Epidemiology of public transportation use among older adults in the United States.

Background: Attending healthcare appointments and participating in social activities are important for older adults, but these activities are often limited by transportation barriers. Public transportation may bridge these gaps, but little is known about older public transportation users. This study compares the characteristics of older adults who use public transportation to those who do not.

A review of caregiver costs included in cost-of-illness studies.

Introduction: Economic evaluations typically focus solely on patient-specific costs with economic spillovers to informal caregivers less frequently evaluated. This may systematically underestimate the burden resulting from disease.

Areas Covered: Cost-of-illness (COI) analyses that identified costs borne to caregiver(s) were identified using PubMed and Embase.

Leptin Regulation of Gonadotrope Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Receptors As a Metabolic Checkpoint and Gateway to Reproductive Competence.

The adipokine leptin signals the body's nutritional status to the brain, and particularly, the hypothalamus. However, leptin receptors (LEPRs) can be found all throughout the body and brain, including the pituitary. It is known that leptin is permissive for reproduction, and mice that cannot produce leptin (Lep/Lep) are infertile.