Publications by authors named "Rama El-Hakim"
J Clin Med
September 2024
Article Synopsis
- Feelings of loneliness are prevalent among people living with dementia in long-term care, prompting the development of a virtual companion to support their social needs.
- The virtual companion, created in two stages, initially focused on encouraging conversation, and later utilized advanced AI for deeper discussions, with ten participants testing its feasibility and acceptability.
- While early versions faced challenges like speech recognition and limited questions, the enhanced AI led to meaningful interactions, although some users found the head-mounted display uncomfortable; further improvements are planned for future iterations.
Atherosclerosis
October 2024
Article Synopsis
- Dysregulated cholesterol metabolism plays a significant role in atherosclerosis, and the study examines how the AMPK-HMGCR signaling pathway affects cholesterol levels and atherosclerosis development.
- The research used two types of mice: HMGCR S871A knock-in (KI) mice and wild-type (WT) mice, both fed a high-fat and high-cholesterol diet to induce atherosclerosis, but found no significant differences in atherosclerotic plaque formation between the two.
- The findings suggest limited impact of AMPK-mediated control on cholesterol synthesis related to atherosclerosis progression, highlighting the need for further investigation into various atherosclerosis models.
