Raymcintyre1771

The surgical findings were similar between the groups, except for the total surgical duration and blood loss (medians), which were significantly shorter and lower in the BS group than in the absorbable thread group (70 vs. 100 min; p = 0.01, 50 vs. 100 mL; p = 0.02). Regarding findings of SLL, no significant differences in the incidence of postoperative wound adhesions were found between the groups (BS, 4/22 [18.2%] versus absorbable thread, 8/22 [36.4%]; p = 0.31).

Our data indicated that the incidence of postoperative adhesion following the use of BS for wound closure in laparoscopic myomectomy was similar to that following the use of conventional suture.

Our data indicated that the incidence of postoperative adhesion following the use of BS for wound closure in laparoscopic myomectomy was similar to that following the use of conventional suture.

For early gastric cancer (EGC) treated using endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) with poor curability defined by the Japanese Guidelines (non-curative EGC, N-EGC), additional gastrectomy has been recommended. However, N-EGC patients without additional gastrectomy often die of other diseases within a relatively short interval after ESD. It has been unclear whether additional gastrectomy is beneficial or not for such patients. The aim of this study was to clarify predictors for short-term survival of N-EGC patients without additional gastrectomy after ESD.

One hundred six N-EGC patients without additional gastrectomy were included in this study. Factors related to short-term survival, defined as death within 3 years after ESD, were evaluated using uni- and multivariate analyses by comparing patients with and without short-term survival (Groups S and C, respectively).

During the mean follow-up period of 89 months, 39 patients died (14 patients died within 3 years, being Group S). The cause of death was dditional gastrectomy after non-curative ESD. Since the cause of death for most patients was not gastric cancer, observational follow-ups without additional gastrectomy might be a reasonable option for patients with a poor general status indicated by a CCI ≥3.

Severe comorbidity indicated by a high CCI score (≥3) was the independent predictor for short-term survival for EGC patients without additional gastrectomy after non-curative ESD. Since the cause of death for most patients was not gastric cancer, observational follow-ups without additional gastrectomy might be a reasonable option for patients with a poor general status indicated by a CCI ≥3.

The aim of this study wasto investigate the efficacy of tacrolimus treatment in patients with refractory generalized myasthenia gravis (MG) and explore its impact on lymphocytic phenotypes and related cytokines mRNA expression.

A total of 24 refractory generalized MG patients were enrolled. Before treatment and at 2, 6, and 12 months after tacrolimus treatment, the therapeutic effect was evaluated by the quantitative MG score of the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (QMG), Manual Muscle Test (MMT), MG-specific Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL), 15-item Myasthenia Gravis Quality-of-Life Scale (MG-QOL15), and changes of prednisone dosage. Also, we used the flow cytometer for the lymphocytic immunophenotyping and real-time PCR for the qualification of cytokine mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) at different time points during the treatment.

Significantly decreased QMG, MMT, MG-ADL, and MG-QOL15 were observed at all time points during the tacrolimus treatment. The dosage of prednisone also reduced at the end of the observation period with only 6 adverse events reported. The immunological impact of tacrolimus was revealed by reduced percentages of Tfh, Breg, CD19+BAFF-R+ B cells, and increased percentages of Treg cells as well as down-regulated expression of IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, and IL-13 mRNA levels in PBMCs during the treatment.

Our study indicated the clinical efficacy of tacrolimus in patients with refractory generalized MG. The underlying immunoregulatory mechanism of tacrolimus may involve alterations in the phenotypes of peripheral blood lymphocytes and Th1/Th2-related cytokine expression of PBMCs.

Our study indicated the clinical efficacy of tacrolimus in patients with refractory generalized MG. The underlying immunoregulatory mechanism of tacrolimus may involve alterations in the phenotypes of peripheral blood lymphocytes and Th1/Th2-related cytokine expression of PBMCs.

Patients with cancer may be more susceptible to and have higher morbidity and mortality rates from COVID-19 than the general population, while epidemiologic data specifically addressed to hematologic patients are limited. To investigate whether patients with hematologic diseases undergoing therapy are at increased risk for acquiring SARS CoV-2 infection compared to the general population, a retrospective study was carried out at a referral hematologic center in Rome, Italy, during the period of the greatest epidemic spread (March 8 to May 14, 2020).

All adult and pediatric patients with a diagnosis of a neoplastic or a nonneoplastic hematologic disease who underwent treatment (chemotherapy or immunosuppressive or supportive therapy) during the study period or in the previous 6 months were considered. The prevalence of COVID-19 in the overall outpatient and inpatient population undergoing hematologic treatment compared to that of the general population was analyzed. The measures taken to manage patients dufected by malignancies, was not significantly higher compared to that of the general population. Definition of adapted strategies for healthcare services, while continuing to administer the standard hematologic treatments, represents the crucial challenge for the management of hematologic diseases in the COVID-19 era.

In our experience, the prevalence of COVID-19 in hematologic patients, mainly affected by malignancies, was not significantly higher compared to that of the general population. Definition of adapted strategies for healthcare services, while continuing to administer the standard hematologic treatments, represents the crucial challenge for the management of hematologic diseases in the COVID-19 era.

Soy isoflavones and their metabolites such as equol have been associated with a reduced risk of hormone-sensitive tumors and metabolic syndromes. However, individual soy isoflavones and equol levels in atopic dermatitis remain uninvestigated.

The aim of this study is to compare the levels of urinary daidzein, genistein, and equol between atopic dermatitis patients and normal subjects and to examine the correlation between equol concentration and the severity of clinical symptoms.

A cross-sectional study was conducted at Akita University Hospital and Aso Iizuka Hospital in Japan. Fifty patients with confirmed atopic dermatitis diagnosis and 67 healthy controls were recruited. Daidzein, genistein, and equol in urine were measured by using a high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry system.

Urinary equol levels were significantly lower in the atopic dermatitis patients than in the healthy controls (p = 0.002). The difference was particularly noticeable in young people (6-19 years, p < 0.001). No correlations were found between urinary equol levels and the severity of clinical symptoms and laboratory data in the atopic dermatitis patients.

Equol levels in childhood might be involved in the development of atopic dermatitis.

Equol levels in childhood might be involved in the development of atopic dermatitis.OVOL proteins (OVOL1 and OVOL2), vertebrate homologs of Drosophila OVO, are critical regulators of epithelial lineage determination and differentiation during embryonic development in tissues such as kidney, skin, mammary epithelia, and testis. OVOL can inhibit epithelial-mesenchymal transition and/or can promote mesenchymal-epithelial transition. Moreover, they can regulate the stemness of cancer cells, thus playing an important role during cancer cell metastasis. Due to their central role in differentiation and maintenance of epithelial lineage, OVOL overexpression has been shown to be capable of reprogramming fibroblasts to epithelial cells. Here, we review the roles of OVOL-mediated epithelial differentiation across multiple contexts, including embryonic development, cancer progression, and cellular reprogramming.

Data from the US suggest that chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients have aged in the past decade. However, the burden of non-liver comorbidities have not been well characterized in Taiwan, where CHB is very prevalent.

Our study examined this issue as it presented between 2001 and 2011in Taiwan.

This study identified adult patients (≥18 years) who were diagnosed with CHB in 2001, 2006, and 2011, from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD). AZD3514 Androgen Receptor inhibitor Changes in demographic characteristics, prevalence of non-liver comorbidities, and medication usage over the decade were examined. Non-CHB controls were adults without CHB diagnosis from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000 (LHID2000).

A total of 102,158, 252,809, and 338,200 eligible patients were identified in 2001, 2006, and 2011, respectively. The mean age significantly advanced from 45.4 to 52.3 years over the decade (P<0.001). The prevalence of comorbidities, including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, stroke, chronic kidney disease, and bone fracture all significantly increased between 2001 and 2011 (all P<0.001), as so were medication usage (all P<0.001). Moreover, within each study period, compared to non-CHB controls, CHB patients were also older and more likely to have metabolic and cardiovascular comorbidities (all P<0.001). In addition, the annual non-liver mortality in the CHB population significantly increased from 2001 to 2011.

Over a decade, the CHB population in Taiwan has aged with a higher non-liver comorbidity burden and increasing non-liver mortality. These findings may provide information to care providers in the monitoring and management of CHB patients.

Over a decade, the CHB population in Taiwan has aged with a higher non-liver comorbidity burden and increasing non-liver mortality. These findings may provide information to care providers in the monitoring and management of CHB patients.

Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a frequent cerebrovascular disorder and still associated with high mortality and poor clinical outcomes. The purpose of this review was to update a 15-year-old former meta-analysis on randomized clinical trials (RCTs) addressing the question of whether ICH patients treated with dexamethasone have better outcomes than controls.

The electronic databases PubMed, SCOPUS, and Cochrane as well as web platforms on current clinical trials were searched for the years 1970-2020 without constriction on language. Data were extracted and outcomes were pooled for conventional and cumulative meta-analysis using a commercial software program (www.Meta-Analysis.com).

Finally, 7 RCTs were identified and analyzed including 248 participants in the dexamethasone groups and 242 in the control groups. Five studies showed a high risk of bias. The overall relative risk (RR) for death was 1.32 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.99-1.76; p = 0.06) and did not differ significantly between the 2 groups.