Beyond Hypoglossal Hype: Social Media Perspectives on the Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation System.

In the landscape of sleep surgery, the Inspire® Upper Airway Stimulation (UAS) device has gained prominence as an increasingly popular treatment option for obstructive sleep apnea, prompting significant discourse across social media platforms. This study explores the social media narrative of the UAS device, particularly the nature of multimedia content, author demographics, and audience engagement on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Our analysis encompassed 423 public posts, revealing images (67.4%) and videos (28.1%) as the dominant content types, with over a third of posts authored by physicians. A notable 40% of posts were advertisements, whereas patient experiences comprised 34.5%. TikTok, although presenting a smaller sample size, showed a substantially higher engagement rate, with posts averaging 152.9 likes, compared with Instagram and Facebook at 32.7 and 41.2 likes, respectively. The findings underscore the need for otolaryngologists and healthcare professionals to provide clear, evidence-based information on digital platforms. Given social media's expanding role in healthcare, medical professionals must foster digital literacy and safeguard the accuracy of health information online. In this study, we concluded that maintaining an evidence-based, transparent digital dialogue for medical innovations such as the UAS device necessitates collaborative efforts among physicians, health institutions, and technology companies.

The Case for Early Use of Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients with Comorbid Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome.

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have high rates of co-occurring type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obesity, stroke, congestive heart failure, and accelerated atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. These conditions frequently require multiple medications, raising the risk of polypharmacy, adverse drug-drug and drug-disease interactions, decreased quality of life, and increased healthcare cost in these patients. The current review of extant literature presents evidence supporting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) as one pharmacologic intervention that provides a "one-stop shop" for OSA patients because of the multiple effects GLP-1RA has on comorbidities (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases) that commonly co-occur with OSA. Examples of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists approved by the FDA for diabetes (some of which are also approved for obesity) are liraglutide, exenatide, lixisenatide, dulaglutide, semaglutide, and albiglutide. Prescribing of GLP-1RAs to address these multiple co-occurring conditions has enormous potential to reduce polypharmacy, cost, and adverse drug events, and to improve quality of life for patients living with OSA and diabetes. We thus strongly advocate for increased and early use of GLP-1RA in OSA patients with co-occurring diabetes and other cardiometabolic conditions common in OSA.

Clinicopathological and immunohistochemical characteristics of breast cancer patients from Northeast India with special reference to triple negative breast cancer: A prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Molecular pathogenesis of Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is inconclusively documented from resource limited countries and hence there is a lack of available targeted therapy for clinical interventions. Compared to other breast cancer subtypes, TNBC is more aggressive, higher recurrence rate, and higher prevalence in younger premenopausal women. Sporadic literature indicates predominance of TNBC in all reported breast cancer cases from Northeast India. AIM: This study was conducted to evaluate the candidature of panel of key molecular markers involved in the development and progression of TNBC for prognosis and futuristic tailored targeted therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the clinicopathological characterized and immunohistochemically screened the differential expression of key molecular markers involved in the development and progression of in TNBC cases vis-a-vis non-TNBC and autopsy-based control samples. RESULTS: TNBC tends to display at an early reproductive age and is more aggressive in nature. Further, the differential expression of 2 specific markers viz., epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and FolR1 was higher in TNBC cases compared to controls and non-TNBC (both in terms of susceptibility and specificity), clinical staging in TNBC cases (severity) and mortality (outcome). Although Ki67 and vascular endothelial growth factor expression also correlated with severity and outcome of the disease but their differences in non-TNBC cases were not significantly differentiable compared to TNBC. CONCLUSIONS: The study indicates that EGFR and FolR1 could serve as useful biomarkers to determine TNBC prognosis. Further studies will be needed to evaluate EGFR and Folate pathways in order to screen out the molecular targets which may be meaningfully used for clinical stratification, intervention, and treatment.

Impact of modulation of telomerase and cancer stem-cell marker OCT4 axis in cervical cancer pathogenesis with underlying HPV16 infection.

Lacunae exist in the molecular event(s) specificity associated with cervical cancer (CaCx) pathogenesis. The present study aimed to evaluate the significance of telomerase-cervical cancer stem cells (CSCs) modulation in CaCx pathogenesis with underlying HPV16 infection. The study included HPV16 positive cases only (N = 65) of the total enrolled cases from Northeast India. The analysis of viral load and the differential messenger RNA expression of E6, E7, hTERT, hTR, and cancer stem-cell markers was studied by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Further the protein and colocalization study for E6, hTERT, and oct4 was performed by immunofluorescence. The real-time polymerase chain reaction based analysis showed an upregulation of HPV16 viral oncoprotein E6 and E7, and telomerase component hTERT and hTR expression and their correlation in CaCx susceptibility and severity. The hTERT expression correlated with viral load; while the E6 and telomerase protein expression colocalized in the nucleus. The CSCs marker octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4) was significantly upregulated in CaCx cases, was associated with CaCx susceptibility and severity, and colocalized with E6 expression in the nucleus as revealed from the immunofluorescence studies. To conclude, the telomerase-OCT4 axis modulation holds key in HPV16 CaCx pathogenesis mediated by HPV16 E6 viral oncoprotein expression, and underlines its potential for therapeutic targeting.

Oxidative stress and deregulations in base excision repair pathway as contributors to gallbladder anomalies and carcinoma - a study involving North-East Indian population.

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a fatal condition with dismal prognosis and aggressive local invasiveness; and with uncharacterised molecular pathology relating to non-specific therapeutic modalities. Given the importance of oxidative stress in chronic diseases and carcinogenesis, and the lacunae in literature regarding its role in gallbladder diseases, this study aimed to study the involvement of oxidative stress and deregulation in the base excision repair (BER) pathway in the pathogenesis of gallbladder diseases including GBC. This study involved patients from the North-East Indian population, where the numbers of reported cases are increasing rapidly and alarmingly. Oxidative stress, based on 8-OH-dG levels, was found to be significantly higher in gallbladder anomalies (cholelithiasis [CL] and cholecystitis [CS]) and GBC at the plasma and DNA level, and was associated with GBC severity. The expressions of key BER pathway genes were downregulated in gallbladder anomalies and GBC compared to controls, and in GBC compared to both non-neoplastic controls and gallbladder anomalies. Expression of XRCC1 and hOGG1 was significantly associated with both susceptibility and severity of GBC. The XRCC1 codon280 polymorphism was associated with disease susceptibility; and significantly higher oxidative stress was observed in hOGG1 genotypic variants. The genomes of GBC patients were found to be more hypermethylated compared to controls, with the promoters of XRCC1 and hOGG1 being hypermethylated and, therefore, being silenced. This study underlined the prognostic significance of the oxidative stress marker 8-OH-dG and BER pathway genes, especially hOGG1 and XRCC1, in gallbladder anomalies and GBC, as well as stated their potential for therapeutic targeting.

Impact of PAP therapy on hospitalization rates in Medicare beneficiaries with COPD and coexisting OSA.

OBJECTIVE: Growing evidence supports that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and coexisting obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have poor prognosis. This association is described as overlap syndrome. Positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy is now the preferred treatment for OSA. We hypothesized that use of PAP therapy in elderly patients with overlap syndrome would be associated with lower healthcare utilization. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we analyzed data from 5% national sample of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries with a diagnosis of COPD who were newly started on PAP therapy in 2011. We examined the effect of PAP therapy on emergency room (ER) visits and hospitalizations for all-cause and COPD-related conditions in the 1 year pre- and 1 year post-initiation of PAP therapy. RESULTS: In year 2011, we identified 319 patients with overlap syndrome who were new users of PAP therapy. In this cohort of patients, hospitalization rates for COPD-related conditions were significantly lower in the 1 year post-initiation of PAP therapy compared to the 1-year pre-initiation period (19.4 vs 25.4%, P value = 0.03). However, ER visits (for any cause or COPD-related conditions) and hospitalization rates for any cause did not differ significantly in the pre- and post-initiation periods. PAP therapy was more beneficial in older adults, those with higher COPD complexity, and those with three or more comorbidities. CONCLUSION: Initiation of PAP therapy in elderly patients with overlap syndrome is associated with a reduction in hospitalization for COPD-related conditions, but not for all-cause hospitalizations and ER visits.

Imbalance in leptin-adiponectin levels and leptin receptor expression as chief contributors to triple negative breast cancer progression in Northeast India.

BACKGROUND: Triple-Negative breast cancer (TNBC), accounts for a large percentage of breast cancer cases in India including Northeast India. TNBC has an unclear molecular aetiology and hence limited targeted therapies. Human breast is comprised of glandular, ductal, connective, and adipose tissues. Adipose tissue is composed of adipocytes. The adipocytes apart from being energy storage depots, are also active sources of adipocytokines and/or adipokines. The role of adipokines in breast cancer including TNBC has been sporadically documented. Two adipokines in particular, leptin and adiponectin, have come to be recognized for their influence on breast cancer risk and tumour biology. Therefore, the aim of this study was to understand the association of differential expression of critical adipokines and associated cellular mechanism in the susceptibility and severity of TNBC in northeast Indian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We collected 68 TNBC and 63 controls cases and examined for serum leptin and adiponectin levels using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Leptin Receptor (Ob-R) mRNA expression was determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay. Differential Ob-R mRNA expression and correlation with cancer stem cell (CSC) markers was evaluated, and correlated with severity. RESULTS: The serum leptin levels were significantly associated with TNBC severity, while the adiponectin levels were comparative. The serum leptin levels correlated inversely with the adiponetin levels. Serum leptin levels were unaffected with difference in parity. The difference in leptin levels in pre and post menopausal cases were found to be statistically non-significant. Higher leptin levels were also found to be associated obesity, mortality and recurrence. Obesity was found to be a factor for TNBC pathogenesis and severity. Increased Ob-R mRNA expression was associated with TNBC, significantly with TNBC severity, and was significantly higher in obese patients with higher grade TNBC cases. The Ob-R gene mRNA expression was significantly higher in the obese TNBC cases showing recurrence or mortality. The higher Ob-R gene mRNA expression correlated significantly with higher serum leptin levels and lower serum adiponectin levels in TNBC cases. The Ob-R mRNA expression with associated with modulation of CSC oct4 and nanog. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the present study is first of its kind on TNBC from northeast India, indicates that adipocytokines does play a role in TNBC pathogenesis. Thus, the understanding of molecular mechanisms of both leptin and adiponectin and their interplay in TNBC offer the prospects for new therapeutic approaches targeting similar signalling pathways.

Preterm delivery and associated negative pregnancy outcome - A tale of faulty progesterone receptor signalling pathway and linked derailed immunomodulation: A study from Northeast India.

Preterm delivery (PTD) is one of the potent contributor of neonatal mortality and morbidity, and the underlying cause in some situation is elusive. This study attempts to delineate the association of deregulation in progesterone receptor (PR) pathway and deleterious immune responses in predisposing patients to PTD in Northeast India, a region with high rate of PTD cases. A total of 109 cases of PTD and 100 term delivery cases were enrolled with all clinical details. The PTD cases were stratified based on gestation age at delivery. The differential expression of PR and key downstream effectors and cytokines were evaluated for correlation with PTD susceptibility, gestational period, and pregnancy outcome. The results indicated a sharp downregulation in PR expression is associated with PTD susceptibility, lower gestational period and negative pregnancy outcome. The PR downstream effector PIBF was also found to be downregulated in PTD, and is associated with gestational period and negative pregnancy outcome. The downregulation of PR and PIBF expression was found to correlate with a predominant Th1 state with higher CD56+NK cell counts and pro-inflammatory burst lead by hyper TNF-α, NF-kB and IFNγ expression, and complicated by lower IL10 expression, contributing to PTD as well as negative pregnancy outcome in the PTD cases. TNF-α expression in placenta inversely correlated with placental PR expression. To conclude, deregulation in PR pathway is a hallmark of preterm delivery and negative pregnancy outcome. Differential expression of several markers such as PR, PIBF and TNF-α has prognostic significance, and hence is of clinical significance.