Impact of dopamine deficiency and REM sleep behavior disorder on cognition in early neuronal synuclein disease with hyposmia.

Objectives: To determine the impact of dopamine deficiency and isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) on cognitive performance in early neuronal alpha-synuclein disease (NSD) with hyposmia.

Methods: Using Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative baseline data, cognitive performance was assessed with a cognitive summary score (CSS) developed by applying regression-based internal norms derived from a robust healthy control (HC) group. Performance was examined for participants with hyposmia classified as NSD-Integrated Staging System (NSD-ISS) Stage 2, either Stage 2A (CSF alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay [SAA]+, SPECT dopamine transporter scan [DaTscan]-) or 2B (SAA+, DaTscan+).

"It's Traumatic for All of Us": A Qualitative Analysis of Providers Caring for Seriously Ill Veterans With Surgical Conditions.

Objective: We aimed to characterize sources of moral distress among providers in the context of surgery.

Background: Moral distress is defined as psychological unease generated when professionals identify an ethically correct action to take but are constrained in their ability to take that action. While moral distress has been reported among healthcare providers, the perspectives of providers working in surgery specifically are not often explored and reported.

Trends in Specialty Training and National Institutes of Health Funding Among Surgeon-Scientists.

Purpose: To determine if dual-degree training [ie, completion of a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded MD/PhD program], among other professional development and demographic variables, predicted academic productivity (eg, K-to-R conversion, number of publications, etc.) among early-career surgeon-scientists.

Methods: We analyzed publicly available data from the National MD/PhD Program Outcomes Study and the Association of American Medical Colleges Graduate Medical Education Track database to identify trends in the number and proportion of MD/PhD graduates pursuing surgical specialties.

Gender and Authorship in Annals of Surgery: A nineteen-year review including the pandemic.

Objective: We examined article submission data from the Annals of Surgery to assess gender bias in publishing.

Background: Medicine has long been a male-dominated practice, particularly in surgical fields. A key criterion for promotion in academic medicine is the publication record.

Effect of Anatomic Variations in the Anterior Tibial Artery on Risk of Injury During Orthopaedic Knee Surgeries.

Background: Injury to the posterior vasculature is a potential complication in orthopaedic knee surgery that may be associated with variations in its anatomy, such as the type II-A2 variant, which places the anterior tibial artery (ATA) in closer proximity to the tibia. However, how close surgical instrumentation comes to injuring the ATA is not well described.

Purpose: To determine how the type II-A2 variant of the popliteal vasculature affects proximity of the ATA to instrumentation for orthopaedic knee procedures.

Restoring Mitochondrial Quantity and Quality to Reverse Warburg Effect and Drive Tumor Differentiation.

Reduced mitochondrial quality and quantity in tumors is associated with dedifferentiation and increased malignancy. However, it remains unclear how to restore mitochondrial quantity and quality in tumors, and whether mitochondrial restoration can drive tumor differentiation. Our study shows that restoring mitochondrial function using retinoic acid (RA) to boost mitochondrial biogenesis and a mitochondrial uncoupler to enhance respiration synergistically drives neuroblastoma differentiation and inhibits proliferation.

Addressing Disparities Using Continuous Glucose Monitors and Remote Patient Monitoring for Youth With Type 1 Diabetes.

Background: Youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and public insurance have lower diabetes technology use. This pilot study assessed the feasibility of a program to support continuous glucose monitor (CGM) use with remote patient monitoring (RPM) to improve glycemia for youth with established T1D and public insurance.

Methods: From August 2020 to June 2023, we provided CGM with RPM support via patient portal messaging for youth with established T1D on public insurance with challenges obtaining consistent CGM supplies.

Post Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography Pancreatitis: Novel Mechanisms and Prevention by Drugs.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is becoming more common than first-line therapy for pancreaticobiliary duct disorders. However, post-ERCP pancreatitis is the most common complication of ERCPs, and affects about 10% of cases. In this review, we provide an overview of the mechanisms purported to cause post-ERCP pancreatitis as well as associated risk factors.

PEDOTs-Based Conductive Hydrogels: Design, Fabrications, and Applications.

Conductive hydrogels combine the benefits of soft hydrogels with electrical conductivity and have gained significant attention over the past decade. These innovative materials, including poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOTs)-based conductive hydrogels (P-CHs), are promising for flexible electronics and biological applications due to their tunable flexibility, biocompatibility, and hydrophilicity. Despite the recent advances, the intrinsic correlation between the design, fabrications, and applications of P-CHs has been mostly based on trial-and-error-based Edisonian approaches, significantly limiting their further development.

Evaluation of the Biocompatibility of Poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline)(BBL) Polymer Films with Living Cells.

The integration of organic electronic materials with biological systems to monitor, interface with, and regulate physiological processes is a key area in the field of bioelectronics. Central to this advancement is the development of cell-chip coupling, where materials engineering plays a critical role in enhancing biointerfacing capabilities. Conductive polymers have proven particularly useful in cell interfacing applications due to their favorable biophysical and chemical properties.

Differences in baseline cognitive performance between participants with early-onset and late-onset Alzheimer's disease: Comparison of LEADS and ADNI.

Introduction: Early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD) and late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) share similar amyloid etiology, but evidence from smaller-scale studies suggests that they manifest differently clinically. Current analyses sought to contrast the cognitive profiles of EOAD and LOAD.

Methods: Z-score cognitive-domain composites for 311 amyloid-positive sporadic EOAD and 314 amyloid-positive LOAD participants were calculated from baseline data from age-appropriate control cohorts.

Sex and APOE ε4 allele differences in longitudinal white matter microstructure in multiple cohorts of aging and Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: The effects of sex and apolipoprotein E (APOE)-Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk factors-on white matter microstructure are not well characterized.

Methods: Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging data from nine well-established longitudinal cohorts of aging were free water (FW)-corrected and harmonized. This dataset included 4741 participants (age = 73.

Microbial Community of a Sandy Beach Subterranean Estuary is Spatially Heterogeneous and Impacted by Winter Waves.

Subterranean estuaries (STEs) are critical ecosystems at the interface of meteoric groundwater and subsurface seawater that are threatened by sea level rise. To characterize the influence of tides and waves on the STE microbial community, we collected porewater samples from a high-energy beach STE at Stinson Beach, California, USA, over the two-week neap-spring tidal transition during both a wet and dry season. The microbial community, analyzed by 16S rRNA gene (V4) amplicon sequencing, clustered according to consistent physicochemical features found within STEs.

How do we engage with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community in blood donation and research? Reflections from the Assessing Donor Variability and New Concepts in Eligibility study.

Background: The Assessing Donor Variability and New Concepts in Eligibility (ADVANCE) study was a multicenter cross-organizational collaboration to collect data to inform possible changes in blood donor selection criteria for men who have sex with men. Multiple recruitment approaches were used, and these may be applicable to current efforts in LGBTQ+ community engagement to recruit new blood donors.

Methods: Fieldwork for ADVANCE was a partnership between blood collection organizations (BCOs) and LGBTQ+ community organizations.

Developmental phenotype and quality of life in SLC13A5 citrate transporter disorder.

Aim: To describe the neurodevelopment and quality of life in SLC13A5 (solute carrier family 13 member 5) citrate transporter disorder (developmental and epileptic encephalopathy 25, DEE25), a rare genetic early infantile epileptic encephalopathy caused by deficiency of a sodium-citrate transporter, characterized by heavy seizure burden in the neonatal period.

Method: We analyzed longitudinal neurodevelopmental outcomes from a prospective natural history study of DEE25, using standardized assessments of Mullen Scales of Early Learning, Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales.

Results: There was significant global impairment across the cohort, with variable quality of life and limited genotype-phenotype correlation.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of pediatric cardiac surgery for common lesions in Rwanda.

Background: Only 3 % of children in sub-Saharan Africa with congenital heart disease (CHD) have access to life-saving surgery. There is an urgent need to scale up the volume of cardiac procedures. Cost-utility analysis can assess the health economic impacts of performing congenital heart surgery in this region.

APOLLO Summary on Pulmonary Vascular Disease Fellowship Training.

Pulmonary vascular disease (PVD), and in particular, pulmonary hypertension (PH), is a highly specialized area of medicine comprised of complex diagnostics, classification systems, risk assessment tools, and therapeutics, the correct application of which has been shown to impact patient outcomes. The PVD scientific and patient community recognizes the importance of standardization of care patterns and has thus implemented a clinical accreditation process for PH care centers across the United States. However, a similar standardization system is lacking in PVD sub-specialty provider training.

Cost-Effectiveness of rTMS as a Next Step in Antidepressant Non-Responders: A Randomized Comparison With Current Antidepressant Treatment Approaches.

Background: Although repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an effective and commonly used treatment option for treatment-resistant depression, its cost-effectiveness remains much less studied. In particular, the comparative cost-effectiveness of rTMS and other treatment options, such as antidepressant medication, has not been investigated.

Methods: An economic evaluation with 12 months follow-up was conducted in the Dutch care setting as part of a pragmatic multicenter randomized controlled trial, in which patients with treatment-resistant depression were randomized to treatment with rTMS or treatment with the next pharmacological step according to the treatment algorithm.

Patterns of Failure After Definitive Trimodality Therapy for Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer.

Background: Real-world outcomes, especially patterns of failure, are limited for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) treated with trimodality therapy (TMT). We aim to evaluate patterns of failure after TMT for MIBC in a typical heterogeneous population.

Methods: In the national Veterans Affairs database, patients with urothelial histology, MIBC (T2-4a/N0-3/M0) who underwent definitive intent TMT between 2000-2018.

ALSUntangled #77: Psilocybin.

ALSUntangled reviews alternate and off-label treatments prompted by patient interest. Here, we review psilocybin, a chemical derived from mushrooms and belonging in the category of drugs known as psychedelics. Psilocybin has plausible mechanisms for slowing ALS progression because of its ability to cross the blood brain barrier and effect neurogenesis and inflammation.

Impact of urban biodiversity and climate change on children's health and well being.

In recent decades, biodiversity loss has greatly impacted planetary and human health. Children are at additional risk of adverse effects due to unique biological, developmental, and behavioral factors, as well as their longer exposure to an altered planet as a function of their young age. These effects are heightened for children living in vulnerable socioeconomic conditions.

PTSD Coach as an early mobile intervention to improve cancer-related anxiety and psychosocial oncology uptake in patients newly diagnosed with head and neck cancer: pilot randomized controlled trial.

Background: This pilot study aimed to provide supportive evidence for the feasibility of conducting a full-scale intervention trial with patients newly diagnosed with head and neck cancer (HNC). This included assessing the acceptability and potential usefulness of the PTSD Coach mobile app as an early self-management intervention that gives information about anxiety symptoms, offers self-assessment of symptoms with feedback, tools to self-manage anxiety, and connects to support.

Methods: A three-arm randomized controlled trial was conducted.

Genomic Biomarkers Associated with Enfortumab Vedotin Outcomes for Patients with Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma: Analysis of UNITE Study Data.

Enfortumab vedotin (EV) is used as monotherapy or combined with pembrolizumab in advanced urothelial carcinoma (aUC), but biomarker data associated with EV outcomes are limited. We identified 170 patients in the UNITE study who received EV monotherapy and had molecular biomarker data available. Outcomes for groups with and without a particular biomarker were compared using logistic regression (unadjusted) for the objective response rate (ORR), and a log-rank test and Cox proportional-hazard models (CPHMs) for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) from EV initiation.