The University Hospital of Zürich (German: Universitätsspital Zürich, USZ) is one of five university hospitals in Switzerland.The first hospital in Zürich, from which the current hospital derives, is recorded as having existed as early as 1204. The name, location and buildings have since changed many times. As of 2008, the hospital employs an approximate staff of 8,000 (1'200 doctors, 2'400 care professionals, 980 medical-technical and medical-therapeutic specialists) providing medical care to 134,000 ambulant and over 35,000 stationary patients each year in 42 clinics.Scientists and physicians of international renown who have practiced at the hospital include Ferdinand Sauerbruch, Andreas Grüntzig and Rolf M. Zinkernagel; the latter received a Nobel Prize for research done at the hospital.
BACKGROUND:Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is a promising approach for treating IgE-mediated food allergy, but safety concerns limit its use. Heat-denaturation of food allergens may reduce allergic reactions by lowering IgE binding. Here, we examined how heat-induced structural changes in egg allergens affected basophil activation in egg-allergic patients. METHODS:Gal d 1 and Gal d 2 were subjected to heat treatment and analyzed for structural changes using SDS-PAGE, ELISA, NanoDSF, and circular dichroism. Peripheral blood samples were obtained from a cohort of 42 patients with egg allergy. Patients' sensitization status was determined, and basophils were isolated and incubated with native or heat-denatured egg allergen preparations. Basophil activation was assessed by measuring leukotriene release as a marker of degranulation. RESULTS:Heat-denaturation induced time- and temperature-dependent structural changes in both Gal d 1 and Gal d 2, resulting in reduced IgE binding capacity. In functional assays, heat-denatured allergens elicited weaker basophil degranulation responses compared to native allergens, but the effect varied depending on individual IgE sensitization profiles. Among patients who reacted to heat-denatured allergens, egg-white IgE levels tended to be higher, although requiring higher doses to trigger leukotriene release. CONCLUSION:Heat-denaturation of egg allergens reduces IgE-binding and basophil activation, although residual reactivity persists in patients with higher sensitization profiles. Importantly, higher allergen doses were needed to trigger basophil degranulation compared to native allergens, indicating a reduction in allergenic potency. These findings highlight the potential of heat-denatured egg allergens as safer starting materials for OIT, particularly within personalized, stepwise desensitization protocols, warranting further clinical investigation.
BACKGROUND:As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is integrated into existing infectious disease control programs, it is important to understand the comparative clinical impact of COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases. METHODS:We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with symptomatic healthcare-associated COVID-19 or influenza reported to the nationwide, hospital-based surveillance system in Switzerland. Included patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) hospitalized for ≥3 days in tertiary care and large regional hospitals. Patients had COVID-19 symptoms and a real-time polymerase chain reaction-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection ≥3 days after hospital admission between 1 February 2022 and 30 April 2023, or influenza symptoms and a real-time polymerase chain reaction-confirmed influenza A or B infection ≥3 days after hospital admission between 1 November 2018 and 30 April 2023. Primary and secondary outcomes were 30-day in-hospital mortality and admission to intensive care unit, respectively. Cox regression (Fine-Gray model) was used to account for time dependency and competing events, with inverse probability weighting to adjust for confounding. RESULTS:We included 2901 patients with symptomatic, healthcare-associated COVID-19 (Omicron) and 868 patients with symptomatic, healthcare-associated influenza from 9 hospitals. We found a similar case fatality ratio between healthcare-associated COVID-19 (Omicron) (6.2%) and healthcare-associated influenza (6.1%) patients; after adjustment, patients had a comparable subdistribution hazard ratio for 30-day in-hospital mortality (0.91; 95% confidence interval, .67-1.24). A similar proportion of patients were admitted to the intensive care unit (2.4% COVID-19; 2.6% influenza). CONCLUSIONS:COVID-19 and influenza continue to cause severe disease among hospitalized patients. Our results suggest that in-hospital mortality risk of healthcare-associated COVID-19 (Omicron) and healthcare-associated influenza are comparable.
Neurotransmitter receptors guide the propagation of signals between brain regions. Mapping receptor distributions in the brain is therefore necessary for understanding how neurotransmitter systems mediate the link between brain structure and function. Normative receptor density can be estimated using group averages from Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging. However, the generalizability and reliability of group-average receptor maps depends on the inter-individual variability of receptor density, which is currently unknown. Here we collect group standard deviation brain maps of PET-estimated protein abundance for 12 different neurotransmitter receptors and transporters across 7 neurotransmitter systems, including dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, glutamate, GABA, cannabinoid, and opioid. We illustrate how cortical and subcortical inter-individual variability of receptor and transporter density varies across brain regions and across neurotransmitter systems. We complement inter-individual variability with inter-regional variability, and show that receptors that vary more across brain regions than across individuals also demonstrate greater out-of-sample spatial consistency. Altogether, this work quantifies how receptor systems vary in healthy individuals, and provides a means of assessing the generalizability of PET-derived receptor density quantification.
Prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis relies on PSA testing, but its low specificity leads to overdiagnosis. Stockholm3 may improve diagnostic accuracy. This study evaluated the performance of Stockholm3 for detecting clinically significant PCa (csPCa), defined as ISUP grade ≥ 2 on biopsy, in a real-world, non-referral Swiss cohort. Retrospective analysis of a prospective registry (2023–2025) at a non-referral urology practice in Switzerland. Initial screening was performed in men with PSA > 1.5 ng/mL or a suspicious digital rectal examination. Patients who underwent Stockholm3 and biopsy were included. We compared Stockholm3 with PSA, PSA density, and the SWOP risk calculator for the detection of csPCa in a pre-MRI diagnostic setting. We included 178 men (median age 65 years, IQR: 60.0–70.0). Among them, 60/178 (33.7
BACKGROUND:Quantitative flow ratio (QFR) is a guideline-recommended angiography-based estimation of fractional flow reserve (FFR) for functional lesion evaluation. The FAVOR III Europe trial raised concerns regarding the safety and efficacy of QFR compared with FFR. Whether the poor clinical outcomes in the trial were attributable to software limitations or suboptimal in-procedure QFR analysis is unknown. AIMS:We aimed to compare in-procedure and core laboratory QFR, and to evaluate the quality of in-procedure QFR analyses. METHODS:The 1,008 patients randomised to QFR in FAVOR III Europe were assessed for eligibility. Core laboratory QFR analyses were performed by two blinded observers. The quality of in-procedure QFR analyses were evaluated during patient enrolment. Quality scores from 1 (very poor) to 5 (very good) were assigned based on adherence to the standard operating procedure (SOP). RESULTS:Of 1,233 vessels with in-procedure QFR, 1,191 (96.6%) were analysable in the core laboratory and were included in the paired analysis. The median in-procedure QFR was 0.81 (interquartile range [IQR] 0.71-0.90) and core laboratory QFR was 0.84 (IQR 0.73-0.91). The mean difference was 0.02 (95% limits of agreement: -0.26 to 0.29). Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was 0.58, and diagnostic agreement was 72%. Most in-procedure QFR analyses demonstrated very good (19%), good (45%), or acceptable (28%) SOP adherence, while 8% were rated as poor or very poor. Suboptimal angiographic quality, poor in-procedure QFR analysis quality, high SYNTAX score, and diabetes were predictors of increased variability. CONCLUSIONS:In FAVOR III Europe, agreement between in-procedure and core laboratory QFR was modest. Measurement variability increased with reduced angiographic quality, poor in-procedure QFR analysis quality, and more advanced coronary artery disease.
