GPR68-ATF4 signaling is a novel prosurvival pathway in glioblastoma activated by acidic extracellular microenvironment.

Background: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) stands as a formidable challenge in oncology because of its aggressive nature and severely limited treatment options. Despite decades of research, the survival rates for GBM remain effectively stagnant. A defining hallmark of GBM is a highly acidic tumor microenvironment, which is thought to activate pro-tumorigenic pathways.

Invasive Multimodality Neuromonitoring to Manage Cerebral Edema in Pediatric Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody-Associated Disease.

Background: Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) is an inflammatory disorder of the CNS with a variety of clinical manifestations, including cerebral edema.

Case Summary: A 7-year-old boy presented with headaches, nausea, and somnolence. He was found to have cerebral edema that progressed to brainstem herniation.

Dramatic Response to Anti-IL-6 Receptor Therapy in Children With Life-Threatening Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein-Associated Disease.

Objectives: Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) is an immune-mediated neuroinflammatory disorder leading to demyelination of the CNS. Interleukin (IL)-6 receptor blockade is under study in relapsing MOGAD as a preventative strategy, but little is known about the role of such treatment for acute MOGAD attacks.

Methods: We discuss the cases of a 7-year-old boy and a 15-year-old adolescent boy with severe acute CNS demyelination and malignant cerebral edema with early brain herniation associated with clearly positive serum titers of MOG-IgG, whose symptoms were incompletely responsive to standard acute therapies (high-dose steroids, IV immunoglobulins (IVIGs), and therapeutic plasma exchange).

Expression of LIM domain-binding 3 (LDB3), a striated muscle Z-band alternatively spliced PDZ-motif protein in the nervous system.

LIM domain-binding 3 (LDB3) is a member of the Enigma family of PDZ-LIM proteins. LDB3 has been reported as a striated muscle-specific Z-band alternatively spliced protein that plays an important role in mechanosensory actin cytoskeleton remodeling. This study shows that LDB3 is broadly expressed in the central and peripheral nervous system of human and mouse.

Well Water and Parkinson's Disease in Medicare Beneficiaries: A Nationwide Case-Control Study.

Background: Well water frequently is considered a risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD), but few studies were designed appropriately to test whether geographic factors affect PD risk.

Objective: To determine the risk of PD in relation to residential use of private well water.

Methods: In a nationwide, population-based case-control study, we identified all incident PD cases (N = 89,790) and all comparable controls (N = 21,549,400) age 66-90 who solely relied on Medicare coverage in the U.

Global public health impact of recovered supplies from operating rooms: a critical analysis with national implications.

Background: In modern operating rooms, clean and unused medical supplies are routinely discarded and can be effectively recovered and redistributed abroad to alleviate the environmental burden of donor hospitals and to generate substantial health benefits at resource-poor recipient institutions.

Methods: We established a recovery and donation program to collect clean and unused supplies for healthcare institutions in developing nations. We analyzed items donated over a 3-year period (September 2010-November 2013) by quantity and weight, and estimated the projected value of the program under potential nationwide participation.

NCCN roundtable: talking to children about cancer.

A roundtable presentation at the NCCN 19th Annual Conference focused on the child's experience when a parent has cancer and concluded that honest communication, appropriate to the child's age and temperament, is essential, and that oncology providers should institute programs that help families deal with the illness.