Serum creatinine as a predictor of functional and anatomical success in diabetic tractional retinal detachment

Pacientes con Desprendimiento de retina traccional diabéticoObjectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate pre-operative, intraoperative, and post-operative factors associated with functional and anatomical success in patients with diabetic tractional retinal detachment (TRD) treated with pars plana vitrectomy (PPV). Material and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with diabetic TRD surgically repaired with PPV between March 2014 and February 2015 at the Instituto de Oftalmología Fundación de Asistencia Privada Conde de Valenciana, IAP in Mexico City. A total of 250 records were reviewed and 85 met the inclusion criteria. Pre-operative, intraoperative, and post-operative variables were obtained from all records. Statistical analysis included Fisher’s exact test, Kruskal–Wallis test, and Mann–Whitney U test. Results: A total of 88 eyes of 85 patients were included in the study. The average patient age at the time of the surgery was 51.53 years (SD ± 11.99). At post-operative month (POM) 1, a greater pre-operative serum creatinine value and a greater surgical duration were associated with a worse anatomical success (P = 0.032; P = 0.014). At POM 1, 31% of the eyes with macula-involved TRD and 57.5% of the eyes without macula-involved TRD achieved visual success (P = 0.013, Fisher’s exact test). Conclusion: A greater pre-operative serum creatinine value was associated with a worse visual and anatomical outcome at POM 1. A macula-involved TRD was associated with a worse visual outcome at POM 3. Post-operative complications were associated with a worse functional and/or anatomical success at the final follow-up visit (P < 0.05).https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1310-9852Revista Internacional - No indexadaN

Mental Health, Substance Use, and the Importance of Religion during the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 impacted multiple facets of life, with implications on physical, mental, and societal health. Specifically, long COVID and related losses have exacerbated complex and prolonged grief responses and mental disorders including depression and anxiety. These mental health concerns are in turn associated with increased detrimental coping strategies including substance use disorders (SUD). The social and interpersonal implications of SUD are varied. Secondary data analyses from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) collected during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed an increase in substance use behaviors and mental health problems. Self-reported religious activities had a positive meditating effect on reducing substance use behaviors. Accordingly, we explored the importance of one\u27s religion and faith in coping with stress, grief, and mental health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the impact of religion and faith in bringing hope and purpose during periods of loss, grief, mental health challenges, and SUD

Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Receptor β Is Critical for Zebrafish Intersegmental Vessel Formation

Background: Platelet-derived growth factor receptor β (PDGFRβ) is a tyrosine kinase receptor known to affect vascular development. The zebrafish is an excellent model to study specific regulators of vascular development, yet the role of PDGF signaling has not been determined in early zebrafish embryos. Furthermore, vascular mural cells, in which PDGFRβ functions cell autonomously in other systems, have not been identified in zebrafish embryos younger than 72 hours post fertilization. Methodology/Principal Findings: In order to investigate the role of PDGFRβ in zebrafish vascular development, we cloned the highly conserved zebrafish homolog of PDGFRβ. We found that pdgfrβ is expressed in the hypochord, a developmental structure that is immediately dorsal to the dorsal aorta and potentially regulates blood vessel development in the zebrafish. Using a PDGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, a morpholino oligonucleotide specific to PDGFRβ, and a dominant negative PDGFRβ transgenic line, we found that PDGFRβ is necessary for angiogenesis of the intersegmental vessels. Significance/Conclusion: Our data provide the first evidence that PDGFRβ signaling is required for zebrafish angiogenesis. We propose a novel mechanism for zebrafish PDGFRβ signaling that regulates vascular angiogenesis in the absence of mural cells

Influence of Fatigue, Depression and Anxiety on Quality of Life in Pregnant Women with Preterm Labor

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify effects of fatigue, depression and anxiety on quality of life in pregnant women with preterm labor. METHODS: With a survey design, data were collected from 138 mothers who were admitted at a hospital in Seoul, between June 2014 and September 2015. Instruments used to collect the data for the study were: Fatigue Continuum Form, Depression anxiety stress scale (DASS-21) and maternal postpartum quality of life (MAPP-QOL). RESULTS: The mean fatigue score was 68.30 with 50.7% of women being depressed and 79.7% of the 138 women being anxious. The mean quality of life was 18.92 with quality of life being associated with fatigue, depression and anxiety. Depression and fatigue explained 26% of the variance in quality of life. CONCLUSION: Depression and fatigue adversely affected women&apos;s quality of life. It is important to address appropriate management of depression and fatigue in order to improve quality of life in pregnant women with preterm labor

Development of a multi-channel NIRS-USG hybrid imaging system for detecting prostate cancer and improving the accuracy of imaging-based diagnosis: a phantom study

Purpose This study aimed to develop a multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and ultrasonography (USG) fusion imaging system for imaging prostate cancer and to verify its diagnostic capability by applying the hybrid imaging system to a prostate cancer phantom. Methods A multi-channel NIRS system using the near-infrared 785-nm wavelength with 12 channels and four detectors was developed. After arranging the optical fibers around a USG transducer, we performed NIRS imaging and grayscale USG imaging simultaneously. Fusion imaging was obtained by processing incoming signals and the spatial reconstruction of NIRS, which corresponded with grayscale USG acquired at the same time. The NIRS-USG hybrid system was applied to a silicone-based optical phantom of the prostate gland containing prostate cancer to verify its diagnostic capability qualitatively. Results The NIRS-USG hybrid imaging system for prostate cancer imaging simultaneously provided anatomical and optical information with 2-dimensional registration. The hybrid imaging system showed more NIR attenuation over the prostate cancer model than over the model of normal prostate tissue. Its diagnostic capability to discriminate a focal area mimicking the optical properties of prostate cancer from the surrounding background mimicking the optical properties of normal prostate tissue was verified by applying the hybrid system to a silicone-based optical phantom of prostate cancer. Conclusion This study successfully demonstrated that the NIRS-USG hybrid system may serve as a new imaging method for improving the diagnostic accuracy of prostate cancer, with potential utility for future clinical applications

Laboratory information management system for COVID-19 non-clinical efficacy trial data

Background : As the number of large-scale studies involving multiple organizations producing data has steadily increased, an integrated system for a common interoperable format is needed. In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a number of global efforts are underway to develop vaccines and therapeutics. We are therefore observing an explosion in the proliferation of COVID-19 data, and interoperability is highly requested in multiple institutions participating simultaneously in COVID-19 pandemic research. Results : In this study, a laboratory information management system (LIMS) approach has been adopted to systemically manage various COVID-19 non-clinical trial data, including mortality, clinical signs, body weight, body temperature, organ weights, viral titer (viral replication and viral RNA), and multiorgan histopathology, from multiple institutions based on a web interface. The main aim of the implemented system is to integrate, standardize, and organize data collected from laboratories in multiple institutes for COVID-19 non-clinical efficacy testings. Six animal biosafety level 3 institutions proved the feasibility of our system. Substantial benefits were shown by maximizing collaborative high-quality non-clinical research. Conclusions : This LIMS platform can be used for future outbreaks, leading to accelerated medical product development through the systematic management of extensive data from non-clinical animal studies.This research was supported by the National research foundation of Korea(NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIT) (2020M3A9I2109027 and 2021M3H9A1030260)

Genome-Wide Association Study in East Asians Identifies Novel Susceptibility Loci for Breast Cancer

Genetic factors play an important role in the etiology of both sporadic and familial breast cancer. We aimed to discover novel genetic susceptibility loci for breast cancer. We conducted a four-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) in 19,091 cases and 20,606 controls of East-Asian descent including Chinese, Korean, and Japanese women. After analyzing 690,947 SNPs in 2,918 cases and 2,324 controls, we evaluated 5,365 SNPs for replication in 3,972 cases and 3,852 controls. Ninety-four SNPs were further evaluated in 5,203 cases and 5,138 controls, and finally the top 22 SNPs were investigated in up to 17,423 additional subjects (7,489 cases and 9,934 controls). SNP rs9485372, near the TGF-β activated kinase (TAB2) gene in chromosome 6q25.1, showed a consistent association with breast cancer risk across all four stages, with a P-value of 3.8×10−12 in the combined analysis of all samples. Adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) were 0.89 (0.85–0.94) and 0.80 (0.75–0.86) for the A/G and A/A genotypes, respectively, compared with the genotype G/G. SNP rs9383951 (P = 1.9×10−6 from the combined analysis of all samples), located in intron 5 of the ESR1 gene, and SNP rs7107217 (P = 4.6×10−7), located at 11q24.3, also showed a consistent association in each of the four stages. This study provides strong evidence for a novel breast cancer susceptibility locus represented by rs9485372, near the TAB2 gene (6q25.1), and identifies two possible susceptibility loci located in the ESR1 gene and 11q24.3, respectively