Publications by authors named "M-C Chou"

Article Synopsis
  • The study focused on R544C variant carriers in Taiwan who have CADASIL, investigating if white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) appear before symptoms and how these WMHs relate to cognitive function.
  • It included 63 asymptomatic R544C carriers and 37 controls, revealing that the carriers had significantly higher WMH volumes and cognitive scores were lower, especially after age 48.
  • Factors linked to increased WMH volumes were identified as age, hypercholesterolemia, and a vascular risk factor index, with a notable association between WMHs and cognitive performance.
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  • Biallelic loss of CDK12 is linked to a specific subtype of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), raising questions about its role in cancer development versus exposing drug targets.
  • Research shows that loss of CDK12 leads to early cancer-like changes and enhances cancer cell growth when combined with mutations in other genes like Trp53, while it inhibits tumor growth in the absence of another tumor suppressor gene, Pten.
  • CDK12 loss causes genomic instability and makes tumors sensitive to treatments targeting another protein, CDK13, highlighting CDK12 as a crucial tumor suppressor and suggesting new therapeutic approaches for CDK12-mutant mCRPC.
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Purpose: The cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK), CDK12, is mutated or amplified in multiple cancers. We previously described a subtype of prostate cancer characterized predominantly by frameshift, loss-of-function mutations in CDK12. This subtype exhibits aggressive clinical features.

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  • Once-weekly efanesoctocog alfa was tested in a phase 3 study for children under 12 with severe hemophilia A, showing promising results in preventing bleeding and maintaining factor VIII activity.
  • The study enrolled 74 patients, none of whom developed factor VIII inhibitors, and most experienced non-serious adverse events during the treatment.
  • With low annualized bleeding rates and a significant percentage of patients experiencing no bleeding episodes, efanesoctocog alfa demonstrated safety and effectiveness for this age group.
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Introduction: Concerns regarding bleeding remain in cold snare polypectomy (CSP) for small pedunculated (0-Ip) polyps. The aim of this study was to compare the risk of CSP and hot snare polypectomy (HSP) for such lesions.

Methods: Data on 0-Ip colorectal polyps ≤10 mm were extracted from a large, pragmatic, randomized trial.

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Background: Valoctocogene roxaparvovec transfers a human factor (F)VIII coding sequence into hepatocytes of people with severe hemophilia A to provide bleeding protection.

Objectives: To present 3-year efficacy and safety in the multicenter, open-label, single-arm, phase 3 GENEr8-1 trial.

Methods: GENEr8-1 enrolled 134 adult males with severe hemophilia A who were receiving FVIII prophylaxis.

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Article Synopsis
  • Biallelic loss of the gene encoding cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CDK12) is linked to a distinct type of advanced prostate cancer, known as metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), though its role in cancer development and treatment response is still being investigated.
  • Research using mouse models shows that loss of CDK12 can lead to early-stage cancer changes and increased immune response, as well as promote tumor growth in lab settings when paired with other genetic modifications.
  • CDK12 mutations make tumors more responsive to certain immunotherapies and therapies targeting related kinases, suggesting that CDK12 acts as a tumor suppressor and emphasizing the potential for new treatment strategies focusing on related gene interactions in mutant m
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Pooled genetic screens are powerful tools to study gene function in a high-throughput manner. Typically, sequencing-based screens require cell lysis, which limits the examination of critical phenotypes such as cell morphology, protein subcellular localization, and cell-cell/tissue interactions. In contrast, emerging optical pooled screening methods enable the investigation of these spatial phenotypes in response to targeted CRISPR perturbations.

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Biologic drug discovery pipelines are designed to deliver protein therapeutics that have exquisite functional potency and selectivity while also manifesting biophysical characteristics suitable for manufacturing, storage, and convenient administration to patients. The ability to use computational methods to predict biophysical properties from protein sequence, potentially in combination with high throughput assays, could decrease timelines and increase the success rates for therapeutic developability engineering by eliminating lengthy and expensive cycles of recombinant protein production and testing. To support development of high-quality predictive models for antibody developability, we designed a sequence-diverse panel of 83 effector functionless IgG1 antibodies displaying a range of biophysical properties, produced and formulated each protein under standard platform conditions, and collected a comprehensive package of analytical data, including in vitro assays and in vivo mouse pharmacokinetics.

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Background And Objectives: Pathogenic variants in the valosin-containing protein () gene cause a phenotypically heterogeneous disorder that includes myopathy, motor neuron disease, Paget disease of the bone, frontotemporal dementia, and parkinsonism termed multisystem proteinopathy. This hallmark pleiotropy makes the classification of novel variants challenging. This retrospective study describes and assesses the effect of 19 novel or nonpreviously clinically characterized variants identified in 28 patients (26 unrelated families) in the retrospective VCP International Multicenter Study.

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Large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated impressive capabilities, but the bar for clinical applications is high. Attempts to assess the clinical knowledge of models typically rely on automated evaluations based on limited benchmarks. Here, to address these limitations, we present MultiMedQA, a benchmark combining six existing medical question answering datasets spanning professional medicine, research and consumer queries and a new dataset of medical questions searched online, HealthSearchQA.

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Mitochondrial dysfunction and axon loss are hallmarks of neurologic diseases. Gasdermin (GSDM) proteins are executioner pore-forming molecules that mediate cell death, yet their roles in the central nervous system (CNS) are not well understood. Here, we find that one GSDM family member, GSDME, is expressed by both mouse and human neurons.

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Background: Valoctocogene roxaparvovec delivers a B-domain-deleted factor VIII coding sequence with an adeno-associated virus vector to prevent bleeding in persons with severe hemophilia A. The findings of a phase 3 study of the efficacy and safety of valoctocogene roxaparvovec therapy evaluated after 52 weeks in men with severe hemophilia A have been published previously.

Methods: We conducted an open-label, single-group, multicenter, phase 3 trial in which 134 men with severe hemophilia A who were receiving factor VIII prophylaxis received a single infusion of 6×10 vector genomes of valoctocogene roxaparvovec per kilogram of body weight.

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Background: Although cold snare polypectomy (CSP) is considered effective in reducing delayed postpolypectomy bleeding risk, direct evidence supporting its safety in the general population remains lacking.

Objective: To clarify whether CSP would reduce delayed bleeding risk after polypectomy compared with hot snare polypectomy (HSP) in the general population.

Design: Multicenter randomized controlled study.

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CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CD19-CAR) has changed the treatment landscape and outcomes for patients with pre-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Unfortunately, primary nonresponse (PNR), sustained CD19+ disease, and concurrent expansion of CD19-CAR occur in 20% of the patients and is associated with adverse outcomes. Although some failures may be attributable to CD19 loss, mechanisms of CD19-independent, leukemia-intrinsic resistance to CD19-CAR remain poorly understood.

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Background: Fetal ultrasound is an important component of antenatal care, but shortage of adequately trained healthcare workers has limited its adoption in low-to-middle-income countries. This study investigated the use of artificial intelligence for fetal ultrasound in under-resourced settings.

Methods: Blind sweep ultrasounds, consisting of six freehand ultrasound sweeps, were collected by sonographers in the USA and Zambia, and novice operators in Zambia.

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Background: Mural cells in ascending aortic aneurysms undergo phenotypic changes that promote extracellular matrix destruction and structural weakening. To explore this biology, we analyzed the transcriptional features of thoracic aortic tissue.

Methods: Single-nuclear RNA sequencing was performed on 13 samples from human donors, 6 with thoracic aortic aneurysm, and 7 without aneurysm.

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Background: Vitamin D supplements are widely recommended for bone health in the general population, but data on whether they prevent fractures have been inconsistent.

Methods: In an ancillary study of the Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial (VITAL), we tested whether supplemental vitamin D would result in a lower risk of fractures than placebo. VITAL was a two-by-two factorial, randomized, controlled trial that investigated whether supplemental vitamin D (2000 IU per day), n-3 fatty acids (1 g per day), or both would prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease in men 50 years of age or older and women 55 years of age or older in the United States.

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Dravet syndrome (DS) is a developmental and epileptic encephalopathy caused by monoallelic loss-of-function variants in the gene. encodes for the alpha subunit of the voltage-gated type I sodium channel (Na1.1), the primary voltage-gated sodium channel responsible for generation of action potentials in GABAergic inhibitory interneurons.

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Background: Detection of SARS-CoV-2 antigens in blood has high sensitivity in adults with acute COVID-19, but sensitivity in pediatric patients is unclear. Recent data suggest that persistent SARS-CoV-2 spike antigenemia may contribute to multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). We quantified SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) and spike (S) antigens in blood of pediatric patients with either acute COVID-19 or MIS-C using ultrasensitive immunoassays (Meso Scale Discovery).

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Article Synopsis
  • * In this study, data from over 8,400 children with KD and more than 33,800 matched non-KD children were analyzed over a 12-year period to compare the incidence rates of cerebrovascular disease.
  • * Results indicated that children with KD faced a significantly higher risk of developing cerebrovascular disease—3.19 times more likely—particularly in those under 5 years old.
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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a preclinical compound, ITRI-E-(S)4046, a dual synergistic inhibitor of myosin light chain kinase 4 (MYLK4) and Rho-related protein kinase (ROCK), for reducing intraocular pressure (IOP).

Methods: ITRI-E-(S)4046 is an amino-pyrazole derivative with physical and chemical properties suitable for ophthalmic formulation. In vitro kinase inhibition was evaluated using the Kinase-Glo Luminescent Kinase Assays.

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Background And Purpose: Preceding infection as an important risk factor for ischemic stroke has been reported but neglected for hemorrhagic stroke, especially in young and middle-aged patients. This study investigates whether newly diagnosed leptospirosis is associated with an increased risk of stroke.

Methods: We identified 3699 in-patients who were aged ≥18 years and newly diagnosed with leptospirosis.

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Haplotype-resolved or phased genome assembly provides a complete picture of genomes and their complex genetic variations. However, current algorithms for phased assembly either do not generate chromosome-scale phasing or require pedigree information, which limits their application. We present a method named diploid assembly (DipAsm) that uses long, accurate reads and long-range conformation data for single individuals to generate a chromosome-scale phased assembly within 1 day.

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Objective: To determine the prevalence and associated mortality of well-defined neurologic diagnoses among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), we prospectively followed hospitalized severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-positive patients and recorded new neurologic disorders and hospital outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a prospective, multicenter, observational study of consecutive hospitalized adults in the New York City metropolitan area with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. The prevalence of new neurologic disorders (as diagnosed by a neurologist) was recorded and in-hospital mortality and discharge disposition were compared between patients with COVID-19 with and without neurologic disorders.

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