Digital Commons Network^™

State Of The Science Of Scale-Up Of Cancer Prevention And Early Detection Interventions In Low- And Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review, Keng-Yen Huang, Anne F Rositch

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Cancer deaths in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) will nearly double by 2040. Available evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for cancer prevention and early detection can reduce cancer-related mortality, yet there is a lack of evidence on effectively scaling these EBIs in LMIC settings.

METHODS: We conducted a scoping review to identify published literature from six databases between 2012 and 2022 that described efforts for scaling cancer prevention and early detection EBIs in LMICs. Included studies met one of two definitions of scale-up: (1) deliberate efforts to increase the impact of effective intervention to benefit more people or (2) an intervention …

Understanding Primary Care Physician Perspectives On The Diagnosis And Management Of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Qualitative Study, Larkin L Strong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Primary care physicians (PCPs) are well suited to manage patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but the limited, existing research suggests inadequate knowledge about the natural history, diagnostic methods, and management of NAFLD. The purpose of this qualitative study is to further understand the knowledge and practices for the diagnosis and management of NAFLD among PCPs. We conducted in-depth interviews with PCPs in the Greater Houston area, addressing current clinical practices used for diagnosing and managing NAFLD, as well as the perceptions of the PCPs regarding the burden of NAFLD on patients. We recorded interviews, transcribed them, coded transcripts, …

Causal Association Between Gut Microbiomes And Different Types Of Aneurysms: A Mendelian Randomization Study, Ziqian Yin, Chao Ma, Ke Si, Zhong Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggests that gut microbiomes are associated with the formation and progression of aneurysms. However, the causal association between them remains unclear.

METHODS: A two-sample Mendelian randomization was conducted to investigate whether gut microbiomes have a causal effect on the risk of intracerebral aneurysm (IA), thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), and aortic aneurysm (AA). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) smaller than the locus-wide significance level (1 × 10

RESULTS: The phylum

CONCLUSION: Our MR analysis confirmed the causal association of specific gut microbiomes with AAA, and these microbiomes were considered as protective factors. Our result …

Association Of Cancer Diagnosis With Disability Status Among Older Survivors Of Colorectal Cancer: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study, James S Goodwin, Carole A Tucker, Karen M Basen-Engquist, Elizabeth J Lyons, Brian Downer, Susan K Peterson, Tru Cao, Maria C Swartz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Older cancer survivors likely experience physical function limitations due to cancer and its treatments, leading to disability and early mortality. Existing studies have focused on factors associated with surgical complications and mortality risk rather than factors associated with the development of poor disability status (DS), a proxy measure of poor performance status, in cancer survivors. We aimed to identify factors associated with the development of poor DS among older survivors of colorectal cancer (CRC) and compare poor DS rates to an age-sex-matched, non-cancer cohort.

METHODS: This retrospective cohort study utilized administrative data from the Texas Cancer Registry Medicare-linked database. …

Social Determinants Of Health Predict Readmission Following Covid-19 Hospitalization: A Health Information Exchange-Based Retrospective Cohort Study, Tru Cao, Eric Boerwinkle

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Since February 2020, over 104 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection, or COVID-19, with over 8.5 million reported in the state of Texas. This study analyzed social determinants of health as predictors for readmission among COVID-19 patients in Southeast Texas, United States.

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted investigating demographic and clinical risk factors for 30, 60, and 90-day readmission outcomes among adult patients with a COVID-19-associated inpatient hospitalization encounter within a regional health information exchange between February 1, 2020, to December 1, 2022.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In this cohort of 91,007 …

Exploring The Relationship Between Vaccine Hesitancy And Mothers’ Perspectives On Covid-19 Vaccines For Children Ages 5–11 Years During The Omicron Predominant Period 2021–2022: A Qualitative Study, Paula Cuccaro

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: The United States Food and Drug Administration authorized COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5-11 years in October 2021 during the Omicron predominant period. Parental vaccine hesitancy was prevalent during this time, resulting in low childhood COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Most studies exploring factors influencing parental vaccine hesitancy have focused on racial and ethnic minorities and lower socioeconomic populations; however, there is little knowledge of the drive drivers of vaccine hesitancy among White parents with higher education and socioeconomic statuses.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with a sample of 15 White mothers of children ages 5-11 years in Atlanta, GA, between …

A Service-Oriented Approach To Clinical Trial Recruitment For Dementia And Brain Health: Methods And Case Examples Of Myalliance For Brain Health, C Michelle Niedens, Jill Peltzer, Joellen Wurth, Jannette Berkley-Patton, Ryan A Townley, W Todd Moore, Ashley R Shaw, Mickeal N Key, Erica Andrade, Melissa Robinson, Susan Sprague, Aiden Bondurant, Debra Brook, Jennifer Freund, Jeffrey M Burns

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Recruitment of sufficient and diverse participants into clinical research for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias remains a formidable challenge. The primary goal of this manuscript is to provide an overview of an approach to diversifying research recruitment and to provide case examples of several methods for achieving greater diversity in clinical research enrollment.

Methods: The University of Kansas Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (KU ADRC) developed MyAlliance for Brain Health (MyAlliance), a service-oriented recruitment model. MyAlliance comprises a Primary Care Provider Network, a Patient and Family Network, and a Community Organization Network, each delivering tailored value to relevant parties while …

Using Focus Groups To Explore Older Black Men's Perception Of Dietary Interventions., Roland Thorpe

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Older Black men are underrepresented in research despite being disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and cardiovascular (CV) risk factors related to AD compared with non-Hispanic Whites. Although dietary interventions have shown promise to reduce modifiable CV risk factors related to AD, Black Americans have lower adherence likely due to lack of cultural considerations. Using a noninterventional convergent parallel mixed-methods approach, this study examined the cultural contexts that inform perceptions of dietary interventions among older Midwestern Black men. All participants completed an online demographic and dietary habit survey prior to focus group discussions. Two focus group discussion sessions were conducted …

Circulating Sphingolipids In Relation To Cognitive Decline And Incident Dementia: The Cardiovascular Health Study, Oscar L Lopez, Andrew N Hoofnagle, Kenneth J Mukamal, Rozenn N Lemaitre, Majken K Jensen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Whether circulating levels of sphingolipids are prospectively associated with cognitive decline and dementia risk is uncertain.

Methods: We measured 14 sphingolipid species in plasma samples from 4488 participants (mean age 76.2 years; 40% male; and 25% apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele carriers). Cognitive decline was assessed annually across 6 years using modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE) and Digital Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). Additionally, a subset of 3050 participants were followed for clinically adjudicated dementia.

Results: Higher plasma levels of sphingomyelin-d18:1/16:0 (SM-16) were associated with a faster cognitive decline measured with 3MSE, in contrast, higher levels of sphingomyelin-d18:1/22:0 (SM-22) …

Benzodioxane-Benzamides As Promising Inhibitors Of Escherichia Coli Ftsz, Lorenzo Suigo, Begoña Monterroso, Marta Sobrinos-Sanguino, Carlos Alfonso, Valentina Straniero, Germán Rivas, Silvia Zorrilla, Ermanno Valoti, William Margolin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The conserved process of cell division in bacteria has been a long-standing target for antimicrobials, although there are few examples of potent broad-spectrum compounds that inhibit this process. Most currently available compounds acting on division are directed towards the FtsZ protein, a self-assembling GTPase that is a central element of the division machinery in most bacteria. Benzodioxane-benzamides are promising candidates, but poorly explored in Gram-negatives. We have tested a number of these compounds on E. coli FtsZ and found that many of them significantly stabilized the polymers against disassembly and reduced the GTPase activity. Reconstitution in crowded cell-like conditions showed …

Genetic Loss Of Mir-205 Causes Increased Mammary Gland Development, Alessandra Cataldo, Douglas G Cheung, John P Hagan, Matteo Fassan, Sukhinder Sandhu-Deol, Carlo M Croce, Gianpiero Di Leva, Marilena V Iorio

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

MiRNAs play crucial roles in a broad spectrum of biological processes, both physiological and pathological. Different reports implicate miR-205 in the control of breast stem cell properties. Differential miR-205 expression has been observed in different stages of mammary gland development and maturation. However, a functional role in this process has not been clearly demonstrated. We generated an miR-205 knockout in the FVB/N mouse strain, which is viable and characterized by enhanced mammary gland development. Indeed, mammary glands of miR-205

Parents' Stigmatizing Beliefs About The Hpv Vaccine And Their Association With Information Seeking Behavior And Vaccination Communication Behaviors, L Aubree Shay, Travis Teague, Erica Frost, Stanley W Spinner, Sally W Vernon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Parents' stigmatizing beliefs about the HPV vaccine, such as beliefs that it promotes adolescent sexual activity, constitute a notable barrier to vaccine uptake. The purpose of this study is to describe the associations between parents' stigmatizing beliefs about the HPV vaccine, psychosocial antecedents to vaccination, and parents' intentions to vaccinate their children. Parents of vaccine-eligible children (

Genetic Inactivation Of Β-Catenin Is Salubrious, Whereas Its Activation Is Deleterious In Desmoplakin Cardiomyopathy, Melis Olcum, Siyang Fan, Leila Rouhi, Sirisha Cheedipudi, Benjamin Cathcart, Hyun-Hwan Jeong, Zhongming Zhao, Priyatansh Gurha, Ali J Marian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

AIMS: Mutations in the DSP gene encoding desmoplakin, a constituent of the desmosomes at the intercalated discs (IDs), cause a phenotype that spans arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) and dilated cardiomyopathy. It is typically characterized by biventricular enlargement and dysfunction, myocardial fibrosis, cell death, and arrhythmias. The canonical wingless-related integration (cWNT)/β-catenin pathway is implicated in the pathogenesis of ACM. The β-catenin is an indispensable co-transcriptional regulator of the cWNT pathway and a member of the IDs. We genetically inactivated or activated β-catenin to determine its role in the pathogenesis of desmoplakin cardiomyopathy.

METHODS AND RESULTS: The Dsp gene was conditionally deleted in …

Altered Outer Retinal Structure, Electrophysiology And Visual Perception In Parkinson's Disease, Katie K N Tran, Pei Ying Lee, David I Finkelstein, Allison M Mckendrick, Bao N Nguyen, Bang V Bui, Christine T O Nguyen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Visual biomarkers of Parkinson's disease (PD) are attractive as the retina is an outpouching of the brain. Although inner retinal neurodegeneration in PD is well-established this has overlap with other neurodegenerative diseases and thus outer retinal (photoreceptor) measures warrant further investigation.

OBJECTIVE: To examine in a cross-sectional study whether clinically implementable measures targeting outer retinal function and structure can differentiate PD from healthy ageing and whether these are sensitive to intraday levodopa (L-DOPA) dosing.

METHODS: Centre-surround perceptual contrast suppression, macular visual field sensitivity, colour discrimination, light-adapted electroretinography and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were tested in PD participants (n = …

Mir-142: A Master Regulator In Hematological Malignancies And Therapeutic Opportunities, Wilson Huang, Doru Paul, George A Calin, Recep Bayraktar

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a type of non-coding RNA whose dysregulation is frequently associated with the onset and progression of human cancers. miR-142, an ultra-conserved miRNA with both active -3p and -5p mature strands and wide-ranging physiological targets, has been the subject of countless studies over the years. Due to its preferential expression in hematopoietic cells, miR-142 has been found to be associated with numerous types of lymphomas and leukemias. This review elucidates the multifaceted role of miR-142 in human physiology, its influence on hematopoiesis and hematopoietic cells, and its intriguing involvement in exosome-mediated miR-142 transport. Moreover, we offer a comprehensive …

Predictive Metabolites For Incident Myocardial Infarction: A Two-Step Meta-Analysis Of Individual Patient Data From Six Cohorts Comprising 7897 Individuals From The Consortium Of Metabolomics Studies, Jie Hu, Rui Wang-Sattler, Gabi Kastenmüler, Birgit Linkohr, Clara Barrios, Marta Crespo, Christian Gieger, Annette Peters, Jackie Price, Kathryn M Rexrode, Bing Yu, Cristina Menni

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

AIMS: Myocardial infarction (MI) is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. Most metabolomics studies investigating metabolites predicting MI are limited by the participant number and/or the demographic diversity. We sought to identify biomarkers of incident MI in the COnsortium of METabolomics Studies.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We included 7897 individuals aged on average 66 years from six intercontinental cohorts with blood metabolomic profiling (n = 1428 metabolites, of which 168 were present in at least three cohorts with over 80% prevalence) and MI information (1373 cases). We performed a two-stage individual patient data meta-analysis. We first assessed the associations …

P53r245w Mutation Fuels Cancer Initiation And Metastases In Nash-Driven Liver Tumorigenesis, Denada Dibra, Mihai Gagea, Yuan Qi, Gilda P Chau, Xiaoping Su, Guillermina Lozano

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Obesity is a significant global health concern. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are common risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and are closely associated with metabolic comorbidities, including obesity and diabetes. The TP53 tumor suppressor is the most frequently mutated gene in liver cancers, with half of these alterations being missense mutations. These mutations produce highly abundant proteins in cancer cells which have both inhibitory effects on wildtype (WT) p53, and gain-of-function (GOF) activities that contribute to tumor progression. A Western diet increases p53 activity in the liver. To elucidate the functional consequences of Trp53 mutations in …

Glp1 Receptor Agonists-Effects Beyond Obesity And Diabetes, Sydney S Wilbon, Mikhail G Kolonin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1RA) have been transformative for patients and clinicians in treating type-2 diabetes and obesity. Drugs of this class, the bioavailability of which is continuously improving, enable weight loss and control blood glucose with minimal unwanted side effects. Since adopting GLP1RA for treating metabolic diseases, animal and clinical studies have revealed their beneficial effects on several other pathologies, including cardiovascular diseases, neurodegeneration, kidney disease, and cancer. A notable commonality between these diseases is their association with older age. Clinical trials and preclinical data suggest that GLP1RA may improve outcomes in these aging-related diseases. Some of the benefits …

Patient-Reported Sexual Function, Bladder Function And Quality Of Life For Patients With Low Rectal Cancers With Or Without A Permanent Ostomy, Michael K Rooney, Melisa Pasli, George J Chang, Prajnan Das, Eugene J Koay, Albert C Koong, Ethan B Ludmir, Bruce D Minsky, Sonal S Noticewala, Oliver Peacock, Grace L Smith, Emma B Holliday

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Despite the increasing utilization of sphincter and/or organ-preservation treatment strategies, many patients with low-lying rectal cancers require abdominoperineal resection (APR), leading to permanent ostomy. Here, we aimed to characterize overall, sexual-, and bladder-related patient-reported quality of life (QOL) for individuals with low rectal cancers. We additionally aimed to explore potential differences in patient-reported outcomes between patients with and without a permanent ostomy.

METHODS: We distributed a comprehensive survey consisting of various patient-reported outcome measures, including the FACT-G7 survey, ICIQ MLUTS/FLUTS, IIEF-5/FSFI, and a specific questionnaire for ostomy patients. Descriptive statistics and univariate comparisons were used to compared demographics, treatments, …

Lidocaine Induces Apoptosis In Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Through Activation Of Bitter Taste Receptor T2r14, Zoey A Miller, Arielle Mueller, Taebeom Kim, Jennifer F Jolivert, Ray Z Ma, Sahil Muthuswami, April Park, Derek B Mcmahon, Kevin T Nead, Ryan M Carey, Robert J Lee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) have high mortality and significant treatment-related morbidity. It is vital to discover effective, minimally invasive therapies that improve survival and quality of life. Bitter taste receptors (T2Rs) are expressed in HNSCCs, and T2R activation can induce apoptosis. Lidocaine is a local anesthetic that also activates bitter taste receptor 14 (T2R14). Lidocaine has some anti-cancer effects, but the mechanisms are unclear. Here, we find that lidocaine causes intracellular Ca

Microcalcification Crystallography As A Potential Marker Of Dcis Recurrence, Zoey A Miller, Arielle Mueller, Taebeom Kim, Jennifer F Jolivert, Ray Z Ma, Sahil Muthuswami, April Park, Derek B Mcmahon, Kevin T Nead, Ryan M Carey, Robert J Lee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) have high mortality and significant treatment-related morbidity. It is vital to discover effective, minimally invasive therapies that improve survival and quality of life. Bitter taste receptors (T2Rs) are expressed in HNSCCs, and T2R activation can induce apoptosis. Lidocaine is a local anesthetic that also activates bitter taste receptor 14 (T2R14). Lidocaine has some anti-cancer effects, but the mechanisms are unclear. Here, we find that lidocaine causes intracellular Ca

Stabilizing Vimentin Phosphorylation Inhibits Stem-Like Cell Properties And Metastasis Of Hybrid Epithelial/Mesenchymal Carcinomas, Nick A Kuburich, Petra Den Hollander, Maria Castaneda, Mika Pietilä, Ximing Tang, Harsh Batra, Francisco Martínez-Peña, Tanvi H Visal, Tieling Zhou, Breanna R Demestichas, Ritesh V Dontula, Jojo Y Liu, Joanna Joyce Maddela, Reethi S Padmanabhan, Lan Thi Hanh Phi, Matthew J Rosolen, Thiru Sabapathy, Dhiraj Kumar, Filippo G Giancotti, Luke L Lairson, Maria Gabriela Raso, Rama Soundararajan, Sendurai A Mani

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) empowers epithelial cells with mesenchymal and stem-like attributes, facilitating metastasis, a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Hybrid epithelial-mesenchymal (E/M) cells, retaining both epithelial and mesenchymal traits, exhibit heightened metastatic potential and stemness. The mesenchymal intermediate filament, vimentin, is upregulated during EMT, enhancing the resilience and invasiveness of carcinoma cells. The phosphorylation of vimentin is critical to its structure and function. Here, we identify that stabilizing vimentin phosphorylation at serine 56 induces multinucleation, specifically in hybrid E/M cells with stemness properties but not epithelial or mesenchymal cells. Cancer stem-like cells are especially susceptible to vimentin-induced multinucleation relative to …

Impact Of Cumulative Dose Of Brentuximab Vedotin On Outcomes Of Frontline Therapy For Advanced-Stage Hodgkin Lymphoma, Raphael E Steiner, Steven R Hwang, Arushi Khurana, Thomas M Habermann, Narendranath Epperla, Kaitlin Annunzio, Pamela Blair Allen, Katelin Baird, Darina Paulino, Juan Pablo Alderuccio, Izidore S Lossos, Kevin David, Andrew M Evens, Karan Pandya, Steven M Bair, Manali Kamdar, Sheeba Ba Aqeel, Pallawi Torka, Ryan Lynch, Stephen Smith, Lei Feng, Mansoor Noorani, Sairah Ahmed, Ranjit Nair, Francisco Vega, Susan Wu, Penny Fang, Chelsea C Pinnix, Jillian R Gunther, Bouthaina S Dabaja, Hun J Lee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In the pivotal study ECHELON-1, brentuximab vedotin (BV), doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (A + AVD) demonstrated superior efficacy compared with bleomycin + AVD for the treatment of advanced-stage classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). However, there are minimal available data regarding the frequency of dose reductions or omission of BV during curative therapy and the potential impact on patient outcomes. In a real-world analysis, we retrospectively reviewed the characteristics and outcomes of 179 patients with stage III or IV cHL treated with frontline A + AVD from January 2010 to April 2022. Treatment consisted of up to 1.2 mg/kg of BV and …

Aortic Valve Leaflets Are Asymmetric And Correlated With The Origin Of Coronary Arteries, Taylor S Koerner, Thomas Cunningham, Mayme E Marshall, Lauren S Talley, Megan Childress, Rami M Kharouf, Wen Li, Jorge D Salazar, Antonio F Corno

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Asymmetry of the aortic valve leaflets has been known since Leonardo Da Vinci, but the relationship between size and shape and origin of the coronary arteries has never been examined. Our aim was to evaluate this anatomy in a population of pediatric patients using a cross-sectional study design.

METHODS: Consecutive pediatric patients with trans-esophageal echocardiography (TEE), with or without trans-thoracic echocardiography (TTE), were included in our study. Exclusion criteria: (I) bicuspid aortic valve; (II) aortic valve stenosis; (III) hypoplasia of aortic valve annulus, or aortic root; (IV) truncal valve; (V) coronary artery atresia; (VI) previous surgery on aortic valve …

Impact Of Cumulative Dose Of Brentuximab Vedotin On Outcomes Of Frontline Therapy For Advanced-Stage Hodgkin Lymphoma, Raphael E Steiner, Steven R Hwang, Arushi Khurana, Thomas M Habermann, Narendranath Epperla, Kaitlin Annunzio, Pamela Blair Allen, Katelin Baird, Darina Paulino, Juan Pablo Alderuccio, Izidore S Lossos, Kevin David, Andrew M Evens, Karan Pandya, Steven M Bair, Manali Kamdar, Sheeba Ba Aqeel, Pallawi Torka, Ryan Lynch, Stephen Smith, Lei Feng, Mansoor Noorani, Sairah Ahmed, Ranjit Nair, Francisco Vega, Susan Wu, Penny Fang, Chelsea C Pinnix, Jillian R Gunther, Bouthaina S Dabaja, Hun J Lee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In the pivotal study ECHELON-1, brentuximab vedotin (BV), doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (A + AVD) demonstrated superior efficacy compared with bleomycin + AVD for the treatment of advanced-stage classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). However, there are minimal available data regarding the frequency of dose reductions or omission of BV during curative therapy and the potential impact on patient outcomes. In a real-world analysis, we retrospectively reviewed the characteristics and outcomes of 179 patients with stage III or IV cHL treated with frontline A + AVD from January 2010 to April 2022. Treatment consisted of up to 1.2 mg/kg of BV and …

People Are Less Myopic About Future Than Past Collective Outcomes

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Myopia involves giving disproportionate weight to outcomes that occur close to the present. Myopia in people's evaluations of political outcomes and proposals threatens effective policymaking. It can lead to inefficient spending just before elections, cause inaction on important future policy challenges, and create incentives for government interventions aimed at boosting short-term performance at the expense of long-term welfare. But, are people generally myopic? Existing evidence comes mostly from studies that disregard either the future or collective outcomes. Political science characterizes people as myopic based on how they retrospectively evaluate collective outcomes, such as the state of the economy. Behavioral economics …

Vascular Injury Risk Stratification For Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion (Llif) At L4-L5: A Morphometric Study Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Takashi Hirase, Aaron J Greenberg, Catherine G Ambrose, Derek T Bernstein, Jeffrey J Ratusznik, Rex A W Marco

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Proper vascular injury risk stratification (VIRS) methods for L4-L5 lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) surgery have not been well-described. The objective of this study was to propose a novel VIRS method for L4-L5 LLIF surgery via the transpsoas approach.

METHODS: Axial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of adult patients were obtained and analyzed. The VIRS scores were assessed using anterior disc line to posterior vessel wall distance, the disc vessel angle (DVA), and the disc edge to vessel distance at the level of L4-L5 disc space.

RESULTS: Ninety-one consecutive adult patients were included in the study. The right common iliac …

Mechanisms Linking Proteins And Structural Brain Integrity To Biological Markers Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Adam Turnbull, Yejin Kim, Kai Zhang, Tianrui Mao, Xiaoqian Jiang, Victor Henderson, Zihuai He, Feng Vankee Vankee Lin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background

Medial temporal lobe (MTL) networks, including posterior-medial (PM) and anterior-temporal (AT) subnetworks, are early affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathologies (tau, neurodegeneration) and are critical for memory, which declines in AD. The biological pathways linking AD pathology, changes in MTL-AT-PM structural connectivity (SC), and cognitive decline, are unknown. Plasma protein levels reflect those in the cerebrospinal fluid, providing a low-invasive potential means of understanding molecular brain changes that occur in AD. These measures may help explain how AD pathology, MTL-AT-PM SC, and cognitive decline are linked at the molecular level. We used predefined aging-related plasma proteins from a meta-analysis …

Enhanced Bmp Signaling In Cathepsin K-Positive Tendon Progenitors Induces Heterotopic Ossification

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Heterotopic ossification (HO) is abnormal bone growth in soft tissues that results from injury, trauma, and rare genetic disorders. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are critical osteogenic regulators which are involved in HO. However, it remains unclear how BMP signaling interacts with other extracellular stimuli to form HO. To address this question, using the Cre-loxP recombination system in mice, we conditionally expressed the constitutively activated BMP type I receptor ALK2 with a Q207D mutation (Ca-ALK2) in Cathepsin K-Cre labeled tendon progenitors (hereafter “Ca-Alk2:Ctsk-Cre”). Ca-Alk2:Ctsk-Cre mice were viable but they formed spontaneous HO in the Achilles tendon. Histological and molecular …

Para-Infectious Brain Injury In Covid-19 Persists At Follow-Up Despite Attenuated Cytokine And Autoantibody Responses, Benedict D Michael, Cordelia Dunai, Edward J Needham, Kukatharmini Tharmaratnam, Robyn Williams, Yun Huang, Sarah A Boardman, Jordan J Clark, Parul Sharma, Krishanthi Subramaniam, Greta K Wood, Ceryce Collie, Richard Digby, Alexander Ren, Emma Norton, Maya Leibowitz, Soraya Ebrahimi, Andrew Fower, Hannah Fox, Esteban Tato, Mark A Ellul, Geraint Sunderland, Marie Held, Claire Hetherington, Franklyn N Egbe, Alish Palmos, Kathy Stirrups, Alexander Grundmann, Anne-Cecile Chiollaz, Jean-Charles Sanchez, James P Stewart, Michael Griffiths, Tom Solomon, Gerome Breen, Alasdair J Coles, Nathalie Kingston, John R Bradley, Patrick F Chinnery, Jonathan Cavanagh, Sarosh R Irani, Angela Vincent, J Kenneth Baillie, Peter J Openshaw, Malcolm G Semple, Covid-Cns Consortium, Isaric4c Investigators, Leonie S Taams, David K Menon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

To understand neurological complications of COVID-19 better both acutely and for recovery, we measured markers of brain injury, inflammatory mediators, and autoantibodies in 203 hospitalised participants; 111 with acute sera (1-11 days post-admission) and 92 convalescent sera (56 with COVID-19-associated neurological diagnoses). Here we show that compared to 60 uninfected controls, tTau, GFAP, NfL, and UCH-L1 are increased with COVID-19 infection at acute timepoints and NfL and GFAP are significantly higher in participants with neurological complications. Inflammatory mediators (IL-6, IL-12p40, HGF, M-CSF, CCL2, and IL-1RA) are associated with both altered consciousness and markers of brain injury. Autoantibodies are more common …