Automatic 4D mitral valve segmentation from transesophageal echocardiography: a semi-supervised learning approach.

Performing automatic and standardized 4D TEE segmentation and mitral valve analysis is challenging due to the limitations of echocardiography and the scarcity of manually annotated 4D images. This work proposes a semi-supervised training strategy using pseudo labelling for MV segmentation in 4D TEE; it employs a Teacher-Student framework to ensure reliable pseudo-label generation. 120 4D TEE recordings from 60 candidates for MV repair are used.

Gemcitabine and docetaxel for high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: EuroGemDoce group results.

Objective: To evaluate the oncological efficacy and safety of sequential intravesical gemcitabine/docetaxel (Gem/Doce) therapy in a European cohort of patients with high-risk and very-high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) after previous Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) treatment.

Materials And Methods: Data were retrospectively collected from 95 patients with NMIBC, treated with Gem/Doce at 12 European centres between 2021 and 2024. Patients previously treated with BCG who had completed a full induction course and received at least one follow-up evaluation were included.

Advancing Colorectal Cancer Prevention in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): Challenges and Innovations in Endoscopic Surveillance.

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) face an elevated risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC). Endoscopic surveillance is a cornerstone in CRC prevention, enabling early detection and intervention. However, despite recent advancements, challenges persist.

Non-Caucasian Race/Ethnicity Predisposes to Unfavorable Stage and Grade at Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma Diagnosis.

Objective: To test whether race/ethnicity affects stage or grade distribution at upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) diagnosis.

Methods: Within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database 2004-2020, UTUC patients were identified. Multivariable logistic regression models tested for the association between race/ethnicity and stage as well as grade at diagnosis according to renal pelvis vs.

Concomitant antihistamine administration is associated with improved survival outcomes in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma treated with atezolizumab. Analysis of individual participant data from IMvigor210 and IMvigor211.

Objectives: Survival outcomes of patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) are still suboptimal and strategies to enhance response to immune-oncology (IO) compounds are under scrutiny. In preclinical studies, it has been demonstrated that antihistamines may reverse macrophage immunosuppression, reactivate T cell cytotoxicity, and enhance the immunotherapy response. We aimed to evaluate the role of concomitant antihistamines administration on oncological outcomes among patients with mUC.

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.

Evaluating the Differential Effects of Dopamine Agonists and Clonazepam on Large Muscle Group Movements in Restless Legs Syndrome.

Study Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effect of dopamine agonists (DA) and Clonazepam on Large Muscle Group Movements during sleep (LMM), a distinct motor phenomenon, in Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS).

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 51 drug-free adult patients with RLS, divided into three groups: 33 received a DA (pramipexole or ropinirole), 15 received clonazepam, and 18 received a placebo. Each patient underwent two consecutive nocturnal polysomnographic (PSG) recordings: one baseline and one following treatment administration.

Emerging sexually transmitted infections outbreak: Dermatophytosis among men who have sex with men in Milan, Italy.

Background: Dermatophytosis is an infection of the skin or adnexa, which is extremely widespread in the environment. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are an increasing global public health threat, especially among men who have sex with men (MSM). This study aims to describe an outbreak of sexually transmitted dermatophytosis among MSM in our cohort between April 2022 and October 2023.

Sleep and circadian disturbances in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Sleep is essential for brain development and overall health, particularly in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Sleep disruptions can considerably impact brain structure and function, leading to dysfunction of neurotransmitter systems, metabolism, hormonal balance and inflammatory processes, potentially contributing to the pathophysiology of NDDs. This Review examines the prevalence, types and mechanisms of sleep disturbances in children with NDDs, including autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and various genetic syndromes.

Do the Gödel Vignettes Involve a New Descriptivist Meaning? A Critical Discussion of Devitt and Porot's Elicited Production Test on Proper Names.

Proper names-expressions such as "Barack Obama" or "New York"-play a crucial role in the philosophical debate on reference, that is, the relation that allows words to stand for entities of the world. In an elicited production test, Devitt and Porot prompt participants to use proper names to compare the Descriptivist Theory and the Causal-Historical Theory on proper names' reference. According to the Descriptivist Theory, names refer to the entity that fulfills the description that speakers associate with them.

Registries on transcatheter edge-to-edge repair in heart failure: Current evidence and future perspectives.

Aims: Secondary mitral regurgitation (SMR) and tricuspid regurgitation (TR) are the most common valvular heart diseases in patients with heart failure (HF). Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) devices designed for treating MR and TR have been successfully tested in randomized controlled trials, but methodological issues have often challenged their interpretation. This manuscript aimed to provide an overview of TEER registries on SMR and TR in HF, highlighting their key features, describing clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients receiving these devices, and exploring the available data limitations.

Endoscopic techniques for the diagnosis of pancreatic cystic lesions.

Pancreatic cysts are mostly incidental findings on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scans, with few patients presenting with abdominal pain or other symptoms. The accurate diagnosis of cysts is important as management depends on the type (neoplastic or non-neoplastic). Cross-sectional imaging is fast being replaced with endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and various techniques based on that such as EUS-guided fine needle aspiration, EUS-guided needle confocal laser endomicroscopy, EUS-through-the-needle biopsy, and contrast-enhanced EUS.

Longitudinal association between nailfold capillaroscopy and incident interstitial lung disease: A EUSTAR database analysis.

Objectives: To evaluate (1) the association between nailfold capillaroscopy pattern and 5-year risk for incident interstitial lung disease and (2) the association between transition in nailfold capillaroscopy pattern and risk of incident interstitial lung disease.

Methods: Data of adult patients from the EUSTAR database fulfilling the ACR-EULAR criteria with a disease duration ⩽5 years, having a scleroderma pattern at nailfold capillaroscopy with high-resolution computed tomography confirmed absence of interstitial lung disease (i.e.

Implementing proximity care for people with multiple sclerosis in Italy: the bottom-up approach of the StayHome project.

Objective: In Italy, around 137,000 people live with multiple sclerosis, facing organizational complexities due to the current model's limited focus on proximity care. This project aims to define a proximity model, in accordance with recent developments in the Italian healthcare landscape, engaging over 150 healthcare stakeholders and potentially impacting approximately 14,000 patients.

Methods: An analysis was pursued to map the multiple sclerosis pathway, followed by interviews to capture the actual implementation in Italian Multiple Sclerosis Centers.

Critical Care Therapy After Cytoreductive Nephrectomy for Metastatic Kidney Cancer.

Objectives: To examine critical care therapy rates after cytoreductive nephrectomy in metastatic kidney cancer patients.

Design, Setting, And Patients: Relying on the National Inpatient Sample (2000-2019), we addressed critical care therapy use (total parenteral nutrition, invasive mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube insertion, and tracheostomy) and in-hospital mortality in surgically treated metastatic kidney cancer patients. Estimated annual percentage changes and multivariable logistic regression models were fitted.

Polymer-free versus biodegradable-polymer drug-eluting stent in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: an assessor-blind, non-inferiority, randomised controlled trial.

Background: Few data are available on polymer-free drug-eluting stents in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Aims: We aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of a polymer-free amphilimus-eluting stent (AES), using a reservoir-based technology for drug delivery, compared with a biodegradable-polymer everolimus-eluting stent (EES).

Methods: This was a randomised, investigator-initiated, assessor-blind, non-inferiority trial conducted at 14 hospitals in Italy (ClinicalTrials.

High Prevalence of High-Risk HPV Among People with and Without HIV: Insights into Risk Factors for Tailored Screening Approaches.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) and people with HIV are at increased risk of anal HPV infection and cancer. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of anal HPV among MSM with HIV (MWH) and without HIV (MWoH), as well as among MSM under and over 35 years. Factors associated with infection from high-risk (HR) HPV were investigated.

Anti-Platelet Therapy with Cangrelor in Cardiogenic Shock Patients: A Systematic Review and Single-Arm Meta-Analysis.

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is a proven therapy for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) cardiogenic shock (CS). Dual anti-platelet therapy (i.e.

The Role of Therapeutic Endoscopic Ultrasound in Management of Malignant Double Obstruction (Biliary and Gastric Outlet): A Comprehensive Review with Clinical Scenarios.

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided interventions have revolutionized the management of malignant biliary obstruction (MBO) and gastric outlet obstruction (GOO), providing minimally invasive alternatives with improved outcomes. These procedures have significantly reduced the need for high-risk surgical interventions or percutaneous alternatives and have provided effective palliative care for patients with advanced gastrointestinal and bilio-pancreatic malignancies. EUS-guided biliary drainage (EUS-BD) techniques, including hepaticogastrostomy (EUS-HGS), choledochoduodenostomy (EUS-CDS), and antegrade stenting (EUS-AS), offer high technical and clinical success rates, with a good safety profile particularly when Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is not feasible.

Disentangling the Genetic Landscape of Peripartum Depression: A Multi-Polygenic Machine Learning Approach on an Italian Sample.

Background: The genetic determinants of peripartum depression (PPD) are not fully understood. Using a multi-polygenic score approach, we characterized the relationship between genome-wide information and the history of PPD in patients with mood disorders, with the hypothesis that multiple polygenic risk scores (PRSs) could potentially influence the development of PPD.

Methods: We calculated 341 PRSs for 178 parous mood disorder inpatients affected by major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar disorder (BD) with ( = 62) and without ( = 116) a history of PPD.

Comparative Evaluation of Major Robotic Systems in Microanastomosis Procedures: A Systematic Review of Current Capabilities and Future Potential.

Robotic-assisted surgery has revolutionised modern medicine, enabling greater precision and control, particularly in microsurgical procedures. This systematic review evaluates the current state of robotic-assisted surgery across various specialties, focusing on four major robotic systems: Symani, Da Vinci, ZEUS, and MUSA. The review systematically analyses the effectiveness of these systems in performing vascular, lymphatic, and nervous anastomoses, comparing key metrics such as procedure time, success rates, and learning curves against manual techniques.