Citations

Background Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Multidisciplinary approaches to chronic pain can support resilience in recovery of functioning. The ancient arts of t’ai chi and qigong have been touted for centuries as multimodal approaches to health and healing. An RCT of an on-line t’ai chi and qigong program for individuals with chronic low back pain found clinically significant improvements in pain, physical function, and quality of life. The program consisted of the integrated practice of t’ai chi movement and the stillness of qigong practice. Meditations in the program focused on developing positive mental attitudes to support resilience in managing the emotional challenges of pain and disease. Objective The purpose of the current qualitative study aimed to better understand participants’ experiences during the online Heal and Strengthen the Spine with T’ai Chi and Qigong (HSSTQ) program. Methods Written feedback was received from 96 program participants, and semi-structured interviews were completed with 20 participants. Interviews were transcribed and coded based upon the written feedback and interview questions. A thematic narrative was developed from the coded segments of texts and reviewed by participants in a member check. Results Three interlocking themes characterized the experiences of participants in the program: (1) participants learned skills to relieve back pain including moderation in movement; (2) the holistic nature of the program enabled a range of benefits for participants beyond pain reduction; and (3) personal healing experience, the enthusiasm of the instructor, the program itself, and available staff resources motivated individuals to participate. Conclusion The conclusion from this study and the initial RCT is that a virtually delivered integrated tai chi, qigong, and meditation program may be a viable treatment option for adults with low back pain.

Background: It is crucial to evaluate liver fibrosis in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Digital pathology, an automated method for quantitative fibrosis measurement, provides valuable support to pathologists by providing refined continuous metrics and addressing inter-observer variability. Although non-invasive tests (NITs) have been validated as consistent with manual pathology, the relationship between digital pathology and NITs remains unexplored. Methods: This study included 99 biopsy-proven MASLD patients. Quantitative-fibrosis (Q-Fibrosis) used second-harmonic generation/two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy (SHG/TPEF) to quantify fibrosis parameters (q-FPs). Correlations between eight NITs and q-FPs were analyzed. Results: Using manual pathology as standard, Q-Fibrosis exhibited excellent diagnostic performance in fibrosis stages assessment with area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) ranging from 0.924 to 0.967. In addition, magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) achieved the highest diagnostic accuracy (AUC: 0.781–0.977) among the eight NITs. Furthermore, MRE-assessed liver stiffness measurement (MRE-LSM) showed the strongest correlation with q-FPs, particularly adjusted by string length, string width, and the number of short and thick strings within the portal region. Conclusions: Both MRE and digital pathology demonstrated excellent diagnostic accuracy. MRE-LSM was primarily determined by collagen extent, location and pattern, which provide a new perspective for understanding the relationship between the change in MRE and histological fibrosis reverse.

Abstract With the rapid advancements in large language model technology and the emergence of bioinformatics‐specific language models (BioLMs), there is a growing need for a comprehensive analysis of the current landscape, computational characteristics, and diverse applications. This survey aims to address this need by providing a thorough review of BioLMs, focusing on their evolution, classification, and distinguishing features, alongside a detailed examination of training methodologies, datasets, and evaluation frameworks. We explore the wide‐ranging applications of BioLMs in critical areas such as disease diagnosis, drug discovery, and vaccine development, highlighting their impact and transformative potential in bioinformatics. We identify key challenges and limitations inherent in BioLMs, including data privacy and security concerns, interpretability issues, biases in training data and model outputs, and domain adaptation complexities. Finally, we highlight emerging trends and future directions, offering valuable insights to guide researchers and clinicians toward advancing BioLMs for increasingly sophisticated biological and clinical applications.

Background The eccentric stenosis morphology in patients with intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) has a critical impact on the efficacy of endovascular treatment. This study aimed to establish a rabbit model of eccentric carotid atherosclerotic stenosis that mimics the pathophysiological and morphological characteristics of eccentric plaques in humans. Methods Rabbits received localized cryoinjury of the right carotid artery after 2 weeks of a high fat, high cholesterol diet, followed by an additional 8 weeks on the same diet. On the experimental endpoint, comprehensive analyses of the model’s pathological changes were conducted using serum lipid analysis, DSA, optical coherence tomography (OCT), histopathological analysis, and immunohistochemistry. Results The high fat, high cholesterol diet significantly elevated serum lipid levels in rabbits. Hematoxylin and eosin staining results at 24 hours postoperatively revealed focal intimal damage induced by 5 s of cryoinjury. After localized cryoinjury and high fat, high cholesterol diet feeding, DSA results demonstrated significant carotid stenosis, with a stenosis degree of 47±5% and a length of approximately 9 mm. OCT images revealed eccentric fibrous plaque formation at the stenotic site. Morphological analysis of the plaque samples demonstrated a plaque eccentricity index of 0.66±0.05 and a plaque burden of 60.68±7.41%. Histopathological analysis showed that atherosclerotic lesions developed in all rabbits of the model group. Among them, three rabbits had intermediate lesions, one rabbit had atheroma, and eight rabbits had fibroatheroma. Conclusions This study successfully established a rabbit model of eccentric carotid atherosclerotic stenosis, providing a novel experimental platform for transformation research of neurointerventional devices.

Abstract Background Unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) is a leading cause of cancer death. FDA-approved first-line systemic therapies include atezolizumab/bevacizumab (atezo/bev) and durvalumab/tremelimumab (durva/treme); however, there is a lack of comparative data. Methods We reviewed outcomes of patients with uHCC who initiated atezo/bev or durva/treme between 2017 and 2024, across six institutions. Overall survival (OS) and time to treatment discontinuation (TTD) were analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier and Cox models, adjusting for baseline characteristics. Results Four hundred fifty-two uHCC pts were included. Median age: 68 years; 77% male; 81% white. Most common etiologies were viral hepatitis (38.9%) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (19.5%). Disease progression was the primary reason for treatment discontinuation, atezo/bev (56%) and durva/treme (42%). Outcomes were not statistically significant (median OS [month, m]: 14.0 vs 14.6 [P = .66]; median TTD [m]: 4.9 vs 3.9 [P = .42] for atezo/bev vs durva/treme). Outcomes were significantly different between Child-Pugh classes (CP: A, B7, B8/9, C) respectively, median OS(m): 19.0, 6.1, 5.1, 2.0 (P < .001); median TTD(m): 6.1, 2.3, 3.0, 1.3 (P < .001). Conclusions In this real-world study of uHCC, no significant difference in clinical outcomes was observed between atezo/bev and durva/treme in the first-line setting. CP scores were a key prognostic variable with both regimens.

Abstract Background Lung adenocarcinoma in never-smokers is a major public health burden, especially among East Asian women. Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) are promising for risk stratification but are primarily developed in European-ancestry populations. We aimed to develop and validate single- and multi-ancestry PRSs for East Asian never-smokers to improve lung adenocarcinoma risk prediction. Methods PRSs were developed using genome-wide association study summary statistics from East Asian (8002 cases; 20 782 controls) and European (2058 cases; 5575 controls) populations. Single-ancestry models included a PRS with 25 single nucleotide variants (PRS-25), PRS clumping and thresholding (CT), and LDpred2; multi-ancestry models included LDpred2 plus European PRS-128, PRS-CSx, and clumping and thresholding, super learning, empirical Bayes (CT-SLEB). Performance was evaluated in independent East Asian data from the Female Lung Cancer Consortium and externally validated in the Nanjing Lung Cancer Cohort. We assessed predictive accuracy via area under the curve operating procedure (AUC), with 10-year and (ages 30-80 years) absolute risks estimates. Results The best multi-ancestry PRS, using East Asian and European data via CT-SLEB, outperformed the best East Asian-only (LDpred2; AUC = 0.629, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.618 to 0.641), achieving an AUC of 0.640 (95% CI = 0.629 to 0.653) and odds ratio of 1.71 (95% CI = 1.61 to 1.82) per standard deviation increase. Nanjing Lung Cancer Cohort validation confirmed robust performance (AUC = 0.649, 95% CI = 0.623 to 0.676). The top 20% PRS group had a 3.92-fold higher lung adenocarcinoma risk than the bottom 20%. Further, the top 5% PRS group reached a 6.69% lifetime absolute risk. Notably, this group reached the average population 10-year lung adenocarcinoma risk at age 50 years (0.42%) by age 41 years, 9 years earlier. Conclusions Multi-ancestry PRS approaches enhance lung adenocarcinoma risk stratification in East Asian never-smokers, with consistent external validation, suggesting future clinical utility.

ABSTRACT Objective The optimal treatment for neurosarcoidosis myelitis is uncertain. We characterize incident neurosarcoidosis myelitis and assess treatment response by MRI and clinical scales. Methods Incident probable or definite neurosarcoidosis myelitis in adults was retrospectively identified from 13 academic medical centers. Cases were analyzed by initial treatment. The primary outcome was T1 post‐contrast gadolinium enhancement resolution at 6 months post‐treatment. Secondary outcomes were changes in modified Rankin scale (mRS) and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) from nadir to final follow‐up. Results Two hundred two patients were identified (median diagnosis age: 47 years (IQR 39–55); male: female 1.3:1). Median nadir mRS and EDSS were 2 (IQR 2–3) and 4 (IQR 2.5–6). At initial treatment, 129 (63.9%) received prolonged corticosteroids ≥ 4 weeks (group A 1 ), 36 (17.8%) received corticosteroids < 4 weeks (B 1 ), 21 (10.4%) received corticosteroids plus sarcoidosis‐directed immunosuppressant (E), and 16 (7.9%) received corticosteroids plus non‐sarcoidosis‐directed agents (F). In 167 cases with sufficient imaging, there were no significant differences in contrast enhancement resolution at 6 months (A 1 27/106 (25.5%), B 1 9/28 (32.1%), E 5/19 (26.3%), F 5/14 (35.7%); Fisher's exact p = 0.76). There were no significant differences in changes in mRS or EDSS among treatment groups (Kruskal–Wallis p = 0.69 and 0.63, respectively) after median follow‐up of 46.5 months (IQR 18–91.3). Interpretation Different initial immunosuppression strategies did not correlate with MRI contrast enhancement resolution at 6 months or clinical scales (mRS, EDSS). However, conclusions are limited by retrospective design, imbalanced cohorts, and insensitivity of binary MRI outcomes and available clinical scales for treatment response in neurosarcoidosis.

Despite European colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) transplant trials having been performed entirely using deceased donor liver transplant (DDLT), there has been speculation about whether similar results can be achieved in the United States, given the lack of MELD score prioritization. A formal transplant protocol for unresectable CRLM was implemented in our center at the start of 2022 with the plan to utilize DDLT. Between 2022 and 2025, 86 patients with CRLM were referred to our program, and 19 patients underwent a formal transplant evaluation. Median time from listing until transplant was 31 days (range 3–115 d). Median allocation MELD was 8 (range 6–15). The donor livers were from DCDs, older donors, or National Share livers, which had been declined by all other centers. All but 2 of the cases underwent advanced perfusion. There were no cases of primary nonfunction, postreperfusion syndrome, acute kidney injury, hepatic artery thrombosis, or ischemic cholangiopathy. The length of stay for the median posttransplant was 5 days. Graft and patient survival were 100% at the time of maximal follow-up. Recurrence developed in 3 recipients (25.0%), 1 of whom was treated and has no evidence of disease. These findings support the viability of DDLT for CRLM using advanced perfusion, contingent on strict protocol adherence. Center-specific waitlist dynamics must inform the choice between DDLT and living donor liver transplant (LDLT).

Précis: Glaucoma patients with significant visual field defects show poorer driving performance, higher collision risks, and a greater likelihood of driving cessation. They face difficulties with lane maintenance, slower hazard responses, and self-regulation while driving. Purpose: Glaucoma is a chronic, progressive optic neuropathy associated with visual field (VF) defects, which in advanced disease has been shown to affect patients’ activities of daily living. This systematic review qualitatively analyzes existing literature that explores the impact of glaucomatous VF loss on the driving performance of glaucoma patients, the extent of driving limitation and cessation, as well as the risk of motor vehicle collisions (MVCs). Methods: A literature search of MEDLINE and Embase (via Ovid), PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases was performed for studies published from 2003 to 2023, with the terms “glaucoma,” “visual field defect/disorder,” and “driving,” followed by selective vetting based on inclusion criteria. Within studies, data pertaining to study design, subject demographics, VF defect characteristics, driving performance and related outcomes were extracted. Results: Initial search yielded 835 studies, with 20 studies selected. Three more studies were included through hand-searching, with a total of 23 studies included for final review. Moderate to severe VF defects resulted in poorer driving performance, with slower response times to road hazards, decreased ability for lane maintenance, and increased difficulty driving at night. Patients with more severe VF defects and with bilateral glaucoma were more likely to limit or cease driving compared with those with milder and unilateral glaucoma. A greater severity of VF loss was associated with a higher risk of MVCs. Conclusion: More severe glaucomatous VF and bilateral glaucoma is associated with worse driving performances and a higher risk of MVCs, in both simulator and real-world settings.