How well do plasma Alzheimer's disease biomarkers reflect the CSF amyloid status?

Background: Can plasma biomarkers as well as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) perform in the separation of amyloid-beta-positive (Aβ+) vs amyloid-beta-negative (Aβ-) groups across an age range seen in an NHS cognitive disorder clinic?

Methods: As part of the routine diagnostic investigation of 111 clinic patients who had contemporaneous blood and CSF samples taken, patients were categorised into Aβ+ and Aβ- groups based on their CSF in an Aβ42/40 ratio. We then evaluated four single molecule array (Simoa) Quanterix assays, quantifying single plasma analytes and ratios (p-tau217, p-tau217/Aβ42 ratio, p-tau181, p-tau181/Aβ42 ratio and Aβ42/40 ratio) in their ability to distinguish between these groups and the effect of age.

Results: The median (range) age of participants was 66 (55-79) years with 48 females (43.

Histotripsy of the Proximal Ureter and Renal Pelvis: Evaluation of Urothelial Injury in a Porcine Survival Model.

Purpose: To evaluate the response of the ureter and renal pelvis to direct targeting by histotripsy guided by cone-beam CT (CBCT) in a human-scale porcine chronic-survival model.

Methods: Bilateral ureteral histotripsy treatments were completed on 6 female swine (n=12). Animals were divided into two groups: Acute (n=2 animals, 4 treatments, sacrificed at Day 0) and Chronic (n=4 animals, 8 treatments, sacrificed at Day 7 (n=2) and Day 28 (n=2)).

A prognostic molecular signature of hepatic steatosis is spatially heterogeneous and dynamic in human liver.

Hepatic steatosis is a central phenotype in multi-system metabolic dysfunction and is increasing in parallel with the obesity pandemic. We use a translational approach integrating clinical phenotyping and outcomes, circulating proteomics, and tissue transcriptomics to identify dynamic, functional biomarkers of hepatic steatosis. Using multi-modality imaging and broad proteomic profiling, we identify proteins implicated in the progression of hepatic steatosis that are largely encoded by genes enriched at the transcriptional level in the human liver.

Pain Outcomes Among Medical Centers With High vs Low Specialist Palliative Care Reach Among People With Heart Failure.

Pain affects more than 60% of people with heart failure (HF), with increasing frequency and severity towards the end of life (EOL). We examined if family-rated pain near EOL was associated with rates of specialist palliative care (SPC) among patients with HF. We conducted a retrospective cohort study among 1095 decedents with advanced HF (aHF = ≥2 hospitalizations) from 83 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs) between 2018-2020.