Publications by authors named "R N Finnegan"

Background: STereotactic Arrhythmia Radioablation (STAR) is a novel noninvasive method for treating arrythmias in which external beam radiation is directed towards subregions of the heart. Challenges for accurate STAR targeting include small target volumes and relatively large patient motion, which can lead to radiation related patient toxicities. 4D Cone-beam CT (CBCT) images are used for stereotactic lung treatments to account for respiration-related patient motion.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how changes in rectal air volume affect the quality of treatment plans for rectal cancer patients during radiation therapy.
  • Twelve patients were evaluated by simulating air cavity expansions using various margins, which helped assess the impact on treatment effectiveness.
  • Results show that excessive air volume (over 17 cm) can lower the dose coverage in targeted treatment areas while simultaneously increasing coverage in excess dose regions, leading to new clinical guidelines for acceptable air volume during treatment.
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Background: Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are a group of neurometabolic diseases that result from genetic defects in the glycosylation of proteins and/or lipids. Multiple pathogenic genes contribute to the varying reported phenotypes of individuals with CDG-1 syndromes, most of which are inherited as autosomal recessive traits, although X-linked inheritance has also been reported. Pathogenic variants in the asparagine-linked glycosylation 13 homolog (ALG13) gene have been implicated in the aetiology of developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) 36 (OMIM:*300776, DEE36).

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Radiotherapy is an essential part of treatment for many patients with thoracic cancers. However, proximity of the heart to tumour targets can lead to cardiac side effects, with studies demonstrating link between cardiac radiation dose and adverse outcomes. Although reducing cardiac dose can reduce associated risks, most cardiac constraint recommendations in clinical use are generally based on dose to the whole heart, as dose assessment at cardiac substructure levels on individual patients has been limited historically.

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Article Synopsis
  • Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic disorder leading to muscle weakness due to mutations in the SMN1 gene.* -
  • Onasemnogene abeparvovec (OA) is a gene therapy approved for SMA that was administered to two heavy patients (20 kg) previously treated with another medication, Nusinersen.* -
  • The patients experienced mixed results after receiving OA, including liver issues needing steroids and limited improvement in muscle function, highlighting the importance of weighing risks and benefits for older and heavier SMA patients.*
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