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Purpose: To evaluate the difference in mortality of patients treated with ivermectin vs patients treated with remdesivir with COVID-19 in United States using TriNetX Research network, a federated EMR network of over 44 healthcare organizations and 68 million patients from US, from 2009-2021. Methods & Materials: We retrospectively identified adults (≥18 years) with a recorded COVID-19 infection between January 1, 2020 and July 11, 2021. We compared those with recorded use of ivermectin, but not remdesivir, against those with recorded use of remdesivir, but not ivermectin. We controlled for the following demographics, comorbidities, and treatments that may affect COVID-19 survival outcomes: age, gender, race, ethnicity, nicotine use diabetes mellitus, obesity, chronic lower respiratory disease, ischemic heart diseases, tocilizumab, glucocorticoids, or ventilator use. We measured association with mortality as the primary outcome, with significance assessed at p

Abstract  The systems Pd(II)-Cl−-HA-H2O (where HA are the conformers of 2-methylamino-1-phenylpropan-1-ol) were studied. The acid dissociation constants of the ligands HA and the resulting complexes were determined by pH-metric titration and mathematical modeling. The pH-distribution diagram of the complex species in the system containing different HA conformers was obtained. The complexes (H2A)2[PdCl4] were obtained and structurally characterized; their toxicity and radioprotective effects were estimated. The biological activity of the complexes was found to depend on both the ligand basicity and the hydrogen bonding system formed by different conformers of the ligand in the cation-anion complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peyronie's Disease, which is known to have racial/ethnic disparities in the general population, has never been studied in the veteran population. We compared the diagnosis and treatment rates for Peyronie's Disease among United States veterans of various racial-ethnic backgrounds at Veterans Affairs medical centers, which are equal-access systems. We queried the Veterans Affair Informatics and Computing Infrastructure to identify 17,647 Peyronie's Disease patients in the United States by ICD-9 or ICD-10 code between 2015-2020. We assessed demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, Veterans Affairs facility information, and treatment patterns. Racial-ethnic demographics of veterans with Peyronie's Disease were 71.4% White, 15.4% Black, 5.8% Hispanic, 1.6% Native American, 0.3% Asian, and 5.4% unknown. Treatment rate was 13.6% overall, 13.6% of Whites (ref), 14.3% of Blacks (p = 0.2985), 13.5% of Hispanics (p = 0.9205), 9.1% of Asians (p = 0.3319), 16.7% of Native Americans (p = 0.1406), and 9.6% of unknown (p = 0.0041). White patients were more likely to receive injectional therapy and less likely to undergo surgery than Black patients. Peyronie's Disease patients at Veterans Affairs facilities are treated at the same rate, indicating that equal-access healthcare systems may mitigate racial-ethnic disparities. Further research is necessary to account for differences in disease severity and Veterans Affairs surgeon availability., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

DYT-TOR1A or DYT1 early-onset generalized dystonia is an inherited movement disorder characterized by sustained muscle contractions causing twisting, repetitive movements, or abnormal postures. The majority of the DYT1 dystonia patients have a trinucleotide GAG deletion in DYT1/TOR1A . Trihexyphenidyl (THP), an antagonist for excitatory muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M1, is commonly used to treat dystonia. Dyt1 heterozygous ΔGAG knock-in (KI) mice, which have the corresponding mutation, exhibit impaired motor-skill transfer. Here, the effect of THP injection during the treadmill training period on the motor-skill transfer to the accelerated rotarod performance was examined. THP treatment reversed the motor-skill transfer impairment in Dyt1 KI mice. Immunohistochemistry showed that Dyt1 KI mice had a significant reduction of the dorsolateral striatal cholinergic interneurons. In contrast, Western blot analysis showed no significant alteration in the expression levels of the striatal enzymes and transporters involved in the acetylcholine metabolism. The results suggest a functional alteration of the cholinergic system underlying the impairment of motor-skill transfer and the pathogenesis of DYT1 dystonia. Training with THP in a motor task may improve another motor skill performance in DYT1 dystonia., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interests., (© 2021 The Authors.)

Objectives : To explore the use of novel technologies in sperm retrieval in men with azoospermia due to a production defect. Methods : We performed a Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA)-compliant systemic literature review for manuscripts focussed on novel sperm-retrieval methods. We identified 30 studies suitable for qualitative analysis. Results and Conclusions : We identified multiple new promising technologies, each with its own distinct set of benefits and limitations, to enhance chances of sperm retrieval; these include the use of multiphoton microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and full-field optical coherence tomography during a microdissection-testicular sperm extraction procedure. ORBEYE and ultrasonography technologies can also serve to better visualise areas of sperm production. Finally, artificial intelligence technology can play a role in the identification of sperm and, perhaps, better-quality sperm for use with assisted reproduction. Abbreviations: AI: artificial intelligence; ANN: artificial neural network; ART: assisted reproductive technology; 3D: three-dimensional; DNN: deep neural networks; FFOCT: full-field optical coherence tomography; H&E: haematoxylin and eosin; ICSI: intracytoplasmic sperm injection; IVF: in vitro fertilisation; MESA: micro-epididymal sperm aspiration; MeSH: Medical Subject Heading; MPM: multiphoton microscopy; (N)OA: (non-)obstructive azoospermia; SCO: Sertoli cell-only syndrome; SRR: sperm retrieval rates; TESA: testicular sperm aspiration; (micro-)TESE: (microdissection-) testicular sperm extraction; (CE)US: (contrast-enhanced) ultrasonography., (© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

DYT1 early-onset generalized torsion dystonia is a hereditary movement disorder characterized by abnormal postures and repeated movements. It is caused mainly by a heterozygous trinucleotide deletion in DYT1/TOR1A, coding for torsinA. The mutation may lead to a partial loss of torsinA function. Functional alterations of the basal ganglia circuits have been implicated in this disease. Striatal dopamine receptor 2 (D2R) levels are significantly decreased in DYT1 dystonia patients and in the animal models of DYT1 dystonia. D2R-expressing cells, such as the medium spiny neurons in the indirect pathway, striatal cholinergic interneurons, and dopaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia circuits, contribute to motor performance. However, the function of torsinA in these neurons and its contribution to the motor symptoms is not clear. Here, D2R-expressing-cell-specific Dyt1 conditional knockout (d2KO) mice were generated and in vivo effects of torsinA loss in the corresponding cells were examined. The Dyt1 d2KO mice showed significant reductions of striatal torsinA, acetylcholine metabolic enzymes, Tropomyosin receptor kinase A (TrkA), and cholinergic interneurons. The Dyt1 d2KO mice also showed significant reductions of striatal D2R dimers and tyrosine hydroxylase without significant alteration in striatal monoamine contents or the number of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. The Dyt1 d2KO male mice showed motor deficits in the accelerated rotarod and beam-walking tests without overt dystonic symptoms. Moreover, the Dyt1 d2KO male mice showed significant correlations between striatal monoamines and locomotion. The results suggest that torsinA in the D2R-expressing cells play a critical role in the development or survival of the striatal cholinergic interneurons, expression of striatal D2R mature form, and motor performance. Medical interventions to compensate for the loss of torsinA function in these neurons may affect the onset and symptoms of this disease., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)