Publications by authors named "Thomas Kim"

Inducibly degradable polymers present new opportunities to integrate tough hydrogels into a wide range of biomaterials. Rapid and inducible degradation enables fast transition in material properties without sacrificing material integrity prior to removal. In pursuit of bioorthogonal chemical modalities that will enable inducible polymer degradation in biologically relevant environments, enamine N-oxide crosslinkers are developed for double network acrylamide-based polymer/alginate hydrogels.

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Background: The (STAR*D) trial was designed to give guidance in selecting the best next-step treatment for depressed patients who did not remit during their first, and/or subsequent, antidepressant trial, with up to four trials per patient. Our prior research documented protocol violations which inflated STAR*D's reported cumulative remission rate by 91.4%.

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Background: A priority setting partnership for eczema (syn atopic eczema, atopic dermatitis) has identified that bathing frequency is a key area of patient interest. However, there are nolarge, high-quality randomised controlled trials (RCTs) investigating this.The Rapid Eczema Trials project is a novel programme of research that aims to deliver multiple online RCTs, using a citizen science approach.

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Introduction: Several studies suggest that oral monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) may be more effective than serotonin reuptake inhibitors for treating treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Despite this advantage, they are now rarely prescribed due to concern over serious side effects. In contrast, selegiline transdermal system (STS) may present a safer alternative to oral MAOIs and TCAs; however, no studies have compared STS with other antidepressants.

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Background: Classic teaching is that spinal anesthesia is safe at or below the L2-L3 interspace. To evaluate this, we sought to determine the percentage of individuals with a conus medullaris termination (CMT) level at or below the L1-L2 interspace. Further, the relationship of CMT level to age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and spinal pathology was examined, as was the reliability of using Tuffier's line (TL) as an anatomical landmark.

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Background: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating new systemic treatments for atopic dermatitis (AD) have increased dramatically over the last decade. These trials often incorporate topical therapies either as permitted concomitant or rescue treatments. Differential use of these topicals post-randomisation introduces potential bias as they may nullify or exaggerate treatment responses.

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Background: The Recap of atopic eczema (RECAP) is a patient-reported instrument designed to assess eczema control. There is a lack of evidence on the interpretability of change scores in clinical trials.

Objectives: To calculate the smallest detectable change (SDC) in RECAP and estimate the minimal important change (MIC) for RECAP using various calculation methods in three eczema clinical trial datasets.

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The development of methods to detect and treat intracranial large-vessel occlusions (LVOs) has revolutionized the management of acute ischemic stroke. CT angiography (CTA) of the head and neck is effective in depicting LVOs and widely used in the evaluation of patients who have had a stroke. Ongoing efforts are now focused on the potential to detect and treat intracranial medium-vessel occlusions (MeVOs), which by definition are smaller than LVOs and thus more difficult to detect with CTA.

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Introduction: There is a "traditional belief" that antidepressant side effect complaints improve with medication persistence; however, support for this theory has remained inconclusive. We aimed to examine if side effect complaints improved over time by modeling the relationship between side effect complaints and time at dropout for patients receiving citalopram during the first level of acute treatment in the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) trial.

Methods: We categorized the 2833 patients into five patterns by week of dropout.

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Background: Lichen sclerosus (LS) is a chronic inflammatory condition that mainly affects genital skin. It causes distressing symptoms that impact daily quality of life, as well as progressive anatomical changes and a potential risk of cancer. Vulval LS is often misdiagnosed and treatment delayed.

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Article Synopsis
  • Acne is a common skin condition that affects women's quality of life and often leads to long-term antibiotic use, prompting the study of spironolactone as a potential treatment.
  • The study was a randomized, double-blind trial assessing the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of spironolactone for treating facial acne in women aged 18 and older, continuing their usual topical treatments.
  • Results showed that among the 410 women randomized, the treatment group successfully tolerated spironolactone at increasing doses, with a focus on improvements in acne-related quality of life over a 12-week period.
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Background: Emollients and topical corticosteroids (TCS) prevent and treat flares in eczema. However, topical treatment use is poorly recorded and reported in clinical trials. There is no clear consensus of how best to capture and summarize topical treatment use.

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Neurovascular defects are one of the most common alterations in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis, but whether these deficits develop before the onset of amyloid beta (Aβ) accumulation remains to be determined. Using in vivo optical imaging in freely moving mice, we explored activity-induced hippocampal microvascular blood flow dynamics in App knock-in and J20 mouse models of AD at early stages of disease progression. We found that prior to the onset of Aβ accumulation, there was a pathologically elevated blood flow response to context exploration, termed functional hyperemia.

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Article Synopsis
  • Atopic eczema is a frequent skin condition in children that can decrease their quality of life and is associated with other allergic conditions like asthma and food allergies.
  • The study aimed to see if applying daily emollients in the first year of life could prevent eczema and other related atopic diseases in infants at high risk.
  • The trial involved over 1,300 newborns, with results showing a slight difference in eczema rates at age 2, suggesting emollient use may have a modest protective effect.
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Background: Real-world data can be helpful in evaluating endovascular therapy (EVT) in ischemic stroke care. We conducted a pilot study to aggregate data on basilar artery occlusion (BAO) EVT from existing registries in the USA. We evaluated the availability, completeness, quality, and consistency of common data elements (CDEs) across data sources.

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Importance: Outcome measurement is an essential component of value-based health care and can aid patient care, quality improvement, and clinical effectiveness evidence generation. The Harmonising Outcome Measures for Eczema Clinical Practice initiative aims to identify a list of validated, feasible, outcome measurement instruments recommended to measure atopic dermatitis (AD) in the clinical practice setting. The clinical practice set is a list of instruments that clinicians can pick and choose from to suit their needs in the context of clinical care.

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Ductal carcinoma in situ is very rare in male patients, accounting for approximately 5%-7% of all male breast cancers. We present a case of a man in his early 70s who presented with bloody nipple discharge and gynaecomastia and was subsequently diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). We discuss his management with surgical resection and the consideration of adjuvant treatment.

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