13,437 results match your criteria: "University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Worcester[Affiliation]"

Measuring virus in biofluids is complicated by confounding biomolecules coisolated with viral nucleic acids. To address this, we developed an affinity-based microfluidic device for specific capture of intact severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Our approach used an engineered angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 to capture intact virus from plasma and other complex biofluids.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Restrictive Medicaid policies regarding hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment may exacerbate rural health care disparities for people who use drugs (PWUD). We assessed associations between Medicaid restrictions and HCV treatment among rural PWUD.

Methods: We compiled state-specific Medicaid treatment policies across 8 US rural sites in 10 states and merged these with participant survey data.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • About 20% of familial ALS cases are linked to mutations in the SOD1 gene, and traumatic brain injury (TBI) is identified as a possible risk factor.
  • Researchers studied the effects of repetitive TBI on ALS progression in SOD1 mouse models and the role of Sarm1, a regulator of axonal degeneration.
  • Results showed that TBI worsened ALS symptoms and disease progression, but losing Sarm1 helped improve outcomes and reduced nerve damage, indicating potential for SARM1-targeted treatments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Scaling and spreading age-friendly care: Early lessons from the VA National Age-Friendly Action Community.

J Am Geriatr Soc

January 2025

Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care, Washington, DC, USA.

Background: The Age-Friendly Health System (AFHS) initiative seeks to improve care for older adults through assessing and acting on the 4Ms (What Matters, Medication, Mentation, Mobility). The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) joined the initiative in 2020, and from 2022 to 2023, VA led its first Age-Friendly Action Community, a 7-month online educational series to teach clinicians about implementing the 4Ms across VA care settings.

Methods: The VA Action Community was designed to spread awareness about Age-Friendly care for older Veterans, improve interprofessional team knowledge for providing care guided by the 4Ms, and support AFHS implementation across multiple care settings.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: In older adults, greater amyloid (Aβ) and tau positron emission tomography (PET) binding is associated with cognitive decline and dementia. However, the association of early amyloid and tau PET accumulation with cognition at midlife remains unclear. The goal of the current study was to evaluate the associations of Aβ and tau PET with cognition in a predominately middle‐aged community‐based cohort, as well as to examine the factors that may modify these associations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Neuron‐derived extracellular vesicles (NDEVs) are a valuable resource for understanding brain conditions and discovering neurodegenerative diseases biomarkers, notably Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Recent interest focuses on capturing neuron‐specific EVs from patient‐derived samples, characterizing their contents as a pathological reflection of the central nervous system (CNS). Our recent study identified ATPase Na/K Transporting Subunit Alpha 3 (ATP1A3) as a prevalent neuron‐specific EV marker specifically expressed in brains.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Effects of APOE genotype on cortical atrophy in early onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimers Dement

December 2024

Frontotemporal Disorders Unit and Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

Background: APOE‐ɛ4 is a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD); its effects have been examined in late‐onset AD (LOAD) but less so in early‐onset AD (EOAD). In LOAD, APOE genotype has strong effects on episodic memory and medial temporal lobe (MTL) atrophy (Wolk & Dickerson, 2010). However, EOAD often presents with more cognitive impairments in executive function, language, and visuospatial abilities than memory.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: In CLARITY‐AD, lecanemab both slowed cognitive decline and increased intracranial hemorrhages (ICHs), particularly among participants concurrently using anticoagulants. The Alzheimer’s Association’s expert guidance is to avoid co‐prescribing; however, CMS and FDA do not restrict or warn against co‐prescribing. We used a microsimulation model to quantify the potential benefits and harms of co‐prescribing lecanemab and apixaban in people with atrial fibrillation (AF) experiencing mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: We examined the relationship between nursing home (NH) COVID‐19 mortality rates and changes in antidementia and psychotropic medication initiation before and during the pandemic and explored the influence of staffing and resident factors.

Method: Changes in medication initiation were collected through a nationally representative cross‐sectional Dementia Treatment Survey (2022) of NH Directors of Nursing. Outcome measures were created by collapsing a 5‐point Likert scale contrasting less/about the same vs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Dementia is a life‐changing condition for patients and caregivers. Response to a diagnosis often includes grief, shock, and despair. Unfortunately, evidence demonstrates inadequate use of person‐centered communication practices during diagnostic disclosure, which adds to psychological distress.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The management of preoperative medications is an essential component of perioperative care for the cardiac surgical patient. This turnkey order set is part of a series created by the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Cardiac Society, first presented at the Annual Meeting of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery in 2023. Numerous guidelines and expert consensus documents have been published to provide guidance in preoperative medication management.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Optimal perioperative pain management is an essential component of perioperative care for the cardiac surgical patient. This turnkey order set is part of a series created by the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Cardiac Society, first presented at the Annual Meeting of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery in 2023. Several guidelines and expert consensus documents have been published to provide guidance on pain management and opioid reduction in cardiac surgery.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: High psychological resilience is associated with improved functional outcomes for older adults recovering from hip fracture. The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with increased psychological resilience in older women after hip fracture.

Methods: 129 women aged ≥65 years with recent surgically-repaired hip fracture were enrolled in a trial of exercise and testosterone therapy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The TRIPOD-LLM reporting guideline for studies using large language models.

Nat Med

January 2025

Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (AIM) Program, Mass General Brigham, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Large language models (LLMs) are rapidly being adopted in healthcare, necessitating standardized reporting guidelines. We present transparent reporting of a multivariable model for individual prognosis or diagnosis (TRIPOD)-LLM, an extension of the TRIPOD + artificial intelligence statement, addressing the unique challenges of LLMs in biomedical applications. TRIPOD-LLM provides a comprehensive checklist of 19 main items and 50 subitems, covering key aspects from title to discussion.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Premetastatic cancer cells often spread from the primary lesion through the lymphatic vasculature and, clinically, the presence or absence of lymph node metastases impacts treatment decisions. However, little is known about cancer progression via the lymphatic system or of the effect that the lymphatic environment has on cancer progression. This is due, in part, to the technical challenge of studying lymphatic vessels and collecting lymph fluid.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Association of Systemic Thromboxane Generation With Risk of Developing Heart Failure.

J Am Coll Cardiol

January 2025

Division of Biostatistics and Health Services Research, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.

Background: Systemic thromboxane A generation, which is readily assessed by quantifying thromboxane B metabolites (TXB-M) in the urine, is associated with impaired cardiac performance and mortality in aspirin (ASA) users with heart failure (HF).

Objectives: This study sought to determine the association of urinary TXB-M with the risk of developing HF in individuals without prior history of HF and with normal left ventricular function irrespective of ASA use.

Methods: Urine TXB-M were measured by immunoassay and adjusted to urine concentration and renal function (TXB-M) in 2,611 Framingham Heart Study participants (54.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A Small-Molecule Inhibitor of Gut Bacterial Urease Protects the Host from Liver Injury.

ACS Chem Biol

January 2025

Harvard University, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States.

Hyperammonemia is characterized by the accumulation of ammonia within the bloodstream upon liver injury. Left untreated, hyperammonemia contributes to conditions such as hepatic encephalopathy that have high rates of patient morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have identified gut bacterial urease, an enzyme that converts urea into ammonia, as a major contributor to systemic ammonia levels.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonucleases are key enzymes responsible for the repair of base-less nucleotides generated by spontaneous hydrolysis or as DNA repair intermediates. APE1, the major human AP endonuclease, is a druggable target in cancer and its biological function has been extensively studied. However, the molecular features responsible for its substrate specificity are poorly understood.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Serious mental health conditions and exposure to adulthood trauma in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review.

Glob Ment Health (Camb)

November 2024

South African Medical Research Council Unit on the Genomics of Brain Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: There is a strong link between trauma exposure and serious mental health conditions (SMHCs), such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The majority of research in the field has focused on childhood trauma as a risk factor for developing an SMHC and on samples from high-income countries. There is less research on having an SMHC as a risk factor for exposure to traumatic events, and particularly on populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Primary care lacks emphasis on oral health (OH) despite its major effects on one's overall health. This mixed-methods bibliometric study was conducted to assess the content of OH in primary care journals.

Methods: Sixty-seven of the most influential journals were identified from primary care specialties and disciplines using Scopus CiteScore metrics and expert opinion.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a staging procedure used to guide treatment for patients with breast cancer. Multiple variations in the SLNB technique have been described. We questioned how technique impacts the number of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) removed and associated complications.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF