Irish journal of medical science
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Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has a critical role in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF drugs is the mainstay of neovascular AMD treatment. Blood neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is shown to be a biomarker of inflammation in AMD. We aimed to investigate the role of NLR in predicting favorable short-term anti-VEGF treatment results in neovascular AMD patients. ⋯ NLR can provide additional prognostic information for the identification of patients with a good initial response to anti-VEGF therapy.
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To investigate the alterations in the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters measured in the hunger and satiety centers of the brain before and after bariatric surgery (BS) in morbidly obese patients. ⋯ The FA and MD changes after BS may be attributed to reversible neuroinflammatory alterations in the hunger and satiety centers. Decreased MD and FA values after BS may be explained by the neuroplastic structural recovery in the related brain locations.
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Since winter 2020/21, general practitioners (GPs) in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) have been granted access to diagnostic imaging studies on a new publicly funded pathway, expediting access to services previously obtained via hospital-based doctors. ⋯ GPs felt enhancing access to diagnostics improved patient care by expediting diagnosis, decision-making, and treatment and by reducing hospital referrals. GPs were generally positive about the initiative and made some suggestions on future management of the initiative.
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With the development of sequencing technologies, there is increasing evidence that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The level of NR_103776.1 expression in SLE and its clinical associations are still not well defined. ⋯ This study not only provided a transcriptome profile of lncRNAs aberrantly expressed in individual nucleated cells of SLE patients but also suggested NR_103776.1 as a novel potential diagnostic biomarker.
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Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most common sexually transmitted viral infection in humans. ⋯ Cancer-related fear and anxiety and LEEP may cause sexual dysfunction in HPV-positive patients.