Implementing a robotic hepatopancreatobiliary program for new faculty: safety, feasibility and lessons learned.

Robotic surgery is increasingly utilized in hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) surgery, but the learning curve is a substantial obstacle hindering implementation. Comprehensive robotic training can help to surmount this obstacle; however, despite the expansion of robotic training into residency and fellowship programs, limited data are available about how this translates into successful incorporation in faculty practice. All operations performed during the first three years of practice of a surgical oncologist at a tertiary care academic institution were retrospectively reviewed.

Implementing a Robotic Hepatopancreatobiliary Program for New Faculty: Safety, Feasibility and Lessons Learned.

Background: Robotic surgery is increasingly utilized in hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) surgery, but the learning curve is a substantial obstacle hindering implementation. Comprehensive robotic training can help to surmount this obstacle; however, despite the expansion of robotic training into residency and fellowship programs, limited data is available about how this translates into successful incorporation in faculty practice.

Methods: All operations performed during the first three years of practice of a complex general surgical oncology-trained surgical oncologist at a tertiary care academic institution were retrospectively reviewed.

Efficacy and Safety of XEN1101, a Novel Potassium Channel Opener, in Adults With Focal Epilepsy: A Phase 2b Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Many patients with focal epilepsy experience seizures despite treatment with currently available antiseizure medications (ASMs) and may benefit from novel therapeutics.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of XEN1101, a novel small-molecule selective Kv7.2/Kv7.

Time-to-event clinical trial designs: Existing evidence and remaining concerns.

Well-designed placebo-controlled clinical trials are critical to the development of novel treatments for epilepsy, but their design has not changed for decades. Patients, clinicians, regulators, and innovators all have concerns that recruiting for trials is challenging, in part, due to the static design of maintaining participants for long periods on add-on placebo when there are an increasing number of options for therapy. A traditional trial maintains participants on blinded treatment for a static period (e.

Assessment of gait and balance impairment in people with spinocerebellar ataxia using wearable sensors.

Objective: To explore the use of wearable sensors for objective measurement of motor impairment in spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) patients during clinical assessments of gait and balance.

Methods: In total, 14 patients with genetically confirmed SCA (mean age 61.6 ± 8.

Intrinsically stretchable electrode array enabled in vivo electrophysiological mapping of atrial fibrillation at cellular resolution.

Electrophysiological mapping of chronic atrial fibrillation (AF) at high throughput and high resolution is critical for understanding its underlying mechanism and guiding definitive treatment such as cardiac ablation, but current electrophysiological tools are limited by either low spatial resolution or electromechanical uncoupling of the beating heart. To overcome this limitation, we herein introduce a scalable method for fabricating a tissue-like, high-density, fully elastic electrode (elastrode) array capable of achieving real-time, stable, cellular level-resolution electrophysiological mapping in vivo. Testing with acute rabbit and porcine models, the device is proven to have robust and intimate tissue coupling while maintaining its chemical, mechanical, and electrical properties during the cardiac cycle.

The ePix10k 2-megapixel hard X-ray detector at LCLS.

The ePix10ka2M (ePix10k) is a new large area detector specifically developed for X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) applications. The hybrid pixel detector was developed at SLAC to provide a hard X-ray area detector with a high dynamic range, running at the 120 Hz repetition rate of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). The ePix10k consists of 16 modules, each with 352 × 384 pixels of 100 µm × 100 µm distributed on four ASICs, resulting in a 2.

Soft X-ray spectroscopy with transition-edge sensors at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource beamline 10-1.

We present results obtained with a new soft X-ray spectrometer based on transition-edge sensors (TESs) composed of Mo/Cu bilayers coupled to bismuth absorbers. This spectrometer simultaneously provides excellent energy resolution, high detection efficiency, and broadband spectral coverage. The new spectrometer is optimized for incident X-ray energies below 2 keV.

Assessment of Safety and Efficacy of Safinamide as a Levodopa Adjunct in Patients With Parkinson Disease and Motor Fluctuations: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Although levodopa remains the most effective oral pharmacotherapy for Parkinson disease (PD), its use is often limited by wearing off effect and dyskinesias. Management of such complications continues to be a significant challenge.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of safinamide (an oral aminoamide derivative with dopaminergic and nondopaminergic actions) in levodopa-treated patients with motor fluctuations.

Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of [C]-tozadenant (SYN-115), a novel A2a receptor antagonist ligand, in healthy volunteers.

1. This phase-I study (NCT02240290) was designed to investigate the human absorption, disposition and mass balance of C-tozadenant, a novel A2a receptor antagonist in clinical development for Parkinson s disease. 2.

Assessment of Parkinson's disease levodopa-induced dyskinesia: a qualitative research study.

Background And Objectives: The 26-item Parkinson disease dyskinesia scale (PDYS-26) was developed to assess the impact of Parkinson's disease levodopa-induced dyskinesias (PD-LID). The purpose of this qualitative research study was to assess the content validity of the PDYS-26 in an independent sample and to use the findings to suggest a conceptual framework around the impact of PD-LID.

Methods: PD patients experiencing LID and their caregivers were recruited from four US clinical sites.

Tozadenant (SYN115) in patients with Parkinson's disease who have motor fluctuations on levodopa: a phase 2b, double-blind, randomised trial.

Background: Many patients with Parkinson's disease have motor fluctuations despite treatment with available drugs. Tozadenant (SYN115) is an oral, selective adenosine A2A receptor antagonist that improves motor function in animal models of Parkinson's disease. We aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of tozadenant as an adjunct to levodopa in patients with Parkinson's disease who have motor fluctuations on levodopa.

Use of metabotropic glutamate 5-receptor antagonists for treatment of levodopa-induced dyskinesias.

Background: Modulation of metabotropic glutamate receptors may be a novel therapeutic approach to manage L-Dopa-induced dyskinesias in patients with Parkinson's disease. This article reviews the rationale for use of metabotropic glutamate 5-receptor antagonists in experimental and clinical L-Dopa-induced dyskinesias.

Methods: Systematic literature searches were performed (between May 2012-March 2014) for relevant English language articles using PubMed.

Management of non-parasitic splenic cysts: does size really matter?

Background: Splenic cysts are relatively rare clinical entities and are often diagnosed incidentally upon imaging conducted for a variety of clinical complaints. They can be categorized as primary or secondary based on the presence or absence of an epithelial lining. Primary cysts are further subdivided into those that are and are not secondary to parasitic infection.

Mavoglurant (AFQ056) in combination with increased levodopa dosages in Parkinson's disease patients.

Long-term use of levodopa (L-dopa) in patients with Parkinson's disease is associated with development of dyskinesia. This study explored whether Parkinson's disease patients with L-dopa-induced dyskinesia experience improved OFF-time from higher L-dopa doses without worsening of dyskinesias when receiving adjunctive mavoglurant. Patients with moderate-to-severe L-dopa-induced dyskinesia were randomized to receive mavoglurant or placebo.

AFQ056 in Parkinson patients with levodopa-induced dyskinesia: 13-week, randomized, dose-finding study.

AFQ056 is a novel, selective metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 antagonist. This was a 13-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Patients with Parkinson's disease and moderate-to-severe levodopa (l-dopa)-induced dyskinesia who were receiving stable l-dopa/anti-parkinsonian treatment and were not currently receiving amantadine were randomized to receive either AFQ056 (at doses of 20, 50, 100, 150, or 200 mg daily) or placebo (1:1:1:1:2:3 ratio) for 12 weeks.

Energy-dispersive X-ray emission spectroscopy using an X-ray free-electron laser in a shot-by-shot mode.

The ultrabright femtosecond X-ray pulses provided by X-ray free-electron lasers open capabilities for studying the structure and dynamics of a wide variety of systems beyond what is possible with synchrotron sources. Recently, this "probe-before-destroy" approach has been demonstrated for atomic structure determination by serial X-ray diffraction of microcrystals. There has been the question whether a similar approach can be extended to probe the local electronic structure by X-ray spectroscopy.

Efficacy and tolerability of pregabalin in essential tremor: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial.

We performed a double-blind, crossover-design study to assess the tolerability and efficacy of pregabalin (PGB) in patients with essential tremor (ET). Twenty patients (11 women; mean age of 62.2+/-12.

Relationship between various clinical outcome assessments in patients with blepharospasm.

The objective was to analyze the metric properties of the Jankovic Rating Scale (JRS) and a self-rating patient response outcome scale, the Blepharospasm Disability Index (BSDI), in blepharospasm patients. Data from a randomized, double-blind, active-control clinical trial in 300 patients with blepharospasm treated with either botulinum toxin type A (Botox) or NT201 (Xeomin) were used to evaluate the metric properties of the JRS and the BSDI compared with the Patient Evaluation of Global Response (PEGR) and Global Assessment Scale (GAS). The internal consistency of the BSDI was high, Cronbach's Alpha = 0.

Kinetic analysis of ligand interaction with the gonococcal transferrin-iron acquisition system.

The transferrin iron acquisition system of Neisseria gonorrhoeae consists of two dissimilar transferrin binding proteins (Tbp) A and B. TbpA is a TonB dependent transporter while TbpB is a lipoprotein that makes iron acquisition from transferrin (Tf) more efficient. In an attempt to further define the individual roles of these receptors in the process of Tf-iron acquisition, the kinetics of the receptor proteins in regards to ligand association and dissociation were evaluated.

Tourette's syndrome.

Tourette's syndrome is a movement disorder most commonly seen in school-age children. The incidence peaks around preadolescence with one half of cases resolving in early adulthood. Tourette's syndrome is the most common cause of tics, which are involuntary or semivoluntary, sudden, brief, intermittent, repetitive movements (motor tics) or sounds (phonic tics).

CSF multianalyte profile distinguishes Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases.

The therapeutic imperative for Alzheimer disease (AD) and Parkinson disease (PD) calls for discovery and validation of biomarkers. Increased cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tau and decreased amyloid (A) beta42 have been validated as biomarkers of AD. In contrast, there is no validated CSF biomarker for PD.