How Can We Help Alleviate the Financial Concerns of Non-Directed (Altruistic) Living Kidney Donors?

Introduction: The recent increase in non-directed donors (NDDs) in the United States (U.S.) may help reduce the overwhelming number of patients on the waitlist.

Evidence-Based Community Fall Prevention Programs at Senior Centers Near 10 US Academic Centers.

Background/objectives: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that patients at risk of falling engage in evidence-based community fall prevention programs (EBCFPPs). EBCFPPs are often delivered in senior centers (SCs). This is the first independent assessment of availability of EBCFPPs in SCs.

Combined analysis of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase protein expression and promoter methylation provides optimized prognostication of glioblastoma outcome.

Background: Promoter methylation of the DNA repair gene, O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), is associated with improved treatment outcome for newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM) treated with standard chemoradiation. To determine the prognostic significance of MGMT protein expression as assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and its relationship with methylation, we analyzed MGMT expression and promoter methylation with survival in a retrospective patient cohort.

Methods: We identified 418 patients with newly diagnosed GBM at University of California Los Angeles Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles, nearly all of whom received chemoradiation, and determined MGMT expression by IHC, and MGMT promoter methylation by methylation-specific PCR (MSP) and bisulfite sequencing (BiSEQ) of 24 neighboring CpG sites.