Publications by authors named "Kristen Schmidt"

The opioid epidemic represents a national crisis. Oxycodone is one of the most prescribed opioid medications in the United States, whereas buprenorphine is currently the most prescribed medication for opioid use disorder (OUD) pharmacotherapy. Given the extensive use of prescription opioids and the global opioid epidemic, it is essential to understand how opioids modulate brain cell type function at the single-cell level.

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Article Synopsis
  • Alcohol consumption raises levels of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), which affects neurotransmitters involved in reward pathways, prompting research into genetic variants linked to FGF21 and alcohol use disorder (AUD).
  • A genome-wide association study (GWAS) found a significant variant, rs9914222, on chromosome 17 that correlates with higher FGF21 levels and increased risk of AUD among 442 subjects from the Mayo Clinic.
  • Functional studies indicated that the rs9914222 SNP affects the expression of SNHG16, which in turn impacts FGF21 production and catecholamine metabolism, highlighting the complex relationship between genetics and alcohol use.
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Because microbes use carotenoids as an antioxidant for protection, dietary carotenoids could be associated with gut microbiota composition. We aimed to determine associations among reported carotenoid intake, plasma carotenoid concentrations, and fecal bacterial communities in pregnant women. Pregnant women (n = 27) were enrolled in a two-arm study designed to assess feasibility of biospecimen collection and delivery of a practical nutrition intervention.

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Background And Objectives: A high proportion of persons in institutionalized settings such as the criminal justice system and psychiatric hospitals have substance use disorders (SUDs). We explored the association between substance use, demographics, and criminal justice involvement in a population of patients placed on involuntary 72-h holds in a psychiatric facility.

Methods: We retrospectively identified patients aged 18 through 57 years who had been placed on 72-h holds during an acute psychiatric hospitalization during a 1-year period.

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Introduction: Studies show alcohol-preferring mice reduce their alcohol intake during pregnancy; this study questions if the same is true for humans. The current investigation compares women's pre-pregnancy and first trimester alcohol consumption, examines if women with problem drinking diminish their alcohol intake during pregnancy, and determines if prenatal alcohol reduction is associated with characteristics of pregnancy, patients or smoking.

Methods: 126 participants in weeks 1-12 of pregnancy, recruited from Obstetric and Family Practices, completed a survey during their initial prenatal visit including two gender-specific AUDITs (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Tests) querying current and pre-pregnancy alcohol use.

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Background: This case chronicles the unique presentation of psychotic mixed mania in a female 5 months after parturition and 1 week following breastfeeding discontinuation, highlighting a rarely recognized mania risk factor that is temporally delayed from parturition: breastfeeding discontinuation.

Case Presentation: A 25-year-old G1P1 female with a past psychiatric history of a depressive episode in adolescence presented to the Emergency Department with her 5-month-old daughter, fiancée, and family 1 week after breastfeeding cessation. She endorsed sleep-deprived energy enhancement, unfulfilled goal-oriented productivity, hyper-talkativeness, hyper-sexuality and increased nicotine use.

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Objective: To review the literature evaluating gabapentin for alcohol withdrawal and dependence.

Data Sources: A literature search of MEDLINE (1966 to end of March 2015) and PubMed was performed using the terms alcohol, gabapentin, withdrawal, and dependence. Additional references were identified from a review of literature citations.

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Aggressive chemotherapy/radiotherapy and bone marrow transplantation can cure >90% of girls and young women affected by disorders requiring such treatment. However, the ovaries are very sensitive to cytotoxic drugs, especially to alkylating agents. Several options are currently available to preserve fertility in cancer patients.

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Few studies have evaluated the necessity of immediate stress testing after observation for chest pain. The purpose of this study was to assess the safety of outpatient stress testing after discharge from a chest pain unit. We hypothesized that discharge from a chest pain unit before stress testing is associated with a low rate of short-term adverse outcomes.

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We addressed several questions regarding the relation of anxiety sensitivity to anxious symptoms among 47 youth psychiatric inpatients (18 boys, 29 girls), ages 9-17 (M = 14.23, SD = 1.89).

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Mood disorders and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) co-occur in 20-30% of children and adolescents diagnosed in both epidemiological and clinical studies, but little information is available regarding cognitive factors that may be relevant to the expression of co-occurring mood disorders and ADHD. This study examined whether ADHD with and without a comorbid mood disorder could be differentiated on the basis of cognitive factors associated with prominent theories of depression. Children meeting diagnostic criteria for ADHD (n = 14) or ADHD and a comorbid mood disorder (n = 27) were assessed on a variety of cognitive indices.

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