Methodological standards for comparative effectiveness research: considerations for evidentiary review for medicare drug price negotiation.

Introduction: The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act is expected to result in lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries in the United States (US). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the most recent draft guidance for the medicare drug price negotiation (DPN) program in May 2024.

Areas Covered: In August 2023, the list of 10 drugs selected for the DPN were published and the first round of negotiations are now complete.

Making the Case for an International Childhood Cancer Data Partnership.

Childhood cancers are a heterogeneous group of rare diseases, accounting for less than 2% of all cancers diagnosed worldwide. Most countries, therefore, do not have enough cases to provide robust information on epidemiology, treatment, and late effects, especially for rarer types of cancer. Thus, only through a concerted effort to share data internationally will we be able to answer research questions that could not otherwise be answered.

Mind in others' shoes: Neuroscientific protocol for external referent decision awareness (ERDA) in organizations.

This study investigates the neural and physiological mechanisms underlying External Referent Decision Awareness (ERDA) within organizational contexts, focusing on hierarchical roles (Head, Peer, Staff). Twenty-two professionals participated, and electroencephalographic (EEG frequency band: Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, Gamma) and autonomic indices (skin conductance and cardiovascular indices) were recorded, while personality traits and decision-making styles were assessed. Results revealed higher Delta and Theta activation in the left temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) during Peer-related decisions, reflecting increased social cognition and ambiguity regulation in those contexts.

Default mode network functional connectivity as a transdiagnostic biomarker of cognitive function.

The default mode network (DMN) is intricately linked with processes such as self-referential thinking, episodic memory recall, goal-directed cognition, self-projection, and theory of mind. Over recent years, there has been a surge in examining its functional connectivity, particularly its relationship with frontoparietal networks (FPN) involved in top-down attention, executive function, and cognitive control. The fluidity in switching between these internal and external modes of processing-highlighted by anti-correlated functional connectivity-has been proposed as an indicator of cognitive health.

Investigating the delivery of PD-L1-targeted immunoliposomes in a dynamic cervical cancer-on-a-chip model.

The recent approval of pembrolizumab in recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer warrants further investigations into the usefulness of immunotherapies for more durable and less radical interventions. In this study, the targeting potential of anti-PD-L1-functionalized immunoliposomes was tested in a 3D in vitro cervical cancer-on-a-chip model. Immunolipsomes were synthesized and decorated externally with monovalent anti-PD-L1 Fab' fragments of commercially available atezolizumab.

Joint Associations of Sedentary Time and Intensity-Specific Physical Activity With Cancer Mortality: A Device-Based Cohort Study of 72,458 UK Adults.

Background: There are no studies examining the prospective joint association of device-based measures of sedentary time and physical activity (PA) with cancer mortality. We examined the joint associations of sedentary time and intensity-specific PA with cancer mortality in 72,458 adults from UK Biobank.

Methods: Participants wore an Axivity AX3 accelerometer on their dominant wrist for at least 3 days (with at least 1 weekend day).

Performance validity and outcome of treatment in patients with somatic symptom and related disorders (SSRD).

This study addresses the relationship between performance validity and treatment outcome in a sample of patients with somatic symptom and related disorders (SSRD). A retrospective analysis was performed in a sample of 337 patients with SSRD who received treatment. Interaction effects were determined between performance validity test (PVT) performance and raw change scores, reliable change index and clinical change of depression, anxiety and physical symptoms.

A left-to-right bias in number-space mapping across ages and cultures.

Number and space are inherently related. Previous research has provided evidence that numbers are aligned to a so-called "mental number line", which is malleable and affected by cultural factors mostly linked to literacy-related habits. However, preverbal humans and non-human animals also map numerosities into space, in a consistent left-to-right direction.

The α-synuclein seed amplification assay: Interpreting a test of Parkinson's pathology.

The α-synuclein seed amplification assay (αSyn-SAA) sensitively detects Lewy pathology, the amyloid state of α-synuclein, in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The αSyn-SAA harnesses the physics of seeding, whereby a superconcentrated solution of recombinant α-synuclein lowers the thermodynamic threshold (nucleation barrier) for aggregated α-synuclein to act as a nucleation catalyst ("seed") to trigger the precipitation (nucleation) of monomeric α-synuclein into pathology. This laboratory setup increases the signal for identifying a catalyst if one is present in the tissue examined.

Sex differences in resting-state fMRI functional connectivity related to humor styles.

Research on how functional connectivity (FC) during resting-state relates to humor styles and sex is limited. This study aimed to address this knowledge gap by analyzing resting-state fMRI data from 56 healthy participants and measuring FC. In addition, participants completed the Humor Styles Questionnaire.

Neuropathology, pathomechanism, and transmission in zoonotic Borna disease virus 1 infection: a systematic review.

Borna disease, which is a severe encephalitis that primarily affects horses and sheep, has been recognised for over two centuries. Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) has been identified as a cause of a predominantly fatal encephalitis in humans. Little scientific data exist regarding the virus' transmission, entry portal, and excretion routes.

Screening for Financial Toxicity in Oncology Research and Practice: A Narrative Review.

Financial toxicity (FT) is now a well-recognized issue affecting many patients with cancer and their families. The field is rapidly moving from a focus on describing this problem to efforts to optimize screening and identify management solutions. There are now multiple validated tools to study FT in the research setting.

Mapping patterns of thought onto brain activity during movie-watching.

Movie-watching is a central aspect of our lives and an important paradigm for understanding the brain mechanisms behind cognition as it occurs in daily life. Contemporary views of ongoing thought argue that the ability to make sense of events in the 'here and now' depend on the neural processing of incoming sensory information by auditory and visual cortex, which are kept in check by systems in association cortex. However, we currently lack an understanding of how patterns of ongoing thoughts map onto the different brain systems when we watch a film, partly because methods of sampling experience disrupt the dynamics of brain activity and the experience of movie-watching.

Job Demands and Resources Shape the Risk of Burnout in Italian Child Neuropsychiatrists.

To evaluate the influence of job demands and resources on burnout risk among Italian pediatric neuropsychiatrists. This cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2023 and February 2024 and involved Italian pediatric neuropsychiatrists. The study applied the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model to assess the impact of job demands (such as work-family conflict, time pressure, and job uncertainty) and job resources (like organizational support and perceived job meaning) on burnout.

Effect of telehealth yoga on loneliness and social isolation among rural older adults: a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: Loneliness and social isolation are associated with a range of deleterious health outcomes. Yoga is a mind-body physical activity that is used in health care settings and increasingly in a telehealth group format. This trial aimed to determine the effect of a brief course of telehealth yoga on loneliness among rural older adults.

Associations between lifelong cognitive reserve, Alzheimer's disease-related plasma biomarkers, and cognitive function in dementia-free older adults: A population-based study.

Background: Cognitive reserve (CR), typically measured through socio-behavioral proxies, can partially explain better cognitive performance despite underlying brain aging or neuropathology.

Objective: To examine the associations of CR with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and cognitive function while considering Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related plasma biomarkers.

Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study included 4706 dementia-free individuals from MIND-China.

How Are You Doing… Really? A Review of Whole Person Health Assessments.

Unlabelled: Policy Points A redirection of measurement in health care from a narrow focus on diseases and care processes towards assessing whole person health, as perceived by the person themself, may provide a galvanizing view of how health care can best meet the needs of people and help patients feel heard, seen, and understood by their care team. This review identifies key tensions to navigate as well as four overarching categories of whole person health for consideration in developing an instrument optimized for clinical practice. The categories (body and mind, relationships, living environment and finances, and engagement in daily life) include nine constituent domains.

Making Deception Fun: Teaching Autistic Individuals How to Play Friendly Tricks.

Perspective taking is a critical repertoire for navigating social relationships and consists of a variety of complex verbal skills, including socially adaptive forms of deception. Detecting and being able to use socially adaptive deception likely has many practical uses, including defending oneself against bullying, telling white lies to avoid hurting others' feelings, keeping secrets and bluffing during games, and playing friendly tricks on others. Previous research has documented that some Autistic children have challenges identifying deception and playfully deceiving others (Reinecke et al.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors mimicking as gynecological tumors-A case series.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are rare mesenchymal tumors that arise from interstitial cells of Cajal. Due to vague presentation, location and confusing imaging studies, they tend to mimic gynaecological tumors. They usually diagnosed intra-operative and histopathology followed by tumor specific receptors such as KIT, CD34, CD 117 and DOG 1 are mainstay of diagnosis of GIST.

Impulsivity behaviors and white matter mediate the relationship between genetic risk for cannabis use disorder and early cannabis use in adolescents.

Background And Aim: Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is strongly influenced by genetic factors; however the mechanisms underpinning this association are not well understood. This study investigated whether a polygenic risk score (PRS) based on a genome-wide association study for CUD in adults predicts cannabis use in adolescents and whether the association can be explained by inter-individual variation in structural properties of brain white matter or risk-taking behaviors.

Design And Setting: Longitudinal and cross-sectional analyses using data from the IMAGEN cohort, a European longitudinal study integrating genetic, neuroimaging and behavioral measures.

Mind the gap in kidney care: Translating what we know into what we do.

Historically, it takes an average of 17 years to move new treatments from clinical evidence to daily practice. Given the highly effective treatments now available to prevent or delay kidney disease onset and progression, this is far too long. The time is now to narrow the gap between what we know and what we do.