Examining the risk of delirium in patients hospitalized with COVID-19: Insights from the homeless population.

For patients hospitalized with COVID-19, delirium is a serious and under-recognized complication, and people experiencing homelessness (PEH) may be at greater risk. This retrospective cohort study compared delirium-associated risk factors and clinical outcomes between PEH and non-PEH. This study used patient records from 154 hospitals discharged from 2020-2021 from the Texas Inpatient Public Use Data file.

Reproducibility and repeatability of 18F-(2S, 4R)-4-fluoroglutamine PET imaging in preclinical oncology models.

Introduction: Measurement of repeatability and reproducibility (R&R) is necessary to realize the full potential of positron emission tomography (PET). Several studies have evaluated the reproducibility of PET using 18F-FDG, the most common PET tracer used in oncology, but similar studies using other PET tracers are scarce. Even fewer assess agreement and R&R with statistical methods designed explicitly for the task.

Protective behavioral strategies and alcohol consequences following a group-based motivational intervention for young adults experiencing homelessness.

Objective: Young adults experiencing homelessness are at high risk for alcohol-related consequences, but protective behavioral strategies (PBS) have not been investigated as a harm reduction approach in this population. This study examines longitudinal associations between PBS and alcohol-related consequences following a group-based alcohol intervention.

Method: Data come from AWARE, a randomized controlled trial of a group-based motivational intervention to reduce substance use and risky sex compared to usual care.

Understanding the Role of Trust in Healthcare and Intentions to Pursue Live Donor Kidney Transplant Among African American End Stage Kidney Disease Patients.

African Americans (AAs) with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) experience significant barriers to accessing living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT), largely due to individual and systemic factors, including a lack of trust in healthcare systems resulting from a legacy of and continued experiences with medical racism. This cross-sectional study analyzed survey data from 416 AA patients with ESKD undergoing transplant evaluation in 2019-2023 at two kidney transplant centers in the Southeast United States, examining whether trust (specifically trust in kidney doctors, hospitals, and healthcare) modifies the relationship between attitudes towards LDKT and behavioral intentions to discuss LDKT with family and friends. Multivariable analyses revealed significant interactions.

Biomarkers.

The National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association (NIA-AA) convened three separate work groups in 2011 and a single work group in 2018 to create recommendations for the diagnosis and characterization of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Several fundamental principles emerged from these efforts. These include, AD should be defined biologically, not by clinical syndromes.

Biomarkers.

Background: Metabolic diseases like chronic Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) are now a serious global health concern In the United States. African Americans (AA) are being affected at a disproportionate rate with the condition compared to other ethnic groups, yet there are relatively few studies that have specifically focused on this group. Our previous findings have suggested that AA patients with T2DM had gene expression signals associated with Alzheimer's Disease (AD).

Biomarkers.

Background: Approximately 6.7 million Americans, aged 65 and older, are living with Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia. Ethnoracial minority populations are at greater risk for AD.

Public Health.

Background: The survival outcomes following an Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis hold significant importance for health management, caregivers, patients, and their families. Hawaii is known as the most diverse ethnic population in the United States and there exist significant racial health disparities. This study investigates racial/ethnic disparities in survival among AD patients in Hawaii and develops Machine Learning models for overall survival prediction, utilizing Hawaii Medicare data.

Public Health.

Background: Social determinants of health (SDOH) are critically important to reduce disparities in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Yet, we often focus on individual-level characteristics, excluding socio-environmental factors, when evaluating predictors of AD or developing interventions that target AD prevention. To address these gaps, we examine the association between the social vulnerability index (SVI) and cognitive decline in a bi-racial cohort of older adults.

Public Health.

Background: Black/African Americans (B/AAs) remain underrepresented in Alzheimer's disease (AD) research and clinical trials. As a part of understanding genetics and genomics of AD, four U.S sites are recruiting 4,000 African Americans over age 60 for research participation.

Biomarkers.

Background: The National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Alzheimer's Association (AA) recently updated their 2018 recommendations for the diagnosis and characterization of Alzheimer's disease (AD), which include the use of blood-based biomarkers (BBMs) for the differential diagnosis of AD. BBMs of amyloid-beta, phosphorylated tau, neurodegeneration, inflammation, and alpha-synuclein were defined, with a highlighted need for blood biomarkers of vascular brain injury. Many questions remain regarding how to implement these biomarkers for clinical care including diagnosis and to assess eligibility for disease modifying treatments (DMT).

Biomarkers.

Background: There is limited information on biomarker-defined Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology in community-recruited individuals of diverse racial and ethnic groups. Here, we assessed the association of race/ethnicity with baseline biomarkers and cognitive measures and hypothesized a lower impact of AD pathology in non-Hispanic White (nHW) participants in the U.S.

Developing Topics.

Background: The Alzheimer's Association (AA) is updating existing recommendations for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) to focus on biomarkers, independent of clinical syndrome. Although this perspective is consistent some other medical conditions (e.g.

Developing Topics.

Background: Vitamin D (VD) deficiency is a risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Previously, we described health disparities in VD status, depression, and Hispanic ethnicity (HE) in an aging West Texas population from Project FRONTIER (Facing Rural Obstacles to Health Care Now Through Intervention, Education, and Research). Using the same sample, we examined relationships between VD status, health care access, and General Health Rating (GHR) METHOD: Of 299 participants in which serum 25-hydroxyvitamin-D levels were available, we examined relationships between access to care, VD, HE, and GHR.

Developing Topics.

Background: Given the high prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and historic underrepresentation of African Americans and Hispanics in AD clinical trials, there is a critical need to advance understanding of inclusive clinical trial considerations. ENVISION was a confirmatory study designed to validate clinical efficacy of aducanumab, which included specific goals for African American and Hispanic population enrollment in the United States. In our pursuit, we found a 90% screen failure rate among African Americans and Hispanics compared to 75% in non-Hispanic whites.

Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors.

Background: African Americans (AA) are underrepresented in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain donation research, making up approximately 2% of brain donations to the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC). Focus groups were conducted to obtain qualitative information to expand upon survey data that was collected previously to gain additional insights into the attitudes of Black∖AA individuals toward brain donation and perceptions of medical research.

Method: A brain donation focus group facilitator guide was created based upon earlier survey findings.

Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors.

Background: Black/African American (AA) caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related disorders can play a critical role in maintaining patient health. AD caregivers who face economic challenges may have less access to resources that may reduce caregiver burden they experience. The North Carolina Department of Commerce ranks the state's 100 counties based on economic well-being and assigns the most distressed counties as Tier 1, and least distressed as Tier 3.

Impact of Social Determinants of Health on Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Care for HIV Prevention.

Background: HIV continues to disproportionately impact men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States (US). Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is effective, but disparities persist. Limited studies have conducted systematic evaluations of social determinants of health (SDOH) and their effects on PrEP persistence among MSM.

Toward expert-level medical question answering with large language models.

Large language models (LLMs) have shown promise in medical question answering, with Med-PaLM being the first to exceed a 'passing' score in United States Medical Licensing Examination style questions. However, challenges remain in long-form medical question answering and handling real-world workflows. Here, we present Med-PaLM 2, which bridges these gaps with a combination of base LLM improvements, medical domain fine-tuning and new strategies for improving reasoning and grounding through ensemble refinement and chain of retrieval.

Harmonization of alcohol use data and mortality across a multi-national HIV cohort collaboration.

Background: Alcohol use is measured in diverse ways across settings. Harmonization of measures is necessary to assess effects of alcohol use in multi-cohort collaborations, such as studies of people with HIV (PWH).

Methods: Data were combined from 14 HIV cohort studies (nine European, five North American) participating in the Antiretroviral Therapy Cohort Collaboration.

Pregnenolone effects on parasympathetic response to stress and alcohol cue provocation in treatment-seeking individuals with alcohol use disorder.

Background: Chronic alcohol consumption in alcohol use disorder (AUD) is associated with autonomic nervous system dysregulation, increasing cardiovascular risk, and high alcohol cravings. Heart rate variability (HRV), a marker of autonomic nervous system responsiveness to stressors, may mediate alcohol's impact on the cardiovascular system. While pregnenolone (PREG) has been shown to normalize heart rate and blood pressure in individuals with AUD, its effects on sympathetic and parasympathetic components of HRV and related alcohol craving are not known.

Does cyber dating abuse victimization predict next-day alcohol and cannabis use among college students?

Background And Objectives: Cyber dating abuse (CDA) is prevalent on college campuses, with 43% of college students experiencing CDA each year. Yet, the potential impacts of CDA victimization on college students' health outcomes remain poorly understood. Informed by the self-medication hypothesis and longitudinal data linking dating abuse to substance use outcomes, the present study tested the hypothesis that CDA victimization positively associates with college students' next-day alcohol use (number of drinks consumed, odds of any drinking) and odds of cannabis use (yes/no).

The MR1/MAIT cell axis enhances dystrophic neurite development in Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Plaques are a hallmark feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We found that the loss of mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells and their antigen-presenting molecule MR1 caused a delay in plaque pathology development in AD mouse models. However, it remains unknown how this axis is impacting dystrophic neurites.

Both English- and Spanish-Language Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Online Patient Education Materials Are Written at Higher-Than-Recommended Reading Levels.

Purpose: To examine the overall reading levels of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction online patient education materials (OPEMs) written in English and Spanish.

Methods: We conducted Google searches for OPEMs using "ACL surgery" and "" as English and Spanish search terms, respectively. Several measures of readability were used to analyze 25 English-language OPEMs (Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch Reading Ease Grade Level, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Coleman-Liau Index, Gunning Fog Index, and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook) and 25 Spanish-language OPEMs (Fernández-Huerta Index, Fernández-Huerta Grade Level, and Índice de Legibilidad de Flesch-Szigriszt).