Clinical and genetic predictors of cardiac dysfunction assessed by echocardiography in patients with hereditary hemochromatosis.

Purpose: Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) may cause iron deposition in cardiac tissue. We aimed to describe the echocardiographic findings in patients with HH and identify risk factors for cardiac dysfunction.

Methods: In this retrospective study, we included patients with HH who underwent transthoracic echocardiography at our tertiary care center between August 2000 and July 2022.

Proposed dietary recommendations for iron overload: a guide for physician practice.

Purpose Of Review: Iron overload disorders such as hemochromatosis involve unregulated absorption of dietary iron, leading to excessive iron accumulation in multiple organs. Phlebotomy is the standard of care for removal of excess iron, but dietary modification is not standardized in practice. The purpose of this article is to help standardize hemochromatosis diet counseling based on commonly asked patient questions.

Development of a Risk Stratification Model for Pre-liver-Transplant Screening Colonoscopy.

Background And Aims: Colonoscopies are routinely obtained before liver transplantation, although their utility is a highly debated topic in the literature. We aimed to determine the risk factors in patients with decompensated cirrhosis (DC) for post-colonoscopy complications (PCC).

Materials And Methods: We performed a single-center retrospective study of patients with DC undergoing colonoscopy as part of their pre-liver-transplant evaluation.

Brain state transition analysis using ultra-fast fMRI differentiates MCI from cognitively normal controls.

Purpose: Conventional resting-state fMRI studies indicate that many cortical and subcortical regions have altered function in Alzheimer's disease (AD) but the nature of this alteration has remained unclear. Ultrafast fMRIs with sub-second acquisition times have the potential to improve signal contrast and enable advanced analyses to understand temporal interactions between brain regions as opposed to spatial interactions. In this work, we leverage such fast fMRI acquisitions from Alzheimer's disease Neuroimaging Initiative to understand temporal differences in the interactions between resting-state networks in 55 older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 50 cognitively normal healthy controls.

Incidentalomas are associated with an increase in liver transplantation in patients with cirrhosis: a single-center retrospective study.

Background: Incidentalomas, defined as incidental findings on imaging, are a growing concern. Our aim was to determine the impact and outcomes of extrahepatic incidentalomas on liver transplantation.

Methods: Patients at a large liver transplant center, who had an initial MRI for hepatocellular carcinoma screening between January 2004 and March 2020 were identified.

Activation of noradrenergic locus coeruleus and social behavior network nuclei varies with duration of male midshipman advertisement calls.

Vocal courtship is vital to the reproductive success of many vertebrates and is therefore a highly-motivated behavioral state. Catecholamines have been shown to play an essential role in the expression and maintenance of motivated vocal behavior, such as the coordination of vocal-motor output in songbirds. However, it is not well-understood if this relationship applies to anamniote vocal species.

Preoperative echocardiography as a prognostic tool for liver transplant in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) presents with a hypertrophied left ventricle (LV). It is often associated with LV outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) and a risk for sudden death. This study aimed to describe outcomes of patients with HCM who underwent liver transplant (LT).

Extent of eosinophilic esophagitis predicts response to treatment.

 The clinical impact of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) limited to the distal esophagus (Lim-EE) vs. diffuse involvement (Dif-EE) is unknown. This study compared clinical characteristics and outcomes of Lim-EE vs.

A survey of lifestyle habits, physician counseling, and direct-to consumer genetic testing in patients with hereditary hemochromatosis.

Introduction And Objectives: The goal of this study was to assess lifestyle habits and physician counseling of patients with hereditary hemochromatosis (HH), and determine the prevalence of direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing.

Materials And Methods: A 52-question survey was created to collect information on lifestyle habits and physician counseling among patients with HH, and the use of DTC genetic testing of patients referred to a clinic for evaluation of HH. A multivariate logistic regression model was applied to identify predictors of DTC genetic testing use.

Resting-State Cerebello-Cortical Dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease.

Recently, the cerebellum's role in Parkinson's disease (PD) has been highlighted. Therefore, this study sought to test the hypothesis that functional connectivity (FC) between cerebellar and cortical nodes of the resting-state networks differentiates PD patients from controls by scanning participants at rest using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and investigating connectivity of the cerebellar nodes of the resting-state networks. Sixty-two PD participants off medication for at least 12 h and 33 normal controls (NCs) were scanned at rest using blood oxygenation level-dependent fMRI scans.

Lymphocytic Esophagitis: Assessing Risk Factors and Clinical Outcomes.

Background: Lymphocytic esophagitis is a rare esophageal condition. Our knowledge of potential risk factors and treatment outcomes of lymphocytic esophagitis is limited.

Aim: To investigate potential risk factors associated with the development of lymphocytic esophagitis and compare clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of patients diagnosed with lymphocytic esophagitis to patients diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis.

Proton-pump-inhibitor use associated with lower short-term rebleeding and mortality in patients receiving esophageal variceal band ligation: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: The impact of proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy on subsequent hemorrhage and mortality after variceal hemorrhage is unclear.

Aim: Evaluate the associations of PPI use with upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) and death within 30 days of undergoing esophageal variceal band ligation (EBL) separately in inpatient and outpatient settings.

Methods: Retrospective review of cirrhotic patients with variceal hemorrhage who underwent EBL between 2005 and 2018.

Increased rates of spinal fusion surgery in patients with hereditary hemochromatosis: a five-year propensity matched cohort analysis.

Object: Spinal arthropathy is associated with hereditary hemochromatosis and has been linked to calcium pyrophosphate dehydrate crystal deposition (CPPD) which resembles ankylosing spondylitis on radiograph, yet lacks clinical findings of inflammatory spinal arthritis. The aim of our study was to assess the use of spinal surgery and its outcomes in the US inpatient population with hereditary hemochromatosis from 2012 to 2016 by using the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database.

Methods: The observational retrospective cohort study uses the NIS 2012 to 2016.

Hereditary hemochromatosis and risk of joint replacement surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background/objectives: Arthritis is a known manifestation of hereditary hemochromatosis. However, whether patients with hereditary hemochromatosis have an increased risk of having joint replacement surgery compared to the general population is still unknown. This meta-analysis was conducted to better characterize this risk.

Hereditary hemochromatosis is associated with increased use of joint replacement surgery: Results of a nationwide analysis.

Background: Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) may lead to iron deposition-mediated arthropathy, causing progressive joint degeneration, necessitating replacement arthroplasty. Studies have noted an increased need for replacement arthroplasty in patients with HH. We aimed to compare the use of replacement arthroplasty and inpatient economic burden in patients with and without HH.

Creation of a score to predict risk of high conscious sedation requirements in patients undergoing endoscopy.

Background And Aims: The administration of intravenous conscious sedation to patients undergoing GI endoscopy carries a risk of cardiopulmonary adverse events. Our study aim was to create a score that stratifies the risk of occurrence of either high-dose conscious sedation requirements or a failed procedure.

Methods: Patients receiving endoscopy via endoscopist-directed conscious sedation were included.

Hepatic iron overload identified by magnetic resonance imaging-based T2* is a predictor of non-diagnostic elastography.

Background: Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a non-invasive test used to assess liver stiffness and fibrosis in chronic liver disease, which includes systemic iron overload. However, iron deposition by itself is associated with technical failure of MRE of the liver which necessitates the use of invasive liver biopsy as an alternative monitoring method for these patients. T2*-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (T2*) is a reliable modality to asses for hepatic as well as total body iron overload.

Gastric outlet obstruction: A red flag, potentially manageable.

Gastric outlet obstruction is a common condition in which mechanical obstruction in the distal stomach, pylorus, or duodenum causes nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and early satiety. This article reviews the changing etiology of this disorder and advances in its treatment.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Dietary Interventions.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorder, affecting approximately 14% of the global population. Symptoms of IBS are some of the most common reasons that primary care providers refer patients to gastroenterologists. IBS has a significant economic impact on the health care system and greatly reduces patients' quality of life.