Clinical
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Blood Biomarker for the Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease
In this population-based study of patients in Sweden with cognitive complaints, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia, the use of blood biomarkers, specifically, phosphorylated tau 217 and amyloid-beta 42/40 ratios, improved the diagnostic accuracy for pathological Alzheimer’s disease in primary care patients as well as patients seen by dementia specialists.
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Treatment Direction After Unsuccessful Attempts at Smoking Cessation
This randomized trial found that, for patients unable to stop smoking after six weeks of treatment, increasing the dose of either varenicline or combination nicotine replacement therapy (CNRT) or switching from CNRT to varenicline, leads to an increased likelihood of success.
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Diagnostic Uncertainty in Community-Acquired Pneumonia
A national retrospective cohort study from the Veterans Administration found a high rate of diagnostic discordance for patients admitted and discharged for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Improvement in the diagnosis of CAP is needed.
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Eculizumab for Treating Aquaporin-4 Antibody-Positive NMOSD
In this retrospective study of a cohort of aquaporin-4 antibody-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) patients treated with eculizumab, the authors reported efficacy with decreasing relapse rate, magnetic resonance imaging changes, and disability outcomes, but cautioned about the risk of serious infections.
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A microRNA Diagnostic Biomarker for ALS
A specific pattern of eight micro ribonucleic acids (microRNAs) has been shown to differentiate patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) from those with primary lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and healthy controls. It remains to be determined if these differences will continue throughout the course of the disease.
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Repeated Head Trauma May Lead to Parkinsonism in Patients with CTE
Repeated head injury from years of contact sports play in men with confirmed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) may cause pathological changes in the substantia nigra that lead to parkinsonism in a subset of patients with CTE.
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Genetic Testing for Patients with Parkinson’s Disease
In this large scale, international study of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, approximately 15% of participants were found to have a positive PD-related genetic variant, most commonly in the GBA1 and LRRK2 genes.
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MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy for Treating Essential Tremor
This open-label study demonstrated the safety and efficacy of staged bilateral magnetic resonance imaging-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy for bilateral essential tremor with excellent efficacy rates at one year. Most adverse events were mild, but greater real-world experience is needed to understand its true safety profile.
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A New Technique for Predicting Outcomes in Asymptomatic AS
An international study of patients with moderate or asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis has demonstrated that increased amounts of left ventricular fibrosis, as measured by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, is associated with worse outcomes.
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PCI in TAVR Patients with Severe Coronary Lesions Shows Benefits
In this randomized trial of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), with an average of one severe coronary stenosis, percutaneous coronary intervention in addition to TAVR reduced the incidence of the combined endpoint of all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, and urgent revascularization at two years.