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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Targeting Metabolic Alterations Associated With Smooth Muscle Α-Actin Pathogenic Variant Attenuates Moyamoya-Like Cerebrovascular Disease, Anita Kaw
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Heterozygous pathogenic variants in ACTA2, encoding smooth muscle α-actin (α-SMA), predispose to thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections. De novo missense variants disrupting ACTA2 arginine 179 (p.Arg179) cause a multisystemic disease termed smooth muscle dysfunction syndrome (SMDS), which is characterized by early onset thoracic aortic disease and moyamoya disease-like (MMD) cerebrovascular disease. The MMD-like cerebrovascular disease in SMDS patients is marked by bilateral steno-occlusive lesions in the distal internal carotid arteries (ICAs) and their branches. To study the molecular mechanisms that underlie the ACTA2 p.Arg179 variants, a smooth muscle-specific Cre-lox knock-in mouse model of the heterozygous Acta2 R179C variant, termed …
Mutant Kras Alters Extracellular Vesicle Microrna Sorting In Pancreatic Cystic Neoplasms, Rachel L. Dittmar
Mutant Kras Alters Extracellular Vesicle Microrna Sorting In Pancreatic Cystic Neoplasms, Rachel L. Dittmar
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is among the deadliest cancers by organ site with a 5-year survival rate of just 10.8%. This is largely because most patients do not experience symptoms until the disease has already metastasized. The best hope to cure PDAC is surgery, which can only be done with a curative intent at an early stage when the disease is localized. There are no reliable circulating, body-fluid-based biomarkers to detect early stage PDAC or its precursor lesions in a timely manner for effective surgical intervention. When potential PDAC precursor lesions, such as mucinous pancreatic cysts are found, there are …
Investigating Medical Examiners' Practices: Genetic Evaluation For Fatal Acute Aortic Dissection, Bradley Power
Investigating Medical Examiners' Practices: Genetic Evaluation For Fatal Acute Aortic Dissection, Bradley Power
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Acute thoracic aortic dissection (TAD) is a life-threatening event with a hereditary component. Currently, pathogenic variants in 11 genes associated with aortic aneurysm and dissection predispose to a heritable form of disease thereby conferring an increased risk for TAD. Genetic testing plays a pivotal role not only in diagnosis, but also in risk stratification for relatives and medical management to prevent premature death from dissection. Due to its high fatality rate, medical examiners and coroners (ME/Cs) may be the first to identify TAD cases and initiate genetic testing for the decedent and at-risk relatives. ME/Cs were surveyed using three clinical …
Genetic Testing Practices Of Genetic Counselors, Geneticists, And Pediatric Neurologists With Regard To Childhood-Onset Neurogenetic Conditions, Sara Wofford
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Identifying genetic diagnoses for neurological conditions with a considerable hereditary component, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability, and epilepsy, is critical to providing proper medical management for these patients and their families. However, many patients with these conditions are not tested appropriately or receive no genetic testing at all. The current study was designed to characterize the genetic testing practices of the providers most likely to evaluate or order genetic testing for these patients: pediatric neurologists, geneticists, and genetic counselors. The study noted significant variance between the testing strategies selected by pediatric neurologists compared to those of geneticists …
The Utilization Of Prenatal Microarray: A Survey Of Current Genetic Counseling Practices And Barriers, Leslie N. Durham, Leslie Durham
The Utilization Of Prenatal Microarray: A Survey Of Current Genetic Counseling Practices And Barriers, Leslie N. Durham, Leslie Durham
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Chromosomal microarray (CMA) assesses chromosome copy number variants (CNVs) missed by standard karyotyping. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends CMA for all patients with fetuses with an ultrasound anomaly and suggests that it be made available to all women undergoing invasive testing. In order to assess prenatal genetic counselors’ (GCs) practices regarding the utilization of CMA we conducted a survey of their current practices, attitudes, and perceived barriers. Of the 192 respondents, 183 (95%) have incorporated CMA into clinical practice with the majority (64%) believing that the benefits of CMA outweigh the harms. However, only half (52%) …