Publications by authors named "Silke Zimmermann"

Objectives: Contrast extravasation on imaging studies is a clinical surrogate for bleeding severity. However, the prognostic relevance of this imaging sign needs to be evaluated. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of contrast extravasation defined by computed tomography (CT) and angiography on massive transfusion and 30-day mortality in patients with acute bleeding undergoing transarterial embolization (TAE).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Local thermal ablation is considered a standard treatment for small kidney masses. However, few studies have investigated the efficacy and safety of thermal ablation for cystic kidney masses.

Methods: The MEDLINE library, Cochrane, and SCOPUS databases were screened for studies investigating the efficacy of thermal ablation for cystic renal masses, comprising studies between 1995 and February 2024.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: The complex interactions of the tumor micromilieu could be reflected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) when analyzed with the radiomics approach. For several tumor entities, it has been shown that radiomics derived from MRI can reflect important characteristics of the tumors. The present study investigated the association radiomics derived from MRI images and histopathological features in uterine cervical cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aims: Lifestyle-induced weight loss (LIWL) is considered an effective therapy for the treatment of metabolic syndrome (MetS). The role of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in adipose tissue function and in the success of LIWL in MetS is still unclear. We investigated the effect of 6 months of LIWL on transcriptional regulation in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Intravenous protamine administration for heparin reversal after percutaneous hepatic chemosaturation intervention is generally recommended, but its effectiveness on coagulation parameters remains unclear.

Methods: In a single-center retrospective observational study, the effects of different postinterventional protamine doses on the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), international normalized ratio (INR), prothrombin time (PT), fibrinogen, platelet count (PLT), and hemoglobin (Hb) were analyzed in consecutive patients who underwent high-dose heparin administration (>300 U/kg body weight) and extracorporeal circulation for chemosaturation treatment. Due to the multiple treatments of individual patients, linear mixed-effects models were applied.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived texture features are quantitative imaging parameters that may have valuable associations with clinical aspects. Their prognostic ability in patients undergoing percutaneous MRI-guided liver biopsy to identify associations with post-interventional bleeding complications and biopsy success rate has not been sufficiently investigated. The patient sample consisted 79 patients (32 females, 40.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Organ transplantation reverses cognitive impairment in chronic kidney disease (CKD), indicating that cognitive impairment driven by CKD is therapeutically amendable. We recently demonstrated that impaired cognition in CKD is linked to interleukin-1β (IL-1β) release from microglia and IL-1 receptor type 1 signalling in neuronal cells, thereby identifying a signalling pathway that can be exploited therapeutically. However, the mechanism of IL-1β maturation in microglia in CKD remains unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Accurate prediction of short-term mortality in acute pulmonary embolism (APE) is very important. The aim of the present study was to analyze the prognostic role of radiomics values of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) in APE.

Methods: Overall, 508 patients were included into the study, 209 female (42.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - Coagulation factor XII (FXII) is linked to thrombosis and inflammation and is found in increased levels in diabetes and diabetic kidney disease (DKD), but its specific role in DKD was unclear until now.
  • - The study reveals that FXII is present in kidney tubular cells, correlating with kidney dysfunction in DKD patients; mice lacking FXII showed protection against kidney damage from high blood sugar.
  • - FXII promotes cell damage through a signaling pathway involving uPAR and integrin β1, leading to oxidative stress and cell aging; blocking these pathways may provide new diagnostic and treatment options for DKD and similar diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Cognitive impairment is often seen in chronic kidney disease (CKD), but kidney transplantation can reverse this issue, highlighting the potential for therapeutic intervention.
  • Research using mouse models and human samples reveals that activated microglia disrupt potassium balance and cognition in CKD, while also affecting the blood-brain barrier.
  • Targeting microglia activation or IL-1 signaling shows promise in restoring cognitive function in CKD, suggesting new treatment strategies for cognitive impairment related to kidney disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Texture analysis can provide new imaging-based biomarkers. Texture analysis derived from computed tomography (CT) might be able to better characterize patients undergoing CT-guided percutaneous bone biopsy. The present study evaluated this and correlated texture features with bioptic outcome in patients undergoing CT-guided bone biopsy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - Researchers investigated the potential link between autoimmunity and spontaneous cervical artery dissection (sCAD) by analyzing anti-collagen type I antibodies in various patient groups, including those with sCAD, ischemic stroke, and healthy controls.
  • - A total of 57 sCAD patients were studied alongside control groups, with findings showing that while sCAD patients had higher antibody levels compared to healthy subjects, they had lower levels than those with unrelated ischemic strokes.
  • - The study concluded that elevated levels of anti-collagen type I antibodies in sCAD patients are not a direct trigger for the condition but may relate to the metabolism and turnover of collagen type I.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The BMI predicts mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the general population, while in patients with end-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) a high BMI is associated with improved survival, a phenomenon referred to as the "obesity paradox". While BMI is easy to determine and helps to categorize patients, it does not differentiate between fat tissue, lean tissue and bone mass. As the BMI may be altered in CKD, e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Viral meningitis/encephalitis (ME) is a rare but potentially harmful disease. The prompt identification of the respective virus is important to guide not only treatment but also potential public health countermeasures. However, in about 40% of cases, no virus is identified despite an extensive diagnostic workup.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Body composition on computed tomography can predict prognosis in patients with COVID-19. The reported data are based on small retrospective studies. The aim of the present study was to analyze the prognostic relevance of skeletal muscle parameter derived from chest computed tomography for prediction of 30-d mortality in patients with COVID-19 in a multicenter setting.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Tissue factor (TF) is part of the cytokine receptor family and plays a role in blood clotting and inflammation, but also has protective effects through unclear mechanisms.* -
  • The study discovered that TF binds to the interferon-α receptor 1 (IFNAR1), inhibiting its signaling, which helps to prevent inflammation and maintain immune balance.* -
  • Loss of TF specifically in kidney cells led to inflammation and immune issues, but blocking IFNAR1 signaling helped reduce these effects, suggesting the TF-IFNAR1 complex regulates thrombo-inflammation.*
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

An impaired integrity of vascular elements and the extracellular matrix (ECM) has been discussed to play a critical role in the pathophysiology of spontaneous cervical artery dissection (sCAD). This study aimed to explore the temporal course of circulating elastin, collagen type I, and collagen type III in patients with sCAD and evaluated their eligibility as diagnostic biomarkers. Patients with sCAD were prospectively enrolled in four German stroke centers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the role of Y-box binding protein 1 (YBX1) in kidney function, particularly in podocytes, and finds that its absence leads to increased albuminuria and varying levels of glomerular and tubular damage in mice.* -
  • YBX1 is shown to inhibit the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and reduce inflammatory responses in tubular cells by interacting with Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4).* -
  • The research concludes that YBX1 is secreted from podocytes and plays a protective role against tubular inflammation, highlighting its importance in the crosstalk between glomerular and tubular compartments of the kidney.*
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The present study aimed to develop a simple dosing score when starting the cardiac glycoside digitoxin in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) employing first data from the randomized, double-blinded DIGIT-HF trial.

Methods And Results: In DIGIT-HF, digitoxin was started with a dose of 0.07 mg once daily (o.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A major obstacle in diabetes is the metabolic or hyperglycemic memory, which lacks specific therapies. Here we show that glucose-mediated changes in gene expression largely persist in diabetic kidney disease (DKD) despite reversing hyperglycemia. The senescence-associated cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 (Cdkn1a) was the top hit among genes persistently induced by hyperglycemia and was associated with induction of the p53-p21 pathway.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is an emerging pandemic, paralleling the worldwide increase in obesity and diabetes mellitus. DKD is now the most frequent cause of end-stage renal disease and is associated with an excessive risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. DKD is a consequence of systemic endothelial dysfunction.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

It is controversial whether lifestyle-induced weight loss (LIWL) intervention provides long-term benefit. Here, we investigated whether the degree of weight loss (WL) in a controlled LIWL intervention study determined the risk of prediabetes and recurrence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) during a 5-year follow-up. Following LIWL, 58 male participants (age 45−55 years) were divided into four quartiles based on initial WL: Q1 (WL 0−8.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease largely due to lifestyle and nutritional imbalance, resulting in insulin resistance, hyperglycemia and vascular complications. Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a major cause of end-stage renal failure contributing to morbidity and mortality worldwide. Therapeutic options to prevent or reverse DKD progression are limited.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Efficient therapies for diabetic kidney disease (DKD), now the leading cause of kidney failure, are lacking. One hallmark of DKD is sterile inflammation (inflammation in absence of microorganisms), but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. The NLRP3 inflammasome (innate immune system receptors and sensors regulating activation of caspase-1) is a mechanism of sterile inflammation known to be activated by metabolic stimuli and reactive metabolites associated with DKD, including inflammasome activation in podocytes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF