Efficacy and Safety of Durvalumab Plus Tremelimumab in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients With Portal Vein Thrombosis and High Tumor Burden: A Multicenter Retrospective Analysis.

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of durvalumab and tremelimumab (Dur/Tre) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who had a tumor thrombus in the main portal vein trunk (Vp4) or high tumor burden (HTB).

Methods: A total of 309 patients with BCLC stage B or C HCC who received Dur/Tre between March 2023 and October 2024 were included. HTB was defined as the presence of at least one of the following radiological findings: ≥ 50% liver involvement by HCC, bile duct invasion, or the presence of Vp4.

Assessing the need for multimodal care in anorexia and cachexia patients with advanced cancer referred to palliative care: a secondary analysis of a multicenter survey in Japan.

Purpose: There are no methods for assessing the need for multimodal care in cancer cachexia. We examined nine components in evaluating needs among advanced cancer patients.

Methods: This was a self-administered survey.

Quantitative blood perfusion assessment by the SPY-QP software program for minimally invasive rectal cancer surgery.

Background: Although the usefulness of indocyanine green fluorescence imaging (ICG-FI) for anastomotic perfusion has been demonstrated in randomized controlled trials, the incidence of anastomotic leakage is not sufficiently low, even in patients using ICG. Because blood flow assessment using ICG is not completely objective, the objectivity of blood flow evaluation is expected to improve by quantification of fluorescence signals. This study aimed to clarify the efficacy of quantitative assessment of blood flow using ICG-FI with the SPY-QP software program in rectal cancer surgery.

Identification of beneficial symbiont candidates in commensalism as potential oral gatekeepers.

The basis of the development of oral cancer has been reported to be inflammation (e.g., periodontitis) caused by dysbiosis of the oral microbiota (i.

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 1-mediated Ca response is potentiated by activation of metabotropic glutamate receptor 3 in the rat hippocampal marginal zone.

Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) that mediate slow glutamatergic signal transduction and regulate cell excitability in the central nervous system. Group I mGluRs are coupled to G proteins and mobilize intracellular Ca. Group II mGluRs are coupled to G proteins and inhibit adenylyl cyclase.

Decrease and recovery of integrated information Φ during anesthesia and sleep on human functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Integrated information theory (IIT) offers an axiomatic framework based on phenomenological properties, allowing the quantification and characterization of consciousness through a measure known as Φ. According to IIT, Φ reflects the level of consciousness and is expected to decrease with loss of consciousness, although empirical data supporting this claim remain limited. In this study, we analyzed two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) datasets acquired during anesthesia (propofol-induced) and natural sleep to determine whether Φ changes with the loss and recovery of consciousness.

Outcome and Impact of Diagnostic Ureteroscopy in Clinically Suspected Upper Urinary Tract Carcinoma .

To clarify disease behavior and oncological outcomes as well as the need for ureteroscopy (URS) implementation in patients with clinically suspected upper tract carcinoma (UT-CIS). In this multi-institutional study, we retrospectively analyzed patients who met three criteria for clinically suspected UT-CIS between 2008 and 2018: positive high-grade cytology from the upper tract, absence of a solid upper tract lesion on imaging, and negative bladder biopsy. Patients who underwent URS were compared with those who did not.

Effect of Preoperative Nutritional Status on Postoperative Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Metastatic Spinal Tumors: Japan Association of Spine Surgeons with Ambition Multicenter Study.

Study Design: A multicenter prospective study.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of preoperative nutritional status, assessed using the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI), on clinical outcomes, including survival prognosis, postoperative complications, hospitalization duration, and functional prognosis, in patients with metastatic spinal tumors undergoing surgery.

Summary Of Background Data: Malnutrition is common in patients with cancer and is associated with poor clinical outcomes.

Association of balance, anthropometric measurements, fall risk, and awareness with quality of life in older females according to hypertensive status.

Falls and their consequences are perhaps the greatest moderators of quality of life (QoL) among older adults with hypertension. However, limited studies have been conducted to identify associations between fall risk and awareness, anthropometric, balance, and QoL among older women with different blood pressure patterns within the Pakistani population. This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between anthropometric measurements, postural balance (PB), fear of falling, fall risk awareness, and QoL in older females with hypersensitive status in Lahore, Pakistan.

Radical nephroureterectomy vs kidney sparing surgery for upper tract urothelial carcinoma in solitary kidney patients: a multi-institutional analysis of the ROBUUST 2.0 registry.

Purpose: Radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) in solitary kidney patients is a rare and underreported scenario. This study aims to compare the outcomes of UTUC solitary kidney patients becoming anephric after RNU to those of patients undergoing kidney-sparing surgery (KSS).

Methods: Data from patients with a solitary kidney were retrieved from the ROBUUST 2.

Zoledronic Acid Treatment for Diffuse Sclerosing Osteomyelitis of the Mandible: A Case Report and Literature Review of Antiresorptive Therapy.

Diffuse sclerosing osteomyelitis (DSO) is a rare, chronic aseptic osteomyelitis of the mandible characterized by resistance to conventional therapies including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), antibiotics, corticosteroids, and surgery. Diagnosis is often delayed due to nonspecific symptoms and lack of typical infectious signs, sometimes resulting in misdiagnosis. We report a case of a 58-year-old male patient with persistent mandibular pain initially misdiagnosed as trigeminal neuralgia and treated with microvascular decompression surgery without improvement.

Dependence, abuse, and psychosocial characteristics of patients transported to the emergency department due to overdose of over-the-counter drugs.

Aim: This study examined the conditions of drug abuse and dependence as well as the psychosocial characteristics of patients transported to an emergency department for over-the-counter (OTC) drug overdose.

Methods: Participants were patients who presented to the emergency department due to an overdose of OTC drugs. Patients were evaluated using the Drug Abuse Screening Test-20 (DAST-20), Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), and an original questionnaire.

Impact of the learning curve on the outcomes of robotic surgery in obese patients with rectal cancer.

Purpose: One of the challenges in performing surgery on obese patients with rectal cancer is the prolonged operation time. This study investigates whether or not this issue can be overcome through the surgeon's learning curve as they become proficient in robotic surgery.

Methods: A retrospective review of 396 consecutive robotic procedures.

Favorable Response Defined by CA19-9 Reduction After Neoadjuvant Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer.

Background: Neoadjuvant treatment (NAT) for pancreatic cancer has been shown to reduce mortality risk, with carbohydrate antigen (CA)19-9 response indicating survival outcomes. The purpose of this study is to clarify the degree of the CA19-9 response after neoadjuvant treatment (NAT) on prognosis.

Patients And Methods: In this retrospective, multicenter, observational study involving 1811 patients with pancreatic cancer scheduled for surgery, patients were stratified on the basis of pretreatment CA19-9 levels into elevated CA19-9 level and CA19-9 within the normal range groups.

Clinical significance of severe proteinuria in preeclampsia: a multicenter study of maternal and neonatal outcomes.

This study aimed to determine the association between proteinuria severity and maternal/neonatal outcomes among preeclamptic women with hypertension with proteinuria. We retrospectively assessed 721 women at 11 institutions. All participants had singleton pregnancies and delivered at ≥22 gestational weeks.

Contemporary Concise Review 2024: Respiratory Infections.

Since public health measures against COVID-19 were relaxed, widespread outbreaks of respiratory infections such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), as well as infectious diseases transmitted by droplets and droplet nuclei, have been reported around the world. While there is evidence of antiviral drug efficacy against non-severe influenza, the emergence of two genetic mutations (I223V or S247N) that reduce susceptibility to neuraminidase inhibitors has been confirmed. Influenza vaccines are less effective in older people than in younger people; so high-dose influenza vaccines are recommended.

Incidence and perioperative risk factors for postoperative delirium in the intensive care unit among adult surgical patients - Retrospective cohort study.

Background And Aims: Postoperative delirium (POD) is a transient but serious complication that affects cognition and recovery. It may develop immediately after anaesthesia or following an otherwise uneventful emergence. As POD is associated with increased mortality and prolonged hospitalisation, identifying perioperative risk factors is essential.

Characterization of remdesivir resistance mutations in COVID-19 patients with various immunosuppressive diseases.

Immunocompromised patients (ICPs), such as those who receive certain immunosuppressive therapies, occasionally experience prolonged viral infections even after antiviral treatment. In some cases, antiviral-resistant viruses may eventually emerge. Remdesivir (RDV) is an adenosine nucleoside analog that inhibits the activity of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA polymerase, which is composed of a catalytic subunit known as nsp12.

Enhanced locomotor recovery in mice lacking GlcNAc6ST1 and GlcNAc6ST4 following spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) damages neural circuits and triggers pro-inflammatory responses, resulting in locomotor impairment. The carbohydrate sulfotransferases GlcNAc6ST1 and GlcNAc6ST4 modulate the function of blood monocytes and microglia. However, their specific roles and enzymatic relationships in neuroinflammation and functional recovery after SCI remain unclear.