Living Flat: Stories from Women of Color After Mastectomy.

Background: There remain persistent racial and ethnic disparities in the receipt of post-mastectomy breast reconstruction for breast cancer. Yet, patient-reported outcomes and advocacy efforts around living flat overwhelmingly have focused on white women. We sought to characterize the lived experiences among women of color living flat after mastectomy for breast cancer.

Branched-chain amino acids modulate the proteomic profile of Trypanosoma cruzi metacyclogenesis induced by proline.

Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, has a complex life cycle that involves triatomine insects as vectors and mammals as hosts. The differentiation of epimastigote forms into metacyclic trypomastigotes within the insect vector is crucial for the parasite's life cycle progression. Factors influencing this process, including temperature, pH, and nutritional stress, along with specific metabolite availability, play a pivotal role.

Trends in breast cancer specific death by clinical stage at diagnoses between 2000-2017.

Background: Approximately 40,000 individuals die from metastatic breast cancer each year. We examined what fractions of annual breast cancer-specific death (BCSD) are due to stage I, II, III, IV disease and if these proportions changed over time.

Methods: We used data from SEER covering 1975 to 2017.

Observational Burden of Illness Study in Patients With Crohn's Disease With and Without Perianal Fistulas in the United States.

Background And Aims: This study compared disease burden, experiences, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) between patients with Crohn's perianal fistulas (CPFs) and those with Crohn's disease (CD) without perianal fistulas (PFs; non-PF CD).

Methods: This cross-sectional, observational study was conducted in 3 cohorts of US patients aged 18-89 years with self-reported, physician-diagnosed CD: (1) non-PF CD; (2) CPF without PF-related surgery; and (3) CPF with PF-related surgery. Data on medical and surgical interventions, CD-specific symptoms, HRQoL (assessed using the Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease and 5-dimension EuroQol questionnaires), and fecal incontinence (assessed using Revised Faecal Incontinence Scale and Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life questionnaires) were collected via a web-enabled questionnaire.

Exploring the Therapeutic Potential of Benfotiamine in a Sporadic Alzheimer's-Like Disease Rat Model: Insights into Insulin Signaling and Cognitive function.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative process, also considered a metabolic condition due to alterations in glucose metabolism and insulin signaling pathways in the brain, which share similarities with diabetes. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of benfotiamine (BFT), a vitamin B1 analog, in the early stages of the neurodegenerative process in a sporadic model of Alzheimer's-like disease induced by intracerebroventricular injection of streptozotocin (STZ). Supplementation with 150 mg/kg of BFT for 7 days reversed the cognitive impairment in short- and long-term memories caused by STZ in rodents.

Peripheral blood immune parameters, response, and adverse events after neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus durvalumab in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer.

Purpose: We evaluated T- and B-cell receptor (TCR and BCR) repertoire diversity and 38 serum cytokines in pre- and post-treatment peripheral blood of 66 patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus durvalumab and assessed associations with pathologic response and immune-related adverse events (irAEs) during treatment.

Methods: Genomic DNA was isolated from buffy coat for TCR and BCR clonotype profiling using the Immunoseq platform and diversity was quantified with Pielou's evenness index. MILLIPLEX MAP Human Cytokine/Chemokine Magnetic Bead Panel was used to measure serum cytokine levels, which were compared between groups using moderated t-statistic with Benjamini-Hochberg correction for multiple testing.

The role of blood testing in prevention, diagnosis, and management of chronic diseases: A review.

Blood tests are vital to prevention, diagnosis, and management of chronic diseases. Despite this, it can be challenging to construct a comprehensive view of the clinical importance of blood testing because relevant literature is typically fragmented across different disease areas and patient populations. This lack of collated evidence can also make it difficult for primary care providers to adhere to best practices for blood testing across different diseases and guidelines.

A medical chart audit to assess endocrinologist perceptions of the burden of endogenous Cushing's syndrome.

Purpose: This study was undertaken to assess the unmet needs within the endogenous Cushing's syndrome (CS) care paradigm from the endocrinologist's perspective, including data abstracted from patient charts. The study evaluated endocrinologists' perceptions on burden of illness and treatment rationale along with the long-term clinical burden of CS, tolerability of CS treatments, and healthcare resource utilization for CS.

Methods: Retrospective medical chart data from treated patients with a confirmed diagnosis of CS was abstracted using a cross-sectional survey to collect data from qualified endocrinologists.

Holistic burden of illness in patients with endogenous Cushing's syndrome: A systematic literature review.

Objective: The objective of this systematic literature review (SLR) was to summarize the latest studies evaluating the burden of illness in endogenous Cushing's syndrome (CS), including the impact of CS on overall and domain-specific health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and the economic burden of CS to provide a holistic understanding of disease and treatment burden.

Methods: An SLR was conducted in PubMed, MEDLINE and Embase using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist to identify peer-reviewed manuscripts and conference abstracts published in English from 2015 to December 4, 2020.

Results: Forty-five publications were eligible for inclusion; data were extracted from 37 primary studies while 8 SLRs were included for reference only.

Admission rates and clinical profiles of children and youth with eating disorders treated as inpatients before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in a German university hospital.

Introduction: Children and youth at risk for mental health disorders, such as eating disorders (ED), were particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, yet evidence for the most seriously affected and thus hospitalized youth in Germany is scarce.

Methods: This crosssectional study investigated anonymized routine hospital data (demographic information, diagnoses, treatment modalities) of patients admitted ( = 2,849) to the Department of Child and Adolescence Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy (DCAPPP) of a German University Hospital between 01/2016 and 02/2022. Absolute and relative number of inpatients with or without ED prior to (01/2016-02/2020) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (03/2020-02/2022) were compared.

The branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) modulate the development of the intra-cellular stages of Trypanosoma cruzi.

The life cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, involves different forms of the parasite, which alternates between insect and vertebrate hosts. One critical process in the parasite's life cycle is metacyclogenesis, in which the replicative non-infective forms present in the insect midgut differentiate into non-dividing vertebrate-infective forms. It is known that proline (Pro) is important for this process and that leucine (Leu) and isoleucine (Ile) can act as inhibitors of metacyclogenesis.

Randomized Trial of Exercise and Nutrition on Chemotherapy Completion and Pathologic Complete Response in Women With Breast Cancer: The Lifestyle, Exercise, and Nutrition Early After Diagnosis Study.

Purpose: Successful completion of chemotherapy is critical to improve breast cancer outcomes. Relative dose intensity (RDI), defined as the ratio of chemotherapy delivered to prescribed, is a measure of chemotherapy completion and is associated with cancer mortality. The effect of exercise and eating a healthy diet on RDI is unknown.

Correction: How much (ATP) does it cost to build a trypanosome? A theoretical study on the quantity of ATP needed to maintain and duplicate a bloodstream-form Trypanosoma brucei cell.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.

How much (ATP) does it cost to build a trypanosome? A theoretical study on the quantity of ATP needed to maintain and duplicate a bloodstream-form Trypanosoma brucei cell.

ATP hydrolysis is required for the synthesis, transport and polymerization of monomers for macromolecules as well as for the assembly of the latter into cellular structures. Other cellular processes not directly related to synthesis of biomass, such as maintenance of membrane potential and cellular shape, also require ATP. The unicellular flagellated parasite Trypanosoma brucei has a complex digenetic life cycle.

Relative Burden of Cancer and Noncancer Mortality Among Long-Term Survivors of Breast, Prostate, and Colorectal Cancer in the US.

Importance: Improvements in cancer outcomes have led to a need to better understand long-term oncologic and nononcologic outcomes and quantify cancer-specific vs noncancer-specific mortality risks among long-term survivors.

Objective: To assess absolute and relative cancer-specific vs noncancer-specific mortality rates among long-term survivors of cancer, as well as associated risk factors.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study included 627 702 patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registry with breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer who received a diagnosis between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2014, who received definitive treatment for localized disease and who were alive 5 years after their initial diagnosis (ie, long-term survivors of cancer).

Navigating the boundaries between metabolism and epigenetics in trypanosomes.

Epigenetic marks enable cells to acquire new biological features that favor their adaptation to environmental changes. These marks are chemical modifications on chromatin-associated proteins and nucleic acids that lead to changes in the chromatin landscape and may eventually affect gene expression. The chemical tags of these epigenetic marks are comprised of intermediate cellular metabolites.

Protein kinases on carbon metabolism: potential targets for alternative chemotherapies against toxoplasmosis.

The apicomplexan parasite is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, a global disease that significantly impacts human health. The clinical manifestations are mainly observed in immunocompromised patients, including ocular damage and neuronal alterations leading to psychiatric disorders. The congenital infection leads to miscarriage or severe alterations in the development of newborns.

Cysteine synthase: multiple structures of a key enzyme in cysteine synthesis and a potential drug target for Chagas disease and leishmaniasis.

Chagas disease is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, whilst leishmaniasis, which is caused by over 20 species of Leishmania, represents a group of NTDs endemic to most countries in the tropical and subtropical belt of the planet. These diseases remain a significant health problem both in endemic countries and globally. These parasites and other trypanosomatids, including T.

Evaluating the burden of endogenous Cushing's syndrome using a web-based questionnaire and validated patient-reported outcome measures.

Introduction: Endogenous Cushing's syndrome (CS) is a rare endocrine condition caused by chronic oversecretion of cortisol, resulting in a diverse constellation of symptoms. This study examined the ongoing burden of illness (BOI), from the first appearance of symptoms through treatment, which is currently not well evaluated.

Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional, web-enabled survey including 5 validated patient reported outcomes (PRO) measures was conducted in patients with CS who had been diagnosed ≥ 6 months prior and who had received ≥ 1 treatment for their endogenous CS at the time of the survey.

Branched chain amino acids catabolism as a source of new drug targets in pathogenic protists.

Leucine, isoleucine, and valine, collectively termed Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA), are hydrophobic amino acids (AAs) and are essential for most eukaryotes since in these organisms they cannot be biosynthesized and must be supplied by the diet. These AAs are structurally relevant for muscle cells and, of course, important for the protein synthesis process. The metabolism of BCAA and its participation in different biological processes in mammals have been relatively well described.

Dermatologic toxicities of chemotherapy: an educational intervention for skin of color women with breast cancer.

Unlabelled: Minority patients are more likely to require dose adjustments for chemotherapy, with cultural barriers and access to medical care cited as contributory factors.

Objective: We sought to pilot an educational intervention, in the form of a pamphlet, to evaluate the effectiveness of this tool in teaching skin of color (SoC) patients about potential dermatologic toxicities of chemotherapy that are relevant to their skin type.

Methods: At a chemotherapy infusion center, SoC patients ( = 26) who were receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer voluntarily consented to read an educational pamphlet and complete a series of survey questions before and after this educational intervention.