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Soluble Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor Level Is An Independent Predictor Of The Presence And Severity Of Coronary Artery Disease And Of Future Adverse Events, Danny J. Eapen, Pankaj Manocha, Nima Ghasemzadeh, Riyaz S. Patel, Hatem Al Kassem, Muhammad Hammadah, Emir Veledar, Ngoc-Anh Le, Tomasz Pielak, Christian W. Thorball, Aristea Velegraki, Dimitrios T. Kremastinos, Stamatios Lerakis, Laurence Sperling, Arshed A. Quyyumi

Department of Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Introduction Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) is an emerging inflammatory and immune biomarker. Whether suPAR level predicts the presence and the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD), and of incident death and myocardial infarction (MI) in subjects with suspected CAD, is unknown.

Methods and Results We measured plasma suPAR levels in 3367 subjects (67% with CAD) recruited in the Emory Cardiovascular Biobank and followed them for adverse cardiovascular (CV) outcomes of death and MI over a mean 2.1±1.1 years. Presence of angiographic CAD (≥50% stenosis in ≥1 coronary artery) and its severity were quantitated using the Gensini score. Cox's …

Endothelial Dysfunction Is Associated With Occult Coronary Artery Disease Detected By Positron Emission Tomography, Ambar Kulshreshtha, Yan Zheng, Arshed A. Quyyumi, Emir Veledar, John Votaw, Irina Uphoff, J. Douglas Bremmer, Jack Goldberg, Viola Vaccarino

Department of Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Objective: Silent myocardial ischemia is common in asymptomatic subjects without a prior history of coronary artery disease (CAD) and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Our objective was to determine whether endothelial dysfunction is associated with silent myocardial ischemia and whether the association is independent of genetic and familial factors.

Material and methods: We examined 416 male monozygotic and dizygotic twins aged 47 to 63 years, free of symptomatic CAD. Subclinical ischemia was diagnosed by [13N] ammonia positron emission tomography at rest and after adenosine stress. Endothelial function was measured by flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery. Generalized …

Large-Scale Genome-Wide Association Studies And Meta-Analyses Of Longitudinal Change In Adult Lung Function, Wenbo Tang, Matthew Kowgier, Daan W. Loth, Maria Soler Artigas, Bonnie R. Joubert, Emily Hodge, Sina A. Gharib, Albert V. Smith, Ingo Ruczinski, Vilmundur Gudnason, Rasika A. Mathias, Tamara B. Harris, Nadia N. Hansel, Lenore J. Launer, Kathleen C. Barnes, Joyanna G. Hansen, O. Dale Williams

Department of Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Background: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous loci influencing cross-sectional lung function, but less is known about genes influencing longitudinal change in lung function.

Methods: We performed GWAS of the rate of change in forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV₁) in 14 longitudinal, population-based cohort studies comprising 27,249 adults of European ancestry using linear mixed effects model and combined cohort-specific results using fixed effect meta-analysis to identify novel genetic loci associated with longitudinal change in lung function. Gene expression analyses were subsequently performed for identified genetic loci. As a secondary aim, we estimated the mean …

Oxidative Stress Is Associated With Increased Pulmonary Artery Systolic Pressure In Humans, Nima Ghasemzadeh, Riyaz S. Patel, Danny J. Eapen, Emir Veledar, Hatem Al Kassem, Pankaj Manocha, Mohamed Khayata, A. Maziar Zafari, Laurence Sperling, Dean P. Jones, Arshed A. Quyyumi

Department of Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Oxidative stress contributes to the development of pulmonary hypertension in experimental models, but this association in humans is unknown. We investigated the relationship between pulmonary artery systolic pressure measured by echocardiography and plasma aminothiol oxidative stress markers, with the hypothesis that oxidative stress will be higher in those with pulmonary hypertension. A group of 347 patients aged 65±12 years from the Emory Cardiovascular Biobank underwent echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular ejection fraction and pulmonary artery systolic pressure. Plasma aminothiols, cysteine, its oxidized form, cystine; glutathione, and its oxidized disulphide (GSSG) were measured and the redox potentials (E_h) of …

Circadian Variation In Vascular Function And Regenerative Capacity In Healthy Humans, Ibhar Al Mheid, Frank Corrigan, Farheen Shirazi, Emir Veledar, Qunna Li, Wayne R. Alexander, W. Robert Taylor, Edmund K. Waller, Arshed A. Quyyumi

Department of Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Background Progenitor cells (PCs) are mobilized in response to vascular injury to effect regeneration and repair. Recruitment of PCs requires intact nitric oxide (NO) synthesis by endothelial cells, and their number and activity correlate with cardiovascular disease risk burden and future outcomes. Whereas cardiovascular vulnerability exhibits a robust circadian rhythm, the 24-hour variation of PCs and their inter-relation with vascular function remain unknown. We investigated the circadian variation of PCs and vascular function with the hypothesis that this will parallel the pattern observed for cardiovascular events (CVEs).

Methods and Results In 15 healthy subjects (9 men, 37±16 years), circulating PCs …

Itchyqol Bands: Pilot Clinical Interpretation Of Scores, Elyse M. Love, Gerardo A. Marrazzo, Seema Kini, Emir Veledar, Suephy C. Chen

Department of Biostatistics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Inferential Statistics From Black Hispanic Breast Cancer Survival Data, Hafiz M.R. Khan, Anshul Saxena, Elizabeth Ross, Venkataraghavan Ramamoorthy, Diana Sheehan

Department of Biostatistics Faculty Publications

In this paper we test the statistical probability models for breast cancer survival data for race and ethnicity. Data was collected frombreast cancer patients diagnosed in United States during the years 1973–2009.We selected a stratified randomsample of Black Hispanic female patients from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database to derive the statistical probability models. We used three common model building criteria which include Akaike Information Criteria (AIC), Bayesian Information Criteria (BIC), and Deviance Information Criteria (DIC) to measure the goodness of fit tests and it was found that Black Hispanic female patients survival data better fit the exponentiated …

Consulting Communities When Patients Cannot Consent: A Multi-Center Study Of Community Consultation For Research In Emergency Settings, Neal W. Dickert, Victoria A. Mah, Michellle H. Biros, Deneil M. Harney, Robert Silbergleit, Jeremy Sugarman, Emir Veledar, Kevin P. Weinfurt, David W. Wright, Rebecca D. Pentz

Department of Biostatistics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Association Between Ideal Cardiovascular Health And Carotid Intima-Media Thickness: A Twin Study, Ambar Kulshreshtha, Abhinav Goyal, Emir Veledar, William Mcclellan, Suzanne Judd, Silvia C. Eufinger, J. Douglas Bremner, Jack Goldberg, Viola Vaccarino

Department of Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Background The American Heart Association (AHA) recently developed the Cardiovascular Health Index (CVHI), a health metric consisting of 7 modifiable risk factors. The relationship of the CVHI with preclinical markers, such as carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) has not been assessed.

Methods We examined 490 male monozygotic and dizygotic twins without overt cardiovascular disease. CIMT was measured using B-mode ultrasonography. Each of the 7 CVHI components (blood pressure, fasting glucose, total cholesterol, body mass index, physical activity, healthy diet, and smoking) was given a point score of 0, 1, or 2 to represent poor, intermediate, or ideal health, respectively. A CVHI …

Qualitative Assessment Of Tongue Drive System By People With High-Level Spinal Cord Injury, Jeonghee Kim, Hangue Park, Joy Bruce, Diane Rowles, Jaimee Holbrook, Beatrice Nardone, Dennis P. West, Anne E. Laumann, Elliot Roth, Emir Veledar, Maysam Ghovanloo

Department of Biostatistics Faculty Publications

The Tongue Drive System (TDS) is a minimally invasive, wireless, and wearable assistive technology (AT) that enables people with severe disabilities to control their environments using tongue motion. TDS translates specific tongue gestures into commands by sensing the magnetic field created by a small magnetic tracer applied to the user’s tongue. We have previously quantitatively evaluated the TDS for accessing computers and powered wheelchairs, demonstrating its usability. In this study, we focused on its qualitative evaluation by people with high-level spinal cord injury who each received a magnetic tongue piercing and used the TDS for 6 wk. We used two …