Publications by authors named "Alexis Thompson"

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a multifactorial disease complex commonly affecting beef and dairy operations. Vaccination against major BRD-related pathogens is routinely performed for disease prevention; however, uniform reporting of health and performance outcomes is infrequent. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of commercially available BRD-pathogen vaccination on titer response with respect to health or performance in beef and dairy cattle.

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  • * Between 2004 and 2022, MRI awarded scholarships to 405 individuals, and those who received funding had significantly lower dropout rates compared to national averages: 0% for graduate students and 2.2% for medical students.
  • * The initiative also showed that awardees were more likely to stay in the hematology-oncology field than national minority averages, with 14.4% of medical students and 88.5% of early-career
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Background: Transfusion-dependent β-thalassaemia (TDT) is a severe disease, resulting in lifelong blood transfusions, iron overload, and associated complications. Betibeglogene autotemcel (beti-cel) gene therapy uses autologous haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) transduced with BB305 lentiviral vector to enable transfusion independence.

Methods: HGB-212 was a non-randomised, multicentre, single-arm, open-label, phase 3 study of beti-cel in patients with TDT conducted at eight centres in France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the UK, and the USA.

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  • A recent outbreak of H5 avian influenza in cattle has spread across the U.S., affecting not only birds but also other mammals, including humans, with mostly mild symptoms reported in infected individuals.
  • Research shows that mice with immunity to previous influenza strains were protected against severe H5N1 infections, and similarly, mice vaccinated with a live-attenuated influenza vaccine exhibited good protection against lethal H5N1 challenges.
  • Ferrets with mixed immunity from vaccination or previous infections were also protected against a variant of the H5N1 virus, suggesting that factors beyond just antibody response, like T cell memory, might play a crucial role in providing protection against this virus.
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Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) remains the leading infectious disease in beef cattle production systems. Host gene expression upon facility arrival may indicate risk of BRD development and severity. However, a time-course approach would better define how BRD development influences immunological and inflammatory responses after disease occurrences.

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Rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in serotypes host-adapted to cattle is of increasing concern to the beef and dairy industry. The bulk of the existing literature focuses on AMR post-slaughter. In comparison, the understanding of AMR in among pre-harvest cattle is still limited, particularly in Texas, which ranks top five in beef and dairy exports in the United States; inherently, the health of Texas cattle has nationwide implications for the health of the United States beef and dairy industry.

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  • * Affected cows showed signs like decreased milk production, respiratory issues, and altered digestion, with the virus detected in both their milk and tissues.
  • * The study highlights the virus's ability to transmit between different species, as it was found to spread from cows to cows and was also detected in other animals, indicating it can cross species barriers.
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  • An unprecedented outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (HPAI H5N1) affected bovine herds in the USA in spring 2024, leading to infections in other animals and potential spillover to humans.
  • Researchers isolated HPAI H5N1 virus from infected cow milk and studied its impact on mice and ferrets, finding that it spread throughout these animals, including to mammary glands, similar to previous strains.
  • Although the bovine H5N1 virus showed some ability to bind to human respiratory tissues and transmit minimally among ferrets, it exhibited features that raise concerns about potential infection and spread in mammals.
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  • Sickle cell disease (SCD) patients, particularly among the African descent population, face higher risks related to COVID-19, highlighting the need for effective vaccination uptake.
  • A study explored vaccine attitudes and intentions among 200 adolescents, young adults, and caregivers of children with SCD, revealing that a significant portion intended to get vaccinated, with safety perceptions being a crucial factor.
  • The findings emphasize the importance of tailored education and messaging strategies for improving COVID-19 vaccine acceptance within the SCD community.
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We report highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus in dairy cattle and cats in Kansas and Texas, United States, which reflects the continued spread of clade 2.3.4.

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Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) and other anemias who receive blood transfusions are at risk of organ damage due to transfusional iron overload. Deferiprone is an iron chelator with a well-established safety and efficacy profile that is indicated for the treatment of transfusional iron overload. Here, we report safety data from the large-scale, retrospective Ferriprox® Total Care Registry, which involved all patients with SCD taking deferiprone following the 2011 approval of deferiprone in the United States through August 2020.

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  • Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects around 100,000 people in the U.S. and costs about $3 billion for medical care each year, but the financial struggles of patients are not well understood.
  • A study surveyed patients and caregivers to see how SCD affects their jobs and work attendance, finding many people miss work or lose their jobs because of the disease.
  • The findings show that adults with SCD and caregivers often deal with job loss and missing workdays, which adds up to a serious economic burden that should be considered in future health evaluations.
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Ultrasound contrast agent (UCA) use is increasing. Recent isolated reports observed a rise in pain-related adverse events with the intravenous administration of the UCA Definity in adults with sickle cell disease. To date, no studies have investigated the incidence of similar adverse events with UCA Lumason or Optison.

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Objective: To establish and compare the precision of serum total protein (STP) measured by an optical refractometer to the precision of IgG concentrations measured using radial immunodiffusion (RID), the reference test for quantifying IgG in neonatal calves.

Sample: 6 sera with previously measured IgG concentration using RID from neonatal beef calves were selected from 3 stratum: low-serum IgG stratum between >5.0 and <15.

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Aim: To determine the immunogenicity, safety, and efficacy of rurioctocog alfa pegol in previously untreated patients (PUPs) with severe hemophilia A (HA).

Methods: This prospective, phase 3 study (NCT02615691) was conducted in PUPs, or patients with ≤2 exposure days (EDs) prior to screening, aged <6 years with severe HA. The primary endpoint was incidence of factor VIII (FVIII) inhibitor development.

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Background: Despite substantial illness burden and healthcare utilization conferred by pain from vaso-occlusive episodes (VOE) in children with sickle cell disease (SCD), disease-modifying therapies to effectively treat SCD-VOE are lacking. The aim of the Sickle Cell Disease Treatment with Arginine Therapy (STArT) Trial is to provide definitive evidence regarding the efficacy of intravenous arginine as a treatment for acute SCD-VOE among children, adolescents, and young adults.

Methods: STArT is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, phase 3, multicenter trial of intravenous arginine therapy in 360 children, adolescents, and young adults who present with SCD-VOE.

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Background: High return visit rates after hospitalization for people with sickle cell disease (SCD) have been previously established. Due to a lack of multicenter emergency department (ED) return visit rate data, the return visit rate following ED discharge for pediatric SCD pain treatment is currently unknown.

Procedure: A seven-site retrospective cohort study of discharged ED visits for pain by children with SCD was conducted using the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network Registry.

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All over the world, people with sickle cell disease (an inherited condition) have premature deaths and preventable severe chronic complications, which considerably affect their quality of life, career progression, and financial status. In addition, these people are often affected by stigmatisation or structural racism, which can contribute to stress and poor mental health. Inequalities affecting people with sickle cell disease are also reflected in the distribution of the disease—mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, India, and the Caribbean—whereas interventions, clinical trials, and funding are mostly available in North America, Europe, and the Middle East.

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The objective of this study was to assess the use of breakpoints in antibiotic susceptibility testing among veterinary diagnostic laboratories in the United States and Canada. An eight-question survey was conducted via phone and email to determine how often laboratories use breakpoints consistent with published guidelines in wounds, lower urinary tract infections and upper urinary tract infections (pyelonephritis) involving , both in dogs and cats, for a total of 6 different hypothetical clinical scenarios. Nineteen veterinary diagnostic laboratories that perform antibiotic susceptibility testing on samples from dogs and cats in the United States or Canada and were accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) responded to the survey between January 15th and September 15th, 2022.

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  • Patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia often face health-related quality of life (HRQoL) issues due to long-term red blood cell transfusions leading to iron overload.
  • The phase 3 BELIEVE trial studied the effects of luspatercept, an erythroid maturation agent, on HRQoL compared to a placebo, evaluating results at baseline and every 12 weeks using SF-36 and TranQol questionnaires.
  • At week 48, while overall HRQoL scores remained stable for both groups, luspatercept patients who responded to treatment showed significant improvement in physical function compared to those on placebo.
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Psychologists have an ethical responsibility to advance health equity and can play a significant role in improving health care experiences for families racialized as Black, including those with sickle cell disease (SCD), a group of genetic blood disorders primarily affecting communities of color. Parents of children with SCD report experiences of stigma and discrimination due to racism in the health care system. The current commentary describes the application of antiracism and participatory strategies to the research design, implementation, and dissemination of a behavioral medicine clinical trial (Engage-HU; NCT03442114) of shared decision-making (SDM) for pediatric patients with SCD, including (a) the development of a research question to promote justice for racialized groups; (b) a focus on "redressing imbalances" through SDM and a multidisciplinary, inclusive research team led by a Black psychologist; (c) community participatory approaches through the integration of stakeholder feedback across the study; and (d) centering context by attending to structural realities in response to the COVID-19 and racism pandemics.

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Objectives: (1) To evaluate the accuracy of an aiming device on placement of humeral transcondylar screws compared to fluoroscopic methods. (2) To compare experience level on outcome.

Study Design: Randomized, match pair, prospective ex-vivo study.

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Background: Beta thalassemia major (Beta-TM) is an inherited condition which presents at around two years of life. Patients with Beta-;TM may develop cardiac iron toxicity secondary to transfusion dependence. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) T2*, a technique designed to quantify myocardial iron deposition, is a driving component of disease management.

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