Plos One
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Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive disease of unknown etiology. The diagnosis is based on the identification of a pattern of usual interstitial pneumonia either by high resolution computed tomography and/or histology. However, a similar pattern can be observed in other fibrotic lung disorders, and precise diagnosis remains challenging. Studies on biomarkers contributing to the differential diagnosis are scanty, and still in an exploratory phase. Our aim was to evaluate matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-28, which has been implicated in abnormal wound healing, as a biomarker for distinguishing IPF from fibrotic non-IPF patients. ⋯ These findings indicate that MMP28 might be a useful biomarker to improve the diagnostic certainty of IPF.
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This study assessed the ability of the Acute Physiologic and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score, Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) score to predict the outcome of OHCA patients who underwent therapeutic hypothermia (TH). ⋯ The APACHE II score, SAPS II, SOFA score, and OHCA score have different capabilities in discriminating and estimating hospital mortality and neurologic outcomes. The OHCA score, APACHE II score and SAPS II at time zero and 48 h offer moderate predictive accuracy. Other scores at 0 h and 48 h, except for the SOFA score, are independently associated with 30-day mortality and poor cerebral performance.
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To determine rates of adverse events (AEs) related to deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery or implanted devices from a large series from a single institution. Sound comparisons with the literature require the definition of unambiguous categories, since there is no consensus on the reporting of such AEs. ⋯ The proposed categories are suited for an unequivocal assessment of AEs even in a retrospective manner and useful for benchmarking. AE rates in the present cohorts from our institution compare favorable with the literature.
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Observational Study
Amount and pattern of physical activity and sedentary behavior are associated with kidney function and kidney damage: The Maastricht Study.
Chronic kidney disease, which is defined as having a reduced kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)) and/or signs of kidney damage (albuminuria), is highly prevalent in Western society and is associated with adverse health outcomes, such as cardiovascular disease. This warrants a search for risk factors of lower eGFR and higher albuminuria. Physical activity and sedentary behavior may be such risk factors. ⋯ Physical activity and sedentary behavior were associated with kidney function and kidney damage. Additionally, sedentary behavior patterns were associated with kidney function. Causal studies are required to examine whether this indeed implicates that prevention strategies should focus not only on increasing physical activity, but on reducing sedentary behavior as well.
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Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) has been associated with cancer aggressiveness, but studies focused on specific tumors are lacking. In this pilot study we investigated whether SDB is associated with breast cancer (BC) aggressiveness. ⋯ Our results do not support an association between the presence or severity of SDB and BC aggressiveness.