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Ischemic heart disease and congestive heart failure are major contributors to high morbidity and mortality. Approximately 1.5 million cases of myocardial infarction occur annually in the United States; the yearly incidence rate is approximately 600 cases per 100,000 people. Although significant progress to improve the survival rate has been made by medications and implantable medical devices, damaged cardiomyocytes are unable to be recovered by current treatment strategies. After almost two decades of research, stem cell therapy has become a very promising approach to generate new cardiomyocytes and enhance the function of the heart. Along with clinical trials with stem cells conducted in cardiac regeneration, concerns regarding safety and potential risks have emerged. One of the contentious issues is the electrical dysfunctions of cardiomyocytes and cardiac arrhythmia after stem cell therapy. In this review, we focus on the cell sources currently used for stem cell therapy and discuss related arrhythmogenic risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: An estimate of the lifetime medical costs of an obese child provides a benchmark of the potential per capita savings that could accrue from successful childhood obesity prevention efforts. We reviewed the literature to identify the best current estimate of the incremental lifetime per capita medical cost of an obese child in the United States today relative to a normal weight child. METHODS: We searched PubMed and Web of Science for US-based studies published within the 15 years preceding May 2013 from which lifetime medical cost estimates can be extracted or imputed. Two reviewers independently screened search results and extracted data from eligible articles. All estimates were inflated to 2012 dollars and discounted to reflect costs from the perspective of a 10-year-old child today. RESULTS: We identified 6 studies. The incremental lifetime direct medical cost from the perspective of a 10-year-old obese child relative to a 10-year-old normal weight child ranges from $12 660 to $19 630 when weight gain through adulthood among normal weight children is accounted for and from $16 310 to $39 080 when this adjustment is not made. CONCLUSIONS: We recommend use of an estimate of $19 000 as the incremental lifetime medical cost of an obese child relative to a normal weight child who maintains normal weight throughout adulthood. The alternative estimate, which considers the reality of eventual weight gain among normal weight youth, is $12 660. Additional research is needed to include estimates of indirect costs of childhood obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Radiation therapy (RT) may increase the risk of second cancer. This study aimed to determine the association between exposure to radiotherapy for the treatment of thoracic cancer (TC) and subsequent secondary lung cancer (SLC)., Materials and Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (from 1975 to 2015) was queried for TC. Univariate Cox regression analyses and multiple primary standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were used to assess the risk of SLC. Subgroup analyses of patients stratified by latency time since TC diagnosis, age at TC diagnosis, and calendar year of TC diagnosis stage were also performed. Overall survival and SLC-related death were compared among the RT and no radiation therapy (NRT) groups by using Kaplan-Meier analysis and competitive risk analysis., Results: In a total of 329 129 observations, 147 847 of whom had been treated with RT. And 6799 patients developed SLC. Receiving radiotherapy was related to a higher risk of developing SLC for TC patients (adjusted HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.19-1.32; P < 0.001). The cumulative incidence of developing SLC in TC patients with RT (3.8%) was higher than the cumulative incidence (2.9%) in TC patients with NRT(P). The incidence risk of SLC in TC patients who received radiotherapy was significantly higher than the US general population (SIR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.14-1.23; P < 0.050)., Conclusions: Radiotherapy for TC was associated with higher risks of developing SLC compared with patients unexposed to radiotherapy., (© 2024 The Authors. The Clinical Respiratory Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objective: The goal was to determine the prevalence of high-risk HPV16 using saliva in a screening population in Detroit, Michigan., Materials and Methods: Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was applied to detect HPV16 in saliva DNA from 349 screening subjects without head and neck cancer (HNC), 156 with HNC, and 19 controls. Cut points for human papilloma virus (HPV) positivity were >0 and >0.001 copy/cell. Proportions were compared between groups using exact χ(2) or Fisher exact tests (P < .05)., Results: At a cut point >0, each group had an overall HPV prevalence of more than 5%, with a higher prevalence of 30.8% in the HNC patient group. At a cut point >0.001, the prevalence was lower: 0% in the control, 1.2% in the screening, and 16.7% in the HNC group. In the latter, for both cut points, HPV prevalence was different across sites (<0.001) and significantly higher in the oropharynx than larynx or site as other after Hochberg's adjustment. At >0, women in the screening group had a higher prevalence of HPV than did men (P = .010), and at >0.001, the prevalence was higher for men in the HNC group than for women (P = .035). In the screening group, at >0, only African Americans had a higher prevalence than Caucasian Americans (P = .025)., Conclusions: In the screening group, a 6.9% and 1.2% screening rate was noted at cut points >0 and >0.001, respectively. The results provide data to inform public health considerations of the feasibility of saliva as a screening tool in at-risk populations with the long-term goal of prophylactic vaccination against oral HPV.