Brain effects of mild COVID-19 in healthy young adults: A pilot study.

Rationale And Objectives: This study examined the brain effects of mild severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection which are incompletely understood. Our objective was to ascertain within-person changes associated with mild coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in otherwise healthy adults.

Materials And Methods: We leveraged existing pre-pandemic baseline neuroimaging and neurocognitive data, and collected follow-up data from uninfected controls and individuals with prior mild COVID-19, during December 2020 and January 2021, when vaccines were not yet available.

ANKS1B encoded AIDA-1 regulates social behaviors by controlling oligodendrocyte function.

Heterozygous deletions in the ANKS1B gene cause ANKS1B neurodevelopmental syndrome (ANDS), a rare genetic disease characterized by autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and speech and motor deficits. The ANKS1B gene encodes for AIDA-1, a protein that is enriched at neuronal synapses and regulates synaptic plasticity. Here we report an unexpected role for oligodendroglial deficits in ANDS pathophysiology.

Hospitalization, Critical Illness, and Mortality Outcomes of COVID-19 in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objective: To investigate the clinical outcomes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with COVID-19.

Methods: This retrospective study consisted of 361 patients with RA+ and 45,954 patients with RA- (March 2020 to August 2022) who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by polymerase-chain-reaction in the Montefiore Health System, which serves a large low-income, minority-predominant population in the Bronx and was an epicenter of the initial pandemic and subsequent surges. Primary outcomes were hospitalization, critical illness, and all-cause mortality associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Incidence, characteristics, risk factors and outcomes of diabetic ketoacidosis in COVID-19 patients: Comparison with influenza and pre-pandemic data.

Aims: This study characterized incidence, patient profiles, risk factors and outcomes of in-hospital diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in patients with COVID-19 compared with influenza and pre-pandemic data.

Methods: This study consisted of 13 383 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 (March 2020-July 2022), 19 165 hospitalized patients with influenza (January 2018-July 2022) and 35 000 randomly sampled hospitalized pre-pandemic patients (January 2017-December 2019) in Montefiore Health System, Bronx, NY, USA. Primary outcomes were incidence of in-hospital DKA, in-hospital mortality, and insulin use at 3 and 6 months post-infection.

Visual-somatosensory integration (VSI) as a novel marker of Alzheimer's disease: A comprehensive overview of the VSI study.

Identification of novel, non-invasive, non-cognitive based markers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias are a global priority. Growing evidence suggests that Alzheimer's pathology manifests in sensory association areas well before appearing in neural regions involved in higher-order cognitive functions, such as memory. Previous investigations have not comprehensively examined the interplay of sensory, cognitive, and motor dysfunction with relation to AD progression.

Characteristics of COVID-19 patients with multiorgan injury across the pandemic in a large academic health system in the Bronx, New York.

Purpose: To investigate the evolution of COVID-19 patient characteristics and multiorgan injury across the pandemic.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study consisted of 40,387 individuals tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the Montefiore Health System in Bronx, NY, between March 2020 and February 2022, of which 11,306 were hospitalized. Creatinine, troponin, and alanine aminotransferase were used to define acute kidney injury (AKI), acute cardiac injury (ACI) and acute liver injury, respectively.

Incidence of new-onset in-hospital and persistent diabetes in COVID-19 patients: comparison with influenza.

Background: This study investigated the incidences and risk factors associated with new-onset persistent type-2 diabetes during COVID-19 hospitalization and at 3-months follow-up compared to influenza.

Methods: This retrospective study consisted of 8216 hospitalized, 2998 non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and 2988 hospitalized influenza patients without history of pre-diabetes or diabetes in the Montefiore Health System in Bronx, New York. The primary outcomes were incidences of new-onset in-hospital type-2 diabetes mellitus (I-DM) and persistent diabetes mellitus (P-DM) at 3 months (average) follow-up.

Age of first exposure to soccer heading: Associations with cognitive, clinical, and imaging outcomes in the Einstein Soccer Study.

Introduction: The objective of this study is to assess the role of age at first exposure (AFE) to soccer heading as a predictor of known adverse associations of recent and longer-term heading with brain microstructure, cognitive, and behavioral features among adult amateur soccer players.

Methods: The sample included 276 active amateur soccer players (196 male and 81 female) aged 18-53 years old. AFE to soccer heading was treated as a binary variable, dichotomized at ≤ 10 years vs.

Clinical predictors of recovery of COVID-19 associated-abnormal liver function test 2 months after hospital discharge.

This study investigated whether acute liver injury (ALI) persisted and identified predictors of ALI recovery [as indicated by alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level] at hospital discharge and 2 months post-discharge for 7595 hospitalized COVID-19 patients from the Montefiore Health System (03/11/2020-06/03/2021). Mild liver injury (mLI) was defined as ALT = 1.5-5 ULN, and severe livery injury (sLI) was ALT ≥ 5 ULN.

Repetitive soccer heading adversely impacts short-term learning among adult women.

Objectives: To determine the impact of 12-month heading exposure on short-term learning.

Design: A total of 105 active amateur soccer players, 45 women and 60 men, were administered an EMA-based test of working memory, a version of the two-back, once daily for 14 days.

Methods: Heading exposure of the participants was assessed using "HeadCount", a validated structured questionnaire at the baseline visits.

New-onset and persistent neurological and psychiatric sequelae of COVID-19 compared to influenza: A retrospective cohort study in a large New York City healthcare network.

Objectives: Neurological and neuropsychiatric manifestations of post-acute SARS-CoV-2 infection (neuro-PASC) are common among COVID-19 survivors, but it is unknown how neuro-PASC differs from influenza-related neuro-sequelae. This study investigated the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients with and without new-onset neuro-PASC, and of flu patients with similar symptoms.

Methods: We retrospectively screened 18,811 COVID-19 patients and 5772 flu patients between January 2020 and June 2021 for the presence of new-onset neuro-sequelae that persisted at least 2 weeks past the date of COVID-19 or flu diagnosis.

Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 With Acute Kidney Injury and Acute Cardiac Injury.

Purpose: This study investigated the incidence, disease course, risk factors, and mortality in COVID-19 patients who developed both acute kidney injury (AKI) and acute cardiac injury (ACI), and compared to those with AKI only, ACI only, and no injury (NI).

Methods: This retrospective study consisted of hospitalized COVID-19 patients at Montefiore Health System in Bronx, New York between March 11, 2020 and January 29, 2021. Demographics, comorbidities, vitals, and laboratory tests were collected during hospitalization.

Clinical predictors of acute cardiac injury and normalization of troponin after hospital discharge from COVID-19.

Background: Although acute cardiac injury (ACI) is a known COVID-19 complication, whether ACI acquired during COVID-19 recovers is unknown. This study investigated the incidence of persistent ACI and identified clinical predictors of ACI recovery in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 2.5 months post-discharge.

Clinical characteristics of the first and second COVID-19 waves in the Bronx, New York: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: There is limited clinical patient data comparing the first and second waves of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States and the effects of a COVID-19 resurgence on different age, racial and ethnic groups. We compared the first and second COVID-19 waves in the Bronx, New York, among a racially and ethnically diverse population.

Methods: Patients in this retrospective cohort study were included if they had a laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection by a real-time PCR test of a nasopharyngeal swab specimen detected between March 11, 2020, and January 21, 2021.

Registration quality filtering improves robustness of voxel-wise analyses to the choice of brain template.

Motivation: Many clinical and scientific conclusions that rely on voxel-wise analyses of neuroimaging depend on the accurate comparison of corresponding anatomical regions. Such comparisons are made possible by registration of the images of subjects of interest onto a common brain template, such as the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) template. However, current image registration algorithms are prone to errors that are distributed in a template-dependent manner.

Soccer heading and concussion are not associated with reduced brain volume or cortical thickness.

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and, since it is a contact sport, players are at risk for head injury, including concussion. Here, we proposed to investigate the association of heading and concussion with macroscopic brain structure among adult amateur soccer players. For this study, 375 amateur soccer players (median age 23 years) completed HeadCount-12m to estimate heading over the 12 months prior to MRI and lifetime concussion.

Framing potential for adverse effects of repetitive subconcussive impacts in soccer in the context of athlete and non-athlete controls.

The benefits of athletic activity may be attenuated by sport-related head impacts, including soccer-related concussion and subconcussive events. The purpose of this study is to characterize the specific effects of soccer heading on white matter microstructure and cognitive function, independent of concussion, relative to non-athlete controls and relative to active athletes who are not involved in collision sports. 246 amateur soccer players, 72 non-contact/non-collision sports athletes and 110 healthy,non-athlete controls were included in the study, and underwent cognitive testing and 3T diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).

BDNF ValMet Positive Players Demonstrate Diffusion Tensor Imaging Consistent With Impaired Myelination Associated With High Levels of Soccer Heading: Indication of a Potential Gene-Environment Interaction Mechanism.

The purpose of this study was to examine the potential effect modifying role of the BDNF ValMet polymorphism on the association of soccer heading with white matter microstructure. We studied 312 players enrolled in the ongoing Einstein Soccer Study, a longitudinal study of amateur soccer player in New York City and surrounding areas. At enrollment and 2 years later, total heading in the prior 12 months (12-mo.

White matter microstructural abnormalities in blast-exposed combat veterans: accounting for potential pre-injury factors using consanguineous controls.

Purpose: Assess the prevalence of white matter microstructural changes in combat veterans, within the context of a highly matched control group comprising unexposed close relatives.

Methods: This prospective study had institutional review board approval, included written informed consent, and is HIPAA-compliant. Diffusion tensor imaging was analyzed in 16 male blast-exposed combat veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (mean age 31.

MRI-defined White Matter Microstructural Alteration Associated with Soccer Heading Is More Extensive in Women than Men.

Purpose To examine the role of sex in abnormal white matter microstructure after soccer heading as identified by using the diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) metric fractional anisotropy (FA). Materials and Methods In this prospective cross-sectional study, 98 individuals who were enrolled in a larger prospective study of amateur soccer players (from 2013 to 2016) were matched 1:1 for age and history of soccer heading in the prior 12 months. Among the subjects, 49 men (mean age, 25.

White matter structural integrity and transcranial Doppler blood flow pulsatility in normal aging.

Cerebrovascular diseases underlie many forms of age-related cognitive impairment and the mechanism linking the two is hypothesized to involve adverse changes in white matter (WM) integrity. Despite being systemic, small vessel disease does not uniformly affect WM. We performed voxel-wise analysis of MRI images to examine the association between fractional anisotropy (FA) - a diffusion tensor measure of WM structural integrity - and pulsatility index (PI) - a transcranial Doppler ultrasound measure of abnormal arterial flow - in adults over the age of 70years who were free of stroke and dementia.

Validation of HeadCount-2w for estimation of two-week heading: Comparison to daily reporting in adult amateur player.

Objectives: To validate the HeadCount-2w questionnaire for estimation of 2-week soccer heading by comparison to daily electronic diary reporting over the same two-week period.

Design: Prospective observational study.

Methods: Adult amateur soccer players completed HeadCount-daily, comprising 14 daily at-home assessments of soccer play and heading via a tablet PC.

Characterization of Neck Strength in Healthy Young Adults.

Background: The role of cervical muscle (neck) strength in traumatic brain and spine injury and chronic neck pain disorders is an area of active research. Characterization of the normal ranges of neck strength in healthy young adults is essential to designing future investigations of how strength may act as a modifier for risk and progression in head and neck disorders.

Objective: To develop a normative reference database of neck strength in a healthy young adult population, and to evaluate the relationship of neck strength to anthropometric measurements.