medical breakthrough

Travel to space has overcome unprecedent technological challenges and this has resulted in transfer of these technological results on Earth to better our lives. Health technology, medical devices, and research advancements in human biology are the first beneficiaries of this transfer. The real breakthrough came with the International Space Station, which endorsed multidisciplinary international scientific collaborations and boosted the research on pathophysiological adaptation of astronauts to life on space...

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the current status of clinical practice of refractory cancer pain (RCP) among a sample of physicians specializing in cancer pain management in Shanghai. METHODS: From 2019 to 2021, a questionnaire survey was conducted among physicians engaged in diagnosis and treatment of cancer pain through the questionnaire WJX network platform in Shanghai, China. RESULTS: A total of 238 responses participated in the survey...

BACKGROUND: In Haematology, prophylaxis for Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) is recommended for patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and in selected categories of intensive chemotherapy for hematological malignancies. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) is the recommended first-line agent, but its use is not straightforward. Inhaled pentamidine is the recommended second-line agent but aerosolized medications were discouraged during respiratory virus outbreaks, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, in view of potential contamination risks...

Bladder cancer is the 10th most popular cancer in the world, and non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is diagnosed in ~80% of all cases. Treatments for NMIBC include transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURBT) and intravesical instillations of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Treatment of BCG-unresponsive tumors is scarce and usually leads to Radical Cystectomy. In this paper, we review recent advancements in conservative treatment of BCG-unresponsive tumors. The main focus of the paper is FDA-approved medications: Pembrolizumab and Nadofaragene Firadenovec (Adstiladrin)...

Natural language processing (NLP) has become an essential technique in various fields, offering a wide range of possibilities for analyzing data and developing diverse NLP tasks. In the biomedical domain, understanding the complex relationships between compounds and proteins is critical, especially in the context of signal transduction and biochemical pathways. Among these relationships, protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are of particular interest, given their potential to trigger a variety of biological reactions...

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare clonal disease with abnormal hematopoietic stem cells that causes intravascular hemolytic anemia, thrombosis, and peripheral blood cytopenia. It has a chronic progressive course and can be fatal in severe cases if not treated aggressively. Complement inhibitors are the first-line recommended treatment for hemolysis-related symptoms of PNH. With the rapid development of new complement inhibitors, it is critical to quickly screen and confirm the diagnosis, identify patients with complement inhibitor indications, and monitor breakthrough hemolysis and extravascular hemolysis during complement inhibitor therapy...

Obesity continues to be a significant global health concern, giving rise to various complications. This review article explores the current standards and emerging innovations in diagnosing and treating obesity, including recent disease name change, staging system or therapeutic goals. This narrative review has been based on recent scientific articles from PubMed database, limiting the scope of topics to current standards and upcoming developments and breakthroughs in the diagnosis and treatment of obesity. The educational and informative nature of the review has been maintained in order to make the information presented accessible to both researchers and clinical practitioners...

Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) is a type of secondary cancer which is not sensitive to conventional intravenous chemotherapy. Treatment strategies for PC are usually palliative rather than curative. Recently, artificial intelligence (AI) has been widely used in the medical field, making the early diagnosis, individualized treatment, and accurate prognostic evaluation of various cancers, including mediastinal malignancies, colorectal cancer, lung cancer more feasible. As a branch of computer science, AI specializes in image recognition, speech recognition, automatic large-scale data extraction and output...

Respiratory health has become a prevailing priority amid the diverse global health challenges that the 21st century brings, due to its substantial impact on individuals and communities on a global scale. Due to rapid advances in medicine, emerging knowledge gaps appear along with new challenges and ethical considerations. While breakthroughs in medical science can bring about encouraging possibilities for better treatments and interventions, they also lead to unanswered questions and areas where further research is warranted...

The complement is a crucial factor of the innate immune system. However, its activation can lead to various diseases, so it needs to be controlled. In mammals, surface-bound complement regulatory proteins safeguard cells from uncontrolled complement-mediated lysis. One of the human complement regulators is CD55, also known as the decay-accelerating factor (DAF), a single-chain, type I cell surface protein anchored to glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI). The genetic loss of the complement regulatory protein CD55 leads to a fatal illness known as CHAPLE disease...

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a widespread neurodegenerative disorder with a significant global impact, affecting approximately 50 million individuals, and projections estimate that up to 152 million people will be affected by 2050. AD is characterized by beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain, leading to cognitive decline. SUMMARY: Recent research on AD has made significant strides, including the development of an "amyloid clock" biomarker that tracks AD progression through positron emission tomography (PET) scans...

Radical esophagectomy with two or three-field lymphadenectomy remains the mainstay of curative treatment for localized esophageal cancer, often in combination with systemic chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. In this article, we describe notable advances in the surgical management of esophageal cancer over the past decade that have led to an improvement in both surgical and oncologic outcomes. In addition, we discuss new approaches to surgical management currently under investigation that have the potential to offer further benefits to appropriately selected patients...

Alain Cribier, born on January 25, 1945, in Paris, France, spent his formative years in the city where he received his primary education at Charlemagne Lycée. From a young age, he harbored a strong ambition to enter the field of medicine inspired by the literary works of novelist physicians. Motivated by his deep-seated commitment to saving lives, he pioneered the first-ever aortic valvuloplasty in 1985 at the University of Rouen. Although the initial outcomes exceeded expectations, the occurrence of restenosis in these patients underscored the necessity for a more effective therapeutic solution...

Inspired by nature, tissue engineering aims to employ intricate mechanisms for advanced clinical interventions, unlocking inherent biological potential and propelling medical breakthroughs. Therefore, medical, and pharmaceutical fields are growing interest in tissue and organ replacement, repair, and regeneration by this technology. Three primary mechanisms are currently used in tissue engineering: transplantation of cells (I), injection of growth factors (II) and cellular seeding in scaffolds (III). However, to develop scaffolds presenting highest potential, reinforcement with polymeric materials is growing interest...

Nanoparticles (NPs) engineered as drug delivery systems continue to make breakthroughs as they offer numerous advantages over free therapeutics. However, the poor understanding of the interplay between the NPs and biomolecules, especially blood proteins, obstructs NP translation to clinics. Nano-bio interactions determine the NPs' in vivo fate, efficacy and immunotoxicity, potentially altering protein function. To fulfill the growing need to investigate nano-bio interactions, this study provides a systematic understanding of two key aspects: (i) protein corona (PC) formation and (ii) NP-induced modifications on protein's structure and stability...

Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI) is a pivotal tool for global disease diagnosis and management. Since its clinical availability in 2009, the off-label use of ferumoxytol for ferumoxytol-enhanced MRI (FE-MRI) has significantly reshaped CE-MRI practices. Unlike MRI that is enhanced by gadolinium-based contrast agents, FE-MRI offers advantages such as reduced contrast agent dosage, extended imaging windows, no nephrotoxicity, higher MRI time efficiency and the capability for molecular imaging...

Light exposure has been proven to have a significant impact on human health. As a result, researchers are increasingly exploring its potential benefits and drawbacks. With advancements in understanding light and the manufacturing of light sources, modern health lighting has become widely utilized in daily life and plays a critical role in the prevention and treatment of various illnesses. The use of light in healthcare is a global trend, with many countries actively promoting the development and application of relevant scientific research and medical technology...

Ultrasonic imaging is crucial in the fields of biomedical engineering for its deep penetration capabilities and non-ionizing nature. However, traditional techniques heavily rely on impedance differences within objects, resulting in poor contrast when imaging acoustically transparent targets. Here, we propose a compact spatial differentiator for underwater isotropic edge-enhanced imaging, which enhances the imaging contrast without the need for contrast agents or external physical fields. This design incorporates an amplitude meta-grating for linear transmission along the radial direction, combined with a phase meta-grating that utilizes focus and spiral phases with a first-order topological charge...

Despite rapid technological advancement in factor and nonfactor products in the prevention and treatment of bleeding in haemophilia patients, it is imperative that we acknowledge gaps in our understanding of how hemostasis is achieved. The authors will briefly review three unresolved issues in persons with haemophilia (PwH) focusing on the forgotten function that red blood cells play in hemostasis, the critical role of extravascular (outside circulation) FIX in hemostasis in the context of unmodified and extended half-life FIX products and finally on the role that skeletal muscle myosin plays in prothrombinase assembly and subsequent thrombin generation that could mitigate breakthrough muscle hematomas...

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, particularly in the field of dermatology, has experienced significant progress through the creation of advanced tools such as the Large Language and Vision Assistant (LLaVA). This comprehensive review examines whether LLaVA represents a significant breakthrough or merely a passing trend in dermatological practice. By incorporating both language and visual analysis capabilities, LLaVA aims to support enhanced diagnostic accuracy, patient engagement, and customized treatment planning, as evidenced by current research and case studies...