Publications by authors named "Brett Pierce"

Introduction: Tacrolimus forms the backbone of immunosuppression regimens in lung transplant recipients (LTRs). It is extensively metabolized by cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A5 enzymes, of which polymorphisms can significantly affect tacrolimus dose requirements. It is unknown how coadministration of tacrolimus with voriconazole, a potent CYP3A5 inhibitor, affects rejection rates or empiric dose adjustments needed after voriconazole discontinuation.

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Background: Valganciclovir is the most commonly used antiviral for cytomegalovirus (CMV) prophylaxis in solid organ transplant recipients. However, there are limited clinical outcomes-supported data available to guide valganciclovir dosing in patients on hemodialysis (HD). This study aimed to assess the safety of our institution's current dosing strategy of valganciclovir 450 mg 3 times weekly post-HD.

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Unlabelled: Data supporting the use of carfilzomib (CFZ) for treatment of antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) in lung transplantation in combination with plasmapheresis and intravenous immunoglobulin suggest positive outcomes through donor-specific antibody (DSA) depletion or conversion to noncomplement-activating antibodies. Herein, we describe our center's experience treating AMR with CFZ.

Methods: All patients treated with CFZ for AMR from 2014 to 2019 were included.

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Many secondary metabolites are produced by biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) that are repressed during standard growth conditions, which complicates the discovery of novel bioactive compounds. In the genus Fusarium, many BGCs reside in chromatin enriched for trimethylated histone 3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3), a modification correlated with transcriptional gene silencing. Here we report on our progress in assigning metabolites to genes by using a strain lacking the H3K27 methyltransferase, Kmt6.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how noncancer musculoskeletal pain is treated in different healthcare settings, focusing on patient demographics, pain types, and opioid usage.
  • A chart review of 300 patients in a rural Michigan community revealed that opioids were prescribed to 64% of outpatient and 68.9% of emergency department visits, primarily for back pain.
  • Older patients were more likely to receive opioids, but documentation for monitoring practices was very low, indicating a need for better adherence to drug monitoring guidelines.
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A mild, phosphine-mediated partial reduction of alkynyl carbonyls to the corresponding alkenes was developed. Tuning of the reaction conditions led to either the (E)- or (Z)-diastereomer with high selectivity. A range of alkynyl esters, amides, and ketones were reduced to form alkenes in good to high yields and with excellent functional group tolerance.

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Background: Infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality following solid organ transplantation. Resistance to ganciclovir can rarely develop via mutations in UL97 or UL54. There are limited published studies assessing the safety and efficacy of foscarnet for the management of ganciclovir-resistant or refractory cytomegalovirus infection and many centers are reluctant to utilize this important therapy because of concerns about toxicity.

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