168 results match your criteria: "MaineHealth Institute for Research[Affiliation]"

Examining the risk of depression among patients with diabetes is crucial for understanding the mental health burden of this chronic condition. This study examined the likelihood of depression severity among participants in the National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2005 to 2020, based on glycemic control status. Depression severity was categorized into three levels using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and glycemic control status was categorized into five groups based on prior diabetes diagnoses and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels.

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Latest on Anabolic Agents for Osteoporosis Treatment.

Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am

December 2024

Center for Clinical and Translational Research, MaineHealth Institute for Research, Scarborough, ME 04074, USA.

In the last decades, novel therapeutics with anabolic bone properties have been developed and are currently used in the management of osteoporosis particularly in patients with high-risk of fragility fractures. These drugs include PTH-Related Analogues, teriparatide and abaloparatide, and the anti-sclerostin agent romosozumab, this latter drug currently approved only in female patients. Their efficacies in preventing fragility fractures are widely demonstrated and their potential serious side effects were progressively downgraded, including risk of malignancies in teriparatide- and cardiovascular events in romosozumab-users, respectively.

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Objective: There is significant variation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) outcomes between different regions. We sought to evaluate outcomes of OHCA patients in the interfacility transfer (IFT) setting, between critical care transport (LifeFlight) and community Emergency Medical Services (EMS), in the state of Maine.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of our institution's electronic medical record and the Maine EMS database.

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Pro-angiogenic paracrine/autocrine signaling impacts myocardial repair in cell-based therapies. Activin A receptor-like type 1 (, ALK1) signaling plays a pivotal role in cardiovascular development and maintenance, but its importance in human-derived therapeutic cardiac cells is not well understood. Here, we isolated a subpopulation of human highly proliferative cells (hHiPCs) from adult epicardial tissue and found that they express ALK1, a high affinity receptor for bone morphogenetic protein-9 (BMP9), which signals via SMAD1/5 to regulate paracrine/autocrine signaling and angiogenesis.

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Background: Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry reference data designate Black and non-Black categories, as higher BMD has been documented among Black youth. We examined associations of race, skin tone, and genetic factors with bone mineral density (BMD).

Methods: 557 adolescents were followed longitudinally.

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Deer tick virus (DTV), also known as Powassan virus lineage II, is a rising health concern due to increased recognition as a cause of human encephalitis. Since European tick-borne encephalitis virus persists in nature in enzootic foci (i.e.

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Brown adipose tissue (BAT) engages futile fatty acid synthesis-oxidation cycling, the purpose of which has remained elusive. Here, we show that ATP-citrate lyase (ACLY), which generates acetyl-CoA for fatty acid synthesis, promotes thermogenesis by mitigating metabolic stress. Without ACLY, BAT overloads the tricarboxylic acid cycle, activates the integrated stress response (ISR) and suppresses thermogenesis.

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Article Synopsis
  • Higher FSH levels are linked to bone loss during perimenopause and aging in men, but it was unclear if they independently increase fracture risk.
  • A study analyzed 295 adults from the AGES-Reykjavik cohort to find out if baseline FSH levels could predict hip fractures within 10 years.
  • Results showed that higher FSH levels significantly increased the risk of hip fractures, suggesting FSH might directly affect bone health beyond just being associated with sex hormones.
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Objective: To identify possible predictors of older adults' preferences for stopping or continuing colorectal cancer (CRC) testing and satisfaction with medical visits.

Methods: Cross-sectional, secondary analysis of patient data. The parent study was a two-arm, multi-site clustered randomized trial, assigning primary care physicians to receive shared decision making training plus a reminder, or reminders alone for patients who were due for CRC testing.

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  • - Alcohol use disorder is prevalent in the U.S., and while benzodiazepines are typically recommended for alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS), there’s a growing trend to use phenobarbital, especially for patients at high risk of severe AWS.
  • - A quality improvement study at a medical institution evaluated the effectiveness of a phenobarbital-based treatment protocol for AWS, measuring rates of protocol adherence and clinical outcomes before and after implementation.
  • - Results showed a significant increase in the administration of phenobarbital, a decrease in the combined use of benzodiazepines, and a reduction in total benzodiazepine dosage, with improved safety outcomes such as fewer days in the ICU for those transferred.
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  • - The study investigated how factors like education, income, and rurality affect patients' access to genome-matched cancer treatments and their overall survival rates among 1,258 cancer patients in Maine.
  • - Results showed no significant differences in who received these treatments based on education or income, but a lower education level was linked to a higher mortality risk (36.7% died within a year).
  • - Importantly, patients with lower educational attainment who did not receive genome-matched treatment had a significantly higher mortality risk, while those who did receive treatment showed no differences in mortality across education levels.
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Introduction: The actions of thyroid hormones (THs) in the central nervous system are relevant to food intake and energy expenditure. TH receptors exhibit high expression in brain areas modulating energy balance, including the arcuate, paraventricular (PVN), supraoptic, and ventromedial (VMH) hypothalamic nuclei.

Methods: To examine the role of THs in the regulation of energy balance via action in specific hypothalamic nuclei of the adult mouse, we performed experiments of conditional inactivation of DIO3, the enzyme responsible for the clearance of THs, in the lateral hypothalamus (LH), and VMH and PVN hypothalamic nuclei.

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  • The study investigates how metformin use in adults with type 2 diabetes may impact the incidence of postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) and death after COVID-19 infection.
  • Findings indicate that metformin users had a lower risk of death and PASC compared to those on other diabetes medications, with hazard ratios suggesting reduced incidence in the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C).
  • The results support previous observations that metformin may lead to better outcomes post-COVID-19, although the incidence of PASC was notably higher when assessed with computable phenotypes compared to EHR codes.
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Acute dizziness and vertigo are common emergency department presentations (≈4% of annual visits) and sometimes, a life-threatening diagnosis like stroke is missed. Recent literature reviews the challenges in evaluation of these symptoms and offers guidelines for diagnostic approaches. Strong evidence indicates that when well-trained providers perform a high-quality bedside neurovestibular examination, accurate diagnosis of peripheral vestibular disorders and stroke increases.

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Magnitude of obesity alone does not alter the alveolar lipidome.

Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol

November 2024

Department of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, United States.

Obesity may lead to pulmonary dysfunction through complex and incompletely understood cellular and biochemical effects. Altered lung lipid metabolism has been identified as a potential mechanism of lung dysfunction in obesity. Although murine models of obesity demonstrate changes in pulmonary surfactant phospholipid composition and function, data in humans are lacking.

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Gastric cancer has become a serious worldwide health concern, emphasizing the crucial importance of early diagnosis measures to improve patient outcomes. While traditional histological image analysis is regarded as the clinical gold standard, it is labour intensive and manual. In recognition of this problem, there has been a rise in interest in the use of computer-aided diagnostic tools to help pathologists with their diagnostic efforts.

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Article Synopsis
  • Alzheimer's disease and osteoporosis are common age-related conditions linked by unknown molecular mechanisms, prompting this study.
  • Researchers conducted network analysis of brain and bone RNA data from several participants to identify shared molecular pathways.
  • Findings revealed interconnected gene modules between both diseases, particularly highlighting the role of Wnt signaling, suggesting potential avenues for treatment and biomarker development.
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Objective: The increasing prevalence of and inequities in childhood obesity demand improved access to effective treatment. The SmartMoves curriculum used in Bright Bodies, a proven-effective, intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment (IHBLT), was disseminated to ≥30 US sites from 2003 to 2018. We aimed to identify barriers to and facilitators of IHBLT implementation/sustainment.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study focuses on how training primary care physicians in shared decision-making (SDM) and providing electronic reminders affects older adults' preferences for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening.
  • - The researchers assessed the impact of these interventions on the agreement between patients and physicians regarding screening methods, as well as overall screening rates after 12 months.
  • - Conducted as part of the PRIMED clinical trial, the study involved 59 physicians and 466 patients aged 76 to 85, highlighting the challenges in CRC screening decisions for older adults.
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Clinician Stakeholder Experience With Telemedicine Consults to Assess Neonatal Encephalopathy in a Rural State.

Pediatr Neurol

November 2024

Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts; Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine. Electronic address:

Background: Serial neonatal encephalopathy (NE) examinations are difficult to perform in rural community hospitals as on-site experts are not readily available. We implemented a synchronous, acute care model of teleconsultation-the Maine Neonatal Encephalopathy Teleconsultation program (Maine NET)-to provide remote, joint assessment of NE by pediatric neurology and neonatology at nine community hospitals and one tertiary care center. We performed a qualitative study to interview clinicians about their experience of this program.

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  • Social isolation stress negatively impacts health, increasing risks for cardiovascular disease, dementia, and overall mortality, with less known effects on bone health.
  • A study found that male mice housed alone experienced significant bone loss over four weeks, but attempts to mitigate this loss by keeping them at a warmer temperature did not yield the expected results.
  • The research indicates that social isolation affects bone health through mechanisms other than thermal stress, suggesting a complex relationship between social isolation and skeletal health that warrants further investigation.
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Activating brown adipose tissue (BAT) improves systemic metabolism, making it a promising target for metabolic syndrome. BAT is activated by 12,13-dihydroxy-9Z-octadecenoic acid (12,13-diHOME), which we previously identified to be inversely associated with BMI and which directly improves metabolism in multiple tissues. Here we profile plasma lipidomics from 83 people and test which lipids' association with BMI replicates in a concordant direction using our novel tool ScreenDMT, whose power and validity we demonstrate via mathematical proofs and simulations.

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