Publications by authors named "Ben-Shlomo Y"

Background/aims: In the absence of disease-modifying therapies for Parkinson's disease, much research focuses on improving quality of life, health and wellbeing. It is important to evaluate potential treatments and innovative care models in a robust and standardised way. Disease-specific outcomes have limitations in older people, those with cognitive impairment, multimorbidity, disability or short life expectancy.

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Background: Identifying influences on disability accumulation in multiple sclerosis (MS), including modifiable factors other than the core features of disease itself, is vital for clinical care, but has often relied on instruments with acknowledged psychometric shortcomings. We model MS disability using the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) 2.0, a validated measure based on the WHO's biopsychosocial model and sensitive to the breadth of disability-related domains important to people, to investigate the factors associated with its trajectory after diagnosis.

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Background: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) provides superior long-term outcomes to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for complex multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD). People with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have increased prevalence of multivessel CAD, but also increased surgical risk. We investigated whether CKD predicted real-world use of CABG, versus PCI, in patients revascularized for acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

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Background: Previously, a comprehensive review of the risk factors for unplanned dialysis initiation (UDI) was conducted by Hassan (2019), based on studies published up to the end of 2017. They demonstrated that high-quality data and well-designed studies on the subject are lacking. Thus we updated their review to establish the modifiable factors associated with UDI.

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Background: A sustainable pandemic preparedness strategy is essential to ensure equitable access to healthcare for individuals with neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, it is vital to provide clinicians and researchers in the neurodegenerative disease fields with resources and infrastructure to ensure continuity of their work during a (health) crisis.

Methods: We established an international collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and patient representatives from the Netherlands, Poland, and the United Kingdom.

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Introduction: Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are some of the most common non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's. Weight is a nutritional metric and can be affected by dysfunction of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This study aims to explore the change in trajectory of body mass index (BMI) in individuals with Parkinson's over the course of the disease including the prodromal and post-diagnostic periods.

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Background: Patients with parkinsonism are more likely than age-matched controls to be admitted to hospital. It may be possible to reduce the cost and negative impact by identifying patients at highest risk and intervening to reduce hospital-related costs. Predictive models have been developed in nonparkinsonism populations.

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Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) prevalence is steadily increasing, in part due to increased multimorbidity in our aging global population. When progression to kidney failure cannot be avoided, people need unbiased information to inform decisions about whether to start dialysis, if or when indicated, or continue with holistic person-centred care without dialysis (conservative kidney management). Comparisons suggest that while there may be some survival benefit from dialysis over conservative kidney management, in people aged 80 years and over, or with multiple health problems or frailty, this may be at the expense of quality of life, hospitalisations, symptom burden and preferred place of death.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study analyzed data from over 10,000 patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) from 2010 to 2017 to explore the impact of reduced kidney function (eGFR) on treatment and mortality rates.
  • It found that lower eGFR levels were strongly linked to a decrease in invasive treatments like coronary angiography; patients with eGFR <30 were significantly less likely to receive these procedures compared to those with higher eGFR.
  • Additionally, there was a clear connection between lower eGFR and higher 30-day mortality rates, indicating that kidney function plays a critical role in treatment outcomes for ACS patients.
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There is a mismatch between the healthcare needs of the ageing population worldwide and the amount of education medical students receive in geriatric medicine. In 2014, Mateos-Nozal et al. published a systematic review of all undergraduate education surveys in geriatric medicine-a decade on, it is timely for an up-to-date overview of the state of undergraduate geriatric medicine education globally.

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Objective: To determine the feasibility of conducting a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate a prehabilitation programme for frail patients undergoing total hip replacement (THR) or total knee replacement (TKR).

Design: Randomised feasibility study with embedded qualitative work.

Setting: Three National Health Service hospitals.

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  • Genetic studies have highlighted the need for more diverse research on plasma fibrinogen levels, as previous studies largely focused on Europeans, leading to gaps in understanding and missing heritability.
  • By analyzing data from whole-genome sequencing and genotype data from large cohorts, researchers identified 18 genetic loci related to fibrinogen levels, some of which are more common in African populations and include variants that may impact protein function.
  • The study's findings indicate a connection between fibrinogen levels and various health conditions, emphasizing the importance of whole-genome sequencing in discovering genetic factors in diverse populations and enhancing knowledge about fibrinogen regulation.
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Background: People with Parkinson's Disease (PwP) have a higher rate of hospitalisation compared to the general population. Little is known about the impact of having a co-resident and their health on hospitalisation rates of PwP.

Methods: We utilised Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) GOLD data (2010-2015) to identify PwP and co-residents.

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Background: Outreach clinics were part of efforts to maximise uptake in COVID-19 vaccination.

Methods: We used controlled interrupted time series, matching on age, sex, deprivation and vaccination eligibility date, to determine the effect of outreach clinics on time to first COVID-19 vaccine, using a population-based electronic health record database of 914,478 people, from December 2020 to December 2021; people living within 1 mile of each outreach clinics were exposed.

Results: 50% of 288,473 exposed citizens were white British, and 71% were aged 0-49 years.

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  • The NHS England has mandated the use of an acute kidney injury (AKI) detection algorithm in laboratories, and a study evaluated its implementation and the uniformity of alerts sent to the UK Renal Registry (UKRR).
  • Researchers developed a code to simulate the AKI detection algorithm on a massive dataset from 29 labs, finding high agreement levels in most laboratories but significant variability in individual lab results, especially in those with higher serum creatinine levels.
  • The results indicate that while UKRR alerts serve as a valid method for monitoring AKI, issues like inconsistent laboratory practices and incomplete use of the algorithm need addressing, with recommendations for auditing labs that show low agreement rates.
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Background: An innovative, integrative care model for people with Parkinson (PRIME Parkinson) has gradually been implemented in a selected region of the Netherlands since 2021. A prospective evaluation of this model (PRIME-NL study) was initiated in parallel, spanning the year prior to implementation (baseline) and the implementation period. Following publication of the original study protocol, the COVID-19 crisis delayed implementation of the full PRIME Parkinson care model by two years and hampered the recruitment of study participants.

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Patients who sustain a hip fracture are known to be at imminent refracture risk. Their complex multidisciplinary rehabilitation needs to include falls prevention and anti-osteoporosis medication (AOM) to prevent such fractures. This study aimed to determine which hospital-level organizational factors predict prescription of post-hip fracture AOM and refracture risk.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Up to 80% of patients with Parkinson's disease experience dementia, but the timing varies widely, and the relationship between Parkinson's disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies is still debated.
  • - A study analyzed genetic data from 7804 patients to investigate how genetic factors influence the development of dementia in Lewy body diseases, revealing certain risk and protective alleles.
  • - Key findings include the identification of the risk allele rs429358, which increases the odds of developing dementia, and protective alleles near specific genes that may help prevent it, highlighting the need for further research with confirmed cases.
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Background: Dopaminergic responsiveness is a defining feature of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, there is limited information on how this evolves over time.

Objectives: To examine serial dopaminergic responses, if there are distinct patterns, and which factors predict these.

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Mediation analysis can be applied in medical research with the aim of understanding the pathways that operate between an exposure and its effects on an outcome. This method can help to improve our understanding of pathophysiologic mechanisms and may guide the choice of potential treatment strategies. Traditional mediation analysis decomposes the total effect of an intervention on the outcome into 2 effects: (1) an indirect effect, from exposure using a mediator to the outcome, and (2) a direct effect, directly from exposure to outcome.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A study involving 6,766 PD patients over several years examined how genetic factors influence motor progression and mortality, revealing the APOE ε4 allele as significantly impacting mortality rates.
  • * Four new genetic loci were identified, linked to motor progression, suggesting potential targets for future treatment strategies in PD, although further investigation is necessary to understand their biological implications.
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Introduction: The PRIME-NL study prospectively evaluates a new integrated and personalized care model for people with parkinsonism, including Parkinson's disease, in a selected region (PRIME) in the Netherlands. We address the generalizability and sources of selection and confounding bias of the PRIME-NL study by examining baseline and 1-year compliance data.

Methods: First, we assessed regional baseline differences between the PRIME and the usual care (UC) region using healthcare claims data of almost all people with Parkinson's disease in the Netherlands (the source population).

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Background And Objectives: People with parkinsonism who are older, living in a care home, with frailty, multimorbidity or impaired capacity to consent are under-represented in research, limiting its generalisability. We aimed to evaluate more inclusive recruitment strategies.

Methods: From one UK centre, we invited people with parkinsonism to participate in a cross-sectional study.

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Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related neuropathological changes can occur decades before clinical symptoms. We aimed to investigate whether neurodevelopment and/or neurodegeneration affects the risk of AD, through reducing structural brain reserve and/or increasing brain atrophy, respectively.

Methods: We used bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomisation to estimate the effects between genetic liability to AD and global and regional cortical thickness, estimated total intracranial volume, volume of subcortical structures and total white matter in 37 680 participants aged 8-81 years across 5 independent cohorts (Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development, Generation R, IMAGEN, Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children and UK Biobank).

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