Background: The incidence of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-acute respiratory infection (ARI) in community-dwelling adults after the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown. Our aim was to assess the incidence of RSV-ARI in adults aged 18 to 64 years over 2 consecutive RSV seasons (October-April 2022-2024) in 4 US states.
Methods: This community-based prospective cohort study comprised 7501 participants in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida, and Arizona.
Background: Longevity is increasing worldwide due to improvements in healthcare and living standards. Aging is often associated with disability and multiple health concerns. To address these challenges, effective interventions are essential.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGeroscience posits that molecular drivers underlie the aging process. Gerotherapeutics entail strategies to counter molecular drivers of aging to reduce the chronic diseases and geriatric syndromes they trigger. Although the concept of gerotherapeutics for prevention has generated much excitement, the implications of prescribing potentially harmful medications to older adults who are "healthy" have been associated with many delays.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSoft tissue aneurysmal bone cysts (STABCs) are rare neoplasms histopathologically identical to aneurysmal bone cysts. These benign lesions are characterized by thin, peripheral ossification and no skeletal continuity. STABC may be difficult to distinguish from myositis ossificans (MO) and malignant entities from imaging and fine needle aspiration, due to rarity and overlapping features.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCells expressing features of senescence, including upregulation of p21 and p16, appear transiently following tissue injury, yet the properties of these cells or how they contrast with age-induced senescent cells remains unclear. Here, we used skeletal injury as a model and identified the rapid appearance following fracture of p21+ cells expressing senescence markers, mainly as osteochondroprogenitors (OCHs) and neutrophils. Targeted genetic clearance of p21+ cells suppressed senescence-associated signatures within the fracture callus and accelerated fracture healing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSingle case studies of extraordinary disease resilience may provide therapeutic insight into conditions for which no definitive treatments exist. An otherwise healthy 35-year-old man (patient-R) with the canonical pathogenic ACVR1R206H variant and the classic congenital great toe malformation of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) had extreme paucity of post-natal heterotopic ossification (HO) and nearly normal mobility. We hypothesized that patient-R lacked a sufficient post-natal inflammatory trigger for HO.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP; MIM# 135100) is an ultra-rare congenital disorder caused by gain-of-function point mutations in the Activin receptor A type I (, also known as ) gene. FOP is characterized by episodic heterotopic ossification (HO) in skeletal muscles, tendons, ligaments, or other soft tissues that progressively causes irreversible loss of mobility. FOP mutations cause mild ligand-independent constitutive activation as well as ligand-dependent bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) pathway hypersensitivity of mutant ACVR1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCells expressing features of senescence, including upregulation of p21 and p16, appear transiently following tissue injury, yet the properties of these cells or how they contrast with age-induced senescent cells remains unclear. Here, we used skeletal injury as a model and identified the rapid appearance following fracture of p21+ cells expressing senescence markers, mainly as osteochondroprogenitors (OCHs) and neutrophils. Targeted genetic clearance of p21+ cells suppressed senescence-associated signatures within the fracture callus and accelerated fracture healing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFResearch cannot maximize population health unless it improves health for all members of the public, including special populations such as children, older adults, and people living with rare diseases. Each of these categories require special considerations when planning and performing clinical trials, and common threads of ethical conduct of research in vulnerable populations appear throughout. In this review, definitions of each of the three categories of special population (children, older adults, and rare diseases) are discussed in terms of US research regulations, the unique challenges to conducting clinical trials for these special populations, critical ethical issues, and opportunities for innovative ways to design and operationalize clinical trials in special populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Prim Care Community Health
November 2023
Introduction: Using a digital process that leverages electronic health records (EHRs) can ease many of the challenges presented by the traditional enrollment process for clinical trials. We tested if automated batch enrollment using a technology-enabled subject recruitment system (TESRS) enhances recruitment while preserving representation of research subjects for the study population in our study setting.
Methods: An ongoing community-based prospective adult cohort study was used to randomize 600 subjects who were eligible by age and residential address to TESRS (n = 300) and standard mailing method (n = 300), respectively, for 3 months.
In addition to reducing fracture risk, zoledronic acid has been found in some studies to decrease mortality in humans and extend lifespan and healthspan in animals. Because senescent cells accumulate with aging and contribute to multiple co-morbidities, the non-skeletal actions of zoledronic acid could be due to senolytic (killing of senescent cells) or senomorphic (inhibition of the secretion of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype [SASP]) actions. To test this, we first performed senescence assays using human lung fibroblasts and DNA repair-deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts, which demonstrated that zoledronic acid killed senescent cells with minimal effects on non-senescent cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from bone marrow can support skeletal tissue repair and regeneration owing to their self-renewing capacity, differentiation ability, and trophic functions. Bone marrow-derived MSCs undergo dramatic changes with aging, including the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) which may largely contribute to age-related changes in bone tissue leading to osteoporosis. A mass spectrometry-based proteomics approach was used to investigate the MSC SASP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn addition to reducing fracture risk, zoledronate has been found in some studies to decrease mortality in humans and extend lifespan and healthspan in animals. Because senescent cells accumulate with aging and contribute to multiple co-morbidities, the non-skeletal actions of zoledronate could be due to senolytic (killing of senescent cells) or senomorphic (inhibition of the secretion of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype [SASP]) actions. To test this, we first performed senescence assays using human lung fibroblasts and DNA repair-deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts, which demonstrated that zoledronate killed senescent cells with minimal effects on non-senescent cells.
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