Plasma acellular transcriptome contains Parkinson's disease signatures that can inform clinical diagnosis.

We aimed to identify plasma cell-free transcripts (cfRNA) associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) that also have a high predictive value to differentiate PD from healthy controls. Leveraging two independent populations from two different movement disorder centers we identified 2,188 differentially expressed cfRNAs after meta-analysis. The identified transcripts were enriched in PD relevant pathways, such as PD (p=9.

MORA and EnsembleTFpredictor: An ensemble approach to reveal functional transcription factor regulatory networks.

Motivation: Our study aimed to identify biologically relevant transcription factors (TFs) that control the expression of a set of co-expressed or co-regulated genes.

Results: We developed a fully automated pipeline, Motif Over Representation Analysis (MORA), to detect enrichment of known TF binding motifs in any query sequences. MORA performed better than or comparable to five other TF-prediction tools as evaluated using hundreds of differentially expressed gene sets and ChIP-seq datasets derived from known TFs.

Overexpressing low-density lipoprotein receptor reduces tau-associated neurodegeneration in relation to apoE-linked mechanisms.

APOE is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease. ApoE exacerbates tau-associated neurodegeneration by driving microglial activation. However, how apoE regulates microglial activation and whether targeting apoE is therapeutically beneficial in tauopathy is unclear.

A Comparison of Treatment Effects for Nonsurgical Therapies and the Minimum Clinically Important Difference in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review.

Background: The minimum clinically important difference (MCID) was developed to ascertain the smallest change in an outcome that patients perceive as beneficial. The objectives of the present review were (1) to compare the MCIDs for pain assessments used among guidelines and meta-analyses investigating different nonsurgical therapies for knee osteoarthritis and (2) to compare the effect estimates of different nonsurgical interventions against a single commonly-utilized MCID threshold.

Methods: Systematic and manual searches were conducted to identify guidelines and meta-analyses evaluating pain outcomes for nonsurgical knee osteoarthritis interventions.

Attraction of to House Sparrows Is Influenced by Host Age but Not Uropygial Gland Secretions.

serves as the endemic vector of West Nile virus (WNV) in eastern North America, where house sparrows (HOSP, ) serve as a reservoir host. We tested the hypotheses that: (1) Attraction of to HOSP is influenced by bird age and (2) that age-specific variation in chemical profiles of bird uropygial gland secretions informs this choice. We conducted mosquito choice trials in an olfactometer and found that were more often attracted to adult sparrows over nestlings, however, they demonstrated no preference for adults over fledglings.

Guidelines of care for the management of acne vulgaris.

Acne is one of the most common disorders treated by dermatologists and other health care providers. While it most often affects adolescents, it is not uncommon in adults and can also be seen in children. This evidence-based guideline addresses important clinical questions that arise in its management.

Translating psoriasis guidelines into practice: Important gaps revealed.

Background: There is a well-established lack of adherence to evidence-based clinical guidelines. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) developed educational sessions entitled Translating Evidence into Practice based on the published guidelines for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

Objective: We sought to determine the effectiveness of Translating Evidence into Practice sessions in improving patient care.

Prevention of Orthopaedic Implant Infection in Patients Undergoing Dental Procedures.

The Prevention of Orthopaedic Implant Infection in Patients Undergoing Dental Procedures evidence-based clinical practice guideline was codeveloped by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the American Dental Association. This guideline replaces the previous AAOS Information Statement, "Antibiotic Prophylaxis in Bacteremia in Patients With Joint Replacement," published in 2009. Based on the best current evidence and a systematic review of published studies, three recommendations have been created to guide clinical practice in the prevention of orthopaedic implant infections in patients undergoing dental procedures.

Modern metal-on-metal hip implants.

This Technology Overview was prepared using systematic review methodology and summarizes the findings of studies published as of July 15, 2011, on modern metal-on-metal hip implants. Analyses conducted on outcomes by two joint registries indicate that patients who receive metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty (THA) and hip resurfacing are at greater risk for revision than are patients who receive THA using a different bearing surface combination. Data from these registries also indicate that larger femoral head components have higher revision rates and risk of revision and that older age is associated with increased revision risks of large-head metal-on-metal THA.

The treatment of pediatric supracondylar humerus fractures.

Based on the best current evidence and a systematic review of published studies, 14 recommendations have been created to guide clinical practice and management of supracondylar fractures of the humerus in children. Two each of these recommendations are graded Weak and Consensus; eight are graded Inconclusive. The two Moderate recommendations include nonsurgical immobilization for acute or nondisplaced fractures of the humerus or posterior fat pad sign, and closed reduction with pin fixation for displaced type II and III and displaced flexion fractures.

Optimizing the management of rotator cuff problems.

Of the 31 recommendations made by the work group, 19 were determined to be inconclusive because of the absence of definitive evidence. Of the remaining recommendations, four were classified as moderate grade, six as weak, and two as consensus statements of expert opinion. The four moderate-grade recommendations include suggestions that exercise and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs be used to manage rotator cuff symptoms in the absence of a full-thickness tear, that routine acromioplasty is not required at the time of rotator cuff repair, that non-cross-linked, porcine small intestine submucosal xenograft patches not be used to manage rotator cuff tears, and that surgeons can advise patients that workers' compensation status correlates with less favorable outcomes after rotator cuff surgery.

Diagnosis and treatment of osteochondritis dissecans.

This clinical practice guideline is based on a series of systematic reviews of published studies in the available literature on the diagnosis and treatment of osteochondritis dissecans of the knee. None of the 16 recommendations made by the work group is graded as strong; most are graded inconclusive; two are graded weak; and four are consensus statements. Both of the weak recommendations are related to imaging evaluation.

The treatment of symptomatic osteoporotic spinal compression fractures.

This clinical practice guideline is based on a series of systematic reviews of published studies on the treatment of symptomatic osteoporotic spinal compression fractures. Of 11 recommendations, one is strong; one, moderate; three, weak; and six, inconclusive. The strong recommendation is against the use of vertebroplasty to treat the fractures; the moderate recommendation is for the use of calcitonin for 4 weeks following the onset of fracture.

Diagnosis and treatment of acute Achilles tendon rupture.

This clinical practice guideline is based on a series of systematic reviews of published studies in the available literature on the diagnosis and treatment of acute Achilles tendon rupture. None of the 16 recommendations made by the work group was graded as strong; most are graded inconclusive; four are graded weak; two are graded as moderate strength; and two are consensus statements. The two moderate-strength recommendations include the suggestions for early postoperative protective weight bearing and for the use of protective devices that allow for postoperative mobilization.

Treatment of glenohumeral osteoarthritis.

This clinical practice guideline is based on a systematic review of published studies on the treatment of glenohumeral osteoarthritis in the adult patient population. Of the 16 recommendations addressed, nine are inconclusive. Two were reached by consensus-that physicians use perioperative mechanical and/or chemical venous thromboembolism prophylaxis for shoulder arthroplasty patients and that total shoulder arthroplasty not be performed in patients with glenohumeral osteoarthritis who have an irreparable rotator cuff tear.

Treatment of distal radius fractures.

The clinical practice guideline is based on a systematic review of published studies on the treatment of distal radius fractures in adults. None of the 29 recommendations made by the work group was graded as strong; most are graded as inconclusive or consensus; seven are graded as weak. The remaining five moderate-strength recommendations include surgical fixation, rather than cast fixation, for fractures with postreduction radial shortening >3 mm, dorsal tilt >10 degrees , or intra-articular displacement or step-off >2 mm; use of rigid immobilization rather than removable splints for nonsurgical treatment; making a postreduction true lateral radiograph of the carpus to assess dorsal radial ulnar joint alignment; beginning early wrist motion following stable fixation; and recommending adjuvant treatment with vitamin C to prevent disproportionate pain.

Treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee (nonarthroplasty).

The clinical practice guideline was explicitly developed to include only treatments less invasive than knee replacement (ie, arthroplasty). Patients with symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knee are to be encouraged to participate in self-management educational programs and to engage in self-care, as well as to lose weight and engage in exercise and quadriceps strengthening. The guideline recommends taping for short-term relief of pain as well as analgesics and intra-articular corticosteroids, but not glucosamine and/or chondroitin.