Publications by authors named "D E Ratner"
Article Synopsis
- ALSUntangled examines alternative treatments for ALS, focusing on psilocybin, a psychedelic compound from mushrooms.
- Psilocybin may theoretically help slow ALS due to its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and influence neurogenesis and inflammation, but there's no existing research specifically on its effects in ALS patients.
- Due to potential risks of psychological side effects and lack of supporting evidence, the use of psilocybin for ALS progression is not currently endorsed.
Background And Objectives: Isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) carries increased risk of neurodegenerative parkinsonian disorder or dementia (NPD) but is difficult to accurately screen for in the community. Health care data offer the opportunity to identify large numbers of iRBD cases among outpatients. We aimed to determine the positive predictive value (PPV) of an RBD (ICD) code for actual iRBD based on manual review of the electronic health record (EHR), examine risk of NPD diagnosis, and explore whether a statistical model developed using selected EHR data can identify individuals with the RBD ICD code who have high probability for actual iRBD.
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- - The Wahls diet is a specialized version of the Paleolithic diet, focusing on nutrient-rich foods like leafy greens and omega-3 fatty acids while limiting processed foods and sugars, aiming to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress.
- - While some studies link components of the Wahls diet, like high carotenoids and omega-3s, to reduced ALS risk, there is no solid evidence proving it slows ALS progression, with conflicting results from animal model research.
- - Additionally, the Wahls diet has led to significant weight loss in people with multiple sclerosis, raising concerns since weight loss can worsen ALS, leading to the conclusion that the diet shouldn't be endorsed for ALS patients.
Background: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are necessary to assess the value of skin cancer treatment and to better compare therapeutic options.
Objective: To develop and validate the Oxford Skin Cancer Treatment (OxSCanTr) scale, evaluating health-related quality of life and satisfaction after skin cancer treatment.
Materials And Methods: After qualitative patient interviews, international expert consultation, and item reduction, 2 separate patient samples were used to assess the factor structure of the scale.