Articles: ninos.
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Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition of multifactorial origin, is a major cause of irreversible vision loss in industrialized countries. The dry late stage of the disease, known as geographic atrophy (GA), is characterized by progressive loss of photoreceptor cells and retinal pigment epithelial cells in the central retina. An estimated 300 000 to 550 000 people in Germany suffer from GA. ⋯ In Europe at present, there is no approved treatment for GA due to AMD. There is thus a continuing need for preventive and rehabilitative measures such as smoking cessation, a balanced diet, and magnifying visual aids for patients in the advanced stages of the disease.
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Obinutuzumab, a humanized type II anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, provided significantly better renal responses than placebo in a phase 2 trial involving patients with lupus nephritis receiving standard therapy. ⋯ Among adults with active lupus nephritis, obinutuzumab plus standard therapy was more efficacious than standard therapy alone in providing a complete renal response. (Funded by F. Hoffmann-La Roche; REGENCY ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04221477.).
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Unilateral aldosterone-producing adrenal adenomas (APAs) are the potentially curable cause of 5% of all cases of hypertension. Their localisation (via adrenal vein sampling [AVS]) and removal (by laparoscopic adrenalectomy) require invasive procedures that are unattractive to patients. Molecular imaging-located, endoscopic ultrasound-guided trans-gastric radiofrequency ablation (EUS-RFA) is a potential novel, minimally invasive alternative to AVS and total adrenalectomy for the treatment of APAs in the left adrenal gland, which is very close to the stomach. We aimed to determine whether EUS-RFA can safely target a heterogeneous set of such tumours without damaging the rest of the adrenal gland or adjacent organs. ⋯ National Institute for Health and Care Research Biomedical Research Centres at Barts, University College Hospitals, and Cambridge University Hospitals, Barts Charity, and British Heart Foundation.
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Observational Study
The Effect of Parental Weight and Genetics on the BMI of Very Low Birth Weight Infants as They Reach School Age.
Prematurely born individuals are usually of low or normal weight in childhood; in adulthood, however, their probability of being overweight is twice that of persons born at full term. There is not yet any way to predict the weight development of premature babies. ⋯ Extreme values of a polygenic BMI score are strongly associated with the weight development of preterm infants as they develop into children aged 10-14. The large effect size implies that this score may aid in the counseling of prematurely born children and their parents.