Athens, Greece; McMaster University (A.H., R.D., G.P.), Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Population Health Research Institute and Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis Research Institute, Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Department of Medicine and Surgery (A.P.), University of Parma, Stroke Care Program, Department of Emergency, Parma University Hospital, Italy; Stroke Division (V.N.T.), Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia; and Department of Clinical Neuroscience (P.S.), Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom.

Article Synopsis
  • Gene-gene interactions are believed to play a significant role in the development of multifactorial diseases like cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), highlighting potential causes of unexplained heritability.
  • A study involving 882 CVT patients and 1,205 control participants found that specific gene variants significantly increased the likelihood of developing CVT, particularly when individuals had certain blood types.
  • The research concluded that the interactions between specific genes could raise the risk of CVT by as much as 14 times, underscoring the importance of understanding these genetic factors in disease etiology.
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Intensive Ambulance-Delivered Blood-Pressure Reduction in Hyperacute Stroke.

N Engl J Med

May 2024

From the Department of Neurology, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University (G.L., C.C., F.L., D.H., Y.Z., L.Z., G.M., Y.Y., J.H., Xiahong Xu, X. Xiong, Y.T.), the Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University (C.S.A., L. Song), Shanghai Pudong New District Medical Emergency Center (C.Z.), the Department of Neurology, Seventh People's Hospital of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (F.W.), the Department of Neurology, Shanghai Pudong New District People's Hospital (X.Z.), the Department of Neurology, Gongli Hospital, Pudong New Area (M.J.), and the Department of Neurology, Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences Affiliated Zhoupu Hospital (Xiaoyun Xu), Shanghai, the First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College (Y.L., Y.G., J. Yu, S.L., S.H., F.M., Q.T.), the International Clinical Research Center, Chengdu Medical College (Y.L.), the Department of Neurology (J. Yang, S.T., N.Y., B.L., J.G.), the Institute of Neurology (J. Yang), Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study (J. Yang, S.T.), and the Departments of Neurosurgery (R.X.) and Emergency Medicine (M.S.), Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, and the First People's Hospital of Shuangliu District, Chengdu/West China (Airport) Hospital Sichuan University (Y.H.), Chengdu, the George Institute for Global Health China, Beijing (C.S.A., C.C., X.R., M.O., L. Song), Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, Zigong (P.X.), Fushun County People's Hospital, Fushun (L.W.), Kaijiang County People's Hospital, Kaijiang (D.Q.), QianWei County People's Hospital, Leshan (Y.P.), Dazhu People's Hospital, Dazhu (C.L.), the Department of Neurology, Yucheng People's Hospital, Yucheng (J.L.), the Department of Neurology, Sixian People's Hospital, Suzhou (Y.W.), Guanghan People's Hospital, Guanghan (X.W.), and the Department of Neurology, Xuzhou Central Hospital, Xuzhou (G.C.) - all in China; the George Institute for Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales (C.S.A., C.C., L.B., Q.L., X.C., X.L., X.R., L.L., H.L., M.O., L. Song), the Neurology Department, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (C.S.A.), Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics, University of Sydney (H.L.), Sydney Institute for Women, Children and Their Families, Sydney Local Health District (H.L.), and the School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University (L. Si) - all in Sydney; the Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan (H.A.); the Stroke Trials Unit, Mental Health and Clinical Neuroscience, University of Nottingham, Nottingham (P.M.B.), Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford (G.A.F., N.S.), and the University of Leicester, Leicester (T.R.) - all in the United Kingdom; the Department of Neurology, Oslo University Hospital, and the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation - both in Oslo (E.C.S.); the University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles (J.L.S.); and the Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands (H.B.W.).

Background: Treatment of acute stroke, before a distinction can be made between ischemic and hemorrhagic types, is challenging. Whether very early blood-pressure control in the ambulance improves outcomes among patients with undifferentiated acute stroke is uncertain.

Methods: We randomly assigned patients with suspected acute stroke that caused a motor deficit and with elevated systolic blood pressure (≥150 mm Hg), who were assessed in the ambulance within 2 hours after the onset of symptoms, to receive immediate treatment to lower the systolic blood pressure (target range, 130 to 140 mm Hg) (intervention group) or usual blood-pressure management (usual-care group).

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Consensus gene modules strategy identifies candidate blood-based biomarkers for primary Sjögren's disease.

Clin Immunol

July 2024

Translational Medicine, Servier, Research and Development, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France; Centre de Recherche sur l'Inflammation, INSERM UMRS1149, Paris, France. Electronic address:

Article Synopsis
  • Primary Sjögren disease (pSD) is an autoimmune disease that causes dryness in the body and is not yet treatable effectively.
  • Researchers studied blood samples from pSD patients to find groups of genes (called Consensus gene Modules) that reveal important information about the disease.
  • They discovered that different gene groups could predict how well patients respond to certain treatments, which could help doctors find better ways to help people with pSD in the future.
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Rapid autopsies to enhance metastatic research: the UPTIDER post-mortem tissue donation program.

NPJ Breast Cancer

April 2024

Laboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

Research on metastatic cancer has been hampered by limited sample availability. Here we present the breast cancer post-mortem tissue donation program UPTIDER and show how it enabled sampling of a median of 31 (range: 5-90) metastases and 5-8 liquids per patient from its first 20 patients. In a dedicated experiment, we show the mild impact of increasing time after death on RNA quality, transcriptional profiles and immunohistochemical staining in tumor tissue samples.

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Atherosclerotic Plaque Epigenetic Age Acceleration Predicts a Poor Prognosis and Is Associated With Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Humans.

Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol

June 2024

Laboratory of Experimental Cardiology (E.D.B., R.J.G.H., T.R.S., Y.S., M.M., H.M.d.R.), University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, the Netherlands.

Article Synopsis
  • Epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) in atherosclerotic plaques is linked to future cardiovascular events, showing that older plaque age can predict mortality risk similar to overall epigenetic age estimators.
  • In a study involving 485 human carotid plaques, EAA was correlated with clinical indicators, with patients showing higher EAA having conditions like diabetes and obesity.
  • Single-cell RNA sequencing identified smooth muscle and endothelial cells as key contributors to plaque EAA, with the endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition process being linked to accelerated aging in those cells.
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