Impact of dementia on costs of modifiable comorbid conditions.

Objectives: To use the CMS 5% data sample to explore the impact of Alzheimer disease and other dementias (ADOD) on individual and population costs of certain potentially modifiable comorbid conditions, in order to assist in the design of population health management (PHM) programs for individuals with ADOD.

Study Design: A cross-sectional retrospective analysis was performed on parts A and B claims data of 1,056,741 Medicare beneficiaries 65 years and older with service dates in 2010.

Methods: The primary analysis compared the prevalence and costs of 15 comorbid conditions among those with and without ADOD in the entire sample of 1,056,741; in addition, a subset of beneficiaries without ADOD were matched by age, sex, and race on a 1:1 basis to beneficiaries with ADOD.

Spectral imaging of multi-color chromogenic dyes in pathological specimens.

We have investigated the use of spectral imaging for multi-color analysis of permanent cytochemical dyes and enzyme precipitates on cytopathological specimens. Spectral imaging is based on Fourier-transform spectroscopy and digital imaging. A pixel-by-pixel spectrum-based color classification is presented of single-, double-, and triple-color in situ hybridization for centromeric probes in T24 bladder cancer cells, and immunocytochemical staining of nuclear antigens Ki-67 and TP53 in paraffin-embedded cervical brush material (AgarCyto).