RH5 antigenic landscape shapes vaccine and antibody development.

The essential interaction between Plasmodium falciparum reticulocyte-binding protein homolog 5 (RH5) and basigin makes RH5 a prime target for broadly neutralizing antibodies. A recent study by Barrett et al. mapped the RH5 antigenic landscape from RH5.

Prevalence, risk factors, and impact of anxiety in early Alzheimer disease: a retrospective study of an autopsy-confirmed cohort.

Anxiety is a neuropsychiatric symptom (NPS) of Alzheimer disease (AD) patients which has been studied primarily in prospective and retrospective studies of clinically diagnosed AD. However, this can be confounded by other primary etiologies. Moreover, anxiety has not been comprehensively studied in autopsy-confirmed AD cases across subjective cognitive decline (SCD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia stages.

Burden and predictors of thirty-day readmission in patients with NSTEMI: a retrospective analysis of the 2020 NRD database.

Background: Non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) is an entity which was defined as a type of a coronary syndrome with positive cardiac biomarker of myocardial necrosis with no ST-segment elevation in ECG. Currently, the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS) Hospital readmission reduction program assistance risk-adjusted 30-day readmission rates for five major clinical entities which includes acute myocardial infarction.

Methods: We performed this retrospective study to look into the current burden and predictors of NSTEMI readmission.

Optimizing Implementation of the Neonatal Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Guideline.

Introduction: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS®) protocols require multidisciplinary team engagement from healthcare professionals (HCPs), where limited studies exist on neonatal ERAS®protocols. Therefore, we aimed to capture perceptions of HCPs on facilitation and implementation of the neonatal ERAS®guideline.

Methods: 10 neonates were recruited.

RBD design increases the functional antibody titers elicited by SARS-CoV-2 spike vaccination.

Most COVID-19 vaccines contain the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein as an antigen, but they lose efficacy as neutralizing antibody titers wane and escape variants emerge. Modifying the spike antigen to increase neutralizing antibody titers would help counteract this decrease in titer. We previously used a structure-based computational design method to identify nine amino acid changes in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of spike that stabilize the RBD and increase the neutralizing antibody titers elicited by vaccination.

Hypertensive Emergency During Dialysis: A Paradoxical Physiologic Response.

Most end-stage renal disease patients experience a reduction in blood pressure during their hemodialysis session compared to predialysis. Surprisingly, a small subset of patients will experience an unusual physiological response to dialysis that results in a paradoxical increase in blood pressure. We discuss a case that involved an exaggerated elevation in blood pressure, ultimately requiring immediate cessation of dialysis and admission to the intensive care unit for intravenous treatment of a hypertensive emergency.

Evaluating the Cost Burden of Alopecia Areata Treatment: A Comprehensive Review for Dermatologists.

Alopecia areata (AA) is managed with prolonged medical treatments and cosmetic therapies, whose cost can be burdensome. We sought to identify the costs of AA treatment and consolidate the available data for the practicing dermatologist by performing a PubMed search of articles indexed for MEDLINE. Ten studies including approximately 16,000 patients with AA across a range of Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine Levels of Evidence were included.

Apparent Dengue Fever Turned Out to be Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis.

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is an extremely uncommon hematologic condition that is potentially fatal. It is a disease of histiocyte or lymphocyte hyperactivity, which can be inherited (primary) or acquired (secondary). Dengue fever and HLH both can present with fever, lethargy, and a blood profile of pancytopenia, which makes it difficult to diagnose HLH promptly in a region with dengue endemicity.

Effect of the presence of pinned particles on the structural parameters of a liquid and correlation between structure and dynamics at the local level.

Pinning particles at the equilibrium configuration of the liquid is expected not to affect the structure and any property that depends on the structure while slowing down the dynamics. This leads to a breakdown of the structure dynamics correlation. Here, we calculate two structural quantities: the pair excess entropy, S2, and the mean field caging potential, the inverse of which is our structural order parameter (SOP).

Risk of COVID-19 Hospitalization and Protection Associated With mRNA Vaccination Among US Adults With Psychiatric Disorders.

Background: Although psychiatric disorders have been associated with reduced immune responses to other vaccines, it remains unknown whether they influence COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE). This study evaluated risk of COVID-19 hospitalization and estimated mRNA VE stratified by psychiatric disorder status.

Methods: In a retrospective cohort analysis of the VISION Network in four US states, the rate of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19-associated hospitalization between December 2021 and August 2022 was compared across psychiatric diagnoses and by monovalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccination status using Cox proportional hazards regression.

Delays in Cervical Cancer Treatment Initiation for Patients Living With or Without HIV in Botswana: An Observational Cohort Analysis (2015-2019).

Purpose: To assess delays in treatment initiation of chemoradiation or radiation alone for patients with advanced stage cervical cancer in Botswana.

Methods And Materials: Females with locally advanced cervical cancer (stages IB2-IVB) were prospectively enrolled in an observational cohort study from 2015 to 2019. We evaluated delays at 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 or greater days between the date of diagnosis and treatment initiation.

Oncologic and Functional Outcomes After Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for High-Grade Malignant Spinal Cord Compression.

Purpose: Although surgical decompression is the gold standard for metastatic epidural spinal cord compression (MESCC) from solid tumors, not all patients are candidates or undergo successful surgical Bilsky downgrading. We report oncologic and functional outcomes for patients treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) to high-grade MESCC.

Methods And Materials: Patients with Bilsky grade 2 to 3 MESCC from solid tumor metastases treated with SBRT at a single institution from 2009 to 2020 were retrospectively reviewed.

Cardiac Catheterization and Outcomes for Elderly Patients Hospitalized With Heart Failure.

Background: Heart failure affects over 6 million people in the United States (US) with limited evidence to support the use of cardiac catheterization. The benefit of its use remains mostly as expert opinion. This study intends to assess the benefits and risks of cardiac catheterization in elderly patients admitted for heart failure.

Elevated Mortality Rate in Patients With Functional Seizures After Diagnosis and Referral.

Background And Objectives: To evaluate the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of patients in the United States referred to a multidisciplinary clinic for treatment of functional seizures.

Methods: We identified patients who had or had not died based on automated retrospective review of electronic health records from a registry of patients referred to a single-center multidisciplinary functional seizures treatment clinic. We calculated an SMR by comparing the number of observed deaths with the expected number of deaths in an age-matched, sex-matched, and race-matched population within the same state, and year records were available.

Expanding the Catalog of Patient and Caregiver Out-of-Pocket Costs: A Systematic Literature Review.

Out-of-pocket (OOP) health care expenditures in the United States have increased significantly in the past 5 decades. Most research on OOP costs focuses on expenditures related to insurance and cost-sharing payments or on costs related to specific conditions or settings, and does not capture the full picture of the financial burden on patients and unpaid caregivers. The aim for this systematic literature review was to identify and categorize the multitude of OOP costs to patients and unpaid caregivers, aid in the development of a more comprehensive catalog of OOP costs, and highlight potential gaps in the literature.

Vaccine Effectiveness Against SARS-CoV-2 Related Hospitalizations in People who had Experienced Homelessness or Incarceration - Findings from the Minnesota EHR Consortium.

COVID-19 disproportionately affects people experiencing homelessness or incarceration. While homelessness or incarceration alone may not impact vaccine effectiveness, medical comorbidities along with social conditions associated with homelessness or incarceration may impact estimated vaccine effectiveness. COVID-19 vaccines reduce rates of hospitalization and death; vaccine effectiveness (VE) against severe outcomes in people experiencing homelessness or incarceration is unknown.

Impact of socioeconomic status and chemotherapy on neurocognitive performance in children with brain tumors.

Background: Although the relationship between radiation and neurocognition has been extensively studied in the pediatric brain tumor population, it is increasingly recognized that neurocognitive impairment is multifactorial. Therefore, we quantified the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) and chemotherapy on neurocognitive impairment and decline post-treatment.

Methods: Eligible patients included those diagnosed with a brain tumor at < 22 years of age with ≥1 neurocognitive assessment.

Development of A Standardized Opsonophagocytosis Killing Assay for Group B and Assessment in an Interlaboratory Study.

The placental transfer of antibodies that mediate bacterial clearance via phagocytes is likely important for protection against invasive group B (GBS) disease. A robust functional assay is essential to determine the immune correlates of protection and assist vaccine development. Using standard reagents, we developed and optimized an opsonophagocytic killing assay (OPKA) where dilutions of test sera were incubated with bacteria, baby rabbit complement (BRC) and differentiated HL60 cells (dHL60) for 30 min.