Publications by authors named "A Koka"
Background And Objective: Pectus excavatum is a common congenital chest wall abnormality characterized by a concave appearance of the chest, and minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum (MIRPE) is the surgical treatment of choice. A rapidly growing field of research is pain management in children undergoing MIRPE, with many shifts in practice occurring over the last decade. The primary objectives of this narrative review are to describe current methods of perioperative pain management and the development of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) to improve the experience of patients undergoing MIRPE.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPediatric pain physician workforce: an assessment of supply and demand.
Front Pain Res (Lausanne)
October 2024
Introduction: Many youth with pain lack access to pediatric pain expertise. There is a critical shortage of pediatric pain physicians, due partly to a paucity of training programs in Pediatric Pain Medicine. Pain fellowships are Anesthesiology-based and there is no pathway to fellowship training or Pain Medicine board certification for pediatricians.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmune checkpoint blockade, particularly targeting the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) receptor, is a promising strategy in cancer immunotherapy. The interaction between PD-1 and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, is crucial in immune evasion by tumors. Blocking this interaction with monoclonal antibodies like Nivolumab can restore anti-tumor immunity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Abdominal obesity is linked to an increased risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
- The study employed advanced genetic analysis methods, including RNA sequencing and Mendelian randomization, to explore how specific genes related to abdominal obesity impact MASLD at the cellular level.
- The research identified 17 key genes that mediate the effects of abdominal obesity on MASLD, demonstrating significant changes in adipocyte functions and highlighting the importance of these genes in the disease's development.
Introduction: In high-frequency spinal cord stimulation anatomic placement targeting of the T9-10 disc space is based on "empiric" results that are best replicated with coverage broadly from T8 to T10. This study contains the largest cohort of patients evaluating low thoracic morphology and seeks to address the lack of MRI morphological analysis in literature.
Methods: This study was a retrospective review of a database of 101 consecutive patients undergoing permanent implant of thoracic SCS for chronic pain.