Investigation of Third Window Symptoms in Patients With Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct: A Pilot Study.

Objective: To assess if patients with enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA) experience symptoms characteristic of other third mobile window disorders such as superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome (SCDS).

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Tertiary care center.

Prevalence of Depression in Older Adults and the Potential Protective Role of Volunteering: Findings From the LongROAD Study.

Background: As the US population continues to age, depression and other mental health issues have become a significant challenge for healthy aging. Few studies, however, have examined the prevalence of depression in community-dwelling older adults in the United States.

Methods: Baseline data from the Longitudinal Research on Aging Drivers study were analyzed to examine the prevalence and correlates of depression in a multisite sample of community-dwelling adults aged 65-79 years who were enrolled and assessed between July 2015 and March 2017.

Yoga as an adjunctive therapy for rheumatoid arthritis.

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the effect and safety of yoga as an adjunctive therapy for rheumatoid arthritis.

Measurable residual disease and posttransplantation gilteritinib maintenance for patients with FLT3-ITD-mutated AML.

BMT CTN 1506 ("MORPHO"; NCT02997202) was a randomized phase 3 study of gilteritinib compared to placebo as maintenance therapy after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) for patients with FLT3-ITD-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML). A key secondary endpoint was to determine the impact on survival of pre- and/or post-HCT measurable residual disease (MRD), as determined using a highly sensitive assay for FLT3-ITD mutations. Generally, gilteritinib maintenance therapy was associated with improved relapse-free survival (RFS) for participants with detectable peri-HCT MRD, whereas no benefit was evident for those lacking detectable MRD.

Community pharmacies: Key players in point-of-care diagnostics for STI screening in Africa.

Background: Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) rank in the top 5 disease categories for which adults in developing countries seek healthcare services. Community pharmacies offer clients convenience, proximity, extended opening hours, privacy, and efficiency, which could make them desirable locations for HIV and STI screening and treatment. We examined the feasibility of using point-of-care (POC) STI tests for screening HIV and other STIs at community pharmacies.

Primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention: Recent advances.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide with 20 million deaths annually. Recent advances in both primary and secondary prevention strategies have shown promising results in reducing the incidence and recurrence of cardiovascular events, but a question of fundamental importance is whether we are effective enough when predicting risk only in those over 40 years of age and only for 10 years. A similarly important question concerns the pathophysiological border between primary and secondary prevention and whether we should reorient our focus to atherosclerosis prevention as a continuous process that becomes clinically apparent later in life.

Advancing Patient Advocacy in Mycology: Cultivating Collaboration in Education, Research, and Policy.

In the healthcare landscape, diseases such as cancer and HIV/AIDS have benefited from the patient's perspective. For fungal diseases, the patient voice remains absent in critical areas such as policy formulation, funding decisions, and research priorities. Patients affected by fungal disease, along with their caregivers and advocacy groups, possess invaluable insights into the challenges and unmet needs they face.

Feasibility and acceptability for LION, a fully remote, randomized clinical trial within the VA for light therapy to improve sleep in Veterans with and without TBI: An MTBI2 sponsored protocol.

Sleep-wake disturbances frequently present in Veterans with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). These TBI-related sleep impairments confer significant burden and commonly exacerbate other functional impairments. Therapies to improve sleep following mTBI are limited and studies in Veterans are even more scarce.

Enhanced D614G and Omicron Variants Antibody Persistence in Infants at 2 Months of Age Following Maternal mRNA Booster Vaccination During Pregnancy or Postpartum.

Background: Following maternal COVID-19 vaccination, the persistence of antibodies in sera and breast milk for mothers and infants is not well characterized. We sought to describe the persistence of antibodies through 2 months after delivery in maternal and infant serum and breast milk following maternal COVID-19 mRNA vaccination and to examine differences by receipt of booster dose during pregnancy or postpartum.

Methods: This is a prospective cohort study with enrollment from July 2021 to January 2022 at 9 US academic sites.

The Influence of Aging on Hip Abductor Muscle Torque, Power, Velocity and the Association With Lower Limb Physical Function.

Background And Purpose: Muscle strength, power, and mass decline with aging, leading to functional loss highly correlated with balance and falls in older adults. Lower limb muscle function is critical for fall prevention in older adults, and hip abductor force and rapid force development have been shown to be important during stepping tasks. However, it remains unclear whether hip abductor muscle function changes with aging.

Targeting Senescent Stemlike Subpopulations in Philadelphia Chromosome-Like Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Philadelphia chromosome-like B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph-like ALL) is driven by genetic alterations that induce constitutive kinase signaling and is associated with chemoresistance and high relapse risk in children and adults. Preclinical studies in the most common CRLF2-rearranged/JAK pathway-activated Ph-like ALL subtype have shown variable responses to JAK inhibitor-based therapies, suggesting incomplete oncogene addiction and highlighting a need to elucidate alternative biologic dependencies and therapeutic vulnerabilities, while the ABL-class Ph-like ALL subtype appears preferentially sensitive to SRC/ABL- or PDGFRB-targeting inhibitors. Which patients may be responsive versus resistant to tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-based precision medicine approaches remains a critical knowledge gap.

Genetically engineered pig heart transplantation in non-human primates.

Background: Improvement in gene modifications of donor pigs has led to the prevention of early cardiac xenograft rejection and significantly prolonged cardiac xenograft survival in both heterotopic and orthotopic preclinical non-human primate (NHP) models. This progress formed the basis for FDA approval for compassionate use transplants in two patients.

Methods: Based on our earlier report of 9-month survival of seven gene-edited (7-GE) hearts transplanted (life-supporting orthotopic) in baboons, we transplanted 10 gene-edited pig hearts into baboons (n = 4) using non-ischemic continuous perfusion preservation (NICP) and immunosuppression regimen based on co-stimulation blockade by anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody.

Predictors of Cryptococcus gattii clinical presentation and outcome: An international study.

Background: Infection by Cryptococcus gattii can lead to pulmonary or central nervous system (CNS) disease, or both. Whether site of infection and disease severity are associated with C. gattii species and lineages or with certain underlying medical conditions, or both is unclear.

Perceptions of access to harm reduction services during the COVID-19 pandemic among people who inject drugs in metropolitan Chicago.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic amplified the risk environment for people who inject drugs (PWID), making continued access to harm reduction services imperative. Research has shown that some harm reduction service providers were able to continue to provide services throughout the pandemic. Most of these studies, however, focused on staff perspectives, not those of PWID.

Prioritization of causal genes from genome-wide association studies by Bayesian data integration across loci.

Motivation: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified genetic variants, usually single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), associated with human traits, including disease and disease risk. These variants (or causal variants in linkage disequilibrium with them) usually affect the regulation or function of a nearby gene. A GWAS locus can span many genes, however, and prioritizing which gene or genes in a locus are most likely to be causal remains a challenge.

Understanding variation in management of early-onset neonatal sepsis in India: a vignette-based survey.

Background: Antibiotic use for early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) is common, but prolonged exposure can lead to poor outcomes. Laboratory capacity and infection prevention initiatives may impact antibiotic use for EONS in neonatal intensive care units. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of institutional capacity on antibiotic prescribing for EONS in India.

The Impact of MRI-Defined Extent of Resection Across Meningioma DNA Methylation Groups: Re-Evaluating Surgery in the Era of Meningioma Molecular Classification.

Background And Objectives: Extent of resection (EOR) is prognostic for meningioma outcomes. DNA methylation profiling can shed light on biological drivers and therapeutic vulnerabilities. The goal of this study was to re-evaluate the impact of EOR on clinical outcomes across meningioma DNA methylation groups.

Evaluating factors impacting National Institutes of Health funding in pain medicine.

Background: While many medical specialties have established links between bibliometric indices, academic rank, leadership roles, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, there exists a gap within the field of pain medicine. The purpose of our study is to examine the impact of research productivity (h-index, m-index, publications, citations), professional degrees (PhD, MPH, MBA), leadership positions (program director, division chief, chairman), and faculty demographics (gender, nationality of training) on attaining NIH grant funding among pain medicine faculty.

Methods: A complete list of 98 civilian pain medicine programs was included in the study.

Complexes of vertebrate TMC1/2 and CIB2/3 proteins form hair-cell mechanotransduction cation channels.

Calcium and integrin-binding protein 2 (CIB2) and CIB3 bind to transmembrane channel-like 1 (TMC1) and TMC2, the pore-forming subunits of the inner-ear mechano-electrical transduction (MET) apparatus. These interactions have been proposed to be functionally relevant across mechanosensory organs and vertebrate species. Here, we show that both CIB2 and CIB3 can form heteromeric complexes with TMC1 and TMC2 and are integral for MET function in mouse cochlea and vestibular end organs as well as in zebrafish inner ear and lateral line.

Evaluating the impact of changing inhaler color on perception of symptoms and disease burden in patients with asthma: The FEEL study.

ObjectivesPatient perception of treatment effectiveness is key to optimizing adherence. This is potentially impacted by color, yet no such studies have been conducted in asthma. This study assessed the influence of pink vs.

Impact of a Multi-Component Home-Based Physical Therapy Intervention on Cognitive Outcomes: Results From the CAP Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: Differences in cognitive outcomes for two home-based 16-week interventions after usual rehabilitative care post-hip fracture were examined.

Methods: Community Ambulation Project randomized controlled trial included 210 hip fracture participants. Interventions: Specific multi-component (PUSH) included strength-, balance-, function-, and endurance-based exercises; non-specific active control (PULSE) included seated range-of-motion exercises and sensory transcutaneous electrical neurostimulation.

Efficacy and Safety of IV Thrombolysis for Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients With Moyamoya Disease.

Objectives: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a rare cerebrovascular condition, and it is a well-known risk factor of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). While IV thrombolysis (IVT) is an established treatment for patients with AIS, its efficacy and safety for patients with MMD is largely unknown.

Methods: This was a large retrospective analysis of the 2016-2021 Nationwide Readmissions Database in the United States.

Using Large Language Models to Assist Antimicrobial Resistance Policy Development: Integrating the Environment into Health Protection Planning.

Increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a substantial threat to global health and economies, which has led many countries and regions to develop AMR National Action Plans (NAPs). However, inadequate logistical capacity, funding, and essential information can hinder NAP policymaking, especially in low-to-middle-income countries (LMICs). Therefore, major gaps exist between aspirations and actions, such as fully operationalized environmental AMR surveillance programs in NAPs.