Early experience and perioperative risk of GammaTile for upfront brain metastases: Report from a prospective multicenter study.

Background: GammaTile (GT), a form of brachytherapy utilizing cesium-131 seeds in a bioresorbable collagen tile, has gained popularity for the treatment of recurrent intracranial tumors and more recently for newly diagnosed metastases. This study reports early experience utilizing GT in upfront brain metastases with a focus on clinical applications and perioperative safety.

Methods: The STaRT Registry (NCT04427384) was queried for all patients receiving GT for upfront metastases from August 2021 to August 2023.

Multicenter Normative Data for Mesopic Microperimetry.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to provide a large, multi-center normative dataset for the Macular Integrity Assessment (MAIA) microperimeter and compare the goodness-of-fit and prediction interval calibration-error for a panel of hill-of-vision models.

Methods: Microperimetry examinations of healthy eyes from five independent study groups and one previously available dataset were included (1137 tests from 531 eyes of 432 participants [223 women and 209 men]). Linear mixed models (LMMs) were fitted to the data to obtain interpretable hill-of-vision models.

Ferroptosis-Mediated Inflammation Promotes Pulmonary Hypertension.

Background: Mitochondrial dysfunction, characterized by impaired lipid metabolism and heightened reactive oxygen species generation, results in lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis. Ferroptosis is an inflammatory mode of cell death that promotes complement activation and macrophage recruitment. In pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), pulmonary arterial endothelial cells exhibit cellular phenotypes that promote ferroptosis.

Pathogenic Variants Resulting in Dural Based Fibroinflammatory Mass Lesions and H Syndrome Treated With Cobimetinib: A Case Report.

Objectives: Pathogenic variants are known to cause autosomal recessive disease with a spectrum of systemic involvement. We sought to expand on the spectrum of variants and describe potential treatment.

Methods: We describe a case of newly diagnosed -related disorder, also known as H syndrome or familial histiocytosis, associated with CNS inflammatory pseudotumor and spinal cord compression.

Outcomes of Haploidentical Stem Cell Transplant Recipients With HHV-6B Reactivation.

Background: Human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) frequently reactivates following allogeneic stem cell transplant (alloHCT). Consensus guidelines note that haploidentical alloHCT may represent a high-risk population for which there is little evidence; this warrants further investigation.

Methods: In this single-center retrospective study, we evaluated 188 consecutive adult patients receiving haploidentical alloHCT between 11/2014 and 11/2020 and compared outcomes between patients with HHV-6B reactivation receiving targeted antiviral therapy and those who were clinically observed.

Electrical stimulation of biofidelic engineered muscle enhances myotube size, force, fatigue resistance, and induces a fast-to-slow-phenotype shift.

Therapeutic development for skeletal muscle diseases is challenged by a lack of ex vivo models that recapitulate human muscle physiology. Here, we engineered 3D human skeletal muscle tissue in the Biowire II platform that could be maintained and electrically stimulated long-term. Increasing differentiation time enhanced myotube formation, modulated myogenic gene expression, and increased twitch and tetanic forces.

An Open-Label Extension Study Assessing the Long-Term Safety and Efficacy of Viloxazine Extended-Release Capsules in Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Background And Objective: Viloxazine ER (extended-release capsules; Qelbree) is a nonstimulant medication that has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children (> 6 years old) and adults. This phase 3 open-label extension to a pivotal phase 3, double-blind trial evaluated the long-term safety and continued efficacy of viloxazine ER in adults with ADHD.

Methods: This was a multicenter, flexible-dose, open-label extension to a phase III, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (NCT04016779).

Multiomic profiling identifies predictors of survival in African American patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

Genomic profiles and prognostic biomarkers in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) from ancestry-diverse populations are underexplored. We analyzed the exomes and transcriptomes of 100 patients with AML with genomically confirmed African ancestry (Black; Alliance) and compared their somatic mutation frequencies with those of 323 self-reported white patients with AML, 55% of whom had genomically confirmed European ancestry (white; BeatAML). Here we find that 73% of 162 gene mutations recurrent in Black patients, including a hitherto unreported PHIP alteration detected in 7% of patients, were found in one white patient or not detected.

Targeting the TDP-43 low complexity domain blocks spreading of pathology in a mouse model of ALS/FTD.

Abnormal cytoplasmic localization and accumulation of pathological transactive response DNA binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43) underlies several devastating diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 pathology (FTLD-TDP). A key element is the correlation between disease progression and spatio-temporal propagation of TDP-43-mediated pathology in the central nervous system. Several lines of evidence support the concept of templated aggregation and cell to cell spreading of pathological TDP-43.

Overcoming the Impact of Students for Fair Admission v Harvard to Build a More Representative Health Care Workforce: Perspectives from Ending Unequal Treatment.

Policy Points In a recently commissioned report on solutions for eliminating racial and ethnic health care inequities entitled Ending Unequal Treatment, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found a health workforce that is representative of the communities it serves is essential for health care equity. The Supreme Court decision to ban race-conscious admission constraints pathways toward health workforce representativeness and equity. This paper draws on the National Academies report's findings that health care workforce representativeness improves care quality, population health, and equity to discuss policy and programmatic options for various participants to promote health workforce representativeness in the context of race-conscious admissions bans.

SARS-CoV-2 ferritin nanoparticle vaccines produce hyperimmune equine sera with broad sarbecovirus activity.

The rapid emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VoC) and the threat of future zoonotic sarbecovirus spillover emphasizes the need for broadly protective next-generation vaccines and therapeutics. We utilized SARS-CoV-2 spike ferritin nanoparticle (SpFN), and SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain ferritin nanoparticle (RFN) immunogens, in an equine model to elicit hyperimmune sera and evaluated its sarbecovirus neutralization and protection capacity. Immunized animals rapidly elicited sera with the potent neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 VoC, and SARS-CoV-1 pseudoviruses, and potent binding against receptor binding domains from sarbecovirus clades 1b, 1a, 2, 3, and 4.

Intravital imaging of pulmonary lymphatics in inflammation and metastatic cancer.

Intravital microscopy has enabled the study of immune dynamics in the pulmonary microvasculature, but many key events remain unseen because they occur in deeper lung regions. We therefore developed a technique for stabilized intravital imaging of bronchovascular cuffs and collecting lymphatics surrounding pulmonary veins in mice. Intravital imaging of pulmonary lymphatics revealed ventilation-dependence of steady-state lung lymph flow and ventilation-independent lymph flow during inflammation.

Impact of quality of care on outcomes in survivors of stroke with aphasia: A linked registry and hospital data observational study.

Background: The impact of hospital care quality on patient outcomes in post-stroke aphasia remains unclear. We investigated the impact of nationally-endorsed acute stroke treatments on outcomes post-stroke, by aphasia status.

Methods: Patient-level data from the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry (2009-2013) linked to national deaths, hospital emergency presentations and admissions data were used.

Nitrogen accountancy in space agriculture.

Food production and pharmaceutical synthesis are posited as essential biotechnologies for facilitating human exploration beyond Earth. These technologies not only offer critical green space and food agency to astronauts but also promise to minimize mass and volume requirements through scalable, modular agriculture within closed-loop systems, offering an advantage over traditional bring-along strategies. Despite these benefits, the prevalent model for evaluating such systems exhibits significant limitations.

Influence of Anticoagulants and Heparin Contaminants on the Suitability of MMP-9 as a Blood-Derived Biomarker.

In contrast to other common anticoagulants such as citrate and low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH), high-molecular-weight heparin (HMWH) induces the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, which is also measured as a biomarker for stroke in blood samples. Mechanistically, HMWH-stimulated T cells produce cytokines that induce monocytic MMP-9 expression. Here, the influence of further anticoagulants (Fondaparinux, Hirudin, and Alteplase) and the heparin-contaminating glycosaminoglycans (GAG) hyaluronic acid (HA), dermatan sulfate (DS), chondroitin sulfate (CS), and over-sulfated CS (OSCS) on MMP-9 was analyzed to assess its suitability as a biomarker under various conditions.