Research has shown that exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a widely used plasticizer, can lead to meiotic errors, resulting in poor reproductive cell quality and infertility. Health-related concerns have prompted the search for BPA alternatives; however, evidence suggests that currently used BPA analogs, such as bisphenol S (BPS), may pose similar risks to human health. While the effects of BPA on female fertility are well documented, the impact of BPA exposure on sperm quality is poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Theranostics targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) represent a new targeted approach for prostate cancer care that combines diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals to diagnose and treat the disease. Positron emission tomography (PET) is the imaging method of choice and several diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals for quantifying PSMA have received FDA approval and are in clinical use. [Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 is one such imaging agent and the focus of this article.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany Gram-negative pathogens produce a cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) with two cell-binding subunits (CdtA + CdtC) and a catalytic CdtB subunit. After adhesion to the plasma membrane of a target cell, CDT moves by retrograde transport to endoplasmic reticulum. CdtB then enters the nucleus where it generates DNA breaks that lead to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis or senescence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 16-year-old girl presented to her primary care physician with a one-month history of decreased appetite and abdominal pain. She had normal bowel movements and no vomiting, but her periumbilical pain limited her ability to finish most meals. She had gradual weight loss over the previous 2 years, and during the previous 4 years, she intermittently received counseling for depression after the loss of her mother.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Pract Cases Emerg Med
November 2018
A healthy, 42-year-old woman presented to a local community hospital with abdominal pain and left arm pain after laser stone ablation and ureteral stenting performed earlier that day. She was diagnosed with a spontaneous aortic thrombus and embolization of the radial, ulnar and splenic arteries and transferred to a tertiary care facility for cardiothoracic surgery evaluation. This case report discusses her emergency department course, disposition, and one-year outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Mindfulness-based interventions, which increase dispositional mindfulness, may be useful adjunctive therapies for patients with chronic diseases, including diabetes. One way that mindfulness may benefit patients with diabetes is by fostering more accurate interoception, particularly in the form of blood glucose estimate accuracy. Many people with diabetes regulate their behavior based on estimates of their blood glucose levels from interoception, but they vary in estimate accuracy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Mitochondrial injury post-cardiac arrest has been described in pre-clinical settings but the extent to which this injury occurs in humans remains largely unknown. We hypothesized that increased levels of mitochondrial biomarkers would be associated with mortality and neurological morbidity in post-cardiac arrest subjects.
Methods: We performed a prospective multicenter study of post-cardiac arrest subjects.
Aim: The post-cardiac arrest syndrome is a complex set of pathophysiological processes including a systemic inflammatory response. The goal of the current investigation was to test the hypothesis that early inflammatory markers are independently associated with in-hospital mortality and poor neurological outcome in patients initially resuscitated from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Methods: This was a preplanned analysis of data collected from a prospective observational multicenter study in adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients.
Management of hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients has a significant bearing on outcome, in terms of both morbidity and mortality. However, there are few national assessments of diabetes care during hospitalization which could serve as a baseline for change. This analysis of a large clinical database (74 million unique encounters corresponding to 17 million unique patients) was undertaken to provide such an assessment and to find future directions which might lead to improvements in patient safety.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Rate of lactate change is associated with in-hospital mortality in post-cardiac arrest patients. This association has not been validated in a prospective multicenter study. The objective of the current study was to determine the association between percent lactate change and outcomes in post-cardiac arrest patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn 2010, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) was granted a Clinical and Translational Science Award which prompted reorganization and expansion of their clinical research infrastructure. A case study approach is used to describe the implementation of a business and cost recovery model for clinical and translational research and the transformation of VCU's General Clinical Research Center and Clinical Trials Office to a combined Clinical Research Services entity. We outline the use of a Plan, Do, Study, Act cycle that facilitated a thoughtful transition process, which included the identification of required changes and cost recovery processes for implementation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhole-genome sequencing, particularly in fungi, has progressed at a tremendous rate. More difficult, however, is experimental testing of the inferences about gene function that can be drawn from comparative sequence analysis alone. We present a genome-wide functional characterization of a sequenced but experimentally understudied budding yeast, Saccharomyces bayanus var.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: Neuromuscular blockade may improve outcomes in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. In post-cardiac arrest patients receiving therapeutic hypothermia, neuromuscular blockade is often used to prevent shivering. Our objective was to determine whether neuromuscular blockade is associated with improved outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe formation of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) brings new promise for moving basic science discoveries to clinical practice, ultimately improving the health of the nation. The Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) sites, now housed with NCATS, are organized and prepared to support in this endeavor. The CTSAs provide a foundation for capitalizing on such promise through provision of a disease-agnostic infrastructure devoted to clinical and translational (C&T) science, maintenance of training programs designed for C&T investigators of the future, by incentivizing institutional reorganization and by cultivating institutional support.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Patients with alcohol use disorders (AUD) are at increased risk of developing sepsis and have higher mortality. AUD are associated with higher cortisol and anti-inflammatory cytokine profile. Higher cortisol increases risk of death in septic patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Diabetes self-management is essential for diabetes control, yet little is known about patient preferences for sources of health information or about the extent to which information is sought directly or received passively through various media sources. The aim of this qualitative study was to identify how individuals with diabetes seek and use health care information.
Methods: Using a health information model to guide our research, we conducted 9 focus groups with 46 adults with a diagnosis of diabetes and then analyzed the transcripts and notes from these focus groups.
Adiponectin, an adipokine with antidiabetic properties, forms multimers; and the high-molecular weight (HMW) form most closely correlates with insulin sensitivity (S(i)). Therefore, we hypothesize that HMW adiponectin levels are decreased in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition characterized by insulin resistance, compared with healthy controls and that HMW adiponectin correlates with testosterone and S(i). A cross-sectional study involving 13 women with PCOS and 13 age- and body mass index-matched healthy controls was performed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Data on the durability of remission of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) after gastric bypass are limited. Our purpose was to identify the rate of long-term remission of T2DM and the factors associated with durable remission.
Methods: A total of 177 patients with T2DM who had undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass from 1993 to 2003 had 5-year follow-up data available.
Objective: To review the current literature on glucocorticoid-induced hyperglycemia and provide a strategy for its treatment.
Methods: We undertook an electronic (MEDLINE) and a library review of the existing pertinent literature published from 1950 to March 2009.
Results: Glucocorticoid-induced hyperglycemia is common in patients with and without diabetes.
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome at baseline and after 6 months of lifestyle modification among obese adolescents referred to a multidisciplinary weight management program.
Methods: A total of 165 obese adolescents were evaluated at baseline, and measurements were repeated in 57 subjects who completed 6 months of the program. Metabolic syndrome was defined as having three or more of the following: a body mass index (BMI) >97(th) percentile, hypertension, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), hypertriglyceridemia, and impaired fasting glucose (IFG).
Mitochondria are central to many cellular processes including respiration, ion homeostasis, and apoptosis. Using computational predictions combined with traditional quantitative experiments, we have identified 100 proteins whose deficiency alters mitochondrial biogenesis and inheritance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In addition, we used computational predictions to perform targeted double-mutant analysis detecting another nine genes with synthetic defects in mitochondrial biogenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh-intensity (HI) resistance exercise augments postexercise glucose uptake to a greater degree than low-intensity (LO) resistance exercise; however, few studies have equated the work volumes between intensity levels. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of acute HI and LO resistance exercise of equal work volume on glucose uptake in resistant-trained men. Fifteen healthy male (22.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab
February 2008
Purpose: To determine whether ethnicity influences postprandial lipemia after a bout of aerobic exercise.
Methods: Randomized crossover design. Healthy White (W; n=6) and African American (AA; n=6) women (age, W 27.
Curr Diab Rep
October 2007
The initiation of insulin therapy is a significant event for patients with diabetes and the physicians who care for them. Reluctance to begin insulin is multifactorial, with major stumbling blocks being the perceived complexity of insulin and fear of hypoglycemia. Recent guidelines supporting earlier introduction of insulin to achieve glycemic goals in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus will require that traditional approaches to insulin therapy be altered and a new paradigm be introduced into clinical practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Resistance exercise has been shown to reduce postprandial lipemia, but no dose-response effect has been established.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether prior resistance exercise exhibited a dose-response effect on postprandial lipemia, while controlling for energy balance.
Methods: Subjects were healthy resistance-trained men (n = 4) and women (n = 6) aged 23.