Exploring the Impact of E-cigarettes on Cardiovascular Health: Insights from Preclinical and Clinical Studies.

Electronic cigarettes are popular tobacco products that heat e-liquid into an aerosol for inhalation. Since their introduction to the market, electronic cigarettes have been considered a safer alternative to combustible tobacco products. However, most of today's users are adolescents and young adults naïve to tobacco products, who are drawn to e-cigarettes by appealing designs and targeted marketing, resulting in exposure to largely unknown short- and long-term health risks.

The validity of the V̇O Master Pro for measuring oxygen consumption during sedentary activity and treadmill walking and jogging.

Metabolic carts are commonly used to estimate oxygen consumption (V̇O) during exercise, but are largely limited to controlled laboratory settings. The V̇O Master Pro (VMP) is a newer, portable metabolic analyzer designed to address this limitation; however, few studies have evaluated the validity of this device at varying activity levels. This study aimed to assess the validity of the VMP in measuring V̇O compared with a stationary metabolic cart, the COSMED Quark CPET (CQ), during sedentary activity and treadmill walking/jogging in a laboratory setting.

Are circadian rest-activity rhythms sex-specific markers of frailty risk in older adults? A narrative review.

Aim: Physical frailty, a common geriatric syndrome driven by an age-related decline in physiological systems, is associated with an increased risk of further chronic diseases and mortality, making it a significant public health concern. Disrupted circadian rest-activity rhythms (RARs) are increasingly recognized as clinical indicators of physical frailty in older adults; however, limited research hinders a robust understanding of these associations, and potential sex differences remain largely underexplored.

Methods: This narrative review summarizes the age-related changes in RARs, their association with physical frailty, and possible underlying physiological mechanisms.

The role of anxiety in the association between physical pain and social pain sensitivity in young adults.

Background: We experience physical pain and social pain. While rejection sensitivity measures, such as Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNES), were previously used to evaluate social pain sensitivity, Social Pain Questionnaire (SPQ) has been developed to specifically evaluate social pain sensitivity. Although physical pain and social pain seem quite distinct from each other, research shows a close link between them.

Comparative study of the refined mini-pterional approach with reduced skin incision versus the conventional mini-pterional approach for clipping unruptured middle cerebral artery aneurysms: a propensity score-matched analysis.

This study aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of the refined mini-pterional approach (rMP), utilizing a smaller skin incision, with the conventional mini-pterional approach (cMP) for microsurgical clipping of unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) in the middle cerebral artery (MCA). A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted, including 186 patients: 92 patients who underwent rMP between 2021 and 2022, and 94 patients treated with cMP between 2019 and 2020. Clinical outcomes included length of stay (LOS, days), operative time (minutes), intraoperative blood loss (ml), aneurysm obliteration rate, postoperative complication rates, and the severity of temporalis muscle atrophy (TMA).

Among 69,178 UK Residents Ages 65+ Years, Frailty Associates Significantly With Lifestyle Behaviors and Depression: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Frailty and depression are highly prevalent in older adults. However, the complex association of their interlinked factors, including lifestyle behaviors, remains unexplored in population-based epidemiological studies.

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between frailty and depression and to determine associated modifiable lifestyle risk factors for depression among older adults in the UK Biobank (UKB).

Validity of the Actigraph-GT9X accelerometer for measuring steps and energy expenditures in heart failure patients.

Introduction: The ActiGraph (AG) accelerometer is widely used to assess physical activity (PA) in heart failure (HF) patients. However, the validity of the AG in this population remains unexplored.

Objective: Therefore, this study examined the criterion validity of the AG-GT9X for measuring step counts (SC) and energy expenditure (EE) among HF patients.

Disrupted rest-activity circadian rhythms are associated with all-cause mortality in patients with chronic kidney diseases.

Circadian rhythms are important biological contributors to health. Rest activity rhythms (RAR) are emerging as biomarkers of circadian behavior that are associated with chronic disease when abnormal. RAR have not yet been characterized in chronic kidney diseases (CKD).

Nationwide Cohort observational study on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination in patients with Moyamoya disease.

The safety and efficacy of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination in patients diagnosed with Moyamoya disease (MMD) have not been established. Using National Health Insurance Service data, this study analyzed the occurrence of stroke-related events and mortality following COVID-19 vaccination among patients diagnosed with MMD from 2008 to 2020. Among 10,297 MMD patients, 296 (2.

Prediction of contralateral progression in patients with bilateral nonhemorrhagic moyamoya disease following unilateral revascularization surgery.

Objective: This study was designed to identify predictive factors associated with substantial contralateral progression in adult patients with bilateral nonhemorrhagic moyamoya disease (MMD) who undergo revascularization surgery (RS) on one hemisphere.

Methods: The authors retrospectively analyzed 174 contralateral hemispheres of patients with bilateral nonhemorrhagic MMD (non-hMMD) who underwent RS on one side. The primary endpoint was defined as substantial contralateral progression requiring additional RS 6 months after the initial RS.

COPD is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk independent of phenotype.

Background And Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of death worldwide that frequently presents with concomitant cardiovascular diseases. Despite the pathological distinction between individual COPD phenotypes such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, there is a lack of knowledge about the impact of COPD phenotype on cardiovascular disease risk. Thus, this study aimed to utilize a nationally representative sample to investigate cardiovascular disease prevalence in patients with COPD with emphysema and chronic bronchitis phenotypes.

Association of poverty-income ratio with cardiovascular disease and mortality in cancer survivors in the United States.

Background: Lower income is associated with high incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality. CVD is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer survivors. However, there is limited research on the association between income, CVD, and mortality in this population.

Prediction of postoperative cerebral infarction after combined bypass surgery in adult moyamoya disease: combining quantitative parameters on RAPID perfusion CT with clinically related factors.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify predictive factors of postoperative cerebral infarction (PostCI) following combined bypass (CB) surgery in adult patients with moyamoya disease (MMD) using quantitative parameters from the rapid processing of perfusion and diffusion (RAPID) perfusion CT (PCT) software.

Methods: The authors retrospectively reviewed 276 total hemispheres in patients with MMD who underwent CB. Preoperative volumes of time-to-maximum (Tmax) > 4 sec and > 6 sec were obtained from the RAPID analysis of PCT.

Optimal blood pressure for stroke prevention in healthy adults below 65 years: A nationwide 10-year observational study.

Background: There have been few reports on the preventative value of intensive blood pressure (BP) management for stroke since the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) announced the new criteria for hypertension (HTN) in 2017. This study aimed to identify optimal BP for prevention of stroke in healthy adults under 65 years.

Methods: We conducted a 10-year observational study on the risk of stroke, subclassified as hemorrhagic stroke (HS) or ischemic stroke (IS), according to BP categories (low-normal BP, high-normal BP, elevated BP, stage 1 HTN, and stage 2 HTN) using the National Health Insurance Service Database.

Effects of COVID-19 outbreak on Korean adolescents: Impact of altered economic perception on physical activity, sedentary behavior, and stress levels in an age-, gender-, and BMI-matched study.

The current study is to examine the disparities in physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB), and stress levels in Korean adolescents concerning changes in their perception of family economic status (ES) during COVID-19. Among a total of 6144 Korean adolescents aged 12 to 18, the participants were categorized into two groups based on their responses regarding changes in their family ES due to COVID-19: Declined ES (n = 3072) and Non-changed ES (n = 3072), with matching in terms of age, gender, and BMI. All variables were assessed using the 16th year (2020) of the Korean Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

Telehealth group Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) in primary brain tumor: Primary outcomes from a single-arm phase II feasibility and proof-of-concept trial.

Background: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), the frontline treatment for insomnia, has yet to be evaluated among patients with primary brain tumors (PwPBT) despite high prevalence of sleep disturbance in this population. This study aimed to be the first to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and acceptability of implementing telehealth group CBT-I as well as assessing preliminary changes in subjective sleep metrics in PwPBT from baseline to follow-up.

Methods: Adult PwPBT were recruited to participate in six 90-min telehealth group CBT-I sessions.

Longitudinal associations among physical activity and sitting with endocrine symptoms and quality of life in breast cancer survivors: A latent growth curve analysis.

Purpose: Adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) often causes debilitating endocrine symptoms that compromise quality of life (QOL) in women diagnosed with hormone receptor positive breast cancer (BC). We examined whether greater levels of physical activity (PA) or prolonged sitting were associated with reduced side effects or worse side effects of AET, respectively.

Methods: We used parallel process latent growth curve models to examine longitudinal patterns in PA and sitting behaviors, and their association with endocrine symptoms and QOL over 3 years of follow-up in 554 female BC survivors undergoing AET.

Clinical Outcomes of Coil Embolization for Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms Categorized by Region and Hospital Size : A Nationwide Cohort Study in Korea.

Objective: To analyze the outcomes of coil embolization (CE) for unruptured intracranial aneurysm (UIA) according to region and hospital size based on National Health Insurance Service data in South Korea.

Methods: The incidence of complications, including intracranial hemorrhage (ICRH) and cerebral infarction (CI), occurring within 3 months and the 1-year mortality rates in UIA patients who underwent CE in 2018 were analyzed. Hospitals were classified as tertiary referral general hospitals (TRGHs), general hospitals (GHs) or semigeneral hospitals (sGHs) according to their size, and the administrative districts of South Korea were divided into 15 regions.