Under the COVID-19 pandemic, the deaths of healthcare professionals have been increasingly reported worldwide. We performed a cross-sectional, observational study using news reports on the websites among selected countries as of April, 2020. We found 120 dead medical doctors due to COVID-19 in Western Europe and Asia-Pacific countries; 67 in Italy (47 in the Northern part), 34 in China (22 in Hubei), 6 in France, 4 in the UK, the US, and Spain, and 1 in South Korea, respectively. Among them, 90% were men, and specialties were reported as general practitioners for 30% and as physicians for 11.6%. The overall proportions of dead medical doctors amounted to 1.9 per 10,000 confirmed cases and 30.2 per 10,000 dead cases, respectively. Proactive measures are warranted to protect doctors especially who often encounters with COVID-19 patients. © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Physicians. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email [email protected] OBJECTIVES Encephalopathy with electrical status epilepticus in sleep (ESES) is characterised by non-rapid eye movement (non-REM)-sleep-induced epileptiform activity and acquired cognitive deficits. The synaptic homeostasis hypothesis describes the process of daytime synaptic potentiation balanced by synaptic downscaling in non-REM-sleep and is considered crucial to retain an efficient cortical network. We aimed to study the overnight decline of slow waves, an indirect marker of synaptic downscaling, in patients with ESES and explore whether altered downscaling relates to neurodevelopmental and behavioural problems. METHODS Retrospective study of patients with ESES with at least one whole-night electroencephalogram (EEG) and neuropsychological assessment (NPA) within 4 months. Slow waves in the first and last hour of non-REM-sleep were analysed. Differences in slow wave slope (SWS) and overnight slope course between the epileptic focus and non-focus electrodes and relations to neurodevelopment and behaviour were analysed. RESULTS 29 patients with 44 EEG~NPA combinations were included. Mean SWS decreased from 357 to 327 µV/s (-8%, p less then 0.001) across the night and the overnight decrease was less pronounced in epileptic focus than in non-focus electrodes (-5.6% vs. -8.7%, p=0.003). We found no relation between SWS and neurodevelopmental test results in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Patients with behavioural problems showed less SWS decline than patients without and the difference was most striking in the epileptic focus (-0.9% vs. -8.8%, p=0.006). CONCLUSION Slow wave homeostasis - a marker of synaptic homeostasis - is disturbed by epileptiform activity in ESES. Behavioural problems, but not neurodevelopmental test results, were related to severity of this disturbance. © Sleep Research Society 2020. Published by Oxford University Press [on behalf of the Sleep Research Society].AIMS Recent technical developments have allowed the study of the human microbiome to accelerate at an unprecedented pace. Methodological differences may have considerable impact on the results obtained. Thus, we investigated how different storage, isolation and DNA extraction methods can influence the characterization of the intestinal microbiome, compared to the impact of true biological signals such as intraindividual variability, nutrition, health and demographics. METHODS AND RESULTS An observative cohort study in 27 healthy subjects was performed. Participants were instructed to collect stool samples twice spaced by a week, using six different methods (naive and Zymo DNA/RNA Shield on dry ice, OMNIgene GUT, RNALater, 95% ethanol, Zymo DNA/RNA Shield at room temperature). DNA extraction from all samples was performed comparatively using QIAamp Power Fecal and ZymoBIOMICS DNA kits. 16S rRNA sequencing of the gut microbiota as well as qPCRs were performed on the isolated DNA. Metrics included alpha diversitedures in clinical research. TRANSLATIONAL PERSPECTIVES By applying a framework which is typical for the investigation of the microbiome in cardiovascular disease patients, we assess the role of these confounders under realistic circumstances. Our work allows quality control and design improvement for upcoming translational microbiome studies such as the search for disease biomarkers or efficacy predictors for personalized treatment regimes. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author(s) 2020. For permissions please email [email protected] Upon progression after upfront radiotherapy to spinal metastases, low-dose re-irradiation conventional external beam radiation (cEBRT) provides limited clinical benefit. Spine stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) allows for dose escalation in the salvage setting with the potential for improved local control. OBJECTIVE To report mature clinical and imaging-based outcomes for salvage SBRT. METHODS A retrospective review was undertaken of consecutive patients with spinal metastases treated with re-irradiation spine SBRT having failed either cEBRT (n = 60 with 1 prior course and n = 17 with 2 or more prior cEBRT courses), or prior SBRT (n = 6) to the same spinal segment. The primary outcome was local failure (LF), and secondary outcomes included overall survival (OS) and the rate of vertebral compression fracture (VCF). Torin2 RESULTS A total of 43 patients with 83 spinal segments treated with salvage SBRT were reviewed. The crude risk of LF was 18%, and actuarial LF rates at 6, 12, and 24 mo were 7%, 14%, and 19%, respectively. The presence of extensive paraspinal disease (hazard ratio [HR] = 7.1, 95% CI 1.5-34) significantly predicted for LF. The median OS was 13.2 (95% CI 6.1-16.3) mo, and the presence of neurological deficits (HR = 4.7, 95% CI 1.8-12.1) and brain metastases (HR = 2.6, 95% CI 1.1-6.3) were significant prognostic factors. The crude risk of VCF was 4%, and radiation myelopathy was not observed. CONCLUSION These data support the safety and efficacy of spinal re-irradiation with SBRT including patients with prior SBRT and multiple courses of prior cEBRT. Copyright © 2020 by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.