Publications by authors named "Mary Nakamura"

Article Synopsis
  • High prevalence of depression and anxiety in pregnancy leads to the use of Kalanchoe pinnata (KP) in traditional medicine, but its effects on offspring and underlying mechanisms remain unclear.
  • The study utilized integrated systems toxicology to assess the impact of KP leaf extracts on zebrafish larvae, noting behavioral changes and genetic responses to chronic exposure.
  • Findings indicate that KPL can cause developmental delays and alter locomotion-related behaviors, alongside significant gene down-regulation affecting critical biological functions, raising concerns about its medicinal use without thorough safety evaluations.
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  • This study focused on managing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by analyzing blood cells from patients and healthy individuals to identify specific cell types and their roles in disease activity.
  • Researchers discovered 18 distinct types of immune cells, noting that patients with more severe RA had an increase in certain T cells, while those in remission showed fewer nonclassical monocytes.
  • The study also highlighted key gene expressions related to inflammation and disease, providing insights into the complex biological processes that contribute to RA's variability in severity.
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Fracture healing complications increase with age, with higher rates of delayed unions and nonunions and an associated increase in morbidity and mortality in older adults. Macrophages have a dynamic role in fracture healing, and we have previously demonstrated that age-related changes in macrophages are associated with attenuated fracture repair in old mice. Here, we provide a single cell characterization of the immune cells involved in the early phase of fracture healing.

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Background: Improving shared decision-making using a treat-to-target approach, including the use of clinical outcome measures, is important to providing high quality care for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We developed an Electronic Health Record (EHR) integrated, patient-facing sidecar dashboard application that displays RA outcomes, medications, and lab results for use during clinical visits ("RA PRO dashboard"). The purpose of this study was to assess clinician perceptions and experiences using the dashboard in a university rheumatology clinic.

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Objective: We undertook this study to estimate changes in cell-specific DNA methylation (DNAm) associated with methotrexate (MTX) response using whole blood samples collected from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients before and after initiation of MTX treatment.

Methods: Patients included in this study were from the Rheumatoid Arthritis Medication Study (n = 66) and the University of California San Francisco Rheumatoid Arthritis study (n = 11). All patients met the American College of Rheumatology RA classification criteria.

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Article Synopsis
  • Lateral flow assays (LFA) effectively detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 proteins shortly after infection, and this study evaluated their performance in both immunocompetent adults and those with chronic inflammatory diseases post-vaccination.
  • Results showed that LFA identified anti-S antibodies in 100% of immunocompetent participants and 87.3% of chronic inflammatory disease participants, with lower scores in immunosuppressed individuals.
  • The study concludes that LFA presents a practical, low-resource method for antibody detection, making it valuable for outpatient settings compared to traditional laboratory analyses.
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Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the consumption of ultra-processed foods by Brazilian pregnant women and its association with the nutritional quality of the diet.

Methods: This is a prospective and cross-sectional study with food consumption data of Brazilian pregnant women from the 2017 to 2018 Family Budgets Survey (Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares). Food consumption was measured using two 24-h food recalls, and the foods were categorized according to the NOVA classification.

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Objective: Immunocompromised patients with chronic inflammatory disease (CID) may have experienced additional psychosocial burden during the COVID-19 pandemic due to their immunocompromised status. This study was undertaken to determine if vaccination would result in improved patient-reported outcomes longitudinally among individuals with CID undergoing SARS-CoV-2 vaccination regardless of baseline anxiety.

Methods: Data are from a cohort of individuals with CID from 2 sites who underwent SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.

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Older adults suffer more bone fractures with higher rates of healing complications and increased risk of morbidity and mortality. An improved understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanism of fracture healing and how such processes are perturbed with increasing age may allow for better treatment options to manage fractures in older adults. Macrophages are attractive therapeutics due to their role in several phases of fracture healing.

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Objective: While general population studies have shown inverse associations between physical activity and common inflammatory biomarkers, the effects of physical activity on inflammatory gene expression and signaling pathways in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remain unknown. We aimed to determine whether physical activity independently associates with expression of inflammatory genes among people with RA.

Methods: This was a prospective observational study of adults with RA.

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Objective: Little is known regarding the reactogenicity and related SARS-CoV-2 vaccine response in patients with chronic inflammatory disease (CID). Our objective was to characterize the adverse event profile of CID patients following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and understand the relationship between reactogenicity and immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.

Methods: CID patients and healthy controls eligible to receive messenger RNA (mRNA) SARS-CoV-2 vaccines participated in 3 study visits (pre-vaccine, after dose 1, and after dose 2) in which blood and clinical data were collected.

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In traumatic brain injury (TBI), a diversity of brain resident and peripherally derived myeloid cells have the potential to worsen damage and/or to assist in healing. We define the heterogeneity of microglia and macrophage phenotypes during TBI in wild-type (WT) mice and Ccr2 mice, which lack macrophage influx following TBI and are resistant to brain damage. We use unbiased single-cell RNA sequencing methods to uncover 25 microglia, monocyte/macrophage, and dendritic cell subsets in acute TBI and normal brains.

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Background: Patients with chronic inflammatory disease (CID) treated with immunosuppressive medications have increased risk for severe COVID-19. Although mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccination provides protection in immunocompetent persons, immunogenicity in immunosuppressed patients with CID is unclear.

Objective: To determine the immunogenicity of mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in patients with CID.

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Macrophages play crucial roles in many human disease processes. However, obtaining large numbers of primary cells for study is often difficult. We describe 2D and 3D methods for directing human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) into macrophages (iMACs).

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Introduction: Bryophyllum pinnatum is widely used in folk medicine. It has neuropharmacological, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, and nephroprotective effects, among others. It also acts on uterine contractility.

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Objective: To develop updated guidelines for the pharmacologic management of rheumatoid arthritis.

Methods: We developed clinically relevant population, intervention, comparator, and outcomes (PICO) questions. After conducting a systematic literature review, the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was used to rate the certainty of evidence.

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Objective: To develop updated guidelines for the pharmacologic management of rheumatoid arthritis.

Methods: We developed clinically relevant population, intervention, comparator, and outcomes (PICO) questions. After conducting a systematic literature review, the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was used to rate the certainty of evidence.

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Monocytes are crucial regulators of inflammation, and are characterized by three distinct subsets in humans, of which classical and non-classical are the most abundant. Different subsets carry out different functions and have been previously associated with multiple inflammatory conditions. Dissecting the contribution of different monocyte subsets to disease is currently limited by samples and cohorts, often resulting in underpowered studies and poor reproducibility.

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Background: Individuals with chronic inflammatory diseases (CID) are frequently treated with immunosuppressive medications that can increase their risk of severe COVID-19. While novel mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccination platforms provide robust protection in immunocompetent individuals, the immunogenicity in CID patients on immunosuppression is not well established. Therefore, determining the effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in the setting of immunosuppression is essential to risk-stratify CID patients with impaired protection and provide clinical guidance regarding medication management.

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Introduction: Pregnancy is a physiological event that can lead to a decrease in quality of life. Symptoms within this period lack riskless treatment options. However, the anthroposophical integrative view points out the stimulation of vital energy recuperation as a possible inducer of changes in health perception for pregnant women.

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Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophin that mediates pain sensitization in pathologic states, including osteoarthritis. In clinical trials, antibodies to NGF reduce pain and improve physical function due to osteoarthritis of the knee or hip and have a long duration of action. Rapidly progressive osteoarthritis is a dose-dependent adverse event with these agents, and additional joint safety signals, such as subchondral insufficiency fractures and increased rates of total joint replacement, are reported.

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Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate women's satisfaction with vaginal birth in a public hospital in São Paulo, Brazil.

Methods: A total of 372 low-risk postpartum women were interviewed. Maternal satisfaction was measured by the Mackey Childbirth Satisfaction Rating Scale (MCSRS), validated to Brazilian Portuguese.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pulmonary ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) leads to acute lung injury post-lung transplantation, with NK cells playing a significant but unclear role in the process.
  • Research showed that NK cells increased in number and activity in mouse models of IRI, migrating to lung tissue and becoming more mature after injury.
  • Depleting NK cells reduced lung injury severity, and similar patterns were observed in human patients, suggesting that targeting NK cells might offer new therapeutic options for acute lung injury.
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