Diseases Commons^™

A Tri-Modality Comparison Of Volumetric Bone Measure Quantification Using 1.0 Tesla Peripheral Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography And High-Resolution-Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography Images, Andy Kin On Wong

Open Access Dissertations and Theses

This comparative study of peripheral (p) QCT, high-resolution pQCT (hr-pQCT) and 1.0 Tesla pMRI technologies quantified short-term test-retest reproducibility, validity, one-year detection limit and clinical sensitivity of each modality’s derived bone measures. Select bone outcomes were evaluated from scans performed on Hamiltonian women above 50 years old and externally validated in a population-based cohort. In the local cohort (age: 74 ± 9 years and BMI 27.65 ± 5.74 kg/m²), Tb.Sp measured on pMRI, Ct.Th and vBMD from pQCT showed significant correlations (r²=0.52-0.85) with hr-pQCT, yielding slopes near unity. Bland-Altman analyses ...

The Biology Of Dendritic Cell Subsets In Allergen-Induced Asthma, Benny Dua

Open Access Dissertations and Theses

Asthma is an inflammatory disorder of the airways, and there has been growing insight into the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the inflammatory basis of this disease. Research into the inflammatory mechanisms of asthma has progressively shifted focus from downstream effectors, such as mast cells and eosinophils, up to Th2 lymphocytes and their proallergic cytokines. Even more upstream in the allergic cascade are dendritic cells (DCs), potent APCs that orchestrate immune responses. Evidence supporting a role of DCs in regulating airway allergic inflammation is derived mainly from animal studies. In animal models of asthma, myeloid DCs (mDCs) induce and maintain ...

The Impact Of A Coronary Artery Disease Genetic Risk Score On Myocardial Infarction Risk In A Multi-Ethnic Population: An Interheart Study, Philip G. Joseph

Open Access Dissertations and Theses

Background: Genome wide association studies (GWAS) performed in Caucasian populations have identified several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with coronary artery disease (CAD), although their cumulative impact in other ethnicities is unknown. Using a genetic risk score (GRS), we examined the impact of CAD related SNPs on myocardial infarction (MI) in a multi-ethnic population.

Methods: We included 4083 MI cases and 4473 controls from the INTERHEART case: control study, stratified by six ethnic groups: European, South Asian, other Asian, Arab, Latin American, and African. We created a GRS comprised of 25 SNPS, and tested its association with MI in individual ...

Cardiovascular Events And Their Risk Factors In Adults With Cerebral Palsy., Stephen G. Noorduyn

Open Access Dissertations and Theses

Background

Adults with cerebral palsy (CP) may have special health care considerations related to an increased prevalence of risk factors for chronic diseases. In particular, disability-related sedentary time may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and the related major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in this population.

Methods

Part I: A systematic review of major databases, trial registries, and conference abstracts identified randomized trials and observational studies exploring the prevalence and evaluating the prevention of MACE and risk factors for MACE in adults with CP. Title and abstract, data extraction, and quality of reporting assessment were completed in duplicate.

Part II ...

Catecholamine-Regulated Protein 40 In Parkinson’S Disease, Jovana Lubarda

Open Access Dissertations and Theses

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative movement disorder involving protein misfolding, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress. The current dissertation, motivated by a lack of valid biomarkers and sustainable therapies, examined the potential application of a novel target for therapeutics and diagnostics of PD — the multifunctional, heat-shock like protein Catecholamine-Regulated Protein 40 (CRP40). The goal of this program of research was to elucidate further the implications of CRP40 in PD using a variety of molecular biology, bioinformatics, and clinical approaches through integrative collaborations with academia, government, and industry partners to translate scientific findings into real world solutions. Chapters 2 ...

Prognosis In Current Heart Failure Patients, Ana C. Alba

Open Access Dissertations and Theses

Background: Heart failure (HF) constitutes an important growing medical and economic problem with high prevalence and mortality. Prognosis assessment remains a challenge because of the dynamic nature of HF and the existence of some unexplained variation in outcomes. Our objective was to refine the process of prognostic assessment in current HF patients.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review to identify existing risk prediction models in ambulatory HF patients, a meta-analysis to identify mortality predictors in HF patients treated with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), a retrospective cohort study to validate a new model, the HF Meta-Score, derived from the results ...

Renal Function In Patients Undergoing Surgery, Michael Walsh

Open Access Dissertations and Theses

Reduced kidney function around the time of surgery is an important risk factor for postoperative mortality. Despite this there is limited information on how reduced kidney function prior to surgery alters prognosis, what causes sudden decrements in kidney function after surgery (known as acute kidney injury), or how they might be avoided. The studies in this thesis inform these knowledge gaps. Chapter 2 describes the results of a post hoc analysis of the interaction between preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate, a marker of kidney function, and postoperative cardiac troponin T, a marker of heart damage, for predicting 30-day mortality in ...

Should Patients With Acute Coronary Disease Be Stratified For Management According To Their Risk? Derivation, External Validation And Outcomes Using The Updated Grace Risk Score, Keith A. A. Fox, Gordon Fitzgerald, Etienne Puymirat, Wei Huang, Kathryn Carruthers, Tabassome Simon, Pierre Coste, Jacques Monsegu, Phillippe Gabriel Steg, Nicolas Danchin, Frederick A. Anderson Jr.

GRACE Publications

OBJECTIVES: Risk scores are recommended in guidelines to facilitate the management of patients who present with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Internationally, such scores are not systematically used because they are not easy to apply and some risk indicators are not available at first presentation. We aimed to derive and externally validate a more accurate version of the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk score for predicting the risk of death or death/myocardial infarction (MI) both acutely and over the longer term. The risk score was designed to be suitable for acute and emergency clinical settings and usable ...

An Integrative Review Of Literature Regarding Health Concerns Of Rural Dwelling Adolescents, Donna Scott Tilley, Gayle Roux, Fuqin Liu, Kyoung-Eun Lee, Suzanne Ackers, Vicki L. Zeigler

Online Journal of Rural Research & Policy

Those living in rural areas face particular risks to health and well-being as they are more likely to be poor, have no health insurance, and have less access to health care. Many obstacles exist in achieving optimal rural health outcomes. Many of the health related issues experienced by adolescents are preventable and are often related to risky behavior such as substance use and abuse, smoking, and unprotected sex. The purpose of this review is to define the current primary health concerns of rural dwelling adolescents worldwide. Based on current research, the primary health related problems of rural adolescents were identified ...

Computational Model For Survey And Trend Analysis Of Patients With Endometriosis : A Decision Aid Tool For Ebm, Salvo Reina, Vito Reina, Franco Ameglio, Mauro Costa, Alessandro Fasciani

COBRA Preprint Series

Endometriosis is increasingly collecting worldwide attention due to its medical complexity and social impact. The European community has identified this as a “social disease”. A large amount of information comes from scientists, yet several aspects of this pathology and staging criteria need to be clearly defined on a suitable number of individuals. In fact, available studies on endometriosis are not easily comparable due to a lack of standardized criteria to collect patients’ informations and scarce definitions of symptoms. Currently, only retrospective surgical stadiation is used to measure pathology intensity, while the Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) requires shareable methods and correct ...

Sickle Cell Trait Is Not Associated With Endemic Burkitt Lymphoma: An Ethnicity And Malaria Endemicity-Matched Case-Control Study Suggests Factors Controlling Ebv May Serve As A Predictive Biomarker For This Pediatric Cancer, David H. Mulama, Jeffrey A. Bailey, Joslyn Foley, Kiprotich Chelimo, Collins Ouma, Walter G.Z.O. Jura, Juliana A. Otieno, John M. Vulule, Ann M. Moormann

University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications

Endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL) is associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Plasmodium falciparum coinfections. Malaria appears to dysregulate immunity that would otherwise control EBV, thereby contributing to eBL etiology. Juxtaposed to human genetic variants associated with protection from malaria, it has been hypothesized that such variants could decrease eBL susceptibility, historically referred to as "the protective hypothesis." Past studies attempting to link sickle cell trait (HbAS), which is known to be protective against malaria, with protection from eBL were contradictory and underpowered. Therefore, using a case-control study design, we examined HbAS frequency in 306 Kenyan children diagnosed with eBL compared ...

A Case Study Of Pediatric Asthma Alerts From The Beacon Community Program In Cincinnati: Technology Is Just The First Step, Tara Trudnak, Mona Monsour, Keith Mandel, Hadley Sauers, Gerry Pandzik, Carl Donisi, Gerry Fairbrother

eGEMs (Generating Evidence & Methods to improve patient outcomes)

Introduction: The Beacon Community in Cincinnati, Ohio was an innovative, community-wide initiative to use technology to transform care. One important feature was the development of regional alerts to notify practices when patients were hospitalized or seen in the emergency department. The purpose of this paper is to describe the way in which technology engages the improvement process, and to describe the early stages of learning how to use technology to enhance quality improvement.

Methods: We interviewed key Beacon leaders as well as providers and office staff in selected practices. We also collected preliminary data from practices that reflected handling of ...

Washington, Rebecca (Smith), 1776-1861 (Sc 1254), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1254. Letter, 10 August 1835, written by Rebecca Washington, Logan County, Kentucky, to her daughter Jane Walker in Arkansas Territory. She vividly describes the cholera epidemic that has devastated the white and African American residents of Russellville and Logan County, and relates family news. Information about the letter is included.

The Politics Of Transition & The Economics Of Hiv: Aids & Pepfar In South Africa, Matthew M. Kavanagh

Matthew Kavanagh

AIDS poses a unique and unprecedented challenge to South Africa. The country has the largest HIV epidemic in the world—with 6.4 million people living with HIV—and one of the largest TB epidemics in the world as well. The country’s recent AIDS response has generated enormous optimism, both in South Africa and internationally. The biggest change, in many ways, has been political—dramatic shifts in ideology and motivation at the highest levels of government have moved the country from denialism and inaction to a bold national mobilization to bring anti-retroviral treatment to scale. Meanwhile, the approach of ...

Proceedings Of The 1st Annual Symposium Of The German Society For Paleo Nutrition Held In 2013, Rainer J. Klement, Torsten Albers, Ulrike Kämmerer, Pawel M. Konefal, Nils Pfeiffer, Jörg Spitz

Journal of Evolution and Health

Evolutionary Medicine is an emerging medical field that mainly addresses the causes of diseases under the consideration of evolutionary principles [1]. Viewing diseases through the evolutionary perspective also opens up new and innovative treatment strategies. In particular, the understanding that most of the so-called “diseases of civilization” emerge from a discrepancy between our modern, civilized lifestyle and that towards which our human species (as hunters and gatherers) has evolved, challenges the concept of these diseases being chronic and provides new treatment approaches. Examples of such approaches were provided in the first annual symposium of the recently founded German Society for ...

Modern Cavemen? Stereotypes And Reality Of The Ancestral Health Movement, David B. Schwartz, Hamilton M. Stapell

Journal of Evolution and Health

Both academic and popular interest in the ancestral health movement, or “paleo” lifestyle, has grown rapidly in recent years. More people than ever are joining the movement, and more books and articles are being published on the topic. Media coverage and certain societal preconceptions of the movement have also increased. More often than not, followers of a paleo lifestyle are thought to be “modern cavemen”: athletic, single, meat-eating, young, white, and male. To test whether or not these stereotypes are true, the authors of the present study created the first large, academic survey (N = 3,967) of the ancestral health ...

Characterizing The Human Vaginal Microbiome Using High-Throughput Sequencing, Jean Megan E. Macklaim

University of Western Ontario - Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The human vaginal microbiome undoubtedly has a significant role in reproductive health and for protection from infectious organisms. Recent efforts to characterize the bacterial species of the vagina using molecular techniques have uncovered an unexpected diversity. Using high-throughput sequencing I sought to describe the structure and function of the vaginal microbiome under different physiological states including healthy, bacterial vaginosis (BV), post-menopausal vaginal atrophy, and acute vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC).

Partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that healthy, asymptomatic women most often have vaginal biotas dominated by Lactobacillus iners or L. crispatus. In contrast, BV is a heterogeneous, highly diversified condition with ...

When, Where And How Osteoporosis-Associated Fractures Occur: An Analysis From The Global Longitudinal Study Of Osteoporosis In Women (Glow), Aline G. Costa, Allison Wyman, Ethel S. Siris, Nelson B. Watts, Stuart Silverman, Kenneth G. Saag, Christian Roux, Maurizio Rossini, Johannes Pfeilschifter, Jeri W. Nieves, J. Coen Netelenbos, Lyn March, Andrea Z. Lacroix, Frederick H. Hooven, Susan L. Greenspan, Stephen H. Gehlbach, Adolfo Diez-Perez, Cyrus Cooper, Juliet E. Compston, Roland D. Chapurlat, Steven Boonen, Frederick A. Anderson Jr., Jonathan D. Adachi, Silvano Adami

GLOW Publications

Objective: To examine when, where and how fractures occur in postmenopausal women.

Methods: We analyzed data from the Global Longitudinal Study of Osteoporosis in Women (GLOW), including women aged ≥55 years from the United States of America, Canada, Australia and seven European countries. Women completed questionnaires including fracture data at baseline and years 1, 2 and 3.

Results: Among 60,393 postmenopausal women, 4122 incident fractures were reported (86% non-hip, non-vertebral [NHNV], 8% presumably clinical vertebral and 6% hip). Hip fractures were more likely to occur in spring, with little seasonal variation for NHNV or spine fractures. Hip fractures occurred ...

A Pilot Study To Investigate Concerns In Patients Undergoing Neck Dissection Surgery, Daniel Sundar Raj Arulananda Doss

University of Western Ontario - Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abstract:

This study investigates concerns in patients undergoing neck dissection surgery. Forty patients were recruited at Pre-surgery, Discharge and 1-month Post-surgery. The Patient Concerns Inventory - Level of Importance questionnaire (PCI-LOI), Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI), Neck Dissection Impairment Index (NDII) and the University of Washington - Quality of Life questionnaire (UWQOL) were used.

The study identified "Anxiety" at Pre-surgery and "Appearance" at Discharge and 1-month Post-surgery as the important patient concerns. Patients’ concerns were found to change over time. Support for cross-sectional convergent validity of the PCI-LOI was evidenced by significant correlations between the PCI-LOI and the UWQOL (r = -0 ...

Lupus Nephritis Pathoprofile, Annie Cheung, Arlinda Deng, Annie Zhu

The Meducator

Lupus nephritis (LN) is the inflammation of the kidney caused by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), which is an autoimmune disease involving neutrophils. Neutrophils are a class of circulating immune cells that can immobilize and kill invading microbes by generating neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). In usual circumstances, NETs are removed from the body in order to maintain tissue homeostasis and avoid autoimmunity. However, it has been implicated that there is an impairment of NET degradation in LN, resulting in the initiation of an auto-inflammatory response that involves the production of autoantibodies against neutrophil DNA and proteins. LN is characterized by renal ...