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• Pulmonary hypertension associated with congenital heart disease is a major cause of mortality in pediatrics. • Gold standard diagnosis includes right heart catheterization, which itself is of high risk. • In adults with congenital heart disease-pulmonary arterial hypertension, high mobility group box-1 (HGMB1) correlated with mean pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance, and fell in response to sildenafil therapy. • Our study failed to demonstrate HGMB1 as a biomarker for pulmonary hypertension in children with congenital heart disease. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a devastating complication of pediatric congenital heart disease (CHD). A recent study has identified the protein high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) as a diagnostic tool in adults with CHD-associated PAH. HMGB1 levels in adults with CHD-associated PAH correlated with mean pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance, and HGMB1 levels fell in response to sildenafil therapy. We wanted to assess if HGMB1 was a biomarker of pediatric CHD-PAH. Prospective cohort study. Quaternary pediatric academic hospital Children ≤18 years with CHD with and without known pulmonary hypertension. Controls were children undergoing dental or urologic surgery with no known heart disease. Pulmonary hemodynamics, echocardiographic assessment, and biomarker measurement. Controls had biomarker measurement only. Patients with CHD-PAH had mean pulmonary vascular resistance index of 10 Wood units/m2. Neither HGMB1 nor N-terminal pro-brain-type natriuretic peptide levels were significantly different between the groups. Neither marker correlated with pulmonary hypertension. Unlike in adults, HGMB1 is not a biomarker of PAH in pediatric CHD. Further work will continue to explore for biomarkers for this high-risk population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Exercise offers significant health benefits, promoting normal body system functioning, healthy growth, development, and overall well-being. Aims and Objectives: Therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine the effect of short-term high-intensity exercise (HIE) on hematological biomarkers and acute responses in athletes, as well as changes in these biomarkers immediately after 10 and 20 min of HIE. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Physical Education, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (UP). A total of 20 healthy male athletes with an age range of 22 to 26 years were randomly selected. All participants performed HIE for 5 min with maximal effort. Blood samples for selected hematological biomarkers were collected before exercise, immediately after exercise, and 10 and 20 min after the HIE. Results: A repeated measures analysis of variance with a Greenhouse-Geisser correction revealed that red blood corpuscles (F = 58.447; P < 0.05.), white blood cells (F = 59.778; P < 0.05), platelets (F = 23.794; P < 0.05), and hemoglobin (F = 46.853; P < 0.05) responses differed statistically significantly between time points. Post hoc analysis with a Bonferroni adjustment revealed that their response was significantly increased immediately after the HIE, reduced 10 min after the exercise, and closely returned to baseline levels after 20 min of exercise. Conclusion: HIE causes an inflammatory response in the blood by elevating the hematological biomarkers. These findings can be taken into consideration to develop high-intensity training programs for athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The gut microbiome is a complex system within the human gastrointestinal tract. The bacteria play a significant role in human health, and some can promote inflammation and pathologic processes through chemical interactions or metabolites. Gut microbiome dysbiosis has been linked to some neurological and other diseases. Here we aimed to examine microbiome differences between patients with a progressive neurological disorder, idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH), compared with healthy controls (CO). Methods: We recruited 37 neurologically healthy CO and 10 patients with shunted iNPH. We evaluated these participants' cognition using the CERAD-NB test battery and CDR test, and collected a variety of information, including about dietary habits and health. We also collected fecal samples, which were subjected to 16S amplicon sequencing to analyze differences in gut microbiome composition. Results: We found that the iNPH group exhibited significantly different abundances of 10 bacterial genera compared with the CO group. The Escherichia/Shigella and Anaeromassilibacillus genera were most remarkably increased. Other increased genera were Butyrivibrio , Duncaniella , and an unidentified genus. The decreased genera were Agathobaculum , Paramuribaculum , Catenibacterium , and 2 unidentified genera. Conclusions: Here we report the first identified microbiome differences in iNPH patients compared with healthy controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite considerable advancement of first choice treatment (pharmacological, physical therapy, etc.) over many decades, neurological disorders still represent a major portion of the worldwide disease burden. Particularly concerning, the trend is that this scenario will worsen given an ever expanding and aging population. The many different methods of brain stimulation (electrical, magnetic, etc.) are, on the other hand, one of the most promising alternatives to mitigate the suffering of patients and families when conventional treatment fall short of delivering efficacious treatment. With applications in virtually all neurological conditions, neurostimulation has seen considerable success in providing relief of symptoms. On the other hand, a large variability of therapeutic outcomes has also been observed, particularly in the usage of noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) modalities. Borrowing inspiration and concepts from its pharmacological counterpart and empowered by unprecedented neurotechnological advancement, the neurostimulation field has seen in recent years a widespread of methods aimed at the personalization of its parameters, based on biomarkers of the individuals being treated. The rationale is that, by taking into account important factors influencing the outcome, personalized stimulation can yield a much-improved therapy. Here, we review the literature to delineate the state-of-the-art of personalized stimulation, while also considering the important aspects of the type of informing parameter (anatomy, function, hybrid), invasiveness, and level of development (pre-clinical experimentation versus clinical trials). Moreover, by reviewing relevant literature on closed loop neuroengineering solutions in general and on activity dependent stimulation method in particular, we put forward the idea that improved personalization may be achieved when the method is able to track in real time brain dynamics and adjust its stimulation parameters accordingly. We conclude that such approaches have great potential of promoting the recovery of lost functions and enhance the quality of life for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma (CXPA) is a rare malignant salivary gland tumor. Although multiple reviews have been published on salivary gland malignancies, it has been a decade since the last dedicated systematic review pertaining to CXPA alone was published. This study examines molecular factors in CXPA diagnosis. Data Sources: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science (BIOSIS), Cochrane CENTRAL, Health Collection (Informit), OpenDOAR, and GreyNet International. Review Methods: Systematic review and meta‐analysis from inception to October 31, 2022 for all English language studies pertaining to "carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma." Predicted incidence of each biomarker was calculated with meta‐analysis. Comparison against pleomorphic adenoma (PA) and salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) when reported within the same study are performed. Risk of bias performed with JBI tool for prevalence studies. Results: Of 19151 unique studies undergoing abstract screening, 55 studies (n = 1322 patients) underwent data analysis. Biomarkers with >3 studies were p53, HER2, AR, EGFR, PLAG1, ERBB, ER, PR, HMGA2, p16, p63, a‐SMA, RAS, PTEN, PDL1, BRAF, PIK3CA, and c‐kit. Highest incidence was seen in AR, EGFR, p16, and p53. Significant differences were demonstrated compared with PA and SDC. There was high heterogeneity and overall high risk of bias within studies. Conclusion: Molecular factors are an area of interest in the diagnosis of CXPA. Our study results support examining CXPA as a discrete cohort in future targeted therapy trials. Laryngoscope, 134:1042–1053, 2024 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]