Outcomes of Emergency Parastomal Hernia Repair in Older Adults: A Retrospective Analysis.

Introduction: Parastomal hernias are common and many are never repaired. Emergency parastomal hernia repair (PHR) is a feared complication following ostomy creation, yet the incidence and long-term outcomes of emergency PHR are unknown.

Materials And Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 100% Medicare claims data (2007-2015) to evaluate complications, readmissions, reoperations, hospitalizations, and mortality after emergency PHR.

Use of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been applied in many fields of science and is increasingly being considered as a tool in the clinical setting. This review examines its application for diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs). IEMs, whether involving deficiency in the synthesis and degradation of metabolites, or in lipoprotein metabolism, affect nearly 3% of the global population.

Interactions Between Genome-Wide Genetic Factors and Smoking Influencing Risk of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Objective: To identify interactions between genetic factors and current or recent smoking in relation to risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: For the study, 673 patients with SLE (diagnosed according to the American College of Rheumatology 1997 updated classification criteria) were matched by age, sex, and race (first 3 genetic principal components) to 3,272 control subjects without a history of connective tissue disease. Smoking status was classified as current smoking/having recently quit smoking within 4 years before diagnosis (or matched index date for controls) versus distant past/never smoking.

Renal deposits of complement factors as predictors of end-stage renal disease and death in patients with lupus nephritis.

Objective: Lupus nephritis (LN) increases the risks of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and death, but these risks are difficult to estimate. Since complement factors play an essential role in the pathogenesis and are deposited in the kidneys as C1q and C3, we studied whether these deposits predict ESRD and death in patients with LN.

Methods: We collected demographic, clinical and pathological data from 183 adult patients with LN classes II-V diagnosed with a first native kidney biopsy.

Circulating plasma metabolites and risk of rheumatoid arthritis in the Nurses' Health Study.

Objectives: RA develops slowly over years. We tested for metabolic changes prior to RA onset using a large non-targeted metabolomics platform to identify novel pathways and advance understanding of RA development.

Methods: Two hundred and fifty-four incident RA cases with plasma samples drawn pre-RA onset in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) cohorts were matched 1:2 to 501 controls on age, race, menopause/post-menopausal hormone use and blood collection features.

Elevated Anti-Citrullinated Protein Antibodies Prior to Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis and Risks for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or Asthma.

Objective: To investigate elevation of anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs) before diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and risks for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma.

Methods: We performed a matched cohort study nested within the Nurses' Health Studies among women who donated blood. Women with incident RA after blood draw (self-reported, then confirmed by medical records) were each matched to 3 controls by age, cohort, year, and menopausal factors.

Comparison of an administrative algorithm for SLE disease severity to clinical SLE Disease Activity Index scores.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) severity, reflecting both disease intensity and duration, is heterogeneous making it challenging to study in administrative databases where severity may confound or mediate associations with outcomes. Garris et al. developed an administrative claims-based algorithm employing claims over a 1-year period to classify SLE severity as mild, moderate or severe.

Asthma and elevation of anti-citrullinated protein antibodies prior to the onset of rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) are central to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis and may develop at inflamed mucosa. We investigated whether asthma, a disease of airway mucosal inflammation, was associated with elevated ACPA before RA diagnosis.

Methods: We performed a nested case-control study among women in two prospective cohorts, the Nurses' Health Study (NHS; 1976-2014) and NHSII (1989-2015).

Spinal cord syndromes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: differentiating lupus myelitis, neuromyelitis optica, and multiple sclerosis.

Objective: Non-infectious myelitis in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) may be due to SLE myelitis, comorbid multiple sclerosis (MS), or neuromyelitis optica (NMO). We compared characteristics of these three conditions in SLE patients at a large academic institution.

Methods: We searched for neurologic diagnoses of SLE myelitis, NMO myelitis, and MS myelitis among 2297 patients with at least four 1997 American College of Rheumatology revised criteria for SLE between 2000 and 2015.

Development of a Set of Lupus-Specific, Ambulatory Care-Sensitive, Potentially Preventable Adverse Conditions: A Delphi Consensus Study.

Objective: Individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are at high risk for infections and SLE- and medication-related complications. The present study was undertaken to define a set of SLE-specific adverse outcomes that could be prevented, or their complications minimized, if timely, effective ambulatory care had been received.

Methods: We used a modified Delphi process beginning with a literature review and key informant interviews to select initial SLE-specific potentially preventable conditions.

Initial disease severity, cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: SLE is associated with high risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality, and has a wide spectrum of presentations. We investigated whether SLE severity at diagnosis was associated with CVD or mortality risk.

Methods: Within Medicaid (2000-10), we identified patients 18-65 years of age with incident SLE.

Clinical characteristics and renal prognosis associated with interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IFTA) and vascular injury in lupus nephritis biopsies.

Background: Interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IFTA) and vascular injury are frequent histologic features of lupus nephritis renal biopsies, but their clinical correlates and prognostic value are not well understood. This cohort study investigated demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics, and outcomes, associated with IFTA and vascular injury in lupus nephritis.

Methods: Reports of all renal biopsies performed at an academic medical center (1990-2017) with WHO/ISN/RPS Class II-V lupus nephritis were reviewed.

Long-Term Physical Activity and Subsequent Risk for Rheumatoid Arthritis Among Women: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of long-term physical activity on subsequent risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a prospective cohort study.

Methods: This study investigated physical activity and RA risk among women from the Nurses' Health Study II (1989-2015). Physical activity exposures and covariates were prospectively obtained using biennial questionnaires.

Impact and Timing of Smoking Cessation on Reducing Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis Among Women in the Nurses' Health Studies.

Objective: To investigate the impact and timing of smoking cessation on developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and serologic phenotypes.

Methods: We investigated smoking cessation and RA risk in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) (1976-2014) and the NHS II (1989-2015). Smoking exposures and covariates were obtained by biennial questionnaires.

Metabotropic glutamate receptor-1 regulates inflammation in triple negative breast cancer.

Breast cancer remains a major cause of death among women. 15% of these cancers are triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive subtype of breast cancer for which no current effective targeted therapy exists. We have previously demonstrated a role for mGluR1 in mediating tumor cell growth, endothelial cell proliferation, and tumor-induced angiogenesis in TNBC.

IgA Fc-folate conjugate activates and recruits neutrophils to directly target triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Purpose: According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 8 women in the U.S. will develop breast cancer, with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) comprising 15-20% of all breast cancer cases.

Inflammatory dietary pattern and risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis in women.

Our objective was to investigate whether a dietary pattern derived using inflammatory biomarkers is associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) risk. We prospectively followed 79,988 women in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS, 1984-2014) and 93,572 women in the NHSII (1991-2013); incident RA was confirmed by medical records. Food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) were completed at baseline and approximately every 4 years.

Cigarette smoking and the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multi-system inflammatory autoimmune disease of incompletely understood etiology. It is thought that environmental exposures 'trigger' or accelerate the disease in genetically-predisposed individuals. Areas covered: Substantial epidemiological evidence exists to support the association between cigarette smoking and the risk of incident SLE.

Riluzole synergizes with paclitaxel to inhibit cell growth and induce apoptosis in triple-negative breast cancer.

Purpose: One in eight women will develop breast cancer, 15-20% of whom will have triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive breast cancer with no current targeted therapy. We have demonstrated that riluzole, an FDA-approved drug for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, inhibits growth of TNBC. In this study, we explore potential synergism between riluzole and paclitaxel, a chemotherapeutic agent commonly used to treat TNBC, in regulating TNBC proliferation, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis.

Cumene hydroperoxide induced changes in oxidation-reduction potential in fresh and frozen seminal ejaculates.

Oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) is a newer integrated measure of the balance between total oxidants (reactive oxygen species-ROS) and reductants (antioxidants) that reflects oxidative stress in a biological system. This study measures ORP and evaluates the effect of exogenous induction of oxidative stress by cumene hydroperoxide (CH) on ORP in fresh and frozen semen using the MiOXSYS Analyzer. Semen samples from healthy donors (n = 20) were collected and evaluated for sperm parameters.

Correlation between the histopathology of chronic urticaria and its clinical picture.

Background:: Chronic urticaria is characterized by transient, pruritic lesions of varying sizes, with central pallor and well-defined edges, with disease duration longer than six weeks. Its cellular infiltrate consists of neutrophils, lymphocytes and eosinophils. There is a subgroup of patients with eosinophilic or neutrophilic urticaria, resistant to the treatment with antihistamines, but that respond to a combination of antihistamine with other drugs.

Urticarial vasculitis in the childhood with C2 hypocomplementenemia: a rare case.

We report a first case of hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis of C2 fraction in a child, with cutaneous manifestation only, with no reports in scientific literature.

Strategic Endothelial Cell Tube Formation Assay: Comparing Extracellular Matrix and Growth Factor Reduced Extracellular Matrix.

Malignant tumors require a blood supply in order to survive and spread. These tumors obtain their needed blood from the patient's blood stream by hijacking the process of angiogenesis, in which new blood vessels are formed from existing blood vessels. The CXCR2 (chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor 2) receptor is a transmembrane G-protein-linked molecule found in many cells that is closely associated with angiogenesis(1).

Riluzole mediates anti-tumor properties in breast cancer cells independent of metabotropic glutamate receptor-1.

Riluzole, the only drug approved by the FDA for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, inhibits melanoma proliferation through its inhibitory effect on glutamatergic signaling. We demonstrated that riluzole also inhibits the growth of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and described a role for metabotropic glutamate receptor-1 (GRM1) in regulating TNBC cell growth and progression. However, the role of GRM1 in mediating riluzole's effects in breast cancer has not been fully elucidated.