Pathways From Socioeconomic Factors to Major Cardiovascular Events Among Postmenopausal Veteran and Nonveteran Women: Findings From the Women's Health Initiative.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a leading cause of death for women in the United States, with veterans being at potentially higher risk than their nonveteran counterparts due to accelerated aging and distinct biopsychosocial mechanisms. We examined pathways between selected indicators of socioeconomic status (SES) such as education, occupation, household income, and neighborhood SES and major CVD events through lifestyle and health characteristics among veteran and nonveteran postmenopausal women.

Methods And Results: A total of 121 286 study-eligible WHI (Women's Health Initiative) participants (3091 veterans and 118 195 nonveterans) were prospectively followed for an average of 17 years, during which 16 108 major CVD events were documented.

Loneliness and Social and Emotional Support Among Sexual and Gender Minority Caregivers.

Importance: Sexual and gender minority (SGM) adults in the US are more likely than their non-SGM counterparts to provide informal care to their family members and/or friends. Caregiving can impose substantial physical, mental, and social connection issues on caregivers.

Objective: To examine the associations among loneliness, lack of social and emotional support, sexual orientation, gender identity, and informal caregiving status.

Diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in traumatic solid organ injuries in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Blunt abdominal trauma (BAT) is a significant contributor to pediatric mortality, often causing liver and spleen injuries. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), the gold standard for diagnosing solid organ injury, poses radiation risks to children. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) may be a promising alternative imaging modality.

Session Introduction: Translating Big Data Imaging Genomics Findings to the Individual: Prediction of Risks and Outcomes in Neuropsychiatric Illnesses.

This PSB 2025 session is focused on opportunities, challenges and solutions for translating Big Data Imaging Genomic findings toward powering decision making in personalized medicine and guiding individual clinical decisions. It combines many of the scientific directions that are of interest to PSB members including Big Data analyses, pattern recognition, machine learning and AI, electronic health records and others.

Further delineation of the SCAF4-associated neurodevelopmental disorder.

While mostly de novo truncating variants in SCAF4 were recently identified in 18 individuals with variable neurodevelopmental phenotypes, knowledge on the molecular and clinical spectrum is still limited. We assembled data on 50 novel individuals with SCAF4 variants ascertained via GeneMatcher and personal communication. With detailed evaluation of clinical data, in silico predictions and structural modeling, we further characterized the molecular and clinical spectrum of the autosomal dominant SCAF4-associated neurodevelopmental disorder.

Serotonin neurons integrate GABA and dopamine inputs to regulate meal initiation.

Obesity is a growing global health epidemic with limited orally administered therapeutics. Serotonin (5-HT) is one neurotransmitter which remains an excellent target for new weight-loss therapies, but a gap remains in understanding the mechanisms involved in 5-HT produced in the dorsal Raphe nucleus (DRN) and its involvement in meal initiation. Using an optogenetic feeding paradigm, we showed that the 5-HT➔arcuate nucleus (ARH) circuit plays a role in meal initiation.

In vitro hydrolysis of areca nut xenobiotics in human liver.

Areca nut (AN) is a substance of abuse consumed by millions worldwide, in spite of established oral and systemic toxicities associated with its use. Previous research demonstrates methyl ester alkaloids in the AN, such as arecoline and guvacoline, exhibit mood-altering and toxicological effects. Nonetheless, their metabolism has not been fully elucidated in humans.

Impact of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities on presentation and survival of HCC: A multicenter study.

Background: Racial and ethnic disparities have been reported for HCC prognosis, although few studies fully account for clinically important factors and social determinants of health, including neighborhood socioeconomic status.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective multicenter cohort study of patients newly diagnosed with HCC from January 2010 through August 2018 at 4 large health systems in the United States. We used multivariable logistic regression and cause-specific Cox proportional hazard models to identify factors associated with early-stage HCC presentation and overall survival.

Palliative Care and Intensivists' Different Perspectives on Specialist Palliative Care Engagement in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Care.

There is limited understanding of critical care (CC) and specialist palliative care (SPC) professionals' perceptions regarding the role and utility of SPC for patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). An 18-item survey was distributed via convenience sampling and snowballing strategies to CC and SPC attendings working with veno-venous ECMO patients. A total of 75 surveys were completed.

Cardiovascular disease in adults with osteogenesis imperfecta: Clinical characteristics, care recommendations and research priorities identified using a modified Delphi technique.

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a multisystem disorder most often caused by pathogenic variants in genes that encode type I collagen. Type I collagen is abundant not only in bone but also in multiple tissues including skin, tendons, cornea, blood vessels and heart. Thus, OI can be expected to affect cardiovascular system, and there are numerous reports of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in people with OI.

Efficacy and safety of prucalopride in patients with chronic idiopathic constipation stratified by age, body mass index, and renal function: a post hoc analysis of phase III and IV, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical studies.

Background: Prucalopride (1 or 2 mg once daily) is approved for treating adults with chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC).

Objectives: We determined the effect of age, body mass index (BMI), and renal function on the efficacy and safety of prucalopride in adults with CIC.

Design: Data were pooled from six 12-week, phase III-IV clinical studies in adults who received prucalopride (1 or 2 mg once daily) or placebo for CIC.

The Role of "The Talk" and Its Themes in Black Youths' Anticipatory Stress of Police Brutality.

Background And Objectives: Research on conversations between caregivers and their children about how to prepare or conduct themselves when stopped by police (ie, "the talk") has grown in recent years. However, little is known about how having "the talk" may influence youths' stress about future experiences of police brutality (ie, anticipatory stress of police brutality). The objective of the present study is to examine how youths' anticipatory stress regarding police brutality varies by whether they have had "the talk" with their caregivers.

Testing the Antigenic Potential of Transmembrane Proteins To Develop a Thermostable Tuberculosis MOF-Liposomal Vaccine.

Tuberculosis is one of the deadliest infectious diseases and continues to be a major health risk in many parts of the world. Even today, the century-old Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine is the only formulation on the market and is ineffective for several sections of the global population responsible for transmission. In the search for antigens that can mount a robust immune response, we have reported the recombinant expression and purification of two novel membrane proteins, the Cation transporter protein V (CtpV) and the Mycobacterial copper transporter B (MctB) present on the membrane surface of .

Isolated Hemifacial Spasm as the Presenting Sign of Cerebral Glioblastoma.

The authors report a rare case of a 58-year-old female with mild right-sided hemifacial spasms and eyelid myokymia and a concomitant high-grade glial mass. This report outlines the clinical presentation, diagnostic approach, and management of right hemifacial spasms and eyelid myokymia. The patient had a 5-month history of gradually worsening right hemifacial spams accompanied by mild right lower eyelid twitching.

Contribution of rare chromosome 22q11.2 copy number variants to non-syndromic bicuspid aortic valve.

Background: Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most common congenital heart defect in adults, often leading to complications such as thoracic aortic aneurysms and aortic stenosis. While BAV is frequently associated with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.

A prognostic molecular signature of hepatic steatosis is spatially heterogeneous and dynamic in human liver.

Hepatic steatosis is a central phenotype in multi-system metabolic dysfunction and is increasing in parallel with the obesity pandemic. We use a translational approach integrating clinical phenotyping and outcomes, circulating proteomics, and tissue transcriptomics to identify dynamic, functional biomarkers of hepatic steatosis. Using multi-modality imaging and broad proteomic profiling, we identify proteins implicated in the progression of hepatic steatosis that are largely encoded by genes enriched at the transcriptional level in the human liver.

The Impact of Prior Incarceration on Cognitive Trajectories Among Older Adults: Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study.

Objectives: This study examines the association between prior incarceration and cognition trajectories among older adults in the United States.

Methods: Data are from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative longitudinal survey of older adults in the United States. The analysis included respondents aged 55 and older who participated in the 2012-2020 HRS surveys and had valid responses on Langa-Weir cognition scores, incarceration history, and covariates (n = 5,663).

Perioperative Hypotension in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients with Dialysis Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease who require maintenance dialysis suffer excess morbidity and mortality for reasons that are not clearly elucidated. There are few targets for intervention to improve their outcomes. The authors hypothesized that perioperative hypotension is more common in patients receiving dialysis.

Equity Landscape in Healthcare Quality: A Mixed-Methods Study of Efforts within Surgical Quality Programs.

Background: Addressing equity in healthcare is necessary to improve population health outcomes. In doing so, a requisite level of foundational resources, organization, and processes are needed. Although increasing attention is being devoted to addressing health inequities, the current landscape supporting these efforts remains unknown.

Epidemiology of myositis.

Purpose Of Review: This review aims to synthesize recent developments in the epidemiology of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs), focusing on incidence, prevalence, disease classification, and clinical outcomes.

Recent Findings: IIM is a rare group of autoimmune diseases characterized by muscle weakness and systemic involvement, with incidence rates ranging from 0.2 to 2 cases per 100 000 person-years.

Black Widow Spider Envenomation and Cardiovascular Complications.

Envenomation (latrodectism) with black widow spider (BWS) venom can cause dysfunction in the cardiovascular system. The pathophysiology and consequences of cardiovascular effects have not been fully elucidated. This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.