Publications by authors named "Rekha Ravikumar"

Article Synopsis
  • Recent research is exploring how the gut microbiome (GMB) may influence schizophrenia (SCZ), including its development, symptoms, and treatment responses.
  • Studies indicate that the GMB composition in animal models of SCZ differs from control groups and correlates with SCZ-like behaviors.
  • Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from SCZ patients to rodents has shown altered brain functions and behaviors similar to those seen in SCZ, suggesting these models may help deepen our understanding of the disorder, though further validation is needed.
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Carcinoid tumors are uncommon tumors that are often diagnosed in later stages of the disease due to their indolent nature, vague clinical presentation and overlap of symptoms with other conditions. We report a case of rectosigmoid carcinoid tumor which was found incidentally on screening colonoscopy in an elderly woman that went undiagnosed for several years due to confounding effects of symptoms of post-hysterectomy menopause with that of carcinoid syndrome. Persistent episodic flushing with or without diarrhea not resolved with standard treatment should lead to suspicion of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).

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Bladder cancers rarely are non-urothelial in origin. We present here, possibly the youngest case of a 35-year-old White female presenting with shortness of breath. She was found to have a malignant pleural effusion with unknown primary, eventually confirmed with genetic testing as metastatic adenocarcinoma of the urinary bladder with brain and lung metastasis.

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Importance: The ongoing pandemic of the novel Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an unprecedented challenge to global health, never experienced before.

Objective: This study aims to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 admitted to Mercy Hospitals.

Design And Methods: Retrospective, observational cohort study designed to include every COVID-19 subject aged 18 years or older admitted to Mercy Saint (St) Vincent, Mercy St Charles, and Mercy St Anne's hospital in Toledo, Ohio from January 1, 2020 through June 15th, 2020.

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Importance: Maternal depression during pregnancy is associated with emotional and behavioral difficulties of offspring during childhood that can increase the risk of depression in adolescence and adulthood.

Objective: To investigate the association between perinatal maternal depression and an increased long-term risk of depression in their adolescent and adult offspring.

Data Sources: A systematic search of the electronic databases of PubMed and PsycINFO was conducted from May 2019 to June 2019.

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Acute leukemia is the most common malignant disorder of childhood. Acute leukemia is characterized by marrow failure due to the replacement of marrow elements by leukemic blasts. Gingival hypertrophy (GH) due to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in a child is extremely rare.

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Myostatin, a member of the TGF-beta superfamily, is a potent negative regulator of skeletal muscle and growth. Previously, we reported Mstn1 from zebrafish and studied its influence on muscle development. In this study, we identified another form of Myostatin protein which is referred to as Mstn2.

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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the common cancers worldwide, caused by Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatotoxins. Here we report the development of HCC in wild type as well as HCV core protein (HCP)-transgenic zebrafish upon treatment with a hepatotoxin, thioacetamide (TAA). Two-fold accelerated HCC development could be achieved in the TAA-treated transgenic fish, that is, the progression of the disease in TAA-treated wild type zebrafish developed HCC in 12 weeks whereas that of HCP-transgenic zebrafish shortened the HCC progression to 6 weeks.

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Steatohepatitis has recently been increasing as a cofactor influencing the progression of fibrosis, cirrhosis, adenoma and carcinoma in liver; however, the mechanisms by which it contributes to liver injury remain uncertain. We induced steatohepatitis in zebrafish embryos using thioacetamide (TAA). TUNEL assay revealed significant increasing of apoptosis in liver after 5 days post fertilization and the increasing of apoptosis was observed to be associated with the up-regulation of apoptotic genes such as, bad, bax, P-38a, caspase-3 and 8, and JNK-1.

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