British Journal of Biomedical Science最新文献

{"title":"Supporting quantitative skills in biomedical science with smart worksheets: intentions, impact and barriers to engagement.","authors":"Leanne Williams, Emily Coyte, Sue Jones, Stephany Veuger","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.15078","DOIUrl":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.15078","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The growing diversity of university student populations highlights the critical need for inclusive support strategies. Student outcomes often remain linked to socio-economic factors and Level 3 qualifications, challenging universities to create equitable learning environments, particularly for foundational skills like quantitative analysis. This study investigated the impact of widening participation (WP) characteristics on student engagement with, and perceptions of, novel asynchronous digital Smart Worksheets developed by LearnSci in collaboration with the Institute of Biomedical Science.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Students (N = 779) enrolled on Biomedical Science modules in Level 3 to 6 at Northumbria University UK, were surveyed to gauge perceived calculation confidence, extracurricular commitments and intent to use the Smart Worksheets. Following deployment of the Smart Worksheets, students were surveyed again to correlate intention versus actual usage, explore the influence of WP characteristics and elucidate other factors that affected engagement.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Surprisingly, perceived course engagement and initial calculation confidence was generally high. Students with multiple WP characteristics, however, reported significantly lower calculation confidence (<i>p</i> = 0.002). While 93.9% of students expressed strong intent to use the resources, only 20% engaged. Further exploration revealed the primary barriers were resource awareness and time availability, with extracurricular commitments increasing from Level 3 to 6, culminating in 86.1% of Level 6 students having work or caring responsibilities. Regardless of initial confidence, students consistently rated the Smart Worksheet content as appropriate and their content as highly valuable.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>These findings suggest that students' extracurricular commitments are escalating throughout their university careers, challenging traditional assumptions about final year students being more autonomous and needing less support. Flexible, high-value resources are crucial for time-poor students, addressing engagement barriers that are primarily time and capacity-related. This study underscores the increasing need for comprehensive and clearly communicated support mechanisms for all students navigating an increasingly complex academic, financial and personal landscape.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"83 ","pages":"15078"},"PeriodicalIF":11.9,"publicationDate":"2026-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13359501/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148435115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Artificial intelligence approaches in biological age prediction: current status and challenges.","authors":"Guangjun Wang, Pengcheng Ding, Zihui Li, Qingfeng Tang, Liping Tu, Tao Jiang, Liangliang Zhang, Benyue Su, Jiatuo Xu, Hui An","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.16141","DOIUrl":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.16141","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Biological age (BA) prediction has emerged as a critical research frontier for evaluating individual health status and aging trajectories beyond chronological age (CA). Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have substantially accelerated this field by enabling the integration and interpretation of complex, multimodal biological data. This review provides a systematic overview of AI-driven approaches to BA prediction, covering key components including biomarker selection, feature engineering, model development, bias correction, and performance evaluation. We further highlight the growing recognition of asynchronous aging, a phenomenon in which different organs or physiological systems age at distinct rates, and discuss how AI-particularly deep learning and multimodal fusion-offers powerful tools for capturing such system-specific aging patterns. We summarize current methodologies ranging from traditional machine learning algorithms to advanced neural architectures capable of modeling nonlinear and heterogeneous aging processes. The expanding applications of AI-based BA models in disease risk assessment, geriatric evaluation, and population health monitoring are also examined. Despite rapid methodological progress, significant challenges persist, including data heterogeneity, limited model generalizability, insufficient interpretability, and barriers to clinical translation. Addressing these issues will require standardized methodological practices, robust validation across diverse populations, and the development of interpretable and equitable AI systems. Future research should prioritize the integration of multi-omics and longitudinal datasets with AI-driven analytical frameworks to establish reliable, system-level, and clinically actionable BA prediction models that account for asynchronous aging.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"83 ","pages":"16141"},"PeriodicalIF":11.9,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13291852/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148327002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Challenges and emerging strategies for genome-wide evaluation of loss of imprinting in cancer.","authors":"Muhammad Talal Amin, Louis Coussement, Tim De Meyer","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.16709","DOIUrl":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.16709","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Genomic imprinting is the phenomenon in which only a single allele of a gene is expressed based on its parental origin, thereby deviating from the typical biallelic expression of autosomal genes. It is meticulously controlled by epigenetic mechanisms, particularly DNA methylation. Imprinted loci are crucial for regulating growth during early development, and anomalies in imprinting can lead to congenital syndromes such as Beckwith-Wiedemann's and Prader-Willi's. Similarly, many cancers exhibit dysregulated imprinting patterns, putatively contributing to tumour growth. Yet, the assessment of imprinting in cancer is complex due to technical challenges, impeding clinical research and the translation of novel insight to the clinic. This review starts with a general introduction to imprinting, its (dys)regulation and key clinical findings in cancer and beyond. Then, we summarize common methods used to characterize normal imprinting and aberrations in cancer. Subsequently, we discuss how the interpretation of such findings is complicated by technical challenges, such as tumour impurity, the requirement for heterozygosity to distinguish between maternal and paternal alleles and the presence of tissue- and transcript-specific imprinting patterns. We further delve into state-of-the-art methods able to mitigate these challenges. Finally, we discuss how future methodological innovations, particularly by integrating single-cell and single-molecule based methods, may further facilitate a straightforward characterization of imprinting dysregulation and its underlying causes, and guide the development of clinical tests. Thus, by integrating recent advances and proposing innovative approaches, our review aims to provide a comprehensive overview for cancer researchers and clinicians to facilitate cancer imprinting research and its translation to the clinic.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"83 ","pages":"16709"},"PeriodicalIF":11.9,"publicationDate":"2026-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13286860/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148315923","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Application of non-invasive preimplantation genetic screening for aneuploidy through spent embryo culture media analysis at 48 and 54 hours after embryo cleavage.","authors":"Chonthicha Satirapod, Pornsri Niransuk, Siriluk Tantanavipas, Insee Sensorn, Wasun Chantratita, Objoon Trachoo","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.15905","DOIUrl":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.15905","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>This study aims to assess the effectiveness of non-invasive preimplantation genetic testing (niPGT) for detecting aneuploidy at two different time points, 48- and 54-hour following the cleavage stage of embryo development.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cohort of 15 infertile women was enrolled, involving a total of 58 embryos. All embryos underwent sequential culture media procedures and received assisted hatching during the cleavage stage on Day 3. After biopsy examination, conducted either 48 or 54 hours post cleavage, spent culture media (SCM) were gathered and processed for the amplification and quantification of cell-free DNA. This was followed by low-pass whole genome sequencing.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The cell-free DNA content within SCM remained consistent across both time points post cleavage. The accuracy of niPGT in ploidy detection, in comparison to trophectoderm biopsy, was 53.71%. No significant distinction in ploidy detection accuracy was observed between SCM collected from embryos at 48 hours versus those at 54 hours post cleavage. The overall accuracy for sex determination reached 79.63%.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The concentration of cell-free DNA within SCM was found to be consistent at both 48- and 54-hours after embryo cleavage. However, the accuracy of ploidy determination, when contrasted with the conventional trophectoderm biopsy, did not yield satisfactory outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"83 ","pages":"15905"},"PeriodicalIF":11.9,"publicationDate":"2026-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13286854/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148315888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Training on PD-L1 scoring in non-small cell lung cancer with high intra- and inter-reader agreement: results of a worldwide microscopic/digital image-based training of 751 pathologists.","authors":"Gudrun Bänfer, Rolf Diezko, Rabea Oberthür, George L Kumar, Josef Rüschoff, Hans-Ulrich Schildhaus, Bharat Jasani","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.16477","DOIUrl":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.16477","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Semi-quantitative scoring of PD-L1 expression on tumor cells (TCs) and/or infiltrating immune cells (ICs) is complex and requires expert pathologist training to reduce inter- and intra-reader variability. We conducted a 1- or 2-day training of 751 pathologists world-wide from 63 countries over a period of 2 years (2016 and 2017). Pathologists read microscopic slides or fully digitized slides stained with PD-L1 immunohistochemistry 22C3 pharmDx assay with expression levels enriched around the clinically relevant cutoffs of 1% and 50% in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The overall inter-reader agreement (OPA) for PD-L1-stained NSCLC was 95.6% for TPS ≥1% and 87.3% for TPS ≥50% cut-off. The corresponding intra-reader agreement was 95.9% for the ≥1% and 91.4% for the ≥50% cut-off. The inter-reader negative percent agreement (NPA) for TPS ≥1% was 85.6% and 91.9% for the TPS ≥50% cut-off, and the positive percent agreement (PPA) was 97.6% (TPS ≥1%) and 81.0% (TPS ≥50%). The observed high inter- and intra-reader agreements are promising given the difficulty of reproducible scoring tumor cells with heterogeneous distribution of PD-L1 staining combined with the varied professional training, expertise, and experience of the participants. The results may reflect the utility of the expert led standardized protocol used to train pathologists for scoring PD-L1 staining in NSCLC specimens. The digital image-led training approach has the additional advantage of providing a computer-assisted scoring system and allows for remote training of pathologists worldwide.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"83 ","pages":"16477"},"PeriodicalIF":11.9,"publicationDate":"2026-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13283929/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148307250","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Performance of a quality control center supporting national antimicrobial resistance surveillance.","authors":"Dong Woo Shin, Hyunji Kim, Jeong Su Park, Kyoung Un Park, Min Hyuk Choi, Dokyun Kim, Seok Hoon Jeong, Hee Jung Kim, Young Ah Kim, Kwangjin Ahn, Young Uh, Yong Jun Kwon, Jong Hee Shin, Soo Hyun Kim, Jeong Hwan Shin, Hee Young Kang, Dong Chan Moon, Sung Young Lee, Songmee Bae","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.16457","DOIUrl":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.16457","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Ensuring the reliability, standardization, and international comparability of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance data critically depends on the implementation of robust quality assurance frameworks. South Korea established the Korea Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (Kor-GLASS), supported by a centralized quality control center (QCC). As Kor-GLASS transitioned from Phase II to Phase III, new bacterial species and antimicrobial agents were incorporated, underscoring the need to evaluate whether quality assurance performance could be sustained during system expansion.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>We analyzed interlaboratory proficiency testing (IPT) and external quality assessment (EQA) outcomes generated by the QCC between 2020 and 2024, covering Phases II and III of Kor-GLASS. Clinical isolates were collected at participating hospitals and transferred to organism-specialized analysis centers for standardized antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST), while the QCC independently oversees data quality through IPT and EQA. IPT was conducted by comparing AST results between analysis centers and the QCC using subsets of routine clinical isolates, with acceptance criteria defined as categorical agreement (CA) ≥90% and major error rates <3%. EQA involved quarterly distribution of pre-characterized strains to participating centers. Additional evaluations addressed the performance of newly introduced ceftazidime-avibactam susceptibility testing and interlaboratory validation for <i>Haemophilus</i> spp.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Across the study period, overall CA consistently exceeded 97% in IPT, and no EQA failures observed among participating centers. While major errors during Phase II were primarily attributable to AST reading and near-breakpoint discrepancies, their frequency markedly decreased in Phase III following targeted corrective actions and educational interventions. Susceptibility testing for ceftazidime-avibactam showed high concordance between centers, with rare discrepancies limited to near-breakpoint measurements. Interlaboratory validation confirmed acceptable performance for AST of <i>Haemophilus</i> spp., supporting its formal inclusion in Phase III.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>These findings demonstrate that a centralized, QCC-led quality assurance framework can maintain stable and reliable AMR surveillance performance during periods of system expansion. Beyond routine oversight, coordinated quality assurance activities function as an evidence-based evaluation of how standardized laboratory data are generated and validated, reinforcing their essential role in sustaining the credibility and future development of AMR surveillance systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"83 ","pages":"16457"},"PeriodicalIF":11.9,"publicationDate":"2026-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13272092/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148276148","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Molecular Pathology of Non-Malignant Haematological Disease.","authors":"A D Blann, R G Dunn","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.14743","DOIUrl":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.14743","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In almost all aspects of biomedical science, molecular pathology has brought unprecedented value in the diagnosis and management of human disease. Numerous commentators cite haematological disease as the leading genetic cause of global mortality and morbidity, and of these, those of the red blood cells are the most frequent. This narrative review, with a historical perspective, will discuss the role of genetics in these conditions, the leading pathology of red blood cells being the haemoglobinopathies, principally sickle cell disease and thalassaemia, with their many variants, and with potential roles for non-coding RNAs. The impact of genetics into conditions of the red cell cytoplasm will consider the enzymopathies, led by glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, and extend to those of the cell membrane, causing disease such as hereditary elliptocytosis. Mutations in genes coding almost all the coagulation factors, and several platelet abnormalities, are discussed, as are those linked to conditions of iron overload. Previous, current and evolving technologies for diagnostic testing and their link with potential targeted therapeutic options for patient management are considered.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"83 ","pages":"14743"},"PeriodicalIF":11.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13236630/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148197317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Matrix metalloproteinase activation and TNF upregulation characterize the sclerotic phase of aortic valve disease.","authors":"Elizabeth Chan-Delgado, Claudia Lerma, Juan C Echeverría, Andrea Toledo, José M Torres-Arellano, Oscar Infante, Rafael Bojalil, Jorge E Cossío-Aranda, Nydia Ávila-Vanzzini, Luis M Amezcua-Guerra, Rashidi Springall","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.16540","DOIUrl":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.16540","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Aortic valve sclerosis (AVSc) is an active pathological process driven by extracellular matrix remodeling, consistent with a potentially reversible early stage of aortic valve disease.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this cross-sectional study of 168 participants (29, normal aortic valve [NAV]; 98, AVSc; 41, aortic stenosis [AS]), serum levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, -2, -3, and -9, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) were measured. Multivariable adjustments were performed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with AS, AVSc was associated with higher circulating MMP-9 levels, with MMP-9 also increased relative to NAV. TIMP-1 concentrations were reduced in AVSc compared with both AS and NAV. TNF levels were higher in AVSc than in AS, while IL-6 and TGF-β did not differ among groups. Notably, MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio was markedly increased in AVSc.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Our findings suggest that AVSc may exhibit an active proteolytic and inflammatory profile amenable to targeted anti-inflammatory and anti-proteolytic interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"83 ","pages":"16540"},"PeriodicalIF":11.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13212251/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148052701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correlation between oxidative stress and inflammation with metabolomics profile in skeletal muscle of ageing animal model and its modulation by tocotrienol-rich fraction.","authors":"Siti Liyana Saud Gany, Nur Fatin Nabilah Mohd Sahardi, Jen Kit Tan, Suzana Makpol","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.16208","DOIUrl":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.16208","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Introduction: &lt;/strong&gt;Sarcopenia, characterised by age-associated decline in skeletal muscle mass and function, is driven by multifactorial mechanisms including oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and genomic instability. The imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant defence contributes to mitochondrial dysfunction and DNA damage, thereby affecting cellular metabolism and promoting muscle degeneration. Tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF), a potent antioxidant form of vitamin E, has shown potential in modulating oxidative and inflammatory pathways. However, &lt;i&gt;in vivo&lt;/i&gt; evidence exploring TRF's multifaceted role in ageing muscle remains limited. This study investigates the correlation between oxidative stress and inflammation with the metabolomics profile in ageing skeletal muscle in a rat model and its modulation by tocotrienols.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;Young (3 months) and old (21 months) male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control and TRF-supplemented groups (n = 10). TRF was administered orally (60 mg/kg/day) for 3 months. Antioxidant enzymes, lipid peroxidation products: malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE); and inflammatory markers: C-reactive protein (CRP), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were quantified, alongside DNA damage, using the comet assay. Muscle histology was assessed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Pearson correlation analysis was performed between selected metabolites and biological markers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;Ageing significantly increased oxidative damage, pro-inflammatory markers, and DNA fragmentation, while reducing antioxidant enzyme activities and disrupting metabolic profiles. Although TRF supplementation did not significantly restore muscle mass or overall body composition, it effectively enhanced antioxidant defence by increasing Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities, reducing lipid peroxidation (MDA and 4-HNE), attenuating inflammatory responses, preserving DNA integrity, and improving muscle histological features. Importantly, correlation analyses revealed that ageing is associated with a coordinated metabolic shift linking amino acid and carnitine metabolism with antioxidant defence, inflammation, and genomic stability. TRF supplementation weakened these maladaptive biomarker and metabolite associations while strengthening correlations between protective metabolites (e.g., taurine, histidine, pantothenic acid) and antioxidant enzymes, alongside inverse relationships between lipid peroxidation and inflammatory markers (e.g., MDA, prostaglandin factor 2-alpha, PGF2α) and redox-supportive metabolites.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Discussion: &lt;/strong&gt;Collectively, these findings indicate that TRF acts primarily as a preventive intervention by restoring redox balance, dampening inflammatory signalling, and stabilising metabolic and inflammatory coupling, highlighting its potential as a nutritiona","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"83 ","pages":"16208"},"PeriodicalIF":11.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13194080/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148013620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Clinical Utility of SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Titers in the Management of Patients With Long COVID Infected With the Omicron Variant.","authors":"Marina Kawaguchi, Yasue Sakurada, Kazuki Tokumasu, Yuki Otsuka, Yasuhiro Nakano, Yui Matsuda, Hiroyuki Honda, Daisuke Omura, Nobuyoshi Matsuki, Masanori Furukawa, Akihito Higashikage, Fumio Otsuka","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.16255","DOIUrl":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.16255","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Long COVID (LC) presents persistent symptoms that pose a major clinical challenge. Identification of reliable biomarkers to evaluate LC pathophysiology is needed.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To investigate whether serum S- and N-antibody titers against SARS-CoV-2 spike and nucleocapsid proteins reflect the clinical features of LC.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective observational study included patients diagnosed with Omicron variant-related LC who attended a post-COVID-19 outpatient clinic between July 2023 and November 2024 and provided informed consent for antibody testing.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among 275 patients (129 men and 146 women), 57 (21%) were unvaccinated. Median S- and N-antibody titers in vaccinated versus unvaccinated patients were 20,963 U/mL and 24.8 cut-off index (COI) versus 24 U/mL and 44.5 COI, respectively. S-antibody titers were associated with the number of vaccine doses received, whereas N-antibody titers correlated with disease severity during the acute phase of COVID-19 infection, with females having higher titers by multivariable analysis. N-antibody titers in unvaccinated patients with LC were negatively correlated with time interval from infection to clinic visit, with an estimated daily decline of 0.34% in measured N-antibody levels. Patients with LC having memory impairment had low S-antibody titers by multivariable logistic regression analysis, and low S-antibody levels were associated with reduced quality of life (QOL). Additionally, N-antibody titers positively correlated with lymphocyte counts and immunoglobulin levels.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Serum N-antibody titers reflect immune responses to COVID-19, although they are affected by gender differences and interval between infection and evaluation. Lower S-antibody titers were associated with brain fog symptoms and reduced QOL in patients with LC.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"83 ","pages":"16255"},"PeriodicalIF":11.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13143840/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147833512","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}