Harmonization of alcohol use data and mortality across a multi-national HIV cohort collaboration.

Background: Alcohol use is measured in diverse ways across settings. Harmonization of measures is necessary to assess effects of alcohol use in multi-cohort collaborations, such as studies of people with HIV (PWH).

Methods: Data were combined from 14 HIV cohort studies (nine European, five North American) participating in the Antiretroviral Therapy Cohort Collaboration.

Endothelialectomy With Trypan Blue Staining to Enhance Descemetorhexis Visualization.

Purpose: To describe a technique involving combined endothelialectomy and trypan blue staining to allow for improved visualization and Descemet membrane (DM) removal during endothelial keratoplasty.

Methods: Endothelialectomy with 2 disposable endothelial irrigating cannulas (Vortex and Sterimedix) and an irrigation-aspiration handpiece are described. Several passes over the desired area are made to ensure adequate endothelialectomy treatment.

Brief Report: Protease Inhibitors Versus Nonnucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors and the Risk of Cancer Among People With HIV.

Background: The effect of initial antiretroviral therapy (ART) class on cancer risk in people with HIV (PWH) remains unclear.

Setting: Cohort study of 36,322 PWH enrolled (1996-2014) in the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design.

Methods: We followed individuals from ART initiation (protease inhibitor [PI]-, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor [NNRTI]-, or integrase strand transfer inhibitor [INSTI]-based) until incident cancer, death, loss-to-follow-up, 12/31/2014, 85 months (intention-to-treat analyses [ITT]), or 30 months (per-protocol [PP] analyses).

Eleven Grand Challenges for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Genetics and Genomics.

The past 2 decades have witnessed extraordinary advances in our understanding of the genetic factors influencing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), providing a foundation for the approaching era of genomic medicine. On behalf of the NIDDK IBD Genetics Consortium, we herein survey 11 grand challenges for the field as it embarks on the next 2 decades of research utilizing integrative genomic and systems biology approaches. These involve elucidation of the genetic architecture of IBD (how it compares across populations, the role of rare variants, and prospects of polygenic risk scores), in-depth cellular and molecular characterization (fine-mapping causal variants, cellular contributions to pathology, molecular pathways, interactions with environmental exposures, and advanced organoid models), and applications in personalized medicine (unmet medical needs, working toward molecular nosology, and precision therapeutics).