Development and Characterization of 3-Dimensional Cell Culture Models of Adrenocortical Carcinoma.

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignancy of the adrenal cortex that is associated with a poor prognosis. Developing effective treatment options for ACC is challenging owing to the current lack of representative preclinical models. This study addressed this limitation by developing and characterizing 3-dimensional (3D) cell cultures incorporating the ACC cell lines, MUC-1, HAC15, and H295R in a type I collagen matrix.

A pain research strategy for Europe: A European survey and position paper of the European Pain Federation EFIC.

Background: Pain is the leading cause of disability and reduced quality of life worldwide. Despite the increasing burden for patients and healthcare systems, pain research remains underfunded and under focused. Having stakeholders identify and prioritize areas that need urgent attention in the field will help focus funding topics, reduce 'research waste', improve the effectiveness of pain research and therapy and promote the uptake of research evidence.

Sex differences in the affective-cognitive dimension of neuropathic pain: Insights from the spared nerve injury rat model.

Over 40% of neuropathic pain patients experience mood and cognitive disturbances, often showing reduced response to analgesics, with most affected individuals being female. This highlights the critical role of biological sex in pain-related affective and cognitive disorders, making it essential to understand the emotional and cognitive circuits linked to pain for improving treatment strategies. However, research on sex differences in preclinical pain models is lacking.

Clinical measures in chronic neuropathic pain are related to the Kennedy and endocannabinoid pathways.

Background: Chronic neuropathic pain (CNP) is a debilitating condition, often refractory to currently available drugs. Understanding biochemical alterations in peripheral tissues such as blood will be useful for understanding underlying pathophysiological processes relating to CNP.

Methods: We collected blood from two independent cohorts of CNP and pain-free controls (CNP n = 129/Controls n = 127) in the UK and Ireland to investigate the relationship between CNP-associated molecular/biochemical alterations and a range of clinical and pain metric parameters.

Dopamine loss alters glutamate synapses and transporters in the medial prefrontal cortex and anxiety-related behaviour in a male MPTP rodent model of Parkinson's disease.

Anxiety is a prominent non-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD). Changes in the B-spectrum recordings in PD patients of the prefrontal cortex correlate with increased anxiety. Using a rodent model of PD, we reported alterations in glutamate synapses in the striatum and substantia nigra following dopamine (DA) loss.

The impact of body image on social cognition: Fear of negative evaluation mediates the relationship between body surveillance and interpersonal distance in women.

Interpersonal distance (IPD) refers to the distance naturally maintained during social interactions, while peripersonal space (PPS) refers to the immediate space surrounding the body, or the space within reaching distance. Previous research has preliminarily indicated that IPD is associated with body image disturbances. We sought to expand extant literature by exploring associations between aspects of positive and negative body image, IPD, and PPS.

Psilocybin Therapy for Females With Anorexia Nervosa: A Phase 1, Open-Label Feasibility Study.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a deadly illness with no proven treatments to reverse core symptoms and no medications approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Novel treatments are urgently needed to improve clinical outcomes. In this open-label feasibility study, 10 adult female participants (mean body mass index 19.

Traumatic stress-enhanced alcohol drinking: Sex differences and animal model perspectives.

Purpose Of Review: Stress is associated with alcohol drinking, and epidemiological studies document the comorbidity of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with higher comorbid prevalence in females than in males. The aim of this paper is to highlight information related to sex differences in stress-enhanced alcohol drinking from clinical studies and from preclinical studies utilizing an animal model of traumatic stress.

Recent Findings: Stress is associated with alcohol drinking and relapse in males and females, but there are sex differences in the alcohol-related adaptation of stress pathways and in the association of different prefrontal regions with stress-induced anxiety.

Impact of Different Diagnostic Measures on Drug Class Association with Dementia Progression Risk: A Longitudinal Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: The Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes (CDRSOB) score is known to be highly indicative of cognitive-functional status and is regularly employed for clinical and research purposes.

Objective: Our aim is to determine whether CDRSOB is consistent with clinical diagnosis in evaluating drug class associations with risk of progression to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia.

Methods: We employed weighted Cox regression analysis on longitudinal NACC data, to identify drug classes associated with disease progression risk, using clinical diagnosis and CDRSOB as the outcome.

Broiler farming practices using new or re-used bedding, inclusive of free-range, have no impact on levels, species diversity, community profiles and bacteriophages.

A multi-stage option to address food-safety can be produced by a clearer understanding of 's persistence through the broiler production chain, its environmental niche and its interaction with bacteriophages. This study addressed levels, species, genotype, bacteriophage composition/ levels in caeca, litter, soil and carcasses across commercial broiler farming practices to inform on-farm management, including interventions. Broilers were sequentially collected as per company slaughter schedules over two-years from 17 farms, which represented four commercially adopted farming practices, prior to the final bird removal (days 39-53).

Targeting the endocannabinoid system for the management of low back pain.

Low back pain (LBP) is a major unmet clinical need. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) has emerged as a promising therapeutic target for pain, including LBP. This review examines the evidence for the ECS as a therapeutic target for LBP.

A metagenomic alpha-diversity index for microbial functional biodiversity.

Alpha-diversity indices are an essential tool for describing and comparing biodiversity. Microbial ecologists apply indices originally intended for, or adopted by, macroecology to address questions relating to taxonomy (conserved marker) and function (metagenome-based data). In this Perspective piece, I begin by discussing the nature and mathematical quirks important for interpreting routinely employed alpha-diversity indices.

Stress-enhanced ethanol drinking does not increase sensitivity to the effects of a CRF-R1 antagonist on ethanol intake in male and female mice.

Research confirms that stress is associated with alcohol drinking and relapse in males and females and that there are sex differences in the alcohol-related adaptations of stress pathways. The predator stress (PS) model of traumatic stress produces an increase in alcohol drinking or self-administration in a subpopulation of rodents, so it is utilized as an animal model of comorbid alcohol use disorder (AUD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous work determined that sensitivity to PS-enhanced drinking produced sex differences in proteins related to stress-regulating systems in the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus.

Calcium Channel Blocker Overdose: What Role Does Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Have in Support? A Systematic Review of the Literature.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has had increasing prevalence and indications in the last decade. Calcium channel blocker overdose (CCBOD) can lead to significant cardiopulmonary dysfunction and has also increased in recent years. CCBOD results in cardiac depression, vasoplegia, and hyperglycemia.

Pharmacotherapy for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in youth with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder: a case series of patients prescribed stimulant medication in a partial hospitalization program for eating disorders.

Background: Appetite suppression and weight loss are established potential side effects of most medications for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These side effects may be especially problematic when using stimulants to treat ADHD in the context of a restrictive eating disorder, such as avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), although these diagnoses are often comorbid in children. This paper presents a combined approach to treating ADHD comorbid with ARFID using stimulant medication and behavior management within a partial hospitalization program (PHP) and intensive outpatient program (IOP)for eating disorders.

Impact of cord clamping on haemodynamic transition in term newborn infants.

Objective: To assess the haemodynamic consequences of cord clamping (CC) in healthy term infants.

Design: Cohort study.

Setting: Tertiary maternity hospital.

A Bivalent Omicron-BA.4/BA.5-Adapted BNT162b2 Booster in ≥12-Year-Olds.

Background: Protection against contemporary severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants requires sequence-adapted vaccines.

Methods: In this ongoing phase 2/3 trial, 12-17-year-olds (n = 108), 18-55-year-olds (n = 313), and >55-year-olds (n = 306) who previously received 3 original BNT162b2 30-µg doses, received a fourth dose (second booster) of 30-µg bivalent original/Omicron-BA.4/BA.

Hawthorne root (Crataegus mexicana) toxicity.

Here we present the case of a patient who purchased a Hawthorne root (Crataegus mexicana) product, Raiz de Tejocote, for weight loss purposes. She presented with diffuse myalgias, dizziness and a heart rate of 52 beats per minute. At triage and at initial evaluation, the patient denied taking any medications, but on iterative questioning concerning over-the-counter, over-the-internet and herbal medications, she reported taking Hawthorne root tablets in the three days prior to the emergency department (ED) visit for the purpose of weight loss.

Differential c-Fos Response in Neurocircuits Activated by Repeated Predator Stress in Male and Female C57BL/6J Mice with Stress Sensitive or Resilient Alcohol Intake Phenotypes.

Comorbidity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) worsens the prognosis for each of these individual disorders. The current study aimed to identify neurocircuits potentially involved in regulation of PTSD-AUD comorbidity by mapping expression of c-Fos in male and female C57BL/6J mice following repeated predator stress (PS), modeled by exposure to dirty rat bedding. In experiment 1, the levels of c-Fos in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVH) and the nucleus accumbens shell were higher after the second PS vs the first PS, indicating a sensitized response to this stressor.

Chronic wound-related pain, wound healing and the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids and endocannabinoid system modulation.

Chronic wounds represent a significant burden on the individual, and the healthcare system. Individuals with chronic wounds report pain to be the most challenging aspect of living with a chronic wound, with current therapeutic options deemed insufficient. The cutaneous endocannabinoid system is an important regulator of skin homeostasis, with evidence of system dysregulation in several cutaneous disorders.

Survival in a young child with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: diagnostic dilemma and when to deviate from standard resuscitation guidelines.

A boy in early childhood presented in cardiac arrest. Care was provided out of hospital and in the emergency department as per standard paediatric resuscitation guidelines. Despite initial return of spontaneous circulation following cardiopulmonary resuscitation, two defibrillation shocks and epinephrine via intraosseous access, he had recurrent episodes of pulseless ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation.

Medium-Term Outcomes of the Godoy Burnia Repair: Durability of a Sutureless Laparoscopic Inguinal Hernia Repair in Girls.

Several methods to repair pediatric inguinal hernias utilizing a minimally invasive technique have been developed over the decades. These methods often involve passage of suture through the peritoneum at the level of the inguinal ring. We previously described the Godoy Burnia, a laparoscopic, sutureless, cautery-only inguinal hernia repair (IHR), and this follow-up study provides longer term data for this emerging surgical technique.