Exosome swarms eliminate airway pathogens and provide passive epithelial immunoprotection through nitric oxide

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First‐in‐human,phase I/IIa study of CRLX301, a nanoparticle drug conjugate containing docetaxel,in patients with advanced or metastatic solid malignancies

Investigational New Drugs - Background This was a phase I/IIa study to investigate the tolerability, efficacy and pharmacokinetics (PK)/ pharmacodynamics (PD) of CRLX301, CDP-based nanoparticle...     

RELIEF: A Digital Health Tool for the Remote Self-Reporting of Symptoms in Patients with Cancer to Address Palliative Care Needs and Minimize Emergency Department Visits

The lack of timely symptom reporting remains a barrier to effective symptom management and comfort for patients with cancer-related palliative care needs. Poor symptom management at home can lead to unwanted outcomes, such as emergency department visits and death in hospital. We developed and evaluated RELIEF, a remote symptom self-reporting app for community patients with palliative care needs. A pilot feasibility study was conducted at a large, community hospital in Ontario, Canada. Patients self-reported their symptoms each morning using validated clinical symptom measures and RELIEF would alert for worsening or severe symptoms. RELIEF alerts were monitored by palliative care nurses who would then contact patients to determine if appropriate clinical intervention could be initiated to avoid unnecessary emergency department visits. A total of 20 patients were recruited to use RELIEF for two months. Patients completed 80% of daily self-report assessments; 133 alerts were trigged, half of which required clinical intervention. No patient visited the emergency department for symptom management during the study. Clinical staff estimated five emergency department visits were avoided because of RELIEF—saving an estimated cost of over CAD 60,000. RELIEF is a feasible and acceptable method for the remote monitoring of patients with palliative care needs through regular symptom self-reporting.     

Serum lipids and lipoproteins and carotid artery wall intima-media thickness in a population of menopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the influence of aging on serum lipids and lipoproteins in menopausal women and to determine whether arterial hypertension can determine carotid artery wall intima-media thickening in these subjects. DESIGN: We assessed cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and carotid artery wall intima-media thickness in 729 menopausal women aged 40-65 years, divided into four age groups (40-45 years, 46-50 years, 51-55 years, and 56-60 years). RESULTS: Serum lipids and lipoproteins rose progressively in the different age groups. Carotid wall thickness also increased and was more evident when accompanied by arterial hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that elevated serum lipids and lipoproteins are interrelated with increased carotid artery wall intima-media thickness. Moreover, they showed the benefits of hormone replacement therapy.     

The CHD8 overgrowth syndrome: A detailed evaluation of an emerging overgrowth phenotype in 27 patients

CHD8 has been reported as an autism susceptibility/intellectual disability gene but emerging evidence suggests that it additionally causes an overgrowth phenotype. This study reports 27 unrelated patients with pathogenic or likely pathogenic CHD8 variants (25 null variants, two missense variants) and a male:female ratio of 21:6 (3.5:1, p < .01). All patients presented with intellectual disability, with 85% in the mild or moderate range, and 85% had a height and/or head circumference ≥2 standard deviations above the mean, meeting our clinical criteria for overgrowth. Behavioral problems were reported in the majority of patients (78%), with over half (56%) either formally diagnosed with an autistic spectrum disorder or described as having autistic traits. Additional clinical features included neonatal hypotonia (33%), and less frequently seizures, pes planus, scoliosis, fifth finger clinodactyly, umbilical hernia, and glabellar hemangioma (≤15% each). These results suggest that, in addition to its established link with autism and intellectual disability, CHD8 causes an overgrowth phenotype, and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with increased height and/or head circumference in association with intellectual disability.     

Congenital Humero-radio-ulnar Synostosis with Constriction Ring and Flexion Contracture of the Fingers: A Case Report

ABSTRACT Congenital humero-radio-ulnar synostosis (HRUS) is a rare malformation. Some cases are hereditary in origin and some are sporadic. We report on a sporadic case of HRUS.
A patient with HRUS is described who had constriction ring on the left upper limb and flexion contracture of the wrist joint and fingers. There was no range of motion nor crease at the elbow joint. Hypoesthesia was noted at the distal part of the ring of the upperarm as she did not respond to pin-prick. But circulatory failure like cyanosis or congestion was not seen on the extremity. No operation was performed to release the constrictive ring because it was not so deep. Only splint was applied to correct flexion contracture of the thumb, middle finger and ring finger. Three months later, examination of the thumb and fingers showed full extention. The sense to pain by pin-prick has been improved as the ring on the upperarm shallowed. A minor ischemic change may have been caused by the ring and followed by the contracture and the sensory disturbance. Synostosis also may have been related with the ring.     

PULPAL TEMPERATURE INCREASE WITH HIGH-SPEED HANDPIECE,ER:YAG LASER AND ULTRASOUND TIPS

The aim of this study was to compare intrapulpal temperature increase produced by high-speed handpiece, Er:YAG laser and CVDentus ultrasound tips during cavity preparation. Thirty bovine mandibular incisors with an enamel/dentin thickness of 4 mm at buccal surface had their roots amputated and were allocated to the following groups (n=10): Group I- high-speed handpiece; Group II- noncontact Er:YAG laser (250 mJ/4Hz); and Group III- CVDentus ultrasouns tips. All devices were used with water cooling. Class V cavities were prepared to a depth of 3.5 mm, measured with a periodontal probe. A type T thermocouple was placed inside the pulp chamber to determine the temperature increase (°C), which was recorded by a data acquisition system ADS 2000 IP (Lynx Technology) linked to a notebook computer. Data were analyzed statistically by oneway ANOVA and Tukey''s test (p=0.05). The mean temperature rises were: 1.10°C (±0.56) for Group I, 0.84°C (±0.55) for Group II, and 3.00°C (± 1.34) for Group III. There were no statistically significant differences (p>0.05) between Groups I and II, but both of them differed significantly from Group III (p<0.05). In conclusion, the use of Er:YAG laser and high-speed handpiece for cavity preparation resulted in similar temperature increase. Although ultrasound tips generated significantly higher intrapulpal temperature increase, it remained below the critical value of 5.5°C and may be considered safe for use.