Characterization of brain development with neuroimaging in a female mouse model of chemotherapy treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Background: Survivors of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) exhibit abnormal neurocognitive outcomes that are possibly due to exposures to neurotoxic chemotherapy agents. This study aimed to determine the feasibility of characterizing long-term neuroanatomical changes with neuroimaging in a preclinical model of treatment for ALL.

Methods: Female mice (C57BL/6) were randomly assigned to a saline control group (n=10) or a treatment group (n=10) that received intrathecal methotrexate and oral dexamethasone (IT-MTX + DEX).

Subsequent kidney transplant after pediatric heart transplant: Prevalence and risk factors.

Pediatric heart failure and transplantation carry associated risks for kidney failure and potential need for kidney transplant following pediatric heart transplantation (KT/pHT). This retrospective, United Network of Organ Sharing study of 10,030 pediatric heart transplants (pHTs) from 1987 to 2020 aimed to determine the incidence of waitlisting for and completion of KT/pHT, risk factors for KT/pHT, and risk factors for nonreceipt of a KT/pHT. Among pHT recipients, 3.

Risk factors for neurocognitive impairment, emotional distress, and poor quality of life in survivors of pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma: A report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

Background: Prevalence and risk of poor psychological outcomes following rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) are not well-established.

Methods: Participants in this cross-sectional, case-control study (n = 713 survivors, 42.5% female; mean [SD] age, 30.

Understanding the impact of pediatric kidney transplantation on cognition: A review of the literature.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a relatively rare childhood disease that is associated with a wide array of medical comorbidities. Roughly half of all pediatric patients acquire CKD due to congenital anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract, and of those with congenital disease, 50% will progress to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) necessitating a kidney transplantation. The medical sequelae of advanced CKD/ESKD improve dramatically following successful kidney transplantation; however, the impact of kidney transplantation on neurocognition in children is less clear.

Genetic variants, neurocognitive outcomes, and functional neuroimaging in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Background: Genetic predispositions may modulate risk for developing neurocognitive late effects in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivors.

Methods: Long-term ALL survivors (n = 212; mean = 14.3 [SD = 4.

Neurocognitive deficits may not resolve following pediatric kidney transplantation.

Background: Pediatric chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients are at risk for cognitive deficits with worsening disease progression. Limited, existing cross-sectional studies suggest that cognitive deficits may improve following kidney transplantation. We sought to assess cognitive performance in relationship to kidney transplantation and kidney-specific medical variables in a sample of pediatric kidney transplant patients who provided cross-sectional and longitudinal observations.

Decision-making in autism: A narrative review.

Many autistic people report difficulties with real-life decision-making. However, when doing decision-making tests in laboratory experiments, autistic people often perform as well or better than non-autistic people. We review previously published studies on autistic people's decision-making, across different types of tests, to understand what type of decision-making is more challenging.

Assisted annotation in Deep LOGISMOS: Simultaneous multi-compartment 3D MRI segmentation of calf muscles.

Background: Automated segmentation of individual calf muscle compartments in 3D MR images is gaining importance in diagnosing muscle disease, monitoring its progression, and prediction of the disease course. Although deep convolutional neural networks have ushered in a revolution in medical image segmentation, achieving clinically acceptable results is a challenging task and the availability of sufficiently large annotated datasets still limits their applicability.

Purpose: In this paper, we present a novel approach combing deep learning and graph optimization in the paradigm of assisted annotation for solving general segmentation problems in 3D, 4D, and generally n-D with limited annotation cost.

A computational account of how individuals resolve the dilemma of dirty money.

Money can be tainted when it is associated with direct or indirect harm to others. Deciding whether to accept "dirty money" poses a dilemma because money can be used to help others, but accepting dirty money has moral costs. How people resolve the dilemma of dirty money remains unknown.

Longitudinal Clinical and Biological Characteristics in Juvenile-Onset Huntington's Disease.

Background: Juvenile-onset Huntington's disease (JOHD) is a rare form of Huntington's disease (HD) characterized by symptom onset before the age of 21 years. Observational data in this cohort is lacking.

Objectives: Quantify measures of disease progression for use in clinical trials of patients with JOHD.

Identifying cultural differences in metacognition.

Some aspects of human metacognition, such as the ability to consciously evaluate our beliefs and decisions, are hypothesized to be culturally acquired. However, direct evidence for this claim is lacking. As an initial step toward answering this question, here we examine differences in metacognitive performance between populations matched for occupation (students), income, demographics and general intelligence but drawn from 2 distinct cultural milieus (Beijing, China and London, U.

Characterizing Early Changes in Quality of Life in Young Women With Breast Cancer.

Introduction: Younger age at diagnosis is a risk factor for poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in long-term breast cancer survivors. However, few studies have specifically addressed HRQOL in young adults with breast cancer (i.e.

Behavioral features in child and adolescent huntingtin gene-mutation carriers.

Introduction: We compared neuropsychiatric symptoms between child and adolescent huntingtin gene-mutation carriers and noncarriers. Given previous evidence of atypical striatal development in carriers, we also assessed the relationship between neuropsychiatric traits and striatal development.

Methods: Participants between 6 and 18 years old were recruited from families affected by Huntington's disease and tested for the huntingtin gene expansion.

Sex-Based Differences in Functional Brain Activity During Working Memory in Survivors of Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Background: Long-term survivors of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia are at elevated risk for neurocognitive deficits and corresponding brain dysfunction. This study examined sex-based differences in functional neuroimaging outcomes in acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivors treated with chemotherapy alone.

Methods: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and neurocognitive testing were obtained in 123 survivors (46% male; median [min-max] age = 14.

Neurofilament Light Protein as a Potential Blood Biomarker for Huntington's Disease in Children.

Background: Juvenile-onset Huntington's disease (JOHD) is a rare and particularly devastating form of Huntington's disease (HD) for which clinical diagnosis is challenging and robust outcome measures are lacking. Neurofilament light protein (NfL) in plasma has emerged as a prognostic biomarker for adult-onset HD.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of samples and data collected between 2009 and 2020 from the Kids-HD and Kids-JHD studies.

Clinical and neuroradiological correlates of sleep in myotonic dystrophy type 1.

Abnormalities of sleep are common in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), but few previous studies have combined polysomnography with detailed clinical measures and brain imaging. In the present study, domiciliary polysomnography, symptom questionnaires and cognitive evaluation were undertaken in 39 DM1-affected individuals. Structural brain MRI was completed in those without contra-indication (n = 32).

Effects of cycling and rowing on serum concentrations of prostate-specific antigen: A randomized study of 101 male subjects.

Objective: To determine the effects if cycling and rowing on serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels.

Methods: Male volunteers (n = 101), aged 20-80 (mean, 49.9) years were randomized to exercise at the first or second study visit.

Blood-Based Markers of Neuronal Injury in Adult-Onset Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1.

Introduction: The present study had four aims. First, neuronal injury markers, including neurofilament light (NF-L), total tau, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase (UCH-L1), were compared between individuals with and without adult-onset myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). Second, the impact of age and CTG repeat on brain injury markers was evaluated.

Global and Regional White Matter Fractional Anisotropy in Children with Chronic Kidney Disease.

Objective: To investigate the associations between neurocognition and white matter integrity in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Study Design: This cross-sectional study included 17 boys (age 6-16 years) with a diagnosis of mild to moderate (stages 1-3, nondialysis/nontransplant) CKD because of congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract and 20 typically developing community controls. Participants underwent 3T neuroimaging and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging to assess white matter fractional anisotropy.

Characterizing academic performance in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia with population-based achievement tests.

Background: Recent shifts from radiation to chemotherapy-based treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have contributed to reduced long-term morbidity. Despite this, ALL survivors remain at increased risk for long-term cognitive impairments.

Aim: To identify demographic and treatment factors associated with school performance in pediatric survivors of ALL.