Electrocardiographic findings in systemic lupus erythematosus: data from an international inception cohort.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked Files. This article is open access.To estimate the early prevalence of various electrocardiographic (EKG) abnormalities in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to evaluate possible associations between repolarization changes (increased corrected QT [QTc] and QT dispersion [QTd]) and clinical and laboratory variables, including the anti-Ro/SSA level and specificity (52 or 60 kd).We studied adult SLE patients from 19 centers participating in the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) Inception Registry. Demographics, disease activity (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000 [SLEDAI-2K]), disease damage (SLICC/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index [SDI]), and laboratory data from the baseline or first followup visit were assessed. Multivariate logistic and linear regression models were used to asses for any cross-sectional associations between anti-Ro/SSA and EKG repolarization abnormalities.For the 779 patients included, mean ± SD age was 35.2 ± 13.8 years, 88.4% were women, and mean ± SD disease duration was 10.5 ± 14.5 months. Mean ± SD SLEDAI-2K score was 5.4 ± 5.6 and mean ± SD SDI score was 0.5 ± 1.0. EKG abnormalities were frequent and included nonspecific ST-T changes (30.9%), possible left ventricular hypertrophy (5.4%), and supraventricular arrhythmias (1.3%). A QTc ≥440 msec was found in 15.3%, while a QTc ≥460 msec was found in 5.3%. Mean ± SD QTd was 34.2 ± 14.7 msec and QTd ≥40 msec was frequent (38.1%). Neither the specificity nor the level of anti-Ro/SSA was associated with QTc duration or QTd, although confidence intervals were wide. Total SDI was significantly associated with a QTc interval exceeding 440 msec (odds ratio 1.38 [95% confidence interval 1.06, 1.79]).A substantial proportion of patients with recent-onset SLE exhibited repolarization abnormalities, although severe abnormalities were rare.Singer Family Fund for Lupus Research Lupus UK NIHR/Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility Korea Healthcare technology R&D project, Ministry for Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea A120404 Canadian Institutes of Health Research MOP-86526 NIHR Manchester Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit Manchester Academic Health Science Centre Arthritis Research U

Adaptation Strategies for Personalized Gait Neuroprosthetics

Personalization of gait neuroprosthetics is paramount to ensure their efficacy for users, who experience severe limitations in mobility without an assistive device. Our goal is to develop assistive devices that collaborate with and are tailored to their users, while allowing them to use as much of their existing capabilities as possible. Currently, personalization of devices is challenging, and technological advances are required to achieve this goal. Therefore, this paper presents an overview of challenges and research directions regarding an interface with the peripheral nervous system, an interface with the central nervous system, and the requirements of interface computing architectures. The interface should be modular and adaptable, such that it can provide assistance where it is needed. Novel data processing technology should be developed to allow for real-time processing while accounting for signal variations in the human. Personalized biomechanical models and simulation techniques should be developed to predict assisted walking motions and interactions between the user and the device. Furthermore, the advantages of interfacing with both the brain and the spinal cord or the periphery should be further explored. Technological advances of interface computing architecture should focus on learning on the chip to achieve further personalization. Furthermore, energy consumption should be low to allow for longer use of the neuroprosthesis. In-memory processing combined with resistive random access memory is a promising technology for both. This paper discusses the aforementioned aspects to highlight new directions for future research in gait neuroprosthetics.AK is funded by a faculty endowment by adidas AG. MA, SKH, NM, MN, RJQ, R-DR, RJT are supported by NSF CPS grant 1739800, VA Merit Reviews A2275-R and 3056, and the NIH (5T32EB004314-15, R01 NS040547-13). MS and AG are funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 803035). AJd-A, JMF-L, and JCM are supported by coordinated grants RTI2018-097290-B-C31/C32/C33 (TAILOR project) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”. MR is funded by the Lo3-ML project by the Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Technology (BMBF) (Funding No. 16ES1142K). AC, SS, and MV were supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the project NGBMI (759370), the Einstein Stiftung Berlin, the ERA-NET NEURON project HYBRIDMIND (BMBF, 01GP2121A and -B) and the BMBF project NEO (13GW0483C)

A randomized cross over trial of tolerability and compliance of a micronutrient supplement with low iron separated from calcium vs high iron combined with calcium in pregnant women [ISRCTN56071145]

BACKGROUND: Prenatal micronutrient combinations with high iron content are associated with high rates of gastrointestinal symptoms. This coupled with nausea and vomiting of pregnancy results in women often discontinuing their multivitamins. A new prescription supplement (PregVit(®)) that separates iron from calcium in two tablets – morning and evening, has lower elemental iron content (35 mg), but results in similar extent of iron absorption when compared to another supplement containing (60 mg) of elemental iron (Materna(®)). The objectives of this study were to compare tolerability and compliance with PregVit(® )vs. a supplement with high iron content (Materna(®)), in pregnant women. METHODS: Randomized, crossover open labeled study in 135 pregnant women attending outpatient clinics in Ontario and Quebec. RESULTS: Use of PregVit(® )was associated with a 30% reduction in constipation rate as compared to Materna(®). Both products demonstrated similar compliance rates. Compliance of Materna(® )was negatively associated with the severity of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. No such correlation was found for PregVvit(®). CONCLUSION: PregVit(®), a supplement with lower iron content (35 mg), has significantly decreased constipation rates as compared to 60 mg iron- Materna and has similar compliance rates. High iron content in multivitamin supplements is associated with adverse effects in pregnancy