Pharmacological inactivation of a non-canonical gp130 signaling arm attenuates chronic systemic inflammation and multimorbidity induced by a high-fat diet.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a major pro-inflammatory cytokine that demonstrates a robust correlation with age and body mass index (BMI) as part of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype. IL-6 cytokines also play a crucial role in metabolic homeostasis and regenerative processes primarily via the canonical STAT3 pathway. Thus, selective modulation of IL-6 signaling may offer a unique opportunity for therapeutic interventions.

External Validation of the Neiman Imaging Comorbidity Index in Medicare, Medicaid, and Private Payer Claims Data.

Objective: The Neiman Imaging Comorbidity Index (NICI) was developed and validated in a claims dataset encompassing >10 million privately insured beneficiaries, in which it outperformed the commonly used Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) in predicting advanced imaging use. This external validation assessed the broader generalizability of NICI for predicting receipt of advanced imaging in nationally representative populations, including patients insured by Medicare, Medicaid, and private payers.

Methods: All 2018 to 2019 patient-level claims from the CMS Medicare 5% Research Identifiable File, CMS Medicaid 100% Research Identifiable File, and private insurance (commercial and Medicare Advantage) claims from Inovalon Insights, LLC, were included.

State-Level Medicaid Reimbursement and Imaging Utilization by Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program Patients.

Purpose: To determine if relative Medicaid-to-Medicare reimbursement rates are associated with patient imaging utilization.

Methods: This cross-sectional study estimated the association of diagnostic imaging utilization with the state-level Medicaid-to-Medicare reimbursement ratio (MMRR) of professional payments. State-specific reimbursement ratios were computed for each imaging modality.

Somatostatin interneuron fate-mapping and structure in a Pten knockout model of epilepsy.

Disruption of inhibitory interneurons is common in the epileptic brain and is hypothesized to play a pivotal role in epileptogenesis. Abrupt disruption and loss of interneurons is well-characterized in status epilepticus models of epilepsy, however, status epilepticus is a relatively rare cause of epilepsy in humans. How interneuron disruption evolves in other forms of epilepsy is less clear.

Induction chemotherapy followed by standard chemoradiotherapy versus standard chemoradiotherapy alone in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer (GCIG INTERLACE): an international, multicentre, randomised phase 3 trial.

Background: Locally advanced cervical cancer is treated with chemoradiotherapy (standard of care), but many patients still relapse and die from metastatic disease. We investigated chemoradiotherapy with or without induction chemotherapy to determine whether induction chemotherapy improves both progression-free survival and overall survival.

Methods: The INTERLACE trial was a multicentre, randomised phase 3 trial done at 32 medical centres in Brazil, India, Italy, Mexico, and the UK.