Menopause-induced 17β-estradiol and progesterone loss increases senescence markers, matrix disassembly and degeneration in mouse cartilage.

Female individuals who are post-menopausal present with higher incidence of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) than male counterparts; however, the mechanisms underlying this disparity are unknown. The most commonly used preclinical models lack human-relevant menopausal phenotypes, which may contribute to our incomplete understanding of sex-specific differences in KOA pathogenesis. Here we chemically induced menopause in middle-aged (14-16 months) C57/BL6N female mice.

Hepcidin, Incident Heart Failure and Cardiac Dysfunction in Older Adults: the ARIC Study.

Aims: Hepcidin regulates plasma and tissue iron levels. We studied the association of hepcidin levels with the risk of incident heart failure (HF) and cardiac dysfunction in older adults.

Methods: We included adults from the ongoing, longitudinal Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study who were free from prevalent anemia and HF at Visit 5 (2011-2013) and had available hepcidin and covariate data.

Changes in Support for Advance Provision and Over-the-Counter Access to Medication Abortion.

Importance: Since Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization (Dobbs) removed federal abortion protections, people's views about alternative models of abortion care may have been impacted, yet research on this topic is limited.

Objective: To examine changes in national support for and personal interest in advance provision (AP) and over-the-counter (OTC) access to medication abortion.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Two nationally representative cross-sectional online surveys were administered to a market research firm's panel members who were assigned female at birth (AFAB) and aged 15 to 49 years from December 2021 to January 2022 (before Dobbs) and June to July 2023 (after Dobbs).

Association of plasma biomarkers of Alzheimer's pathology and neurodegeneration with gait performance in older adults.

Background: Declining gait performance is seen in aging individuals, due to neural and systemic factors. Plasma biomarkers provide an accessible way to assess evolving brain changes; non-specific neurodegeneration (NfL, GFAP) or evolving Alzheimer's disease (Aβ 42/40 ratio, P-Tau181).

Methods: In a population-based cohort of older adults, we evaluate the hypothesis that plasma biomarkers of neurodegeneration and Alzheimer's Disease pathology are associated with worse gait performance.

Increasing Access to Abortion: ACOG Committee Statement No. 16.

Legal and accessible abortion care is a necessary component of comprehensive health care. Access to abortion is threatened by local, state, and federal government restrictions; limitations on insurance coverage of abortion care; restrictions on funding for training; restrictions imposed by hospitals and health care systems; stigma; violence against health care professionals who provide abortion care; and a subsequent dearth of health care professionals who provide this care. Since the Dobbs v.

Reported Neurologic Manifestations Among Persons with Syphilis by Stage of Infection-12 States, 2019 -2022.

National case-based surveillance data show that reported neurologic manifestations of syphilis increased during 2019-2022 among persons with early and late-stage syphilis. Neurologic manifestations occurred across demographic groups and among those with and without HIV, highlighting the importance of evaluating for neurologic signs and symptoms in all persons with syphilis.

The Diagnostic Yield of Genomic Sequencing-Based Genetic Kidney Disease Testing in Kidney Transplant Candidates: Experience at an Urban US Transplant Center.

Background: Recent studies suggest that approximately 10% of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have disease-causing genetic variants, an observation relevant to evaluation of kidney transplant candidates.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated the diagnostic yield of genetic testing in kidney transplant candidates evaluated at our program (January 1, 2021-December 8, 2022). Inclusion criteria were as follows: first-degree relative(s) with CKD/end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), early-onset CKD, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, cystic kidney disease, alternative complement pathway-associated diseases, or ESKD of unknown cause.

Prevalence and patient characteristics associated with cardiovascular disease risk factor screening in UK primary care for people with severe mental illness: an electronic healthcare record study.

Background: People with severe mental illness (SMI) are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and initiatives for CVD risk factor screening in the UK have not reduced disparities.

Objectives: To describe the annual screening prevalence for CVD risk factors in people with SMI from April 2000 to March 2018, and to identify factors associated with receiving no screening and regular screening.

Methods: We identified adults with a diagnosis of SMI (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or 'other psychosis') from UK primary care records in Clinical Practice Research Datalink.

Fishhook Injuries and Antibiotic Prescribing Patterns: A Retrospective Analysis.

Introduction: Fishhook injuries are a common occurrence among anglers. There are no guidelines for prophylactic antibiotic use after fishhook removal. This study analyzed the management of embedded fishhooks, prophylactic antibiotic use, and complication rate at a Michigan county emergency department to observe whether antibiotic use changes patient outcome.

Advancing African American and hispanic health literacy with a bilingual, personalized, prevention smartphone application.

Many online health information sources are generic and difficult to understand, but consumers want information to be personalized and understandable. Smartphone health applications (apps) offer personalized information to support health goals and reduce preventable chronic conditions. This study aimed to determine how the personalized app (1) engaged English-speaking African American and Spanish-speaking Hispanic adults, and (2) motivated them to set goals and follow preventive recommendations.

Distinct myeloid-derived suppressor cell populations in human glioblastoma.

The role of glioma-associated myeloid cells in tumor growth and immune evasion remains poorly understood. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing of immune and tumor cells from 33 gliomas, identifying two distinct myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) populations in isocitrate dehydrogenase-wild-type (IDT-WT) glioblastoma: an early progenitor MDSC (E-MDSC) population with up-regulation of metabolic and hypoxia pathways and a monocytic MDSC (M-MDSC) population. Spatial transcriptomics demonstrated that E-MDSCs geographically colocalize with metabolic stem-like tumor cells in the pseudopalisading region.

Muscle-derived myostatin is a major endocrine driver of follicle-stimulating hormone synthesis.

Myostatin is a paracrine myokine that regulates muscle mass in a variety of species, including humans. In this work, we report a functional role for myostatin as an endocrine hormone that directly promotes pituitary follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) synthesis and thereby ovarian function in mice. Previously, this FSH-stimulating role was attributed to other members of the transforming growth factor-β family, the activins.

Your Blood is Out for Delivery: Considerations of Shipping Time and Temperature on Degradation of RNA from Stabilized Whole Blood.

Remote research studies are an invaluable tool for reaching populations with limited access to large medical centers or universities. To expand the remote study toolkit, we previously developed homeRNA, which allows for at-home self-collection and stabilization of blood and demonstrated the feasibility of using homeRNA in high temperature climates. Here, we expand upon this work through a systematic study exploring the effects of high temperature on RNA integrity (represented as RNA Integrity Number, RIN) through in-lab and field experiments.

Nutrition Interventions to Improve the Military Nutrition Environment Positively Impacts Service Members.

Introduction: This systematic review examines dietary interventions in the military nutrition environment (MNE) to support the health and performance of service members (SM).

Methods: Articles that implemented a dietary intervention for active duty SMs on military installations were included in this analysis (from 2010 to 2013). Of the 723 articles yielded in screening through Covidence, 6 studies qualified to be included in this review.

The Management of Upper-Extremity Xylazine-Associated Wounds.

Purpose: Xylazine has been associated with necrotic soft tissue wounds that have placed a challenging burden on patients who inject drugs in the Philadelphia region's health care system over the last few years. An analysis of our initial experience is being presented to guide future treatment and directions for future research.

Methods: A retrospective review of 55 patients with patient-reported xylazine use and associated upper-extremity wounds at a single institution was performed.

Navigating "regulatory fog": Challenges to rigorous abortion research after the Dobbs v. Jackson decision.

In 2022, the United States' Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade and federal protections for abortion.

Analytical Validation of the Labcorp Plasma Complete Test, a Cell-Free DNA Comprehensive Genomic Profiling Tool for Precision Oncology.

To help guide treatment decisions and clinical trial matching, tumor genomic profiling is an essential precision oncology tool. Liquid biopsy, a complementary approach to tissue testing, can assess tumor-specific DNA alterations circulating in the blood. Labcorp Plasma Complete is a next-generation sequencing, cell-free DNA comprehensive genomic profiling test that identifies clinically relevant somatic variants across 521 genes in advanced and metastatic solid cancers.

Dietary Inflammatory Score and Incident Heart Failure in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study.

Background: Inflammation plays a key role in the development of heart failure (HF), and diet is a known modifiable factor that modulates systemic inflammation. The dietary inflammatory score (DIS) is a tool to quantify the inflammatory components of diet. We sought to determine whether the DIS is associated with incident HF events.

A triad of somatic mutagenesis converges in self-reactive B cells to cause a virus-induced autoimmune disease.

The unexplained association between infection and autoimmune disease is strongest for hepatitis C virus-induced cryoglobulinemic vasculitis (HCV-cryovas). To analyze its origins, we traced the evolution of pathogenic rheumatoid factor (RF) autoantibodies in four HCV-cryovas patients by deep single-cell multi-omic analysis, revealing three sources of B cell somatic mutation converged to drive the accumulation of a large disease-causing clone. A method for quantifying low-affinity binding revealed recurring antibody variable domain combinations created by V(D)J recombination that bound self-immunoglobulin G (IgG) but not viral E2 antigen.

'Entanglement of nursing care': A theoretical proposition to understand the complexity of nursing work and division of labour.

Ongoing challenges in the provision of care, driven by growing care complexity and nursing shortages, prompt us to reconsider the basis for efficient division of nursing labour. In organising nursing work, traditionally the focus has been on identifying nursing tasks that can be delegated to other less expensive and less highly educated staff, in order to make best use of scarce resources. We argue that nursing care activities are connected and intertwined.

Concurrent management of vitiligo and acquired disorders of hyperpigmentation: a comprehensive literature review and current practice gaps.

Few studies discuss the co-management of vitiligo and acquired hyperpigmentation disorders (AHD) such as melasma, erythema dyschromicum perstans, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, drug-induced hyperpigmentation, and lichen planus pigmentosus. This review discusses clinical studies examining co-management strategies and identifies current practice gaps. Dermatology Life Quality Index scores are higher in individuals with vitiligo or melasma.

Cardiovascular Disease Risk in South Asians in the Baylor Scott and White Health DILWALE Registry.

Background: Despite implementation of preventive interventions targeting cardiovascular disease (CVD), atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD) remains a major public health concern in the South Asian (SA) population.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the risk factor prevalence and ASCVD outcomes in SA population in the United States.

Methods: The DIL Wellness and Arterial health Longitudinal Evaluation registry collected data retrospectively on SA adult patients receiving care in the Baylor Scott & White Healthcare system.