Lumbar disc extrusions reduce faster than bulging discs due to an active role of macrophages in sciatica.

Objective: This retrospective observational histological study aims to associate the size and type of disc herniation with the degree of macrophage infiltration in disc material retrieved during disc surgery in patients with sciatica.

Methods: Disc tissue of 119 sciatica patients was embedded in paraffin and stained with hematoxylin and CD68. Tissue samples were categorized as mild (0-10/cm), moderate (10-100/cm), and considerable (> 100/cm) macrophage infiltration.

Measuring Diet Intake and Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Validation of the Food and Symptom Times Diary.

Introduction: Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) identify food as a trigger for the onset or worsening of gastrointestinal symptoms. Despite this, there is no published validated contemporaneous food and symptom diary to investigate the association between diet and IBS symptoms. The objective of this prospective observational study was to assess the construct validity of a novel food diary and symptom questionnaire, the Food and Symptom Times (FAST) diary, and the predictive validity of the food diary component with relation to fiber and fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols consumption and subsequent gastrointestinal symptoms.

Intranasal treatment of vitamin B deficiency in children.

Vitamin B deficiency is traditionally treated with intramuscular injections of cobalamin, which are stressful events for children. In adults, studies have shown adequate absorption of intranasally administered vitamin B. To date, data concerning efficacy of intranasal administration of vitamin B in children are lacking.

No Concluding Evidence on Optimal Activated Clotting Time for Non-cardiac Arterial Procedures.

Objectives: Heparin has a non-predictable effect in the individual patient. The activated clotting time (ACT) is used to measure the level of anticoagulation after administration of heparin. To date, appropriate heparin dose protocols and corresponding therapeutic ACT values have not been established in non-cardiac arterial procedures (NCAP).

Associations of autozygosity with a broad range of human phenotypes.

In many species, the offspring of related parents suffer reduced reproductive success, a phenomenon known as inbreeding depression. In humans, the importance of this effect has remained unclear, partly because reproduction between close relatives is both rare and frequently associated with confounding social factors. Here, using genomic inbreeding coefficients (F) for >1.

Standardized Measurement of Quality of Upper Limb Movement After Stroke: Consensus-Based Core Recommendations From the Second Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation Roundtable.

The second Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation Roundtable "metrics" task force developed consensus around the recognized need to add kinematic and kinetic movement quantification to its core recommendations for standardized measurements of sensorimotor recovery in stroke trials. Specifically, we focused on measurement of the quality of upper limb movement. We agreed that the recommended protocols for measurement should be conceptually rigorous, reliable, valid and responsive to change.

Metabolomics: a search for biomarkers of visceral fat and liver fat content.

Intoduction: Excess visceral and liver fat are known risk factors for cardiometabolic disorders. Metabolomics might allow for easier quantification of these ectopic fat depots, instead of using invasive and costly tools such as MRI or approximations such as waist circumference.

Objective: We explored the potential use of plasma metabolites as biomarkers of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and hepatic triglyceride content (HTGC).

The contribution of patients' presurgery perceptions of surgeon attributes to the experience of trust and pain during third molar surgery.

Background: Patients' feeling of trust in their surgeon may modulate the experience of pain during surgery. However, factors that contribute to patients' experience of trust during surgery remain underexamined. The current study examined the contribution of patients' impressions of surgeons' warmth and competence to their experience of trust and pain during wisdom tooth extractions.

Standardized measurement of quality of upper limb movement after stroke: Consensus-based core recommendations from the Second Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation Roundtable.

The second Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation Roundtable "metrics" task force developed consensus around the recognized need to add kinematic and kinetic movement quantification to its core recommendations for standardized measurements of sensorimotor recovery in stroke trials. Specifically, we focused on measurement of the quality of upper limb movement. We agreed that the recommended protocols for measurement should be conceptually rigorous, reliable, valid and responsive to change.

What is important for advance care planning in the palliative phase of people with intellectual disabilities? A multi-perspective interview study.

Background: Advance care planning (ACP) is the process of discussing and documenting wishes and preferences for future care. Research about ACP for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) is limited. This study describes what is important for ACP in the palliative phase of people with intellectual disabilities.

Disc inflammation and Modic changes show an interaction effect on recovery after surgery for lumbar disc herniation.

Purpose: To study the interaction between Modic changes (MC) and inflammation by macrophages in the disc, in relation to clinical symptoms before and after discectomy for lumbar disc herniation.

Methods: Disc tissue was embedded in paraffin and stained with haematoxylin and CD68. Subsequently, tissue samples were categorized for degree of inflammation.

Television viewing and child cognition in a longitudinal birth cohort in Singapore: the role of maternal factors.

Background: Although infant media exposure has received attention for its implications on child development, upstream risk factors contributing to media exposure have rarely been explored. The study aim was to examine the relationship between maternal risk factors, infant television (TV) viewing, and later child cognition.

Methods: We used a prospective population-based birth cohort study, Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO), with 1247 pregnant mothers recruited in their first trimester.

Associations of maternal zinc and magnesium with offspring learning abilities and cognitive development at 4 years in GUSTO.

Minerals deficiencies during pregnancy have been shown to be associated with poorer cognitive outcomes in offspring. This study aimed to investigate associations of maternal plasma zinc and magnesium concentrations with cognitive development in 4-year old children from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcome cohort. Maternal plasma zinc and magnesium concentrations were measured at 26-28 weeks' gestation.

Metastatic Uveal Melanoma: Treatment Strategies and Survival-Results from the Dutch Melanoma Treatment Registry.

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary intraocular tumor in adults. Up to 50% of UM patients will develop metastases. We present data of 175 metastatic UM patients diagnosed in the Netherlands between July 2012 and March 2018.

Maternal feeding practices and children's food intake during an ad libitum buffet meal: Results from the GUSTO cohort.

Parents' feeding practices have been shown to be associated with children's food intake and weight status, but little is known about feeding practices in Asian countries. This study used behavioral observation to explore the feeding practices of 201 mothers of 4.5 year-old children in Singapore during an ad libitum buffet lunch.

Important outcomes of moral case deliberation: a Euro-MCD field survey of healthcare professionals' priorities.

Background: There is a lack of empirical research regarding the outcomes of such clinical ethics support methods as moral case deliberation (MCD). Empirical research in how healthcare professionals perceive potential outcomes is needed in order to evaluate the value and effectiveness of ethics support; and help to design future outcomes research. The aim was to use the European Moral Case Deliberation Outcome Instrument (Euro-MCD) instrument to examine the importance of various MCD outcomes, according to healthcare professionals, prior to participation.

Ethnic Differences in the Association of Depressive Symptoms with Clinical Outcome in Dialysis Patients.

Background: Studies show mixed results on the association between depressive symptoms and adverse clinical outcomes in patients on dialysis therapy. Ethnicity may play a role in these heterogeneous results. No studies have investigated the interplay between ethnicity and depressive symptoms on clinical outcome in this patient population.

European Society for the Study of Coeliac Disease (ESsCD) guideline for coeliac disease and other gluten-related disorders.

This guideline presents recommendations for the management of coeliac disease (CD) and other gluten-related disorders both in adults and children. There has been a substantial increase in the prevalence of CD over the last 50 years and many patients remain undiagnosed. Diagnostic testing, including serology and biopsy, should be performed on a gluten-containing diet.

Identification of genetic biomarkers for alloimmunization in sickle cell disease.

Most sickle cell disease (SCD) patients rely on blood transfusion as their main treatment strategy. However, frequent blood transfusion poses the risk of alloimmunization. On average, 30% of SCD patients will alloimmunize while other patient groups form antibodies less frequently.

Enhancing cardiovascular artificial intelligence (AI) research in the Netherlands: CVON-AI consortium.

Background: Machine learning (ML) allows the exploration and progressive improvement of very complex high-dimensional data patterns that can be utilised to optimise specific classification and prediction tasks, outperforming traditional statistical approaches. An enormous acceleration of ready-to-use tools and artificial intelligence (AI) applications, shaped by the emergence, refinement, and application of powerful ML algorithms in several areas of knowledge, is ongoing. Although such progress has begun to permeate the medical sciences and clinical medicine, implementation in cardiovascular medicine and research is still in its infancy.

Lack of Brain Serotonin Affects Feeding and Differentiation of Newborn Cells in the Adult Hypothalamus.

Serotonin (5-HT) is a crucial signal in the neurogenic niche microenvironment. Dysregulation of the 5-HT system leads to mood disorders but also to changes in appetite and metabolic rate. Tryptophan hydroxylase 2-deficient ( ) mice depleted of brain 5-HT display alterations in these parameters, e.

Anxiety Symptoms, Mortality, and Hospitalization in Patients Receiving Maintenance Dialysis: A Cohort Study.

Rationale & Objective: Anxiety symptoms are common in dialysis patients and have a large impact on quality of life. The association of anxiety symptoms with adverse clinical outcomes in dialysis patients is largely unknown. This study examined the association of anxiety symptoms with hospitalization and mortality in patients receiving maintenance dialysis.