Association of Gut Microbiota With Fatigue in Black Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

Background: Fatigue is a highly prevalent symptom for individuals with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS); however, characterization of fatigue and investigation into the gut microbiome-a pathway that may contribute to fatigue-remains inadequately explored in Black women with PCOS.

Objectives: The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine fatigue and its relationship to the gut microbiome in adult Black women with PCOS.

Methods: Adult Black women with a diagnosis of PCOS were recruited for this cross-sectional study.

Impact of Acupuncture on Human Metabolomic Profiles: A Systematic Review.

Background/objectives: Metabolomics provides insights into the biological underpinnings of disease development and treatment. This systematic review investigated the impact of acupuncture on metabolite levels and associated metabolic pathways using a metabolomic approach.

Methods: Five databases (i.

Metabolic Pathways Associated With Obesity and Hypertension in Black Caregivers of Persons Living With Dementia.

Background: In the United States, Black adults have the highest prevalence of obesity and hypertension, increasing their risk of morbidity and mortality. Caregivers of persons with dementia are also at increased risk of morbidity and mortality due to the demands of providing care. Thus, Black caregivers-who are the second largest group of caregivers of persons with dementia in the United States-have the highest risks for poor health outcomes among all caregivers.

Oral Microbiome and Cognition Among Black Cancer Caregivers.

Background: Despite known links between oral health and dementia and the growing understanding of the role of the human microbiome in health, few studies have explored the relationship between the oral microbiome and cognition. Additionally, there is a notable absence of research on how the oral microbiome is associated with cognitive function in Black adult caregivers of cancer patients despite their elevated risk for both oral disease and cognitive impairment.

Objectives: This study aimed to characterize the oral microbiome of Black caregivers of people living with cancer and explore the association of the oral microbiome with cognitive performance.

Longitudinal Fatigue Symptoms and Inflammatory Markers in African American Adults With Hypertension and Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Background: There is a dearth of research inclusive of African American adults living with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) despite differences in symptom presentations compared to non-Hispanic White patient populations. Less is known regarding the potential effect of comorbidities, including hypertension, on commonly reported symptoms, such as fatigue, and their association with inflammatory biomarkers.

Objective: This longitudinal pilot study aimed to characterize fatigue symptom presentations among African American adults newly diagnosed with OSA and discern peripheral blood analytes linked to symptoms while accounting for co-occurring hypertension.

Associations between TCA cycle plasma metabolites and fatigue in black females with systemic lupus erythematosus: An untargeted metabolomics pilot study.

Objective: In this pilot study, we used untargeted metabolomics to identify biochemical mechanisms or biomarkers potentially underlying SLE-related fatigue.

Methods: Metabolon conducted untargeted metabolomic plasma profiling using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry on plasma samples of 23 Black females with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 21 no SLE controls. Fatigue phenotypes of general fatigue, physical fatigue, mental fatigue, reduced activity, and reduced motivation were measured with the reliable and valid Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI).

Longitudinal Renal Function Degradation Among Florida Agricultural Workers.

Objective: This longitudinal study evaluated renal function and acute kidney injury (AKI) over time in US agricultural workers.

Methods: We followed Florida agricultural workers from January 2020 to August 2022, collecting blood and urine preworkday and postworkday during five visits.

Results: Preworkday estimated glomerular filtration rate function in all participants was lower in summers but relatively consistent over time.

Multi-omics analysis of the gut microbiome and metabolites associated with the psychoneurological symptom cluster in children with cancer receiving chemotherapy.

Background: Children with cancer receiving chemotherapy commonly report a cluster of psychoneurological symptoms (PNS), including pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and cognitive dysfunction. The role of the gut microbiome and its functional metabolites in PNS is rarely studied among children with cancer. This study investigated the associations between the gut microbiome-metabolome pathways and PNS in children with cancer across chemotherapy as compared to healthy children.

Associations of differentially expressed genes with psychoneurological symptoms in patients with head and neck cancer: A longitudinal study.

Objective: Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) experience psychoneurological symptoms (PNS, i.e., depression, fatigue, sleep disturbance, pain, and cognitive dysfunction) during intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) that negatively impact their functional status, quality of life, and overall survival.

Unsupervised Hierarchical Clustering of Head and Neck Cancer Patients by Pre-Treatment Plasma Metabolomics Creates Prognostic Metabolic Subtypes.

There is growing evidence that the metabolism is deeply intertwined with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) progression and survival but little is known about circulating metabolite patterns and their clinical potential. We performed unsupervised hierarchical clustering of 209 HNSCC patients via pre-treatment plasma metabolomics to identify metabolic subtypes. We annotated the subtypes via pathway enrichment analysis and investigated their association with overall and progression-free survival.

A Pilot Study Examining the Use of Ultrasound to Measure Intravascular Volume Status in Agricultural Workers in a Field-Based Research Setting.

Objective: The aim of this pilot study was to explore if internal jugular vein (IJV) ultrasound studies on agricultural workers in a field-based research setting could assess volume status during a hydration intervention.

Methods: We performed pre- and post-work shift IJV ultrasound images on 30 agricultural workers. The IJV collapsibility index values were <39% (euvolemic) or ≥39% (hypovolemic).

Soluble TNF mediates amyloid-independent, diet-induced alterations to immune and neuronal functions in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model.

Increasing evidence indicates that neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), are a product of gene-by-environment interplay. The immune system is a major contributor mediating these interactions. Signaling between peripheral immune cells and those within the microvasculature and meninges of the central nervous system (CNS), at the blood-brain barrier, and in the gut likely plays an important role in AD.

Progranulin loss results in sex-dependent dysregulation of the peripheral and central immune system.

Introduction: Progranulin (PGRN) is a secreted glycoprotein, the expression of which is linked to several neurodegenerative diseases. Although its specific function is still unclear, several studies have linked it with lysosomal functions and immune system regulation. Here, we have explored the role of PGRN in peripheral and central immune system homeostasis by investigating the consequences of PGRN deficiency on adaptive and innate immune cell populations.

Inflammatory profiles, gut microbiome, and kidney function are impacted after high-fidelity firefighter training.

Background: Firefighters are frequently exposed to high temperatures, environmental toxicants, and strenuous physical demands. The health impacts of these occupational exposures on processes including inflammation and kidney function as well as on the gut microbiota are poorly understood. A firefighter training course may provide a controlled environment to assess these health risks.

Bacterial Butyrate in Parkinson's Disease Is Linked to Epigenetic Changes and Depressive Symptoms.

Background: The gut microbiome and its metabolites can impact brain health and are altered in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. It has been recently demonstrated that PD patients have reduced fecal levels of the potent epigenetic modulator butyrate and its bacterial producers.

Objectives: Here, we investigate whether the changes in the gut microbiome and associated metabolites are related to PD symptoms and epigenetic markers in leucocytes and neurons.

Inflammation and immune dysfunction in Parkinson disease.

Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects peripheral organs as well as the central nervous system and involves a fundamental role of neuroinflammation in its pathophysiology. Neurohistological and neuroimaging studies support the presence of ongoing and end-stage neuroinflammatory processes in PD. Moreover, numerous studies of peripheral blood and cerebrospinal fluid from patients with PD suggest alterations in markers of inflammation and immune cell populations that could initiate or exacerbate neuroinflammation and perpetuate the neurodegenerative process.

The Health Status of Hispanic Agricultural Workers in Georgia and Florida.

To examine the health status of Hispanic agricultural workers in Florida and Georgia. Health data from agricultural workers in the Farm Worker Family Health Program (June 2019) and research studies in Florida (May 2015 and May 2019) were examined. Data from 728 agricultural workers were collected through sociodemographic questionnaire and clinical data.

COVID-19 and Agricultural Workers: A Descriptive Study.

Agricultural workers, designated as "essential" at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, work in harsh labor conditions, and now have the added challenge of continuing to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess agricultural workers' COVID-19 related history, employer-based safety measures, individual preventive practices, and COVID-19 vaccination uptake. A questionnaire study was conducted among agricultural workers in Central Florida about COVID-19 during the month of June 2020 and again in July 2021.

Experimental colitis promotes sustained, sex-dependent, T-cell-associated neuroinflammation and parkinsonian neuropathology.

Background: The etiology of sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD) remains uncertain, but genetic, epidemiological, and physiological overlap between PD and inflammatory bowel disease suggests that gut inflammation could promote dysfunction of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain. Mechanisms behind this pathological gut-brain effect and their interactions with sex and with environmental factors are not well understood but may represent targets for therapeutic intervention.

Methods: We sought to identify active inflammatory mechanisms which could potentially contribute to neuroinflammation and neurological disease in colon biopsies and peripheral blood immune cells from PD patients.

Inflammation-Related Factors Identified as Biomarkers of Dehydration and Subsequent Acute Kidney Injury in Agricultural Workers.

Globally, there is increasing recognition that agricultural workers are at risk for chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKD). Recurrent heat exposure, physical exertion, dehydration, muscle damage, and inflammation are hypothesized to contribute to the development of CKD, but the relative importance of these processes and the interactions among them remain unclear. Moreover, there is a need to identify biomarkers that could distinguish individuals who are at greatest risk for kidney damage to target preventative interventions for CKD.

Relationships of gut microbiota, short-chain fatty acids, inflammation, and the gut barrier in Parkinson's disease.

Background: Previous studies have reported that gut microbiota, permeability, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and inflammation are altered in Parkinson's disease (PD), but how these factors are linked and how they contribute to disease processes and symptoms remains uncertain. This study sought to compare and identify associations among these factors in PD patients and controls to elucidate their interrelations and links to clinical manifestations of PD.

Methods: Stool and plasma samples and clinical data were collected from 55 PD patients and 56 controls.

Genetic and Environmental Factors in Parkinson's Disease Converge on Immune Function and Inflammation.

Idiopathic Parkinson's disease (iPD) is a movement disorder characterized by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons and aggregation of the protein α-synuclein. Patients with iPD vary in age of symptom onset, rate of progression, severity of motor and non-motor symptoms, and extent of central and peripheral inflammation. Genetic and environmental factors are believed to act synergistically in iPD pathogenesis.

Transgenic Mice Expressing Human α-Synuclein in Noradrenergic Neurons Develop Locus Ceruleus Pathology and Nonmotor Features of Parkinson's Disease.

Degeneration of locus ceruleus (LC) neurons and dysregulation of noradrenergic signaling are ubiquitous features of Parkinson's disease (PD). The LC is among the first brain regions affected by α-synuclein (asyn) pathology, yet how asyn affects these neurons remains unclear. LC-derived norepinephrine (NE) can stimulate neuroprotective mechanisms and modulate immune cells, while dysregulation of NE neurotransmission may exacerbate disease progression, particularly nonmotor symptoms, and contribute to the chronic neuroinflammation associated with PD pathology.

Targeting soluble tumor necrosis factor as a potential intervention to lower risk for late-onset Alzheimer's disease associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes.

Background: Insulin impairment and inflammation are two features common to type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease; however, the molecular and signaling interactions underlying this relationship are not well understood. Mounting evidence point to the associations between the disruption of metabolite processing in insulin impairment and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's. Although the brain depends partially on metabolites processed in the periphery, to date, little is known about how soluble tumor necrosis factor signaling (solTNF) impacts integrated peripheral immune and metabolic feedback signals in states of energy overload and insulin insensitivity.