Extreme MetaboHealth scores in three cohort studies associate with plasma protein markers for inflammation and cholesterol transport.

The MetaboHealth score is an indicator of physiological frailty in middle aged and older individuals. The aim of the current study was to explore which molecular pathways co-vary with the MetaboHealth score. Using a Luminex cytokine assay and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based proteomics we explored the plasma proteins associating with the difference in 100 extreme scoring individuals selected from two large population cohorts, the Leiden Longevity Study (LLS) and the Rotterdam Study (RS), and discordant monozygotic twin pairs from the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR).

Improving outcomes in kidney transplantation through advances in donor organ perfusion.

The global shortage of suitable donor kidneys is the primary challenge in kidney transplantation, and it is exacerbated by ageing donors with increased numbers of health issues. Improving organ assessment, preservation and conditioning could enhance organ utilization and patient outcomes. Hypothermic machine perfusion (HMP) is associated with better results than static cold storage by reducing delayed graft function and improving short-term graft survival, especially in kidneys recovered from marginal-quality donors.

Indications for haematopoietic cell transplantation and CAR-T for haematological diseases, solid tumours and immune disorders: 2025 EBMT practice recommendations.

For over two decades, the EBMT has updated recommendations on indications for haematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) practice based on clinical and scientific developments in the field. This is the ninth special EBMT report on indications for HCT for haematological diseases, solid tumours and immune disorders. Our aim is to provide guidance on HCT indications according to prevailing clinical practice in EBMT countries and centres.

Spiritual Support for People Affected by Dementia: A Scoping Review.

As a life-limiting illness, dementia requires a holistic approach to care, where spiritual support plays a crucial role in helping individuals and their caregivers find meaning and solace. Our aim was to systematically map the research conducted on psychosocial interventions developed to provide spiritual support for people living with dementia and their caregivers from diagnosis and across the disease trajectory. A scoping review was conducted to explore the breadth of research on 'spiritual support' in dementia care, encompassing interventions, service delivery models, programs, toolkits, approaches, and activities.

Seasonal variation in SARS-CoV-2 transmission in The Netherlands, 2020-2022: statistical evidence for an inverse association with solar radiation and temperature.

In temperate regions, respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 are better transmitted in winter than in summer. Understanding how the weather is associated with SARS-CoV-2 transmissibility can enhance projections of COVID-19 incidence and improve estimation of the effectiveness of control measures. During the pandemic, transmissibility was tracked by the reproduction number .

Progression-free survival as a surrogate of overall survival in metastatic or recurrent endometrial cancer: an EORTC gynecologic cancer group study.

Objective: The value of progression-free survival as a surrogate marker for overall survival remains a matter of debate. Herein, we evaluated the validity of progression-free survival as a surrogate endpoint for overall survival in trials of recurrent or metastatic endometrial cancer.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

Warfarin reduces circulating white blood cell count: Post-hoc analysis of two randomized trials.

Warfarin is a widely used vitamin K antagonist (VKA) with known pleiotropic effects beyond anticoagulation. Preclinical and case-control evidence suggests that warfarin may affect hematopoiesis, but longitudinal human evidence is lacking. To explore this potential effect, we conducted a post-hoc analysis of participants in the Hokusai-VTE and ENGAGE AF-TIMI 48 trials, which randomized patients to warfarin or the direct oral anticoagulant edoxaban with routine laboratory testing at predefined follow-up visits.

Risk of colorectal cancer and participation in fecal immunochemical test-based screening.

Objectives: Participation rates in fecal immunochemical test (FIT)-based colorectal cancer (CRC) screening differ across socio-demographic subgroups. The largest health gains could be achieved in subgroups with low participation rates and high risk of CRC. We investigated the CRC risk within different socio-demographic subgroups with low participation in the Dutch CRC screening program.

Influence of ultrafiltration conditions on the unbound fraction of phenytoin and valproic acid.

Purpose: This study was designed to analyse the influence of temperature, pH and storage time on unbound fractions of PHT and VPA.

Methods: The influence of ultrafiltration (UF) temperature on measured unbound fractions of PHT and VPA in spiked samples was evaluated in a single laboratory experiment and in data from a national external quality control (EQC) database. The influence of pH adjustment with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) on measured unbound fractions of PHT and VPA was investigated in patient samples.

Brief Evaluation of Olink Reveal Proximity Extension Assay for High-Throughput Proteomics: A Case Study Using NIST SRM 1950 and Two Spike-In Protein Standards.

Plasma proteomics has regained attention in recent years through advancements in mass spectrometry instrumentation and sample preparation as well as new high-throughput affinity-based technologies. Here, we evaluate the analytical performance of the new Olink Reveal platform, a proximity extension assay (PEA)-based technology quantifying 1034 proteins and covering many biological pathways, in particular immune system processes. Using spiked-in recombinant Interleukin-10 (IL-10) and vascular endothelial growth factor D (VEGF-D) in the NIST SRM 1950 plasma standard, we assessed the linearity, sensitivity, precision, and accuracy of the Olink Reveal assay.

Malaria amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Gabon: an application of autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models within an interrupted time series (ITS) framework to hospital-based data.

Background: Coinciding with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, malaria cases and malaria-related deaths increased globally between 2020 and 2022. However, evidence linking the pandemic to increased malaria burden remains ambiguous. We assessed the extent to which an observed malaria resurgence in Lambaréné, Gabon, can be associated with pandemic-related disruptions in malaria control programmes.

Randomized clinical efficacy and safety study of peltopepimut-S plus cemiplimab compared to cemiplimab alone in patients with recurrent/metastatic HPV16-positive head and neck cancer.

Background: Peltopepimut-S is a therapeutic vaccine, which induces specific expansion of both CD4+helper and CD8+cytotoxic T-cells against human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) E6/E7 oncoproteins.

Patients And Methods: In a randomized phase 2 trial, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of peltopepimut-S plus cemiplimab compared with cemiplimab alone as first-line or second-line therapy in recurrent/metastatic HPV16-positive head and neck cancer. The primary efficacy endpoint was the objective response rate (ORR) by an independent review (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.

Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone in women with high-risk endometrial cancer (PORTEC-3): 10-year clinical outcomes and post-hoc analysis by molecular classification from a randomised phase 3 trial.

Background: The PORTEC-3 trial investigated the benefit of chemoradiotherapy versus pelvic radiotherapy alone for women with high-risk endometrial cancer. We present the preplanned long-term analysis of the randomised PORTEC-3 trial with a post-hoc analysis including molecular classification of the tumours.

Methods: PORTEC-3 was an open-label, multicentre, randomised, international phase 3 trial.

Addressing Missingness in Predictive Models That Use Electronic Health Record Data.

Electronic health record (EHR) data are increasingly used to develop prediction models that guide clinical decision making at the point of care. These include algorithms that use high-frequency data, like in sepsis prediction, as well as simpler equations, such as the Pooled Cohort Equations for cardiovascular outcome prediction. Although EHR data used in prediction models are often highly granular and more current than other data, there is systematic and nonsystematic missingness in EHR data as there is with most data.

Personalized Interactive Music Systems for Physical Activity and Exercise: Exploratory Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Personalized Interactive Music Systems (PIMSs) are emerging as promising devices for enhancing physical activity and exercise outcomes. By leveraging real-time data and adaptive technologies, PIMSs align musical features, such as tempo and genre, with users' physical activity patterns, including frequency and intensity, enhancing their overall experience.

Objective: This exploratory systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates the effectiveness of PIMSs across physical, psychophysical, and affective domains.

Reciprocity in dynamics of supramolecular biosystems for the clustering of ligands and receptors.

Multivalent binding and the resulting dynamical clustering of receptors and ligands are known to be key features in biological interactions. For optimizing biomaterials capable of similar dynamical features, it is essential to understand the first step of these interactions, namely the multivalent molecular recognition between ligands and cell receptors. Here, we present the reciprocal cooperation between dynamic ligands in supramolecular polymers and dynamic receptors in model cell membranes, determining molecular recognition and multivalent binding via receptor clustering.

Fixed-Duration Epcoritamab Plus R2 Drives Favorable Outcomes in Relapsed or Refractory Follicular Lymphoma.

Epcoritamab is a subcutaneous CD3xCD20 bispecific antibody approved as monotherapy for relapsed/refractory (R/R) follicular lymphoma (FL). We evaluated fixed-duration epcoritamab with rituximab plus lenalidomide (R2) in R/R FL in arm 2 of EPCORE® NHL-2 (phase 1b/2; NCT04663347). Patients received epcoritamab (2 step-up doses, then 48-mg full doses) for up to 2 years and R2 for up to 12 cycles (28 days/cycle).

Associations of adherence to the World Cancer Research Fund lifestyle recommendations with health-related quality of life and fatigue in Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer survivors: results from the SURVAYA study.

Purpose: Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer face unique long-term social and health challenges that impact their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study explores the association between lifestyle behaviors (physical activity, body composition, and nutrition) and HRQoL as well as fatigue in AYA cancer survivors.

Methods: The cross-sectional SURVAYA study analyzed data from long-term AYA cancer survivors (5-20 years post diagnosis, aged 18-39 at diagnosis) in The Netherlands.

Innovations in communication training for medical and nursing students: Virtual reality communication tool for application and evaluation with key stakeholders and students (VR-TALKS) - a study protocol.

Background: In healthcare education, virtual reality (VR), simulating real-world situations, is emerging as a tool to improve communication skills, particularly in sensitive scenarios involving patients and caregivers. While promising, VR-based education also poses challenges such as avatar realism, cognitive load, and the need for pedagogical grounding.

Objective: This protocol paper presents the VR-TALKS project, which aims to develop, apply, and evaluate VR scenarios designed to teach healthcare students communication skills in serious illness scenarios.

Subgaleal Hematoma in a Female With Normal Coagulation Tests.

Factor XIII (FXIII) deficiency is a rare coagulopathy with an estimated prevalence of approximately 1 in 1 to 2 million, affecting males and females with equal frequency. FXIII plays a critical role in hemostasis by stabilizing fibrin clots through covalent cross-linking of fibrin monomers, thereby conferring mechanical resistance and durability to the clot structure. Clinically, FXIII deficiency presents with a spectrum of hemorrhagic manifestations including bleeding from the umbilical cord, intracranial hemorrhage, recurrent miscarriages, menorrhagia, epistaxis, gingival bleeding, and poor wound healing.

Quantification of neuroinflammation in spinal cord and neuroforamina of patients with painful cervical radiculopathy using [C]DPA713 PET/CT.

Background: Animal models of nerve compression have revealed neuroinflammation not only at the entrapment site, but also remotely at the spinal cord. However, there is limited information on the presence of neuroinflammation in human compression neuropathies. The objectives of this study were to: (1) assess which tracer kinetic model most optimally quantified [C]DPA713 uptake in the spinal cord and neuroforamina in patients with painful cervical radiculopathy, (2) evaluate the performance of linearized methods (e.

Integral approach to organelle profiling in human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes enhances cardiac safety classification of known cardiotoxic compounds.

Introduction: Efficient preclinical prediction of cardiovascular side effects poses a pivotal challenge for the pharmaceutical industry. Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) are becoming increasingly important in this field due to inaccessibility of human native cardiac tissue. Current preclinical hiPSC-CMs models focus on functional changes such as electrophysiological abnormalities, however other parameters, such as structural toxicity, remain less understood.

Navigating a Decade of Integrated Care Research in the International Journal of Integrated Care: How Far Have We Come?

Introduction: The scope of integrated care has evolved and broadened the past decades from specialist pathways to incorporate a more holistic approach. To identify such trends in evidence and knowledge, we analysed published papers in the International Journal of Integrated Care over a 10-year period.

Methods: From an initial set of 5.