Addressing and Inspiring Vaccine Confidence in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we have witnessed profound health inequities suffered by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). These manifested as differential access to testing early in the pandemic, rates of severe disease and death 2-3 times higher than white Americans, and, now, significantly lower vaccine uptake compared with their share of the population affected by COVID-19. This article explores the impact of these COVID-19 inequities (and the underlying cause, structural racism) on vaccine acceptance in BIPOC populations, ways to establish trustworthiness of healthcare institutions, increase vaccine access for BIPOC communities, and inspire confidence in COVID-19 vaccines.

Little Change in Functional Brain Networks Following Acute Levodopa in Drug-Naïve Parkinson's Disease.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of levodopa on functional brain networks in Parkinson's disease.

Methods: We acquired resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging in 30 drug-naïve participants with Parkinson's disease and 20 age-matched healthy controls. Each participant was studied following administration of a single oral dose of either levodopa or placebo in a randomized, double-blind, crossover design.

Parastomal Hernia: Avoidance and Treatment in the 21st Century.

Despite medical and surgical advances leading to increased ability to restore or preserve gastrointestinal continuity, creation of stomas remains a common surgical procedure. Every ostomy results in a risk for subsequent parastomal herniation, which in turn may reduce quality of life and increase health care expenditures. Recent evidence-supported practices such as utilization of prophylactic reinforcement, attention to stoma placement, and laparoscopic-based stoma repairs with mesh provide opportunities to both prevent and successfully treat parastomal hernias.

Maternal intake of N-nitroso compounds from cured meat and the risk of pediatric brain tumors: a review.

Experimental investigations conducted over the last several decades suggest that transplacental exposure of offspring to certain N-nitroso compounds (NOCs) results in the development of brain tumors in laboratory animals. Dietary cured meats are a recognized source of such exposures in humans, which raises the possibility that maternal consumption of cured meat products during pregnancy could increase the risk of childhood brain tumors. This hypothesis was first suggested by an observational study conducted by Preston-Martin et al.