Publications by authors named "Elkes J"

Introduction: Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) overcome traditional barriers enabling wider access to mental health support and allowing individuals to manage their treatment. How individuals engage with DMHIs impacts the intervention effect. This review determined whether the impact of user engagement was assessed in the intervention effect in Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) evaluating DMHIs targeting common mental disorders (CMDs).

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National guidelines recommend that high-performing systems process 9-1-1 calls within 60 s and deliver the first telecommunicator cardiopulmonary resuscitation compression within 90 s. The inability of systems employing secondary public safety answering points (PSAPs) to capture the call arrival timestamp at the primary PSAP is a challenge in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest response time research. We sought to measure the interval from call receipt at primary PSAPs to call answer at secondary PSAPs in metropolitan areas.

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Objective: Structured diabetes education has evidenced benefits yet reported uptake rates for those referred to traditional in-person programmes within 12 months of diagnosis were suboptimal. Digital health interventions provide a potential solution to improve diabetes education delivery at population scale, overcoming barriers identified with traditional approaches. myDiabetes is a cloud-based interactive digital health self-management app.

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Background: Psychoeducation delivered face-to-face is effective in alleviating mental health morbidities in family carers of individuals with psychosis. However, research in such interventions delivered online is scarce. We evaluated the effectiveness of a digital multicomponent intervention-COPe-support-in improving carers' mental wellbeing and caregiving-related outcomes.

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Background: Web-based mental health interventions offer a novel, accessible, and self-paced approach to care delivery to family carers (ie, relatives and close friends who support a loved one with psychosis). We coproduced COPe-support (Carers fOr People with Psychosis e-support), a psychoeducational intervention delivered via an enriched web-based learning environment with network support from professionals and peers. In addition to the rigorous investigation of the effectiveness of COPe-support on the well-being of carers and mental health outcomes, it is imperative to understand the experiences of using the web-based intervention by carers and its associated web-based implementation and facilitation strategies.

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Objectives: Performing and interpreting endovaginal ultrasound is an important skill used during the evaluation of obstetric and gynecologic emergencies. This study aims to describe the level of proficiency and confidence achieved after performing 25 endovaginal examinations.

Methods: This is a prospective study at a single urban academic emergency department.

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Aims: Family carers supporting an individual with psychosis often experience poorer mental health, however, little is known about specific risk factors among these carers. We investigated the associations between demographic, caregiving characteristics and mental health outcomes in family carers supporting an individual with psychosis and compared carers' outcomes with general population norms.

Methods: We analysed baseline data from the COPe-support randomised controlled trial of online psychoeducation and peer support for adult carers supporting an individual with psychosis between 2018 and 2020.

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Self-management interventions in COPD aim to improve patients' knowledge, skills and confidence to make correct decisions, thus improving health status and outcomes. myCOPD is a web-based self-management app known to improve inhaler use and exercise capacity in individuals with more severe COPD. We explored the impact of myCOPD in patients with mild-moderate or recently diagnosed COPD through a 12-week, open-label, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial of myCOPD compared with usual care.

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Exacerbations of COPD are one of the commonest causes of admission and readmission to hospital. The role of digital interventions to support self-management in improving outcomes is uncertain. We conducted an open, randomised controlled trial of a digital health platform application (app) in 41 COPD patients recruited following hospital admission with an acute exacerbation.

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Background: Psychosis often causes significant distress and impacts not only in the individuals, but also those close to them. Many relatives and friends ('carers') provide long-term support and need resources to assist them. We have co-produced a digital mental health intervention called COPe-support (Carers fOr People with Psychosis e-support) to provide carers with flexible access to high quality psychoeducation and interactive support from experts and peers.

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Immune complexes (IC) containing predominantly malondialdehyde-LDL and the corresponding autoantibodies (MDA-LDL IC) predict acute cardiovascular events, while IC rich in oxidized LDL (oxLDL IC) predict cardiovascular disease progression. Our objective was to determine mechanisms that could explain these prognostic differences. We compared the effects of the interaction of oxLDL, MDA-LDL and the corresponding IC with human macrophages focusing on apoptosis, metalloproteinases, and proinflammatory cytokines.

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Article Synopsis
  • MLASA is a disorder that affects muscle function and red blood cell production, primarily due to mutations in the PUS1 gene, which is important for modifying tRNA.
  • A mouse model with PUS1 mutations showed missing Ψ modifications in tRNAs and reduced exercise capacity at 14 weeks of age, but the mice appeared normal otherwise.
  • Muscle analysis revealed changes in muscle fiber composition and reduced mitochondrial function, suggesting that these alterations contribute to the exercise intolerance observed in the mutant mice.
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Psychopharmacology: finding one's way.

Neuropsychopharmacology

April 1995

The paper recalls the experiences of the author over the past forty-eight years in a field which later became known as psychopharmacology. The author began in physical chemistry and traditional pharmacology. His interest in the nervous system stemmed from X-ray diffraction studies on the structure of living myelin, and led, by way of studies on the distribution of cholinesterases and the effects of atropine, to the study of the effects of drugs on the electrical activity of the brain in the conscious animal.

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The behavioral sciences have much to offer medical research and practice, and they are likely to play an increasingly important role in medical education. The need for researchers and teachers trained in both medicine and behavioral sciences has been addressed at Johns Hopkins by the establishment of a joint degree program. Concurrent, as opposed to consecutive, training in both fields shortens the duration of study and fosters interdisciplinary research early in the trainee's career.

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The effect of a previous injection of an anticholinesterase, dyflos, on the sensitivity of rats to two centrally acting drugs, pentobarbitone and leptazol, has been measured. The sensitivity was determined at 12 and 35 days after birth and in full-grown animals. Though the dose of dyflos was of the order of two-thirds of the LD50, it did not affect the sensitivity of the young animals to sodium pentobarbitone and leptazol administered 20 hours later.

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