Patient Knowledge and Qualities of Treatment Decisions for Localized Prostate Cancer.

Background: Controversy surrounds treatment for localized prostate cancer (LPC).

Objectives: To assess men's localized prostate cancer (LPC) knowledge and its association with decision-making difficulty, satisfaction and regret.

Methods: Population-based sample of 201 men (104 white, 97 black), ≤ 75 years with newly diagnosed LPC completed a self-administered survey.

Primary care appointment availability and nonphysician providers one year after Medicaid expansion.

Objectives: With insurance enrollment greater than expected under the Affordable Care Act, uncertainty about the availability and timeliness of healthcare services for newly insured individuals has increased. We examined primary care appointment availability and wait times for new Medicaid and privately insured patients before and after Medicaid expansion in Michigan.

Study Design: Simulated patient ("secret shopper") study.

Primary care appointment availability for new Medicaid patients increased after Medicaid expansion in Michigan.

The Affordable Care Act expands health insurance coverage to millions of Americans, but the availability of health care services for the newly insured population remains uncertain. We conducted a simulated patient (or "secret shopper") study to assess primary care appointment availability and wait times for new patients with Medicaid or private insurance before and after implementation of Michigan's Medicaid expansion in 2014. The expansion, which was made possible through a section 1115 waiver, has a unique requirement that new beneficiaries must be seen by a primary care provider within 60-90 days of enrollment.

Does Patient Sex Affect the Rate of Mortality and Complications After Spine Surgery? A Systematic Review.

Background: Available studies disagree regarding the influence of patient sex on mortality and complications after spine surgery. We sought to conduct a systematic review and pool the results of existing research to better understand this issue.

Questions/purposes: We performed a systematic review to address two questions: (1) Does sex (male versus female) influence mortality after spine surgery? (2) Does sex impact the development of postoperative complications after spine surgery?

Methods: This systematic review was performed through a query of PubMed using a structured search algorithm.

Atypical frontal-striatal-thalamic circuit white matter development in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Objective: Atypical development of frontal-striatal-thalamic circuitry (FSTC) has been hypothesized to underlie the early course of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); however, the development of FSTC white matter tracts remains to be studied in young patients.

Method: To address this gap, we scanned 36 patients with pediatric OCD compared to 27 healthy controls, aged 8 to 19 years, with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to measure fractional anisotropy (FA), an index of white matter coherence. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) were used to test differential effects of age on FA, across the whole brain, in those with OCD compared to healthy youth, followed by analyses in a priori regions of interest (anterior corpus callosum, anterior cingulum bundle, and anterior limb of the internal capsule [ALIC]) to further characterize developmental differences between groups.

The chromatin remodeling protein CHD7, mutated in CHARGE syndrome, is necessary for proper craniofacial and tracheal development.

Background: Heterozygous mutations in the chromatin remodeling gene CHD7 cause CHARGE syndrome, a developmental disorder with variable craniofacial dysmorphisms and respiratory difficulties. The molecular etiologies of these malformations are not well understood. Homozygous Chd7 null mice die by E11, whereas Chd7(Gt/+) heterozygous null mice are a viable and excellent model of CHARGE.

Delayed fusion and altered gene expression contribute to semicircular canal defects in Chd7 deficient mice.

Proper morphogenesis of inner ear semicircular canals requires precise regulation of cellular proliferation, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and fusion of epithelial plates. Epigenetic regulation of these processes is not well understood, but is likely to involve chromatin remodeling enzymes. CHD7 is a chromodomain-containing, ATP dependent helicase protein that is highly expressed in the developing ear and is required for semicircular canal development in both humans and mice.

Interleukin 18 induces angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo via Src and Jnk kinases.

Background: Interleukin 18 (IL-18) is a novel mediator of angiogenesis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Objective: To examine the role of IL-18 in RA angiogenesis and the signalling mechanisms involved.

Methods: Human dermal microvascular endothelial cell (HMVEC) chemotaxis, capillary morphogenesis assays and Matrigel plug angiogenesis assays were performed in vivo using IL-18 with or without signalling inhibitors.