Socioeconomic Factors Impact the Timing of Surgical Repair for Craniosynostosis - A Regional and National Assessment.

Introduction: Timing of repair for patients with craniosynostosis are usually categorized into early "minimally invasive" surgeries such as strip craniotomy (SC), whereas those presenting later undergoing traditional cranial vault remolding (CVR). The impact that sociodemographic and socioeconomic disparities have on time to presentation for craniosynostosis and treatment is unknown. Herein, we examined sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors among a heterogenous patient population at a single institution who underwent craniosynostosis repair and compared this cohort to a national database.

Downregulation of glial genes involved in synaptic function mitigates Huntington's disease pathogenesis.

Most research on neurodegenerative diseases has focused on neurons, yet glia help form and maintain the synapses whose loss is so prominent in these conditions. To investigate the contributions of glia to Huntington's disease (HD), we profiled the gene expression alterations of expressing human mutant (m) in either glia or neurons and compared these changes to what is observed in HD human and HD mice striata. A large portion of conserved genes are concordantly dysregulated across the three species; we tested these genes in a high-throughput behavioral assay and found that downregulation of genes involved in synapse assembly mitigated pathogenesis and behavioral deficits.

Glycated Serum Protein Genetics and Pleiotropy with Cardiometabolic Risk Factors.

Measurements of fasting glucose (FG) or glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are two clinically approved approaches commonly used to determine glycemia, both of which are influenced by genetic factors. Obtaining accurate measurements of FG or HbA1c is not without its challenges, though. Measuring glycated serum protein (GSP) offers an alternative approach for assessing glycemia.