Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital

Smart Lithotripsy: Lasers, Energy Sources and Efficiency

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To examine the evidence on contemporary lasers and provide a practical framework for platform selection, parameter optimization, and thermal safety based on the principles of smart lithotripsy. RECENT FINDINGS: Holmium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Ho:YAG) remains...

Prevalence of dementia and BPSD in community-dwelling older adults with advanced care needs: a nationwide survey in Taiwan

Background Caring for people with both dementia and advanced care needs is complex. This study aimed to elucidate the prevalence of dementia and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in patients receiving advanced care, including tube feeding, respiratory care,...

Diagnostic performance of a field-deployable iiPCR platform and viral load dynamics of MPXV Clade IIb in a cohort with high prevalence of HIV

BACKGROUND: Since 2022, the global outbreak of Mpox caused by the Mpox virus (MPXV) Clade IIb has underscored the need for timely and decentralized molecular diagnostics. Although quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) remains the diagnostic gold standard, its infrastructure requireme...

A Thrombosed Popliteal Artery Aneurysm Masquerading as a Benign Soft-Tissue Mass: A Case Report Emphasizing the Role of Multimodal Imaging

Popliteal artery aneurysms (PAA) lose their pulsatility once thrombosed and may therefore be mistaken for a Baker cyst or a soft-tissue tumor. A 58-year-old male presented with a 6-month history of progressive right popliteal swelling and pain, accompanied by right foot paresthes...

The efficacy and safety of monthly intravenous methylprednisolone pulse therapy in Taiwanese alopecia areata patients: A retrospective cohort study

Abstract Background: Intravenous methylprednisolone pulse (IVMP) therapy has been widely used for treating severe or recalcitrant alopecia areata (AA), but treatment protocols and efficacy vary. Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of IVMP, identify predictive fac...

Aldose reductase as a regulator of ocular pathology: Mechanisms and therapeutic potential.

Aldose reductase (AR), the rate-limiting enzyme of the polyol pathway, converts glucose to sorbitol using NADPH and becomes markedly overactive under hyperglycemic conditions. Its widespread expression in ocular tissues links AR to numerous eye disorders through sorbitol accumula...

Autologous hinge-masked anti-TNFα antibody to mitigate immunogenicity, antigen sink effects, and anti-idiotypic antibody interference

Abstract Background Monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies are limited by factors affecting their pharmacokinetics (PK), such as anti-idiotypic antibodies (anti-ID Abs) and the antigen sink effect. To address this, we developed six pro-anti-TNFα Abs (pro-Infliximab) incorporating un...