University of Groningen

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 12, 2025 -- For the Preeclampsia Integrated Estimate of RiSk (PIERS) Machine Learning (PIERS-ML) model and the logistic regression-based fullPIERS model, consecutive performance deteriorates over time, according to a study published online Feb. 4 in PLOS Medicine . Guiyou Yang, from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and colleagues examined the performance of two models for predicting the risk for adverse maternal outcomes beyond the first 48 hours following admission for women whose pregnancies are complicated by preeclampsia. Data were included for 8,843 women. The risk differentiation performance of the PIERS-ML model and the fullPIERS model was assessed within a two-week postadmission window. The main outcome measures included trajectories of mean risk of each of the uncomplicated course and adverse outcome groups and daily area under the precision-recall curve (AUC-PRC). The researchers found that the number of daily outcome events decreased from more than 200 to around 10 in the two-week window. Mean risk was consistently higher in the adverse outcome group versus the uncomplicated course group for both PIERS-ML and fullPIERS models. The AUC-PRC values of the fullPIERS model remained low (0.2 to 0.4), indicating low discriminative capacity. The AUC-PRC for the PIERS-ML model peaked at 0.65 on day 0 and decreased thereafter. The PIERS-ML model generally showed good rule-in capacity for the very high-risk group, with positive likelihood ratios ranging from 70.99 to infinity; rule-out capacity for the very low-risk group was also good, where most negative likelihood ratio values were 0. For other risk groups, performance declined beyond 48 hours. "Clinicians should interpret consecutive predictions with increasing uncertainty," the authors write. Several authors have an intellectual property claim regarding the PIERS-AI machine learning-based suite of models. Abstract/Full Text Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

THURSDAY, Jan. 30, 2025 -- For patients with human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 (HPV16)-positive cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3), vaccination with a replication-incompetent Semliki Forest virus vaccine encoding HPV16 E6 and E7 is safe and shows clinical effectiveness, according to a study published online Jan. 24 in Clinical Cancer Research . Anneke L. Eerkens, from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and colleagues examined the clinical efficacy of Vvax001 in patients with HPV16-positive CIN3. Participants received three immunizations of Vvax001 at a three-week interval and were monitored for regression of CIN3 for up to 19 weeks after the last immunization. Eighteen patients were enrolled and fully immunized. The researchers found a reduction in CIN3 lesion sizes in 17 of 18 patients (94 percent), which was evident from three weeks onward after the last immunization. Nine of the patients (50 percent) had a histopathological complete response (regression to CIN1 or no dysplasia ) and 63 percent of patients had HPV16 clearance. There was no clearance of other HPV types induced by Vvax001. No recurrences have been observed to date, with median and longest disease-free survival of 20 and 30 months, respectively. There were no serious adverse events reported. "Our findings demonstrate that the therapeutic vaccine Vvax001 is safe, well-tolerated, and effective in eradicating HPV16-associated CIN3 lesions and clearing the underlying persistent HPV16 infection in newly diagnosed untreated patients," the authors write. Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

THURSDAY, Dec. 19, 2024 -- Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in young childhood is not associated with executive function in middle childhood, but participation in team sports is associated with better executive function, behavior regulation, and metacognition, according to a study published online Dec. 17 in JAMA Network Open . Lu Yang, from University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and colleagues explored associations between early-life physical activity, sports participation, and executive function in primary school children. The analysis included 880 children participating in the Groningen Expert Center for Kids with Obesity Drenthe birth cohort. The researchers found that MVPA at ages 5 to 6 years did not correlate with executive function at ages 10 to 11 years, as measured by the Global Executive Composite. At ages 5 to 6 years, higher levels of light physical activity were associated with poorer inhibitory control (β = 0.86) and self-monitoring (β = 0.79) at ages 10 to 11 years, while greater sedentary time was associated with better inhibitory control (β = −0.62) and self-monitoring (β = −0.57). Team sports participants exhibited better overall executive function (mean difference [MD], −3.03), behavior regulation (MD, −3.39), and metacognition (MD, −2.55) compared with children engaged in individual sports. "While associations varied among specific sports, children who participated in team sports consistently showed superior EF compared with those exclusively engaging in individual sports," the authors write. "These findings underscore the need to explore the effects of varying physical activity intensities on EF (executive function) beyond MVPA and highlight that both quantity and type of sports may be crucial factors associated with EF." Abstract/Full Text Editorial Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.