University Medical Center Freiburg

Network meta-analysis and diffusion

We show that the covariance matrix of the treatment effect estimates in a network meta-analysis can be obtained without matrix inversion using a geometric series of diffusion matrices. This property extends to the hat matrix and provides a connection between parameter estimation...

Measuring the Posterior Airway Space: Inaccuracies in Taking and Interpreting Lateral Cephalograms

Abstract Objectives Although lateral cephalograms (LCs) are often used to measure the posterior airway space (PAS), little consensus has been reached on standardised PAS measurement procedures, which hinders reproducibility. This study uses LCs to evaluate the reliability of PAS...

Prognosis of acute symptomatic seizures and impact of prolonged treatment with anti‐seizure medication

Abstract Objectives Acute symptomatic epileptic seizures (ASySs) occur in temporal proximity to acute brain insults. Given their low risk of subsequent unprovoked seizures, current guidelines recommend either no treatment with anti‐seizure medication (ASM) or early discontinuatio...

Data driven approach to identify vulnerable plaques in carotid atherosclerosis using computed tomography imaging and computational fluid dynamics: A pilot study

The current clinical gold standard for identifying vulnerable plaque is plaque Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). However, owing to its limited availability, many patients do not have access. This pilot study aims to explore whether computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling, es...

Incidence and predictors of delirium-associated violence towards healthcare workers in a Swiss ICU: results from the CAVE study

Abstract Background To assess the frequency of delirium coinciding with aggressive and/or violent patient behavior in intensive care unit (ICU) patients as documented by nurses and to identify clinical associations or risk factors. Methods This was a retrospective observational c...

Sitagliptin for Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease Prevention in Alternative Donor Transplantation: A Randomized Phase III Trial

PURPOSE This trial evaluated whether the addition of sitagliptin to antithymocyte globulin (ATG)–based prophylaxis reduces the incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) after alternative donor hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation. METHODS This prospective, multicent...

Everything you always wanted to know about sleep, but you were afraid to ask: expert concise guide and recommendations on assessing sleep-wake disturbances within a psychiatric context in contemporary times

OBJECTIVE: While disrupted sleep has long been linked to mental disorders there has been a notable decrease in interest and sleep-wake disorders have received low priority in psychiatric care. The aim of the paper was to present a concise guide for evaluating common sleep-wake di...

Safety and pharmacokinetics of inhaled aloxistatin: A first‐in‐human phase 1 dose escalation trial

Aims Aloxistatin (E64d) is a membrane‐permeable cysteine protease inhibitor prodrug that is converted by esterases to the active metabolite E64c (loxistatin). This first‐in‐human study evaluated the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of single ascending doses of inhaled E6...

Institutional modified post esophagectomy care protocol offers improved perioperative outcomes – a single-center propensity score matched analysis

Abstract Background Two-field esophagectomy for esophageal cancer and tumors of the esophagogastric junction is associated with substantial postoperative morbidity and mortality. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS ® ) protocols aim to improve perioperative outcomes through sta...

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)...

Bridging gaps in the care of people under the age of 60 with complex impairments through cross-indication home-based rehabilitation: a cross-sectional survey with experts in Germany

Abstract Background In Germany, medical rehabilitation services are generally well developed. However, first evidence suggests that there are care gaps in the current outpatient and inpatient indication-specific rehabilitation landscape, which may particularly affect people under...

Prophylactic vs Therapeutic Anticoagulation in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19

Importance Coagulopathy in the context of COVID-19 is a major threat due to deep vein thromboses and pulmonary embolisms. Objective To assess whether therapeutic anticoagulation on top of standard of care (SOC) compared with prophylactic anticoagulation as part of SOC can improve...

A Statistical Perspective on Transformers for Small Longitudinal Cohort Data

ABSTRACT Modeling of longitudinal cohort data typically involves complex temporal dependencies between multiple variables. There, the transformer architecture, which has been highly successful in language and vision applications, allows us to account for the fact that the most re...

Design of a nonlinear double-breast single-axis gradient coil with controlled anterior–posterior gradient variation for diffusion-weighted imaging

Abstract Introduction High-performance whole-body gradient systems show promise for breast diffusion-weighted imaging, but their performance is constrained by physiological limits. Although local nonlinear gradient coils can provide stronger gradients while remaining within these...

KMT9 drives T cell exclusion and dysfunction by promoting PMN-MDSCs infiltration and ARG1 expression in prostate cancer

Immunotherapy has emerged as a revolutionary therapeutic approach to treat cancer showing remarkable clinical responses. However, its efficacy in solid tumours such as prostate cancer (PCa) remains very limited due to a highly immunosuppressive tumour immune microenvironment (TIM...

Identifying risk factors associated with postpartum depression: a retrospective case-control study

Abstract Background Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common complication following childbirth, affecting approximately 10–20% of women. Despite its prevalence, PPD remains underdiagnosed and insufficiently addressed in routine perinatal care, particularly in large cohorts from Ge...

Circulating Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase on the First Postpartum Day: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study of Its Association with Maternal Age, Redox-Relevant Haematological and Lipid Markers, and Postnatal Depression Screening

(1) Background: Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS/NOS3), the main source of vascular nitric oxide (NO), generates superoxide instead of NO when oxidative stress uncouples it. Circulating eNOS in the early puerperium is uncharacterised. (2) Methods:In a single-centre cross-s...

Variable Expressivity in Long QT Syndrome Type 2 Rabbits Defines a Low Threshold for Therapeutic I Kr Restoration

Long QT syndrome type 2 (LQT2) is caused by pathogenic variants in the hERG potassium channel, resulting in QT prolongation, polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (pVT), and sudden cardiac death. We previously developed a transgenic LQT2 rabbit model that recapitulates the human di...

Bimekizumab as an Effective Treatment in Darier Disease: Clinical Outcomes of a Single-Center Retrospective Analysis of Patients Treated with Biologics

Darier disease (DD) is a rare autosomal dominant genodermatosis with limited systemic therapeutic options. Retinoids are the gold standard therapy, but long-term application is frequently limited by adverse events. Case reports suggest that biologicals approved for psoriasis vulg...

Edward Miles Vaughan Williams’ classification of antiarrhythmic drugs: then and now

Abstract This historical review provides a short biographical overview of the British pharmacologist Edward Miles Vaughan Williams (1918–2016) and summarises the experimental findings which form the basis for his original definition of three classes of antiarrhythmic drug (AAD) a...