Contributions of Structural Racism to the Food Environment: A Photovoice Study of Black Residents With Hypertension in Baltimore, MD.

Background: Disproportionate exposure to poor food environments and food insecurity among Black Americans may partially explain critical chronic disease disparities by race and ethnicity. A complex set of structural factors and interactions between Black residents and their food environments, including store types, quantity, proximity, and quality of goods and consumer interactions within stores, may affect nutritional behaviors and contribute to higher cardiovascular and kidney disease risk.

Methods: We used the Photovoice methodology to explore the food environment in Baltimore, MD, through the perspectives of Black residents with hypertension between August and November 2019.

Housing Insecurity and Risk of Adverse Kidney Outcomes.

Background: Housing insecurity is characterized by high housing costs or unsafe living conditions that prevent self-care and threaten independence. We examined the relationship of housing insecurity and risk of kidney disease.

Methods: We used longitudinal data from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span study (Baltimore, MD).

The kappa opioid receptor modulates GABA neuron excitability and synaptic transmission in midbrainprojections from the insular cortex.

As an integrative hub, the insular cortex (IC) translates external cues into interoceptive states that generate complex physiological, affective, and behavioral responses. However, the precise circuit and signaling mechanisms in the IC that modulate these processes are unknown. Here, we describe a midbrain-projecting microcircuit in the medial aspect of the agranular IC that signals through the Gαi/o-coupled kappa opioid receptor (KOR) and its endogenous ligand dynorphin (Dyn).