Risk of cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial neoplasia in cytologic negative and persistently high-risk human papillomavirus positive patients according to genotypes: a retrospective single center analysis.

In January 2020, a different cervical cancer screening program started in Germany. Women above the age of 35 are recommended to have a combined HPV and cytology swab every three years. Showing persistent high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV), cytologic negative cervical samples at baseline and after 12 months, patients are referred to colposcopy. Entailing considerable additional workload due to the required colposcopies, we analyzed the risk of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN 3) in cytologic negative and persistent hrHPV women according to their hrHPV genotypes.Methods In this single center retrospective study, patients with persistent hrHPV, cytology negative cervical samples from our certified Colposcopy Unit in 2020 and 2021 were analyzed. Patient demographics, hrHPV types, biopsy rates and histological reports were collected.Results During the study, 69 patients were enrolled. Most frequent hrHPV genotypes were: hrHPV other 72.5%; HPV 16, 20.3% and HPV 18, 7.2%. Colposcopy showed no or minor changes in 92.7% and major changes in 7.2%. CIN 3 was found in 7 patients (10.1%). Prevalence of CIN 3 by hrHPV genotypes was 27.3% for HPV16, 20.0% for HPV18 and 7.1% for HPVO. A statistically significant dependency between hrHPV and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia was demonstrated (p = 0.048).Conclusion Within this single center study of persistent hrHPV, cytologic negative samples, patients with HPV 16 were more likely to have high-grade disease compared to other hrHPV subtypes. Larger prospective randomized trials are needed to substantiate our results and obtain adjusted cervical cancer screening time intervals according to the hrHPV genotypes.

Hair corticosterone concentration as a potential stress marker in pet rabbits.

BACKGROUND: As a prey species, rabbits tend to hide their illnesses and injuries. Consequently, pet rabbit owners often do not notice that their pet may be suffering. METHODS: Data on the housing and health of 34 dwarf rabbits were collected from a total of 22 rabbit owners. A score from 0 (not stressed) to 3 (highly stressed) was assigned to each rabbit based on the owners' reports. Afterwards, the hair corticosterone concentration (HCC) of the rabbits was analysed as an indicator of long-term stress. RESULTS: The mean HCC of all rabbits was 1.54 ± 0.64 pg/mg. Animals with a stress score of 3 had a higher HCC (2.17 pg/mg) than those with a score of 0 (1.09 pg/mg) or 1 (1.44 pg/mg) (p < 0.05). HCC was not significantly affected by sex or age (p > 0.05). LIMITATION: Only a small number of rabbits were included in the study. Therefore, the findings need to be confirmed in a larger cohort of animals. CONCLUSION: HCC seems to be a promising stress marker in pet rabbits.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cognitive Effects of rTMS in Caucasian Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

In recent years, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has received much attention as a non-invasive, effective treatment modality for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Although several meta-analyses have reported that rTMS can improve cognitive abilities, improvements in individual memory domains (speech, language, concentration, and memory) are poorly understood. In addition, stimulation parameters may be flawed in studies of global populations because of ethnic differences between Caucasians and Asians. This meta-analysis aimed to systematically characterize the efficacy of different combinations of rTMS parameters on different cognitive domains in Caucasian patients with MCI. We conducted a systematic literature search in Medline PubMed, Pubpsych, and Embase on the use of rTMS in MCI patients through November 2022. Randomized, double-blind, and sham-controlled trials (RCTs) from the Caucasian patient population were included. The studies reported outcome measures for different domains of cognition, such as language, concentration, or memory. Possible effects of covariates were examined using meta-regressions. The search yielded five publications. The analyses found that rTMS improved cognitive functions, memory, concentration, and language in patients with MCI and treatment with rTMS compared with the sham stimulation group. The statistical analysis results of the studies showed that rTMS could improve various cognitive functions, such as memory and concentration, in Caucasian MCI patients. A particular effect was found at a frequency of 10 Hz and stimulation of the LDLPFC. However, further studies are needed to validate these findings and explore more effective stimulation protocols and targets.