Publications by authors named "Catherine Chang"

Aging and apolipoprotein E4 () are the two most significant risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD). Compared to , disrupts cholesterol homeostasis, increases cholesteryl esters (CEs), and exacerbates neuroinflammation in brain cells, including microglia. Targeting CEs and neuroinflammation could be a novel strategy to ameliorate -dependent phenotypes.

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Article Synopsis
  • Aging and the presence of the APOE4 gene are major risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD), leading to increased neuroinflammation and cholesterol imbalances in brain cells.
  • The study highlights that inhibiting the cholesterol storage enzyme ACAT1 can reduce harmful cholesteryl esters and inflammation by modulating TLR4 levels in microglia, which are immune cells in the brain.
  • Treatment with a nanoparticle-formulated ACAT inhibitor, F12511, shows promise in decreasing inflammatory markers and TLR4 protein levels in the brains of aged APOE4 mice, suggesting it may be a potential therapeutic strategy for LOAD.
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Aging is the major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the aged brain, myelin debris accumulates and is cleared by microglia. Phagocytosed myelin debris increases neutral lipid droplet content in microglia.

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Endothelial cells are integral components of all vasculature within complex organisms. As they line the blood vessel wall, endothelial cells are constantly exposed to a variety of molecular factors and shear force that can induce cellular damage and stress. However, how endothelial cells are removed or eliminate unwanted cellular contents, remains unclear.

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Background: The Institute for Safe Medication Practices and The Joint Commission recommend the implementation of bidirectional smart infusion pump interoperability with the electronic health record (EHR) to improve medication safety. However, there are barriers associated with implementation of this process.

Purpose: The purpose of this process improvement project was to identify, evaluate, and implement improvements in pump integration with the EHR to decrease manual programming and increase the use of the smart pump functions (the dose error reduction system or infusion guardrails).

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Colouterine fistulas are generally seen in post-menopausal patients and present with abdominal pain and non-physiologic vaginal drainage. A history of uterine pathology or diverticulitis is generally lacking. Visualization of the passage of contrast from the gastrointestinal tract to the uterus is not necessary to make the diagnosis.

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Cholesterol homeostasis is pivotal for cellular function. Acyl-coenzyme A:cholesterol acyltransferase 1 (ACAT1), also abbreviated as SOAT1, is an enzyme responsible for catalyzing the storage of excess cholesterol to cholesteryl esters. ACAT1 is an emerging target to treat diverse diseases including atherosclerosis, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases.

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Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common malignancy that develops in patients with ataxia-telangiectasia, a cancer-predisposing inherited syndrome characterized by inactivating germline ATM mutations. ATM is also frequently mutated in sporadic DLBCL. To investigate lymphomagenic mechanisms and lymphoma-specific dependencies underlying defective ATM, we applied RNA sequencing and genome-scale loss-of-function clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 screens to systematically interrogate B-cell lymphomas arising in a novel murine model (Atm-/-nu-/-) with constitutional Atm loss, thymic aplasia but residual T-cell populations.

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TP53-mutant blood cancers remain a clinical challenge. BH3-mimetic drugs inhibit BCL-2 pro-survival proteins, inducing cancer cell apoptosis. Despite acting downstream of p53, functional p53 is required for maximal cancer cell killing by BH3-mimetics through an unknown mechanism.

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Whole-genome screens using CRISPR technologies are powerful tools to identify novel tumour suppressors as well as factors that impact responses of malignant cells to anti-cancer agents. Applying this methodology to lymphoma cells, we conducted a genome-wide screen to identify novel inhibitors of tumour expansion that are induced by the tumour suppressor TRP53. We discovered that the absence of Arrestin domain containing 3 (ARRDC3) increases the survival and long-term competitiveness of MYC-driven lymphoma cells when treated with anti-cancer agents that activate TRP53.

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Article Synopsis
  • Mutations in the TP53 tumor suppressor gene are linked to cancer and poor responses to chemotherapy, often thought to be due to loss-of-function, dominant-negative effects, or gain-of-function activities.
  • A study using CRISPR/Cas9 showed that eliminating various TP53 mutants did not change the growth or response to treatment of several cancer cell lines and organoids, suggesting that the gain-of-function effects may not be significant.
  • The findings indicate that loss-of-function effects of TP53 are critical for tumor growth, while targeting mutant TP53 for its gain-of-function activities may not be an effective cancer treatment strategy.
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Type 2 diabetes is associated with an increased risk of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia. However, the association of type 1 diabetes with herpes zoster or postherpetic neuralgia remains unclear. This retrospective cohort study using Taiwan's Health Insurance Research Database included 199,566 patients with type 1 diabetes and 1,458,331 with type 2 diabetes, identified during the period 2000 to 2012.

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Background: Primary care physicians are often the first to identify signs and symptoms concerning for cancer. An important aspect of cancer screening is thorough skin examinations and subsequent referral to a dermatologist for atypical cutaneous presentations, which may be associated with an underlying visceral malignancy. Diagnostic considerations for pruritus without dermatitis ("itch without rash") in adults include senile pruritus, medication reaction, and paraneoplastic syndrome.

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Suctioning of newborns immediately after birth, as part of delivery room resuscitation, is only recommended if the airway is obstructed. The aim of this study was to describe the use of suctioning during newborn resuscitation among survivors versus those who died within 3 days and potential suction-related heart rate responses and associations to newborn characteristics. This was a retrospective observational study from July 2013 to July 2016 in a referral hospital in rural Tanzania.

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Blended learning is a learner-centered educational method that combines online and traditional face-to-face educational strategies. Simulation is a commonly utilized platform for experiential learning and an ideal component of a blended learning curriculum. This section describes blended learning, including its strengths and limitations, educational frameworks, uses within health professions education, best practices, and challenges.

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The BH3-mimetic drug Venetoclax, a specific inhibitor of anti-apoptotic BCL-2, has had clinical success for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and acute myeloid leukaemia. Attention has now shifted towards related pro-survival BCL-2 family members, hypothesising that new BH3-mimetic drugs targeting these proteins may emulate the success of Venetoclax. BH3-mimetics targeting pro-survival MCL-1 or BCL-XL have entered clinical trials, but managing on-target toxicities is challenging.

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The blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a noninvasive technique that has been widely used in research to study brain function. However, fMRI suffers from susceptibility-induced off resonance fields which may cause geometric distortions and mismatches with anatomical images. State-of-the-art correction methods require acquiring reverse phase encoded images or additional field maps to enable distortion correction.

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Cholesterol is essential for cellular function and is stored as cholesteryl esters (CEs). CEs biosynthesis is catalyzed by the enzymes acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase 1 and 2 (ACAT1 and ACAT2), with ACAT1 being the primary isoenzyme in most cells in humans. In Alzheimer's Disease, CEs accumulate in vulnerable brain regions.

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Cholesterol is stored as cholesteryl esters by the enzymes acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferases/sterol O:acyltransferases (ACATs/SOATs). ACAT1 blockade (A1B) ameliorates the pro-inflammatory responses of macrophages to lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and cholesterol loading. However, the mediators involved in transmitting the effects of A1B in immune cells is unknown.

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Cholesterol is a key component of all mammalian cell membranes. Disruptions in cholesterol metabolism have been observed in the context of various diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). The genetic and pharmacological blockade of acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase 1/sterol O-acyltransferase 1 (ACAT1/SOAT1), a cholesterol storage enzyme found on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and enriched at the mitochondria-associated ER membrane (MAM), has been shown to reduce amyloid pathology and rescue cognitive deficits in mouse models of AD.

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Introduction: Enoxaparin is administered for venous thromboembolic (VTE) prophylaxis in bariatric surgery patients. There is concern whether body mass index (BMI)-based enoxaparin dosing consistently achieves prophylactic targets in patients with severe obesity.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients who underwent bariatric surgery at an academic medical center from Jan 2015-May 2021 and had an anti-Xa level drawn 2.

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Mutant TP53 proteins are thought to drive the development and sustained expansion of cancers at least in part through the loss of the wild-type (wt) TP53 tumour suppressive functions. Therefore, compounds that can restore wt TP53 functions in mutant TP53 proteins are expected to inhibit the expansion of tumours expressing mutant TP53. APR-246 has been reported to exert such effects in malignant cells and is currently undergoing clinical trials in several cancer types.

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Background: Fat necrosis is a well-recognized complication following autologous fat grafting. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of fat necrosis after large-volume fat grafting and identify risk factors for fat necrosis.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed on 83 consecutive patients who underwent large-volume fat grafting (>100 cc) to the breast performed by the senior author (L.

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