Publications by authors named "Blum K"

Availability of toxicological data for pharmaceutical intermediates (IMs) used in the manufacture of small molecules is often limited. Scarcity of data - in particular, repeat-dose toxicity (RDT) - renders the calculation of health-based exposure limits (HBELs) problematic. Establishment of HBELs, including occupational exposure limits (OELs) and permitted daily exposures (PDEs) facilitating worker and patient safety respectively, is however essential.

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  • - The paper discusses the importance of intervention and implementation fidelity in healthcare research, emphasizing that strict adherence to core components of interventions is crucial for meaningful evaluation of outcomes.
  • - It highlights the need for flexibility in defining fidelity, as varying contexts and implementation strategies require researchers to adapt their approaches while ensuring that fidelity criteria are transparent and context-dependent.
  • - The authors argue that fidelity assessments should consider not just individual behaviors, but also organizational and system factors, further complicating the evaluation process and necessitating a deeper understanding of fidelity concepts.
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  • The opioid crisis has evolved into a global issue affecting various socioeconomic and cultural areas, with traditional treatment methods proving insufficient.
  • A narrative review was conducted using multiple databases to explore the complex factors contributing to this epidemic, acknowledging the potential for bias in article selection.
  • Despite some progress with Opioid Substitution Therapy, U.S. overdose deaths remain alarmingly high and are projected to increase; the authors suggest a need for a new treatment approach that targets brain neurotransmitter systems for better management.
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  • Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) share similar neurobiological features, suggesting that BPD might be better classified as "traumatic personality stress disorder" (TPSD).
  • The study explores how psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) could effectively treat both BPD and PTSD, emphasizing its role in stabilizing reward functions.
  • Reclassifying BPD as TPSD may lead to more personalized treatment approaches, reduce stigma, and improve understanding and management of related psychological conditions.
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Unlabelled: This case study demonstrates that craniocervical spinal alignment with the EPIC technique spinal procedure appears to have a potential positive impact on ocular function. This paper will report the case of a patient with cranial nerve VI palsy and dizziness, and the clinical improvements following treatment with the soundwave technology of the EPIC technique spinal procedure [1].

Objective: To report the case of a patient with cranial nerve VI (CN VI) palsy and the clinical changes that occurred after receiving treatment using the EPIC (Evolutionary Percussion Instrument Corrections) technique spinal procedure.

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  • Proprioception, a sense crucial for movement control, remains underexplored, particularly in how limb position is mapped in the brain's somatosensory cortex.
  • The researchers developed a topographic variational autoencoder (topo-VAE) that, while not based on actual neural data, successfully mimics key aspects of proprioception observed in monkey movement studies.
  • Their model predicts a specific geometry for how neurons encode movement across the cortex and suggests that few neurons focus on single joints, offering insights into sensory feedback applications in brain-computer interfaces and robotics.
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  • - Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS) refers to a range of addictive behaviors affecting many people, prompting research on KB220 and its variants to tackle these issues.
  • - The studies focus on various impacts of KB220, including cravings, substance abuse prevention, and mental health conditions like ADHD and eating disorders.
  • - The review posits that KB220 is more effective than GLP-1 analogs in improving brain functions related to reward and dopamine balance without negatively affecting the reward system.
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Objectives: Humans, with their unique genetic profile, exhibit a greater propensity to develop and maintain addiction compared to other animals. This paper offers a detailed examination of addiction, co-occurring traits, and psychologic disorders, focusing on neurobiological and molecular aspects. Furthermore, the authors investigate the potential of the Awareness Integration Theoretical model as an effective therapeutic addiction treatment.

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Asthma is of concern in occupational toxicology with significant public-health and economic costs. In the absence of benchmark in vivo and in vitro tests, the use of mechanistically sound in silico models is critical to inform hazard and to protect workers from exposure to potentially harmful substances. We recently reported on the computer-aided discovery and REdesign (CADRE) model for respiratory sensitization, which relies on a tiered structure of expert rules, molecular simulations, quantum-mechanics calculations and advanced statistics to accurately identify respiratory sensitizers from first principles.

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Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with or without streptococcal and other bacterial infections (PANDAS/CANS) are emerging as a featured pediatric disorder. Although there is some controversy regarding treatment approaches, especially related to the behavioral sequelae, we have hypothesized in other published work that it is characterized by the rapid onset of Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS) in children. We propose utilizing a multi-systems biological approach involving the coupling of genetic addiction risk testing and pro-dopamine regulation (KB220/POLYGEN) to help induce "dopamine homeostasis" in patients with PANDAS, especially those with known DNA-induced hypodopaminergia.

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The global public health addiction crisis has been stark, with over 932,400 deaths in the USA and Canada from opioid overdose since 1999-2020, surpassing the mortality rates at the top of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Both nations exhibit opioid consumption rates significantly above the norm for developed countries. Analgesic type of opioids present both therapeutic benefits and substantial health risks, necessitating balanced drug regulation, careful prescribing, and dedicated opioid stewardship.

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  • Brentuximab vedotin has been shown to improve outcomes in treating advanced classic Hodgkin's lymphoma, but it also causes more toxic side effects in adults, while many pediatric patients still need radiation therapy and face challenges with relapse.
  • A phase 3 trial involving patients aged 12 and older tested two treatment combinations: brentuximab vedotin with standard chemotherapy (BV+AVD) versus nivolumab with standard chemotherapy (N+AVD), aiming to assess progression-free survival.
  • Results indicated that N+AVD significantly enhances progression-free survival compared to BV+AVD, with a 2-year survival rate of 92% for N+AVD versus 83% for BV
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The human brain not only controls the various physiological functions but is also the prime regulator of circadian rhythms, rewards, and behaviors. Environmental factors, professional stress, and social disintegration are regarded as the initial causative factors of addiction behavior. Shift work, artificial light exposure at night, and chronic and acute jet lag influence circadian rhythm dysfunction.

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  • Noise-induced cochlear synaptopathy leads to the permanent loss of synapses between inner hair cells (IHCs) and spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) without affecting overall hearing thresholds.
  • In experiments with C57BL/6 N mice exposed to various noise levels, significant changes in auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) were observed, indicating loss of IHC synaptic connections and impaired hearing ability over time.
  • The study revealed that while the number of synaptic pairs decreased significantly, the IHC postsynapses were more resilient than the presynaptic ribbons, highlighting the vulnerability of these synapses to noise trauma at high decibel levels.
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Severe coronary artery disease is often treated with a coronary artery bypass graft using an autologous blood vessel. When this is not available, a commercially available synthetic graft can be used as an alternative but is associated with high failure rates and complications. Therefore, the research focus has shifted toward the development of biodegradable, regenerative vascular grafts that can convert into neoarteries.

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Background And Objectives: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic musculoskeletal pain syndrome characterized by widespread pain and a variety of other symptoms, including fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and sleep disturbances. Recent research has highlighted the potential role of pro-inflammatory cytokines and neurotransmitters in the pathophysiology of FM. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and serotonin with the clinical parameters observed in patients with fibromyalgia.

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Autism spectrum condition (ASC) is a neurodevelopmental condition that is only partly responsive to prevailing interventions. ASC manifests core challenges in social skills, communication, and sensory function and by repetitive stereotyped behaviors, along with imbalances in the brain's excitatory (E) and inhibitory (I) signaling. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has shown promise in ASC and may be a useful addition to applied behavioral analysis (ABA), a gold-standard psychotherapeutic intervention.

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The severity and invasiveness of clinical outcomes from organic responses to trauma are influenced by individual, surgical, and anesthetic factors. A stress response elicits neuroendocrine and immune reactions that may lead to multi-organ dysfunction. The degree of neuroinflammatory reflex activation from trauma can increase pro-inflammatory cytokine production, leading to endothelial dysfunction, glycocalyx damage, neutrophil activation, and multisystem tissue destruction.

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Clonidine operates through agonism at the alpha-2A receptor, a specific subtype of the alpha-2-adrenergic receptor located predominantly in the prefrontal cortex. By inhibiting the release of norepinephrine, which is responsible for withdrawal symptoms, clonidine effectively addresses withdrawal-related conditions such as anxiety, hypertension, and tachycardia. The groundbreaking work by Gold .

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Several trends toward patient-centered multi-care models employing translational research strategies are currently emerging in orthopaedics. These align seamlessly with epigenetics discussions in pain, a clinical approach to pain management that prioritizes tailoring healthcare to individual needs, preferences, and circumstances. Recognizing the unique genetic and epigenetic factors influencing pain perception, healthcare providers can integrate personalized insights into their patient-centered approach, offering more targeted and effective pain management strategies tailored to each individual's experience.

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  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is defined by challenges in social skills, communication, and repetitive behaviors, with a complex causation involving numerous genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors.
  • The dopamine-mediated brain reward system is significant in ASD, but the intricate interactions between various neurotransmitters and signaling pathways complicate our understanding of how these alterations contribute to the disorder.
  • A proposed framework breaks down ASD pathogenesis into four levels—genetic changes, disrupted reward signaling, dysregulated neurotransmitter effects, and altered social behaviors—aiming to improve diagnostics and treatment strategies.
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  • Alcohol use disorder (AUD) accounts for about 13% of US deaths and leads to family destruction and economic losses from reduced work performance and healthcare costs.
  • Research indicates specific brain receptors (NMDAR) influenced by AUD, which affect emotional and behavioral responses.
  • The review suggests that aerobic exercise may positively impact these brain receptors and serve as a helpful additional treatment for AUD, highlighting the need for more studies in this area.
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Although initial therapy of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is not standardized, bendamustine plus rituximab (BR) is commonly used in older patients. Rituximab (R) maintenance after induction is often used. Thus, the open-label, randomized phase 2 ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group E1411 trial was designed to test 2 questions: (1) does addition of bortezomib to BR induction (BVR) and/or (2) addition of lenalidomide to rituximab (LR) maintenance improve progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with treatment-naïve MCL? From 2012 to 2016, 373 previously untreated patients, 87% aged ≥60 years, were enrolled in this trial.

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