Use of Vycor Tubular Retractors in the Management of Deep Brain Lesions: A Review of Current Studies.

Background: Traditional manual retraction to access deep-seated brain lesions has been associated with complications related to vascular compromise of cerebral tissue. Various techniques have been developed over time to minimize injury, such as self-sustaining retractors, neuronavigation, and endoscopic approaches. Recently, tubular retractors, such as the ViewSite Brain Access System (VBAS), have been developed to reduce mechanical damage from retraction by dispersing the force of the retractor radially over the parenchyma.

Barriers to Treatment Adherence Among College Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Objective: The current study sought to obtain a longitudinal perspective of and quantitatively assess barriers to medication adherence experienced by college students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Thus, we examined semester-long trends in barriers to adherence in addition to the relationships between barriers and medication adherence and barriers and quality of life.

Methods: Participants were college students diagnosed with ADHD.

Safety and Feasibility of a Rapid Outpatient Management Strategy for Transient Ischemic Attack and Minor Stroke: The Rapid Access Vascular Evaluation-Neurology (RAVEN) Approach.

Study Objective: Although most transient ischemic attack and minor stroke patients in US emergency departments (EDs) are admitted, experience in other countries suggests that timely outpatient evaluation of transient ischemic attack and minor stroke can be safe. We assess the feasibility and safety of a rapid outpatient stroke clinic for transient ischemic attack and minor stroke: Rapid Access Vascular Evaluation-Neurology (RAVEN).

Methods: Transient ischemic attack and minor stroke patients presenting to the ED with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of 5 or less and nondisabling deficit were assessed for potential discharge to RAVEN with a protocol incorporating social and medical criteria.

Interventional bundle for venous thromboembolism prevention: ensuring quality and effectiveness.

Hospital-associated thromboses (HATs) are a potentially preventable cause of morbidity and mortality. Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was designated a Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) Exemplar Centre by NHS England in 2014. However, following delayed reporting of a potentially preventable HAT in 2015, a benchmarking exercise suggested HATs were being under-reported, and also that the established hospital-wide audits of VTE prevention had significant limitations.

EXPRESS: Long term study of oral treprostinil to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension: dosing, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics.

Oral treprostinil may be an option for low- and intermediate-risk patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare lung vascular disease. This open-label extension study collected data on participants who completed previously reported, placebo-controlled oral treprostinil studies. Eligible participants had completed the prospective parent studies and took increasing doses of oral treprostinil twice daily; some later transitioned to three times daily dosing.

Scurvy presenting with limp and weakness: a case report.

Background: Scurvy is one of the oldest diseases known to mankind. Although presently rare in the developed world, scurvy was a common potentially fatal disease. In recent times, the most common risk factors for scurvy include alcoholism, low socioeconomic status, and severely poor nutrition or dietary restriction secondary to psychiatric illness or developmental disorders.

Adipose-derived cellular and cell-derived regenerative therapies in dermatology and aesthetic rejuvenation.

Cellular and cell-derived components of adipose-derived tissue for the purposes of dermatologic and aesthetic rejuvenation applications have become increasingly studied and integrated into clinical practice. These components include micro-fragmented fat (nanofat), the stromal vascular fraction (SVF), adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASC), and extracellular vesicles (EVs), which have all shown capability to repair, regenerate, and rejuvenate surrounding tissue. Various aesthetic applications including hair growth, scar reduction, skin ischemia-reperfusion recovery, and facial rejuvenation are reviewed.

Amyloidogenicity of naturally occurring full-length animal IAPP variants.

The aggregation of the 37-amino acid polypeptide human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP), as either insoluble amyloid or as small oligomers, appears to play a direct role in the death of human pancreatic β-islet cells in type 2 diabetes. hIAPP is considered to be one of the most amyloidogenic proteins known. The quick aggregation of hIAPP leads to the formation of toxic species, such as oligomers and fibers, that damage mammalian cells (both human and rat pancreatic cells).

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Chemosensory Pathway Genes GNB3, TAS2R19, and TAS2R38 Are Associated with Chronic Rhinosinusitis.

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a multifaceted disease with a significant genetic component. The importance of taste receptor signaling has recently been highlighted in CRS; single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of bitter tastant-responsive G-protein-coupled receptors have been linked with CRS and with altered innate immune responses to multiple bacterially derived signals.

Objective: To determine in CRS the frequency of six SNPs in genes with known bitter tastant signaling function.

The Natural History of Coiled Cerebral Aneurysms Stratified by Modified Raymond-Roy Occlusion Classification.

Objective: The natural history and long-term durability of Guglielmi detachable coil (GDC) embolization is still unknown. We hypothesize a stepwise decrease in durability of embolized cerebral aneurysms as stratified by the Modified Raymond-Roy Classification (MRRC).

Methods: First-time GDC-embolized cerebral aneurysms were retrospectively reviewed from 2004 to 2015.

A Cautionary Tale: Endogenous Biotinylated Proteins and Exogenously-Introduced Protein A Cause Antibody-Independent Artefacts in Western Blot Studies of Brain-Derived Proteins.

Antibodies are commonly used to detect or isolate proteins from biological samples. Much attention has been paid to the potential for poorly-characterized antibodies to lead to misleading results, but artefacts may also occur. Here, we recount two examples of antibody-independent artefacts that have confounded the interpretation of results in our search for molecular entities associated with memory loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Organotropic drug delivery: Synthetic nanoparticles and extracellular vesicles.

Most clinically approved drugs (primarily small molecules or antibodies) are rapidly cleared from circulation and distribute throughout the body. As a consequence, only a small portion of the dose accumulates at the target site, leading to low efficacy and adverse side effects. Therefore, new delivery strategies are necessary to increase organ and tissue-specific delivery of therapeutic agents.

Lessons for general vaccinology research from attempts to develop an HIV vaccine.

In the past when large investments have been made in tackling narrow scientific challenges, the enormous expansion in our knowledge in one small area has had a spill-over effect on research and treatment of other diseases. The large investment in HIV vaccine development in recent years has the potential for such an effect on vaccine development for other diseases. HIV vaccine developers have experienced repeated failure using the standard approaches to vaccine development.

Associations Between Hospital Maternal Service Level and Delivery Outcomes.

Objective: This study explored the associations between delivery hospital self-reported level of maternal service, as defined by the American Hospital Association, and both maternal and neonatal outcomes among women at high maternal risk, as defined by the Obstetric Comorbidity Index.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of linked delivery hospitalization discharge and vital records data for women experiencing singleton births in Georgia from 2008 to 2012. The need for maternal transfer was defined using a sample-specific cut-off of the risk score calculated using the Obstetric Comorbidity Index.

Increased high-frequency NREM EEG power associated with mindfulness-based interventions for chronic insomnia: Preliminary findings from spectral analysis.

Objective: Mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) have been shown to reduce subjective symptoms of insomnia but the effects on objective measures remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine sleep EEG microarchitecture patterns from a randomized controlled trial of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Insomnia (MBTI).

Methods: Sleep EEG spectral analysis was conducted on 36 participants with chronic insomnia (>6 months) randomized to 8-week MBSR, MBTI, or self-monitoring control (SM).

The Effect of Foam Rolling of the Hamstrings on Proprioception at the Knee and Hip Joints.

The purpose of this study was to determine the acute effect of hamstring foam rolling on proprioception at the knee and hip joints. Twenty-five participants completed two proprioceptive tests on separate days, in a random order. The joint position matching test used no visual feedback.