Office-Based Diagnostic Imaging Interpreted by Nonphysician Practitioners: Characteristics, Recent Trends, and State Variation.

Purpose: Diagnostic imaging interpretations by nonphysician practitioners (NPPs) are increasing. With hospital-based imaging overwhelmingly interpreted by radiologists, we studied office-based interpretations by NPPs by their physician employer specialty.

Methods: Linking Medicare claims and provider datasets, we identified imaging interpretation claims submitted by nurse practitioners and physician assistants (together NPPs) in office settings, mapping NPPs to physician employer specialties, and assessed NPP characteristics and practice patterns.

Leptin antagonism attenuates hypertension and renal injury in an experimental model of autoimmune disease.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disorder that is characterized by B- and T-lymphocyte dysfunction and altered cytokine production, including elevated levels of the adipocytokine leptin. Leptin has various immunomodulatory properties, including promoting the expansion of proinflammatory T lymphocytes and the proliferation and survival of B cells. In the present study, we hypothesized that leptin antagonism would improve B- and T-cell dysfunction and attenuate hypertension in an experimental model of SLE, the NZBWF1 mouse.

Endothelin receptor antagonism improves glucose tolerance and adipose tissue inflammation in an experimental model of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is elevated in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease characterized by high rates of hypertension, renal injury, and cardiovascular disease. SLE is also associated with an increased prevalence of obesity and insulin resistance compared to the general population. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that elevated ET-1 in SLE contributes to obesity and insulin resistance.