Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

BMJ Open 2022 May 30;12(5):e060556. Epub 2022 May 30.

Basics Sciences Department, Health Faculty, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia.

Purpose: Preterm birth (PTB) is a public health issue. Interventions to prolong the length of gestation have not achieved the expected results, as the selection of population at risk of PTB is still a challenge. Cervical length (CL) is the most accepted biomarker, however in the best scenario the CL identifies half of the patients. Read More

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc 2022 Oct 2;278:121337. Epub 2022 May 2.

Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland. Electronic address:

The core size of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) is a crucial factor defining not only their magnetic properties but also toxicological profile and biocompatibility. On the other hand, particular IONPs may induce different biological response depending on the dose, exposure time, but mainly depending on the examined system. New light on this problem may be shed by the information concerning biomolecular anomalies appearing in various cell lines in response to the action of IONPs with different core diameters and this was accomplished in the present study. Read More

Mov Disord 2022 Jun 11;37(6):1304-1309. Epub 2022 Apr 11.

Edmond J. Safra Program in Parkinson's Disease and the Morton and Gloria Shulman Movement Disorders Clinic, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Background: Although previously thought to be asymptomatic, recent studies have suggested that magnetic resonance imaging-visible perivascular spaces (PVS) in the basal ganglia (BG-PVS) of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) may be markers of motor disability and cognitive decline. In addition, a pathogenic and risk profile difference between small (≤3-mm diameter) and large (>3-mm diameter) PVS has been suggested.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine associations between quantitative measures of large and small BG-PVS, global cognition, and motor/nonmotor features in a multicenter cohort of patients with PD. Read More

Am J Obstet Gynecol 2022 04;226(4):475-486

Fetal Maternal Medicine Consultant, Envision Health, Nashville, TN.

Growth-restricted fetuses are at risk of hypoxemia, acidemia, and stillbirth because of progressive placental dysfunction. Current fetal well-being, neonatal risks following delivery, and the anticipated rate of fetal deterioration are the major management considerations in fetal growth restriction. Surveillance has to quantify the fetal risks accurately to determine the delivery threshold and identify the testing frequency most likely to capture future deterioration and prevent stillbirth. Read More

J Ultrasound 2022 Mar 9. Epub 2022 Mar 9.

Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Qotb Ravandi Blvd., 8715981151, Kashan, Iran.

Purpose: This study aimed at evaluating the value of uterine biophysical profile (UBP) scoring to predict the pregnancy rate after IUI.

Methods: This prospective study was carried out on 85 women who were referred to our tertiary teaching center with infertility of male factor or unknown etiology infertility in 2018. To measure the uterine biophysical criteria, transvaginal ultrasonography (TVS) was performed on the day of beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (B-hCG) injection, and the results were evaluated based on positive B-hCG. Read More

Am J Perinatol 2022 Mar 4. Epub 2022 Mar 4.

Gynecologic Surgery and Obstetrics, Women's Health Department, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Virginia.

Objective:  Currently, there are no established guidelines for obstetric ultrasound training at the core medical student clerkship level. Our objective was to develop practical, consensus-based learning objectives in second- and third-trimester ultrasound and assess the feasibility of implementing these objectives into a clinical curriculum.

Study Design:  Using the modified Delphi approach, a panel of expert stakeholders ( = 23) was assembled to reach consensus on the proposed learning objectives. Read More

Ultrason Sonochem 2022 Mar 16;84:105954. Epub 2022 Feb 16.

Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, "Iuliu Hațieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Gheorghe Marinescu Street 23, 400337 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Laboratory of Chromatography, Institute of Advanced Horticulture Research of Transylvania, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Electronic address:

An optimized ultrasound-assisted extractive method was developed to obtain a polyphenol-enriched extract from the aerial parts of Thymus comosus Heuff. ex Griseb. et Schenk. Read More

Rheumatology (Oxford) 2022 Feb 14. Epub 2022 Feb 14.

Rheumatology Division, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Objectives: To define imaging sub-phenotypes in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA); determine their association with whole blood gene expression, and identify biological pathways characterizing the sub-phenotypes.

Methods: 55 patients with PsA ready to initiate treatment for active disease were prospectively recruited. We performed musculoskeletal ultrasound assessment of the extent of inflammation in the following domains: synovitis, peritenonitis, tenosynovitis, and enthesitis. Read More

Small 2022 03 27;18(11):e2107550. Epub 2022 Jan 27.

PDX Pharmaceuticals Inc., 3303 S Bond Ave, CH13B, Portland, OR, 97239, USA.

The first-line treatment of advanced and metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2+) breast cancer requires two HER2-targeting antibodies (trastuzumab and pertuzumab) and a taxane (docetaxel or paclitaxel). The three-drug regimen costs over $320,000 per treatment course, requires a 4 h infusion time, and has many adverse side effects, while achieving only 18 months of progression-free survival. To replace this regimen, reduce infusion time, and enhance efficacy, a single therapeutic is developed based on trastuzumab-conjugated nanoparticles for co-delivering docetaxel and siRNA against HER2 (siHER2). Read More

Front Psychiatry 2021 20;12:758300. Epub 2021 Dec 20.

Division of Immunology and Pathophysiology, Otto Loewi Research Center, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) can co-occur with hypercarotenemia, a clinical condition characterized by elevated β-carotene in plasma and skin tissue. Carotenoids have known anti-obesogenic effects in adipocyte biology. Thus, carotenoids may potentially play a retarding role in weight gain during the recovery of AN patients. Read More

Front Physiol 2021 16;12:773415. Epub 2021 Dec 16.

Department Physiology & Biophysics, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Remodeling of capillary rarefaction and deleterious arteries are characteristic hallmarks of hypertension that are partially corrected by exercise training. In addition, experimental evidence showed capillary rarefaction within the brain cortex and reduced cerebral blood flow. There is no information on hypertension- and exercise-induced effects on capillary profile and function within preautonomic nuclei. Read More

Neuro Oncol 2022 Jun;24(6):986-994

Department of Radiology, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford, California, USA.

Background: The risk profile for posterior fossa ependymoma (EP) depends on surgical and molecular status [Group A (PFA) versus Group B (PFB)]. While subtotal tumor resection is known to confer worse prognosis, MRI-based EP risk-profiling is unexplored. We aimed to apply machine learning strategies to link MRI-based biomarkers of high-risk EP and also to distinguish PFA from PFB. Read More

Neuroimage 2021 12 12;245:118724. Epub 2021 Nov 12.

Laboratory of FMRI Technology (LOFT), USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 2025 Zonal Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA. Electronic address:

Laminar fMRI based on BOLD and CBV contrast at ultrahigh magnetic fields has been applied for studying the dynamics of mesoscopic brain networks. However, the quantitative interpretations of BOLD/CBV fMRI results are confounded by different baseline physiology across cortical layers. Here we introduce a novel 3D zoomed pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) technique at 7T that offers the capability for quantitative measurements of laminar cerebral blood flow (CBF) both at rest and during task activation with high spatial specificity and sensitivity. Read More

Kardiol Pol 2021;79(11):1245-1250. Epub 2021 Oct 2.

Department for Prenatal Cardiology, Polish Mother's Memorial Hospital Research Institute, Łódź, Poland.

Background: Fetal heart rate (FHR) is commonly used to assess fetal well-being.

Aims: The aim was to establish normal ranges of FHR during pregnancy by umbilical artery (UMB-A) Doppler analysis in a healthy Polish population.

Methods: The study was conducted in a tertiary center for fetal cardiology. Read More

Cureus 2021 Aug 23;13(8):e17398. Epub 2021 Aug 23.

Department of General Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, JPN.

Pregnancy was reported to be a risk factor for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with an increased risk for premature birth. Corticosteroids and remdesivir are used for patients with COVID-19; however, there is no established treatment for these patients. In particular, the effective management of pregnant, critically ill patients with COVID-19 remains unknown. Read More

Epilepsy Res 2021 11 22;177:106773. Epub 2021 Sep 22.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Center for Biomedical Research (ACBR), University of Delhi, New Delhi, India; Center of Excellence for Epilepsy, AIIMS, New Delhi, India. Electronic address:

Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is a common pathology responsible for drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). Failure to precisely localize the epileptogenic zones (EZs) is a major reason for poor surgical outcome in FCD. Currently, there are no molecular or cellular biomarkers available which can aid in defining the EZs in FCD. Read More

Front Physiol 2021 7;12:704044. Epub 2021 Sep 7.

Laboratory of Translational Endocrinology, Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Background: The diaphragm is the primary muscle of inspiration, and its dysfunction is frequent during sepsis. However, the mechanisms associated with sepsis and diaphragm dysfunction are not well understood. In this study, we evaluated the morphophysiological changes of the mitochondrial diaphragm 5 days after sepsis induction. Read More

J Control Release 2021 10 14;338:731-741. Epub 2021 Sep 14.

Physical Sciences Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

Drug-loaded nanoscale cavitation agents, called nanodroplets, are an attractive solution to enhance and localize drug delivery, offering increased stability and prolonged half-life in circulation compared to microbubbles. However, the spatial precision with which drug can be released and delivered into brain tissue from such agents has not been directly mapped. Decafluorobutane lipid-shell droplets (206 +/- 6 nm) were loaded with a fluorescent blood-brain barrier (BBB)-penetrating dye (Nile Blue) and vaporized with ultrasound (1. Read More

Materials (Basel) 2021 Aug 27;14(17). Epub 2021 Aug 27.

Department of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel, University of Basel, Hebelstrasse 20, 4031 Basel, Switzerland.

By permeabilizing the cell membrane with ultrasound and facilitating the uptake of iron oxide nanoparticles, the magneto-sonoporation (MSP) technique can be used to instantaneously label transplantable cells (like stem cells) to be visualized via magnetic resonance imaging in vivo. However, the effects of MSP on cells are still largely unexplored. Here, we applied MSP to the widely applicable adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) for the first time and investigated its effects on the biology of those cells. Read More

Fetal Diagn Ther 2021 28;48(7):526-540. Epub 2021 Jul 28.

School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Introduction: Maternal corticosteroid administration for anticipated preterm birth is common; however, the corticosteroid effect on fetal ultrasound and cardiotocograph (CTG) remains contested. This study aimed to evaluate short-term ultrasound and CTG impact of (a) dexamethasone versus betamethasone (b) pooled corticosteroid effect.

Methods: Substudy of blinded randomized trial of dexamethasone versus betamethasone (given <34 weeks). Read More

Cornea 2022 03;41(3):294-303

The Operation Eyesight Universal Institute for Eye Cancer, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence, clinical features, microbiology, risk factors, and treatment outcomes in cases of ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) with coexisting microbial keratitis (MK).

Methods: This was a retrospective case-control study from a cohort of 939 cases with OSSN.

Results: Twenty eyes (2%) with OSSN and MK were included in the study group and 100 age-matched eyes with only OSSN as controls. Read More

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2021 07;62(9):33

Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, New Zealand National Eye Centre, University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Purpose: To use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure age-dependent changes in total and free water in human lenses in vivo.

Methods: Sixty-four healthy adults aged 18 to 86 years were recruited, fitted with a 32-channel head receiver coil, and placed in a 3 Tesla clinical MR scanner. Scans of the crystalline lens were obtained using a volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination sequence with dual flip angles, which were corrected for field inhomogeneity post-acquisition using a B1-map obtained using a turbo-FLASH sequence. Read More

Phys Med 2021 Aug 27;88:65-70. Epub 2021 Jun 27.

Department of Experimental Physics 5 (Biophysics), University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany.

Purpose: Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) is a new, background- and radiation-free tomographic imaging method that enables near real-time imaging of superparamagnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) with high temporal and spatial resolution. This phantom study aims to investigate the potential of MPI for visualization of the stent lumen in intracranial flow diverters (FD).

Methods: Nitinol FD of different dimensions (outer diameter: 3. Read More

Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2021 May 15;14(5). Epub 2021 May 15.

iMED.Ulisboa, Research Institute for Medicines, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal.

L. () is a shrub widespread in Europe and western Asia, traditionally used in medicine, that has become popular in recent years as a potential source of a wide range of interesting bioactive compounds. The aim of the present work was to develop a topical extract formulation based on ethosomes and thus to support its health claims with scientific evidence. Read More

Obstet Gynecol 2021 Jun;137(6):e177-e197

Abstract: The purpose of this Committee Opinion is to offer guidance about indications for and timing and frequency of antenatal fetal surveillance in the outpatient setting. Antenatal fetal surveillance is performed to reduce the risk of stillbirth. However, because the pathway that results in increased risk of stillbirth for a given condition may not be known and antenatal fetal surveillance has not been shown to improve perinatal outcomes for all conditions associated with stillbirth, it is challenging to create a prescriptive list of all indications for which antenatal fetal surveillance should be considered. Read More

Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2021 07;58(1):111-120

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas, Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Houston, TX, USA.

Objectives: To describe and compare ultrasound and Doppler findings in pregnant women who were positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with findings in those who were SARS-CoV-2-negative, evaluated during the pandemic period.

Methods: In this retrospective case-control study, we analyzed data from 106 pregnant women who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at the time of, or within 1 week of, an ultrasound scan between 1 May and 31 August 2020. Scans were either performed for routine fetal evaluation or indicated due to a positive SARS-CoV-2 test. Read More

J Med Life 2021 Jan-Mar;14(1):2-6

Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Clinical Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology "Filantropia", Bucharest, Romania.

Meningiomas are common primary tumors of the central nervous system. The incidence at the age of fertility is low, although there are some hormonal mechanisms involved. Growth in size was observed during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, which could lead to developing new symptoms during pregnancy or worsening of the already existing ones. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 03 25;11(1):6862. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.

There is a growing body of literature using functional MRI to study the acute and long-term effects of concussion on functional brain networks. To date, studies have largely focused on changes in pairwise connectivity strength between brain regions. Less is known about how concussion affects whole-brain network topology, particularly the "small-world" organization which facilitates efficient communication at both local and global scales. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 03 18;11(1):6216. Epub 2021 Mar 18.

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500 North State Street, Jackson, MS, 39216, USA.

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), a key mediator of angiogenesis and vascular repair, is reduced in chronic ischemic renal diseases, leading to microvascular rarefaction and deterioration of renal function. We developed a chimeric fusion of human VEGF-A with the carrier protein Elastin-like Polypeptide (ELP-VEGF) to induce therapeutic angiogenesis via targeted renal VEGF therapy. We previously showed that ELP-VEGF improves renal vascular density, renal fibrosis, and renal function in swine models of chronic renal diseases. Read More