Mechanisms of motor dysfunction in functional neurological disorder: A narrative review.

One of the characteristic presentations of functional neurological disorder (FND) is with motor symptoms, such as weakness and tremor. While these symptoms are both common and disabling, how they arise at a mechanistic level remains unclear. This review provides an up-to-date account of the underpinnings of motor dysfunction in FND by integrating findings from neuroimaging, physiology, genetic, brain stimulation, and behavioral studies.

A 10-year review of iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis - are they more dangerous than their distal counterparts?

Iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis (IFDVT) is associated with potential for poor outcomes despite optimal anticoagulation therapy. To characterize the real-world management of IFDVT in an Australian population. Retrospective evaluation of IFDVT cases managed at Northern Health, Australia from January 2011 to December 2020 was performed and compared to non-iliofemoral lower limb DVTs (non-IFDVT) (n = 1793).

FPR2 Agonism Attenuates Restenosis by Mitigating Neointimal Hyperplasia via ELOVL6.

Restenosis following endovascular intervention in lower extremity arterial disease contributes to significant morbidity and mortality. This study investigates the role of formylpeptide receptor 2 (FPR2) in neointimal hyperplasia and evaluates the therapeutic potential of the selective FPR2 agonist BMS-986235 in mitigating restenosis. FPR2 expression was significantly reduced in the popliteal and anterior tibial arteries of male amputees with restenosis compared to healthy controls.

Toward a Genetic Signature of Resistance to Activity-Based Anorexia in Striatal Projecting Cortical Neurons.

Objective: Converging evidence from neuroimaging studies and genome-wide association study (GWAS) suggests the involvement of prefrontal cortex (PFC) and striatum dysfunction in the pathophysiology of anorexia nervosa (AN). However, identifying the causal role of circuit-specific genes in the development of the AN-like phenotype remains challenging and requires the combination of novel molecular tools and preclinical models.

Methods: We used the activity-based anorexia (ABA) rat model in combination with a novel viral-based translating ribosome affinity purification (TRAP) technique to identify transcriptional differences within a specific neural pathway that we have previously demonstrated to mediate pathological weight loss in ABA rats (i.

Transcriptional regulation in heart development, disease and regeneration: reassessing the fetal gene hypothesis.

A central paradigm in cardiac biology is the reactivation of the fetal gene programme in the adult heart in response to stress. This so-called 'fetal gene hypothesis' was first proposed almost 40 years ago following the observation that certain fetal contractile protein isoforms were re-expressed in hypertrophied ventricles in the rodent heart in response to haemodynamic overload. Consequently, this concept was broadly adopted, and activation of the fetal gene programme became synonymous in the literature with the cardiac stress response.

Real-World Comparison of Treatment Outcomes for Multiple Myeloma in Elderly Transplant Ineligible Patients Receiving First-Line VRd, Rd and VCd: Results From the Australian and New Zealand Myeloma and Related Diseases Registry.

Background: Real-world data on treatment outcomes for elderly transplant-ineligible patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma are limited. The difference in treatment subsidization in Australia compared with New Zealand enables comparison of bortezomib-cyclophosphamide-dexamethasone (VCd), lenalidomide-bortezomib-dexamethasone (VRd) with Rd maintenance, and continuous Rd.

Methods: Using data from the ANZ Myeloma and Related Diseases Registry, we evaluated 1092 patients over 70 years of age between February 2013 and February 2024.

Guidelines for Diet-Induced Models of Cardiometabolic Syndrome.

Cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS) encompasses a cluster of metabolic abnormalities, including obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension that collectively increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Animal models are widely used to study CMS, with diet-induced models being the most physiologically relevant. A lack of reporting standards and variability in dietary composition, feeding duration, and macronutrient content across studies hinder reproducibility assessment and translational impact evaluation.

Mepolizumab treatment and reduced oral corticosteroid exposure improves symptoms of depression and anxiety in severe eosinophilic asthma: data from the Australian Mepolizumab Registry.

Background: The benefits of oral corticosteroid (OCS) stewardship approaches -including monoclonal antibody treatments for severe asthma- on reducing toxic OCS exposure and related comorbidities such as depression and anxiety require real-world evaluation.

Methods: This real-world observational study investigated OCS exposure and associated complications over 24 months in patients enrolled in the Australian Mepolizumab Registry (n=412).

Results: Patients were median age 59 years, 58% were female.

Edge-centric Brain Connectome Representations Reveal Increased Brain Functional Diversity of Reward Circuit in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) has been increasingly understood as a disorder of network-level functional dysconnectivity. However, previous brain connectome studies have primarily relied on node-centric approaches, neglecting critical edge-edge interactions that may capture essential features of network dysfunction.

Methods: This study included resting-state functional MRI data from 838 MDD patients and 881 healthy controls (HC) across 23 sites.

Living guidelines have come of age: New insights and methods - An open call for contributions.

Objectives: Guideline developers have long recognised the importance of maintaining up-to-date guidelines to support evidence-based practice and policy, contributing to narrowing the gap between research generation and its application. This commentary reflects on key insights from the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology's Methods for Living Guidelines series and issues an open call for contributions aimed at advancing the development, implementation and evaluation of living guideline methods.

Methods: This commentary synthesises methodological innovations and practice experiences shared in the Methods for Living Guidelines series, highlighting emerging practices and lessons learned.

Redundant and novel functions of scube genes during zebrafish development.

The N-glycoprotein SCUBE family (Scube1, Scube2, and Scube3) plays diverse roles in vertebrate development and disease, yet many specific functions of the three family members remain unclear. These proteins exhibit broad tissue expression patterns, exist as soluble or membrane-tethered forms, and can form homo- or heteromeric complexes with each other, exerting both short- and long-range effects. Individual functional characterisation proves challenging because overlapping expression patterns and compensatory mechanisms likely obscure specific roles.

Design of peptide-based PAC1 antagonists combining molecular dynamics simulations and a biologically relevant cell-based assay.

The PACAP receptor PAC1 is a G-coupled family B1 GPCR for which the highest-affinity endogenous peptide ligands are the pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptides PACAP38 and PACAP27, and whose most abundant endogenous ligand is PACAP38. PACAP action at PAC1 is implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders, atherosclerosis, pain chronification, and protection from neurodegeneration and ischemia. As PACAP also interacts with two related receptors, VPAC1 and VPAC2, highly selective ligands, both agonists and antagonists, for PAC1 have been sought.

A qualitative study exploring physician perspectives on a cardiac-based seizure prediction digital service for epilepsy management.

Objective: The unpredictability of epileptic seizures represents a significant challenge to people with epilepsy. To address this, research on seizure prediction has been evolving rapidly. However, insights from end-users that guide the development of this technology have been limited.

Correlations between surface marker patterns in meningiomas, prognosis and location.

Background: Meningiomas exhibit considerable phenotypic variation within each WHO grade, thus additional markers are needed to identify prognostically relevant subgroups and optimize long-term management. Among biomarkers, genetic signatures correlate with prognoses. High Ki-67 proliferation indices and TERT promotor mutations and loss of CDKNA are known prognostic markers.

The Role of MRI in Debunking the Fallacy of "Mild" Traumatic Brain Injury.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a prevalent yet often overlooked public health concern due to the absence of detectable abnormalities on CT or conventional MRI scans. Approximately 18.3%-31.

Perceptions about the use of Behavioral (Eco)Toxicology to protect human health and the environment.

The One Health concept strongly brings into focus the important connections for human and ecosystem health. However, the incorporation of behaviour method guidelines in risk assessment and regulation/policy is not equal between human and ecological disciplines. A survey was conducted on the perceptions and role of behavioural (eco)toxicology in the protection of the human and ecosystem health.

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.

A critical review of high-frequency activity for functional mapping in SEEG.

Mapping functional brain networks is a critical component of stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG) evaluations. Although direct cortical stimulation (DCS) is the clinical gold standard, it has important limitations-particularly in mapping distributed, complex functions such as language and memory, where deficits may still occur despite preservation of DCS-positive sites, impacting quality of life. More broadly, there is increasing emphasis on preserving cognitive function in epilepsy surgery.

Ultrafast all-optical switching in nonlinear 3R-MoS van der Waals metasurfaces.

Second-order nonlinear optical processes are fundamental to photonics, spectroscopy, and information technologies, with material platforms playing a pivotal role in advancing these applications. Here, we demonstrate the exceptional nonlinear optical properties of the van der Waals crystal 3R-MoS, a rhombohedral polymorph exhibiting high second-order optical susceptibility ( ) and remarkable second-harmonic generation (SHG) capabilities. By designing high quality factor resonances in 3R-MoS metasurfaces supporting quasi-bound states in the continuum (qBIC), we first demonstrate SHG efficiency enhancement exceeding 10.

Unraveling the pathogenicity role of the novel compound heterozygous mutations of MED25 gene in a Chinese patient with BVSYS.

Introduction: Mediator of RNA polymerase II transcription subunit 25 (), a crucial component of the transcriptional coactivator complex, plays a significant role in the transcription of most RNA polymerase II-dependent genes. Mutations in have been linked to various genetic syndromes, including Basel-Vanagaite-Smirin-Yosef Syndrome (BVSYS) and Intellectual Disability (ID). This study elucidated the molecular mechanism through which compound heterozygous mutations in the gene impaired pre-mRNA splicing, ultimately causing BVSYS.

Persistent progression independent of relapse activity in multiple sclerosis.

Patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) may experience disability progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA), which can be an early sign of secondary progressive MS (SPMS). We defined persistent PIRA as ongoing sustained disability over the entire available follow-up period. However, PIRA events can regress over time.

Cardiovascular Health in Women-Across the Lifespan.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of mortality and morbidity among women worldwide. However, CVD continues to be perceived as a predominantly male issue. CVD in women therefore remains understudied, underrecognized and undertreated.

Reduction in Dressing Change Burden in Patients With Epidermolysis Bullosa-Impact of Oleogel-S10.

Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a severe genetic disorder marked by skin fragility and blistering from minimal trauma. Management relies on frequent and painful dressing changes. The EASE study (NCT03068780), the largest to date in EB, previously demonstrated accelerated wound healing and reduced wound burden for Oleogel-S10 (birch triterpenes) versus control gel.

Phenotypic plasticity underlies seasonal and latitudinal variation in thermal tolerance in a native bee.

Climate change threatens biodiversity and ecosystem services around the globe. Despite the importance of native bees as pollinators, there is evidence of global declines, and we know very little about how climate shapes their distributions now and into the future. In the current study, we combined large-scale seasonal field sampling and experimental acclimation to examine whether populations of an Australian bee, Exoneura robusta, vary in their capacity to adapt to different climates.

HDL remodeling and enrichment with apoCIII and apoE in Indigenous Australians.

Background: Indigenous Australians have an increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and premature cardiovascular disease. Subpopulations of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) have been associated with increased cardiovascular risk, but HDL composition, size, or function have not been studied in Indigenous Australians.

Methods: The study consisted of 86 non-Indigenous participants, 43 of whom had T2DM, and 75 Indigenous participants, 36 of whom had T2DM.