Publications by authors named "Blackmore K"

Background: A prospective cohort study was undertaken within the PERSPECTIVE I&I project to evaluate healthcare resource utilization and costs associated with breast cancer risk assessment and screening and overall costs stratified by risk level, in Ontario, Canada.

Methods: From July 2019 to December 2022, 1997 females aged 50 to 70 years consented to risk assessment and received their breast cancer risk level and personalized screening action plan in Ontario. The mean costs for risk-stratified screening-related activities included risk assessment, screening and diagnostic costs.

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Risk-stratified breast screening has been proposed as a strategy to overcome the limitations of age-based screening. A prospective cohort study was undertaken within the PERSPECTIVE I&I project, which will generate the first Canadian evidence on multifactorial breast cancer risk assessment in the population setting to inform the implementation of risk-stratified screening. Recruited females aged 40-69 unaffected by breast cancer, with a previous mammogram, underwent multifactorial breast cancer risk assessment.

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  • Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a medical condition affecting 1 in 3 adults and can lead to serious health problems.
  • Researchers studied how a specific part of the brain affects this condition in mice by activating and blocking certain brain cells.
  • The study found that changing brain signals can help prevent or reduce NAFLD, suggesting new ways to treat this disease in people.
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  • A study analyzed healthcare costs and resource use for nearly 645,000 women aged 50-74 in the Ontario Breast Screening Program between 2011-2014, looking at different screening frequencies and outcomes.
  • Results showed that women aged 60-74 incurred the highest average costs, particularly with annual screenings linked to family or personal history, totaling CAD 5425.
  • Although annual screenings for women with dense breasts led to higher costs per breast cancer diagnosis, they also had lower costs per false positive compared to biennial screenings, indicating a need for careful resource allocation in breast cancer screening programs.
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Given the controversy over the effectiveness of age-based breast cancer (BC) screening, offering risk-stratified screening to women may be a way to improve patient outcomes with detection of earlier-stage disease. While this approach seems promising, its integration requires the buy-in of many stakeholders. In this cross-sectional study, we surveyed Canadian healthcare professionals about their views and attitudes toward a risk-stratified BC screening approach.

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Dysregulation in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) is associated with a variety of diseases including those related to obesity. Although most investigations have focused on molecular changes, structural alterations in PVN neurons can reveal underlying functional disruptions. Although electron microscopy (EM) can provide nanometer resolution of brain structures, an inherent limitation of traditional transmission EM is the single field of view nature of data collection.

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Unlabelled: Critical agency (CA) refers to an individual's feeling of power in relation to social inequalities. Research has demonstrated that high CA is associated with positive adolescent outcomes, however, less is known about what supports are important for its development. Moreover, a large majority of the literature is based on studies from the US and various countries in Africa; although the UK is saturated with inequalities there is little research within a UK context.

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  • Exercise leads to the secretion of irisin from muscles, which has cognitive benefits and helps combat neurodegeneration.
  • A study uncovered that the heat shock protein eHsp90α released during exercise activates the integrin αVβ5, enhancing irisin's ability to bind and signal effectively.
  • Researchers created a detailed model of the irisin and αVβ5 interaction, revealing a unique binding site for irisin, which highlights a new way small polypeptide hormones can interact with integrin receptors.
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  • * Traditional proteomics faces challenges due to the presence of abundant proteins in serum, which makes it hard to detect those present in lower amounts, but extracellular fluid (EF) from muscle and fat shows distinct protein profiles.
  • * By analyzing EFs from mice under different conditions like exercise, researchers discovered new proteins (including prosaposin) that can stimulate key processes in fat cells, showcasing the potential of EF isolation for discovering new myokines and adipokines.
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  • Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions that increase the risk of heart and metabolic diseases, with estrogen playing a protective role, especially in premenopausal women.
  • Research shows that transgender individuals on estrogen therapy experience less occurrence of metabolic syndrome, suggesting that estrogen in the brain may also protect males.
  • A study found that giving low-dose estrogen to obese male mice led to weight loss, decreased food intake, reduced fat in the abdomen, and improved liver health, highlighting the importance of estrogen in preventing metabolic disorders in men.
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  • Health care professionals must actively engage in cancer prevention strategies, but this study found many lack familiarity with polygenic risk scores (PRS) and knowledge about risk-stratified breast cancer screening.
  • A survey of 593 professionals showed that a significant number were unfamiliar with PRS, with 61% feeling they lacked adequate knowledge for effective BC screening.
  • Most participants expressed a need for more training, preferring online courses and webinars for continuing professional development.
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In the Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP) annual screening improved breast cancer detection for women 50-74 years with a family/personal history compared to biennial, while detection was equivalent for women screened annually for mammographic density ≥75%. This study compares the risk of interval or higher stage invasive cancers among postmenopausal women screened annually vs biennially by age and estrogen use. A retrospective design identified 4247 invasive breast cancers diagnosed among concurrent cohorts of women 50-74 screened in the OBSP with digital mammography between 2011 and 2014, followed until 2016.

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  • The study investigates how Canadian women's understanding of genetic discrimination (GD) affects their willingness to participate in breast cancer screening programs informed by genetic risk assessments.
  • It reveals that a significant portion of women (about 34.7%) are very concerned about potential misuse of their health information by employers and insurance companies, suggesting anxiety over GD.
  • The findings highlight a gap in knowledge regarding legal protections against GD and emphasize the need for better public education to improve participation in genetic testing for breast cancer risk assessment.
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  • Risk-stratified screening for breast cancer (BC) is gaining interest in Canada but faces implementation challenges and must be acceptable to women.
  • A survey conducted with 4,293 women aged 30 to 69 showed that the majority had positive attitudes towards this screening method and were comfortable sharing personal information for risk assessment.
  • Most women were open to adjusting their screening frequency based on their risk level, indicating strong support for the adoption of risk-based BC screening in Canada.
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Introduction: Women with breast implants may experience breast implant illness (BII). BII is comprised of a collection of systemic symptoms, such as fatigue and pain, that are postulated to be related to having breast implants.

Case Presentation: This case report documents the naturopathic treatment of a 35-year-old female patient diagnosed with fibromyalgia, tension headaches, and chronic anxiety, perceived to be linked to and exacerbated by her textured cohesive gel implants.

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Patent bibliometrics data are the most reliable business performance metric for applied research and development activities when investigating the knowledge domains or the technological evolution of vehicle powertrain technologies in the automotive industry. Our paper describes a global patents dataset for the internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV), hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV) over 1985-2016. We extracted the patents granted in each powertrain field from Thomson Reuters' Derwent Innovations Index (DII).

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The emergence of networks is a crucial channel for automotive organisations to build and diffuse the required environmental innovations in the transportation sector and accelerate the transition to the green mobility economy. This article contains the dataset regarding the global patents networks shaped both within and between the three vehicle powertrains of internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV), hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and battery electric vehicle (BEV) for the period of 1985-2016. The data was acquired from Thomson Reuters' Derwent Innovations Index (DII) platform using the elements of 'patent families' and 'priority dates'.

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Background: Mammographic density is one of the strongest risk factors for breast cancer. In the general population, mammographic density can be modified by various exposures; whether this is true for women a strong family history is not known. Thus, we evaluated the association between reproductive, hormonal, and lifestyle risk factors and mammographic density among women with a strong family history of breast cancer but no BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.

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  • The Ontario Breast Screening Program expanded in 2011 to include annual MRI and mammography for high-risk women aged 30-69, focusing on cancer detection benefits based on age and risk.
  • A study of 8,782 women found that combining MRI with mammography significantly improved cancer detection sensitivity compared to mammography alone, particularly in women aged 50-69.
  • Results showed that for younger women (30-39), MRI alone might be sufficient for screening, but with a trade-off in specificity when combined with mammography.
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Background: The Ontario Breast Screening Program recommends annual mammography to women age 50-74 years at increased risk because of family history of breast or ovarian cancer or personal history of ovarian cancer or mammographic density 75% or greater. Few studies have examined the diagnostic accuracy of recommendations based on risk factors and included screen film as well as digital mammography.

Methods: A retrospective design identified concurrent cohorts of women age 50-74 years screened annually or biennially with digital mammography only between 2011 and 2014 and followed until 2016 or breast cancer diagnosis.

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  • * Research showed that deleting these insulin receptors in mice led to increased weight gain, fat accumulation, liver fat buildup, and high triglycerides, even when food intake stayed the same.
  • * The loss of insulin receptors in the SFO also caused lower mean arterial blood pressure due to reduced diastolic pressure, indicating that insulin signaling here affects both metabolic processes and blood pressure regulation.
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Objective: The benefit of organized breast assessment on wait times to treatment among asymptomatic women is unknown. The Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP) offers screening and organized assessment through Breast Assessment Centres (BAC). This study compares wait times across the treatment pathway among screened women diagnosed with breast cancer through BAC and usual care (UC).

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Purpose: Since 1998, the Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP) has offered organized assessment through Breast Assessment Centres (BAC). This study compares survival between screened women diagnosed with breast cancer who have undergone assessment through a BAC and usual care (UC).

Methods: A retrospective design identified two concurrent cohorts of women aged 50 to 69 within the OBSP diagnosed with screen-detected invasive breast cancer at a BAC (n = 2010) and UC (n = 1844) between 2002 and 2010 and followed until 2016.

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