Provider Factors Likely to Impact Access and Uptake of Long-Acting Injectable Cabotegravir for Transgender Women in the United States: Results of a Qualitative Study.

Long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) was US Food and Drug Administration-approved in 2021. However, little is known about providers' CAB-LA knowledge, attitudes, challenges, and prescribing preferences for transgender women patients. Understanding this is critical to developing new pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) interventions tailored to transgender women.

Improving Recruitment and Retention of Transgender Women in HIV Prevention Trials: Strategies to Make Trial Participation More Congruent with the Needs of Transgender Women.

Transgender women are disproportionately burdened by HIV. Though there is a substantial body of research exploring barriers and facilitators of HIV prevention among transgender women, many barriers remain unaddressed. This study identifies strategies to make HIV prevention trials more congruent with transgender women's preferences and needs to boost trial participation and ultimately enhance initiation and uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

Large-Volume Intrathecal Administrations: Impact on CSF Pressure and Safety Implications.

The increasing number of studies demonstrates the high potency of the intrathecal (IT) route for the delivery of biopharmaceuticals to the central nervous system (CNS). Our earlier data exhibited that both the infused volume and the infusion rate can regulate the initial disposition of the administered solute within the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This disposition is one of key factors in defining the subsequent transport of the solute to its intended target.

Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of F-Labeled Monoacylglycerol Lipase Inhibitors as Novel Positron Emission Tomography Probes.

Dysfunction of monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) is associated with several psychopathological disorders, including drug addiction and neurodegenerative diseases. Herein we design, synthesize, and evaluate several irreversible fluorine-containing MAGL inhibitors for positron emission tomography (PET) ligand development. Compound (identified from a therapeutic agent) was advanced for F-labeling via a novel spirocyclic iodonium ylide (SCIDY) strategy, which demonstrated high brain permeability and excellent specific binding.

The Configuration of the Perivascular System Transporting Macromolecules in the CNS.

Large blood vessels entering the CNS are surrounded by perivascular spaces that communicate with the cerebrospinal fluid and, at their termini, with the interstitial space. Solutes and particles can translocate along these perivascular conduits, reportedly in both directions. Recently, this prompted a renewed interest in the intrathecal therapy delivery route for CNS-targeted therapeutics.

Synthesis and Preliminary Evaluations of a Triazole-Cored Antagonist as a PET Imaging Probe ([F]N2B-0518) for GluN2B Subunit in the Brain.

GluN2B is the most studied subunit of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) and implicated in the pathologies of various central nervous system disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. As pan NMDAR antagonists often produce debilitating side effects, new approaches in drug discovery have shifted to subtype-selective NMDAR modulators, especially GluN2B-selective antagonists. While positron emission tomography (PET) studies of GluN2B-selective NMDARs in the living brain would enable target engagement in drug development and improve our understanding in the NMDAR signaling pathways between normal and disease conditions, a suitable PET ligand is yet to be identified.