Publications by authors named "M J Healey"
Study Question: Can a panel of plasma protein biomarkers be identified to accurately and specifically diagnose endometriosis?
Summary Answer: A novel panel of 10 plasma protein biomarkers was identified and validated, demonstrating strong predictive accuracy for the diagnosis of endometriosis.
What Is Known Already: Endometriosis poses intricate medical challenges for affected individuals and their physicians, yet diagnosis currently takes an average of 7 years and normally requires invasive laparoscopy. Consequently, the need for a simple, accurate non-invasive diagnostic tool is paramount.
Background: Infertility affects an estimated 8 to 12% of the global population and approximately one in six heterosexual couples in Canada. To access fertility services in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, individuals with an infertility diagnosis wait for extended periods, and this waiting period has been associated with psychological distress. However, this experience of waiting has not been well studied, and several gaps in fertility research exist.
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- Laparoscopy is commonly used to investigate pelvic pain, but many patients end up with no clear diagnosis, leading to unmet expectations and emotional distress.
- A study involving interviews with 15 patients revealed themes such as the desire for diagnosis, hope as a coping mechanism, and challenges with communication and mental health post-procedure.
- The findings stress the need for effective pre- and postoperative counseling from clinicians to better prepare patients for the possibility of inconclusive results and to address their mental health concerns.
Astrocytes are crucial to brain homeostasis, yet their changes along the spatiotemporal progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology remain unexplored. Here we performed single-nucleus RNA sequencing of 628,943 astrocytes from five brain regions representing the stereotypical progression of AD pathology across 32 donors spanning the entire normal aging to severe AD continuum. We mapped out several unique astrocyte subclusters that exhibited varying responses to neuropathology across the AD-vulnerable neural network (spatial axis) or AD pathology stage (temporal axis).
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- The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of squeezable food pouches among infants and young children, and their potential effects on energy intake and body mass index (BMI).
- Researchers surveyed 933 children in New Zealand, and found that while pouch usage decreased as children grew older, the effect on their energy intake varied by age.
- Notably, preschool children who frequently used pouches consumed less energy compared to non-users, while no significant differences in BMI were observed related to pouch use, suggesting concerns about pouches may be overstated.