Objective: We intended to investigate the relationships between visual sensory impairment (VSI) or auditory sensory impairment (ASI) and brain pathological changes associated with cognitive decline in older adults. Methods: We primarily tried to examine whether each sensory impairment is related to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology, specifically beta-amyloid (Aβ) deposition, through both cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches in cognitively unimpaired older adults. Self-report questionnaires on vision and hearing status were administered at the baseline.Neuroimaging scans including brain [ 11 C] Pittsburgh Compound B PET and MRI, as well as clinical assessments, were performed at baseline and 2-year follow-up. Results: Cross-sectional analyses showed that the VSI-positive group had significantly higher Aβ deposition than the VSI-negative group, whereas there was no significant association between ASI positivity and Aβ deposition. Longitudinal analyses revealed that VSI positivity at baseline was significantly associated with increased Aβ deposition over 2 years (β = 0.153, p = 0.025), although ASI positivity was not (β = 0.045, p = 0.518). VSI positivity at baseline was also significantly associated with greater atrophic changes in AD-related brain regions over the 2-year follow-up period (β = −0.207, p = 0.005), whereas ASI positivity was not (β = 0.024, p = 0.753). Neither VSI nor ASI positivity was related to cerebrovascular injury, as measured based on the white matter hyperintensity volume. Conclusion The findings suggest that VSI is probably related to AD-specific pathological changes, which possibly mediate the reported relationship between VSI and cognitive decline. In contrast, ASI appears not associated with AD pathologies but may contribute to cognitive decline via other mechanisms.

Objective: Previous studies have reported that vitamin D deficiency increased the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia in older adults. However, little is known about how vitamin D is involved in the pathophysiology of AD. Thus, this study aimed to examine the association and interaction of serum vitamin D levels with in vivo AD pathologies including cerebral beta-amyloid (Aβ) deposition and neurodegeneration in nondemented older adults. Methods: 428 Nondemented older adults were recruited from the Korean Brain Aging Study for the Early Diagnosis and Prediction of Alzheimer’s Disease, a prospective cohort that began in 2014. All participants underwent comprehensive clinical assessments, measurement of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D), and multimodal brain imaging including Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Global PiB deposition was measured for the Aβ biomarker. Intracranial volume-adjusted hippocampal volume (HVa) was used as a neurodegeneration biomarker. Results: Overall, serum 25(OH)D level was not associated with either Aβ deposition or HVa after controlling for age, sex, apolipoprotein E ε4 positivity, and vascular risk factors. However, serum 25(OH)D level had a significant moderating effect on the association between Aβ and neurodegeneration, with lower serum 25(OH)D level significantly exacerbating cerebral Aβ-associated hippocampal volume loss (B = 34.612, p = 0.008). Conclusion Our findings indicate that lower serum vitamin D levels may contribute to AD by exacerbating Aβ-associated neurodegeneration in nondemented older adults. Further studies to explore the potential therapeutic effect of vitamin D supplementation on the progression of AD pathology will be necessary.

Organ transplantation, a critical treatment for end-stage organ failure, has witnessed significant advancements due to the integration of improved surgical techniques, immunosuppressive therapies, and donor-recipient matching. This review explores the progress of organ preservation, focusing on the shift from static cold storage (SCS) to advanced machine perfusion techniques such as hypothermic (HMP) and normothermic machine perfusion (NMP). Although SCS has been the standard approach, its limitations in preserving marginal organs and preventing ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) have led to the adoption of HMP and NMP. HMP, which is now the gold standard for high-risk donor kidneys, reduces metabolic activity and improves posttransplant outcomes. NMP allows real-time organ viability assessment and reconditioning, especially for liver transplants. Controlled oxygenated rewarming further minimizes IRI by addressing mitochondrial dysfunction. The review also highlights the potential of cryopreservation for long-term organ storage, despite challenges with ice formation. These advances are crucial for expanding the donor pool, improving transplant success rates, and addressing organ shortages. Continued innovation is necessary to meet the growing demands of transplantation and save more lives.

Purpose: T1 high grade (T1HG) bladder cancer (BC) is a type of non-muscle invasive BC (NMIBC) that is recognized as an aggressive subtype with a heightened propensity for progression. Current risk stratification methods for NMIBC rely on clinicopathological indicators; however, these approaches do not adequately capture the aggressive nature of T1HG BC. Thus, new, more accurate biomarkers for T1HG risk stratification are needed. Here, we enrolled three different patient cohorts and investigated expression of collagen type VI alpha 1 (COL6A1), a key component of the extracellular matrix, at different stages and grades of BC, with a specific focus on T1HG BC. Materials and Methods: Samples from 298 BC patients were subjected to RNA sequencing and real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: We found that T1HG BC and muscle invasive BC (MIBC) exhibited comparable expression of COL6A1, which was significantly higher than that by other NMIBC subtypes. In particular, T1HG patients who later progressed to MIBC had considerably higher expression of COL6A1 than Ta, T1 low grade patients, and patients that did not progress, highlighting the aggressive nature and higher risk of progression associated with T1HG BC. Moreover, Cox and Kaplan–Meier survival analyses revealed a significant association between elevated expression of COL6A1 and poor progression-free survival of T1HG BC patients (multivariate Cox hazard ratio, 16.812; 95% confidence interval, 3.283–86.095; p=0.001 and p=0.0002 [log-rank test]). Conclusions These findings suggest that COL6A1 may be a promising biomarker for risk stratification of T1HG BC, offering valuable insight into disease prognosis and guidance of personalized treatment decisions.

Objective: We intended to investigate the relationships between visual sensory impairment (VSI) or auditory sensory impairment (ASI) and brain pathological changes associated with cognitive decline in older adults. Methods: We primarily tried to examine whether each sensory impairment is related to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology, specifically beta-amyloid (Aβ) deposition, through both cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches in cognitively unimpaired older adults. Self-report questionnaires on vision and hearing status were administered at the baseline.Neuroimaging scans including brain [ 11 C] Pittsburgh Compound B PET and MRI, as well as clinical assessments, were performed at baseline and 2-year follow-up. Results: Cross-sectional analyses showed that the VSI-positive group had significantly higher Aβ deposition than the VSI-negative group, whereas there was no significant association between ASI positivity and Aβ deposition. Longitudinal analyses revealed that VSI positivity at baseline was significantly associated with increased Aβ deposition over 2 years (β = 0.153, p = 0.025), although ASI positivity was not (β = 0.045, p = 0.518). VSI positivity at baseline was also significantly associated with greater atrophic changes in AD-related brain regions over the 2-year follow-up period (β = −0.207, p = 0.005), whereas ASI positivity was not (β = 0.024, p = 0.753). Neither VSI nor ASI positivity was related to cerebrovascular injury, as measured based on the white matter hyperintensity volume. Conclusion The findings suggest that VSI is probably related to AD-specific pathological changes, which possibly mediate the reported relationship between VSI and cognitive decline. In contrast, ASI appears not associated with AD pathologies but may contribute to cognitive decline via other mechanisms.

Objective: Previous studies have reported that vitamin D deficiency increased the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia in older adults. However, little is known about how vitamin D is involved in the pathophysiology of AD. Thus, this study aimed to examine the association and interaction of serum vitamin D levels with in vivo AD pathologies including cerebral beta-amyloid (Aβ) deposition and neurodegeneration in nondemented older adults. Methods: 428 Nondemented older adults were recruited from the Korean Brain Aging Study for the Early Diagnosis and Prediction of Alzheimer’s Disease, a prospective cohort that began in 2014. All participants underwent comprehensive clinical assessments, measurement of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D), and multimodal brain imaging including Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Global PiB deposition was measured for the Aβ biomarker. Intracranial volume-adjusted hippocampal volume (HVa) was used as a neurodegeneration biomarker. Results: Overall, serum 25(OH)D level was not associated with either Aβ deposition or HVa after controlling for age, sex, apolipoprotein E ε4 positivity, and vascular risk factors. However, serum 25(OH)D level had a significant moderating effect on the association between Aβ and neurodegeneration, with lower serum 25(OH)D level significantly exacerbating cerebral Aβ-associated hippocampal volume loss (B = 34.612, p = 0.008). Conclusion Our findings indicate that lower serum vitamin D levels may contribute to AD by exacerbating Aβ-associated neurodegeneration in nondemented older adults. Further studies to explore the potential therapeutic effect of vitamin D supplementation on the progression of AD pathology will be necessary.

Organ transplantation, a critical treatment for end-stage organ failure, has witnessed significant advancements due to the integration of improved surgical techniques, immunosuppressive therapies, and donor-recipient matching. This review explores the progress of organ preservation, focusing on the shift from static cold storage (SCS) to advanced machine perfusion techniques such as hypothermic (HMP) and normothermic machine perfusion (NMP). Although SCS has been the standard approach, its limitations in preserving marginal organs and preventing ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) have led to the adoption of HMP and NMP. HMP, which is now the gold standard for high-risk donor kidneys, reduces metabolic activity and improves posttransplant outcomes. NMP allows real-time organ viability assessment and reconditioning, especially for liver transplants. Controlled oxygenated rewarming further minimizes IRI by addressing mitochondrial dysfunction. The review also highlights the potential of cryopreservation for long-term organ storage, despite challenges with ice formation. These advances are crucial for expanding the donor pool, improving transplant success rates, and addressing organ shortages. Continued innovation is necessary to meet the growing demands of transplantation and save more lives.

Objective: We intended to investigate the relationships between visual sensory impairment (VSI) or auditory sensory impairment (ASI) and brain pathological changes associated with cognitive decline in older adults. Methods: We primarily tried to examine whether each sensory impairment is related to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology, specifically beta-amyloid (Aβ) deposition, through both cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches in cognitively unimpaired older adults. Self-report questionnaires on vision and hearing status were administered at the baseline.Neuroimaging scans including brain [ 11 C] Pittsburgh Compound B PET and MRI, as well as clinical assessments, were performed at baseline and 2-year follow-up. Results: Cross-sectional analyses showed that the VSI-positive group had significantly higher Aβ deposition than the VSI-negative group, whereas there was no significant association between ASI positivity and Aβ deposition. Longitudinal analyses revealed that VSI positivity at baseline was significantly associated with increased Aβ deposition over 2 years (β = 0.153, p = 0.025), although ASI positivity was not (β = 0.045, p = 0.518). VSI positivity at baseline was also significantly associated with greater atrophic changes in AD-related brain regions over the 2-year follow-up period (β = −0.207, p = 0.005), whereas ASI positivity was not (β = 0.024, p = 0.753). Neither VSI nor ASI positivity was related to cerebrovascular injury, as measured based on the white matter hyperintensity volume. Conclusion The findings suggest that VSI is probably related to AD-specific pathological changes, which possibly mediate the reported relationship between VSI and cognitive decline. In contrast, ASI appears not associated with AD pathologies but may contribute to cognitive decline via other mechanisms.

Objective: Previous studies have reported that vitamin D deficiency increased the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia in older adults. However, little is known about how vitamin D is involved in the pathophysiology of AD. Thus, this study aimed to examine the association and interaction of serum vitamin D levels with in vivo AD pathologies including cerebral beta-amyloid (Aβ) deposition and neurodegeneration in nondemented older adults. Methods: 428 Nondemented older adults were recruited from the Korean Brain Aging Study for the Early Diagnosis and Prediction of Alzheimer’s Disease, a prospective cohort that began in 2014. All participants underwent comprehensive clinical assessments, measurement of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D), and multimodal brain imaging including Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Global PiB deposition was measured for the Aβ biomarker. Intracranial volume-adjusted hippocampal volume (HVa) was used as a neurodegeneration biomarker. Results: Overall, serum 25(OH)D level was not associated with either Aβ deposition or HVa after controlling for age, sex, apolipoprotein E ε4 positivity, and vascular risk factors. However, serum 25(OH)D level had a significant moderating effect on the association between Aβ and neurodegeneration, with lower serum 25(OH)D level significantly exacerbating cerebral Aβ-associated hippocampal volume loss (B = 34.612, p = 0.008). Conclusion Our findings indicate that lower serum vitamin D levels may contribute to AD by exacerbating Aβ-associated neurodegeneration in nondemented older adults. Further studies to explore the potential therapeutic effect of vitamin D supplementation on the progression of AD pathology will be necessary.

Organ transplantation, a critical treatment for end-stage organ failure, has witnessed significant advancements due to the integration of improved surgical techniques, immunosuppressive therapies, and donor-recipient matching. This review explores the progress of organ preservation, focusing on the shift from static cold storage (SCS) to advanced machine perfusion techniques such as hypothermic (HMP) and normothermic machine perfusion (NMP). Although SCS has been the standard approach, its limitations in preserving marginal organs and preventing ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) have led to the adoption of HMP and NMP. HMP, which is now the gold standard for high-risk donor kidneys, reduces metabolic activity and improves posttransplant outcomes. NMP allows real-time organ viability assessment and reconditioning, especially for liver transplants. Controlled oxygenated rewarming further minimizes IRI by addressing mitochondrial dysfunction. The review also highlights the potential of cryopreservation for long-term organ storage, despite challenges with ice formation. These advances are crucial for expanding the donor pool, improving transplant success rates, and addressing organ shortages. Continued innovation is necessary to meet the growing demands of transplantation and save more lives.