The association between social capital and drug overdose mortality in the United States.

Background: Drug-related death is a significant public health challenge in the United States (U.S.).

Toxicities Associated with Adjuvant Radiation Therapy in Atypical Meningioma.

Purpose: While adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) may prolong progression-free survival in resected atypical meningiomas, whether such progression-free survival benefit outweighs potential treatment toxicities remains controversial. Here, we compare the acute and late toxicity outcomes of atypical meningiomas managed with upfront adjuvant RT versus surveillance.

Methods And Materials: In our prior single-institution retrospective study of 230 patients with resected atypical meningiomas between 2000 and 2015, adjuvant RT was associated with a significantly lower risk of progression/recurrence compared with surveillance (hazard ratio, 0.

Surveillance and Management of Dysplasia and Malignancy in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

The paradigm for surveilling and managing inflammatory bowel disease-associated colorectal dysplasia has changed as high-definition colonoscopy and chromoendoscopy have significantly improved the visualization of dysplasia, and endoscopic mucosal resection has made more lesions endoscopically resectable. However, these patients are at high risk of recurrent dysplasia and cancer and require intensive colonoscopic surveillance. Patients with invisible high-grade dysplasia, invisible multifocal low-grade dysplasia, and colorectal cancer should be considered for surgical resection.

Housing characteristics, dietary patterns, and sociodemographic characteristics as predictors of persistent organic pollutant exposure among African American pregnant women in Atlanta.

Background: Prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has been linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes. Existing disparities in exposure across populations highlight the need for identifying modifiable risk factors. Here, we investigated the determinants of serum levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in pregnant African American women (N = 54).

RNA methyltransferase SPOUT1/CENP-32 links mitotic spindle organization with the neurodevelopmental disorder SpADMiSS.

SPOUT1/CENP-32 encodes a putative SPOUT RNA methyltransferase previously identified as a mitotic chromosome associated protein. SPOUT1/CENP-32 depletion leads to centrosome detachment from the spindle poles and chromosome misalignment. Aided by gene matching platforms, here we identify 28 individuals with neurodevelopmental delays from 21 families with bi-allelic variants in SPOUT1/CENP-32 detected by exome/genome sequencing.

Simulation of Conducted Responses in Microvascular Networks: Role of Gap Junction Current Rectification.

Objective: Local control of blood flow depends on signaling to arterioles via upstream conducted responses. Here, the objective is to examine how electrical properties of gap junctions between endothelial cells (EC) affect the spread of conducted responses in microvascular networks of the brain cortex, using a theoretical model based on EC electrophysiology.

Methods: Modeled EC currents are an inward-rectifying potassium current, a non-voltage-dependent potassium current, a leak current, and a gap junction current between adjacent ECs.

Assessment of the Effective Dose of Isavuconazole, Itraconazole, Posaconazole, and Voriconazole to Achieve Goal Serum Concentrations in Pediatric Patients at a Single Center.

Objective: The optimal dose for triazoles in pediatric patients may substantially vary given the dynamic changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, based on disease severity. Therapeutic drug monitoring has been a valuable tool to help guide management and avoid potential toxicities associated with treatment of invasive fungal infections (IFIs). Goal azole serum concentrations are based on specific drug, indication, and minimum inhibitory concentration when known.

An international multicenter, retrospective cohort study of 203 patients with pediatric androgenetic alopecia.

Background: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a nonscarring alopecia with increasing prevalence in pediatric populations. Published data in pediatrics are limited.

Objective: To perform a multicenter review of pediatric patients with AGA to study clinical presentation, comorbidities, and treatment recommendations.

FABP4 as a therapeutic host target controlling SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Host metabolic fitness is a critical determinant of infectious disease outcomes. Obesity, aging, and other related metabolic disorders are recognized as high-risk disease modifiers for respiratory infections, including coronavirus infections, though the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Our study highlights fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4), a key regulator of metabolic dysfunction and inflammation, as a modulator of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis, correlating strongly with disease severity in COVID-19 patients.

Severe Lymphopenia Predicts Poorer Survival in Patients With Rectal Cancer Undergoing Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation.

Purpose: Chemoradiation-induced lymphopenia is common and associated with poorer survival in multiple solid malignancies. However, the association between chemoradiation-related lymphopenia and survival outcomes in rectal cancer is yet unclear. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prognostic impact of lymphopenia and its predictors in patients with rectal cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiation.

Prospective Validation of an Automated Hybrid Multidimensional MRI Tool for Prostate Cancer Detection Using Targeted Biopsy: Comparison with PI-RADS-based Assessment.

Purpose To evaluate the use of an automated hybrid multidimensional MRI (HM-MRI)-based tool to prospectively identify prostate cancer targets before MRI/US fusion biopsy in comparison with Prostate Imaging and Reporting Data System (PI-RADS)-based multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) evaluation by expert radiologists. Materials and Methods In this prospective clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov registration no.

Prolactin-induced sensitization of trigeminal nociceptors promotes migraine co-morbidity in endometriosis.

Background: Women with endometriosis are more likely to have migraine. The mechanisms underlying this co-morbidity are unknown. Prolactin, a neurohormone secreted and released into circulation from the anterior pituitary, can sensitize sensory neurons from female, but not male, rodents, monkeys and human donors.

Long-term Outcomes of Definitive Chemoradiation With Proton Therapy for Treatment of Carcinoma of the Anal Canal: Combined Analysis of 2 Prospective Trials.

Purpose: Although definitive chemoradiation therapy (CRT) with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and mitomycin-C (MMC) (5-FU/MMC) remains the standard of care for localized anal cancer, treatment is associated with significant acute and late toxicity. Proton radiation therapy (RT) may potentially reduce such toxicity. Here, we assess the long-term outcomes of patients with anal cancer treated with CRT using proton RT in 2 prospective pilot studies.

Deep Learning Analysis of White Matter Hyperintensity and its Association with Comprehensive Vascular Factors in Two Large General Populations.

Although the relationships between basic clinical parameters and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) have been studied, the associations between vascular factors and WMH volume in general populations remain unclear. We investigated the associations between clinical parameters including comprehensive vascular factors and WMH in two large general populations. This retrospective, cross-sectional study involved two populations: individuals who underwent general health examinations at the Asan Medical Center (AMC) and participants from a regional cohort, the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES).

Complement activation as a biomarker for platelet-activating antibodies in heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

Background: Immunoglobulin G antibodies (Abs) to platelet factor 4 (PF4) complexed to heparin (PF4/H) commonly occur after H exposure but cause life-threatening complications of H-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) in only a few patients. Presently, only platelet activation assays reliably distinguish anti-PF4/H Abs that cause disease (HIT Abs) from those likely to be asymptomatic (AAbs).

Objectives: Recent studies indicate that complement activation is an important serologic property of HIT Abs and is essential for IgG Fc receptor IIA-mediated cellular activation.

Skin manifestations and related clinical characteristics of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: A descriptive retrospective cohort study at Texas Children's Hospital.

Background: Little is known about the dermatologic manifestations of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in children and adolescents.

Objective: We sought to describe the demographic background, key clinical features, and the clinical consequences of developing rash manifestations in MIS-C patients at Texas Children's Hospital.

Methods: Descriptive retrospective cohort study of 290 hospitalized eligible patients between May 2020 and April 2022.

Women in cardiac surgery: a global workforce analysis.

Objectives: Cardiac surgery remains one of the most gender-imbalanced surgical specialties. Women constitute 6-11% of the North American workforce, while other regional data are scarce. Despite the acknowledged under-representation of women in cardiac surgery globally and evidence that surgeon-patient gender concordance enhances postoperative outcomes, precise figures remain poorly defined.

The incorporation of MALDI mass spectrometry imaging in studies to identify markers of toxicity following opioid exposures in mouse fetuses.

Introduction: In 2015, the FDA released a Drug Safety Communication regarding a possible link between opioid exposure during early pregnancy and an increased risk of fetal neural tube defects (NTDs). At the time, the indications for opioid use during pregnancy were not changed due to incomplete maternal toxicity data and limitations in human and animal studies. To assess these knowledge gaps, largescale animal studies are ongoing; however, state-of-the-art technologies have emerged as promising tools to assess otherwise non-standard endpoints.

Trigeminal nerve blocks attenuate afferent input to the puff-induced blink reflex in chronic orbital pain assessed by high-speed video.

Purpose: To assess the trigeminal blink reflex in chronic orbital pain and its modification by orbital anesthetic injections using a novel blink reflexometer.

Methods: The EyeStat (Generation 3, Blinktbi, Inc. Charleston, SC) is a device that triggers and analyzes the carbon dioxide puff-evoked trigeminal blink response.

Delayed Surgery after Neoadjuvant Short-course Radiation for Rectal Cancer Improves Pathologic Outcomes without Impacting Survival: A National Cancer Database Analysis.

Purpose: Interval to surgery following short course radiotherapy (SCRT) for rectal cancer is not standardized. This study investigated pathologic outcomes and survival with varying intervals to surgery.

Methods: Using the National Cancer Database, adults who received SCRT from 2005 to 2020 were grouped by additional neoadjuvant chemotherapy.