Publications by authors named "Bollag W"

Background: Glucocorticoids are central to vasculitis treatment but increase vertebral fracture risk. This study assessed whether vasculitis as the cause of ESRD is associated with incident vertebral fracture, controlling for corticosteroid use.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted from 2006-2019 on adults in the U.

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  • - Insomnia is common among end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular problems, suggesting a possible interconnection between the two conditions.
  • - This study analyzed demographic and clinical factors among dialysis patients (2005-2019) to identify what increases the risk of insomnia, focusing on factors like age, race, and existing cardiovascular diseases (like diabetes and heart failure).
  • - Findings revealed that certain conditions (like obstructive sleep apnea and hypertension) increase insomnia risk, while being older, non-white, or using specific dialysis methods may reduce that risk; further research is recommended to explore the underlying mechanisms.
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Skin provides a physical and immune barrier to protect the body from foreign substances, microbial invasion, and desiccation. Aging reduces the barrier function of skin and its rate of repair. Aged skin exhibits decreased mitochondrial function and prolonged low-level inflammation that can be seen in other organs with aging.

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We and others have seen that osteocytes sense high-impact osteogenic mechanical loading via transient plasma membrane disruptions (PMDs) which initiate downstream mechanotransduction. However, a PMD must be repaired for the cell to survive this wounding event. Previous work suggested that the protein Prkd1 (also known as PKCμ) may be a critical component of this PMD repair process, but the specific role of Prkd1 in osteocyte mechanobiology had not yet been tested.

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Chronic kidney disease is the loss of renal function that can occur from aging or through a myriad of other disease states. Rising serum concentrations of kynurenine, a tryptophan metabolite, have been shown to correlate with increasing severity of chronic kidney disease. This study used chronic intravenous infusion in conscious male Sprague-Dawley rats to test the hypothesis that kynurenine can induce renal damage and promote alterations in blood pressure, heart rate, and decreased renal function.

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Cutaneous wound healing is a complex biological process involving a series of well-coordinated events aimed at restoring skin integrity and function. Various experimental models have been developed to study the mechanisms underlying skin wound repair and to evaluate potential therapeutic interventions. This review explores the diverse array of skin wound healing models utilized in research, ranging from rodent excisional wounds to advanced tissue engineering constructs and microfluidic platforms.

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The cornea is an avascular, transparent tissue that allows light to enter the visual system. Accurate vision requires proper maintenance of the cornea's integrity and structure. Due to its exposure to the external environment, the cornea is prone to injury and must undergo proper wound healing to restore vision.

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Vitiligo is an autoimmune condition that causes patchy skin depigmentation. Although the mechanism by which vitiligo induces immunocompromise is unclear, other related autoimmune diseases are known to predispose those affected to infection. Individuals with vitiligo exhibit epidermal barrier disruption, which could potentially increase their susceptibility to systemic infections; patients with renal disease also show a predisposition to infection.

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Introduction: Sleep apnea (SA) is an important comorbidity in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. The association between SA and cardiac and neurological disease is known. This study investigates the relationship between SA and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular outcomes in the ESRD population.

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In the general population, abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is synonymous with vascular disease and associated with increased mortality. Vascular disease is common in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on dialysis, but there is limited information on AAA in this population. To address this issue, we queried the United States Renal Data System for risk factors associated with a diagnosis of AAA as well as the impact of AAA on ESRD patient survival.

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: Atopic dermatitis (AD), also known as eczema, is a common chronic inflammatory skin condition affecting 16.5 million adults in the United States. AD is characterized by an impaired epidermal barrier that can predispose individuals to infection.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Deep neck space infections (DNSI) are serious infections in the neck that are more common in people with weakened immune systems, including those with kidney disease, but have not been thoroughly studied in this population.
  • - A study analyzed data from 705,891 patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who underwent dialysis from 2005 to 2019, finding that 2.2% were diagnosed with DNSI and identifying several factors that increased the risk of these infections.
  • - The study concluded that having DNSI significantly raises the risk of mortality in ESRD patients, alongside other factors like age, access type for dialysis, and substance use, emphasizing the need for better oral hygiene and monitoring among these patients
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With its unique anatomical location facing both the external and internal environment, the skin has crucial functions, including shielding the body from damage caused by ultraviolet radiation and chemicals, preventing water loss, acting as a primary barrier against pathogens, participating in metabolic processes like vitamin D production and temperature control and relaying information to the body through sensory and proprioceptor nerves. Like all organ systems, skin is known to undergo multiple changes with aging. A better understanding of the mechanisms that mediate aging-related skin dysfunction may allow the creation of targeted therapeutics that have beneficial effects not only on aged skin but also on other organs and tissues that experience a loss of or decline in function with aging.

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Background: Previous research in the general population suggests that the inflammatory skin disease psoriasis is associated with an increased risk of vascular events, such as stroke. Thus, psoriasis may also represent a risk factor for stroke in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients.

Methods: We queried the United States Renal Data System for incident dialysis patients between 2004 and 2015.

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Pressure ulcers are associated with multiple comorbidities and annually affect approximately 3 million Americans, directly accounting for approximately 60,000 deaths per year. Because patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are known to present with unique factors which impair wound healing, pressure ulcers diagnosed in ESRD patients might independently increase the risk of mortality. To investigate the association between pressure ulcer diagnosis and mortality risk in the ESRD population, a retrospective analysis of the United States Renal Data System (USRDS) database was performed.

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Background: Sleep disturbances in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are common and more prevalent than in the general population. This study aims to assess the demographic and clinical risk factors for the diagnosis of sleep disorders in ESRD patients.

Methods: This study is a retrospective analysis of the United States Renal Data System (USRDS) to evaluate risk factors for the diagnosis of sleep disorders, including hypersomnolence, insomnia, restless leg syndrome (RLS), or obstructive or central sleep apnea (OSA/CSA).

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  • End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients are at a higher risk for serious infections, particularly listeriosis, due to their immunocompromised status.
  • A study analyzing data from over a million ESRD patients found that listeriosis is significantly associated with several risk factors, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
  • The research indicates that listeriosis is more common in ESRD patients than in the general population and is linked to increased mortality, highlighting the need for careful diagnosis in this vulnerable group.
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This review proposes the use of dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol (DOPG) to enhance diabetic wound healing. Initially, the characteristics of diabetic wounds are examined, focusing on the epidermis. Hyperglycemia accompanying diabetes results in enhanced inflammation and oxidative stress in part through the generation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), in which glucose is conjugated to macromolecules.

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Purpose: Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is a common autoimmune thyroid disorder that can disrupt thyroid function and homeostasis. As HT results from a dysregulated immune system, we hypothesized that these patients might be more susceptible to transplant failure; however, literature on this association is limited. The purpose of this study is to examine the association of HT with the risk of renal transplant failure.

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Our previous work shows that dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol (DOPG) accelerates corneal epithelial healing in vitro and in vivo by unknown mechanisms. Prior data demonstrate that DOPG inhibits toll-like receptor (TLR) activation and inflammation induced by microbial components (pathogen-associated molecular patterns, PAMPs) and by endogenous molecules upregulated in psoriatic skin, which act as danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) to activate TLRs and promote inflammation. In the injured cornea, sterile inflammation can result from the release of the DAMP molecule, heat shock protein B4 (HSPB4), to contribute to delayed wound healing.

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  • Sleep apnea (SA) is common in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), but its effect on mortality in these patients is not fully understood.
  • A study analyzed data from over 858,000 ESRD patients who started hemodialysis between 2005 and 2013, finding that those with central SA (CSA) and obstructive SA (OSA) had higher mortality risk compared to those without SA.
  • Factors like age, certain comorbidities, and demographics influenced survival rates, suggesting that early detection and treatment of SA could potentially improve outcomes for ESRD patients.
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Aldosterone is considered to be a link between hypertension and obesity; obese individuals have high serum levels of very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). VLDL has been shown to induce aldosterone production in multiple adrenal zona glomerulosa models, mediated in part by phospholipase D (PLD). PLD is an enzyme that hydrolyzes phosphatidylcholine to produce phosphatidic acid (PA), a lipid second messenger that can also be dephosphorylated by lipin to yield diacylglycerol (DAG), yet another lipid signal.

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Prolonged inflammation and impaired re-epithelization are major contributing factors to chronic non-healing diabetic wounds; diabetes is also characterized by xerosis. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs), and the activation of toll-like receptors (TLRs), can trigger inflammatory responses. Aquaporin-3 (AQP3) plays essential roles in keratinocyte function and skin wound re-epithelialization/re-generation and hydration.

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  • The human adrenal cortex has distinct zones responsible for steroid hormone production, but how these zones differentiate into functionally distinct cells is not well understood.
  • The study introduces a new Human Adrenocortical Adenoma (HAA1) cell line that can exit a dormant state and express steroidogenic genes when treated with histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis).
  • Gene analysis shows that the HAA1 cells mimic the gene expression of their original adrenal layer, and treatment with HDACis not only boosts steroid gene expression but also activates the Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) alpha pathway, aiding understanding of adrenal development and function.
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Purpose Of Review: Bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT) in the skeleton likely plays a variety of physiological and pathophysiological roles that are not yet fully understood. In elucidating the complex relationship between bone and BMAT, glucocorticoids (GCs) are positioned to play a key role, as they have been implicated in the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) between osteogenic and adipogenic lineages. The purpose of this review is to illuminate aspects of both endogenous and exogenous GC signaling, including the influence of GC receptors, in mechanisms of bone aging including relationships to BMAT.

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