Journal of Translational Medicine

Our previous studies identified three microRNAs (miR-92a-1-5p, miR-375 and miR-148a-3p) potentially associated with prostate cancer (PCa), particularly in advanced stages such as bone-metastatic PCa. To evaluate their clinical diagnostic utility, we isolated extracellular vesicles (EVs) from the plasma of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and PCa (including localized and bone-metastatic disease). The absolute quantification of these three miRNAs within plasma EVs was performed usi...

IntroductionPI-RADS 3 ( equivocal) prostate MRI lesions pose a diagnostic challenge, particularly in non-referral settings with variable MRI quality. We evaluated whether prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD) and the Stockholm3 blood test can aid biopsy decisions for men with PI-RADS 3 lesions in a prospective, non-referral Swiss cohort. MethodsRetrospective analysis of a prospective registry at a non-referral urology practice in Switzerland. From 2023-2025, men with PSA >1.5 ng/mL or suspic...

BackgroundChronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a prevalent and debilitating condition with unclear etiology. Increasing evidence implicates immune dysregulation, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying impaired immune regulation remain poorly defined. This study investigated the role of adaptive immune responses and DNA methylation in CP/CPPS pathogenesis. MethodsVoided bladder 3 (VB3) urine samples from CP/CPPS patients and healthy controls were analyzed for CD4 T cell...

Background and aimsPopulation screening for liver disease in high-risk groups is recommended. Community diagnosis of liver disease is a challenge due to the asymptomatic nature of disease until very advanced stages. Moreover, regional variation in testing availability can result in people with clinically significant liver disease being missed. Machine learning (ML) has been proposed as a method to reduce diagnostic error and automate screening. We present a novel machine learning derived algorit...

BackgroundCystoscopy is a core component of haematuria investigations but is invasive and resource-intensive. GALEAS Bladder is a DNA-based diagnostic urine test that measures alterations in 23 bladder cancer-associated genes. ObjectiveTo assess the diagnostic performance and clinical utility of GALEAS Bladder as a molecular triage tool in real-world haematuria investigation pathways. MethodsPatients referred for urgent investigation of haematuria were prospectively enrolled across seven UK NH...

BackgroundPatients with cirrhosis are highly susceptible to infections due to immune dysfunction and gut barrier impairment. Non-bloodstream infections frequently trigger decompensation and mortality, yet the global distribution of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in these infections is poorly characterized. MethodsWe performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting AMR in non-bloodstream bacterial infections among patients with cirrhosis. PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science we...

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is an acute inflammatory liver disease caused not only by prescription and over-the-counter medications but also by health foods and dietary supplements. Typically, DILI patients recover once the causative substance is identified and discontinued. In contrast, autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) results from the immune-mediated destruction of hepatocytes due to a breakdown of self-tolerance mechanisms. Patients presenting with acute-onset AIH often lack characteristic cli...

BackgroundHuge neutrophilic infiltrates within lesional and perilesional tissue in hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) give rise to the hypothesis that neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation may further drive systemic immune activation in HS. As intrinsic constituents of NETs, nucleosomes-particularly circulating nucleosome containing Histone H3.1 (H3.1-nucleosomes)-serve as reliable indicators of NETosis in the blood. ObjectivesTo investigate whether plasma H3.1-nucleosomes, fluctuate with HS...

AimsGestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is the most common pregnancy-related medical complication. GDM is linked to aberrant immune responses in both mothers and offsprings, specifically, the subsequent development of inflammatory diseases. Whereas prior research has focused on specific immune cell subsets, a comprehensive overview of the impacts of GDM on maternal and fetal immune landscape is lacking. Here, we aim to comprehensively decipher how GDM modulates various immune cell populations in...

PurposePortal hypertension, a major complication of chronic liver disease, leads to significant morbidity and mortality. While portal vein diameter measured on imaging has long been proposed as a non-invasive marker of portal hypertension, normative CT-based reference values and population-level associations remain incompletely characterized. Here, we aim to define contemporary reference values for portal vein diameter on clinically obtained CT and evaluate its associations with demographic, cli...

BackgroundAntithrombotic drugs are widely used for cardiovascular disease prevention, but their association with non-gallstone acute pancreatitis (NGAP) remains unclear. ObjectiveTo prospectively investigate the association between regular antithrombotic drug use and the risk of incident NGAP. DesignProspective cohort study. ParticipantsA total of 431,754 participants from the UK Biobank who were free of cancer, gallstone disease, and pancreatitis at baseline. Main MeasuresThe exposure was d...

ObjectiveTo develop and psychometrically evaluate an assessment of symptoms in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) MethodsAn initial symptom list was devised from the relevant literature with the patient and clinician advisory groups. An online survey with 85 symptom items in eight domains was completed by people with ME/CFS. Each item had two response structures (assessing symptom frequency and severity on five-point scales). Rasch analysis assessed each domain for unid...

BackgroundSystemic infections are a leading cause of hospitalization and death among patients with cirrhosis. Timely and accurate infection identification is essential for both clinical care and the development of predictive models. However, existing methods such as ICD-10 coding are unreliable, and manual chart review is resource-intensive and difficult to scale. This study aimed to develop and validate an automated large language model (LLM)-based approach for infection classification and subt...

BackgroundIn 2022, the European Union recommended piloting organised prostate cancer screening. Subsequently, the Czech Republic launched a nationwide pilot programme fully reimbursed by public health insurance in January 2024 to reduce the high incidence of late-stage prostate cancer and the widespread unorganised prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing. ObjectiveTo describe the strategy, methodology, and first results of the Czech nationwide prostate cancer screening pilot programme. Methods...

Backgroundfollowing a first cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), one-third of patients develop new primaries, escalating their risk of metastasis and poor outcomes. However, current follow-up strategies are not risk-stratified, representing a critical gap in patient management. Objectiveto develop and validate a prognostic model to quantify individualized absolute risk of a first metachronous CSCC after an index tumor, accurately accounting for the high competing risk of mortality in this ...

BackgroundAtopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic skin disease that typically occurs in early childhood. In this cross-sectional case-control study, our objective was to employ machine learning approaches to identify novel clusters of protective or susceptibility features associated with AD. Methods and FindingsWe utilised an integrated dataset comprising previously established environmental, cytokine, antibody, and gene expression data from AmaXhosa children, both healthy and with AD, living in ei...

ObjectiveTo evaluate the criterion-related and discriminant validity, test-retest reliability and minimal detectable difference of The Index of ME Symptoms (TIMES) in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) MethodsPeople with ME/CFS in the UK completed the TIMES online (n=1055). Rasch-transformed interval data and parametric statistics were used: Pearson correlations (with the ME severity scale); analysis of variance; intra-class correlations (ICC) and standard error of meas...

ObjectiveThe objective was to estimate unique patterns of change in fatigue in people with the Post-Covid Syndrome (PCS) over 15 months. Design/SubjectsThe Quebec Action for Post-COVID (QAPC) study was a prospective study designed to provide a patient-centered understanding of symptoms, function, and quality of life in a self-identified Quebec sample. MethodsParticipants were queried every 3 months about symptoms and function. Fatigue was measured with the 10-item Post-COVID Syndrome Fatigue S...

BackgroundRecurrent urinary tract infection (rUTI) is a major diagnostic and management challenge. Dysregulated innate immune responses, including antimicrobial peptides and cytokines, may underlie UTI susceptibility. This study investigates whether urinary concentrations of antimicrobial peptides and cytokines differ in children and adolescents with a history of rUTI and whether they can accurately classify rUTI status. MethodsUrine samples were collected from 42 girls and adolescent females w...

AbstractO_ST_ABSBackgroundC_ST_ABSMen with prostate cancer undergoing treatment commonly report poorer cognitive performance than their age-matched controls. Within other populations, modifiable risks factors including cognitive and physical activity can independently provide potent cognitive and neuroprotective benefits. However, greater benefits may be achieved by combining stimuli simultaneously (concurrently) to promote greater neurogenesis, connectivity, and improved cognitive outcomes. Thi...