Minimally invasive

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have demonstrated potent immunomodulatory properties that have shown promise in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the inherent heterogeneity of MSCs triggered conflicting therapeutic outcomes, raising safety concerns and limiting their clinical application. This study aimed to investigate the potential of extracellular vesicles derived from human gingival mesenchymal stem cells (GMSC-EVs) as a therapeutic strategy for RA. Through in vivo experiments using an experimental RA model, our results demonstrated that GMSC-EVs selectively homed to inflamed joints and recovered Treg and Th17 cells balance, resulting in the reduction of arthritis progression...

ConspectusElectrical neuromodulation has achieved significant translational advancements, including the development of deep brain stimulators for managing neural disorders and vagus nerve stimulators for seizure treatment. Optoelectronics, in contrast to wired electrical systems, offers the leadless feature that guides multisite and high spatiotemporal neural system targeting, ensuring high specificity and precision in translational therapies known as "photoelectroceuticals". This Account provides a concise overview of developments in novel optoelectronic nanomaterials that are engineered through innovative molecular, chemical, and nanostructure designs to facilitate neural interfacing with high efficiency and minimally invasive implantation...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Disruption of the precious ecosystem of micro-organisms that reside in the gut - the gut microbiota - is rapidly emerging as a key driver of adverse side effects/toxicities caused by numerous anti-cancer agents. Although the contribution of the gut microbiota to these toxicities is understood with ever increasing precision, the cause of microbial disruption (dysbiosis) remains poorly understood. Here, we discuss current evidence on the cause(s) of dysbiosis after cancer therapy, positioning breakdown of the intestinal mucosa (mucositis) as a central cause...

PURPOSE: Surface reconstructions from laryngoscopic videos have the potential to assist clinicians in diagnosing, quantifying, and monitoring airway diseases using minimally invasive techniques. However, tissue movements and deformations make these reconstructions challenging using conventional pipelines. METHODS: To facilitate such reconstructions, we developed video frame pre-filtering and featureless dense matching steps to enhance the Alicevision Meshroom SfM pipeline...

Schizophrenia (SZ) has been acknowledged as a highly intricate mental disorder for a long time. In fact, individuals with SZ experience a blurred line between fantasy and reality, leading to a lack of awareness about their condition, which can pose significant challenges during the treatment process. Due to the importance of the issue, timely diagnosis of this illness can not only assist patients and their families in managing the condition but also enable early intervention, which may help prevent its advancement...

DNA collection is essential for genotyping laboratory animals. Common collection methods require tissue amputation, causing discomfort and injury. Rectal swabbing has been proposed as an effective, minimally invasive alternative, but an evidence-backed protocol for the technique remains unavailable. This report evaluates the effects of collection parameters on the quality of PCR results and presents a protocol for genotyping a litter of rats within 3-5 h. Samples with 2-8 scrapes produced enough DNA to amplify targets up to ∼1800 bp long using PCR...

The growing number of people suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD) represents a major public health problem. The diagnosis of AD is multidisciplinary and involves the use of amyloid and tau biomarkers measured in cerebrospinal fluid. Recent advances in analytical techniques now allow us to measure these biomarkers in blood. Blood biomarkers offer particularly promising potential for early, minimally invasive detection of AD, as well as for differential diagnosis of dementia and patient follow-up. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of current and candidate blood biomarkers for AD, their informative value, and their potential to be integrated into clinical practice in the near future...

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to investigate whether a low intrarenal pressure provided by ureteral access sheath (UAS) use had a positive effect on the prevention of acute kidney injury through the evaluation of the myo-inositol oxygenase (MIOX). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The patients were divided into two groups according to whether a 9.5/11.5-Fr UAS was used during retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS): UAS group and non-UAS group. RIRS was performed under gravity irrigation and manual pumping was not used...

BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE: Various invasive oculoplastic procedures are commonly utilized to control the rectus muscles and widen the surgical corridor through the endoscopic endonasal removal of large orbital apex cavernous hemangiomas (OACHs). They require additional transconjunctival incision, rectus muscle insertional retraction, or muscle deinsertion at the globe that might not be safe and lead to prolonged postoperative extraocular muscle dysfunction. In this article, the authors described a modified 3-handed extracapsular technique for the resection of a large OACH without an additional procedure for rectus muscle control...

INTRODUCTION: Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCLs) are rare diseases characterized by infiltration of malignant T-cells into the skin. We evaluated the prevalence, epidemiology, and therapy of CTCLs, focusing on its most well-known subtypes, namely mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sézary syndrome (SS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical data of patients with a histologically confirmed diagnosis of CTCL presenting to our outpatient department during a 5-year period from January 2015 to December 2019...

Lymphatic flow abnormalities are central to the development of protein losing enteropathy, plastic bronchitis, ascites and pleural effusions in patients palliated to the Fontan circulation. These complications can occur in isolation or multicompartmental (two or more). The treatment of multicompartmental lymphatic failure aims at improving thoracic duct drainage. Re-routing the innominate vein to the pulmonary venous atrium decompresses the thoracic duct, as atrial pressure is lower than systemic venous pressure in Fontan circulation...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this guideline is to provide evidence-based guidance to clinicians of all specialties on the evaluation, management, and treatment of idiopathic overactive bladder (OAB). The guideline informs the reader on valid diagnostic processes and provides an approach to selecting treatment options for patients with OAB through the shared decision-making process that will maximize symptom control and quality of life, while minimizing adverse events and burden of disease...

Background: Cardiogenic shock in children still carries a high mortality risk despite advances in medical therapy. The use of temporary mechanical circulatory supports is an accepted strategy to bridge patients with acute heart failure to recovery, decision, transplantation or destination therapy. These devices are however limited in children and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) remains the most commonly used device. Veno-arterial ECMO may provide adequate oxygen delivery, but it does not significantly unload the left ventricle, and this may prevent recovery...

The widespread use of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has triggered the rapid expansion in the field of computed tomography (CT)-guided preoperative localization and near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence image-guided surgery. However, its broader application has been hindered by the absence of ideal imaging contrasts that are biocompatible, minimally invasive, highly resolvable, and perfectly localized within the diseased tissue. To achieve this goal, we synthesize a dextran-based fluorescent and iodinated hydrogel, which can be injected into the tissue and imaged with both CT and NIR fluorescence modalities...

We report a patient with hemophilia A who underwent partial splenic embolization (PSE) for severe thrombocytopenia secondary to portal hypertension-induced splenomegaly, resulting in a stable long-term quality of life. The patient was diagnosed with hemophilia A and unfortunately contracted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) from blood products. He subsequently developed progressive splenomegaly due to portal hypertension from chronic HCV, resulting in severe thrombocytopenia...

Glioma is the most common malignant tumor of the nervous system in recent centuries, and the incidence rate of glioma is increasing year by year. Its invasive growth and malignant biological behaviors make it one of the most challenging malignant tumors. Maximizing the resection range (EOR) while minimizing the impact on normal brain tissue is crucial for patient prognosis. Changes in metabolites produced by tumor cells and their microenvironments might be important indicators. As a powerful spectroscopic technique, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has many advantages, including ultra-high sensitivity, high specificity, and non-invasive features, which allow SERS technology to be widely applied in biomedicine, especially in the differential diagnosis of malignant tumor tissues...

In the vast expanse of restorative surgical procedures, the Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator (DIEP) flap, originating from the inferior epigastric artery, has emerged as the preferred method of breast reconstruction, attributable to its myriad advantages. The technique provides reliable vascular supply, robust tissue volume for excision, minimal invasiveness to the donor site, with direct closure and concealment of the said site. This paper embarks on an elaborate elucidation of the DIEP surgical procedure, pivoting on the analytical exploration of a particular instance where necrosis of the skin flap occurred following immediate DIEP breast reconstruction in a patient diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer...

Lung cancer, a leading cause of cancer-related death, often requires surgical resection for early-stage cases, with recent data supporting less invasive resections for tumors smaller than 2 cm. Central to resection is lymph node assessment, an area of controversy worldwide, compounded by advances in minimally invasive techniques. The review aims to assess current standards for lymph node assessment, recent data from the surgical era, and the immunobiological basis of how lymph node metastases impact patient outcomes...

BACKGROUND: Owing to the minimally invasive nature of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), TAVR seems to be preferred in patients with cancer; however, related research on the clinical efficacy and safety of TAVR in patients with cancer and severe aortic stenosis is limited, and conclusions are controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of patients with cancer who underwent TAVR. METHOD AND RESULTS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the clinical outcomes in patients with and without cancer who underwent TAVR...

AIM: Transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TFESI) is a frequently performed, minimally invasive procedure for addressing lumbosacral radicular pain that often uses Quincke and Stimuplex (peripheral nerve stimulator) needles for injection. This study aimed to compare the procedural features of TFESI performed using these two different needles (Stimuplex® and Quincke) in terms of procedure time, exposed radiation dose and adverse effects and complications, thus providing preliminary data to aid needle selection for TFESI...