Universitätsklinikum Würzburg

Chronic Ultrasound (‘Emotional’) Stress in Mice Exacerbates Colitis Through GSK3β-Mediated Neuroimmune Dysregulation and Is Ameliorated by Probiotic Intervention

Background: Growing evidence supports a bidirectional relationship between ‘emotional’ (psychological) stress and intestinal inflammation. ‘Emotional stress’, a form of stress that is triggered by negative information and experiences of non-physical nature, is an established risk...

Molecular Mechanisms of Candida albicans Adhesion to Maxillofacial Silicone Elastomers: Integrating Candidate Molecular Pathways with Material Surface Properties

Colonisation of maxillofacial prostheses by Candida albicans is conventionally attributed to surface roughness, porosity, and wettability properties that explain where cells accumulate rather than why particular surfaces promote biofilm formation. This review reinterprets the in...

Sepsis in the major burn patient

Abstract Background Sepsis in the context of major burn injury presents a significant challenge to clinicians. It affects a substantial proportion of patients with major burn injury and is the leading cause of death in those that survive to hospital. Due to the complex and profou...

Expired endoscopic devices remain sterile and functional: an international multicentre study challenging current shelf-life criteria

Background and study aims Expired medical devices represent an environmental and economic concern, yet their magnitude and true shelf life remain poorly defined. We aimed to quantify the volume and cost of expired endoscopic devices and evaluate their sterility and functionality...

A multiregional serosurvey of RNA virus-reactive antibodies in bats and rodents reveals the enzootic presence of flavi- and paramyxoviruses in African Pteropodidae

Bats and rodents have been identified as reservoir hosts of diverse RNA viruses that pose potential risks to humans. However, overall virus prevalence in wildlife and underlying factors determining the zoonotic potential of reservoir-borne viruses remain poorly characterized. Vir...

FIND: a phase-II study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of erdafitinib in FGFR-altered NSCLC

Abstract Introduction: FGFR alterations occur in approximately 2% of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, predominantly in squamous cell histology (sqNSCLC). We evaluated the efficacy of the selective FGFR1-4 inhibitor erdafitinib in patients with FGFR-altered NSCLC. Meth...

Cutaneous Lymphoma International Prognostic Index and Risk Stratification in Advanced Mycosis Fungoides and Sézary Syndrome

Importance Risk stratification in advanced mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome (MF/SS) remains suboptimal given that current TNMB (tumor, node, metastasis, blood) staging has limited prognostic value for clinically relevant outcomes. Objective To determine whether the Cutaneous...

Intensive vs Standard Blood Pressure Lowering in People With and Without Chronic Kidney Disease

Importance There is uncertainty about the effects of intensive blood pressure (BP) lowering on risks of cardiovascular disease and kidney failure in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Objective To assess the standardized effects of intensive BP lowering on cardiovascular...

Development and Nationwide Multicentre Evaluation of Guideline-Grounded Large Language Model Chatbots to Support Patient Self-Management and Education in Rheumatology

Patients with rheumatic diseases have persistent information needs that are not fully addressed in routine care. We developed and evaluated guideline-grounded, large language model (LLM) chatbots to support patient self-management and education in rheumatology.Ten disease-specifi...

Junctional plakoglobin regulates intestinal epithelial cell proliferation via MAPK/ERK signaling

Junctional plakoglobin (JUP) is a desmosomal protein essential for epithelial tissue integrity and epithelial-immune cell crosstalk. Although JUP has been implicated in inflammatory processes, its role in intestinal epithelial repair remains unclear. In vitro, loss of JUP in Caco...

Platelet GPVI drives fibrotic lung remodeling

Platelets are a major reservoir of bioactive mediators, including growth factors such as transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), that regulate vascular repair and tissue remodeling. Beyond these classical functions, platelets also participate in inflammatory hemostasis through ac...

Infections in MonumenTAL-1: a plain language summary of talquetamab treatment for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma

Plain Language SummaryWhat is this summary about?This summary describes infection and immune cell data of participants receiving talquetamab for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) in the MonumenTAL-1 study.What were the results?Almost 60% of participants receiving talque...

Robotic versus open mesh-enforced retrorectus ventral hernia repair: a multi-center comparative study

Abstract Mesh-enforced open ventral hernia repair (OVHR) is associated with increased surgical site occurrences and prolonged hospital stay. Robotic-assisted ventral hernia repair (RVHR) may offer benefits compared to OVHR, but comparative literature is scarce. This multicenter p...

Examining Diagnostic Criteria for Atypical Anorexia Nervosa Post Metabolic Bariatric Surgery

ABSTRACT Objective To examine the applicability of current diagnostic criteria for atypical anorexia nervosa (AAN) to patients 1 year post Metabolic Bariatric Surgery (MBS). Method This prospective ongoing cohort study included patients from the multicenter Psychosocial Registry...

Diagnosing autoimmune encephalitis in psychiatry: clinical recommendations and unresolved challenges from the GENERATE network

Psychiatric syndromes can be caused by underlying autoimmune encephalitis (AE). This represents a diagnostic challenge at the interface of psychiatry and neurology. While AE mostly manifests with a combined, complex neuropsychiatric syndrome, some patients with AE may (initially)...

Changing the motivation for mental work with temporal interference stimulation

Successful goal-directed behavior often requires the exertion of effortful control processes. The striatum is thought to play a key role in determining whether a goal is worth the required cognitive effort, but whether and how the striatum causally influences effort-based decisio...

Real-world neuropsychiatric safety profile of foslevodopa/foscarbidopa infusion in advanced Parkinson's disease

Abstract Background To describe demographic, clinical, and neuropsychiatric safety outcomes in a cohort of PD patients treated with LDp/CDp infusion in a real-world setting. Methods We retrospectively analyzed a database of 77 consecutive PD patients treated with LDp/CDp at two I...

Accelerated TMS is associated with changes of subgenual cingulate–default mode network coupling in depression: an observational 7 Tesla fMRI study

Abstract Background Accelerated transcranial magnetic stimulation (aTMS) is an effective treatment for depression, but its neurobiological mechanisms of action remain to be elucidated. This study used high-resolution 7-Tesla MRI to investigate changes in resting-state functional...

Oral Hygiene and Systemic Biomarkers in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Exploratory Phenotype-Specific Associations with Salivary Zonulin

Background/Objectives: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is heterogeneous, and oral hygiene indices may not capture the microbial and inflammatory features relevant to different phenotypes. We evaluated oral hygiene, salivary microbiota, salivary zonulin, and systemic biomarkers i...

Splenic regulation of systemic platelet activation state

Platelets are essential to prevent blood loss and to orchestrate inflammation. Thrombotic complications of vascular disease and hyperresponsive platelets are associated with adverse outcomes, yet physiological mechanisms counteracting systemic platelet activation are poorly defin...