Direct-to-participant recruitment of mothers and infants: A strategic approach during challenging pandemic times.

Under traditional circumstances, most clinical trials rely on in-person operations to identify, recruit, and enroll study participants and to complete study-related visits. During unusual circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the typical clinical trial model is challenged and forced to explore alternative approaches to implementing study recruitment, participant enrollment, and data collection strategies. One such alternative is a direct-to-participant approach which leverages electronic resources and relevant technological devices (, smart phones) available to researchers and patients.

Cardiovascular Disease-Related Pregnancy Complications Are Associated with Increased Maternal Levels and Trajectories of Cardiovascular Disease Biomarkers During and After Pregnancy.

Having a pregnancy complicated by hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and/or having a small or preterm baby put a woman at risk for later cardiovascular disease (CVD). It is uncertain if higher maternal CVD risk factors (reflected by increased peripartum CVD biomarker levels) account for this risk, or if experiencing a complicated pregnancy itself increases a woman's CVD risk (reflected by an increase in biomarker trajectories from early pregnancy to postpartum). We conducted a secondary analysis of an 8-week mindful eating and stress reduction intervention in 110 pregnant women.

Brain metastases from renal cell carcinoma in the era of tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

Background: The effectiveness of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) in preventing brain metastases in patients with renal cell carcinoma is unclear.

Methods: Preclinical studies were conducted to determine the steady-state brain and plasma concentrations of sorafenib and sunitinib in mice deficient in the drug efflux transporters; p-glycoprotein, and breast cancer resistance protein. A single-institution retrospective analysis of patients treated from 2008 to 2010 was conducted to assess the incidence of brain metastases before and during TKI treatment.