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miR-150-3p and miR-4314 showed relatively high fold changes (1.5 or higher). The levels of ALDH2-related miRNAs (miR-30d-5p, -6127, -6130 and -6133) were not significantly different between the countries. miR-150-3p and miR-4314 are candidates of miRNAs that may be involved in the ethnic difference in sensitivity to alcohol through modifying the expression of ADH1B.The field of acute stroke treatment has made tremendous progress in reducing the overall burden of disability. Understanding the pathophysiology of acute ischemic injury, neuroimaging to quantify the extent of penumbra and infarction, and acute stroke reperfusion therapies have together contributed to these advancements. In this review we highlight advancements in reperfusion therapies for acute ischemic stroke.

Multiple blood parameters are used to determine the prognosis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Mean platelet volume/platelet count (MPV/PC) ratio is related to disease progression in various cancers. GSK-3 cancer Our study tried to evaluate the prognostic value of the MPV/PC ratio in RCC patients who underwent surgery.

We retrospectively reviewed 89 patients who underwent radical or partial nephrectomy for RCC in a single institution. Baseline characteristics and MPV/PC ratios were analyzed. The optimal cut-off value of the MPV/PC ratio was determined by a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and our patients were divided into low and high MPV/PC ratio groups. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve and Cox proportional hazards model were applied for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) analyses. Harell’s C-index was used to compare the prognostic values of the MPV/PC ratio, MPV and PC.

Lower MPV/PC ratios were correlated with more advanced tumor stages and worse outcomes. The optimal cut-off value of the preoperative MPV/PC ratio was 0.034 (sensitivity 84.6%, specificity 56.6%). The Kaplan-Meier survival curve revealed that low MPV/PC ratios were associated with worse PFS (

= 0.007) and OS (

= 0.017). Multivariate analysis showed that low MPV/PC ratios were an independent unfavorable factor for PFS (

= 0.044) and OS (

= 0.015). Harell’s C-indexes showed that the prognostic value of the MPV/PC ratio was significantly better than MPV and PC (

< 0.001).

Low MPV/PC ratios are an independent, unfavorable risk factor for disease progression and overall survival in patients undergoing surgery for RCC.

Low MPV/PC ratios are an independent, unfavorable risk factor for disease progression and overall survival in patients undergoing surgery for RCC.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is an acquired complex disease with patients suffering from the cardinal symptoms of fatigue, post-exertional malaise (PEM), cognitive impairment, pain and autonomous dysfunction. ME/CFS is triggered by an infection in the majority of patients. Initial evidence for a potential role of natural regulatory autoantibodies (AAB) to beta-adrenergic (AdR) and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (M-AChR) in ME/CFS patients comes from a few studies.

Here, we analyzed the correlations of symptom severity with levels of AAB to vasoregulative AdR, AChR and Endothelin-1 type A and B (ETA/B) and Angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor in a Berlin cohort of ME/CFS patients (

= 116) by ELISA. The severity of disease, symptoms and autonomic dysfunction were assessed by questionnaires.

We found levels of most AABs significantly correlated with key symptoms of fatigue and muscle pain in patients with infection-triggered onset. The severity of cognitive impairment correlated with AT1-R- and ETA-R-AAB and severity of gastrointestinal symptoms with alpha1/2-AdR-AAB. In contrast, the patients with non-infection-triggered ME/CFS showed fewer and other correlations.

Correlations of specific AAB against G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) with symptoms provide evidence for a role of these AAB or respective receptor pathways in disease pathomechanism.

Correlations of specific AAB against G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) with symptoms provide evidence for a role of these AAB or respective receptor pathways in disease pathomechanism.Instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR)-guided coronary revascularization has similar clinical outcomes compared to fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided revascularization strategy. However, some studies have shown a discordance of around 20% between iFR and FFR. Although various factors have been reported in the literature to affect pressure indices and lead to such discordance, there is a paucity of data regarding the effect of diastolic dysfunction on functional assessment of coronary arteries. Our study aimed to investigate whether there was an association between echocardiographic left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and iFR/FFR discordance. This retrospective observational study evaluated 100 patients with angiographically intermediate coronary stenosis (50-70%) who underwent physiological testing with iFR and FFR. Transthoracic echocardiograms were reviewed to assess echocardiographic indices of diastolic function. The study population was divided into two groups based on diastolic function. iFR and FFR discordance was measured in each group and compared to evaluate the statistical difference. The mean age of the study population was 66.22 ± 10.02 years. Discordance between iFR and FFR was seen in 45.16% of patients with diastolic dysfunction compared to 24.64% of patients with normal diastolic function (p = 0.04). Multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated that echocardiographic E/e’ was independently associated with iFR/FFR discordance (p = 0.02). Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is a significant factor that can lead to discordance between iFR and FFR and should be taken into account during coronary physiological testing.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-term efficacy and safety of cataract surgery for patients with iris-fixated phakic intraocular lenses (pIOLs). This study included 96 eyes of 91 patients. The changes in the logMAR uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), subjective spherical equivalent (SE), astigmatism, and endothelial cell density (ECD) were collected retrospectively. The intraoperative and postoperative complications also were investigated to assess the surgical safety. The preoperative UCVA and BCVA improved significantly at month 1 postoperatively, respectively (p less then 0.001 for both comparisons). The efficacy and safety index at month 1 postoperatively were 1.02 ± 0.56 and 1.31 ± 0.64, respectively. The SE at month 1 postoperatively was significantly (p less then 0.001) higher compared to preoperatively, whereas the subjective astigmatism did not differ significantly (p = 0.078). The ECD significantly decreased at month 1 (p less then 0.001). The most common postoperative complication was intraocular pressure elevation exceeding 25 mmHg in 10.4% of eyes, which was controlled with medications in all cases until month 1 postoperatively. No intraoperative complications developed. Cataract surgeries for patients with iris-fixated pIOLs were performed safely with good visual outcomes.Phenylketonuria (PKU), an autosomal-recessive inborn error of phenylalanine (Phe) metabolism is the most prevalent disorder of amino acid metabolism. Currently, clinical follow-up relies on frequent monitoring of Phe levels in blood. We hypothesize that the urine level of phenylacetylglutamine (PAG), a phenyl-group marker, could be used as a non-invasive biomarker. In this cross-sectional study, a validated liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method was used for urinary PAG quantification in 35 participants with hyperphenylalaninemia (HPA) and 33 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. We have found that (a) PKU patients present higher urine PAG levels than healthy control subjects, and that (b) there is a significant correlation between urine PAG and circulating Phe levels in patients with HPA. In addition, we show a significant strong correlation between Phe levels from venous blood samples and from capillary finger-prick dried blood spot (DBS) samples collected at the same time in patients with HPA. Further research in order to assess the potential role of urine PAG as a non-invasive biomarker in PKU is warranted.

The aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy (PDT) to steroid therapy in the treatment of oral lichen planus (OLP). Due to the lack of commercially available drug carriers, innovative proprietary solutions were used for both the photosensitiser and the steroid carrier-in the first case to shorten and in the second to extend the contact of the active substance with the mucosa.

A prospective, randomised, single-blind, 12-week full contralateral split-mouth clinical trial of 30 patients with bilateral oral lichen planus was conducted. The prepared matrices were incorporated with active substances methylene blue 5% and 0,05% triamcinolone. The size of lesions, Thongprasom, ABISIS, and VAS scale were evaluated.

Relatively high rates of complete remission of lichen were demonstrated immediately after treatment, 33.3% with PDT and 22.2% with triamcinolone (TA), and after 3 months, 54.2% with PDT and 62.9% with TA. After 3 months of treatment, a reduction in the area of evaluated lesions of 52.7% for PDT and 41.7% for TA was achieved.

In situations of topical or general contraindications to oral corticosteroids, resistance to them, or the need for repeated treatment in a short period of time, PDT appears to be a very promising treatment option.

In situations of topical or general contraindications to oral corticosteroids, resistance to them, or the need for repeated treatment in a short period of time, PDT appears to be a very promising treatment option.The incidence of lung nodules has increased with improved diagnostic imaging and screening protocols. Despite improvements for diagnosing pulmonary nodules with technologies such as electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy (ENB), several limitations still exist including adequate visualization, localization, and diagnostic yield. Robotic-assisted bronchoscopy with ENB has been introduced as a method to overcome these shortcomings. We describe our initial experience in evaluating lung nodules with robotic assisted bronchoscopy. We retrospectively reviewed data on the first 25 patients that underwent robotic-assisted bronchoscopy and biopsy. We analyzed success with localization, diagnostic yield, and post procedural morbidity. Diagnostic yield was 96% (24/25) with no periprocedural morbidity. The majority of nodules were malignant or atypical (76%) and were located in the right upper lobe. Diameter ranged between 0.8-6.9 cm (median size 1-2 cm). Seventy-five percent of patients underwent subsequent treatment for cancer based on these results, with 25% having continued surveillance. Robotic assisted bronchoscopy is safe and accurate. Studies with larger numbers will allow better understanding of the diagnostic yield and clinical utility of this approach in comparison to other diagnostic tools for lung nodules.

A growing body of evidence suggests a strong association between atrial fibrillation (AF) and cancer. A relevant number of patients with a present or former malignant disease with highly symptomatic drug-refractory AF are in need of interventional therapy. Data on the safety and efficacy of catheter ablation in these patients are sparse. The present study aims to analyze the safety and efficacy of cryoballoon-based pulmonary vein isolation (CB-PVI) for symptomatic AF in patients with past or present cancer disease.

Consecutive patients undergoing CB-PVI for symptomatic AF at University Hospital Lübeck, Germany between July 2015 and January 2019 were included in this study. Propensity-score based matching was performed to identify comparable patients with and without cancer disease and further analyze clinical characteristics, periprocedural complications and arrhythmia-free survival. A total of 70 patients with a history of cancer undergoing CB-PVI were matched to 70 patients without a history of cancer. The frequency of complications was similar between patients with and without a history of cancer (

= 0.