Testing a Web-Based Interactive Comic Tool to Decrease Obesity Risk Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Preadolescents: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Childhood obesity prevalence remains high, especially in racial and ethnic minority populations with low incomes. This epidemic is attributed to various dietary behaviors, including increased consumption of energy-dense foods and sugary beverages and decreased intake of fruits and vegetables. Interactive, technology-based approaches are emerging as promising tools to support health behavior changes.

Impact of Frailty on Surgical Outcomes of Patients With Cushing Disease Using the Multicenter Registry of Adenomas of the Pituitary and Related Disorders Registry.

Background And Objectives: Despite growing interest in how patient frailty affects outcomes (eg, in neuro-oncology), its role after transsphenoidal surgery for Cushing disease (CD) remains unclear. We evaluated the effect of frailty on CD outcomes using the Registry of Adenomas of the Pituitary and Related Disorders (RAPID) data set from a collaboration of US academic pituitary centers.

Methods: Data on consecutive surgically treated patients with CD (2011-2023) were compiled using the 11-factor modified frailty index.

Novel Anti-Microbial/Anti-Inflammatory Combination Improves Clinical Outcome of Bacillus cereus Endophthalmitis.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the therapeutic potential of the novel combination of Bacillus bacteriophage lysin (PlyB) and a synthetic TLR2/4 inhibitor (oxidized 1-palmitoyl-2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, OxPAPC) in the treatment of experimental Bacillus cereus endophthalmitis.

Methods: C57BL/6J mice were injected with 100 colony forming units (CFUs) Bacillus cereus to induce endophthalmitis. Two hours postinfection, groups of mice were treated with either PlyB, PlyB with OxPAPC, or the groups were left untreated to serve as a control.

Amide Internucleoside Linkages Suppress the MicroRNA-like Off-Target Activity of Short Interfering RNA.

RNA interference (RNAi) has rapidly matured as a novel therapeutic approach. In this field, chemical modifications have been critical to the clinical success of short interfering RNAs (siRNAs). Notwithstanding the significant advances, achieving robust durability and gene silencing in extrahepatic tissues, as well as reducing off-target effects of siRNA, are areas where chemical modifications can still improve siRNA performance.

Palliative Care Initiated in the Emergency Department: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The emergency department (ED) offers an opportunity to initiate palliative care for older adults with serious, life-limiting illness.

Objective: To assess the effect of a multicomponent intervention to initiate palliative care in the ED on hospital admission, subsequent health care use, and survival in older adults with serious, life-limiting illness.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Cluster randomized, stepped-wedge, clinical trial including patients aged 66 years or older who visited 1 of 29 EDs across the US between May 1, 2018, and December 31, 2022, had 12 months of prior Medicare enrollment, and a Gagne comorbidity score greater than 6, representing a risk of short-term mortality greater than 30%.

Outcomes and complications of vertebral body tethering by patient gender.

Purpose: Non-fusion surgical options for pediatric scoliosis management such as vertebral body tethering (VBT) offer an alternative to spinal fusion. With this study, we aim to evaluate the postoperative outcomes in boys versus girls who have undergone VBT. Our hypothesis is that girls and boys will have similar outcomes by 2-year follow-up.

Two-Phase Extraction for Comprehensive Analysis of the Plant Metabolome by NMR.

Metabolomics is the area of research, which strives to obtain complete metabolic fingerprints, to detect differences between them and to provide hypothesis to explain those differences (Schripsema J, Dagnino D, Handbook of chemical and biological plant analytical methods. Wiley, New York, 2015). However, obtaining complete metabolic fingerprints is not an easy task.

Restorative Neurostimulation Therapy Compared to Optimal Medical Management: A Randomized Evaluation (RESTORE) for the Treatment of Chronic Mechanical Low Back Pain due to Multifidus Dysfunction.

Introduction: Many interventional strategies are commonly used to treat chronic low back pain (CLBP), though few are specifically intended to target the distinct underlying pathomechanisms causing low back pain. Restorative neurostimulation has been suggested as a specific treatment for mechanical CLBP resulting from multifidus dysfunction. In this randomized controlled trial, we report outcomes from a cohort of patients with CLBP associated with multifidus dysfunction treated with restorative neurostimulation compared to those randomized to a control group receiving optimal medical management (OMM) over 1 year.

HIV Prevention in Syringe Service Programs Since the Start of COVID-19: Where Do We Go From Here?

Purpose: This narrative review addresses post-2020, specific, complex challenges for use of and adherence to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention among out-of-treatment people who use drugs (PWUD) at syringe services programs (SSPs).

Recent Findings: The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated changes to the provision of healthcare have significantly impacted HIV prevention, especially for PWUD. Through a synthesis of literature and clinical experience, we (1) characterize the operational changes imposed by the pandemic on SSPs that shaped the current HIV prevention landscape; (2) describe three levels of current challenges for PWUD, including consumer attitudes, non-medical and medical provider attitudes, and structural and scalability barriers; (3) characterize current models for PrEP in SSPs; and (4) offer practical recommendations for HIV prevention in harm reduction programs.

Closing the Gap: Digital Innovations to Address Hypertension Disparities.

Purpose Of Review: Significant inequities persist in hypertension detection and control, with minoritized populations disproportionately experiencing organ damage and premature death due to uncontrolled hypertension. Remote blood pressure monitoring combined with telehealth visits (RBPM) is proving to be an effective strategy for controlling hypertension. Yet there are challenges related to technology adoption, patient engagement and social determinants of health (SDoH), contributing to disparities in patient outcomes.

Longitudinal qualitative assessment of meaningful symptoms and relevance of WATCH-PD digital measures for people with early Parkinson's.

Background: Longitudinal qualitative data on what matters to people with Parkinson's disease are lacking and needed to guide patient-centered clinical care and development of outcome measures.

Objective: To evaluate change over time in symptoms, impacts, and relevance of digital measures to monitor disease progression in early Parkinson's.

Methods: In-depth, online symptom mapping interviews were conducted with 33 people with early Parkinson's at baseline and 1 year later to evaluate (A) symptoms, (B) impacts, and (C) relevance of digital measures to monitor personally relevant symptoms.

Anatomy-driven segmentation of parafoveal optical coherence tomography (OCT) measures may improve associations with clinical outcomes in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Previous investigations on optical coherence tomography (OCT) in multiple sclerosis (MS) focused on generalizable macular and peri-papillary regions without considering the anatomic variations of the retinal layer thickness.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the utility of parafoveal retinal layer thickness measured by OCT, underscoring its relationships with clinical outcomes in MS.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 214 people with MS (pwMS) and 57 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled.

Marriage is associated with decreased lesion volumes and less brain atrophy in people with multiple sclerosis.

Background: Married or long-term partnered patients with chronic diseases generally have better outcomes than unmarried patients, likely due to the potential for multifaceted support. However, the impact of marital status on multiple sclerosis (MS) radiographic disease burden is currently unknown.

Objective: To compare total white matter hyperintensity lesion volumes, periventricular lesion volumes, and whole brain and grey matter volumes in married and unmarried people with MS (PwMS).

Improvement in vision-related quality-of-life using the NEI-VFQ-9 over 1-year in the Manhattan Vision Screening and Follow-up Study (NYC-SIGHT).

Purpose: To examine the nine-item National Eye Institute Vision Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ-9) scores at baseline and 12 months in participants enrolled in the Manhattan Vision Screening and Follow-up Study (NYC-SIGHT) and determine factors associated with improvements in vision-related quality-of-life (VRQOL).

Methods: Retrospective review of NEI-VFQ-9 scores at baseline and 12-month follow-up in a community-based eye health screening study conducted in Upper Manhattan, New York. Participants were age ≥ 40 years and older, living independently in public/affordable housing developments and able to provide informed consent.

Outcomes of mechanical thrombectomy for medium vessel occlusion in acute ischemic stroke patients with ASPECTS 4-5 vs. 6-7: a retrospective, multicenter, and multinational study.

Introduction: Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) efficacy in medium vessel occlusion (MeVO) stroke, particularly in patients with low Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score (ASPECTS), remains less explored.

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed data from 443 AIS patients treated with MT for MeVO and low ASPECTS (4-7) at 37 centers across North America, Asia, and Europe, from September 2017 to July 2021. Patients were categorized into ASPECTS of 4-5 and 6-7.

Content Validity of the Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale in Patients with Spinocerebellar Ataxia.

Introduction: The Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale-Activities of Daily Living (FARS-ADL) is a validated and highly utilized measure for evaluating patients with Friedreich Ataxia. While construct validity of FARS-ADL has been shown for spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), content validity has not been established.

Methods: Individuals with SCA1 or SCA3 (n = 7) and healthcare professionals (HCPs) with SCA expertise (n = 8) participated in qualitative interviews evaluating the relevance, clarity, and clinical meaningfulness of FARS-ADL for assessment of individuals with SCA.

Not All Antiseptic Solutions Are Equivalent in Removing Biofilm: A Comparison Across Different Orthopaedic Surfaces.

Background: Antiseptic solutions are commonly utilized during total joint arthroplasty (TJA) to prevent and treat periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). The purpose of this study was to investigate which antiseptic solution is most effective against methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and Escherichia coli biofilms established in vitro on orthopaedic surfaces commonly utilized in total knee arthroplasty: cobalt-chromium (CC), oxidized zirconium (OxZr), and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA).

Methods: MSSA and E.

Mutations disrupting the kinase domain of IKKα lead to immunodeficiency and immune dysregulation in humans.

IKKα, encoded by CHUK, is crucial in the non-canonical NF-κB pathway and part of the IKK complex activating the canonical pathway alongside IKKβ. The absence of IKKα causes fetal encasement syndrome in humans, fatal in utero, while an impaired IKKα-NIK interaction was reported in a single patient and causes combined immunodeficiency. Here, we describe compound heterozygous variants in the kinase domain of IKKα in a female patient with hypogammaglobulinemia, recurrent lung infections, and Hay-Wells syndrome-like features.

Comparative Performance of the Leading Large Language Models in Answering Complex Rhinoplasty Consultation Questions.

Various large language models (LLMs) can provide human-level medical discussions, but they have not been compared regarding rhinoplasty knowledge. To compare the leading LLMs in answering complex rhinoplasty consultation questions as evaluated by plastic surgeons. Ten open-ended rhinoplasty consultation questions were presented to ChatGPT-4o, Google Gemini, Claude, and Meta-AI LLMs.

Baseline Drug Clearance Predicts Outcomes in Children With Inflammatory Bowel Disease Treated With Vedolizumab: Results From the VedoKids Prospective Multicentre Study.

Background: The pharmacokinetics of biologic agents can differ between children and adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), often necessitating modified paediatric dosing strategies.

Aims: To define the exposure-response relationship of vedolizumab in the paediatric IBD VedoKids cohort including the effect of baseline clearance on deep biochemical remission (normal C-reactive protein [CRP]/erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR] and steroid-free remission) at 30 weeks, and to use population pharmacokinetic models to find the best matches between adult and paediatric pharmacokinetic profiles.

Methods: We sought a pharmacokinetic model on 312 serum vedolizumab concentrations from 129 children, assisted by a published adult model as a Bayesian prior.

General Kernel Machine Methods for Multi-Omics Integration and Genome-Wide Association Testing With Related Individuals.

Integrating multi-omics data may help researchers understand the genetic underpinnings of complex traits and diseases. However, the best ways to integrate multi-omics data and use them to address pressing scientific questions remain a challenge. One important and topical problem is how to assess the aggregate effect of multiple genomic data types (e.

New Multiomic Studies Shed Light on Cellular Diversity and Neuronal Susceptibility in Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease is a complex neurodegenerative disorder characterized by degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, with patients manifesting varying motor and nonmotor symptoms. Previous studies using single-cell RNA sequencing in rodent models and humans have identified distinct heterogeneity of neurons and glial cells with differential vulnerability. Recent studies have increasingly leveraged multiomics approaches, including spatial transcriptomics, epigenomics, and proteomics, in the study of Parkinson's disease, providing new insights into pathogenic mechanisms.