Factors associated with cognitive function in patient with Alzheimer's disease with newly prescribed acetylcholinesterase inhibitors: A 1-year retrospective cohort study.

Objective: We aimed to examine the factors associated with treatment outcomes in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) after 1 year of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEI) treatment.

Method: We obtained electronic medical records from a medical center in Southern Taiwan between January 2015 and September 2021. Participants aged ≥60 who were newly diagnosed with AD and had been prescribed AChEIs were included.

RAB31 drives extracellular vesicle fusion and cancer-associated fibroblast formation leading to oxaliplatin resistance in colorectal cancer.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is associated with tumorigenesis and drug resistance. The Rab superfamily of small G-proteins plays a role in regulating cell cytoskeleton and vesicle transport. However, it is not yet clear how the Rab family contributes to cancer progression by participating in EMT.

Comparative effectiveness of primary tumor resection versus chemotherapy in patients with asymptomatic unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer: a retrospective cohort study using the target trial emulation framework.

Patients who undergo primary tumor resection (PTR) reportedly have significantly higher overall survival (OS) than those who do not undergo this procedure. However, this result is only evident in past retrospective studies, and clinical trial results did not show the same trend. Thus, it remains unclear whether primary tumor resection effectively increases survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) across different study designs.

Identifying the role of MTHFD1L in prostate cancer progression from genetic analysis and experimental validation.

One-carbon metabolism plays a crucial role in tumorigenesis as it supplies the one-carbon units necessary for nucleotide synthesis, epigenetic regulation, and redox metabolism, ensuring the rapid proliferation of cancer cells. However, their roles in prostate cancer progression remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the association between genetic variants in the one-carbon metabolism pathway and clinical outcomes in patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer.

Comparison of the outcomes of anterolateral thigh flap and peroneal flap in total laryngectomy reconstruction.

Background: We usually use an ALT or peroneal flap in total laryngectomy reconstruction, depending on the surgeons' preference. No direct comparison of the outcomes of the ALT flap and peroneal flap exists.

Methods: From 2014 to 2022, we reviewed patients who had total laryngectomy and were reconstructed with an ALT flap and peroneal flap.

Artificial Neural Network-Assisted Classification of Hearing Prognosis of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss With Vertigo.

This study aimed to determine the impact on hearing prognosis of the coherent frequency with high magnitude-squared wavelet coherence (MSWC) in video head impulse test (vHIT) among patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss with vertigo (SSNHLV) undergoing high-dose steroid treatment. This study was a retrospective cohort study. SSNHLV patients treated at our referral center from December 2016 to December 2020 were examined.

Lumbar paraspinal atypical spindle cell/pleomorphic lipomatous tumor: A report of a rare case.

The atypical spindle cell/pleomorphic lipomatous tumor (ASPLT) was classified as a new tumor by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020. The tumor is benign and commonly occurs in the limbs. Paraspinal presentations are rare.

Adverse effect of lactobacilli-depauperate cervicovaginal microbiota on pregnancy outcomes in women undergoing frozen-thawed embryo transfer.

Purpose: The cervicovaginal microbiota is essential for maintaining the health of the female reproductive tract. However, whether cervicovaginal microbiota status prior to frozen embryo transfer (FET) associates with pregnancy outcomes is largely unexplored.

Methods: Cervical mucus from 29 women who had undergone FET was collected.

Riociguat in children with pulmonary arterial hypertension: The PATENT-CHILD study.

Riociguat, a soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator, is approved for treatment of adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics (PK) of oral riociguat in a pediatric population with PAH was assessed in PATENT-CHILD (NCT02562235), a multicenter, single-arm, 24-week, open-label, Phase 3 study. Patients aged 6-17 years in World Health Organization functional class (WHO-FC) I-III treated with stable endothelin receptor antagonists and/or prostacyclin analogs received riociguat equivalent to 0.

Risk stratification of hepatocellular carcinoma incidence using a fibrosis-4-based prediction model in patients with chronic hepatitis C receiving antiviral therapy: a nationwide real-world Taiwanese cohort study.

A total of 1,589 patients who had received interferon-based treatment were enrolled and analyzed for the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in a real-world nationwide Taiwanese chronic hepatitis C cohort (T-COACH). We aimed to stratify HCC risk by non-invasive fibrosis index-based risk model. Of 1589 patients, 1363 (85.

Comparable long-term results of the extracardiac conduit total cavopulmonary connection in heterotaxy to non-heterotaxy patients.

Background: Fontan operation in heterotaxy patients has been associated with high mortality. We studied whether adoption of the extracardiac conduit (EC) total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC) in heterotaxy demonstrated comparable results to non-heterotaxy population.

Methods: A retrospective medical record review of 35 consecutive patients with heterotaxy and 70 consecutive patients without heterotaxy syndrome who underwent EC TCPC between 2000 and 2018 was performed.

Comparison of Different Dosages of Alteplase in Atrial Fibrillation-Related Acute Ischemic Stroke After Intravenous Thrombolysis: A Nationwide, Multicenter, Prospective Cohort Study in Taiwan.

Background Insufficient evidence is available for patients with acute ischemic stroke with atrial fibrillation (AF) to determine the efficacy and safety of different dosages of intravenous thrombolysis treatment. This study examined clinical outcomes in Chinese patients with stroke with and without AF after intravenous thrombolysis treatment with different intravenous thrombolysis doses. Methods and Results This multicenter, prospective cohort study recruited 2351 patients with acute ischemic stroke (1371 with AF and 980 without AF) treated with intravenous thrombolysis using alteplase.

Effects of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System Inhibitors on Long-Term Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Sepsis Survivors.

Background Sepsis is known to increase morbidity and duration of hospital stay and is a common cause of mortality worldwide. Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors (RAASis) are commonly used to treat hypertension but are usually discontinued during hospitalization for sepsis because of concerns about renal hypoperfusion. The aim of our study was to investigate whether RAASis should be continued after discharge in sepsis survivors and to identify the effects on the clinical outcomes.

A disease-specific language representation model for cerebrovascular disease research.

Background: Effectively utilizing disease-relevant text information from unstructured clinical notes for medical research presents many challenges. BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representation from Transformers) related models such as BioBERT and ClinicalBERT, pre-trained on biomedical corpora and general clinical information, have shown promising performance in various biomedical language processing tasks.

Objectives: This study aims to explore whether a BERT-based model pre-trained on disease-related clinical information can be more effective for cerebrovascular disease-relevant research.

Association between the polygenic liabilities for prostate cancer and breast cancer with biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer.

Prostate and breast cancers are hormone-related malignancies and are characterized by a complex interplay of hundreds of susceptibility loci throughout the genome. Prostate cancer could be inhibited by eliminating androgens through castration or estrogen administration, thus facilitating long-term treatment of prostate cancer; however, the role of estrogen in prostate cancer remains unclear. This study aimed to determine whether polygenic risk scores (PRSs) comprising combinations of genome-wide susceptibility variants influence the clinical outcomes of prostate cancer patients.

Consensus Recommendations by the Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology: Optimising Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

The Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology convened a consensus statement panel for optimising cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in type 2 diabetes, and reviewed the current literature. Relevant articles were appraised using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation system, and consensus statements were developed in two meetings and were confirmed through online voting. The consensus statements indicated that lifestyle interventions must be emphasised for patients with prediabetes, and optimal glucose control should be encouraged when possible.

Benefits of Herbal Medicine on Bone Mineral Density in Osteoporosis: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Bone mineral density (BMD) has been validated not only for the diagnosis of osteoporosis but also for prediction of the risk of osteoporosis-related fractures. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the overall benefits of herbal medicines on BMD using a meta-analytic method. Systematic searches in PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Central, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were performed for eligible studies.

Pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma: a case report and literature review.

Pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma is a rare disorder arising from the intima of the pulmonary artery. Histopathology reveals that it is a tumour cell of mesenchymal origin. The signs and symptoms include chronic shortness of breath and other features of right ventricular failure, which mimic chronic pulmonary thromboembolism.

Synergistic effect of low handgrip strength and malnutrition on 4-year all-cause mortality in older males: A prospective longitudinal cohort study.

Background: No studies have yet examined the interrelationship of malnutrition and low handgrip strength in terms of mortality. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential synergistic effects of malnutrition and low handgrip strength on mortality among older adults living in a retirement community.

Methods: This prospective longitudinal cohort study recruited subjects aged 65 years and over from a veterans care home in Taiwan in 2013.

Comparison Between Aspirin and Clopidogrel in Secondary Stroke Prevention Based on Real-World Data.

Background Clopidogrel was thought to be superior to aspirin for secondary prevention of vascular diseases in clinical trials. In this study we assessed the safety and efficacy of clopidogrel versus aspirin in real-world practice by using the Taiwan Stroke Registry. Methods and Results Patients with ischemic stroke (2006-2016) on aspirin or clopidogrel for secondary stroke prevention were identified in the Taiwan Stroke Registry.