Transorbital Alternating Current Stimulation in a Double-Masked Randomized Clinical Trial: Visual Functional Effect and Quality of Life.

Purpose: To determine the efficacy and safety of repetitive transorbital alternating current stimulation (rtACS) treatment by assessing vision-related quality of life and visual function outcome in subjects treated with rtACS versus sham-control.

Study Design: Double masked, randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial (NCT03188042).

Subjects: Sixteen subjects with moderate-to-advanced glaucoma (visual field [VF] mean deviation [MD] ≤-6.

Both Nuclear and Membrane Estrogen Receptor Alpha Impact the Expression of Estrogen Receptors and Plasticity Markers in the Mouse Hypothalamus and Hippocampus.

Estrogens via estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) genomic and nongenomic signaling can influence plasticity processes in numerous brain regions. Using mice that express nuclear only ERα (NOER) or membrane only ERα (MOER), this study examined the effect of receptor compartmentalization on the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) and the hippocampus. The absence of nuclear and membrane ERα expression impacted females but not males in these two brain areas.

Angiotensin II differentially affects hippocampal glial inflammatory markers in young adult male and female mice.

Hypertension is a risk factor for neurodegenerative disorders involving inflammation and inflammatory cytokine-producing brain cells (microglia and astrocytes) in the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Here we investigated the effect of slow-pressor angiotensin II (AngII) on gliosis in the hippocampus and mPFC of young adult (2-mo-old) male and female mice. In males, AngII induced hypertension, and this resulted in an increase in the density of the astrocyte marker glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in the subgranular hilus and a decrease in the density of the microglial marker ionized calcium binding adapter molecule (Iba-1) in the CA1 region.

Refinement of an Emergency Department-Based, Advance Care Planning Intervention for Nurses.

Most older adults visit the emergency department (ED) near the end of life without advance care planning (ACP) and thus are at risk of receiving care that does not align with their wishes and values. is a behavioral intervention administered by ED clinicians, which is designed to engage seriously ill older adults in serious illness conversations in the ED. Seriously ill older adults found it acceptable in the ED.

Outcome Disparities and Resource Utilization Among Limited English Proficient Patients After Tonsillectomy.

Objective: There is evidence to suggest adverse outcomes on patients' medical and surgical care when there is language discordance in patient-physician relationships. No studies have evaluated the impact of limited English proficiency (LEP) on complications after common surgical procedures in otolaryngology. Furthermore, no studies have evaluated how patients with LEP utilize remote resources to connect with otolaryngology providers to better triage such complications.

Predictors of a Normal Sleep Study in Healthy Children with Sleep Disordered Breathing Symptoms.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and characteristics of children with normal elective polysomnography for obstructive sleep disordered breathing (oSDB) based on the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) guidelines.

Study Design: In this retrospective cohort study, we identified patients ages 2 to 18 who underwent diagnostic polysomnography (PSG) ordered by our otolaryngology department for SDB between 2012 and 2018.

Setting: All patients were seen by otolaryngologists at an urban tertiary safety net hospital.

Chronic stress differentially alters mRNA expression of opioid peptides and receptors in the dorsal hippocampus of female and male rats.

Chronic immobilization stress (CIS) results in sex-dependent changes in opioid peptide levels and receptor subcellular distributions within the rat dorsal hippocampus, which are paralleled with an inability for males to acquire conditioned place preference (CPP) to oxycodone. Here, RNAScope in situ hybridization was used to determine the expression of hippocampal opioid peptides and receptors in unstressed (US) and CIS estrus female and male adult (∼2.5 months old ) Sprague Dawley rats.

Sex and chronic stress alter delta opioid receptor distribution within rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells following behavioral challenges.

Unlabelled: Following oxycodone (Oxy) conditioned place preference (CPP), delta opioid receptors (DORs) differentially redistribute in hippocampal CA3 pyramidal cells in female and male rats in a manner that would promote plasticity and opioid-associative learning processes. However, following chronic immobilization stress (CIS), males do not acquire Oxy-CPP and the trafficking of DORs in CA3 pyramidal neurons is attenuated. Here, we examined the subcellular distribution of DORs in CA1 pyramidal cells using electron microscopy in these same cohorts.

Barriers to Voice Therapy Attendance in a Language-Diverse Population.

Objectives/hypothesis: Voice therapy is an effective treatment for many voice disorders, but success depends on attendance and adherence. Many factors hinder treatment attendance, and language discordance with the provider may present an additional obstacle to attending therapy. This study evaluates factors associated with voice therapy attendance at a language-diverse, safety-net hospital.

Oxycodone injections not paired with conditioned place preference have little effect on the hippocampal opioid system in female and male rats.

Oxycodone (Oxy) conditioned place preference (CPP) in Sprague Dawley rats results in sex-specific alterations in hippocampal opioid circuits in a manner that facilitates opioid-associative learning processes, particularly in females. Here, we examined if Oxy (3 mg/kg, I.P.

Characteristics and Frequency of Children With Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea Undergoing Elective Polysomnography.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and demographics features of pediatric patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) who would not undergo preoperative polysomnography (PSG) under current American Academy of Otolaryngology (AAO) guidelines.

Study Design: In this retrospective cohort study, we identified patients from the electronic medical record who underwent elective polysomnography for evaluation of sleep-disordered breathing between 2012 and 2018.

Setting: Urban tertiary safety net hospital.

Sex and age differentially affect GABAergic neurons in the mouse prefrontal cortex and hippocampus following chronic intermittent hypoxia.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a chronic sleep disorder characterized by repetitive reduction or cessation of airflow during sleep, is widely prevalent and is associated with adverse neurocognitive sequelae including increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In humans, OSA is more common in elderly males. OSA is characterized by sleep fragmentation and chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH), and recent epidemiological studies point to CIH as the best predictor of neurocognitive sequelae associated with OSA.

Satisfaction in Academic Otolaryngology: Do Physician Demographics Impact Press Ganey Survey Scores?

Objectives/hypothesis: Patient satisfaction is increasingly emphasized and measured in healthcare delivery. However, patient satisfaction is multifactorial and difficult to comprehensively assess. The objective of this study was to assess for correlation between patient satisfaction measured by Press Ganey surveys (PGS) and physician demographics of gender, years in practice, academic rank, and specialty in academic otolaryngology.

Sex and chronic stress differentially alter phosphorylated mu and delta opioid receptor levels in the rat hippocampus following oxycodone conditioned place preference.

Following oxycodone conditioned place preference (CPP) in naïve female and male Sprague Dawley rats, delta- and mu-opioid receptors (DORs and MORs) redistribute in hippocampal CA3 pyramidal cells and GABAergic interneurons in a manner that would promote opioid-associative learning processes, particularly in females. MORs and DORs similarly redistribute in CA3 and hilar neurons following chronic immobilization stress (CIS) in females, but not males, essentially "priming" the opioid system for oxycodone-associative learning. Following CIS, only females acquire oxycodone CPP.

Sex Differences in Neuroplasticity- and Stress-Related Gene Expression and Protein Levels in the Rat Hippocampus Following Oxycodone Conditioned Place Preference.

Prescription opioid abuse is a serious public health issue. Recently, we showed that female and male Sprague-Dawley rats acquire conditioned place preference (CPP) to the mu opioid receptor agonist oxycodone. Anatomical analysis of the hippocampus from these rats unveiled sex differences in the opioid system in a way that would support excitation and opiate associative learning processes especially in females.