Perception of cauliflower ear amongst combat sport athletes.

OBJECTIVE: Cauliflower ear, or "hematoma auris," is a permanent condition that is typically viewed as a deformity. Despite this, it has anecdotally been observed that combat sport athletes view cauliflower ear as a respected aesthetic trait. This study characterizes and quantifies the differences in initial impressions of subjects with cauliflower ear between combat sport athletes and the general population. METHODS: In a cross-sectional survey, participants were shown frontal and profile views of four subjects with cauliflower ear and five control subjects. Respondents rated the subjects on a scale of 0-100 in perceived success, attraction, approachability, and affect display. Numeric scores were compared between combat sport athletes and the general population. Additionally, first impressions were categorized into positive, neutral, or negative classes via latent class analysis (LCA). RESULTS: 678 combat sport athletes and 129 general casual observers participated in the survey. Combat sport athletes rated subjects with cauliflower ear significantly more favorably than respondents in the general population in all personal attributes: perceived success (+4.03, 95 % CI:1.8-6.2, p = 0.0003), attractiveness (+4.11, 95 % CI:1.8-6.4, p = 0.0005), approachability (+11.57, 95 % CI: 8.4-14.7, p < 0.0001), and affect display (+4.14, 95 % CI: 1.9-6.3, p = 0.0002). They also had approximately seven times greater odds (95 % CI:4.0-12.6, p < 0.001) of reporting a positive first impression of a person with cauliflower ear than the general population. CONCLUSION: Confirming anecdotal observation, the combat sports group had a more positive perception of cauliflower ear than the general population. Conditions that are typically viewed as deformities can be looked upon favorably in specific subpopulations.

Painful Eyes in Neurology Clinic: A Guide for Neurologists.

Eye pain is a common complaint among patients presenting to the neurology clinic. It can be related to neurologic diseases, but it can also be a localized eye condition. Such disorders can be misleading, as their benign appearance might mask more grave underlying conditions, potentially leading to misdiagnoses or delayed treatment. Clinicians should be aware of the specific neurologic or systemic disorders (eg, demyelinating diseases or vascular abnormalities) that might first manifest as eye pain. Formal ophthalmic consultation is recommended for patients presenting with eye pain as the predominant complaint especially when red flags for more serious pathology are present.

Concerns with OpenAI's Sora in Medicine.

Open AI's Sora represents a ground-breaking innovation in AI that can generate lifelike and imaginative visual scenes based on text prompts. However, Sora has also produced some new concerns surrounding artificial video generation in medicine. While Sora is highly promising to enhance patient education, facilitate remote consultations and simulate surgical procedures, AI-generated videos also bring technical, legal, and ethical challenges. In this paper, we explore the clinical and ethical implications of Sora's AI-generated videos in the field of medicine.

National Football League Game Officials Self-Rating of Knowledge in Neuro-Ophthalmic Principles and Practice: A Pilot Program to Improve Precision and Accuracy of Game Official Calls.

BACKGROUND: To determine whether a neuro-ophthalmic curriculum would improve National Football League (NFL) game officials' self-rated knowledge and interest in neuro-ophthalmic principles to improve precision and accuracy of NFL play-calling. METHODS: The formalized and structured neuro-ophthalmic principles (NOP) curriculum was introduced to 121 NFL game officials, 17 replay officials, and 4 officiating staff who attended the NFL Official Training Camp in Irving, Texas, on September 8 and 9, 2023. Before and after the lecture and videos were introduced, participants completed an optional hard-copy feedback form pertaining to self-reported NOP knowledge, likelihood of using said terms, and interest in future content of NOP applicable NFL officiating. Paired 2-tailed t tests were used for statistical analysis to directly compare the self-reported knowledge before and after the neuro-ophthalmic curriculum introduction. RESULTS: One hundred forty-two participants completed the prelecture and postlecture feedback forms self-reported knowledge after the NOP curriculum was given to the NFL officiating staff. All (142/142) participants completed a survey. There was a statistically significant improvement in the mean ratings of the prelecture vs. postlecture understanding of the specific neuro-ophthalmic terms pertinent to NFL game officials (2.6 [95% CI, 2.3-3.0] vs. 7.9 [95% CI, 7.6-8.2], P < 0.001) and 2.7 [95% CI, 2.3-3.0] vs. 7.7 [95% CI, 7.4-8.0]), respectively. There was a statistically significant greater likelihood of using said terms prelecture vs. postlecture (2.9 [95% CI, 2.4-3.4] vs. 7.5 [95% CI, 7.2-7.9], P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study found a statistically significant improvement in neuro-ophthalmic knowledge and a greater likelihood of using NOP terms following the NOP curriculum. NFL game officials, replay officials, and staff are interested in expanding their knowledge in the vision science of neuro-ophthalmic concepts and applications involved in play-calling. We hope that our pilot data will lead to a model of education that will improve the precision and accuracy of NFL play-calls by officials on game days.

Ethical Considerations of Neuralink and Brain-Computer Interfaces.

Neuralink is a neurotechnology company founded by Elon Musk in 2016, which has been quietly developing revolutionary technology allowing for ultra-high precision bidirectional communication between external devices and the brain. In this paper, we explore the multifaceted ethical considerations surrounding neural interfaces, analyzing potential societal impacts, risks, and call for a need for responsible innovation. Despite the technological, medical, medicolegal, and ethical challenges ahead, neural interface technology remains extremely promising and has the potential to create a new era of medicine.

Monoclonal antibodies in neuro-ophthalmology.

Neuro-ophthalmologic diseases include a broad range of disorders affecting the afferent and efferent visual pathways. Recently, monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies have emerged as a promising targeted approach in the management of several of these complex conditions. Here, we describe the mechanism-specific applications and advancements in neuro-ophthalmologic mAb therapies. The application of mAbs in neuro-ophthalmologic diseases highlights our increasing understanding of disease-specific mechanisms in autoimmune conditions such as neuromyelitis optica, thyroid eye disease, and myasthenia gravis. Due to the specificity of mAb therapies, applications in neuro-ophthalmologic diseases have yielded exceptional clinical outcomes, including both reduced rate of relapse and progression to disability, visual function preservation, and quality of life improvement. These advancements have not only expanded the range of treatable neuro-ophthalmologic diseases but also reduced adverse events and increased the response rate to treatment. Further research into neuro-ophthalmologic disease mechanisms will provide accurate and specific targeting of important disease mediators through applications of future mAbs. As our understanding of these diseases and the relevant therapeutic targets evolve, we will continue to build on our understanding of how mAbs interfere with disease pathogenesis, and how these changes improve clinical outcomes and quality of life for patients.

Immune checkpoint monoclonal antibody-related adverse effects in neuro-ophthalmology.

Immunotherapy has renovated the field of oncology. Usually, cancer is treated by surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Immunotherapy is a promising treatment that harnesses the patient's own immune system to target cancer. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have proven to be a promising treatment avenue for managing cancer; however, their use had been associated with a unique spectrum of adverse side effects called immune-related adverse events (irAEs). As ICIs become increasingly relevant in cancer management, it is crucial to address these irAEs affecting various systems in the body, including the skin, liver, gastrointestinal tract, endocrine system, and the eye. Ocular toxicity and sight-threatening events are among the reported irAEs, impacting diverse ocular tissues. The most commonly reported ocular irAEs (OirAEs) are blurred vision, conjunctivitis, ocular surface disease uveitis, scleritis, and retinopathy. Nevertheless, the frequency and severity of these OirAEs can vary, even within the same class of ICIs. Thus, OirAEs can significantly impact the quality of life and patient compliance. Therefore, we aim to comprehensively analyze uncommon and severe ICI-related OirAEs associated with lung cancer by providing a comprehensive and updated review of immune checkpoint monoclonal antibody-related adverse effects in neuro-ophthalmology irAEs. Through a review of the relevant literature, we intend to illustrate the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, contributory factors, diagnosis, and management of ICI-associated ocular side effects. We will also discuss guidelines and best practice strategies for the prevention, monitoring, and management of these OirAEs.

Application of sentiment and word frequency analysis of physician review sites to evaluate refractive surgery care.

Background: Online physician reviews increase transparency in health care, helping patients make informed decisions about their provider. Language processing techniques can quantify this data and allow providers to better understand patients' experiences, perspectives, and priorities. The objective of this study was to assess patient satisfaction and understand the aspects of care that are valued by patients seeking refractive care using sentiment and word frequency analysis. Methods: Written reviews and Star ratings for members of the Refractive Surgery Alliance Society practicing in the United States were collected from Healthgrades, a popular physician rating website. Surgeons with at least one written review were included in the study. Reviews were scored from -1 (most negative) to +1 (most positive) using Valence Aware Dictionary sEntiment Reasoner (VADER). Reviews were stratified by demographic characteristics, namely gender, region, and years in practice. Word frequency analysis was applied to find the most common words and phrases. Results: A total of 254 specialists and 3104 reviews were analyzed, with an average of 4.4/5 stars and mean 48 ratings each. Most physicians had positive reviews (96%, average VADER â€‹= â€‹0.69). Younger physicians (<20 years since residency) had significantly higher Stars rating than senior peers (>20 years) (P â€‹< â€‹0.001). A similar trend was observed in VADER score (0.71 vs 0.69), although not statistically significant (P â€‹= â€‹0.06). No statistical differences were observed between Stars rating and VADER score by gender (P â€‹= â€‹0.66, P â€‹= â€‹0.83) or by geographical region (P â€‹= â€‹0.74, P â€‹= â€‹0.07). "Staff" (n â€‹= â€‹1269), "professional" (n â€‹= â€‹631), "office" (n â€‹= â€‹523), "questions" (n â€‹= â€‹424), and "friendly" (n â€‹= â€‹386) were frequently used in reviews, along with phrases such as "the staff" (n â€‹= â€‹273) and "my questions" (n â€‹= â€‹174). "Surgery" (n â€‹= â€‹719), "staff" (n â€‹= â€‹576), "procedure" (n â€‹= â€‹251), "experience" (n â€‹= â€‹243), and "professional" (n â€‹= â€‹240) were the most common words in positive reviews, while "surgery" (n â€‹= â€‹147), "office" (n â€‹= â€‹86), "staff" (n â€‹= â€‹54), "time" (n â€‹= â€‹47), and "insurance" (n â€‹= â€‹28) were the most commonly used in negative reviews. Conclusions: Both the average Stars and VADER sentiment score suggest a high satisfaction among refractive patients. Word frequency analysis revealed that patients value non-clinical aspects of care, including interactions with staff, insurance coverage, and wait-times, suggesting that improving non-clinical factors could enhance patient satisfaction with refractive surgery.

Transient Monocular Visual Loss (Amaurosis Fugax): How Does Age Impact Diagnosis?

Transient monocular visual loss (TMVL), also known as transient monocular blindness or amaurosis fugax ("fleeting blindness"), is a temporary loss of vision often due to ischemia to the retina. While acute TMVL should be considered an emergency that further requires exhaustive investigation, there are some cases in which TMVL arises secondary to benign causes. Age has a major impact in the diagnosis of ischemia and although the differential diagnosis of TMVL can be broad, timely and appropriate history, examination, diagnostic testing, and treatment can be vision- or life-saving. We review the causes of TMVL and the impact of age on the differential diagnoses and management.

Habitat escalated adaptive therapy (HEAT): a phase 2 trial utilizing radiomic habitat-directed and genomic-adjusted radiation dose (GARD) optimization for high-grade soft tissue sarcoma.

BACKGROUND: Soft tissue sarcomas (STS), have significant inter- and intra-tumoral heterogeneity, with poor response to standard neoadjuvant radiotherapy (RT). Achieving a favorable pathologic response (FPR ≥ 95%) from RT is associated with improved patient outcome. Genomic adjusted radiation dose (GARD), a radiation-specific metric that quantifies the expected RT treatment effect as a function of tumor dose and genomics, proposed that STS is significantly underdosed. STS have significant radiomic heterogeneity, where radiomic habitats can delineate regions of intra-tumoral hypoxia and radioresistance. We designed a novel clinical trial, Habitat Escalated Adaptive Therapy (HEAT), utilizing radiomic habitats to identify areas of radioresistance within the tumor and targeting them with GARD-optimized doses, to improve FPR in high-grade STS. METHODS: Phase 2 non-randomized single-arm clinical trial includes non-metastatic, resectable high-grade STS patients. Pre-treatment multiparametric MRIs (mpMRI) delineate three distinct intra-tumoral habitats based on apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) sequences. GARD estimates that simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) doses of 70 and 60 Gy in 25 fractions to the highest and intermediate radioresistant habitats, while the remaining volume receives standard 50 Gy, would lead to a > 3 fold FPR increase to 24%. Pre-treatment CT guided biopsies of each habitat along with clip placement will be performed for pathologic evaluation, future genomic studies, and response assessment. An mpMRI taken between weeks two and three of treatment will be used for biological plan adaptation to account for tumor response, in addition to an mpMRI after the completion of radiotherapy in addition to pathologic response, toxicity, radiomic response, disease control, and survival will be evaluated as secondary endpoints. Furthermore, liquid biopsy will be performed with mpMRI for future ancillary studies. DISCUSSION: This is the first clinical trial to test a novel genomic-based RT dose optimization (GARD) and to utilize radiomic habitats to identify and target radioresistance regions, as a strategy to improve the outcome of RT-treated STS patients. Its success could usher in a new phase in radiation oncology, integrating genomic and radiomic insights into clinical practice and trial designs, and may reveal new radiomic and genomic biomarkers, refining personalized treatment strategies for STS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT05301283. TRIAL STATUS: The trial started recruitment on March 17, 2022.

Genomic Analysis and Surveillance of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Using Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (WBE).

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes severe infections in infants, immunocompromised or elderly individuals resulting in annual epidemics of respiratory disease. Currently, limited clinical surveillance and the lack of predictable seasonal dynamics limits the public health response. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has recently been used globally as a key metric in determining prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the community but its application to other respiratory viruses is limited. In this study, we present an integrated genomic WBE approach, applying RT-qPCR and partial G-gene sequencing to track RSV levels and variants in the community. We report increasing detection of RSV in wastewater concomitant with increasing numbers of positive clinical cases. Analysis of wastewater-derived RSV sequences permitted identification of distinct circulating lineages within and between seasons. Altogether, our genomic WBE platform has the potential to complement ongoing global surveillance and aid the management of RSV by informing the timely deployment of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions.

Neuro-ophthalmic challenges and multi-morbidity in vasculitis among the older adults.

INTRODUCTION: Vasculitides are a heterogeneous group of disorders producing inflammation of blood vessels (e.g. arteries or veins). All major vasculitides potentially have ophthalmological symptoms and signs including visual loss. Co-morbidity, multimorbidity, polypharmacy, and geriatric syndromes all play important roles in patient outcomes for these rheumatic conditions in the elderly. This monograph reviews the NCBI PubMed database (Feb 2023) literature on the neuro-ophthalmic and geriatric considerations in vasculitis. AREAS COVERED: Cogan Syndrome, Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis, Giant Cell Arteritis, Polyarteritis Nodosa, Takayasu Arteritis, Vasculitis epidemiology, and neuro-ophthalmological symptoms. EXPERT OPINION: Geriatric patient care for vasculitis with neuro-ophthalmological manifestations can be complicated by the interplay of multiple co-morbidities, polypharmacy, and specific geriatric syndromes. The valuation and treatment of vasculitis and the complications associated with the disease can negatively impact patient care. Advances in noninvasive imaging and updates in diagnostic criteria have enabled increased identification of patients at earlier stages with less severe disease burden. Novel therapeutic agents can be glucocorticoid sparing and might reduce the adverse effects of chronic steroid use. Holistic care models like the 5 M geriatric care model (mind, mobility, medications, multicomplexity, and matters most) allow patients' needs to be in the forefront with biopsychosocial aspects of a patient being addressed.

Incidence of Blepharoptosis Following Intravitreal Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Injections.

PURPOSE: We aimed to determine the incidence of blepharoptosis following intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections and compare the rates of blepharoptosis between patients injected with an eyelid speculum and those injected without a speculum. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study METHODS: International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) was used to identify patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and those who developed ptosis following intravitreal injections. Patients with nonexudative AMD who did not receive intravitreal injections served as control. The outcomes were the incidence of ptosis in the injection group compared to the non-injection group and incidence of ptosis in patients whose injections were performed with an eyelid speculum as compared to those whose injections were performed without specula. RESULTS: We recruited 1,100 exudative AMD patients who received at least one intravitreal anti-VEGF injection and 2,258 nonexudative AMD patients who had not received an injection. In the injection group, 18 out of 1100 patients (1.6%) developed ptosis, compared to 52 out of 2258 patients (2.3%) in the non-injection group (p=0.25). Within the injection group, ptosis was mostly bilateral, diagnosed on average 22.4 months following the initial injection, and following more than a one-year injection-free period. 11 out of 537 patients (2.0%) injected without a speculum developed ptosis, compared to 8 out of 444 patients (1.8%) injected with a speculum (p= 0.82). CONCLUSIONS: No statistically significant differences in incidence rates of ptosis were observed. In this analysis, neither intravitreal anti-VEGF injections nor speculum use during injections appears to increase the risk of ptosis.

Preoperative Imaging in Cochlear Implants.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the utility of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in cochlear implant candidates. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case review. SETTING: Tertiary referral hospital. PATIENTS: A total of 207 cochlear implanted patients with CT and/or MRI. INTERVENTIONS: N/A. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age versus abnormal radiologic findings, imaging abnormality versus postoperative outcomes, postoperative outcomes versus electrode design, Cambridge Cochlear Implant Protocol (CCIP) status for imaging abnormalities, sensitivity and specificity of CT and MRI for round-window/cochlear occlusion, and MRI for incomplete partitions. RESULTS: A total of 207 patients with CT, MRI, or both were reviewed retrospectively. Less than half (15.5%) of CT scans had findings that might affect surgical intervention compared with 5.9% of MRI. No significant difference was found between children and adults for relevant imaging abnormalities (grade 4 or higher) with either CT (p = 0.931) or MRI (p = 0.606). CCIP status correlated with cochlear abnormalities (p = 0.040); however, only 46.2% of radiographic abnormalities on CT would be identified by these criteria. For detecting cochlear occlusion requiring surgical intervention, the sensitivity and specificity for CT were 40% (4 of 10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 12.16-73.76) and 95.73% (95% CI, 91.40-98.27), respectively. For MRI, the sensitivity and specificity were 33.33% (1 of 3; 95% CI, 0.84-90.57) and 96.97% (63 of 65; 95% CI, 89.32-99.63), respectively. There was no difference for postoperative AzBio scores for higher-grade imaging abnormalities (p = 0.6012) or for electrode designs (p = 0.3699). CONCLUSIONS: Significant radiographic abnormalities were relatively uncommon in cochlear implant patients on either CT or MRI at our single-center institution. If present, abnormal imaging findings rarely translated to management changes. CCIP status does not reliably predict which patients are likely to have abnormalities. Both MRI and CT have low sensitivity for round-window or cochlear occlusion, but detection likely leads to changes in surgical management.