Publications by authors named "Wolfe L"

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is initially characterized by myelin and axonal damage in central nervous system white matter lesions, but their causal role in synapse loss remains undefined. Gray matter atrophy is also present early in MS, making it unclear if synaptic alterations are driven by white matter demyelinating lesions or primary gray matter damage. Furthermore, whether axonal pathology occurs secondary to or independent of demyelination to drive synaptic changes is not clear.

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  • - A rare genetic condition involving mitochondrial complex III deficiency and lactic acidosis, characterized by scalp alopecia, was identified in two unrelated cases and discussed further with a participant from the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN).
  • - The participant had two autosomal recessive disorders discovered through genome sequencing: mitochondrial complex III deficiency and cataracts, with specifics on previously documented pathogenic variants for each condition.
  • - A combination of enzyme assays and cellular proteomics showed clear dysfunction in complex III and low levels of a crucial protein, validating the genetic mutations' pathogenic effects and broadening understanding of these rare disorders.
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  • Using oral swabs to collect remnants of stomach content during rumination in dairy cows can closely replicate ruminal bacterial communities, making it beneficial for large-scale studies on the rumen microbiome.
  • The quality of these swabs can vary, affecting their ability to accurately reflect the microbiome due to factors such as sampling time, cow behavior, and swab color.
  • Our research shows that darker swabs correlate with increased bacterial diversity while lighter swabs display greater variation; darker swabs also relate to the ruminal fungal community, indicating their potential as a more accurate representation of the ruminal environment.
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Objectives: Neuromuscular respiratory failure after cervical spinal cord injury (cSCI) can lead to dependence on an invasive mechanical ventilator. Ventilator-free breathing after cSCI is associated with improved morbidity, mortality, and quality of life. We investigated the use of diaphragm muscle ultrasound to predict ventilator weaning outcomes after cSCI.

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Introduction/aims: Phrenic neuropathy (PhN) impairs diaphragm muscle function, causing a spectrum of breathing disability. PhN etiologies and their natural history are ill-defined. This knowledge gap hinders informed prognosis and management decisions.

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  • The study explores the impact of sleep disorders on recovery in poststroke patients and tests actigraphy as a tool for daytime sleep detection.
  • Two actigraphy devices, Actiwatch Spectrum and ActiGraph wGT3X-BT, tracked participants' sleep and activity, comparing algorithmic outputs to direct observations.
  • Results showed the ActiGraph Cole-Kripke algorithm was more effective in accurately detecting daytime sleep, particularly when participants were in bed, suggesting it may be a better choice for monitoring sleep in stroke rehabilitation.
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  • * A study involving 14 participants with confirmed PMM2-CDG diagnosis assessed neurodevelopmental characteristics, revealing issues like intellectual disability, growth challenges, and motor skill delays; few participants could walk, and most had limited speech capabilities.
  • * This research enhances the understanding of the neurodevelopmental challenges faced by those with PMM2-CDG, providing valuable insights for future management and support strategies.
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  • * The study identifies RNU4-2, a non-coding RNA gene, as a significant contributor to syndromic NDD, revealing a specific 18-base pair region with low variation that includes variants found in 115 individuals with NDD.
  • * RNU4-2 is highly expressed in the developing brain, and its variants disrupt splicing processes, indicating that non-coding genes play a crucial role in rare disorders, potentially aiding in the diagnosis of thousands with NDD worldwide.
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Background: While ample high-level evidence supports the limited use of antibiotics post-source control in intraabdominal infections, there is a paucity of available data in guiding antibiotic duration for intrathoracic infections. This study aims to analyze patient outcomes among those who have undergone surgical decortication for parapneumonic pleural empyema, comparing cases managed with infectious disease (ID) specialists against those without, and to identify predictive factors influencing antibiotic duration post-source control. We hypothesized that antibiotic duration would vary depending on the involvement of ID specialists.

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  • The report examines clinical, genetic, and biochemical characteristics of individuals with a confirmed congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG) participating in the FCDGC Natural History cohort after five years of study.
  • A total of 333 subjects were enrolled, with 280 having available genetic data; this included a nearly even split between males and females, with ages ranging from infancy to 71 years.
  • The study found developmental delays to be the most common symptom leading to diagnosis, occurring in 77% of participants, with an average delay of 2.7 years from symptom onset to diagnosis, and nearly all individuals displaying some developmental differences at the time of enrollment.
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Objective: To examine endometrial cancer survivors' access to healthy food resources recommended by the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) in relation to food deserts and social health determinants.

Methods: Participants included women seen for endometrial cancer treatment at an academic medical center in the Deep South from 2015 to 2020 who lived in South Carolina. Demographic and comorbidity data were abstracted from medical records.

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Study Objectives: To evaluate wearable devices and machine learning for detecting sleep apnea in patients with stroke at an acute inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF).

Methods: A total of 76 individuals with stroke wore a standard home sleep apnea test (ApneaLink Air), a multimodal, wireless wearable sensor system (ANNE), and a research-grade actigraphy device (ActiWatch) for at least 1 night during their first week after IRF admission as part of a larger clinical trial. Logistic regression algorithms were trained to detect sleep apnea using biometric features obtained from the ANNE sensors and ground truth apnea rating from the ApneaLink Air.

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Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) represents a significant burden in the United States. We aim to evaluate disparities in postoperative outcomes among diverse patients undergoing surgery for IBD.

Methods: The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) (2016-2018) was used to calculate national estimates for a number of postoperative complications in patients with IBD.

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Diamond-Blackfan anaemia (DBA), first described over 80 years ago, is a congenital disorder of erythropoiesis with a predilection for birth defects and cancer. Despite scientific advances, this chronic, debilitating, and life-limiting disorder continues to cause a substantial physical, psychological, and financial toll on patients and their families. The highly complex medical needs of affected patients require specialised expertise and multidisciplinary care.

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Around 60% of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) remain undiagnosed after comprehensive genetic testing, primarily of protein-coding genes. Increasingly, large genome-sequenced cohorts are improving our ability to discover new diagnoses in the non-coding genome. Here, we identify the non-coding RNA as a novel syndromic NDD gene.

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  • * Researchers found 23 specific changes in a gene related to this complex that affect 38 people, leading to problems with brain cell growth and learning in animals.
  • * By targeting certain stress response proteins, they discovered ways to help fix some of the immune issues caused by these disorders, leading to new ideas for treatments.
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Objective: We leveraged common genetic variation underlying ADHD, educational attainment (EA) and cognition (COG) to understand the nature of the Behavior Rating Inventory for Executive Functions (BRIEF) and its relationship to academic functioning.

Method: Participants were 991 youth, ages 7 to 17, consecutively referred for neuropsychiatric evaluation. Polygenic scores (PGS) for ADHD, EA, and COG were related to the BRIEF using regression analyses.

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Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDGs) are a genetically and clinically diverse group of disorders that arise as a result of defects within glycosylation synthetic pathways. CDGs are caused by pathogenic variants in many different genes in the glycosylation network. With over 160 different CDG types currently identified and a vast range of severity and presentations existing within and across those types, the road to a CDG diagnosis is often lengthy and complicated.

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Objective: The links from youth sleep problems to emotional, behavioral, and academic functioning are well documented. Latent variable mixture modeling (LVMM) has been used to explore these relations; however, additional research is needed in diverse samples and with self-reports of sleep-related difficulties. The objectives of the current study were to identify profiles based on patterns of sleep disturbance and impairment and explore associations among profiles and functioning at baseline and over a subsequent 6-month period.

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  • - The NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program (UDP) helps patients who have not been diagnosed despite extensive testing by using deep phenotyping and genomic testing under procedural anesthesia.
  • - A review of cases from 2008 to 2020 revealed that 249 pediatric patients underwent anesthesia for diagnostic reasons, with serious systemic and neurological conditions being common among them.
  • - The study found that while some perioperative complications occurred, most patients recovered fully, and nearly half received a diagnosis, largely thanks to the insights gained from the procedures done under anesthesia.
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Rapid and accurate measurements of immune protein markers are essential for diagnosis and treatment in all clinical settings. The recent pandemic has revealed a stark need for developing new tools and assays that could be rapidly used in diverse settings and provide useful information to clinicians. Here, we describe the development and test application of a novel one-step CRP/IP-10 duplex assay for the LightDeck platform capable of delivering reproducible and accurate measurements in under eight minutes.

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Bispecific biotherapeutics offer potent and highly specific treatment options in oncology and immuno-oncology. However, many bispecific formats are prone to high levels of aggregation and instability, leading to prolonged development timelines, inefficient manufacturing, and high costs. The novel class of Mabcalin™ molecules consist of Anticalin® proteins fused to an IgG and are currently being evaluated in pre-clinical and clinical studies.

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Sustainable manure management technologies are needed, and combining anaerobic digestion (AD) for energy generation and aerobic composting (AC) to stabilize digestate and remove emerging contaminants (ECs), including veterinary pharmaceuticals and steroid hormones, is promising. This study identified post-AD, AC operating conditions that maximized degradation of study ECs, expected to be present in cattle manure digested using treated municipal wastewater as the water source. Study ECs included sulfamethoxazole (SMX), chlortetracycline (CTC), oxytetracycline (OTC), estrone (E1), and naproxen (NPX).

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