Medicine
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Body mass index (BMI) is positively associated with survival in heart failure (HF) patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, emerging evidence shows that this benefit may not exist in diabetic patients with HFrEF. As this relationship has not been investigated in Asian patients, the aim of this study was to examine the association between obesity and outcomes in HrEFF patients with and without diabetes mellitus (DM), and discuss the potential underlying mechanisms. ⋯ In non-diabetic patients with HFrEF, BMI was a significant predictor of survival. However, in diabetic patients with HF, BMI was not a significant predictor of survival. Diastolic dysfunction in patients with DM and obesity may have played a role in this finding.
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Complications from COVID-19 vaccines have yet to be sufficiently analyzed because they are rapidly approved without long-term data. In particular, there are no case reports of lymphedema in a healthy patient following vaccination. Herein, we report a patient who underwent transient lymphedema after vaccination with BNT16b2. ⋯ In the absence of clinical evidence of swelling during laboratory evaluation or ultrasonographic investigations suggesting deep vein thrombosis, we should consider the possibility of lymphatic disorders.
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The incidence of stroke may be increased in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). We aimed to investigate the specific risk factors for the development of ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke in stable CAD patients. Patients with stable CAD were prospectively enrolled for future cardiovascular events in Taiwan. ⋯ Age and ARB use were related to ICH onset. Baseline MPO level and statin use were independently associated with longer and shorter future ischaemic stroke onset in stable CAD patients, respectively. Further studies are indicated to confirm the potential mechanisms and advance individual risk stratification for the onset of different types of stroke in clinical CAD.
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A high-cholesterol diet increases the risk of bladder cancer. The purpose of this nationwide longitudinal population-based retrospective cohort study is to investigate whether hyperlipidemia is a risk factor for bladder cancer. Data from Taiwan National Health Insurance Database were analyzed. ⋯ However, the risk of bladder cancer was not significantly different between women in the hyperlipidemia cohort and those in the non-hyperlipidemia cohort. Subgroup analyses further revealed that the risk of bladder cancer was significantly higher in men aged 20 to 39 years in the hyperlipidemia cohort than in those in the non-hyperlipidemia cohort (adjusted HR = 5.45, P = .029). In conclusion, hyperlipidemia is a risk factor for bladder cancer in young adult men.
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Case Reports
Effects of intraocular treatments for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) retinitis: A case report.
Intraocular infection of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may cause severe visual loss. However, it is relatively rare, and there is no consensus on its treatment. ⋯ The retinal infiltration may have involved EBV infection to the retinal neurons but also EBV-free reactive inflammatory cells. EBV infection to the neurons may have been, at least partially, treated by intravitreal foscarnet treatment, and the reactive inflammatory cells by intravitreal MTX. Further observations are warranted to reach a consensus on treating intraocular EBV infection.