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Nevin Manimala Statistics

MRI study of medial meniscus degeneration of osteoarthritic knees with or without posterior root tear

J Exp Orthop. 2022 Apr 29;9(1):38. doi: 10.1186/s40634-022-00474-y.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the medial meniscus (MM) degeneration, meniscus extrusion, and tibial joint inclination by using MRI to consider the pathogenesis of posterior root tear (PRT) in medial-type knee osteoarthritis (KOA) both with and without medial meniscus posterior root tear (MMPRT).

METHODS: This study used open MRI with flexion sagittal view and included 324 medial-type osteoarthritic knees with a Kellegren-Lawrence grade of 2 or less. Following the exclusion process, 151 knees were selected for MRI analysis. MM degeneration grading was performed according to Jerosch by 5 degrees of 0-4 in four different portions from anterior to posterior. MM medial extrusion (MMME), MM posterior extrusion (MMPE), medial tibial medial slope (MTMS), and medial tibial posterior slope (MTPS) were measured according to previous studies.

RESULTS: MM degeneration in the anterior portion to MCL averaged 1.72 ± 0.67 in the PRT group (n = 48) and 1.40 ± 0.78 in the non-PRT group (n = 103). The degeneration grade was statistically higher in the PRT group than in the non-PRT group (p = 0.050). There was no difference in MM degeneration in the other three portions. MMME averaged 4.02 ± 1.12 mm in the PRT group and 3.11 ± 1.11 mm in the non-PRT group. MMPE averaged 4.22 ± 0.87 mm in the PRT group and 2.83 ± 1.12 mm in the non-PRT group. Both MMME and MMPE in the PRT group were statistically larger than those in the non-PRT group (p < 0.001). There was no difference in MTMS between the two groups. MTPS averaged 6.34 ± 2.25° in the PRT group and 5.28 ± 2.23° in the non-PRT group. The MTPS of the PRT group was statistically larger than that of the non-PRT group (p = 0.007).

CONCLUSION: The severity of MM degeneration, extrusion of MM, and degree of tibial slope were compared between medial-type KOA with and without PRT using an open MRI. MM degeneration was more severe anteriorly in the PRT group. The PRT group showed larger MMME and MMPE with greater MTPS.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III. Retrospective cohort study.

PMID:35486331 | DOI:10.1186/s40634-022-00474-y

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Preclinical and Toxicology Studies of BRD5529, a Selective Inhibitor of CARD9

Drugs R D. 2022 Apr 29. doi: 10.1007/s40268-022-00389-0. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 9 (CARD9) inhibitor BRD5529 has been shown to be an effective in vitro inhibitor of Pneumocystis β-glucan-induced proinflammatory signaling, suggesting its viability as a candidate for preliminary anti-Pneumocystis drug testing in the rodent Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) model.

METHODS: Mice were injected intraperitoneally (IP) daily with either vehicle or BRD5529 at 0.1 or 1.0 mg/kg for 2 weeks. Mouse weights were taken daily. At day 14, mice were euthanized, weighed, and analyzed by flexiVent™ for lung stiffness. Lungs, liver, and kidney were then harvested for hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and pathology scoring. Lung samples were further analyzed for proinflammatory cytokines via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and extracellular matrix generation via quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Blood collection postmortem was performed for blood chemistry analysis. Furthermore, administration of BRD5529 prior to the intratracheal inoculation of fungal β-glucans, which are known proinflammatory mediators via the Dectin-1-CARD9 pathway, resulted in significant reductions in lung tissue interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α, suggesting the exciting possibility of the use of this CARD9 inhibitor as an additional therapeutic tool in fungal infections.

RESULTS: BRD5529 at both IP doses resulted in no significant changes in daily or final weight gain, and analysis of lung stiffness by flexiVent™ showed no significant differences between the groups. Furthermore, ELISA results of proinflammatory cytokines showed no major differences in the respective groups. qPCR analysis of extracellular matrix transcripts were statistically similar. Examination and pathology scoring of H&E slides from lung, liver, and kidney in all groups, as well as subsequent pathology scoring, showed no significant change. Blood chemistry analysis revealed similar, non-significant patterns.

CONCLUSIONS: In our initial general safety and toxicology assessments, BRD5529 displayed no inherent safety concerns in the analyzed parameters. These data support broader in vivo testing of the inhibitor as a timed adjunct therapy to the deleterious proinflammatory host immune response often associated with anti-Pneumocystis therapy.

PMID:35486318 | DOI:10.1007/s40268-022-00389-0

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Cognitive function after concurrent temozolomide-based chemoradiation therapy in low-grade gliomas

J Neurooncol. 2022 Apr 29. doi: 10.1007/s11060-022-04019-2. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: We sought to evaluate the effects of concurrent temozolomide-based chemoradiation therapy on neurocognitive function in patients with low-grade glioma (LGG).

MATERIALS/METHODS: We included adult patients with LGG who were treated postoperatively with radiotherapy (RT) with concurrent and adjuvant temozolomide (TMZ). Patients were evaluated with comprehensive psychometric tests at baseline (prior to RT + TMZ) and at various time intervals following RT + TMZ. Baseline cognitive performance was analyzed by sex, age, education history, history of seizures, IDH mutation status, and 1p/19q codeletion status. Changes in neurocognitive performance were evaluated over time.

RESULTS: Thirty-seven LGG patients (mean age 43.6, 59.5% male) had baseline neurocognitive evaluation. Patients with an age > 40 years old at diagnosis and those with an education > 16 years demonstrated superior baseline verbal memory as assessed by HVLT. No other cognitive domains showed differences when stratified by the variables mentioned above. A total of 22 LGG patients had baseline and post RT + TMZ neurocognitive evaluation. Overall, patients showed no statistical difference between group mean test scores prior to and following RT + TMZ on all psychometric measures (with the exception of HVLT Discrimination).

CONCLUSION: Cognitive function remained stable following RT + TMZ in LGG patients evaluated prospectively up to 2 years. The anticipated analysis of RTOG 0424 will provide valuable neurocognitive outcomes specifically for high risk LGG patients treated with RT + TMZ.

PMID:35486307 | DOI:10.1007/s11060-022-04019-2

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Factors that Sustained the Integration of Behavioral Health into Nurse-Led Primary Care

Community Ment Health J. 2022 Apr 29. doi: 10.1007/s10597-022-00976-0. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Lack of access to primary and behavioral healthcare is prevalent in communities experiencing systematically greater obstacles to healthcare. This study describes the implementation of the Coordinated Care Model in a nurse-led primary care clinic and identifies the essential factors for sustained integration. A mixed-methods explanatory sequential study design was used to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data. Participants reported an overall statistically significant mean increase (M = 2.47, SD ± 2.01, p < 0.001) in the level of integration pre-and post-integration. Qualitative results indicated that the optimization and accentuation of team strengths, the Lundeen model of holistic care, and addressing physical and psychological barriers lead to sustained level of integration. Integrated practices are essential in assessing and supporting the holistic needs of individuals, families, and communities. Future studies should examine facilitators or impediments to integrated practice in other healthcare settings, long-term health outcomes of clients in integrated care, and the cost-effectiveness of integration.

PMID:35486305 | DOI:10.1007/s10597-022-00976-0

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Statistical and individual characteristics-based reconstruction for craniomaxillofacial surgery

Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg. 2022 Apr 29. doi: 10.1007/s11548-022-02626-y. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: In craniomaxillofacial (CMF) surgery planning, a preoperative reconstruction of the CMF reference model is crucial for surgical restoration, especially the reconstruction of bilateral defects. Current reconstruction algorithms mainly generate reference models from the image analysis aspect, however, clinical indicators of the CMF reference model mostly consider the distribution of anatomical landmarks. Generating a reference model with optimal clinical evaluation helps promote the feasibility of an algorithm.

METHODS: We first build a dataset with 100 normal skull models and then calculate a statistical shape model (SSM) and the distribution of normal cephalometric values, which indicate the statistical features of a population. To further generate personalized reference models, we apply non-rigid registration to align the SSM with the defect skull model. An evaluation standard to select the optimal reference model considers both global performance and anatomical evaluation. Moreover, we develop a landmark detection network to improve the automatic level of the algorithm.

RESULTS: The proposed method performs better than methods including Iterative Closest Point and SSM. From a global evaluation aspect, the results show that the RMSE between the reference model and the ground truth is [Formula: see text] mm, the percentage of vertices with error below 2 mm is [Formula: see text]% and the average faces distance is [Formula: see text] mm (better than the state-of-the-art method). From the anatomical evaluation aspect, the target registration error between the landmark pairs is [Formula: see text] mm. In addition, the clinical application confirms that the reference model can meet clinical requirements.

CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, we propose the first CMF reconstruction method considering the global performance of reconstruction and anatomically local evaluation from clinical experience. Simulated experiments and clinical cases prove the general applicability and strength of the method.

PMID:35486302 | DOI:10.1007/s11548-022-02626-y

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Effect of COVID-19 Lockdowns on Physical Activity, Eating Behavior, Body Weight and Psychological Outcomes in a Post-Bariatric Cohort

Obes Surg. 2022 Apr 29. doi: 10.1007/s11695-022-06069-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Little is known about the consequences of COVID-19 lockdowns on physical activity (PA), eating behavior, and mental health in post-bariatric surgery (BS) patients. We aimed to analyze the relations between changes in PA during COVID-19 lockdowns and changes in body weight and a comprehensive set of lifestyle and psychological outcomes in patients who have undergone BS.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: In April-May 2020 (lockdown#1), we performed an online survey in a cohort of 937 adults who underwent BS and were followed-up at our university medical center for at least one year. We assessed changes in PA, eating behavior, body weight, fatigue, and depression (PHQ-9). In November-December 2020 (lockdown#2), we recorded body weight in 280 patients who had reported decreased PA during lockdown #1.

RESULTS: During lockdown #1 (N = 420 patients included, 44% response rate), decreased PA was reported by 67% patients. Compared to those who reported increased or unchanged PA, patients with decreased PA were more likely to report a ≥ 5% weight gain (OR (95% CI): 3.15 (1.46-7.65), increased fatigue (2.08 (1.36-3.23)), a worsening of eating behavior (2.29 (1.47-3.58)), and moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms (4.74 (2.14-11.76)). During lockdown #2 (N = 225 patients, 80% response rate), significant weight gain since before lockdown #1 was reported (+ 2.8 (95% CI: 1.7-3.8) kg, p < 0.001), with 36% patients reporting a ≥ 5% weight gain.

CONCLUSIONS: PA may counteract detrimental effects of COVID-19 lockdown on post-BS weight trajectories and mental health outcomes. Follow-up measures are needed in this setting to assess the long-term impact of lockdown.

PMID:35486289 | DOI:10.1007/s11695-022-06069-x

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Correlations Between Endocrine Hormones and Cognitive Function in Patients with Obesity: a Cross-sectional Study

Obes Surg. 2022 Apr 29. doi: 10.1007/s11695-022-06076-y. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Obesity not only affects physical and mental conditions, but also influences cognitive function. Endocrine hormones may influence the risk of obesity and severe obesity. Our study investigated the influences of changes in levels of endocrine hormones on cognitive function in patients with obesity and severe obesity.

METHODS: We used the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) to evaluate cognitive function in the groups of healthy control (HC), obesity (OB), and severe obesity (SOB). We detected the levels of endocrine hormones and cortisol at 8:00 am in the three groups. We statistically analyzed differences in cognitive function and levels of endocrine hormones among the three groups, and performed linear correlation analysis of cortisol level and cognitive function. Using mediation analysis, we assessed the influences of body mass index (BMI) on endocrine levels and cognitive function.

RESULTS: Our findings revealed that OB and SOB groups exhibited a lower level of cortisol than HC group. Among the three groups, we found significant differences in verbal learning (F = 4.433, P = 0.014), social cognition (F = 4.778, P = 0.010), and total cognition (F = 2.989, P = 0.008). After post hoc Bonferroni correction, we noted that SOB group had worse scores in the above-mentioned three areas than OB and HC groups. Moreover, except for working memory and visual cognition, we identified that the degree of cognitive impairment in SOB group was more severe than that in OB group. In our study, mediation analysis showed a mediating effect of BMI on cortisol level and verbal learning. We also found correlations between cortisol level and attention/alertness (r = 0.277, P = 0.003), between cortisol level and verbal learning (r = 0.205, P = 0.030), and between BMI and verbal learning (r = – 0.192, P = 0.043).

CONCLUSION: In our study, patients in both OB and SOB groups experienced a widespread cognitive impairment. We also found that patients with severe obesity had more severe cognitive impairment. Cognitive impairment could be mediated by abnormal cortisol metabolism, and BMI could be a mediating factor in regulation of cortisol level.

PMID:35486288 | DOI:10.1007/s11695-022-06076-y

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The Clinical Impact of Apical Lymph Node Metastasis of Colorectal Cancer After Curative Resection

J Gastrointest Cancer. 2022 Apr 29. doi: 10.1007/s12029-022-00828-w. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The present study aimed to investigate the clinical implications of apical lymph node metastasis (ALNM) after curative resection of stage III colorectal cancer.

METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted of 1403 consecutive colorectal cancer patients who underwent surgical resection at a single institution between April 2008 and January 2020. The characteristics of ALNM, the recurrence status and the relapse-free survival (RFS) were examined.

RESULTS: The numbers of patients with stage ≤ I, II, III, and IV disease were 350, 437, 476, and 140 patients, respectively. Among these patients with stage III disease, ALNM was seen in 21 patients (4.4% of stage III patients). Among them, curative resection was performed in 19 patients. Recurrence was observed in 68% (13/19) of the patients with ALNM who received curative resection. The first sites of recurrence included the lymph nodes 53.8% (7/13), liver 30.8% (4/13), lung 15.4% (2/13), brain 7.7% (1/13), bone 7.7% (1/13), and peritoneum 7.7% (1/13). There was no significant difference in the RFS of patients with ALNM who were managed with or without adjuvant chemotherapy (P = 0.207). Furthermore, the RFS of the group managed without adjuvant chemotherapy and the group that received adjuvant chemotherapy with/without oxaliplatin did not differ to a statistically significant extent (P = 0.318). In stage III colorectal cancer patients with ALNM, recurrence was observed significantly more frequently in comparison to stage III colorectal cancer patients without ALNM (P = 0.007). The first site of recurrence in patients with ALNM was most frequently seen in the distant lymph nodes (P = 0.004).

CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that ALNM is strongly associated with recurrence in the distant lymph nodes and that it may lead to the development of systemic disease. The current regimen for stage III colorectal cancer may therefore not be sufficient for patients with stage III ALNM.

PMID:35486262 | DOI:10.1007/s12029-022-00828-w

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Evaluating Strategies For Tuberculosis to Achieve the Goals of WHO in China: A Seasonal Age-Structured Model Study

Bull Math Biol. 2022 Apr 29;84(6):61. doi: 10.1007/s11538-022-01019-1.

ABSTRACT

Although great progress has been made in the prevention and mitigation of TB in the past 20 years, China is still the third largest contributor to the global burden of new TB cases, accounting for 833,000 new cases in 2019. Improved mitigation strategies, such as vaccines, diagnostics, and treatment, are needed to meet goals of WHO. Given the huge variability in the prevalence of TB across age-groups in China, the vaccination, diagnostic techniques, and treatment for different age-groups may have different effects. Moreover, the statistics data of TB cases show significant seasonal fluctuations in China. In view of the above facts, we propose a non-autonomous differential equation model with age structure and seasonal transmission rate. We derive the basic reproduction number, [Formula: see text], and prove that the unique disease-free periodic solution, [Formula: see text] is globally asymptotically stable when [Formula: see text], while the disease is uniformly persistent and at least one positive periodic solution exists when [Formula: see text]. We estimate that the basic reproduction number [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]), which means that TB is uniformly persistent. Our results demonstrate that vaccinating susceptible individuals whose ages are over 65 and between 20 and 24 is much more effective in reducing the prevalence of TB, and each of the improved vaccination strategy, diagnostic strategy, and treatment strategy leads to substantial reductions in the prevalence of TB per 100,000 individuals compared with current approaches, and the combination of the three strategies is more effective. Scenario A (i.e., coverage rate [Formula: see text], diagnosis rate [Formula: see text], relapse rate [Formula: see text]) is the best and can reduce the prevalence of TB per 100,000 individuals by [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] in 2035 and 2050, respectively. Although the improved strategies will significantly reduce the incidence rate of TB, it is challenging to achieve the goal of WHO in 2050. Our findings can provide guidance for public health authorities in projecting effective mitigation strategies of TB.

PMID:35486232 | DOI:10.1007/s11538-022-01019-1

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Upper extremity firearm injuries: epidemiology and factors predicting hospital admission

Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol. 2022 Apr 29. doi: 10.1007/s00590-022-03258-3. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Civilian gun violence is a public health crisis in the USA that will be an economic burden reported to be as high as $17.7 billion with over half coming from US taxpayers dollars through Medicaid-related costs. The purpose of this study is to review the epidemiology of upper extremity firearm injuries in the USA and the associated injury burden.

METHODS: The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research’s Firearm Injury Surveillance Study database, collected from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, was queried from 1993 to 2015. The following variables were reviewed: patient demographics, date of injury, diagnosis, injury location, firearm type (if provided), incident classification, and a descriptive narrative of the incident. We performed chi-square testing and complex descriptive statistics, and binomial logistic regression model to predict factors associated with hospital admission.

RESULTS: From 1993 to 2015, an estimated 314,369 (95% CI: 291,528-337,750; 16,883 unweighted) nonfatal firearm upper extremity injuries with an average incidence rate of 4.76 per 100,000 persons (SD: 0.9; 03.77-7.49) occurred. The demographics most afflicted with nonfatal gunshot wound injuries were black adolescent and young adult males (ages 15-24 years). Young adults aged 25-34 were the second largest estimate of injuries by age group. Hands were the most commonly injured upper extremity, (55,014; 95% CI: 75,973-89,667) followed by the shoulder, forearm, and upper arm. Patients who underwent amputation (OR: 28.65; 95% CI: 24.85-33.03) or with fractures (OR: 26.20; 95% CI: 23.27-29.50) experienced an increased likelihood for hospitalization. Patients with a shoulder injury were 5.5× more likely to be hospitalized than those with a finger injury (OR:5.57; 95% CI:5.35-5.80). The incidence of upper extremity firearm injuries has remained steady over the last decade ranging between 4 and 5 injuries per 100,000 persons. Patients with proximal injuries or injuries involving the bone were more likely to require hospital admission. This study should bring new information to the forefront for policy makers regarding gun violence.

PMID:35486233 | DOI:10.1007/s00590-022-03258-3