Publications by authors named "Blake Parsons"

Stem cell transplantation with rehabilitation therapy presents an effective stroke treatment. Here, we discuss current breakthroughs in stem cell research along with rehabilitation strategies that may have a synergistic outcome when combined together after stroke. Indeed, stem cell transplantation offers a promising new approach and may add to current rehabilitation therapies.

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Important insights into human health can be obtained through the non-invasive collection and detailed analysis of sweat, a biofluid that contains a wide range of essential biomarkers. Skin-interfaced microfluidic platforms, characterized by soft materials and thin geometries, offer a collection of capabilities for in situ capture, storage, and analysis of sweat and its constituents. In ambulatory uses cases, the ability to provide real-time feedback on sweat loss, rate and content, without visual inspection of the device, can be important.

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Standard clinical care in neonatal and pediatric intensive-care units (NICUs and PICUs, respectively) involves continuous monitoring of vital signs with hard-wired devices that adhere to the skin and, in certain instances, can involve catheter-based pressure sensors inserted into the arteries. These systems entail risks of causing iatrogenic skin injuries, complicating clinical care and impeding skin-to-skin contact between parent and child. Here we present a wireless, non-invasive technology that not only offers measurement equivalency to existing clinical standards for heart rate, respiration rate, temperature and blood oxygenation, but also provides a range of important additional features, as supported by data from pilot clinical studies in both the NICU and PICU.

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Background: Percutaneous access to the vertebral bodies is commonly done via the transpedicular approach for both diagnoses and treatment of spinal pathology. While this approach is effective in most cases, it is difficult in certain situations such as a patient with obstructing hardware from prior surgery.

Objectives: To investigate and illustrate an alternative to the typical percutaneous access to the vertebral body via an extrapedicular approach and to determine the complications associated with this approach.

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Intravenous leiomyomatosis is a benign smooth muscle tumor which despite its histology can have devastating consequences. Furthermore, the clinical manifestations are variable and nonspecific, typically leading to delayed or missed diagnosis. Thus, it is critical for clinicians to be aware of this condition and have a high index of suspicion in a middle-aged woman with a history of uterine leiomyoma presenting with an inferior vena cava mass to enable early diagnosis and treatment.

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