Objectives: Both alcohol use and the prevalence of depression-depressive disorders, among older adults have increased over the past several decades and have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. To our knowledge, the interactions between retirement, depression, and alcohol use have not yet been examined. This study aims to longitudinally explore the mediating role of alcohol use on the association between retirement and depressive symptoms in the United States, comparing individuals who are retired and not retired, while also exploring individuals who transitioned into and out of retirement at different times.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To investigate pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD; urinary incontinence (UI), faecal incontinence (FI) and prolapse) ≥20 years after childbirth and their association with delivery mode history and demographic characteristics.
Design: Cohort study with long-term follow-up.
Setting: Maternity units in Aberdeen and Birmingham (UK) and Dunedin (NZ).
J Clin Neuromuscul Dis
September 2023
Objectives: Periodic paralysis is a rare genetic condition characterized by episodes of neuromuscular weakness, often provoked by electrolyte abnormalities, physiologic stress, physical exertion, and diet. In addition to mutations in genes coding for skeletal muscle ion channels, in 2019, Gustavasson et al discovered that the MCM3AP gene could be responsible for periodic paralysis. In this study, we present 2 individuals with clinical episodes of periodic paralysis who have variants in the MCM3AP gene.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Genetic studies of multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility and severity have focused on populations of European ancestry. Studying MS genetics in other ancestral groups is necessary to determine the generalisability of these findings. The genetic Association study in individuals from Diverse Ancestral backgrounds with Multiple Sclerosis (ADAMS) project aims to gather genetic and phenotypic data on a large cohort of ancestrally-diverse individuals with MS living in the UK.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTumor-specific overexpression of receptors enables a variety of targeted cancer therapies, exemplified by peptide-receptor radiotherapy (PRRT) for somatostatin receptor (SSTR)-positive neuroendocrine tumors. While effective, PRRT is restricted to tumors with SSTR overexpression. To overcome this limitation, we propose using oncolytic vaccinia virus (vvDD)-mediated receptor gene transfer to permit molecular imaging and PRRT in tumors without endogenous SSTR overexpression, a strategy termed radiovirotherapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: People with intellectual disabilities (ID) are at high risk of developing respiratory health issues. The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded this, with serious consequences, and for some, death. Despite home-based oxygen saturation monitoring being recommended for people with ID, there is a stark lack of evidence in the literature on its feasibility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransient global amnesia (TGA) is a rare self-limited syndrome characterized primarily by anterograde amnesia. It shares multiple characteristics with a transient ischemic attack and ischemic stroke, which carry a more ominous outlook. There is a debate with respect to what is sufficient for ruling out more serious pathologies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany states are continuing to struggle with opioids and other commonly abused drugs. Alabama, being the highest opioid prescription per-capita state since 2012, has pulled together state agencies, private companies, academia, and community organizations to form a data council and repository to provide unified insights and information to the public and partner stakeholders. The lessons learned in constructing this data environment are documented so that other states and organizations can benefit from the challenges and success that Alabama has experienced.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: non-motor symptoms such as bladder dysfunction are common (80%) in people with Parkinson's increasing the risk for falls with a negative impact on health-related costs and quality of life.We undertook STARTUP to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of using an adhesive electrode to stimulate the transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) to treat bladder dysfunction in people with Parkinson's disease (PD).Study design, materials and methods: STARTUP was a parallel two-arm, multi-centre, pragmatic, double-blind, randomised controlled trial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Health Plann Manage
September 2022
Anaesthesia Associates have been established in the UK for over 10 years, but without statutory regulation. Renewed interest surfaced based on a widening gap between patient need and workforce supply in the UK and established advanced practice non-doctor roles within healthcare systems elsewhere. However, there are no robust data on their impact on patient or hospital outcomes, or training opportunities for medical anaesthetists, and perceptions of the profession within the anaesthetic community are mixed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Public Health
January 2022
Children's environmental health (CEH) has a 25-year history at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), during which the agency has advanced CEH through research, policy, and programs that address children's special vulnerability to environmental harm. However, the Trump administration took many actions that weakened efforts to improve CEH. The actions included downgrading or ignoring CEH concerns in decision-making, defunding research, sidelining the Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee, and rescinding regulations that were written in part to protect children.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Inflammation and the immune system significantly impact the development, progression, and treatment response of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This retrospective study investigated the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a prognostic biomarker in Western patients with HCC in the setting of chronic viral hepatitis.
Methods: Patients diagnosed with HCC from 2005 to 2016 were selected from a tertiary care institution.
Opioid use disorders are widespread, commonly occurring, and have serious impacts on individuals, families, and communities. When adequately trained, social workers play a pivotal role in treating populations impacted by opioid use through the provision of high-quality services and the shifting of negative attitudes related to opioid use. However, workforce projections indicate a growing shortage of behavioral health professionals qualified to work with such populations and, presently, social work programs are not equipped to meet these workforce needs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To understand how adult adoptees use traditional and tech-mediated modes of communication in contact with birth parents. To examine associations between desire for increased use of both modes and quality of relationship.
Background: As tech-mediated modes of communication become more commonplace, it is important to understand their implications for family relationship quality.
The Trump administration has severely curtailed the work of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA has rolled back environmental protections, lost ground on addressing climate change and environmental justice, and shed large numbers of experienced staff. All of this has accelerated a longer-term decline in EPA resources, expertise, and authority.
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