Internal Medicine Commons^™

Characterization Of Gut Microbiome And Metabolome In Helicobacter Pylori Patients In An Underprivileged Community In The United States, Brian White, John Sterrett, Zoya Grigoryan, Lauren Lally, Jared Heinze, Hyder Alikhan, Christopher Lowry, Lark Perez, Joshua Desipio, Sangita Phadtare

Division of Internal Medicine Faculty Papers & Presentations

BACKGROUND Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a bacterium that infects approximately half of the world's population, is associated with various gastrointestinal diseases, including peptic ulcers, non-ulcer dyspepsia, gastric adenocarcinoma, and gastric lymphoma. As the burden of antibiotic resistance increases, the need for new adjunct therapies designed to facilitate H. pylori eradication and reduce negative distal outcomes associated with infection has become more pressing. Characterization of the interactions between H. pylori, the fecal microbiome, and fecal fatty acid metabolism, as well as the mechanisms underlying these interactions, may offer new therapeutic approaches.

AIM To characterize the gut microbiome and metabolome in H. …

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19): Multisystem Review Of Pathophysiology, Tanveer Mir, Talal Almas, Jasmeet Kaur, Mohammed Faisaluddin, David Song, Waqas Ullah, Sahil Mamtani, Hiba Rauf, Sunita Yadav, Sharaad Latchana, Nara Miriam Michaelson, Michael Connerney, Yasar Sattar

Division of Internal Medicine Faculty Papers & Presentations

Abstract Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic is associated with high morbidity and mortality. COVID-19, which is caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS CoV-2), affects multiple organ systems through a myriad of mechanisms. Afflicted patients present with a vast constellation of symptoms, from asymptomatic disease to life-threatening complications. The most common manifestations pertain to mild pulmonary symptoms, which can progress to respiratory distress syndrome and venous thromboembolism. However, in patients with renal failure, life-threatening cardiac abnormalities can ensue. Various mechanisms such as viral entry through Angiotensin receptor (ACE) affecting multiple organs and thus releasing pro-inflammatory markers have been postulated. …

Image Segmentation For Neuroscience: Lymphatics, Nazia Tabassum, Jie Wang, Michael Ferguson, Jasmin Herz, Michael Dong, Antoine Louveau, Jonathan Kipnis, Scott Thomas Acton

Division of Internal Medicine Faculty Papers & Presentations

A recent discovery in neuroscience prompts the need for innovation in image analysis. Neuroscientists have discovered the existence of meningeal lymphatic vessels in the brain and have shown their importance in preventing cognitive decline in mouse models of Alzheimer s disease. With age, lymphatic vessels narrow and poorly drain cerebrospinal fluid, leading to plaque accumulation, a marker for Alzheimer s disease. The detection of vessel boundaries and width are performed by hand in current practice and thereby suffer from high error rates and potential observer bias. The existing vessel segmentation methods are dependent on user-defined initialization, which is time-consuming and …

Efficacy Of Half-Day Workshops For Internal Medicine Interns In Educating Breaking-Bad-News Discussions, Colin Thomas, Christine Kurian, Sarah Houtmann, Neil D. Palmisiano

Division of Internal Medicine Faculty Papers & Presentations

Background: Adequate end-of-life (EOL) care/breaking-bad-news (BBN) discussions with patients are becoming increasingly essential to adequate patient care. Purpose: Whether a half-day workshop would lead to improved confidence in EOL/BBN care discussions for internal medicine interns. Methods: Internal medicine interns (n = 43) were assigned to participate in a half-day workshop at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. The workshop involved two standardized patient (SP) interactions involving delivering news of a terminal illness/initiating goals of care discussion with the intervention of SP feedback, a didactic and lecture on proper EOL/BBN discussion. Voluntary anonymous surveys before and after the workshop were utilized to …

Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells In Gastrointestinal Cancers: A Systemic Review., Maham Farshidpour, Monjur Ahmed, Shilpa Junna, Juanita L. Merchant

Division of Internal Medicine Faculty Papers & Presentations

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are one of the most common malignancies worldwide, with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are major components of the tumor microenvironment (TME). MDSCs facilitate the transformation of premalignant cells and play roles in tumor growth and metastasis. Moreover, in patients with GI malignancies, MDSCs can lead to the suppression of T cells and natural killer cells. Accordingly, a better understanding of the role and mechanism of action of MDSCs in the TME will aid in the development of novel immune-targeted therapies.