Publications by authors named "Aaron Mackie"

Objective: Prophylactic ligation of the external carotid artery (ECA) during oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) resection is known to reduce severe postoperative oropharyngeal bleeding events, however, there is limited research on whether bleed rates vary between selective ligation of individual vessels or total ligation of the ECA. This study assesses outcomes related to total versus selective ligation of the ECA in patients who underwent transoral resection for OPSCC of the base of tongue or palatine tonsils.

Study Design: Retrospective review.

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Objective: Health disparities contribute significantly to disease, health outcomes, and access to care. Little is known about the state of health disparities in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery (FPRS). This scoping review aims to synthesize the existing disparities research in FPRS and guide future disparities-related efforts.

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Autoimmune encephalitis is increasingly recognized as a neurologic cause of acute mental status changes with similar prevalence to infectious encephalitis. Despite rising awareness, approaches to diagnosis remain inconsistent and evidence for optimal treatment is limited. The following Canadian guidelines represent a consensus and evidence (where available) based approach to both the diagnosis and treatment of adult patients with autoimmune encephalitis.

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Introduction: This study aimed to develop and validate a 3-year dementia risk score in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) based on variables collected in routine clinical care.

Methods: The prediction score was trained and developed using data from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC). Selection criteria included aged 55 years and older with MCI.

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Introduction: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is currently an investigational treatment for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). There is a need for more DBS trials to strengthen existing evidence of its efficacy for both regulatory and clinical reasons. Recruitment for DBS trials remains challenging due to unproven efficacy in sham-controlled DBS trials, invasive nature of the intervention and stringent eligibility criteria in patient selection.

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Background: Stimulation adjustment is required to optimise outcomes of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for treatment-resistant depression, but controlled data for ideal stimulation parameters are poor or insufficient. We aimed to establish the efficacy and safety of short pulse width (SPW) and long pulse width (LPW) subcallosal cingulate DBS in depression.

Methods: We did a double-blind, randomised, crossover trial in an academic hospital in Calgary, AB, Canada.

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Importance: Levetiracetam is a commonly used antiepileptic drug, yet psychiatric adverse effects are common and may lead to treatment discontinuation.

Objective: To derive prediction models to estimate the risk of psychiatric adverse effects from levetiracetam use.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Retrospective open cohort study.

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Background: Patients with neurologic conditions commonly have depression. Online tools have the potential to improve outcomes in these patients in an efficient and accessible manner. We aimed to identify evidence-informed online tools for patients with comorbid neurologic conditions and depression.

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Depression is a common comorbidity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Those with MS and concurrent depression have poorer quality of life and are also less likely to be compliant with disease-modifying treatment, which may ultimately affect their MS disease course. Treating depression in MS with pharmacological agents can improve not only depression, but may also impact the MS disease course.

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Background: Mild behavioral impairment (MBI) describes later life acquired, sustained neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in cognitively normal individuals or those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), as an at-risk state for incident cognitive decline and dementia. We developed an operational definition of MBI and tested whether the presence of MBI was related to caregiver burden in patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) or MCI assessed at a memory clinic.

Methods: MBI was assessed in 282 consecutive memory clinic patients with SCD (n = 119) or MCI (n = 163) in accordance with the International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment - Alzheimer's Association (ISTAART-AA) research diagnostic criteria.

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Purpose: Depression is common in epilepsy, and is often under-detected and under-treated. The motivation to create a depression eHub for persons with epilepsy is to connect them to the best available online resources to effectively manage their depression. The study sought to: 1) identify facilitators and barriers to accessing resources related to management of epilepsy and/or depression and 2) discuss gaps in available resources (free and in the public domain) and 3) identify suggestions for future content.

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a central nervous system disorder that is associated with progressive oligodendrocyte and neuronal loss, axonal degeneration, and demyelination. Several medications that mitigate immune abnormalities reduce both the frequency of relapses and inflammation on magnetic resonance imaging, leading to improved outcomes for people with the relapsing-remitting form of MS. However, there are no treatments for the progressive forms of MS where neurons and axons continue to degenerate; here, neuroprotective therapies, or medications that rebuild myelin to confer axonal well-being, may be useful.

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