Bmc Med
-
Observational Study
SSRI use during acute COVID-19 and risk of long COVID among patients with depression.
Long COVID, also known as post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), is a poorly understood condition with symptoms across a range of biological domains that often have debilitating consequences. Some have recently suggested that lingering SARS-CoV-2 virus particles in the gut may impede serotonin production and that low serotonin may drive many Long COVID symptoms across a range of biological systems. Therefore, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which increase synaptic serotonin availability, may be used to prevent or treat Long COVID. SSRIs are commonly prescribed for depression, therefore restricting a study sample to only include patients with depression can reduce the concern of confounding by indication. ⋯ These findings suggest that SSRI use during acute COVID-19 may be protective against Long COVID, supporting the hypothesis that serotonin may be a key mechanistic biomarker of Long COVID.
-
Multicenter Study
Enhancing radiologist's detection: an imaging-based grading system for differentiating Crohn's disease from ulcerative colitis.
Delayed diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is common, there is still no effective imaging system to distinguish Crohn's Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC) patients. ⋯ IBD-RADS can help radiologists distinguish between CD and UC in patients with suspected IBD.
-
Multicenter Study
Physical activity levels are positively related to progression-free survival and reduced adverse events in advanced ER+ breast cancer.
Increased levels of physical activity are associated with a reduction of breast cancer mortality, especially in postmenopausal women with positive hormone receptor status. So far, previous observational case-control and cohort studies have focused on associations between overall leisure time physical activity and survival of women with breast cancer in general. ⋯ Physical activity behavior prior to medical treatment might have prognostic value in patients with advanced breast cancer in terms of extending the PFS. Moreover, physical activity before and during treatment may reduce treatment-related side effects and improve patients' QoL and fatigue.
-
Very few studies to date investigated the prospective association of changes in exposure to the food environment with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. We aim to explore if time-varying exposure to the food environment was associated with hospitalization and mortality due to total and specific types of CVD in The Netherlands. ⋯ In this observational longitudinal study, changes in exposure to a healthier food environment over 14 years were associated with a risk reduction in CVD hospitalization and mortality, in particular in urbanized areas and for younger adults and those with higher incomes.
-
Post-COVID-19 Syndrome (PCS) entails a spectrum of symptoms, including fatigue, reduced physical performance, dyspnea, cognitive impairment, and psychological distress. Given the effectiveness of exercise-based rehabilitation for PCS, this study examined the efficacy of rehabilitation for PCS patients, focusing on sex-specific differences. ⋯ Rehabilitation improves cardiopulmonary fitness, pulmonary function and disease burden in women and men with long-term PCS. Women with PCS may benefit from intensified respiratory muscle training. Clinical assessment should include cardiopulmonary exercise testing and pulmonary function tests and fatigue assessments for all PCS patients to document limitations and tailor therapeutical strategies.