Articles

Male involvement in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is increasingly recognized as a crucial factor for improving maternal, neonatal, and family well-being. This paper shares personal, peer, and community experiences from Nepal, highlighting both the benefits and barriers to men’s engagement in SRH. 

Both asthma and periodontitis are multifactorial and highly prevalent with global burden chronic diseases sharing similar genetic, environmental, infectious, and inflammatory factors. The first attempts to study the relationship between asthma and periodontal diseases started in the 1970s and continued till now a days. 

Breast cancer remains the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in women worldwide. TNBC—defined by the absence of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)—comprises ~15–20% of cases and is disproportionately represented among younger women, women of African ancestry, and carriers of germline BRCA1 mutations.

Esophageal cancer, a highly aggressive malignancy, frequently presents with advanced-stage dysphagia, significantly impacting patient quality of life. While surgical resection offers the best chance for cure in early stages, many patients are diagnosed with unresectable or metastatic disease, necessitating palliative interventions to alleviate symptoms.

Aim: This study evaluates the sociodemographic, clinical, and anthropometric data of infants diagnosed with Food Protein-Induced Allergic Proctocolitis (FPIAP), categorized as exclusively breastfeeding or formula feeding at the onset of symptoms. This division allows us to compare the effects of different feeding on the development of FPIAP. Methods: This retrospective, observational, single-center study included infants ≤36 months diagnosed with FPIAP. Exclusion criteria were chronic morbidities to ensure a focused study population. 

Undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver (UESL) is an uncommon malignant neoplasm in the pediatric population, accounting for a small fraction of primary hepatic tumors but associated with an aggressive clinical course and poor prognosis. Surgical resection remains the mainstay of treatment; however, extended hepatectomy can leave patients with limited functional reserve and predispose them to hepatic failure, making liver transplantation (LT) a therapeutic alternative in selected cases.

Influenza and other seasonal respiratory viruses affect millions annually. While age is generally known to be correlated with risk and outcome, the mechanisms underlying thesedifferences, especially in the infected, have been poorly defined. Previous studies have focused primarily on cell-subset shifts in older adults, leaving a gap in understanding of how cytokine responses vary across the full age spectrum.

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a developmental defect of the diaphragm, occurring in approximately 1 in 3,000 live births with a high mortality rate of between 30 and 50%. This narrative review provides an update on antenatal and postnatal management strategies and current outcomes emphasizing where further research is required. Fetal endotracheal obstruction (FETO) has been demonstrated in a large RCT to improve survival in the most severe CDH and is now adopted into clinical practice.

Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria (CSU) is a multifactorial disease with an incompletely understood etiology. COVID-19 vaccines can influence the immune system. This study evaluates the risk factors and comorbidities associated with CSU in patients who developed CSU following COVID-19 vaccination or infection.

Antibiotics play an important role in both the prophylaxis and treatment of infectious diseases and are a cornerstone of modern healthcare. Antibiotics are lifesaving medicines and have enabled many advances in modern medicine. However, the more they are used, the less effective they become. Thus, the issues of their availability, selection, and appropriate use are of critical importance to the global community.

Heart failure (HF) stands out as a major reason for hospital admissions. Vitamin D deficiency is also associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases. Due to recent conflicting findings, this study aimed to investigate clinical outcomes based on serum vitamin D levels in hospitalized patients with HF.

Zebrafish xenograft models have become indispensable in cancer biology for their capacity to recapitulate key aspects of human tumor progression in a live vertebrate system. However, widespread adoption has been constrained by the technical demands of microinjection, which require extensive training, result in operator variability, and limit scalability. 

Dolutegravir (DTG), an integrase strand transfer inhibitor, is increasingly adopted as the preferred first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) due to its potent virological efficacy and high barrier to resistance. However, emerging safety concerns—such as reports of neural tube defects, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and hematological abnormalities including sideroblastic anemia—have raised important questions regarding its long-term safety profile.

In recent years, the incidence of endometrial cancer has continued to increase and tends to be younger. An increasing number of young patients wish to preserve reproductive function during treatment. Although progestin therapy has a high remission rate, some patients experience hormone resistance, recurrence, or even disease progression, making this traditional treatment unsuitable for everyone.

The intersection of computational neuroscience and environmental modeling has birthed novel algorithms that emulate brain-inspired emotional learning. One such contribution is the BELBFM (Brain Emotional Learning Based on Basic and Functional Memories) model, recently proposed for dual-height wind speed forecasting. While designed for meteorological applications, the structure and function of BELBFM echo principles long studied in neurobiology.

Extraforaminal spinal nerve stimulation (SNS) is an emerging neuromodulation technique for treating neuropathic pain. Targeting the spinal nerve distal to the intervertebral foramen enables anatomically precise stimulation, distinguishing it from conventional spinal cord or dorsal root ganglion stimulation. This article provides the first comprehensive description of the extraforaminal SNS approach, including technical refinements, anatomical insights, and clinical experience.

Hypoplastic internal carotid artery (HICA) is a rare congenital vascular anomaly, typically asymptomatic due to collateral circulation. However, in certain cases, it may present with ischemic stroke. We report a 17-year-old male with a history of smoking and illicit drug use who presented with acute left-sided weakness. Imaging revealed an infarct in the right middle cerebral artery territory and a hypoplastic right internal carotid artery.

The inability to communicate verbally does not in any way negate the possibility that an individual may be experiencing pain and may need appropriate treatment to relieve their pain. Pain can be expressed differently from one person to another. It can be difficult to decode and interpret and, as a result, can be underestimated by caregivers, particularly in people with multiple disabilities, due to their sensory specificities and unique communication modalities.

The validity of borderline personality disorder (BPD) has become an urgent issue in psychiatric nosology, with some proposing its absorption into complex posttraumatic stress disorder and others questioning its utility due to stigma. With planning for DSM-6 underway, reassessing the validity of BPD is both timely and necessary.

Spondylolysis, a defect of the pars interarticularis, is a frequent cause of low back pain in young adults. A 19-year-old male presented with a year of chronic pain that recently worsened, limiting ambulation. He denied trauma, fever, neurological symptoms, or bowel/bladder dysfunction. Examination revealed an antalgic gait without focal tenderness or deficits. Given the underlying chronicity and functional limitation in a young patient, lumbar radiographs were obtained, which demonstrated a pars defect at L4.