Publications by authors named "Kiernan P"

Postexercise hypotension (PEH), or the immediate decrease in blood pressure (BP) lasting for 24 h following an exercise bout, is well-established; however, the influence of exercise training on PEH dynamics is unknown. This study investigated the reliability and time course of change of PEH during exercise training among adults with hypertension. PEH responders ( = 10) underwent 12 weeks of aerobic exercise training, 40 min/session at moderate-to-vigorous intensity for 3 d/weeks.

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Exposure to military blast and repetitive head impacts (RHI) in contact sports is associated with increased risk of long-term neurobehavioral sequelae and cognitive deficits, and the neurodegenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). At present, the exact pathogenic mechanisms of RHI and CTE are unknown, and no targeted therapies are available. Astrocytes have recently emerged as key mediators of the multicellular response to head trauma.

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Background Gadolinium retention after repeated gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) exposure has been reported in subcortical gray matter. However, gadolinium retention in the cerebral cortex has not been systematically investigated. Purpose To determine whether and where gadolinium is retained in rat and human cerebral cortex.

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Objective: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease associated with exposure to contact and collision sports, including American football. We hypothesized a dose-response relationship between duration of football played and CTE risk and severity.

Methods: In a convenience sample of 266 deceased American football players from the Veterans Affairs-Boston University-Concussion Legacy Foundation and Framingham Heart Study Brain Banks, we estimated the association of years of football played with CTE pathological status and severity.

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The genetic basis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is poorly understood. Variation in transmembrane protein 106B (TMEM106B) has been associated with enhanced neuroinflammation during aging and with TDP-43-related neurodegenerative disease, and rs3173615, a missense coding SNP in TMEM106B, has been implicated as a functional variant in these processes. Neuroinflammation and TDP-43 pathology are prominent features in CTE.

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Traumatic brain injury has been associated with increased risk of Parkinson disease and parkinsonism, and parkinsonism and Lewy body disease (LBD) can occur with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). To test whether contact sports and CTE are associated with LBD, we compared deceased contact sports athletes (n = 269) to cohorts from the community (n = 164) and the Boston University Alzheimer disease (AD) Center (n = 261). Participants with CTE and LBD were more likely to have β-amyloid deposition, dementia, and parkinsonism than CTE alone (p < 0.

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Objective: To examine the effect of age of first exposure to tackle football on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) pathological severity and age of neurobehavioral symptom onset in tackle football players with neuropathologically confirmed CTE.

Methods: The sample included 246 tackle football players who donated their brains for neuropathological examination. Two hundred eleven were diagnosed with CTE (126 of 211 were without comorbid neurodegenerative diseases), and 35 were without CTE.

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Objectives: Our institution implemented a protocol known as thoracic enhanced recovery with ambulation after surgery (T-ERAS) in thoracic operations. The objective was early ambulation starting in the postoperative ambulatory care unit.

Methods: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy patients are placed on a chair in the preoperative area and then walked to the operating room.

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Quantitative proteomics of postmortem human brain can identify dysfunctional proteins that contribute to neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia. Similar studies in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) are limited, therefore we hypothesized that proteomic sequencing of CTE frontal cortex brain homogenates from varying CTE pathologic stages may provide important new insights into this disorder. Quantitative proteomics of control, CTE and AD brains was performed to characterize differentially expressed proteins, and we identified over 4000 proteins in CTE brains, including significant enrichment of the microtubule associated protein tau.

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In several EU member states, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) cases have been identified in cattle born after the reinforced ban (BARB cases), for reasons that are not entirely clear. Epidemiological investigation of these cases has proved challenging. The European Food Safety Authority recently recommended the collection of a predefined set of epidemiological data from BSE suspects and confirmed BSE cases to aid future investigations.

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CCL11, a protein previously associated with age-associated cognitive decline, is observed to be increased in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) compared to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Using a cohort of 23 deceased American football players with neuropathologically verified CTE, 50 subjects with neuropathologically diagnosed AD, and 18 non-athlete controls, CCL11 was measured with ELISA in the dorsolateral frontal cortex (DLFC) and CSF. CCL11 levels were significantly increased in the DLFC in subjects with CTE (fold change = 1.

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Importance: Players of American football may be at increased risk of long-term neurological conditions, particularly chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Objective: To determine the neuropathological and clinical features of deceased football players with CTE.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Case series of 202 football players whose brains were donated for research.

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The chronic effects of repetitive head impacts (RHI) on the development of neuroinflammation and its relationship to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) are unknown. Here we set out to determine the relationship between RHI exposure, neuroinflammation, and the development of hyperphosphorylated tau (ptau) pathology and dementia risk in CTE. We studied a cohort of 66 deceased American football athletes from the Boston University-Veteran's Affairs-Concussion Legacy Foundation Brain Bank as well as 16 non-athlete controls.

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This study conducted a preliminary examination on cognitive reserve (CR) as a modifier of symptom expression in subjects with autopsy-confirmed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The sample included 25 former professional football players neuropathologically diagnosed with CTE stage III or IV. Next of kin interviews ascertained age at cognitive and behavioral/mood symptom onset and demographic/athletic characteristics.

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Concussion is increasingly recognized as a risk of participation in contact and collision sports. There have been few examinations of athletes' perceptions of their susceptibility to concussion or concussion-related health consequences. We examine college football players' perceptions of their risk of sustaining a concussion and concussion-related health consequences in their future, whether these perceptions change over time, and how concussion history is related to perceived future risk of concussion and concussion-related health consequences.

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Introduction: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive neurodegeneration associated with repetitive head impacts. Understanding Neurologic Injury and Traumatic Encephalopathy (UNITE) is a U01 project recently funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. The goal of the UNITE project is to examine the neuropathology and clinical presentation of brain donors designated as "at risk" for the development of CTE based on prior athletic or military exposure.

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Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease associated with repetitive mild traumatic brain injury. It is defined pathologically by the abnormal accumulation of tau in a unique pattern that is distinct from other tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although trauma has been suggested to increase amyloid β peptide (Aβ) levels, the extent of Aβ deposition in CTE has not been thoroughly characterized.

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Repetitive brain trauma is associated with a progressive neurological deterioration, now termed as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Most instances of CTE occur in association with the play of sports, but CTE has also been reported in association with blast injuries and other neurotrauma. Symptoms of CTE include behavioral and mood changes, memory loss, cognitive impairment and dementia.

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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity around the world. Concussive and subconcussive forms of closed-head injury due to impact or blast neurotrauma represent the most common types of TBI in civilian and military settings. It is becoming increasingly evident that TBI can lead to persistent, long-term debilitating effects, and in some cases, progressive neurodegeneration and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

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Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that develops as a result of repetitive mild traumatic brain injury. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is characterized by a unique pattern of accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau in neurons and astrocytes. The tau abnormalities begin focally and perivascularly at the depths of the cerebral sulci, spread to the superficial layers of the adjacent cortex, and eventually become widespread throughout the medial temporal lobes, diencephalon, and brainstem.

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Concussions and subconcussive impacts sustained in American football have been associated with short- and long-term neurological impairment, but differences in head impact outcomes across playing positions are not well understood. The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine has identified playing position as a key risk factor for concussion in football and one for which additional research is needed. This study examined variation in head impact outcomes across primary football playing positions in a group of 730 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Series athletes, using a self-report questionnaire.

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Background: The London School of General Practice Time Out of Programme (OOP) provides general practice (GP) trainees with an opportunity to enhance clinical experience and develop a range of skills and competencies, which are often not achievable in a three-year training programme, that are relevant and transferable to their practice in the UK. The programme offers one-year posts in the developing world to trainees between years ST2/3.

Aim: This study builds on the work of the International Health Links Centre and London Deanery report (2011) and is designed to assess the skills and competencies of GP trainees on an OOP scheme.

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With an increasing proportion of U.S. individuals 80 years of age or older, the authors examined their surgical experience with octogenarians undergoing major, curative-intent thoracic surgery.

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