Role of Critical Care Medicine Training in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit: Survey Responses From Dual Certified Critical Care Cardiologists.

Background Cardiovascular intensive care units ( CICUs ) have evolved from coronary care wards into distinct units for critically ill patients with primary cardiac diseases, often suffering from illnesses that cross multiple disciplines. Mounting evidence has demonstrated improved survival with the incorporation of dedicated CICU providers with expertise in critical care medicine ( CCM ). This is the first study to systematically survey dual certified physicians in order to assess the relevance of CCM training to contemporary CICU care.

"Worth the Walk": Culturally Tailored Stroke Risk Factor Reduction Intervention in Community Senior Centers.

Background Racial/ethnic minority older adults have worse stroke burden than non-Hispanic white and younger counterparts. Our academic-community partner team tested a culturally tailored 1-month (8-session) intervention to increase walking and stroke knowledge among Latino, Korean, Chinese, and black seniors. Methods and Results We conducted a randomized wait-list controlled trial of 233 adults aged 60 years and older, with a history of hypertension, recruited from senior centers.

Telemedicine vs Office Visits in a Movement Disorders Clinic: Comparative Satisfaction of Physicians and Patients.

Objective: To compare patient and physician satisfaction between home-based telemedicine visits and office visits for follow-up care within a movement disorders program.

Methods: Patients were offered telemedicine visits as follow-up care. After telemedicine visits, a questionnaire of items along a 10-point Likert Scale (10 = most satisfied) assessed patient and overall physician satisfaction, comparing the experience to past in-office visits.

Statistical Methodology for Multiclass Classifications: Applications to Dementia.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common, devastating disease which carries a heavy economic burden. Accelerated efforts to identify presymptomatic stages of AD and biomarkers to classify the disease are urgent needs. Currently, no biomarkers can perfectly discriminate individuals into multiple disease categories of AD (no cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia).

Missing Data in the Unified Dysksinesia Rating Scale (UDysRS).

Objective: Identify the number of allowable missing values still permitting valid surrogate score calculation for the Unified Dyskinesia Rating Scale (UDysRS).

Background: Missing data frequently occur in Parkinson's disease rating scales, and they compromise data validity, risking data exclusion from final analyses.

Methods: Accessing the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society-sponsored UDysRS translation databases (3313 complete scores).

Healthy Lifestyle During the Midlife Is Prospectively Associated With Less Subclinical Carotid Atherosclerosis: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation.

Background Measures of subclinical atherosclerosis are predictors of future cardiovascular outcomes as well as of physical and cognitive functioning. The menopausal transition is associated with accelerated progression of atherosclerosis in women. The prospective association between a healthy lifestyle during the midlife and subclinical atherosclerosis is unclear.

Distribution of Clinical Rotations Among Emergency Medicine Residency Programs in the United States.

Introduction: There are over 200 emergency medicine (EM) residency programs in the United States. While there are basic criteria defined by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), there can be significant variation between programs with regard to rotation distribution. Therefore, it would be valuable to have a benchmark for programs to understand their rotation mix in the context of the national landscape.

Rating Scales and Performance-based Measures for Assessment of Functional Ability in Huntington's Disease: Critique and Recommendations.

Limitation of functional ability is a major feature of Huntington's disease (HD). The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) commissioned the appraisal of the use and clinimetric properties of clinical measures of functional ability that have been applied in HD studies and trials to date, to make recommendations regarding their use based on standardized criteria. After a systematic literature search, we included a total of 29 clinical measures grouped into two categories: (1) performance-based measures (e.

Rating Scales for Motor Symptoms and Signs in Huntington's Disease: Critique and Recommendations.

Motor symptoms are a major feature of Huntington's disease (HD). The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) commissioned the assessment of the clinimetric properties of motor rating scales in HD to make recommendations regarding their use, following previously established standardized criteria. After a systematic literature search, a total of 6 rating scales assessing motor symptoms and signs in HD were included for review.

Turkish Standardization of Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale and Unified Dyskinesia Rating Scale.

Background: Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) and Unified Dyskinesia Rating Scale (UDysRS) were developed as standard tools to rate Parkinson's disease (PD) and drug-induced dyskinesias of PD. As these scales have become widely used, there is a need for translation to non-English languages. Here we present the standardization for the Turkish translations.

Injectable DaxibotulinumtoxinA in Cervical Dystonia: A Phase 2 Dose-Escalation Multicenter Study.

Background: Injectable daxibotulinumtoxinA (an investigational botulinum toxin, RT002) may offer a more prolonged duration of response-and therefore less frequent dosing-than onabotulinumtoxinA.

Objectives: To perform a phase 2, open-label, dose-escalation study to assess the efficacy and safety of daxibotulinumtoxinA in cervical dystonia.

Methods: Subjects with moderate-to-severe isolated cervical dystonia were enrolled in sequential cohorts to receive a single open-label, intramuscular dose of injectable daxibotulinumtoxinA of up to 200 U ( 12), 200-300 U ( 12), or 300-450 U ( 13; https://clinicaltrials.

Brain pathology is related to total daily physical activity in older adults.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that brain pathology is associated with total daily physical activity proximate to death in older adults.

Methods: We studied brain autopsies from 428 decedents of the Rush Memory and Aging Project. The quantity of all physical activity was measured continuously for up to 10 days with actigraphy (Actical; Philips Healthcare, Bend, OR).

Link N as a therapeutic agent for discogenic pain.

Neurotrophins (NTs) are the major contributors of sensory axonal sprouting, neural survival, regulation of nociceptive sensory neurons, inflammatory hyperalgesia, and neuropathic pain. Intervertebral disc (IVD) cells constitutively express NTs. Their expression is upregulated by proinflammatory cytokines present in the IVD during degeneration, which can promote peripheral nerve ingrowth and hyperinnervation, leading to discogenic pain.

Osteopontin deletion drives hematopoietic stem cell mobilization to the liver and increases hepatic iron contributing to alcoholic liver disease.

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of osteopontin (OPN) in hematopoietic stem cell (HPSC) mobilization to the liver and its contribution to alcoholic liver disease (ALD). We analyzed young (14-16 weeks) and old (>1.5 years) wild-type (WT) littermates and global knockout ( ) mice for HPSC mobilization to the liver.

Concomitant proton pump inhibitor use does not reduce the efficacy of elbasvir/grazoprevir: A pooled analysis of 1,322 patients with hepatitis C infection.

Concomitant proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use reduces plasma concentrations of certain nonstructural protein 5A inhibitors, which are key components of modern hepatitis C infection (HCV) treatments. These reduced concentrations may decrease efficacy, leading to challenging treatment failures due to the development of resistance-associated substitutions. This post-hoc analysis assessed 12-week sustained viral response (SVR12) and pharmacokinetics of fixed-dose combination elbasvir/grazoprevir (EBR/GZR) in patients with HCV infection and self-reported PPI use.

Prevalence and economic burden of extrahepatic manifestations of hepatitis C virus are underestimated but can be improved with therapy.

Despite guideline recommendations, access to hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment is frequently restricted, with some payers approving therapy for only those with advanced disease or cirrhosis. However, delaying potentially curative treatment until the development of advanced liver disease may have costly consequences in terms of both hepatic complications and extrahepatic manifestations (EHMs) of HCV. Using a large claims database from the United States, we measured the risks and medical costs of 20 EHMs and investigated the role of treatment in different stages of liver fibrosis for mitigating the clinical and economic burden of these EHMs.