Evidence of compensatory neural hyperactivity in a subgroup of breast cancer survivors treated with chemotherapy and its association with brain aging.

Introduction: Chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) remains poorly understood in terms of the mechanisms of cognitive decline. Neural hyperactivity has been reported on average in cancer survivors, but it is unclear which patients demonstrate this neurophenotype, limiting precision medicine in this population.

Methods: We evaluated a retrospective sample of 80 breast cancer survivors and 80 non-cancer controls, aged 35-73, for which we had previously identified and validated three data-driven, biological subgroups (biotypes) of CRCI.

Altered functional brain connectivity, efficiency, and information flow associated with brain fog after mild to moderate COVID-19 infection.

COVID-19 is associated with increased risk for cognitive decline but very little is known regarding the neural mechanisms of this risk. We enrolled 49 adults (55% female, mean age = 30.7 ± 8.

Pilot trial testing the effects of exercise on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (CIPN) and the interoceptive brain system.

Purpose: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (CIPN) is a prevalent, dose-limiting, tough-to-treat toxicity involving numbness, tingling, and pain in the extremities with enigmatic pathophysiology. This randomized controlled pilot study explored the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of exercise during chemotherapy on CIPN and the role of the interoceptive brain system, which processes bodily sensations.

Methods: Nineteen patients (65 ± 11 years old, 52% women; cancer type: breast, gastrointestinal, multiple myeloma) starting neurotoxic chemotherapy were randomized to 12 weeks of exercise (home-based, individually tailored, moderate intensity, progressive walking, and resistance training) or active control (nutrition education).

Nurturing Longitudinal Samples 2.0.

Background: While longitudinal designs can provide significant advantages compared to single measurement/cross sectional designs, they require careful attention to study infrastructure and the risk of attrition among the sample over multiple time points.

Objective: The strategies used to design and manage an appropriate infrastructure for a longitudinal study and approaches to retain samples are explored using examples from 2 studies, a 25-year study of persons living with multiple sclerosis and a 10-year longitudinal follow-up of breast cancer survivors.

Results: Key strategies (developing appropriate infrastructure, minimizing costs to participants, and maximizing rewards of study participation) have helped address the serious threat of attrition in these longitudinal samples.

Evidence of compensatory neural hyperactivity in a subgroup of chemotherapy-treated breast cancer survivors and its association with brain aging.

Chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) remains poorly understood in terms of the mechanisms of cognitive decline. Neural hyperactivity has been reported on average in cancer survivors, but it is unclear which patients demonstrate this neurophenotype, limiting precision medicine in this population. We evaluated a retrospective sample of 80 breast cancer survivors and 80 non-cancer controls, age 35-73, for which we had previously identified and validated three data-driven, biological subgroups (biotypes) of CRCI.

Strength of spatial correlation between gray matter connectivity and patterns of proto-oncogene and neural network construction gene expression is associated with diffuse glioma survival.

Introduction: Like other forms of neuropathology, gliomas appear to spread along neural pathways. Accordingly, our group and others have previously shown that brain network connectivity is highly predictive of glioma survival. In this study, we aimed to examine the molecular mechanisms of this relationship via imaging transcriptomics.

Pilot trial testing the effects of exercise on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (CIPN) and the interoceptive brain system.

Purpose: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (CIPN) is a prevalent, dose-limiting, tough-to-treat toxicity involving numbness, tingling, and pain in the extremities with enigmatic pathophysiology. This randomized controlled pilot study explored the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of exercise during chemotherapy on CIPN and the role of the interoceptive brain system, which processes bodily sensations.

Methods: Nineteen patients (65±11 years old, 52% women; cancer type: breast, gastrointestinal, multiple myeloma) starting neurotoxic chemotherapy were randomized to 12 weeks of exercise (home-based, individually tailored, moderate intensity, progressive walking and resistance training) or active control (nutrition education).

An Exploratory Analysis of Contributors to Cognitive Functioning Among Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals Who Had COVID-19.

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals face mental health disparities. However, research analyzing SGM people's mental health after a COVID-19 diagnosis is scarce. In this secondary analysis of a remote study, we 1) examined associations between cognitive and psychosocial health and 2) explored differences between these health outcomes among SGM ( = 14) and heterosexual cisgender ( = 64) U.

Driving among individuals with chronic conditions: A systematic review of applied research using kinematic driving sensors.

Background: Kinematic driving data studies are a novel methodology relevant to health care, but prior studies have considerable variance in their methods, populations, and findings suggesting a need for critical analysis and appraisal for feasibility and methodological guidelines.

Methods: We assessed kinematic driving studies of adults with chronic conditions for study feasibility, characteristics, and key findings, to generate recommendations for future study designs, and to identify promising directions for applications of kinematic driving data. PRISMA was used to guide the review and searches included PubMed, CINAHL, and Compendex.

Strength of spatial correlation between structural brain network connectivity and brain-wide patterns of proto-oncogene and neural network construction gene expression is associated with diffuse glioma survival.

Like other forms of neuropathology, gliomas appear to spread along neural pathways. Accordingly, our group and others have previously shown that brain network connectivity is highly predictive of glioma survival. In this study, we aimed to examine the molecular mechanisms of this relationship via imaging transcriptomics.

Preliminary evaluation of novel Bodily Attention Task to assess the role of the brain in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (CIPN).

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (CIPN) is a common, sometimes dose-limiting side effect of neurotoxic chemotherapy. Treatment is limited because its pathophysiology is poorly understood. Compared to research on peripheral mechanisms, the role of the brain in CIPN is understudied and it may be important to develop better treatments.

Neuroimaging based biotypes for precision diagnosis and prognosis in cancer-related cognitive impairment.

Cancer related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is commonly associated with cancer and its treatments, yet the present binary diagnostic approach fails to capture the full spectrum of this syndrome. Cognitive function is highly complex and exists on a continuum that is poorly characterized by dichotomous categories. Advanced statistical methodologies applied to symptom assessments have demonstrated that there are multiple subclasses of CRCI.

Cancer-related cognitive impairment in racial and ethnic minority groups: a scoping review.

Purpose: Disparities in cognitive function among racial and ethnic groups have been reported in non-cancer conditions, but cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) in racial and ethnic minority groups is poorly understood. We aimed to synthesize and characterize the available literature about CRCI in racial and ethnic minority populations.

Methods: We conducted a scoping review in the PubMed, PsycInfo, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature databases.

Clinical, psychosocial, and sociodemographic factors of sexual and gender minority groups with cancer: A systematic review.

Purpose: Psychosocial health varies depending on demographic and clinical factors and the social context in which individuals grow and live. Sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations experience health disparities due to systemic factors that privilege cisgender and heterosexual identities. We reviewed the literature on the psychosocial, sociodemographic, and clinical factors in SGM groups with cancer and described the associations among these factors.

Behavioral and biologic characteristics of cancer-related cognitive impairment biotypes.

Psychiatric diagnosis is moving away from symptom-based classification and towards multi-dimensional, biologically-based characterization, or biotyping. We previously identified three biotypes of chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment based on functional brain connectivity. In this follow-up study of 80 chemotherapy-treated breast cancer survivors and 80 non-cancer controls, we evaluated additional factors to help explain biotype expression: neurofunctional stability, brain age, apolipoprotein (APOE) genotype, and psychoneurologic symptoms.

Cisheteronormativity and its influence on the psychosocial experience of LGBTQ+ people with cancer: A qualitative systematic review.

Objective: Cisheteronormativity refers to the relationship of heterosexual and cisgender privilege stemming from patriarchy. Although studies have shown that cisheteronormativity can impact health outcomes for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other sexual, gender diverse, and gender nonconforming (LGBTQ+) people, the specific impact on cancer care has not been described. We synthesized the qualitative evidence on how cisheteronormativity impacts the psychosocial experience of LGBTQ+ people with cancer.

Subjective cancer-related cognitive impairments and salience network connectivity in breast cancer survivors.

Purpose: Little is known about the neural basis of subjective cancer-related cognitive changes. The purpose of this study was to explore salience network connectivity in relation to subjective executive and memory dysfunction in breast cancer survivors compared to controls.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis of neuroimaging, subjective cognitive, clinical, and demographic data in chemotherapy-treated primary breast cancer survivors compared to frequency matched controls was used.

Symptom Clusters Seen in Adult COVID-19 Recovery Clinic Care Seekers.

Background: COVID-19 symptom reports describe varying levels of disease severity with differing periods of recovery and symptom trajectories. Thus, there are a multitude of disease and symptom characteristics clinicians must navigate and interpret to guide care.

Objective: To find natural groups of patients with similar constellations of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) symptoms.

Predicting overall survival in diffuse glioma from the presurgical connectome.

Diffuse gliomas are incurable brain tumors, yet there is significant heterogeneity in patient survival. Advanced computational techniques such as radiomics show potential for presurgical prediction of survival and other outcomes from neuroimaging. However, these techniques ignore non-lesioned brain features that could be essential for improving prediction accuracy.

Remote assessment of cognitive dysfunction in hematologic malignancies using web-based neuropsychological testing.

Background: Cognitive impairment is a frequent adverse effect of cancer and its therapies. As neuropsychological assessment is not often standard of care for patients with non-CNS disease, efficient, practical assessment tools are required to track cognition across the disease course. We examined cognitive functioning using a web-based cognitive testing battery to determine if it could detect differences between patients with cancer and controls.

A Mouse Holder for Awake Functional Imaging in Unanesthetized Mice: Applications in P Spectroscopy, Manganese-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies, and Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Anesthesia is often used in preclinical imaging studies that incorporate mouse or rat models. However, multiple reports indicate that anesthesia has significant physiological impacts. Thus, there has been great interest in performing imaging studies in awake, unanesthetized animals to obtain accurate results without the confounding physiological effects of anesthesia.

Identifying Themes for Assessing Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment: Topic Modeling and Qualitative Content Analysis of Public Online Comments.

Background: Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is a common and significant adverse effect of cancer and its therapies. However, its definition and assessment remain difficult due to limitations of currently available measurement tools.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate qualitative themes related to the cognitive effects of cancer to help guide development of assessments that are more specific than what is currently available.

Characteristics of Post-ICU and Post-COVID Recovery Clinics in 29 U.S. Health Systems.

Unlabelled: The multifaceted long-term impairments resulting from critical illness and COVID-19 require interdisciplinary management approaches in the recovery phase of illness. Operational insights into the structure and process of recovery clinics (RCs) from heterogeneous health systems are needed. This study describes the structure and process characteristics of existing and newly implemented ICU-RCs and COVID-RCs in a subset of large health systems in the United States.

Cognitive Impairment in Non-critical, Mild-to-Moderate COVID-19 Survivors.

Importance: Previous studies of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome have focused on critical cases with severe disease. However, most cases are mild to moderate in disease severity.

Objective: We aimed to examine cognitive outcomes in cases of non-critical, mild-to-moderate COVID-19.