Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a patchy and slowly progressive disease of skeletal muscle. For MRI to be a useful biomarker in an FSHD clinical trial, it should reliably detect changes over relatively short time-intervals (~ 1 year). We hypothesized that fatty change over the study course would be most likely in muscles already demonstrating disease progression, and that the degree of MRI burden would be correlated with function.

We studied 36 patients with FSHD and lower-extremity weakness at baseline. Thirty-two patients returned in our 12-month longitudinal observational study. We analyzed DIXON MRI images of 16 lower-extremity muscles in each patient and compared them to quantitative strength measurement and ambulatory functional outcome measures.

There was a small shift to higher fat fractions in the summed muscle data for each patient, however individual muscles demonstrated much larger magnitudes of change. The greatest increase in fat fraction was observed in muscles having an or modulation with drug therapy.

Assessing MRI changes in 16 lower-extremity muscles across 1 year demonstrated that those muscles having an intermediate baseline fat fraction were more likely to progress. Ambulatory functional outcome measures are generally related to overall muscle MRI burden but remain unchanged in the short term. Quantitative strength measurement of the TA showed a steep loss of strength when more fatty infiltration is present suggesting that MRI may be preferable for following incremental change or modulation with drug therapy.

It is still unknown whether the “Somatic symptom disorders (SSD) and related disorders” module of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5, research version (SCID-5-RV), is valid in China. This study aimed to assess the SCID-5-RV for SSD in general hospital outpatient clinics in China.

This multicentre cross-sectional study was conducted in the outpatient clinics of nine tertiary hospitals in Beijing, Jincheng, Shanghai, Wuhan, and Chengdu between May 2016 and March 2017. The “SSD and related disorders” module of the SCID-5-RV was translated, reversed-translated, revised, and used by trained clinical researchers to make a diagnosis of SSD. Several standardized questionnaires measuring somatic symptom severity, emotional distress, and quality of life were compared with the SCID-5-RV.

A total of 699 patients were recruited, and 236 were diagnosed with SSD. Of these patients, 46 had mild SSD, 78 had moderate SSD, 100 had severe SSD, and 12 were excluded due to incomplete data. The SCID-5-RV for SSD was highly correlated with somatic symptom severity, emotional distress, and quality of life (all P < 0.001) and could distinguish nonsevere forms of SSD from severe ones.

This study suggests that SCID-5-RV for SSD can distinguish SSD from non-SSD patients and severe cases from nonsevere cases. It has good discriminative validity and reflects the DSM-5 diagnostic approach that emphasizes excessive emotional, thinking, and behavioural responses related to symptoms.

This study suggests that SCID-5-RV for SSD can distinguish SSD from non-SSD patients and severe cases from nonsevere cases. It has good discriminative validity and reflects the DSM-5 diagnostic approach that emphasizes excessive emotional, thinking, and behavioural responses related to symptoms.

Treatment of broncholithiasis is complex, especially in the case of a large or transbronchial broncholith. Holmium-yttrium aluminum garnet (HoYAG) laser lithotripsy may be a useful treatment in broncholithiasis; however, as it is not yet common practice, the optimal parameters are unknown.

We performed a single-center retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 13 broncholithiasispatients who underwent HoYAG laser lithotripsy from May 2012 to October 2018.

For the 13 patients (2 males and 11 females), HoYAG laser lithotripsywas performed 17 times, in total.All procedures were performed under general anesthesia with rigid bronchoscopy. We initially set the HoYAG laser to a pulse frequency of 5Hz and a pulse energy of 0.8J, gradually increasing these as required. The pulse frequency range we employed was 5-15Hz, and the pulse energy range was 0.8-1.6J. All broncholiths were successfully extracted after lithotripsy, and all symptoms improved. Hemoptysis, bronchial esophageal fistula, and pneumonia were the most common complications; however, there were no long-term complications.

HoYAG laser lithotripsy is an effective and safe treatment for broncholithiasis, over a long-term follow up.

HoYAG laser lithotripsy is an effective and safe treatment for broncholithiasis, over a long-term follow up.

Cancer survivors are frequently excluded from clinical research, resulting in their omission from the development of many cancer treatment strategies. Quantifying the prevalence of prior cancer in newly diagnosed cancer patients can inform research and clinical practice. This study aimed to describe the prevalence, characteristics, and trends of prior cancer in newly diagnosed cancer patients in Japan.

Using Osaka Cancer Registry data, we examined the prevalence, characteristics, and temporal trends of prior cancer in patients who received new diagnoses of lung, stomach, colorectal, female breast, cervical, and corpus uterine cancer between 2004 and 2015. Site-specific prior cancers were examined for a maximum of 15 years before the new cancer was diagnosed. Temporal trends were evaluated using the Cochran-Armitage trend test.

Among 275,720 newly diagnosed cancer patients, 21,784 (7.9%) had prior cancer. The prevalence of prior cancer ranged from 3.3% (breast cancer) to 11.1% (lung cancer). In both sexes, the age-adjusted prevalence of prior cancer had increased in recent years (P values for trend < 0.001), especially in newly diagnosed lung cancer patients. The proportion of smoking-related prior cancers exceeded 50% in patients with newly diagnosed lung, stomach, colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer.

The prevalence of prior cancer in newly diagnosed cancer patients is relatively high, and has increased in recent years. Our findings suggest that a deeper understanding of the prevalence and characteristics of prior cancer in cancer patients is needed to promote more inclusive clinical research and support the expansion of treatment options.

The prevalence of prior cancer in newly diagnosed cancer patients is relatively high, and has increased in recent years. check details Our findings suggest that a deeper understanding of the prevalence and characteristics of prior cancer in cancer patients is needed to promote more inclusive clinical research and support the expansion of treatment options.