Publications by authors named "MJ Miller"

Introduction: Balance problems arising from cancer and its treatments can significantly impact daily functionality and quality of life. Improving balance as part of a cancer treatment plan could result in better patient outcomes. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine whether an integrative therapeutic yoga intervention can improve balance in a heterogenous population of cancer survivors (CS).

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The overall goal of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) is to optimize and validate biomarkers for clinical trials while sharing all data and biofluid samples with the global scientific community. ADNI has been instrumental in standardizing and validating amyloid beta (Aβ) and tau positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. ADNI data were used for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the Fujirebio and Roche Elecsys cerebrospinal fluid diagnostic tests.

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Introduction: Little is known regarding the relationship between anticholinergic medications and frailty in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).

Methods: Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden Scale (ACB) and Claims-based Frailty Index scores were calculated for 12 months prior to the dementia diagnosis using electronic medical record and claims data. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association between ACB and odds of frailty.

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Background: The Everyday Cognition (ECog) 12-item scale, a functional decline measurement, can distinguish dementia from cognitively unimpaired (CU). Limited data compare ECog-12 performance by raters (self vs. informant) and scoring systems (average numeric vs.

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Background: Digital mental health applications (DMHAs) are emerging, novel solutions to address gaps in behavioral health care. Accordingly, Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States (KPMAS) integrated referrals for 6 unique DMHAs into clinical care in 2019.

Objective: This study investigated patient and health care professional (HCP) experiences with DMHA referral; DMHA use; and perceived importance of engagement, functionality, design, and information attributes in real-world practice.

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The beak, a pivotal evolutionary trait characterized by high morphological diversity and plasticity, has enabled birds to survive mass extinction events and subsequently radiate into diverse ecological niches worldwide. This remarkable ecological adaptability underscores the importance of uncovering the molecular mechanisms shaping avian beak morphology, particularly benefiting from the rapidly advancing archives of genomics and epigenomics. We review the latest advancements in understanding how genetic and epigenetic innovations control or regulate beak development and drive beak morphological adaptation and diversification over the past two decades.

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Article Synopsis
  • The blood transfusion service is crucial for public health, yet many Caribbean countries face a shortfall in blood supply to meet healthcare demands.
  • Understanding what motivates and hinders potential blood donors is key to increasing voluntary non-remunerated blood donations (VNRD) as recommended by the WHO.
  • A systematic review of research found that VNRD is uncommon in the region, with barriers including lack of a known recipient and fears related to donation; however, increased information about the importance of blood donation could encourage more people to participate.
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Background: The Everyday Cognition scale (ECog-39) scores are associated with future cognitive decline. We investigated whether the 12-item ECog (ECog-12), which is being collected in Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI)4, can predict progression.

Methods: Baseline self (PT)- and study partner (SP)-ECog-12 data were extracted from the 39-item version collected in the ADNI.

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Background: The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify emergent rehabilitation innovations and clinician perceptions influencing their implementation and outcomes related to hospital discharge decision-making during the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic.

Methods: Rehabilitation clinicians were recruited from the Veterans Affairs Health Care System and participated in individual semi-structured interviews guided by the integrated Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (i-PARIHS) framework. Data were analyzed using a rapid qualitative, deductive team-based approach informed by directed content analysis.

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Introduction: Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection alters critical markers of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) in neurons. One key marker of AD is the hyperphosphorylation of Tau, accompanied by altered levels of Tau isoforms. However, an imbalance in these Tau splice variants, specifically resulting from altered 3R to 4R splicing of exon 10, has yet to be directly associated with HSV-1 infection.

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Introduction: The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative-4 (ADNI-4) Engagement Core was launched to advance Alzheimer's disease (AD) and AD-related dementia (ADRD) health equity research in underrepresented populations (URPs). We describe our evidence-based, scalable culturally informed, community-engaged research (CI-CER) model and demonstrate its preliminary success in increasing URP enrollment.

Methods: URPs include ethnoculturally minoritized, lower education (≤ 12 years), and rural populations.

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  • FDA-approved antivirals for HCMV have limitations like targeting only late viral stages, causing side effects, and leading to drug resistance.
  • The study found that HCMV infection activates heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1), which is crucial for the early stages of viral replication.
  • Using an HSF1 inhibitor (SISU-102) significantly reduced HCMV replication in both infected cells and a human skin transplant model, suggesting a potential new antiviral strategy.
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Background: Preventing Loss of Independence through Exercise (PLIÉ) is a group program for people living with dementia that combines movements to support daily function with present moment body awareness and social engagement that has been found to have physical, emotional, social, and cognitive benefits. The goal of this study was to develop and refine a PLIÉ remote training program for interdisciplinary Veterans Affairs (VA) nursing home staff members also known as community living center (CLC) staff.

Methods: This pre-implementation study used iterative Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles.

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Background: Recently, two monoclonal antibodies that lower amyloid plaques have shown promising results for the treatment of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD). These treatments require the identification of cognitively impaired older adults with biomarker evidence of AD pathology using CSF biomarkers or amyloid-PET. Previous studies showed plasma biomarkers (plasma Aβ42/Aβ40 and p-tau181) and hippocampal volume from structural MRI correlated with brain amyloid pathology.

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  • Speech-based testing has potential for effective screening of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but more research is needed to confirm its general applicability.
  • Data from multiple cohorts were used to develop and test predictive models for early AD using audio recordings from story recall tasks, with a focus on linguistic and acoustic features.
  • The models demonstrated strong generalization across diverse samples, with those analyzing text similarity and lexical features showing the highest predictive accuracy for early AD.
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Introduction: We evaluated preliminary feasibility of a digital, culturally-informed approach to recruit and screen participants for the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI4).

Methods: Participants were recruited using digital advertising and completed digital surveys (e.g.

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Establishing a nonproductive, quiescent infection within monocytes is essential for the spread of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). We investigated the mechanisms through which HCMV establishes a quiescent infection in monocytes. US28 is a virally encoded G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that is essential for silent infections within cells of the myeloid lineage.

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ABP 959 is a biosimilar to the eculizumab reference product (RP), which is approved for the treatment of patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, active-controlled, two-period crossover study randomized eculizumab RP-treated patients with PNH to one of two treatment sequences (ABP 959/eculizumab RP or eculizumab RP/ABP 959) to evaluate the clinical similarity of ABP 959 when compared with eculizumab RP. This study evaluated the efficacy of ABP 959 when compared with eculizumab RP based on control of intravascular hemolysis as measured by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and by the time-adjusted area under the effect curve of LDH.

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Introduction: Staff nurse attrition negatively impacts readiness of the warfighter and the health and wellbeing of all beneficiaries of the Military Health System (MHS). To promote the retention of a robust nursing workforce, a complete understanding of nurses' perceptions regarding their intent to leave is necessary. The purpose of this study was to explore the free-text responses of 1,438 nurses working among military medical treatment facilities for factors influencing their intent to leave, as an indicator of potential turnover, or attrition.

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Importance: Black or African American (hereinafter, Black) and Hispanic or Latino/a/x (hereinafter, Latinx) adults are disproportionally affected by Alzheimer disease, but most research studies do not enroll adequate numbers of both of these populations. The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative-3 (ADNI3) launched a diversity taskforce to pilot a multipronged effort to increase the study inclusion of Black and Latinx older adults.

Objective: To describe and evaluate the culturally informed and community-engaged inclusion efforts to increase the screening and enrollment of Black and Latinx older adults in ADNI3.

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Objective: To identify if depression, resilience, and perceived control of health are related to 2.5-year mortality and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) decline among older adults after surgery.

Summary Background Data: The relationships of psychosocial factors with postoperative mortality and IADL decline among older adults are understudied.

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Numerous studies have demonstrated that dementia is associated with increased utilization of health care services, which in turn results in increased costs of care. Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is associated with greater costs of care relative to other forms of dementia due to higher rates of hospitalization and nursing home placement directly related to neuropsychiatric symptoms, parkinsonism, increased susceptibility to delirium, and elevated rates of caregiver burden. There is a critical need for researchers to identify potentially modifiable factors contributing to increased costs of care and poor clinical outcomes for patients with DLB, which may include comorbidities, polypharmacy/contraindicated medications, and access to specialty care.

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