Association of 6-Minute Walk Performance and Physical Activity With Incident Ischemic Heart Disease Events and Stroke in Peripheral Artery Disease.

BackgroundWe determined whether poorer 6-minute walk performance and lower physical activity levels are associated with higher rates of ischemic heart disease (IHD) events in people with lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD).Methods and resultsFive hundred ten PAD participants were identified from Chicago-area medical centers and followed prospectively for 19.0±9.5 months. At baseline, participants completed the 6-minute walk and reported number of blocks walked during the past week (physical activity). IHD events were systematically adjudicated and consisted of new myocardial infarction, unstable angina, and cardiac death. For 6-minute walk, IHD event rates were 25/170 (14.7%) for the third (poorest) tertile, 10/171 (5.8%%) for the second tertile, and 6/169 (3.5%) for the first (best) tertile (P=0.003). For physical activity, IHD event rates were 21/154 (13.6%) for the third (poorest) tertile, 15/174 (8.6%) for the second tertile, and 5/182 (2.7%) for the first (best) tertile (P=0.001). Adjusting for age, sex, race, smoking, body mass index, comorbidities, and physical activity, participants in the poorest 6-minute walk tertile had a 3.28-fold (95% CI 1.17 to 9.17, P=0.024) higher hazard for IHD events, compared with those in the best tertile. Adjusting for confounders including 6-minute walk, participants in the poorest physical activity tertile had a 3.72-fold (95% CI 1.24 to 11.19, P=0.019) higher hazard for IHD events, compared with the highest tertile.ConclusionsSix-minute walk and physical activity predict IHD event rates in PAD. Further study is needed to determine whether interventions that improve 6-minute walk, physical activity, or both can reduce IHD events in PAD

Arterial stiffness and Vitamin D levels: the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging

CONTEXT: The importance of vitamin D for bone health has long been acknowledged. Recent evidence suggests that vitamin D can also play a role in reducing the risk of several other diseases, including cardiovascular disease. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH D) is an independent cross-sectional correlate of central arterial stiffness in a normative aging study population. DESIGN AND SETTINGS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis. SUBJECTS: We studied 1228 healthy volunteers (50% males; age, 70\ub112 yr) of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We measured carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) and 25-OH D levels. RESULTS: We found a significant inverse association between PWV and 25-OH D levels (adjusted r2=0.27; \u3b2=-0.43; P=0.001). After adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, season of blood draw, estimated glomerular filtration rate, physical activity level, cardiovascular risk factors score (smoking, visceral obesity, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and diabetes), calcium/vitamin D supplementation, serum calcium, and PTH levels, the association between PWV and 25-OH D levels was only slightly reduced and remained statistically significant (adjusted r2=0.34; \u3b2=-0.34; P=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D levels are inversely associated with increased arterial stiffness in a normative aging population, irrespective of traditional risk factor burden. Further research is needed to understand the mechanism of this association and to test the hypothesis that vitamin D supplementation can reduce arterial stiffness

Colorectal neoplasm detection using virtual colonoscopy: A feasibility study

Abstract Background-Virtual colonoscopy is a potentially powerful tool for non-invasive colorectal evaluation. In vitro studies have established its accuracy in simulated polyp detection but little data exist regarding its use in clinical practice. Aims-To evaluate the ability of virtual colonoscopy to detect colorectal cancers and polyps in patients with endoscopically proven colorectal neoplasms and to correlate the findings of virtual colonoscopy with those of conventional colonoscopy, surgery, and histopathology. Patients-Thirty eight patients with endoscopic findings suggestive of colorectal carcinoma. Methods-Virtual colonoscopy was performed using thin section helical computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen and pelvis after rectal insuZation of room air. Commercially available software was used to generate endoscopic "fly through" examinations of the colon from the CT data. Results were correlated with the findings of conventional colonoscopy and with the surgical and histopathological outcome in each case. Results-Thirty eight pathologically proven colorectal cancers and 23 adenomatous polyps were present. On virtual colonoscopy, all cancers and all polyps measuring greater than 6 mm in size were identified; there were two false positive reports of polyps. On conventional colonoscopy, there was one false positive report of a malignant sigmoid stricture; four subcentimetre polyps were overlooked. Virtual colonoscopy enabled visualisation of the entire colon in 35 patients; conventional colonoscopy was incomplete in 14 patients. Virtual colonoscopy correctly localised all 38 cancers, compared with 32 using conventional colonoscopy. Conclusion-Virtual colonoscopy is a feasible method for evaluating the colon; it may have role in diagnosis of colorectal cancer and polyps. (Gut 1998;43:806-811

CT colonography reporting and data system: A consensus proposal

We have proposed a practical reporting scheme that includes recommendations for the follow-up of colonic polyps that are based on currently available published assessments of the clinical importance and expected growth potential of these lesions. © RSNA, 2005

Baseline Demographics, Comorbidities, Treatment Patterns and Burden of Atopic Dermatitis in Adults and Adolescents from the GLOBOSTAD Long-Term Observational Study

Introduction: Insights into real-world treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD) are relevant to clinical decision making. The aim of this analysis was to characterize patients who receive dupilumab for AD in a real-world setting. Methods: The GLOBOSTAD registry is an ongoing, longitudinal, prospective, observational study of patients with AD who receive dupilumab according to country-specific prescribing information. We report baseline characteristics, comorbidities and treatment patterns for patients enrolled from July 11, 2019 to March 31, 2022. Analyses are descriptive; no formal statistical comparisons were performed. Results: Nine hundred fifty-two adults and adolescents were enrolled in GLOBOSTAD. Patients had a high disease burden before starting dupilumab: (mean [standard deviation]) percent body surface area affected (44.8 [24.42]), Eczema Area and Severity Index total score (24.8 [12.95]), SCORing Atopic Dermatitis total score (60.5 [16.34]), Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure total score (19.7 [6.37]) and Dermatology Life Quality Index total score (13.7 [7.02]). Overall, 741 (77.8%) patients reported ≥ 1 type 2 inflammatory comorbidities, most frequently allergic rhinitis (492 [51.7%]), asthma (323 [33.9%]), food allergy (294 [30.9%]) or another allergy (274 [28.8%]). In the previous 12 months, 310 (32.6%) patients had received systemic non-steroidal immunosuppressants and 169 (17.8%) systemic corticosteroids; 449 (47.2%) had received topical corticosteroids, most commonly potent topical corticosteroids; 141 (14.8%) had received topical calcineurin inhibitors and 32 (3.4%) ultraviolet therapy. Most (713 [74.9%]) patients started dupilumab because of prior treatment failure. Conclusion: Patients enrolled in GLOBOSTAD demonstrated considerable multidimensional burden of disease across AD signs, symptoms and quality of life despite previous use of systemic and non-systemic AD treatments

Distinctive immunoregulatory effects of adenosine on T cells of older humans

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154518/1/fsb2026003033.pd

Results of the seventh edition of the BioASQ Challenge

The results of the seventh edition of the BioASQ challenge are presented in this paper. The aim of the BioASQ challenge is the promotion of systems and methodologies through the organization of a challenge on the tasks of large-scale biomedical semantic indexing and question answering. In total, 30 teams with more than 100 systems participated in the challenge this year. As in previous years, the best systems were able to outperform the strong baselines. This suggests that state-of-the-art systems are continuously improving, pushing the frontier of research.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figure

Protein signatures of centenarians and their offspring suggest centenarians age slower than other humans

Using samples from the New England Centenarian Study (NECS), we sought to characterize the serum proteome of 77 centenarians, 82 centenarians\u27 offspring, and 65 age-matched controls of the offspring (mean ages: 105, 80, and 79 years). We identified 1312 proteins that significantly differ between centenarians and their offspring and controls (FDR \u3c 1%), and two different protein signatures that predict longer survival in centenarians and in younger people. By comparing the centenarian signature with 2 independent proteomic studies of aging, we replicated the association of 484 proteins of aging and we identified two serum protein signatures that are specific of extreme old age. The data suggest that centenarians acquire similar aging signatures as seen in younger cohorts that have short survival periods, suggesting that they do not escape normal aging markers, but rather acquire them much later than usual. For example, centenarian signatures are significantly enriched for senescence-associated secretory phenotypes, consistent with those seen with younger aged individuals, and from this finding, we provide a new list of serum proteins that can be used to measure cellular senescence. Protein co-expression network analysis suggests that a small number of biological drivers may regulate aging and extreme longevity, and that changes in gene regulation may be important to reach extreme old age. This centenarian study thus provides additional signatures that can be used to measure aging and provides specific circulating biomarkers of healthy aging and longevity, suggesting potential mechanisms that could help prolong health and support longevity