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Canadian seventh-graders were given intelligence, mathematics, and English tests. These scores and their class grades were compared with personality questionnaire measures of aggression, self-concept, and attitudes. Substantial correlations were obtained between the ability and personality variables, with marked sex differences. (Author/SJL)

Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) is a treatment option for patients with advanced meningioma. Recently, intraarterial application of the radiolabeled somatostatin receptor agonists has been introduced as an alternative to standard intravenous administration. In this study, we assessed the safety and efficacy of intraarterial PRRT in patients with advanced, progressive meningioma. Methods: Patients with advanced, progressive meningioma underwent intraarterial PRRT with [ 177 Lu]Lu-HA-DOTATATE. The safety of PRRT was evaluated according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5.0. Treatment response was assessed according to the proposed Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology criteria for meningiomas and somatostatin receptor-directed PET/CT. Results: Thirteen patients (8 women, 5 men; mean age, 65 ± 13 y) with advanced meningioma underwent 1-4 cycles (median, 4 cycles) of intraarterial PRRT with [ 177 Lu]Lu-HA-DOTATATE (mean activity per cycle, 7,428 ± 237 MBq; range, 6,000-7,700 MBq). Treatment was well tolerated with mainly grade 1-2 hematologic toxicity. Ten of 13 patients showed radiologic disease control at follow-up after therapy (1/10 complete remission, 1/10 partial remission, 8/10 stable disease), and 9 of 13 patients showed good control of clinical symptoms. Conclusion: Intraarterial PRRT in patients with advanced meningioma is feasible and safe. It may result in improved radiologic and clinical disease control compared with intravenous PRRT. Further research to validate these initial findings and to investigate long-term outcomes is highly warranted., (© 2024 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.)

The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been rising, particularly among individuals diagnosed with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. In the present study, the prophylactic effects of rifaximin (RIF) on HCC, inflammatory markers and cardiovascular risk (CVR) were investigated in an animal model. Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated into three groups (n=10, each): Control [standard diet/water plus gavage with vehicle (Veh)], HCC [high-fat choline deficient diet (HFCD)/diethylnitrosamine (DEN) in drinking water/Veh gavage] and RIF [HFCD/DEN/RIF (50 mg/kg/day) gavage] groups. After euthanasia at week 16, biochemical/inflammatory markers and the liver histology were assessed. The results demonstrated that the HCC and RIF animals had a significant increase in fresh liver weight, liver weight/body weight ratio, serum total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, triglycerides, hepatic lipid accumulation and hepatic concentration of triglycerides and TC, relative to the controls (P<0.001, for all). Additionally, the HCC and RIF animals had higher plasminogen activator inhibitor, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, E-selectin and CVR scores than the controls (P<0.001, for all). The HCC animals had higher interleukin (IL)-1β (P=0.011), IL-10 (P<0.001), toll-like receptor-2 (P=0.012), lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (P=0.018) and metalloproteinase-2 (P=0.003) levels than the RIF animals. Furthermore, liver steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis, along with increased collagen fiber deposition occurred in the HCC and RIF groups. However, HCC occurred only in 2 RIF rats. In conclusion, although most animals did not develop HCC in the present study, RIF positively affected liver inflammation markers involved in steatohepatitis pathogenesis., Competing Interests: Biolab Sanus Farmaceutica Ltd. donated the rifaximin used in our study, although this company had no influence on either the design or conduct of the study, the analysis or interpretation of the data or the writing of the manuscript. Therefore, we do not believe this constitutes a competing interest., (Copyright: © 2024 Longo et al.)

Background: Mirror movements (MM) are commonly caused by a defect of interhemispheric pathways also affected in multiple sclerosis (MS), particularly the corpus callosum. We investigated the prevalence of MM in MS in relation to functional and morphological callosal fiber integrity by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as well as fatigue., Methods: In 21 patients with relapsing-remitting MS and 19 healthy controls, MM were assessed and graded (Woods and Teuber scale: MM 1-4) using a bedside test. Fatigue was evaluated using the Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive Functions (FSMC) questionnaire. TMS measured ipsilateral silent period latency and duration. MRI assessed callosal atrophy by measuring the normalized corpus callosum area (nCCA), corpus callosum index (CCI), and lesion volume., Results: MS patients had significantly more often and pronounced MM compared to healthy controls (p = 0.0002) and nCCA was significantly lower (p = 0.045) in MRI studies. Patients with higher MM scores (MM > 1 vs. MM 0/1) showed significantly more fatigue (higher FSMC sum score, p = 0.04, motor score, p = 0.01). In TMS and MRI studies, no significant differences were found between patients with MM 0/1 and those with MM > 1 (ipsilateral silent period measurements, CCA, CCI and lesion volume)., Conclusions: MM are common in MS and can easily be detected through bedside testing. As MM are associated with fatigue, they might indicate fatigue in MS. It is possible that other cerebral structures, in addition to the corpus callosum, may contribute to the origin of MM in MS., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Small antigen binders, such as nanobodies, have become widely used in biomedical research and pharmaceutical development. However, the pipeline for the generation of functional conjugated probes and drugs from identified binders remains a major time-consuming bottleneck. Here, we developed a method for fast nanobody production and conjugation based on an in vitro synthesis platform. Our system allows for small batch synthesis of nanobodies with the inclusion of a noncanonical amino acid (NCAA). This NCAA can then be used for direct conjugation of molecules to the synthesized nanobody using click-chemistry, reducing the time from binder-encoding DNA to a conjugated probe tremendously. In this study, we conjugated a fluorescent dye to an anti-Green fluorescent protein (GFP) nanobody and attained a fully functional probe suitable for advanced super-resolution microscopy within a short time frame of 2 days. Our work illustrates that an in vitro synthesis platform in combination with click-chemistry can be successfully employed to produce conjugated small antigen binding probes. The fast production and conjugation, combined with the possibility for parallelization as well as precise analysis by microscopy, forms an excellent platform for nanobody prototyping. The here-illustrated method can be used for quick selection and benchmarking of obtained nanobody sequences/clones, e. g., from a phage-display, for use as conjugated small-molecule carriers. This procedure can accelerate the bioengineering of nanobodies for research and pharmaceutical applications., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a severe and multifactorial psychiatric condition. Evidence has shown that environmental factors, such as stress, significantly explain MDD pathophysiology. Studies have hypothesized that changes in histone methylation patterns are involved in impaired glutamatergic signaling. Based on this scenario, this study aims to investigate histone 3 involvement in depression susceptibility or resilience in MDD pathophysiology by investigating cellular and molecular parameters related to i) glutamatergic neurotransmission, ii) astrocytic functioning, and iii) neurogenesis. For this, we subjected male Wistar rats to the Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress (CUMS) model of depression. We propose that by evaluating the sucrose consumption, open field, and object recognition test performance from animals submitted to CUMS, it is possible to predict with high specificity rats with susceptibility to depressive-like phenotype and resilient to the depressive-like phenotype. We also demonstrated, for the first time, that patterns of H3K4me3, H3K9me3, H3K27me3, and H3K36me3 trimethylation are strictly associated with the resilient or susceptible to depressive-like phenotype in a brain-region-specific manner. Additionally, susceptible animals have reduced DCx and GFAP and resilient animals present increase of AQP-4 immunoreactivity. Together, these results provide evidence that H3 trimethylations are related to the development of the resilient or susceptible to depressive-like phenotype, contributing to further advances in the pathophysiology of MDD and the discovery of mechanisms behind resilience., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

It is known that the inflammation process leading to oxidative stress and thyroid hormone metabolism dysfunction is highly altered in metabolic dysfunction associated with steatotic liver disease (MASLD). This study aims to address the effect of ornithine aspartate (LOLA) and vitamin E (VitE) in improving these processes. Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to five groups and treated for 28 weeks: controls ( n = 10) received a standard diet (for 28 weeks) plus gavage with distilled water (DW) from weeks 16 to 28. MASLD groups received a high-fat and choline-deficient diet for 28 weeks (MASLD group) and daily gavage with 200 mg/kg/day of LOLA, or twice a week with 150 mg of VitE from weeks 16-28. LOLA diminished collagen deposition ( p = 0.006). The same treatment diminished carbonyl, TBARS, and sulfhydryl levels and GPx activity ( p < 0.001). Type 3 deiodinase increased in the MASLD group, downregulating T3-controlled genes, which was corrected in the presence of LOLA. LOLA also promoted a near-normalization of complex II, SDH, and GDH activities ( p < 0.001) and improved reticulum stress, with a reduction in GRP78 and HSPA9/GRP75 protein levels ( p < 0.05). The enhanced energy production and metabolism of thyroid hormones, probably because of GSH replenishment provided by the L-glutamate portion of LOLA, opens a new therapeutic approach for MASLD.

Medulloblastoma and pilocytic astrocytoma are the two most common pediatric brain tumors with overlapping imaging features. In this proof-of-concept study, we investigated using a deep learning classifier trained on a multicenter data set to differentiate these tumor types. We developed a patch-based 3D-DenseNet classifier, utilizing automated tumor segmentation. Given the heterogeneity of imaging data (and available sequences), we used all individually available preoperative imaging sequences to make the model robust to varying input. We compared the classifier to diagnostic assessments by five readers with varying experience in pediatric brain tumors. Overall, we included 195 preoperative MRIs from children with medulloblastoma ( n = 69) or pilocytic astrocytoma ( n = 126) across six university hospitals. In the 64-patient test set, the DenseNet classifier achieved a high AUC of 0.986, correctly predicting 62/64 (97%) diagnoses. It misclassified one case of each tumor type. Human reader accuracy ranged from 100% (expert neuroradiologist) to 80% (resident). The classifier performed significantly better than relatively inexperienced readers ( p < 0.05) and was on par with pediatric neuro-oncology experts. Our proof-of-concept study demonstrates a deep learning model based on automated tumor segmentation that can reliably preoperatively differentiate between medulloblastoma and pilocytic astrocytoma, even in heterogeneous data.

Purpose: Brain stem tumors in children < 3 months at diagnosis are extremely rare. Our aim is to study a retrospective cohort to improve the understanding of the disease course and guide patient management., Methods: This is a multicenter retrospective analysis across the European Society for Pediatric Oncology SIOP-E HGG/DIPG Working Group linked centers, including patients with a brainstem tumor diagnosed between 2009 and 2020 and aged < 3 months at diagnosis. Clinical data were collected, and imaging characteristics were analyzed blindly and independently by two neuroradiologists., Results: Five cases were identified. No patient received any therapy. The epicenter of two tumors was in the medulla oblongata alone and in the medulla oblongata and the pons in three. For patients with tumor in equal parts in the medulla oblongata and the pons (n = 3), the extension at diagnosis involved the spinal cord; for the two patients with the tumor epicenter in the medulla oblongata alone (n = 2), the extension at diagnosis included the pons (n = 2) and the spinal cord (n = 1). Biopsy was performed in one patient identifying a pilocytic astrocytoma. Two patients died. In one patient, autopsy revealed a high-grade glioma (case 3). Three survivors showed either spontaneous tumor regression (n = 2) or stable disease (n = 1). Survivors were followed up for 10, 7, and 0.6 years, respectively. One case had the typical imaging characteristics of a dorsal exophytic low-grade glioma., Conclusions: No patient fulfilled the radiologic criteria defining a high-grade glioma. Central neuroradiological review and biopsy may provide useful information regarding the patient management., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: In Multiple Sclerosis (MS), patients´ characteristics and (bio)markers that reliably predict the individual disease prognosis at disease onset are lacking. Cohort studies allow a close follow-up of MS histories and a thorough phenotyping of patients. Therefore, a multicenter cohort study was initiated to implement a wide spectrum of data and (bio)markers in newly diagnosed patients., Methods: ProVal-MS (Prospective study to validate a multidimensional decision score that predicts treatment outcome at 24 months in untreated patients with clinically isolated syndrome or early Relapsing-Remitting-MS) is a prospective cohort study in patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) or Relapsing-Remitting (RR)-MS (McDonald 2017 criteria), diagnosed within the last two years, conducted at five academic centers in Southern Germany. The collection of clinical, laboratory, imaging, and paraclinical data as well as biosamples is harmonized across centers. The primary goal is to validate (discrimination and calibration) the previously published DIFUTURE MS-Treatment Decision score (MS-TDS). The score supports clinical decision-making regarding the options of early (within 6 months after study baseline) platform medication (Interferon beta, glatiramer acetate, dimethyl/diroximel fumarate, teriflunomide), or no immediate treatment (> 6 months after baseline) of patients with early RR-MS and CIS by predicting the probability of new or enlarging lesions in cerebral magnetic resonance images (MRIs) between 6 and 24 months. Further objectives are refining the MS-TDS score and providing data to identify new markers reflecting disease course and severity. The project also provides a technical evaluation of the ProVal-MS cohort within the IT-infrastructure of the DIFUTURE consortium (Data Integration for Future Medicine) and assesses the efficacy of the data sharing techniques developed., Perspective: Clinical cohorts provide the infrastructure to discover and to validate relevant disease-specific findings. A successful validation of the MS-TDS will add a new clinical decision tool to the armamentarium of practicing MS neurologists from which newly diagnosed MS patients may take advantage. Trial registration ProVal-MS has been registered in the German Clinical Trials Register, `Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien` (DRKS)-ID: DRKS00014034, date of registration: 21 December 2018; https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00014034., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: Diagnostic cerebral catheter angiography is used to assess a variety of neurovascular pathologies especially in patients before and after endovascular neurointerventional treatment. In many centers diagnostic cerebral angiographies are performed with the patient staying for one night in the hospital because there are not yet sufficient data on the safety of ambulatory cerebral angiography. At the same time hospitals face a growing demand to perform ambulatory medical procedures., Methods: A total of 426 ambulatory diagnostic cerebral angiographies were retrospectively analyzed. Technical details of the angiographies were analyzed to identify procedural risk factors., Results: Out of 426 patients 14 (3.3%) had some form of complication, 3 developed minor transient neurological symptoms, 1 patient developed Quincke's edema probably as an adverse reaction to contrast agent, 1 patient had an asymptomatic carotid dissection and 1 had a fall of unknown etiology. Of the 14 complications 8 were puncture site complications with 1 re-bleeding, 1 dissection, and 6 minor complications, 421 punctures were femoral, 3 radial and 2 brachial. Out of 333 patients with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after angiography 21 showed focal diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) lesions but none of these lesions were symptomatic. The rate of DWI lesions was significantly higher in selectively angiography territories than in other territories. The use of a Simmons 2 catheter significantly increased the rate of DWI lesions (p = 0.047), whereas 3D rotational angiography did not (p = 0.55). The rate of DWI lesions per selectively accessed vessel was 4.6% with a higher rate in the anterior than in the posterior circulation., Conclusion: Diagnostic cerebral catheter angiography can be safely performed in an ambulatory setting., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia (ADRD) disproportionately affects women with two-thirds of individuals with ADRD comprised of women. This study examined gender-related differences in the quality of staff-patient interactions and depressive symptoms among hospitalized older patients living with dementia. This secondary analysis utilized baseline data of 140 hospitalized older patients with dementia who participated in the final cohort of a randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03046121) implementing Family centered Function-focused Care (Fam-FFC). On average, the participants (male = 46.1%, female = 52.9%) were 81.43 years old ( SD  = 8.29), had positive interactions with staff and lower depressive symptoms based on Quality of Interaction Schedule (QUIS) scores and Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) scores, respectively. Although males had more positive interactions (male = 6.06, SD  = 1.13; female = 5.59, SD  = 1.51) and lesser depressive symptoms (male = 7.52, SD  = 4.77; female = 8.03, SD  = 6.25) than females, no statistically significant gender differences were observed in linear models with appropriate covariates or multivariant analysis of covariant (MANCOVA). However, the multigroup regression conducted to further probe marginally significant moderation effect of gender and pain on staff-patient interactions demonstrated that greater pain was significantly related to lower quality or less positive staff-patient interactions for females compared to males ( χ 2 diff (1) = 4.84, p = .03). Continued evaluation of gender differences is warranted to inform care delivery and interventions to improve care for hospitalized older patients with dementia.

The use of stents is well established in the treatment of broad-based intracranial aneurysms. The aim of this study is to report on safety, feasibility and midterm follow-up of the new LVIS EVO braided stent for the treatment of cerebral aneurysms. All consecutive patients with intracranial aneurysms who were treated with the LVIS EVO stent in two high volume neurovascular centers were retrospectively enrolled in this observational study. Clinical and technical complications, angiographic outcome and clinical short-term and midterm results were evaluated. The study included 112 patients with 118 aneurysms. 94 patients presented with incidental aneurysms, 13 patients with acute SAH and 2 patients with acute cranial nerve palsy. For 100 aneurysms a jailing technique was used, re-crossing of the stent was performed in 3 cases. For the residual 15 cases the stent was placed as a bail-out or as a second step. Immediate complete occlusion was observed in 85 aneurysms (72%). Midterm follow-up was available for 84 patients with 86 aneurysms (72.9%). One stent showed asymptomatic complete occlusion on follow-up imaging, in all other cases no in-stent stenosis was observed. The rate of complete occlusion was 79.1% at 6 months and 82.2% at 12-18 months. Midterm follow-up data of this retrospective observational cohort of two neurovascular centers corroborates the safety profile of the LVIS EVO device for treatment of ruptured and unruptured intracranial aneurysms., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Hospitalized persons with dementia are at risk of delirium with behavioral symptoms, predisposing them to a higher rate of complications and caregiver distress. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between delirium severity in patients with dementia upon admission to the hospital and the manifestation of behavioral symptoms, and to evaluate the mediating effects of cognitive and physical function, pain, medications, and restraints., Methods: This descriptive study used baseline data from 455 older adults with dementia enrolled in a cluster randomized clinical trial that tested the efficacy of family centered function-focused care. Mediation analyses were conducted to determine the indirect effect of cognitive and physical function, pain, medications (antipsychotics, anxiolytics, sedative/hypnotics, narcotics, and number of medications), and restraints on behavioral symptoms, controlling for age, sex, race, and educational level., Results: The majority of the 455 participants were female (59.1%), had an average age of 81.5 (SD=8.4), were either white (63.7%) or black (36.3%), and demonstrated one or more behavioral symptoms (93%) and delirium (60%). Hypotheses were partially supported in that physical function, cognitive function, and antipsychotic medication partially mediated the relationship between delirium severity and behavioral symptoms., Conclusion: This study provides preliminary evidence identifying antipsychotic use, low physical function, and significant cognitive impairment as specific targets for clinical intervention and quality improvement in patients with delirium superimposed on dementia at hospital admission., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

As a result of technical developments and greater availability of imaging equipment, the number of neuroradiological examinations is steadily increasing [1]. Due to improved image quality and sensitivity, more details can be detected making reporting more complex and time-intensive. At the same time, reliable algorithms increasingly allow quantitative image analysis that should be integrated in reports in a standardized manner. Moreover, increasing digitalization is resulting in a decrease in the personal exchange between neuroradiologists and referring disciplines, thereby making communication more difficult. The introduction of structured reporting tailored to the specific disease and medical issue [2, 3] and corresponding to at least the second reporting level as defined by the German Radiological Society (https://www.befundung.drg.de/de-DE/2908/strukturierte-befundung/) is therefore desirable to ensure that the quality standards of neuroradiological reports continue to be met.The advantages of structured reporting include a reduced workload for neuroradiologists and an information gain for referring physicians. A complete and standardized list with relevant details for image reporting is provided to neuroradiologists in accordance with the current state of knowledge, thereby ensuring that important points are not forgotten [4]. A time savings and increase in efficiency during reporting were also seen [5]. Further advantages include report clarity and consistency and better comparability in follow-up examinations regardless of the neuroradiologist's particular reporting style. This results in better communication with the referring disciplines and makes clinical decision significantly easier [6, 7]. Although the advantages are significant, any potential disadvantages like the reduction of autonomy in reporting and inadequate coverage of all relevant details and any incidental findings not associated with the main pathology in complex cases or in rare diseases should be taken into consideration [4]. Therefore, studies examining the advantages of structured reporting, promoting the introduction of this system in the clinical routine, and increasing the acceptance among neuroradiologists are still needed.Numerous specific templates for structured reporting, e. g., regarding diseases in cardiology and oncology, are already available on the website www.befundung.drg.de . Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an idiopathic chronic inflammatory and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system and is the most common non-trauma-based inflammatory neurological disease in young adults. Therefore, it has significant individual and socioeconomic relevance [8]. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plays an important role in the diagnosis, prognosis evaluation, and follow-up of this disease. MRI is established as the central diagnostic method in the diagnostic criteria. Therefore, specific changes are seen on MRI in almost all patients with a verified MS diagnosis [9]. Reporting of MRI datasets regarding the brain and spinal cord of patients with MS includes examination of the images with respect to the relevant medical issue in order to determine whether the McDonald criteria, which were revised in 2017 [10] and define dissemination in time and space clinically as well as with respect to MRI based on the recommendations of the MAGNIMS groups [11, 12], are fulfilled. A more precise definition of lesion types and locations according to the recommendations of an international expert group [13] is discussed in the supplementary material. Spinal cord signal abnormalities are seen in up to 92 % of MS patients [14-16] and are primarily located in the cervical spine [15]. The recommendations of the MAGNIMS-CMSC-NAIMS working group published in 2021 [11] explicitly recommend the use of structured reporting for MS patients.Therefore, a reporting template for evaluating MRI examinations of the brain and spinal cord of patients with MS was created as part of the BMBF-funded DIFUTURE consortium in consensus with neuroradiological and neurological experts in concordance with the recommendations mentioned above [11] and was made available for broad use (https://github.com/DRGagit/ak&#95;befundung). The goal is to facilitate efficient and comprehensive evaluation of patients with MS in the primary diagnostic workup and follow-up imaging. These reporting templates are consensus-based recommendations and do not make any claim to general validity or completeness. The information technology working group (@GIT) of the German Radiological Society and the German Society for Neuroradiology strive to keep the reporting templates presented here up-to-date with respect to new research data and recommendations of the MAGNIMS-CMSC-NAIMS group [11]. KEY POINTS:: · consensus-based reporting templates. · template for the structured reporting of MRI examinations of patients with multiple sclerosis. · structured reporting might facilitate communication between neuroradiologists and referring disciplines. CITATION FORMAT: · Riederer I, Mühlau M, Wiestler B et al. Structured Reporting in Multiple Sclerosis - Consensus-Based Reporting Templates for Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain and Spinal Cord. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2023; 195: 135 - 138., Competing Interests: JH reports grants for OCT research from the Friedrich-Baur-Stiftung and Merck, personal fees and non-financial support from Celgene, Merck, Alexion, Novartis, Roche, Santhera, Biogen, Heidelberg Engineering, Sanofi Genzyme and non-financial support of the Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation, all outside the submitted work.Thomas Huber ist neben seiner im Manuskript genannten Affiliation bei der Firma Smart Reporting GmbH beschäftigt.Jan Kirschke ist neben seiner im Manuskript genannten Affiliation Co-Founder der Firma BoneScreen GmbH., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Cardiovascular (CV) disease is the main cause of death in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a clinical condition without any approved pharmacological therapy. Thus, we investigated the effects of ornithine aspartate (LOLA) and/or Vitamin E (VitE) on CV parameters in a steatohepatitis experimental model. Adult Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned (10 animals each) and treated from 16 to 28 weeks with gavage as follows: controls (standard diet plus distilled water (DW)), NAFLD (high-fat choline-deficient diet (HFCD) plus DW), NAFLD+LOLA (HFCD plus LOLA (200 mg/kg/day)), NAFLD+VitE (HFCD plus VitE (150 mg twice a week)) or NAFLD+LOLA+VitE in the same doses. Atherogenic ratios were higher in NAFLD when compared with NAFLD+LOLA+VitE and controls ( p < 0.05). Serum concentration of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, MCP-1, e-selectin, ICAM-1, and PAI-1 were not different in intervention groups and controls ( p > 0.05). NAFLD+LOLA decreased miR-122, miR-33a, and miR-186 ( p < 0.05, for all) in relation to NAFLD. NAFLD+LOLA+VitE decreased miR-122, miR-33a and miR-186, and increased miR-126 ( p < 0.05, for all) in comparison to NAFLD and NAFLD+VitE. NAFLD+LOLA and NAFLD+LOLA+VitE prevented liver collagen deposition ( p = 0.006) in comparison to NAFLD. Normal cardiac fibers (size and shape) were lower in NAFLD in relation to the others; and the inverse was reported for the percentage of regular hypertrophic cardiomyocytes. NAFLD+LOLA+VitE promoted a significant improvement in atherogenic dyslipidemia, liver fibrosis, and paracrine signaling of lipid metabolism and endothelial dysfunction. This association should be further explored in the treatment of NAFLD-associated CV risk factors.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services mandate the provision of person-centered care (PCC), but there is limited evidence on how PCC impacts nursing home (NH) residents' care experiences. This study examined the relationship between n = 163 NH residents' ratings of satisfaction with care related to their preferences and their satisfaction with overall care. Residents with higher preference satisfaction ratings reported significantly higher levels of satisfaction with overall care. Using preference satisfaction ratings has the potential to improve PCC planning and delivery in nursing homes.

Objectives: Emotional expressions in late-stage dementia have traditionally been studied within a deficit paradigm. Moving the narrative of the dementia trajectory from a solely negative pathological experience to one that acknowledges the potential for positive experiences aligns with international recommendations for living well with dementia. The purpose of this study was to extend prior research by examining the pattern of well-being using affect balance, the ratio of positive to negative affect, in nursing home residents living with dementia over 12 months and its association to factors that could potentially influence resident well-being. Method: This study was a secondary analysis of baseline, 4 and 12-month data from a pragmatic clinical trial. A total of 536 residents with moderate to severe cognitive impairments from 55 nursing homes were included in the multivariable linear mixed model regression analyses. Results: Resident function, the number of registered nurse hours devoted to care in the facility, and the quality of staff interaction predicted higher affect balance over time after controlling for other variables. Conclusion: The findings provide support for the utility of affect balance as a meaningful outcome measure of well-being for persons living with dementia. In addition, results point to specific interventions (i.e. maintaining/improving resident function, providing adequate nurse staffing levels, and improving staff communications skills) that can serve as the focus for both research and practice to help residents live well with dementia. Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03014570).