Publications by authors named "Leah R Hanson"

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by cerebral amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles and disruption of large-scale brain networks (LSBNs). Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has emerged as a potential non-invasive AD treatment that may serve as an adjunct therapy with FDA approved medications.

Methods: We conducted a 10-subject open label, single site study evaluating the effect of functional connectivity-resting state functional MRI guided-approach to TMS targeting with dysfunctional LSBNs in subjects with biomarker-confirmed early-stage AD (https://clinicaltrials.

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Background And Objectives: Studies involving dementia caregivers are essential to transform care and inform new policies. However, identifying and recruiting this population for research is an ongoing challenge. This scoping review aimed to capture the current methodology for identifying and recruiting dementia caregivers in clinical studies.

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  • * This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of once-weekly (low dose) versus twice-weekly (high dose) acupuncture treatments on CPTH in 38 participants over 5 weeks, using a standardized acupuncture protocol.
  • * Results showed that while there were no significant differences between the treatment frequencies, acupuncture significantly reduced headache days and pain intensity, demonstrating it as a safe and well-tolerated option for headache relief in individuals with CPTH.
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Background: As cognitive impairment (CI) prevalence rises and primary care screening becomes commonplace, it is critical to understand how to support clinicians. We describe clinician-reported barriers to diagnosing and managing care for patients with CI in a health system with standardized screening. We also explore whether barriers differ by clinician type-physician or advanced-practice clinician (APC).

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  • * A 10-week evidence-based yoga program was conducted with 20 participants, focusing on pain relief and quality of life improvements using educational and practice videos.
  • * Results showed significant improvements: nearly 60% of participants reported pain reduction, physical function improved, and average pain intensity decreased by 33%, indicating potential for yoga as a viable pain management tool.
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Purpose: Although many integrative therapies exist, studies increasingly demonstrate yoga can help change the negative neuroplastic effects experienced by people living with chronic pain. Despite encouraging findings, a gap exists in accessible yoga programs designed to meet the individual needs of those experiencing limitations from chronic pain. This study evaluated a yoga program designed for people living with chronic pain delivered in a health care setting.

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Objective: To investigate whether racial, ethnic, and linguistic disparities exist at discharge from an acute inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) by examining change in Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores and discharge destination.

Design: This is a retrospective study using our IRF's data from the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation from 2013-2019. FIM scores and discharge destination were compared between race, language, and ethnic groups, with adjustment for patient characteristics.

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Background Prior studies have indicated high rates of vascular risk factors, but little is known about stroke in Hmong. Methods and Results The institutional Get With The Guidelines (GWTG) database was used to identify patients discharged with acute ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, or subarachnoid hemorrhage between 2010 and 2019. Hmong patients were identified using clan names and primary language.

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Objective: The aim of the study is to identify causes and risk factors for potentially preventable readmissions of patients discharged from an inpatient rehabilitation facility.

Design: Our hospital billing database was used to identify patients discharged from our inpatient rehabilitation facility between 2013 and 2018 and experienced a potentially preventable readmission within 90 days ( n = 75). Retrospective chart review was completed to obtain clinical data.

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The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the presence of glucose hypometabolism (GHM) and brain iron accumulation (BIA), two potential pathological mechanisms in neurodegenerative disease, in different regions of the brain in people with late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) or Parkinson's disease (PD). Studies that conducted fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) to map GHM or quantitative susceptibility mapping-magnetic resonance imaging (QSM-MRI) to map BIA in the brains of patients with AD or PD were reviewed. Regions of the brain where GHM or BIA were reported in each disease were compared.

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There is evidence of the therapeutic potential of intranasal oxytocin for the treatment of pain and various psychiatric disorders, however, there is scant evidence that oxytocin reaches the brain. We quantified the concentration and distribution pattern of [I]-radiolabeled oxytocin in the brains and peripheral tissues of rats after intranasal delivery using gamma counting and autoradiography, respectively. Radiolabel was detected in high concentrations in the trigeminal and olfactory nerves as well as in brain regions along their trajectories.

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Background: Intranasal insulin is a potential treatment for neurodegenerative disease shown to increase cerebral glucose uptake, reduce amyloid plaques, and improve verbal memory in cognitively impaired as well as healthy adults. Investigations have suggested rapid-acting insulins such as glulisine may result in superior cognitive benefits compared with regular insulin.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of rapid-acting intranasal glulisine in subjects with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild probable Alzheimer's disease (AD).

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Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) have demonstrated multiple neuroprotective benefits in Alzheimer's disease (AD) models. However, their beneficial effects on memory deficits, cholinergic activity, neurogenesis and Amyloid beta (Aβ) clearance reveal significant interstudy variability. The delivery route can impact not only delivery but also targeting and therapeutic efficacy of ARBs.

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Identifying disease-modifying therapies for neurological diseases remains one of the greatest gaps in modern medicine. Herein, we present the rationale for intranasal (IN) delivery of deferoxamine (DFO), a high-affinity iron chelator, as a treatment for neurodegenerative and neurovascular disease with a focus on its novel mechanisms. Brain iron dyshomeostasis with iron accumulation is a known feature of brain aging and is implicated in the pathogenesis of a number of neurological diseases.

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The current evidence base for testing nonpharmacological interventions for people living with dementia (PLWD) and their caregivers is limited, especially within care settings such as ambulatory care, assisted living communities, nursing homes, hospitals, and hospices. There has been even less attention to translation of effective interventions for PLWD into delivery of care. Thus, there is an urgent need for researchers to partner with these care settings, especially those that follow a learning healthcare systems (LHSs) model, and vice versa to conduct embedded pragmatic clinical trials (ePCTs).

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Background: Individuals with Down syndrome are likely to develop clinical and neuropathological brain changes resembling Alzheimer's disease dementia by the ages of 35-40 years. Intranasal insulin is a potential treatment for neurodegenerative disease that has been shown to reduce amyloid plaque burden and improve verbal memory performance in normal as well as memory-impaired adults. Investigations have shown that rapid-acting insulins may result in superior cognitive benefits compared with regular insulin.

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Introduction: Intranasal deferoxamine (IN DFO) has been shown to decrease memory loss and have beneficial impacts across several models of neurologic disease and injury, including rodent models of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Methods: In order to assess the mechanism of DFO, determine its ability to improve memory from baseline in the absence of a diseased state, and assess targeting ability of intranasal delivery, we treated healthy mice with IN DFO (2.4 mg) or intraperitoneal (IP) DFO and compared behavioral and biochemical changes with saline-treated controls.

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Addiction to substances such as alcohol, cocaine, opioids, and methamphetamine poses a continuing clinical and public challenge globally. Despite progress in understanding substance use disorders, challenges remain in their treatment. Some of these challenges include limited ability of therapeutics to reach the brain (blood-brain barrier), adverse systemic side effects of current medications, and importantly key aspects of addiction not addressed by currently available treatments (such as cognitive impairment).

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Radiation-induced sarcomas in the brain are extremely rare, usually occur with an average latency of 9 years, and are associated with poor outcomes. Latency periods shorter than 1 year may indicate a genetic predisposition such as Li-Fraumeni syndrome. A 34-year-old man underwent initial tumor resection and radiation therapy for a World Health Organization (WHO) Grade II Astrocytoma.

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Emerging evidence continues to demonstrate that disrupted insulin signaling and altered energy metabolism may play a key role underpinning pathology in neurodegenerative conditions. Intranasally administered insulin has already shown promise as a memory-enhancing therapy in patients with Alzheimer's and animal models of the disease. Intranasal drug delivery allows for direct targeting of insulin to the brain, bypassing the blood brain barrier and minimizing systemic adverse effects.

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Deferoxamine, a metal chelator, has been shown to be neuroprotective in animal models of ischemic stroke, traumatic brain injury and both subarachnoid and intracerebral hemorrhage. Intranasal deferoxamine (IN DFO) has also shown promise as a potential treatment for multiple neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. However, there have been no attempts to thoroughly understand the dynamics and pharmacokinetics of IN DFO.

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After publication of the original article [1], it came to the authors' attention that a funding source was omitted. This Correction article shows the updated Funding section.

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Background: This study assessed the feasibility of implementing a yoga intervention adapted for participants diagnosed with chronic pain in a large Midwest neuroscience pain clinic. Although conducted using a small convenience sample, this was a novel program in that it was led by an advanced practice nurse certified in pain management and to teach yoga. She was therefore uniquely qualified to tailor the yoga practice to suit individual needs of study participants.

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Intranasal administration is an attractive route for systemic delivery of small, lipophilic drugs because they are rapidly absorbed through the nasal mucosa into systemic circulation. However, the low solubility of lipophilic drugs often precludes aqueous nasal spray formulations. A unique approach to circumvent solubility issues involves coadministration of a hydrophilic prodrug with an exogenous converting enzyme.

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