FLAIR extending beyond a quadrant (FEQ) of the cerebrum as a qualitative imaging biomarker: a conceptual proposition and proof-of-principle.

Significant variability exists in the use of corticosteroids for treating adverse radiation effects (ARE) after stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) of brain metastasis (BM). Here, we determine the diagnostic utility of a quadrant-based, visual assessment of magnetic resonance (MR) FLAIR as an imaging biomarker for steroid-dependent ARE. FLAIR was assessed at four axial levels along the rostral-caudal axis of the cerebrum, defined by standard landmarks of superior temporal line, third ventricle, temporal horn, and fourth ventricle.

Evaluation of Visual Feedback for f and SPL in Subglottal Pressure Measurements-A Methodological Study.

Objective: Subglottal pressure is a clinically relevant parameter for assessment of voice disorders and correlates to f and sound pressure level (SPL). The aim of the current study was to evaluate the use of a visual target for feedback of f and SPL in subglottal pressure measurements in habitual voice and at phonation threshold level with a syllable string and a phrase for the purpose of improving the reliability of subglottal pressure measurements.

Methods: Data from 12 vocally healthy women (29-61 years) was analyzed.

Prevalence and importance of coronary microvascular dysfunction in patients with heart failure and reduced or mildly reduced ejection fraction.

Aims: We investigated the prevalence of coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) and its association with severity of heart failure in patients with reduced or mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF and HFmrEF).

Method: Patients with stable, symptomatic heart failure with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <50% were enrolled. Data collection included physical examination, blood samples, Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ), carotid to femoral pulse wave velocity, echocardiography and adenosine-based transthoracic Doppler echocardiography to assess coronary flow reserve (CFR).

Clinical and Biofluid Biomarkers of Sleep Dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder with an increasing prevalence worldwide. The development of disease-modifying therapies remains a critical priority; however, early intervention is limited by the paucity of robust biomarkers for the prodromal stage. Sleep disturbances-particularly isolated rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD)-are emerging as key clinical markers of prodromal synucleinopathy, offering opportunities for early detection and risk stratification.

Nonoperative treatment versus volar locking plating for distal radius fracture in patients aged 65 years or older (DRIFT trial): A randomized controlled trial.

Background: The optimal management of distal radius fractures (DRFs) in older patients remains debatable. A knowledge gap exists concerning how to manage fractures with early malalignment during nonoperative treatment. We conducted a prospective, multicenter, and randomized controlled trial to compare nonoperative treatment to operative treatment with volar locking plating (VLP) in the management of primarily malaligned DRFs and DRFs that exhibit early malalignment during nonoperative treatment.

Trends In Reported Outcomes For Growth Hormone Therapy In Children With Growth Hormone Deficiency.

Objective: To understand the frequency and trends in reported outcomes of safety and effectiveness for recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) therapy for growth hormone deficiency (GHD) in childhood.

Methods: A systematic review was performed in seven English and Chinese language databases. Eligibility criteria included all studies published between 2003 and 2022, with participants who started rhGH before the age of 16 years for GHD.

How do I implement a whole blood program with low blood wastage?

Background: The use of low-titer O whole blood (LTOWB) is requested in the treatment of major bleeding, initially used in military medicine but now increasingly utilized in civilian prehospital care. The advantage is the administration of a balanced transfusion, red blood cells, coagulation factors, and platelets, in one bag. The challenges are the availability of LTOWB and difficulties in predicting the need in major bleeding, leading to the risk of wastage.

Prehospital Treatment With Dried Plasma in Patients With Major Bleeding-A Prospective Randomised Controlled Multicentre Trial: Statistical Analysis Protocol.

Background: Major haemorrhage remains one of the most preventable causes of early death in prehospital care. While prehospital administration of plasma has shown potential to improve survival, logistical challenges limit its use outside hospitals. Dried plasma offers a practical solution, particularly in rural or remote environments.

Genetically determined body mass index is associated with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in polygenic and Mendelian randomization analyses.

Obesity has been associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), but the evidence is inconclusive. We examined the association between genetically determined adiposity and four common NHL subtypes: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), follicular lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and marginal zone lymphoma, using eight genome-wide association studies of European ancestry (N = 10,629 cases, 9505 controls) and constructing polygenic scores for body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI (WHRadjBMI). Higher genetically determined BMI was associated with an increased risk of DLBCL [odds ratio (OR) per standard deviation (SD) = 1.

Ankle instability and gait disturbance after free fibula flap reconstruction in head and neck cancer reconstruction: A systematic review.

Introduction: The free fibula flap is a workhorse flap for bony reconstruction of the craniofacial skeleton. The aim of the study was to conduct a systematic review to investigate the postoperative donor site complications and functional outcomes, specifically ankle instability (AI) and gait disturbances (GD), for patients who have received a free fibula flap (FFF) for head and neck cancer reconstruction.

Methods: We designed a PRISMA-compliant systematic review, which was registered prospectively in PROSPERO.

Three-Dimensional Presentation of Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma Histopathology and Magnetic Resonance Imaging-A Novel Image Fusion Method.

Background: Three-dimensional (3D) modeling has been used in the management of bony head and neck tumors, but not in soft tissue tumors. Currently, histopathological findings of oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) are presented as two-dimensional images. Previously, we developed a 3D image fusion method that presents tumor histopathology and MRI in 3D form.

Re-PERFUSE: Phase 1b study of AZD3427, a novel relaxin receptor agonist, on renal perfusion in HFrEF patients.

Aims: Renal impairment frequently coexists with heart failure (HF) and is associated with increased risk of poor clinical outcomes. This highlights the urgent need for therapies targeting both cardiac and renal dysfunction. AZD3427, a long-acting recombinant fusion protein and relaxin analogue that selectively activates the relaxin family peptide receptor 1 (RXFP1), showed trends of increased stroke volume and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in HF patients (NCT04630067).

Long COVID and the kidney.

Long coronavirus disease (COVID) - commonly defined as symptoms and/or long-term effects that persist for at least 3 months after acute infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis - is a complex, multifaceted and heterogeneous disease that affects many organ systems, including the kidney. COVID-19 can cause acute kidney injury, and several studies have reported an increased risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) following COVID-19, suggesting that CKD can be a manifestation of long COVID. Furthermore, patients with CKD are at an increased risk of severe COVID-19 and of long COVID.

Cerebrovascular Reactivity at Rest and Its Association With Cognitive Function in People With Genetic Frontotemporal Dementia.

Background And Objectives: Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) is an indicator of cerebrovascular health, and its signature in familial frontotemporal dementia (FTD) remains unknown. The primary aim was to investigate CVR in genetic FTD using an fMRI index of vascular contractility termed resting-state fluctuation amplitudes (RSFAs) and to assess whether RSFA differences are moderated by age. A secondary aim was to study the relationship between RSFA and cognition.

Comparison of liver histology and fibrosis-4 scoring as tools for evaluating healthcare resource utilization and costs in patients with MASLD: a Swedish cohort study.

Objectives: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is associated with substantial clinical and economic burden. Fibrosis detection is key to disease management, but biopsy-defined staging is invasive, expensive, and associated with complications. We evaluated healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and costs by disease stage using biopsy-defined staging and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4; a simple, well-validated, non-invasive tool for assessing fibrosis severity), and compared their utility for predicting long-term outcomes in MASLD.

Simulating and correcting the pileup effect in deep-silicon photon-counting CT.

Background: Photon-counting computed tomography (CT) bears promise to substantially improve spectral and spatial resolution. One reason for the relatively slow evolution of photon-counting detectors in CT-the technology has been used in nuclear medicine and planar radiology for decades-is pulse pileup, that is, the random staggering of pulses, resulting in count loss and spectral distortion, which in turn cause image bias and reduced contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). The deterministic effects of pileup can be mitigated with a pileup-correction algorithm, but the loss of CNR cannot be recovered, and must be minimized by hardware design.

Living With Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: Patients' Experiences of Daily Life.

Background: Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed in late stages of the disease with only a 10% 5-year survival. The disease is associated with complex symptoms and psychological distress.

Aims: The specific objective of this qualitative study was to explore patients' experiences of what symptoms and distress that had impact on their everyday life.

Platelet-specific TGFβ deficiency aggravates atherosclerosis, vascular inflammation and hypercholesterolemia in mice.

Background Atherosclerosis involves inflammatory and thrombotic mechanisms, to which platelets, CD4+ T effector cells, and transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) all contribute importantly. Platelets are the principal source of circulating TGFβ, which profoundly regulates CD4+ T effector cell responses. The impact of platelet-derived TGFβ on atherosclerosis is, however, unknown.

Paclitaxel-coated versus uncoated devices for infrainguinal endovascular revascularisation in chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (SWEDEPAD 1): a multicentre, participant-masked, registry-based, randomised controlled trial.

Background: Drug-coated devices are frequently used in coronary and peripheral interventions, but their effect on amputation risk in peripheral artery disease is unclear. We assessed whether drug-coated devices affect the rate of above-ankle amputation in patients with chronic limb-threatening ischaemia undergoing infrainguinal endovascular revascularisation.

Methods: The Swedish Drug-Elution Trial in Peripheral Arterial Disease 1 (SWEDEPAD 1) was a pragmatic, nationwide, multicentre, participant-masked, registry-based, randomised controlled trial at 22 Swedish centres.

Paclitaxel-coated versus uncoated devices for infrainguinal endovascular revascularisation in patients with intermittent claudication (SWEDEPAD 2): a multicentre, participant-masked, registry-based, randomised controlled trial.

Background: Drug-coated devices are widely used to reduce restenosis after lower limb revascularisation in patients with peripheral artery disease, but their effect on patient-centred outcomes remains unclear. We assessed the effect of paclitaxel-coated devices on clinically important outcomes in patients with intermittent claudication undergoing infrainguinal endovascular revascularisation.

Methods: The Swedish Drug-Elution Trial in Peripheral Arterial Disease 2 (SWEDEPAD 2) was a pragmatic, nationwide, multicentre, participant-masked, registry-based, randomised controlled trial conducted at 22 Swedish vascular centres.

Item selection for the development and validation of a revised classification criteria for adult and juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: MyoROC project.

Objective: A revision of the 2017 EULAR-ACR myositis classification criteria, namely EULAR-ACR funded Myositis Revision of Classification (MyoROC) project, is currently underway involving a large international group of experts. In the first phase of this project, we identified additional items to be tested in the criteria.

Methods: We distributed an electronic survey to International Myositis Assessment and Clinical Studies (IMACS) members to identify new items.

Clinical care of family members of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Genetic family screening following the detection of a pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant in a proband with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) remains one of the main applications of genetic testing. While cardiac screening is recommended for all first-degree relatives, the a priori risk among family members varies. Consequently, screening regimens should be tailored according to both genetic and clinical information at the individual and familial level.

Is maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first trimester associated with congenital heart defects?

Emerging evidence suggests a potential link between maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection during early pregnancy and the development of congenital heart defects (CHD) in offspring. Although vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is rare, the virus has been associated with placental complications and increased maternal morbidity. Recent studies from China report increased rates of CHD and anomalies such as situs inversus when infection occurs during gestational weeks 4-6, a critical window for cardiac development.

Plasma Profiles of Neuroglial Injury Biomarkers after Ischemic Stroke.

Objective: To determine the temporal profiles of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), neurofilament light (NFL), total tau (t-tau), and ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) in plasma the first week after acute ischemic stroke, and identify the optimal time points for assessing infarct volume by these biomarkers.

Patients & Methods: In this cohort study, biomarker plasma concentrations were determined daily over the first week and at 90 days after symptom onset in patients with acute ischemic stroke. A brain MRI was performed on day three.