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Objective: To compare the real-life effectiveness of biologic therapy (a biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug plus methotrexate [MTX]) versus triple therapy (MTX plus sulfasalazine plus hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine) for sustained remission of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: RA patients who were registered in the nationwide Swedish Rheumatology Quality Register between 2000 and 2012
Background: An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture results in an increased risk of developing knee osteoarthritis (OA) at an early age. Before clinical signs become apparent, the OA process has already been initiated. Therefore, it is important to look at the cascade of changes, such as the activity of cytokines and proteases, which might be associated with the later development of OA. Purpos
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S): Studies of electron FLASH radiotherapy (FLASH-RT) in companion animals are being conducted at several institutions. High energy electron beams are generally suitable for treatment of superficial cancers, but of limited use for deep-seated tumors. In this case report, the feasibility of intracavitary electron FLASH-RT is demonstrated.MATERIALS/METHODS: A canine cancer patient
Importance: Although tramadol is increasingly used to manage chronic noncancer pain, few safety studies have compared it with other opioids. Objective: To assess the associations of tramadol, compared with codeine, with mortality and other adverse clinical outcomes as used in outpatient settings. Design, Setting, and Participants: Retrospective, population-based, propensity score-matched cohort st
Importance: Supplementing preterm infants with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) has been inconsistent in reducing the severity and incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Furthermore, few studies have measured the long-term serum lipid levels after supplementation. Objective: To assess whether ROP severity is associated with serum levels of LC-PUFA, especially docosahexaenoi
Aims: Because evidence regarding risk stratification predicting prognosis of patients with heart failure (HF) decompensation attended in primary care is lacking, we developed and externally validated a model to forecast death/hospitalization during the first 30 days after an episode of decompensation. The predictive model is based on variables easily obtained in primary care settings. Methods and
Malignant melanoma is a heterogeneous, malignant neoplastic disease, most often originating in the skin. Melanoma is characterized by a high mutational load and has a vastly variable prognosis, depending on disease stage. Genetic aberrations in the mitogen-activating protein kinase (MAPK) pathway are important in melanoma, of which mutations in BRAF and NRAS are the most common. Additionally, recu
Background: The prognosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) might be influenced by many sociodemographic and clinical factors. Previous studies have investigated the main effects of critical predictors but few have analyzed potential interactions. We have studied the long-term cognitive outcome, nursing home placement (NHP) and mortality by interactions between factors in cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI)
Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate genetic outcomes, analyze the family experience, and describe the process of implementing genetic sequencing for children with profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) at a tertial audiological center in southern Sweden. Design: This is a prospective pilot study including eleven children with profound bilateral SNHL who underwent cochlear impl
Background: Hepatitis B virus infection is a global health problem with the highest prevalence in East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of infected people, including healthcare workers are unaware of their status. This study is aimed to determining seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus infection and associated factors among healthcare workers in northern Tanzania. Methods: This cross-sectio
Background: Cervical cancer is a public health challenge despite the available free screening service in Ethiopia. Early screening for cervical cancer significantly improves the chances of successful treatment of pre-cancers and cancers among women of reproductive age. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the uptake of screening and identify the factors among women of reproductive age. Methods: A
BACKGROUND: The major risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease differ by race or ethnicity but have largely been defined using populations of European ancestry. Despite the rising prevalence of cardiovascular disease in Africa there are few related data from African populations. Therefore, we compared the association of established cardiovascular risk factors with carotid-intima med
Background: Depression is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aims were to explore the prevalence of depression, anxiety, antidepressant use, obesity, Hemoglobin A1c > 64 mmol/mol, life-style factors, pre-existing CVD, in patients with newly diagnosed T2D; to explore associations with depression; and to compare with Swedish general population data. Methods
The urbanization of landscapes and the increase in impervious land cover materials is known to cause significant changes in the landscape's thermal properties, typically leading to urban heat island (UHI). Although previous studies have investigated the impacts of land cover land use (LULC) and other factors on the urban land surface temperature (LST), the results of such studies are mixed. For in
BACKGROUND: Patients with diabetes have increased rates of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs). We hypothesized that this is explained by diabetes-associated differences in coronary plaque morphology and lipid content. METHODS: In PROSPECT II (Providing Regional Observations to Study Predictors of Events in the Coronary Tree), 898 patients with acute myocardial infarction with or without ST-segme
Background: The failing heart is traditionally described as metabolically inflexible and oxygen starved, causing energetic deficit and contractile dysfunction. Current metabolic modulator therapies aim to increase glucose oxidation to increase oxygen efficiency of adenosine triphosphate production, with mixed results. Methods: To investigate metabolic flexibility and oxygen delivery in the failing
Background and Objectives: There is considerable heterogeneity in the association between increasing β-amyloid (Aβ) pathology and early cognitive dysfunction in preclinical Alzheimer disease (AD). At this stage, some individuals show no signs of cognitive dysfunction, while others show clear signs of decline. The factors explaining this heterogeneity are particularly important for understanding pr
Importance: This follow-up study of extremely preterm (EPT) children (<27 weeks' gestational age [GA] at birth) revealed major eye and visual problems in 37.9% (147 of 388) of all EPT infants and in 55.4% (67 of 121) of the most immature subgroups at 6.5 years of age. These major eye and visual problems were strongly associated with treatment-requiring retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).Objectives:
Background The impact of the prophylactic vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16, and 18 (HPV6/11/16/18) on all HPV-associated genital disease was investigated in a population that approximates sexually naive women in that they were "negative to 14 HPV types" and in a mixed population of HPV-exposed and -unexposed women (intention-to-treat group). Methods This analysis studied
OBJECTIVE: To study intra-aneurysm sac pressure and subsequent abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) diameter changes in patients without endoleaks that remain unchanged in AAA diameter more than 1 year after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). METHODS: A total of 23 patients underwent direct intra-aneurysm sac pressure (DISP) measurements 16 months (IQR: 14-35 months) after EVAR. Tip-pressure sensors
