abstract

OBJECTIVES: Aortic pathologies often present with elevated inflammatory biomarkers due to the nature of the disease. Open aortic surgery causes significant trauma to the body due to often mandatory ischemic periods, long cardiopulmonary bypass times and polytransfusion. We aim to determine postoperative trends on inflammation biomarkers for different aortic pathologies and type of surgery in different segments of the aorta. METHODS: Retrospective review of prospectively collected data of 193 consecutive patients who underwent aortic surgery in our centre between 2017 and 2021, grouped according to the type of aortic intervention: (1) Type A aortic dissection (AD) repair with ascending aorta/hemiarch replacement, (2) Aortic root replacement (ARR), (3) Aortic arch + Frozen elephant trunk (FET), (4) Descending thoracic aorta (DTA)/Thoraco-Abdominal aortic repair (TAA)...

BACKGROUND: Tremendous research efforts have been made in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) field to understand the disease etiology, progression and discover treatments for AD. Many mechanistic hypotheses, therapeutic targets and treatment strategies have been proposed in the last few decades. Reviewing previous work and staying current on this ever-growing body of AD publications is an essential yet difficult task for AD researchers. METHODS: In this study, we designed and implemented a natural language processing (NLP) pipeline to extract gene-specific neurodegenerative disease (ND) -focused information from the PubMed database...

AIM: Dietary patterns could have a notable role in shaping gut microbiota composition. Evidence confirms the positive impact of the Mediterranean diet (MD), as one of the most studied healthy dietary patterns, on the gut microbiota profile. We conducted this systematic review to investigate the results of observational studies and clinical trials regarding the possible changes in the gut microbiota composition, metabolites, and clinical outcomes following adherence to MD in healthy cases or patients suffering from metabolic disorders...

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that is associated with anxiety and depression. Few studies have addressed interventions for symptoms of anxiety and depression in this population. To determine the efficacy of interventions for anxiety and depression in patients with AD. PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO were searched from inception to November 2023. English-language studies published in peer-reviewed journals evaluating the effect of interventions on anxiety and/or depression using validated assessment tools on patients with AD were included...

It is often assumed that rendering an alert signal more salient yields faster responses to this alert. Yet, there might be a trade-off between attracting attention and distracting from task execution. Here we tested this in four behavioral experiments with eye-tracking using an abstract alert-signal paradigm. Participants performed a visual discrimination task (primary task) while occasional alert signals occurred in the visual periphery accompanied by a congruently lateralized tone. Participants had to respond to the alert before proceeding with the primary task...

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to perform a systemic evaluation of the risk of bias in randomised controlled trial (RCT) reports published on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). DESIGN: We assessed the risk of bias using the Cochrane tool, as indicators of poor methodology or subsequently poor reporting. We systematically selected, with dual independent judgements, all studies published on IBD with no time limits and assessed the methodological quality of included studies again using independent dual ratings...

BACKGROUND: Given the anticipated increase in ambient temperature due to climate change, the hazardous effects of heat on health have been extensively studied; however, its impact on people with intellectual disability, autism, and mental illness is largely unknown. We aimed to estimate the association between heat and hospitalisation through the emergency department (ED) among people with these mental disorders. METHODS: In this nationwide study, we used data from the National Health Insurance Database (NHID) of the National Health Insurance Service, the single universal insurer in South Korea, the claims data for which is based on the ICD-10...

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has been extensively discussed in the context of its effect on mental health. Although global suicide rates have remained stable during the pandemic, the specific effect on non-fatal suicide behaviours during and after the pandemic remains underexplored. This study aims to investigate patterns of non-fatal suicide behaviours before, during, and after the pandemic. METHODS: In this cohort study, we used data from all hospitals in Catalonia, Spain, collected through the Catalan Suicide Risk Code, which is a specifically designed suicide attempt surveillance protocol, involving a face-to-face, in-depth psychiatric evaluation, after a Catalan resident presents any suicide risk behaviour in any public health-care setting...

IMPORTANCE: Hirsutism represents a significant concern for women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), with deleterious psychological effects warranting acknowledgment and a clear imperative to provide effective management. To our knowledge, this is the first review to exclusively examine the effectiveness of laser and light-based therapies in addressing hirsutism in women with PCOS. OBJECTIVE: To synthesize the existing literature regarding the effectiveness of laser and light hair reduction therapies, either as stand-alone treatments or in combination with systemic agents, in treating hirsutism for women with PCOS...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this narrative review was to assess the limited literature on fetal anomalies diagnosed in the second trimester of pregnancy and parental decision-making and identify sources of information deemed as facilitators and barriers to medical decisions. METHODS: This was a literature review of source material and information about fetal anomalies diagnosed in the second trimester of pregnancy, decision-making, decision tools or aids, and sources of information for anomalies...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Efficient abstract scoring for congress presentation is important. Given the emergence of new study methodologies, a scoring system that accommodates all study designs is warranted. We aimed to assess the equivalence of a simplified, 2-question abstract grading system with a more complex currently used system in assessing abstracts submitted for orthopedic scientific meetings in a serial randomized study. METHODS: Dutch Orthopedic Association Scientific Committee (DOASC) members were randomized to grade abstracts using either the current grading system, which includes up to 7 scoring categories, or the new grading system, which consists of only 2 questions...

Forests, critical components of global ecosystems, face unprecedented challenges due to climate change. This study investigates the influence of functional diversity-as a component of biodiversity-to enhance long-term biomass of European forests in the context of changing climatic conditions. Using the next-generation flexible trait-based vegetation model, LPJmL-FIT, we explored the impact of functional diversity on long-term forest biomass under three different climate change scenarios (video abstract: https://www...

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: New parents who have previously experienced psychosis outside and/or following childbirth have an increased likelihood of experiencing an episode during the postpartum period. The decision to try to conceive can be agonising. Receiving care from a specialist perinatal community mental health team can improve outcomes. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER ADD TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: This article offers a first-person insight into the steps the author took to minimise the impact of an episode of postpartum psychosis and/or postnatal depression whilst navigating new motherhood...

Background: Due to the limited role of chronic pain medication in military personnel and the distress caused to the military population, mindfulness-based therapy has been considered for the follow-up treatment of military personnel with chronic pain. The purpose of this review is to explore the effect and the implementation of mindfulness-based therapy for the military population with chronic pain. Methods: The keywords for the search included "mindfulness" AND ("pain" OR "chronic pain") AND ("military" OR "veteran")...

Aim: To assess real-world clinical outcomes with standard therapies for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) with METexon14 skipping mutation (METex14). Methods: In an oncologists-led retrospective review of medical records, data were abstracted and analyzed for patients initiating first-line (1L) systemic therapy after 1 January 2017. Results: In total 287 aNSCLC patients with METex14, the real-world best overall response rate was 73.4% for capmatinib (n = 146), 68.8% for immunotherapy (IO) monotherapy (n = 48), 52...

OBJECTIVES: To assess and quantify the association between pre-pregnancy maternal overweight and obesity, and the risk of congenital heart defects (CHDs) in offspring. METHODS: This systematic review and meta-analysis included searches of PubMed, Medline, Web of science, and Scopus up to April 20th, 2023. Risk estimates were abstracted or calculated for rising body mass index categories (overweight, obesity, moderate and severe obesity) compared to normal weight (reference)...

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of metabolic abnormalities that has a high prevalence worldwide. Apigenin is a flavonoid present in several vegetables and fruits and has anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-MetS properties. This study aims to systematically review the effects of apigenin against MetS and the relevant molecular and cellular mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetics features, and potential structure-activity relationship. Electronic databases including Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct and Cochrane Library were searched for in vivo, and in vitro, and human studies with the following keywords: "apigenin" and "metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance syndrome", "fatty liver", "hypertension or blood pressure", "diabetes or blood glucose", "dyslipidemia", "heart or cardiovascular " and "obesity" in title/abstract...

BACKGROUND: In South Africa, infants who are HIV-exposed are tested for HIV at birth and 10 weeks of age. The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions resulted in reduced access to healthcare services and uncertain impact on early infant HIV testing. OBJECTIVES: To describe the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions on early infant HIV testing and diagnosis in Cape Town, South Africa. METHOD: This retrospective cohort study compares HIV-exposed infants born during the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown (2020) to those born in the same period the year before (2019)...

BACKGROUND: Mental healthcare workforce shortage in Nigeria poses a major obstacle to mental health services scale-up. Digital psychiatry may provide a veritable platform to bridge treatment gaps. AIM: To provide an overview of quantity and range of peer-reviewed publications on digital psychiatry in Nigeria. SETTING: A comprehensive literature search encompassed all original, peer-reviewed research articles on digital psychiatry in Nigeria...

BACKGROUND: Registries are regarded as a just valuable fount of data on determining neonates suffering prematurity or low birth weight (LBW), ameliorating provided care, and developing studies. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to probe the studies, including premature infants' registries, adapt the needed minimum data set, and provide an offered framework for premature infants' registries. MATERIAL AND METHODS: For this descriptive study, electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, and Embase/Medline were searched...