Publications by authors named "O'Neil B"

Objectives: Compare functional outcomes and treatment-related regret over 10 years in Spanish- and English-speaking Hispanic men compared to non-Hispanic men following treatment of localized prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: Data from a prospective cohort study of men with localized prostate cancer treated with active surveillance, radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy were used to examine the effect of survey language (Spanish speaking vs. English speaking) and ethnicity (Hispanic vs.

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Background: Chronic pain following traumatic stress exposure (TSE) is common. Increasing evidence suggests inflammatory/immune mechanisms are induced by TSE, play a key role in the recovery process versus development of post-TSE chronic pain, and are sex specific. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) is associated with chronic pain after TSE in a sex-specific manner.

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  • This study investigates how early social support after trauma affects PTSD symptoms over time and explores specific brain regions involved in this process, such as the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex.
  • Using data from 315 participants in the AURORA study, researchers measured PTSD symptoms and perceived emotional support at multiple time points, while also conducting neuroimaging two weeks post-trauma.
  • The results show that early emotional support is linked to changes in white matter connectivity between key brain areas, but it also highlighted unexpected increased threat reactivity in the default mode network, suggesting complex neural pathways in response to social threats.
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  • - The study explored the use of wrist-wearable devices to track heart rate variability (HRV) as potential biomarkers for recovery from adverse neuropsychiatric effects following traumatic events, specifically in a socioeconomically disadvantaged group.
  • - Researchers monitored participants within 72 hours of a traumatic event and over a course of 6 months, validating HRV characteristics linked to various posttraumatic symptoms, such as pain, re-experiencing, and anxiety.
  • - The findings indicate that changes in HRV could effectively predict improvements or worsening in symptoms, suggesting that these wearable technologies could serve as useful screening tools for identifying posttraumatic stress in high-risk populations.
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  • - The study investigates sex/gender differences in PTSD by examining 16 risk factors and their impact on PTSD severity in a group of 2,924 acutely traumatized individuals.
  • - It finds that six risk factors are more prevalent in women, while none are more pronounced in men, highlighting unique pathways contributing to PTSD severity based on sex assigned at birth.
  • - The results indicate different risk mechanisms for men and women, suggesting that understanding these differences can help develop targeted mental health interventions and inform future research on other mental disorders.
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Bronchiectasis is a chronic lung condition which is characterised by recurrent chest infections, chronic sputum production and cough, and limited exercise tolerance. While bronchiectasis may be caused by various aetiologies, these features are shared by most patients with bronchiectasis regardless of the cause. This review consolidates the existing evidence on patient-managed interventions for adults with bronchiectasis, while also outlining areas for future research.

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Despite the overall desirability of men's upper body strength, women's preference for such features remains bounded to contexts in which the benefits exceed the potential costs. The relative salience of these costs could be augmented within ostensibly threatening environments, which could include one of ambient darkness. This study sought to determine whether women's interest in strong men would become downregulated in the presence of these cues.

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  • The study investigates the impact of tobacco smoking on the quality of life and function of prostate cancer survivors, highlighting the need to explore modifiable risk factors like smoking.
  • The research utilized data from the CEASAR study involving 2,426 localized prostate cancer patients, categorizing them by their smoking status and analyzing its effect on various health assessments over 5 and 10 years.
  • Results indicate that while smoking status had no significant effect on prostate cancer-specific functional outcomes, current smokers exhibited significantly worse physical functioning compared to non-smokers, underlining the negative health impacts of continued smoking during survivorship.
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  • Trauma can increase the risk of unhealthy alcohol use, and this study investigates how brain reward systems change after trauma exposure in humans.
  • The research involved 286 participants who were assessed for changes in alcohol use and brain activity through fMRI shortly after experiencing trauma.
  • Findings suggest that heightened brain activity in specific regions (like the VTA) and altered connections between brain areas may lead to increased alcohol consumption following traumatic events, indicating potential targets for early intervention.
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  • AMG 193 is a drug that targets tumor cells lacking the MTAP gene, which is deleted in approximately 10%-15% of solid tumors, and has shown promise in selectively killing these cancer cells through synthetic lethality.* -
  • The phase I clinical study involved 80 patients with advanced solid tumors, testing varying doses of AMG 193 to assess safety, tolerability, and preliminary effectiveness; common side effects included nausea, fatigue, and vomiting.* -
  • Results indicated a maximum tolerated dose of 1200 mg, with a 21.4% objective response rate observed in patients receiving effective doses, suggesting activity against multiple tumor types including lung and pancreatic cancers.*
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Background: The psychological and cardiovascular health impacts on family members of patients who have been diagnosed with cancer have not been well characterized. The purpose of this study is to determine whether a family member's cancer diagnosis influences the risk of psychological illness and cardiovascular disease in first-degree relatives and spouses of patients affected by cancer.

Methods: This retrospective cohort analysis evaluated the risk of psychological illness and cardiovascular disease in first-degree relatives and spouses of patients diagnosed with a genitourinary cancer between 1990 and 2015 compared to relatives of those not diagnosed with a genitourinary cancer.

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Importance: Research on resilience after trauma has often focused on individual-level factors (eg, ability to cope with adversity) and overlooked influential neighborhood-level factors that may help mitigate the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Objective: To investigate whether an interaction between residential greenspace and self-reported individual resources was associated with a resilient PTSD trajectory (ie, low/no symptoms) and to test if the association between greenspace and PTSD trajectory was mediated by neural reactivity to reward.

Design, Setting, And Participants: As part of a longitudinal cohort study, trauma survivors were recruited from emergency departments across the US.

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Background: Cardiac arrest is a common and devastating emergency of both the heart and brain. More than 380,000 patients suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest annually in the USA. Induced cooling of comatose patients markedly improved neurological and functional outcomes in pivotal randomized clinical trials, but the optimal duration of therapeutic hypothermia has not yet been established.

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Background: Cardiac arrest is a common and devastating emergency of both the heart and brain. More than 380,000 patients suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest annually in the United States. Induced cooling of comatose patients markedly improved neurological and functional outcomes in pivotal randomized clinical trials, but the optimal duration of therapeutic hypothermia has not yet been established.

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The neurocardiac circuit is integral to physiological regulation of threat and trauma-related responses. However, few direct investigations of brain-behavior associations with replicable physiological markers of PTSD have been conducted. The current study probed the neurocardiac circuit by examining associations among its core regions in the brain (e.

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  • FOLFIRI, a treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer, was tested using a pharmacogenomic strategy to tailor irinotecan doses based on UGT1A1 genotypes to see if it could improve progression-free survival (PFS).
  • In a study with 100 participants, results showed a median PFS of 12.5 months, which was shorter than expected, with variations in PFS based on genotype.
  • Although a tailored irinotecan strategy showed modest improvements in PFS for certain genotypes, it did not significantly change overall treatment outcomes and shouldn't replace current standard practices for first-line treatment.
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Background: Knowledge of sex differences in risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can contribute to the development of refined preventive interventions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine if women and men differ in their vulnerability to risk factors for PTSD.

Methods: As part of the longitudinal AURORA study, 2924 patients seeking emergency department (ED) treatment in the acute aftermath of trauma provided self-report assessments of pre- peri- and post-traumatic risk factors, as well as 3-month PTSD severity.

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Background: Herein, we report results from a genome-wide study conducted to identify protein quantitative trait loci (pQTL) for circulating angiogenic and inflammatory protein markers in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). The study was conducted using genotype, protein marker, and baseline clinical and demographic data from CALGB/SWOG 80405 (Alliance), a randomized phase III study designed to assess outcomes of adding VEGF or EGFR inhibitors to systemic chemotherapy in mCRC patients. Germline DNA derived from blood was genotyped on whole-genome array platforms.

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Background: Histopathological examination is adequate for the diagnosis of most cutaneous melanocytic neoplasms. However, there is a subset that is either difficult to definitively diagnose or would have diagnostic disagreement upon review by multiple dermatopathologists if a more exhaustive review was performed.

Methods: Melanocytic lesions underwent an independent, blinded diagnostic histopathological review of hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections.

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  • - A study was conducted to explore how the practice patterns of physicians in different service areas affect the rates of low-value care (LVC) for mammography and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing among older patients.
  • - Results indicated that physicians who moved from high-LVC areas to low-LVC areas significantly reduced their LVC rates, while those who remained in high or medium-LVC areas continued to provide higher LVC rates.
  • - The study highlights the potential impact of physician relocation on healthcare practices, suggesting that structural factors in service areas play a significant role in the prevalence of low-value care.
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Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use (tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis) are highly comorbid. Many factors affect this relationship, including sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics, other prior traumas, and physical health. However, few prior studies have investigated this prospectively, examining new substance use and the extent to which a wide range of factors may modify the relationship to PTSD.

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Background: Females are more likely to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than males. Impaired inhibition has been identified as a mechanism for PTSD development, but studies on potential sex differences in this neurobiological mechanism and how it relates to PTSD severity and progression are relatively rare. Here, we examined sex differences in neural activation during response inhibition and PTSD following recent trauma.

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Introduction: Obesity in prostate cancer survivors may increase mortality. Better characterization of this effect may allow better counseling on obesity as a targetable lifestyle factor to reduce mortality in prostate cancer survivors. The purpose of this study was to determine whether pre- and post-diagnostic obesity and weight change affect all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease specific mortality, and prostate cancer specific mortality in patients with nonmetastatic prostate cancer.

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This study examines the association between brain dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) and current/future posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptom severity, and the impact of sex on this relationship. By analyzing 275 participants' dFNC data obtained ~2 weeks after trauma exposure, we noted that brain dynamics of an inter-network brain state link negatively with current (r=-0.179, = 0.

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