Publications by authors named "Niroula A"

Article Synopsis
  • Researchers studied plasma proteomic profiles linked to subclinical mutations in blood cells, particularly focusing on clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) and its connection to various health outcomes, including coronary artery disease (CAD).
  • The study involved a large, diverse group of participants and identified a significant number of unique proteins associated with key driver genes, showing differences based on genetics, sex, and race.
  • Methods like Mendelian randomization and mouse model tests helped clarify the causal effects of these proteins, revealing shared plasma proteins between CHIP and CAD that could inform future clinical insights.
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  • Immunoglobulin G (IgG) is the primary type of antibody in human blood and exists in four subclasses (IgG1 to IgG4), which are influenced by specific genes.
  • A genome-wide association study involving 4,334 adults and 4,571 children identified ten new variants and confirmed four known variants linked to IgG subclass levels, affecting conditions like asthma and autoimmune diseases.
  • Significant links were found between certain genetic allotypes and specific IgG subclasses, with notable findings showing that lower IgG4 levels can both protect against childhood asthma and increase the risk of inflammatory bowel disease.
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Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) is linked to diverse aging-related diseases, including hematologic malignancy and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). While CHIP is common among older adults, the underlying factors driving its development are largely unknown. To address this, we performed whole-exome sequencing on 8,374 blood DNA samples collected from 4,187 Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC) participants over a median follow-up of 21 years.

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Background And Aims: Somatic mutations in the TET2 gene that lead to clonal haematopoiesis (CH) are associated with accelerated atherosclerosis development in mice and a higher risk of atherosclerotic disease in humans. Mechanistically, these observations have been linked to exacerbated vascular inflammation. This study aimed to evaluate whether colchicine, a widely available and inexpensive anti-inflammatory drug, prevents the accelerated atherosclerosis associated with TET2-mutant CH.

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  • Multiple myeloma (MM) is a type of cancer affecting plasma cells, with a significant genetic component that is not fully understood.
  • A large genome-wide study identified 35 risk loci related to MM, including 12 new ones, and revealed two main inherited risk factors: longer telomeres and higher levels of B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) and interleukin-5 receptor alpha (IL5RA) in the blood.
  • The genetic variant rs34562254-A increases the risk of MM by enhancing B-cell responses, contrasting with loss-of-function variants in TNFRSF13B that lead to B-cell immunodeficiency.
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Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is common among older individuals, but provoking factors are not identified in many cases. Patients with myeloid malignancies, especially myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), are at increased risk for venous thrombosis. Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), a precursor state to myeloid malignancies, is common among older individuals and may similarly predispose to venous thrombosis.

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  • Tracheostomy-related acquired pressure injuries (TRPIs) are common hospital-acquired conditions, and the study investigates whether daily switching of ventilator circuit load can reduce these injuries post-tracheostomy.
  • Conducted at Emory University, the quality improvement study involved 99 patients and compared results between those receiving the FLIC protocol and standard care, revealing a significant decrease in TRPI rates among the intervention group.
  • The findings suggest that implementing the FLIC protocol alongside standard care can lead to lower incidence rates of TRPIs, emphasizing the need for better management practices after tracheostomy procedures.
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Importance: Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) may contribute to the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) through its association with inflammation and cardiac remodeling.

Objective: To determine whether CHIP was associated with AF, inflammatory and cardiac biomarkers, and cardiac structural changes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This was a population-based, prospective cohort study in participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study and UK Biobank (UKB) cohort.

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Background: Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), a common age-associated phenomenon, associates with increased risk of both hematological malignancy and cardiovascular disease. Although CHIP is known to increase the risk of myocardial infarction and heart failure, the influence of CHIP in cardiac arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation (AF), is less explored.

Methods: CHIP prevalence was determined in the UK Biobank, and incident AF analysis was stratified by CHIP status and clone size using Cox proportional hazard models.

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Hypothesis: Secondary drops (SDs) generated when falling drops impact a same-liquid bath can potentially generate antibubbles. Different mechanisms of antibubble formation can be identified and their size and formation probability (P) can be predicted.

Experiments: Surfactant solutions were dropped from various heights using a highly stable pulseless microfluidic pump in a same-liquid bath.

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Unlabelled: Paraquat emerges as a formidable medical dilemma in Southeast Asia, its toxic effects attributed to the generation of free radicals and oxidative stress, with a specific predilection for diverse tissues, most notably the lungs. The scarcity of effective treatment modalities in resource-constrained settings magnifies the magnitude of the paraquat poisoning predicament. This report outlines the successful management of a 25-year-old man who ingested a lethal dose of paraquat.

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Importance: Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) with acquired pathogenic variants in myeloid leukemia driver genes is common in older adults but of unknown prognostic value.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of CH and the utility of the CH risk score (CHRS) in estimating all-cause and disease-specific mortality in older adults with CH.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based prospective cohort study involved community-dwelling older adults (aged 67-90 years) without hematologic malignant neoplasms (HMs) who were participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Visit 5 at 4 US centers: Forsyth County, North Carolina; Jackson, Mississippi; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Washington County, Maryland.

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Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), the clonal expansion of myeloid cells with leukemogenic mutations, results in increased coronary artery disease (CAD) risk. CHIP is more prevalent among people with HIV (PWH), but the risk factors are unknown. CHIP was identified among PWH in REPRIEVE (Randomized Trial to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV) using whole-exome sequencing.

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Background And Aims: Clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), the age-related expansion of blood cells with preleukemic mutations, is associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and heart failure. This study aimed to test the association of CHIP with new-onset arrhythmias.

Methods: UK Biobank participants without prevalent arrhythmias were included.

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Objective: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is an age-related vasculitis. Prior studies have identified an association between GCA and hematologic malignancies (HMs). How the presence of somatic mutations that drive the development of HMs, or clonal hematopoiesis (CH), may influence clinical outcomes in GCA is not well understood.

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Article Synopsis
  • Somatic mutations accumulate in cells as they age, leading to clonal expansion, especially in hematopoietic cells, where certain gene mutations increase the likelihood of clonal hematopoiesis (CH).
  • The study focuses on SRCAP mutations in hematopoietic stem cells, which enhance their survival and proliferation, particularly after chemotherapy treatment with doxorubicin.
  • SRCAP is linked to DNA repair and chromatin remodeling, and its mutations promote a specific expansion of lymphoid cells by altering how DNA is repaired and how certain histones are regulated.
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Purpose Of Review: Appropriate staging is of utmost importance in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as the pathologic stage dictates both overall prognosis and appropriate therapeutic pathways. This article seeks to review the current recommendations for mediastinal staging of NSCLC and available modalities to achieve this. Landmark publications pertaining to recent advancements in NSCLC treatments are also highlighted and the role of specific bronchoscopic modalities for tissue acquisition are reviewed.

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Clonal hematopoiesis (CH), characterized by blood cells predominantly originating from a single mutated hematopoietic stem cell, is linked to diverse aging-related diseases, including hematologic malignancy and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). While CH is common among older adults, the underlying factors driving its development are largely unknown. To address this, we performed whole-exome sequencing on 8,374 blood DNA samples collected from 4,187 Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC) participants over a median follow-up of 21 years.

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Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) enable hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) through their ability to replenish the entire blood system. Proliferation of HSCs is linked to decreased reconstitution potential, and a precise regulation of actively dividing HSCs is thus essential to ensure long-term functionality. This regulation becomes important in the transplantation setting where HSCs undergo proliferation followed by a gradual transition to quiescence and homeostasis.

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Background: Producing scholarship in education is essential to the career development of a clinician-educator. Challenges to scholarly production include a lack of resources, time, expertise, and collaborators.

Objective: To develop communities of practice for education scholarship through an international society to increase community and academic productivity.

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Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), putatively via inflammasome activation. We pursued an inflammatory gene modifier scan for CHIP-associated CVD risk among 424,651 UK Biobank participants. We identified CHIP using whole-exome sequencing data of blood DNA and modeled as a composite, considering all driver genes together, as well as separately for common drivers (DNMT3A, TET2, ASXL1, and JAK2).

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Article Synopsis
  • Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) and clonal cytopenia of undetermined significance (CCUS) are conditions characterized by genetic mutations linked to blood cancers, with CHIP being more common in healthy adults while CCUS involves low blood cell counts.
  • Researchers analyzed genetic data from nearly 440,000 participants to identify factors that predict progression to myeloid neoplasms (MN), leading to the development of a clonal hematopoiesis risk score (CHRS).
  • The CHRS effectively categorizes patients into low, intermediate, and high-risk groups, showing that most complications from MN occur within the high-risk category, thus aiding in better clinical management and understanding the conditions.
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Introduction: Cholecystectomy refers to the surgical removal of the gallbladder. It is indicated in acute cholecystitis, and other complications of gallstones like cholecystitis, pancreatitis and bile duct obstruction, the presence of gallbladder trauma, and gallbladder cancer. The aim of this study was to find out the prevalence of cholecystectomy among patients admitted to the Department of Surgery in a tertiary care centre.

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