Temporomandibular disorders, bite force and osseous changes of the temporomandibular joints in patients with hypermobile Ehlers‐Danlos Syndrome compared to a healthy control group

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Temporomandibular disorders, bite force and osseous changes of the temporomandibular joints in patients with hypermobile Ehlers‐Danlos Syndrome compared to a healthy control group via Journal of Oral Rehabilitation SUMMARY Background Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a hereditary disorder that affects the connective tissue and collagen structures in the body characterized by joint hypermobility, skin hyperextensibility and tissue fragility. Objective The aim was to investigate temporomandibular disorders (TMD), bite force, teeth in occlusal contact and osseous changes of the temporomandibular joints (TMJs) in 26 patients with hypermobile EDS (hEDS), differentiated by a genetic test, compared to 39 healthy controls. METHODS: Clinical examination according to Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD), radiological examinations of the TMJs by cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) scans, registration of bite force and teeth in occlusal contact was performed. Statistical analyses included Fisher's Exact Test, multiple logistic and linear regression models adjusted for age, gender and Body Mass Index (BMI). Results Single symptoms and signs of TMD occurred significantly more often in hEDS (p=0.002; p=0.001; p=0.003; p=<0.0001; p=0.012) and maximum mouth opening was significantly smaller in hEDS compared to controls (p=<0.0001). The DC/TMD diagnosis myalgia, myofascial pain with referral, arthralgia, headache attributed to TMD, disc displacement disorders and degenerative joint disease occurred significantly more often in hEDS compared to controls (p=0.000; p=0.008; p=0.003; p=0.000; p=<0.0001; p=0.010, respectively). No significant differences were found in bite force and in teeth in occlusal contact between the groups (p>0.05). On CBCT of the TMJs, subcortical sclerosis occurred significantly more often in hEDS compared to controls (p=0.005). Conclusion Symptoms and signs of TMD and osseous changes of the TMJs occurred significantly more often in hEDS. Bite force and teeth in occlusal contact were comparable to controls. View on Web

Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Biologic Agents in Plastic Surgery

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Biologic Agents in Plastic Surgery via Seminars in Plastic Surgery Semin Plast Surg 2022; 36: 002-002 DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1743454 Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc. 333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA Article in Thieme eJournals: Table of contents  |  Full text View on Web

Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Efficacy of dexmedetomidine on postoperative pain in patients undergoing gastric and esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection: a study protocol for a randomized controlled prospective trial

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Efficacy of dexmedetomidine on postoperative pain in patients undergoing gastric and esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection: a study protocol for a randomized controlled prospective trial via Trials - Latest Articles Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is widely used as an effective treatment of early gastric and esophageal tumors, as it is minimally invasive, safe, and convenient. Epigastric pain is a common complicati... View on Web

Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Benchmarking Feature Selection Methods in Radiomics

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Benchmarking Feature Selection Methods in Radiomics via Investigative Radiology - Current Issue Objectives A critical problem in radiomic studies is the high dimensionality of the datasets, which stems from small sample sizes and many generic features extracted from the volume of interest. Therefore, feature selection methods are used, which aim to remove redundant as well as irrelevant features. Because there are many feature selection algorithms, it is key to understand their performance in the context of radiomics. Materials and Methods A total of 29 feature selection algorithms and 10 classifiers were evaluated on 10 publicly available radiomic datasets. Feature selection methods were compared for training times, for the stability of the selected features, and for ranking, which measures the pairwise similarity of the methods. In addition, the predictive performance of the algorithms was measured by utilizing the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the best-performing classifier. Results Feature selections differed largely in training times as well as stability and similarity. No single method was able to outperform another one consistently in predictive performance. Conclusion Our results indicated that simpler methods are more stable than complex ones and do not perform worse in terms of area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Analysis of variance, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, and minimum redundancy, maximum relevance ensemble appear to be good choices for radiomic studies in terms of predictive performance, as they outperformed most other feature selection methods. View on Web

Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Homoarginine Treatment of Rats Improves Cardiac Function and Remodeling in Response to Pressure Overload

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Homoarginine Treatment of Rats Improves Cardiac Function and Remodeling in Response to Pressure Overload via Fundamental & Clinical Pharmacology Abstract Background Low serum concentrations of the amino acid homoarginine (HA) are associated with increased cardiovascular mortality by incompletely understood mechanisms. Objectives This study sought to assess the influence of HA on cardiac remodeling in rats undergoing either transaortic banding or inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis by Nω-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME). Methods Male Wistar rats (n=136) underwent a sham operation (SH) or aortic banding (AB). Both groups were equally divided into fourteen subgroups, receiving different doses of HA alone or in combination with lisinopril, spironolactone, or L-NAME over 4 weeks. Results HA treatment in AB animals resulted in a dose-dependent improvement of cardiac function up to a concentration of 800 mg·kg-1·day-1. Combining 800 mg·kg-1·day-1 HA with spironolactone or lisinopril yielded additional effects, showing a positive correlation with LV ejection fraction (+33%, p=0.0002) and fractional shortening (+41%, p=0.0014). An inverse association was observed with collagen area fraction (-41%, p<0.0001), myocyte cross-sectional area (-22%, p<0.0001) and the molecular markers atrial natriuretic factor (-74%, p=0.0091), brain natriuretic peptide (-42%, p=0.0298), beta-myosin heavy chain (-46%, p=0.0411), and collagen type V alpha 1 chain (-73%, p=0.0257) compared to placebo-treated AB animals. Co-administration of HA and L-NAME was found to attenuate cardiac remodeling and prevent NO-deficient hypertension following AB. Conclusion HA treatment has led to a dose-dependent improvement of myocardial function and marked histological and molecular changes in cardiac remodeling following AB. Combining HA with standard heart failure medication resulted in additional beneficial effects boosting its direct impact on heart failure pathophysiology. View on Web

Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Evaluation of clotrimazole prophylaxis on tacrolimus trough concentrations in kidney transplant recipients

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Evaluation of clotrimazole prophylaxis on tacrolimus trough concentrations in kidney transplant recipients via Transplant Infectious Disease Abstract Background Clotrimazole troches are used as prophylaxis against oropharyngeal candidiasis post-transplant and have limited systemic absorption. Following several occurrences of tacrolimus concentration fluctuations after clotrimazole discontinuation, its use as prophylaxis was discontinued post-kidney transplant. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study to evaluate the effect of clotrimazole prophylaxis on tacrolimus trough concentrations post-kidney transplant. The study included adult patients who received a kidney transplant at Cleveland Clinic Main Campus from August 1, 2019 to July 1, 2020 and were maintained on per-protocol, standard-dose tacrolimus through 90 days post-transplant. Patients were excluded if they received cyclosporine, systemic antifungals, strong CYP3A4 inhibitors or inducers, or a simultaneous multiorgan transplant. The primary objective was to compare tacrolimus trough concentrations before and after completion of clotrimazole prophylaxis. Secondary objectives were to compare the time to first post-transplant goal tacrolimus trough concentration, the rate of for-cause allograft biopsies within 90 days after transplant, and the incidence and type of candidiasis within 30 days after transplant, pre- and post- protocol change. Results Following clotrimazole discontinuation, the median tacrolimus trough concentration decreased from 10.5 ng/mL (IQR 8.4-12.2) to 6.6 ng/mL (IQR 5–8.7, p<0.0001). No statistically significant differences in the rate of for-cause allograft biopsies (4.9% vs. 9.7%, p = 0.264) or incidence of candidiasis (1.2% vs. 5.4%, p = 0.217) were observed between those who received clotrimazole and those who did not receive clotrimazole. Conclusions Our study provides further evidence of a significant drug-drug interaction between tacrolimus and clotrimazole among kidney transplant recipients that can potentially lead to negative allograft outcomes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved View on Web

Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Total thyroidectomy versus hemithyroidectomy with intraoperative radiofrequency ablation for unilateral thyroid cancer with contralateral nodules: A propensity score matching study

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Total thyroidectomy versus hemithyroidectomy with intraoperative radiofrequency ablation for unilateral thyroid cancer with contralateral nodules: A propensity score matching study via Most Recent Articles: Journal of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery For unilateral papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients with contralateral benign nodules, optimal treatment decisions are made according to patient preference and the disease's pathological features. This s... View on Web

Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Mendelian randomization analysis for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: studying a broad range of exposures and outcomes

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Mendelian randomization analysis for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: studying a broad range of exposures and outcomes via International Journal of Epidemiology - Advance Access Abstract BackgroundAttention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a highly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors and is often thought as an entry point into a negative life trajectory, including risk for comorbid disorders, poor educational achievement or low income. In the present study, we aimed to clarify the causal relationship between ADHD and a comprehensive range of related traits. Methods We used genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics for ADHD (n = 53 293) and 124 traits related to anthropometry, cognitive function and intelligence, early life exposures, education and employment, lifestyle and environment, longevity, neurological, and psychiatric and mental health or personality and psychosocial factors available in the MR-Base database (16 067 ≤n ≤766 345). To investigate their causal relationship with ADHD , we used two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) with a range of sensitivity analyses, and validated MR findings using causal analysis using summary effect estimates (CAUSE), aiming to avoid potential false-positive results. Results Our findings strengthen previous evidence of a causal effect of ADHD liability on smoking and major depression, and are consistent with a causal effect on odds of decreased average total household income [odds ratio (OR) = 0.966, 95% credible interval (CrI) = (0.954, 0.979)] and increased lifetime number of sexual partners [OR = 1.023, 95% CrI = (1.013, 1.033)]. We also found evidence for a causal effect on ADHD for liability of arm predicted mass and weight [OR = 1.452, 95% CrI = (1.307, 1.614) and OR = 1.430, 95% CrI = (1.326, 1.539), respectively] and time spent watching television [OR = 1.862, 95% CrI = (1.545, 2.246)], and evidence for a bidirectional effect for age of first sexual intercourse [beta� ��= −0.058, 95% CrI = (−0.072, −0.044) and OR = 0.413, 95% CrI = (0.372, 0.457), respectively], odds of decreased age completed full-time education [OR = 0.972, 95% CrI = (0.962, 0.981) and OR = 0.435, 95% CrI = (0.356, 0.533), respectively] and years of schooling [beta = -0.036, 95% CrI = (−0.048, −0.024) and OR = 0.458, 95% CrI = (0.411, 0.511), respectively]. Conclusions Our results may contribute to explain part of the widespread co-occurring traits and comorbid disorders across the lifespan of individuals with ADHD and may open new opportunities for developing preventive strategies for ADHD and for negative ADHD trajectories. View on Web

Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Isolated cerebral toxoplasmosis 17 years post renal transplant

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Isolated cerebral toxoplasmosis 17 years post renal transplant via Transplant Infectious Disease View on Web

Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Extended‐spectrum β‐lactamase‐producing and carbapenem‐resistant Enterobacterales bloodstream infection after solid organ transplantation: recent trends in epidemiology and therapeutic approaches

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Extended‐spectrum β‐lactamase‐producing and carbapenem‐resistant Enterobacterales bloodstream infection after solid organ transplantation: recent trends in epidemiology and therapeutic approaches via Transplant Infectious Disease Abstract Background : Infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli (MDR GNB), in particular extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing (ESBL-E) and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), pose a major threat in solid organ transplantation (SOT). Outcome prediction and therapy are challenging due to the scarcity of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) or well-designed observational studies focused on this population. Methods : Narrative review with focus on the contributions provided by the ongoing multinational INCREMENT-SOT consortium (ClinicalTrials identifier NCT02852902) in the fields of epidemiology and clinical management. Results : The Spanish Society of Transplantation (SET), the Group for Study of Infection in Transplantation of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (GESITRA-SEIMC), and the Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases (REIPI) recently published their recommendations for the management of MDR GNB infections in SOT recipients. We revisit the SET/GESITRA-SEIMC/REIPI document taking into consideration new evidence emerged on the molecular epidemiology, prognostic stratification and treatment of post-transplant ESBL-E and CRE infections. Results derived from the INCREMENT-SOT consortium may support the therapeutic approach to post-transplant bloodstream infection (BSI). The initiatives devoted to spare the use of carbapenems in low-risk ESBL-E BSI or to repurpose existing non-β-lactam antibiotics for CRE in both non-transplant and transplant patients are reviewed, as well as the eventual positioning in the specific SOT setting of recently approved antibi otics. Conclusion : Due to the clinical complexity and relative rarity of ESBL-E and CRE infections in SOT recipients, multinational cooperative efforts such as the INCREMENT-SOT Project should be encouraged. In addition, RCTs focused on post-transplant serious infection remain urgently needed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved View on Web

Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.