Some people remain healthier throughout life than others but the underlying reasons are poorly understood. Here we hypothesize this advantage is attributable in part to optimal immune resilience (IR), defined as the capacity to preserve and/or rapidly restore immune functions that promote disease resistance (immunocompetence) and control inflammation in infectious diseases as well as other causes of inflammatory stress. We gauge IR levels with two distinct peripheral blood metrics that quantify the balance between (i) CD8 and CD4 T-cell levels and (ii) gene expression signatures tracking longevity-associated immunocompetence and mortality-associated inflammation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Internet-delivered cognitive therapy for social anxiety disorder (iCT-SAD), which is a therapist-guided modular web-based treatment, has shown strong efficacy and acceptability in English-language randomized controlled trials in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. However, it is not yet known whether iCT-SAD can retain its efficacy following linguistic translation and cultural adaptation of treatment contents and implementation in other countries such as Japan.
Objective: This study aimed to examine the preliminary efficacy and acceptability of the translated and culturally adapted iCT-SAD in Japanese clinical settings.
Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol
January 2023
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the most common lung disease of extreme prematurity, yet mechanisms that associate with or identify neonates with increased susceptibility for BPD are largely unknown. Combining artificial intelligence with gene expression data is a novel approach that may assist in better understanding mechanisms underpinning chronic lung disease and in stratifying patients at greater risk for BPD. The objective of this study is to develop an early peripheral blood transcriptomic signature that can predict preterm neonates at risk for developing BPD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Allergic asthma (AA) and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (ARC) are common comorbid environmentally triggered diseases. We hypothesized that severe AA/ARC reflects a maladaptive or unrestrained response to ubiquitous aeroallergens.
Methods: We performed provocation studies wherein six separate cohorts of persons (total n = 217) with ARC, with or without AA, were challenged once or more with fixed concentrations of seasonal or perennial aeroallergens in an aeroallergen challenge chamber (ACC).
Background: The risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) varies significantly among persons of similar age and is higher in males. Age-independent, sex-biased differences in susceptibility to severe COVID-19 may be ascribable to deficits in a sexually dimorphic protective attribute that we termed immunologic resilience (IR).
Objective: We sought to examine whether deficits in IR that antedate or are induced by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection independently predict COVID-19 mortality.
Objective To evaluate the ability of estimated blood loss (EBL) and quantitative blood loss (QBL) to predict the need for blood transfusion in postpartum patients. Methods This is a retrospective observational study involving all deliveries one year before and after the change from EBL to QBL assessment in June 2017. Blood loss, need for blood transfusion, admission hematocrit, and postpartum nadir hematocrit were collected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Signifying the 2-compartments/1-disease paradigm, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (ARC) and asthma (AA) are prevalent, comorbid conditions triggered by environmental factors (eg, house dust mites [HDMs]). However, despite the ubiquity of triggers, progression to severe ARC/AA is infrequent, suggesting either resilience or adaptation.
Objective: We sought to determine whether ARC/AA severity relates to maladaptive responses to disease triggers.
Background: Despite evidence that intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment (IIPT) is effective in facilitating functional recovery in adolescents with chronic pain, engagement with IIPT is suboptimal among adolescents. A key aspect of IIPT is to support functional recovery via (re)engagement with age-appropriate daily activities. The aim of this study was to gain a comprehensive insight into adolescents' perceptions of the barriers they need to overcome to engage with age-appropriate activities in order to achieve functional recovery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiabetes is associated with increased risk of stillbirth and shoulder dystocia. Compared with uncomplicated pregnancies, diabetic patients have a 4-6x risk of stillbirth and 2-3x risk of shoulder dystocia. A 34 yo G2P0010 presented with a 40+3 wga IUFD with nonstandard antenatal glucose screening.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To evaluate the association of a standardized, structured approach to in-hospital postcesarean delivery pain management with maternal opioid use after cesarean delivery.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of women who underwent cesarean delivery before and after a quality improvement intervention at a single tertiary care center. A multidisciplinary task force revised electronic order sets for all patients who underwent cesarean delivery with neuraxial anesthesia.
Aim: Characterize the pharmacokinetic profile and tolerability of two tocopheryl phosphate mixture/oxymorphone patch formulations in healthy subjects, and the active metabolite (6-OH-oxymorphone).
Materials & Methods: Fifteen participants received a single application of oxymorphone patches +/- capsaicin for 72 h and were crossed-over for another 72 h.
Results: Plasma oxymorphone was detected approximately 7 h and 6-OH-oxymorphone after approximately 18-19 h postapplication of both formulations, respectively.
Aim: To characterize the pharmacokinetic profile and evaluate the safety and tolerability of a transdermal oxycodone patch containing tocopheryl phosphate mixture (TPM).
Patients & Methods: Eleven healthy subjects received a single application of three TPM/oxycodone patches applied to the torso for 72 h.
Results: Oxycodone was detected 8.
Aim: To evaluate the efficacy, systemic exposure, safety and tolerability of a transdermal oxycodone patch containing tocopheryl phosphate mixture (TPM) in patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).
Patients & Methods: The study was a Phase IIa, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled crossover study.
Results: While the TPM/oxycodone patch did not significantly improve 'average' Numeric Pain Rating Scale scores versus vehicle patch, patients reporting high levels of paresthesia (n = 9) showed a trend toward improved pain reduction.
Background: Voriconazole is a broad spectrum triazole antifungal drug used to treat systemic fungal infections. Therapeutic drug monitoring of voriconazole is necessary for achieving maximal efficiency without inducing toxic side effects. Other publications have reported methods for measuring voriconazole in serum using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe present the case of a 14-year-old female who experienced several episodes of reversible altered mental status triggered by hypoglycemia. Following endocrine investigation, she was diagnosed with insulinoma. Insulinoma, a rare, differentiated, and functioning neuroendocrine tumor of the pancreas overproduces insulin, thus leading to hypoglycemic episodes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 64-year-old man with Waardenburg syndrome presented with anuria and was subsequently discovered by renal ultrasound to have unilateral renal agenesis. The patient is one of three generations with incidental finding of renal agenesis also marked by the presence of Waardenburg syndrome. To our knowledge, there has been no mention elsewhere in the scientific literature of a variant of Waardenburg syndrome with associated renal agenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhen considering information governance, CFOs should ask two primary questions: How accurate are our data, and is there a process in place to ensure that data are reliable, timely, up-to-date, and consistent? CFOs also should have at least a general sense of how and where data are flowing and whether the data accurately reflect services rendered. The goal of a formal enterprisewide information governance process is to enable employees to identify data-quality issues up front, thereby avoiding the need to devote valuable time and resources to resolving problems after an error occurs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF