Alemtuzumab Associated With Higher Mortality Than Basiliximab in Older Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Introduction: Kidney transplantation (KT) in older age is increasingly common as more elderly patients live with end-stage renal disease. Immunosuppression (IS) after KT confers additional risk in aging patients with weakened immune systems. We hypothesized that 1-year mortality among KT recipients aged 70 y and older would be higher in those receiving induction IS with alemtuzumab lymphocyte depletion versus basiliximab interleukin-2 inhibition.

Cognitive functioning in patients with neuro-PASC: the role of fatigue, mood, and hospitalization status.

This study sought to characterize cognitive functioning in patients with neurological post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (Neuro-PASC) and investigate the association of subjective and objective functioning along with other relevant factors with prior hospitalization for COVID-19. Participants were 106 adult outpatients with Neuro-PASC referred for abbreviated neuropsychological assessment after scoring worse than one standard deviation below the mean on cognitive screening. Of these patients, 23 had been hospitalized and 83 had not been hospitalized for COVID-19.

Lower Cerebrospinal Fluid Amyloid-β Predicts Sooner Time to Antipsychotic Use in Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of amyloid-β (Aβ) and phosphorylated-tau help clinicians accurately diagnose Alzheimer's disease (AD). Whether biomarkers help prognosticate behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) is unclear.

Objective: Determine whether CSF biomarker levels aid prognostication of BPSD in AD.

Neurologic Manifestations of Long COVID Differ Based on Acute COVID-19 Severity.

Objective: To characterize neurologic manifestations in post-hospitalization Neuro-PASC (PNP) and non-hospitalized Neuro-PASC (NNP) patients.

Methods: Prospective study of the first 100 consecutive PNP and 500 NNP patients evaluated at a Neuro-COVID-19 clinic between 5/2020 and 8/2021.

Results: PNP were older than NNP patients (mean 53.

Applying Collaborative Justice to Sexually Violent Predator Civil Commitment.

Sexually violent predator (SVP) statutes are unique in that these laws allow for the indefinite civil psychiatric commitment of sex offenders after their criminal sentences have been served. In addition to the high cost of psychiatric hospitalization, recently observed low base rates of sexual recidivism of sex offenders released from custody suggest that, in select SVP cases, a collaborative justice model of outpatient placement may be feasible in lieu of lengthy and costly placement in state hospitals. Given its position as one of the states with a large number of SVP commitments, California offers an opportunity to implement a collaborative justice model for adult sex offenders found to meet SVP criteria.

The impact of an educational program on HCV patient outcomes using boceprevir in community practices (OPTIMAL trial).

Objectives: Although effective, direct acting antiviral (DAA) therapies for genotype 1 (GT 1) hepatitis C virus (HCV) have been associated with compliance challenges. Additionally, treatment at predominantly community-based centers has been associated with low retention of patients on treatment and higher dropout rates. The OPTIMAL Phase IV interventional trial (ClinicalTrials.

Clinical outcomes and quality of life in recipients of livers donated after cardiac death.

Donation after cardiac death (DCD) has expanded in the last decade in the US; however, DCD liver utilization has flattened in recent years due to poor outcomes. We examined clinical and quality of life (QOL) outcomes of DCD recipients by conducting a retrospective and cross-sectional review of patients from 2003 to 2010. We compared clinical outcomes of DCD recipients (n = 60) to those of donation after brain death (DBD) liver recipients (n = 669) during the same time period.

Role of pretransplant echocardiographic evaluation in predicting outcomes following liver transplantation.

Maintenance of cardiac function is critical to the survival of patients with end-stage liver disease after liver transplantation (LT). We sought to determine whether pre-LT echocardiographic indices of right heart structure and function were independently predictive of morbidity and mortality post-LT. We retrospectively studied 216 consecutive patients who underwent pre-LT 2-dimensional/Doppler echocardiography with subsequent LT from 2007 to 2010.

Successful devascularization of carotid body tumors by covered stent placement in the external carotid artery.

Management of highly vascular carotid body tumors can involve pre-operative percutaneous embolization before definitive surgical resection. This step reduces tumor size, reduces operative blood loss, and makes for a less hazardous dissection with the goal of reducing morbidity and mortality. The effectiveness of a recently described technique of interrupting vascular supply via covered stent placement in the external carotid artery is further described in a series of three recent cases.

Percutaneous-endoscopic biliary stenting in patients with occluded surgical bypass.

Purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to test the feasibility of using a recently developed technique of placing internalized biliary stents into patients who have had reobstruction after initial surgical bypass.

Patients And Methods: Seven men and three women, 46 to 85 years of age (eight with pancreatic carcinoma, one with metastatic colon, and one with metastatic ovarian carcinoma), all had reobstruction after initial surgical bypass palliation. Subsequent attempts to place stents via endoscope failed in five patients; a pair of 7-Fr stents placed in one patient failed to drain well.