Infectious keratitis following photorefractive keratectomy: a 13-year study at a tertiary center.

Introduction: Infectious keratitis is a rare but devastating complication following photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) that may lead to visual impairment. This study assessed the clinical features, treatment strategies, and outcomes of post-PRK infectious keratitis.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on patients with post-PRK infectious keratitis presenting to Khalili Hospital, Shiraz, Iran, from June 2011 to March 2024.

Brief Report: Genital Microbiome, Inflammation, and Tenofovir Levels in Transgender Men and Cisgender Women Taking Oral PrEP.

Background: Little is known about the efficacy of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or what biologic factors may influence HIV transmission in transgender men (TGM). In this study, we sought to explore the effect of testosterone on the vaginal microbiome, cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) tenofovir concentrations, and levels of CVF inflammatory markers in TGM on PrEP.

Methods: Cervicovaginal fluid was collected from 13 TGM (7 using testosterone) and 32 cisgender women (CGW) on PrEP.

2'-Fucosyllactose inhibits human norovirus replication in human intestinal enteroids.

Unlabelled: Human noroviruses (HuNoVs) are the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis worldwide. Currently, there are no targeted antivirals for the treatment of HuNoV infection. Histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) on the intestinal epithelium are cellular attachment factors for HuNoVs; molecules that block the binding of HuNoVs to HBGAs thus have the potential to be developed as antivirals.

Functional genotype classification groups distinguish disease severity in recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.

Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) is a genetic disorder due to pathogenic variants in the COL7A1 gene. In this study we determined the association between different categories of COL7A1 variants and clinical disease severity in 236 RDEB patients in North America. Published reports or in-silico predictions were used to assess the impact of pathogenic variants in COL7A1 on type VII collagen (C7) protein function.

Emerging Trends in Research on Assisted Outpatient Treatment in the United States: A Narrative Review.

Objective: The use of court-ordered mental health treatment through programs such as assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) carries substantial ramifications for the welfare of individuals with serious mental health conditions.

Methods: In this review, the authors used a narrative methodology and performed an interpretive synthesis of existing U.S.

Impulsivity behaviors and white matter mediate the relationship between genetic risk for cannabis use disorder and early cannabis use in adolescents.

Background And Aim: Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is strongly influenced by genetic factors; however the mechanisms underpinning this association are not well understood. This study investigated whether a polygenic risk score (PRS) based on a genome-wide association study for CUD in adults predicts cannabis use in adolescents and whether the association can be explained by inter-individual variation in structural properties of brain white matter or risk-taking behaviors.

Design And Setting: Longitudinal and cross-sectional analyses using data from the IMAGEN cohort, a European longitudinal study integrating genetic, neuroimaging and behavioral measures.

Neoadjuvant or concurrent atezolizumab with chemoradiation for locally advanced cervical cancer: a randomized phase I trial.

Combined immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) and chemoradiation (CRT) is approved in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) but optimal sequencing of CRT and ICB is unknown. NRG-GY017 (NCT03738228) was a randomized phase I trial of atezolizumab (anti-PD-L1) neoadjuvant and concurrent with CRT (Arm A) vs. concurrent with CRT (Arm B) in patients with high-risk node-positive LACC.

Global Epidemiology of Alcohol-Related Liver Disease, Liver Cancer, and Alcohol Use Disorder, 2000-2021.

Background/aims: Alcohol represents a leading burden of disease worldwide, including alcohol use disorder (AUD) and alcohol-related liver disease (ALD). We aim to assess the global burden of AUD, ALD, and alcohol-attributable primary liver cancer between 2000-2021.

Methods: We registered the global and regional trends of AUD, ALD, and alcohol-related liver cancer using data from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 Study, the largest and most up-to-date global epidemiology database.

COVID-19 pediatric vaccine Hesitancy: Themes and interactions with verified twitter accounts.

Background: Though vaccine hesitancy and misinformation has been pervasive online, via platforms such as Twitter, little is known about the characteristics of pediatric-specific vaccine hesitancy and how online users interact with verified user accounts that may hold larger influence. Identifying specific COVID-19 pediatric vaccine hesitancy themes and online user interaction and sentiment may help inform health promotion that addresses vaccine hesitancy more effectively among parents and caregivers of pediatric populations.

Methods: Keywords were used to query the public streaming twitter application programming interface to collect tweets associated with COVID-19 pediatric vaccines.

Plasma anti-CD4 IgG levels are associated with poor immune recovery in people with HIV initiating antiretroviral therapy.

A segment of people with HIV on effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) continue to experience poor immune recovery, leaving them at heightened risk of non-AIDS-defining events (NAEs). The production of anti-CD4 IgG autoreactive antibodies is suggested as one contributing mechanism to these complications. Here, we found that plasma anti-CD4 levels do not discriminate immunological responders from nonresponders nor predict the occurrence of NAEs, suggesting it is unlikely a contributing immunopathological factor associated with these complications.

Stress drives a switch in sex preference.

Distinct brain circuits control sex preferences in mice.

Bile acid synthesis impedes tumor-specific T cell responses during liver cancer.

The metabolic landscape of cancer greatly influences antitumor immunity, yet it remains unclear how organ-specific metabolites in the tumor microenvironment influence immunosurveillance. We found that accumulation of primary conjugated and secondary bile acids (BAs) are metabolic features of human hepatocellular carcinoma and experimental liver cancer models. Inhibiting conjugated BA synthesis in hepatocytes through deletion of the BA-conjugating enzyme bile acid-CoA:amino acid -acyltransferase (BAAT) enhanced tumor-specific T cell responses, reduced tumor growth, and sensitized tumors to anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1) immunotherapy.

Trajectories of Resilience-Related Traits and Their Impact on Health Outcomes in Schizophrenia: Results From a 4-Year Longitudinal Study.

Background And Hypothesis: For the rapidly growing population of older people living with schizophrenia (PLWS), psychological resilience, or the capacity to adapt to adversity, is an understudied target for improving health. Little is known about resilience and its longitudinal impact on outcomes among PLWS. This study assesses trajectories of resilience-related traits in PLWS and a nonpsychiatric comparison group (NCs) and longitudinal interactions between resilience and health.

Development and validation of nomograms and integrated software incorporating preoperative C-reactive protein level for prognostic prediction of nonmetastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma: Results from the International Marker Consortium for Renal Cancer (INMARC) Registry.

Purpose: Preoperative C-reactive protein (CRP) is a valuable prognostic biomarker in nonmetastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (nmccRCC). Incorporation of CRP into prognostic models may improve the prediction of oncologic outcomes. Herein, we aimed to develop and validate prognostic nomograms and an integrated software incorporating preoperative CRP level in nmccRCC.

Alcohol Use Disorder Polygenic Score Compared With Family History and ADH1B.

Importance: Identification of individuals at high risk of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and subsequent application of prevention and intervention programs has been reported to decrease the incidence of AUD. The polygenic score (PGS), which measures an individual's genetic liability to a disease, can potentially be used to evaluate AUD risk.

Objective: To assess the estimability and generalizability of the PGS, compared with family history and ADH1B, in evaluating the risk of AUD among populations of European ancestry.

Biomarkers.

Background: As new anti-amyloid immunotherapies emerge for Alzheimer's disease (AD), it is clear that early diagnosis of AD pathology is crucial for treatment success. This can be challenging in atypical presentations of AD and, together with our reliance on CSF or PET scans, can, at times, lead to delayed diagnosis. Here, we further explore the possible role of plasma tau phosphorylated at threonine 217 (P-tau217) for the detection of primary AD or AD co-pathology when frontotemporal dementia spectrum disorders are the main clinical presentation.

Biomarkers.

Background: Hispanic/Latino communities in the US are rapidly growing and aging and are at two-fold risk of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia's (ADRD) compared to non-Hispanic Whites. This additional risk could be, in part, due to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Hispanics/Latinos also have higher rate of diabetes compared to non-Hispanic Whites and nearly 2 out of 5 individuals with diabetes go undiagnosed.

Biomarkers.

Background: There is growing interest in the role of environmental factors (i.e., exposome) in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's diseases.

Biomarkers.

Background: Diet has been associated with memory, emotion/stress regulation, structure and function of the hippocampus and amygdala and attenuation of cognitive aging. There is a well-recognized lack of reliability in self-reported dietary intake and great interest in objective metabolic readout of dietary patterns. In this study we constructed dietary profiles from untargeted metabolomics data using a novel metadata-based source annotation method developed at the Dorrestein Lab, also referred to as "foodomics".

Biomarkers.

Background: It is now widely acknowledged that diet, lifestyle, and environmental exposures largely affect an individual's metabolic state in health and disease, including the brain. Metabolomics has demonstrated its potential to enable exciting discoveries in brain health, facilitated by advances in analytical and informatics techniques. Here, we highlighted the use of MS/MS-based untargeted metabolomics to study the diet and medication exposure of cognitively declined cohorts through the newly developed FoodMASST and DrugMASST tools.

Biomarkers.

Background: There is a growing need to determine if APOE status infers the same risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a Hispanic/Latino cohort as it would for a White cohort. To address this, we must first establish the relationship between APOE4 and known at-risk markers for AD, such as amyloid beta (Aβ), tau, and inflammation. The following analysis compares these markers in non-e4 carriers and e4 carriers within a Hispanic/Latino Cohort to help answer the question of whether APOE status correlates to AD pathology and inflammation in the same way as we have seen in other populations.

Biomarkers.

Background: Emerging evidence underscores the significant influence of diet on risk for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). In particular, a Western dietary pattern associates with increased risk for ADRD, with proposed mediation via inflammatory mechanisms, among others. Although a Western dietary pattern associates with gut microbiome alterations, it remains unclear whether microbial alterations mediate Western diet-associated inflammation and neurodegeneration.

Biomarkers.

Background: Distinct amyloid structures characterize specific proteinopathies, including tau and α-synuclein based neurodegenerative diseases. However, how protein seed co-occurrence and other pathologic features account for clinicopathological heterogeneity observed within and between proteinopathies is unclear. Here, we quantify α-synuclein and isoform-specific tau seeds across neurodegenerative diseases, including in Lewy body disease (LBD), AD neuropathologic change (ADNC), and 4R tauopathy cases to inform how co-occurring seeds may impact disease presentation and trajectory.

Biomarkers.

Background: Heavy alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), with mixed evidence suggesting a dose-dependent nonlinear effect of alcohol on ADRD. Potential mechanisms by which alcohol may promote or attenuate brain pathology need further exploration. Although chronic alcohol consumption associates with gut microbiome alterations, it remains unclear whether microbial alterations mediate alcohol-associated neurodegeneration and cognitive decline.

Biomarkers.

Background: Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and is considered to disproportionately affect underserved populations like Hispanics/Latinos. Most research available with AD markers such as inflammation and APOE4 has been conducted in predominantly White cohorts, leaving a dearth of knowledge relating APOE4 and inflammation in Hispanic/Latinos. Recent research also suggests inflammation and AD risk may be sex-specific.