Digital Commons Network^™

Which Score For What? Operationalizing Standardized Cognitive Test Performance For The Assessment Of Change, Cristan Farmer, Audrey Thurm, Tanvi Das, E Martina Bebin, Jonathan A Bernstein, Elizabeth Berry-Kravis, Joseph D Buxbaum, Charis Eng, Thomas Frazier, Antonio Y Hardan, Alexander Kolevzon, Darcy A Krueger, Julian A Martinez-Agosto, Hope Northrup, Craig M Powell, Latha Valluripalli Soorya, Joyce Y Wu, Mustafa Sahin, Developmental Synaptopathies Consortium

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Developmental domains, such as cognitive, language, and motor, are key concepts of interest in longitudinal studies of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Normative scores (e.g., IQ) are often used to operationalize performance on standardized tests of these concepts, but it is the interval-distributed person-ability scores that are intended for the assessment of within-individual change. Here we illustrate the use and interpretation of several Stanford Binet, 5th Edition score types (IQ, extended IQ, Z-normalized raw score, developmental quotient, raw sum score, age equivalent, and ability score) using data from two longitudinal studies of rare genetic conditions associated with IDD. We found …

Auricular Point Acupressure For Older Adults With Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Jennifer Kawi, Chao Hsing Yeh, Nada Lukkahatai, Hulin Wu, Natalia E Morone, Ronald Glick, Elizabeth A Schlenk, Claudia Campbell, Johannes Thrul, Xinran Huang, Hongyu Wang, Hejingzi Monica Jia, Paul Christo, Constance Johnson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Efficacious modalities are limited in chronic low back pain (cLBP). We determined the efficacy of auricular point acupressure (APA) in older adults with cLBP.

Design: 3-arm randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Baltimore, Maryland.

Participants: Participants, ≥60 years with cLBP, were randomized (1:1:1) to APA with ear points targeted to cLBP (T-APA, n = 92), points nontargeted to cLBP (NT-APA, n = 91), or waitlist education control (n = 89), and followed up to 6 months (6M). Participants in the APA groups received 4 weekly APA sessions; the education control group received 4 weekly educational sessions.

Intervention: APA.

Main outcomes and …

The Late Positive Potential Predicts Contingency Management Outcomes For Cocaine Use Disorder, Heather E Webber, Douglas J Calvillo, Francesco Versace, Constanza De Dios, Robert Suchting, Charles E Green, Scott D Lane, Joy M Schmitz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Contingency management (CM) relies on motivation and reward processing and is among the most effective treatments available for cocaine use disorder (CUD), yet success rates do not meet desired clinical efficacy. To improve treatment-individual fit, we investigated the late positive potential (LPP), a measure of incentive salience to cues, as a predictor of treatment response. Treatment-seeking adults with CUD (N = 58) completed an EEG task where they viewed pleasant, unpleasant, cocaine, and neutral images. Participants received CM and counseling for four weeks. Urine was collected thrice weekly. We defined incentive salience to cues by A) cluster analyses on LPP …

Launching! To Adulthood, A Culturally Adapted Treatment Program For Military-Dependent Autistic Young Adults And Their Military Parents: A Pilot Study, Antonio F Pagán, Jordan Kenemore, Maj Mark Ahlenius, Linda Hernandez, Stephen Armstrong, Katherine A Loveland, Ron Acierno

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Military-dependent young adults (17-25 years old) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face significant barriers to accessing services during their transition to adulthood. Frequent relocations, disrupted care, and limited ASD-tailored interventions exacerbate the challenges for these families, with many young adults experiencing a "service cliff" as they age out of pediatric care and school-based services. Addressing these gaps is critical, particularly given the rising mental health challenges and executive dysfunction in this population. This study evaluates the preliminary efficacy of an adapted telehealth intervention, the Military-Launching! program, designed to support young adults with ASD and their military families.

Materials and …

¡Iniciando! La Adultez (Launching! To Adulthood): A Cultural And Linguistic Adaptation Of A Group Therapy Program For Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder Transitioning To Adulthood, Antonio F Pagán, Katherine A Loveland, Ron Acierno

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: The transition to adulthood is a formative period of development for young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as they work towards independence and managing adult responsibilities. While evidence-based interventions have been developed for young adults with ASD, they have rarely been culturally and linguistically adapted for the Latino, Spanish-speaking community. The present study provided initial feasibility and acceptability data for a therapy program for Latino young adults with ASD transitioning to adulthood and their Spanish-speaking parents.

Methods: The culturally adapted and translated intervention, called ¡Iniciando! la Adultez, is a 10-week therapy program based on an evidence-based treatment ( …

Testing Measurement Invariance Of Self-Report And Interview Measures Of Borderline Personality Disorder Across Ethnic/Racial Groups Of Inpatient Adolescents, Salome Vanwoerden, Eric D Sumlin, Veronica Mclaren, Carla Sharp

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe mental disorder that onsets during adolescence. Research examining sociocontextual differences in BPD presentation is limited and provides mixed results, highlighting the importance of further investigation and the evaluation of potential measure effects. This study assessed measurement invariance of two widely used adolescent measures (self-report—the Borderline Personality Features Scale for Children and semistructured interview—Childhood Interview of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Borderline Personality Disorder) of BPD. Comparisons across inpatient psychiatric settings (n = 521 at a private inpatient; n = 378 at a public inpatient) and across self-identified Hispanic/Latinx (n = 193), Black …

Beyond Frequency Of Use: Exploring Additional Metrics For Quantifying Cocaine Use And Their Relation To Life Functioning And Treatment Outcome, Samantha Ellis, Rachel Sun, Angela Heads, Jin Ho Yoon, Heather Webber, Joy Schmitz, Margaret Wardle

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Frequency of use - the number of days of use - is the most common metric for quantifying cocaine use and the most common target of treatment. However, frequency may not capture all important aspects of cocaine use. This study examined how other aspects of cocaine use (typical amount spent, variability etc.) relate to life functioning and cocaine use disorder (CUD) treatment outcomes.

Method: This is a secondary analysis of 3 clinical trials for CUD, N = 207 for the life functioning analysis and N = 173 for the outcomes analysis. Eight metrics of use were calculated from baseline …

Leveraging Existing Cohort Studies Of Mexican Women To Better Understand Hispanic Health And Cancer Risk, Dalia Stern, Liliana Gomez-Flores-Ramos, Britton Trabert, V Wendy Setiawan, Loïc Le Marchand, Henry Gomez, Paul A Scheet, Humberto Parada, Amber Pirzada, Martin Lajous, Leslie V Farland

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Hispanics have been historically underrepresented in epidemiologic cancer research. Existing cohort studies focused on recruiting Hispanic participants have been relatively small, making studying cancer outcomes challenging. Therefore, we aimed to compare the distribution of cancer risk factors among Hispanic women of Mexican heritage (HWMH) participating in existing cohorts to explore the possibility of future data pooling efforts.

Methods: We used baseline data of HWMH from three US-based studies, the Mexican American Cohort (MAC; n = 19,797; 2001-2017), the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC; n = 18,007; 1993-1996), and the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL; n = 4,022; 2008-2011), and …

Ai-Powered Model For Accurate Prediction Of Mci-To-Ad Progression, Ahmed Abdelhameed, Jingna Feng, Xinyue Hu, Fang Li, Sori Lundin, Paul E Schulz, Cui Tao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains a formidable challenge in modern healthcare, necessitating innovative approaches for its early detection and intervention. This study aimed to enhance the identification of individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) at risk of developing AD. Leveraging advances in computational power and the extensive availability of healthcare data, we explored the potential of deep learning models for early prediction using medical claims data. We employed a bidirectional gated recurrent unit (BiGRU) deep learning model for predictive modeling of MCI progression across various prediction intervals, extending up to five years post-initial MCI diagnosis. The performance of the BiGRU model …

Variants In Cald1, Esrp1, And Rbfox1 Are Associated With Orofacial Cleft Risk, Jenna C Carlson, Xinyi Zhang, Zeynep Erdogan-Yildirim, Terri H Beaty, Azeez Butali, Carmen J Buxó, Lord J J Gowans, Jacqueline T Hecht, Ross E Long, Lina Moreno, Jeffrey C Murray, Ieda M Orioli, Carmencita Padilla, George L Wehby, Eleanor Feingold, Elizabeth J Leslie-Clarkson, Seth M Weinberg, Mary L Marazita, John R Shaffer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Nonsyndromic orofacial clefts (OFCs) are common, heritable birth defects caused by both genetic and environmental risk factors. Despite the identification of many genetic loci harboring OFC-risk variants, there are many unknown genetic determinants of OFC. Furthermore, while the process of embryonic facial development is well characterized, the molecular mechanisms that underly it are not. This represents a major hurdle in understanding how disruptions in these biological processes result in OFC. Thus, we sought to identify novel OFC-risk loci through a genome-wide multi-ancestry study of five nested OFC phenotypes (isolated cleft lip [CLO], isolated cleft palate [CPO], cleft lip and palate …

Analysis Of Hospital Costs For Robotic And Open Pancreatectomy Incurred During The Implementation Of A Robotic Pancreatectomy Program At A Cancer Center, Heather G Lyu, Yuki Hirata, Pamela W Lu, Jess E Maxwell, Rebecca A Snyder, Michael P Kim, Hop Tran Cao, Ching-Wei D Tzeng, Matthew H G Katz, Naruhiko Ikoma

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Costs associated with robotic pancreatectomy compared to those of open pancreatectomy are assumed to be high but are not well known, particularly during the initial implementation of the robot.

Study design: Patients who underwent pancreatectomy for any diagnosis from January 2017 to August 2021 were identified retrospectively. Total hospital cost was calculated using intraoperative, inpatient, and outpatient costs within 30 days of surgery. The ratio of the total cost of each pancreatectomy to the average cost of all operations at our center was used to represent cost without sharing proprietary financial data. Propensity score matching was performed to account …

Polydrug Abuse: Choice Between Drugs As A Function Of Concurrent Nonindependent Ratio Sizes, Richard A Meisch, Thomas H Gomez, Scott D Lane

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Polydrug abuse is the persistent self-administration of more than one reinforcing drug. The present study provided rhesus monkeys concurrent access to two drugs: 8% alcohol and solutions of either cocaine or methadone. The liquids were available under concurrent nonindependent fixed-ratio (FR) schedules across increasing and then decreasing ratio sizes. These schedules generate high rates of changeover responses and yield a dependent variable of responses per delivery that is not rigidly tied to the ratio-schedule value. The programmed schedule size was equal for both liquids and increased in the sequence 8, 16, 32, and so on until responding decreased, whereupon the …

Mature And Migratory Dendritic Cells Promote Immune Infiltration And Response To Anti-Pd-1 Checkpoint Blockade In Metastatic Melanoma, Jiekun Yang, Cassia Wang, Doris Fu, Li-Lun Ho, Kyriakitsa Galani, Lee Chen, Jose Gonzalez, Jolene Fu, Amy Y Huang, Dennie T Frederick, Liang He, Mukta Asnani, Rahul Tacke, Emily J Robitschek, Sandeep K Yadav, Wentao Deng, Kelly P Burke, Tatyana Sharova, Ryan J Sullivan, Sarah Weiss, Kunal Rai, David Liu, Genevieve M Boland, Manolis Kellis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized cancer therapy, yet most patients fail to achieve durable responses. To better understand the tumor microenvironment (TME), we analyze single-cell RNA-seq (~189 K cells) from 36 metastatic melanoma samples, defining 14 cell types, 55 subtypes, and 15 transcriptional hallmarks of malignant cells. Correlations between cell subtype proportions reveal six distinct clusters, with a mature dendritic cell subtype enriched in immunoregulatory molecules (mregDC) linked to naive T and B cells. Importantly, mregDC abundance predicts progression-free survival (PFS) with ICIs and other therapies, especially when combined with the TCF7 + /- CD8 T cell ratio. Analysis …

Generation Of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Line From A Familial Alzheimer’S Disease Patient Carrying Missense Mutations In Psen1 And Mapt Genes, Ashaq H Najar, Sofia E Sepulveda, Camila Gherardelli, Fatemeh Elahian, Amber Fontenot-Roberts, Aleksandar Bajic, David H Hunter, Claudio Soto, Paul E Schulz, Abhisek Mukherjee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Alzheimer's disease (AD), pathologically characterized by misfolding and accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated tau, is the leading cause of neurodegenerative dementia, accounting for 60-80 % of cases. The familial form of AD is caused by mutations in amyloid precursor protein (APP), presenilin-1 (PSEN1), and presenilin-2 (PSEN2) genes. Here, we report the generation of an iPSC line from a 39-year-old AD patient carrying a missense mutation in PSEN1 (F177S), leading to very early onset of AD. The patient also carries a rare variant Q49E in the microtubule-associated protein tau gene (MAPT) with an as yet unknown clinical significance.

Secretogranin 2 Binds Lilrb4 Resulting In Immunosuppression, Xing Yang, Ryan Huang, Meng Fang, Yubo He, Jingjing Xie, Xiaoye Liu, Chengcheng Zhang, Qi Lou, Mi Deng, Wei Xiong, Cheryl Lewis, Zade Sadek, Ankit Gupta, Lianqi Chen, Xuewu Zhang, Lei Guo, Lin Xu, Ningyan Zhang, Zhiqiang An, Cheng Cheng Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Immunosuppressive myeloid cells are important in a variety of physiological and pathological contexts, including tumor development, but how hormones might regulate their activity is unclear. Secretogranins, a family of secretory proteins in endocrine and neuronal cells, are proposed to function as prohormones or hormones, but their specific receptors are unknown. Here we show that secretogranin 2 (SCG2), a granin family member, functionally interacts with leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor B4 (LILRB4) on monocytic cells. Tumor-derived SCG2 promotes tumor growth in myeloid-specific LILRB4 transgenic mice in a T cell-dependent manner, whereas SCG2 deficiency in host mice impairs tumor progression and reduces infiltration of …

The Brescia International Multidisciplinary Consensus Guidelines On The Optimal Pathology Assessment And Multidisciplinary Pathways Of Non-Pancreatic Neoplasms In And Around The Ampulla Of Vater (Peripan), Mohammad Abu Hilal, Bas A Uijterwijk, Daniël H L Lemmers, Boris V Janssen, Marc G Besselink, Denise Bianchi, Arantza Fariña, Noriyoshi Fukushima, Anthony J Gill, Seung-Mo Hong, Alyssa Krasinskas, Claudio Luchini, Laura Melocchi, Giulio Rossi, Aldo Scarpa, Olca Basturk, Deyali Chatterjee, Angela Chou, Irene Esposito, Roger Feakins, Bas Groot Koerkamp, Ralph H Hruban, Stefano La Rosa, Chanjuan Shi, Aatur Singhi, Joanne Verheij, Huamin Wang, Sergio Alfieri, Fabio Ausania, Adnan Alseidi, Marco J Bruno, Ugo Boggi, Claudio Bnà, Christos Dervenis, Massimo Falconi, Michele Ghidini, Jakob W Kist, Giovanni Marchegiani, Michele Milella, Roberto Salvia, Ajith Siriwardena, Hanneke Wilmink, Alberto Zaniboni, Shaimaa Al-Janabi, Maia Blomhoff Holm, Eva Roos, Naoki Sano, In Hye Song, Zeynep Tarcan, Gianpaolo Balzano, Isabella Frigerio, Alfredo Guglielmi, Giuseppe Malleo, Horacio Asbun, Volkan Adsay, Caroline Verbeke

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

IMPORTANCE: The lack of multidisciplinary workflow guidelines and clear definitions and classifications for neoplasms in and around the ampulla of Vater results in inconsistencies affecting patient care and research.

OBJECTIVE: The PERIPAN international multidisciplinary consensus group aimed to standardize the multidisciplinary diagnostic workflow and achieve consensus on definitions and classifications in order to ensure proper classification and optimal diagnostic assessment and consequently to improve patient care and future research.

DESIGN: An international team of 43 experts (pathologists, surgeons, radiologists, gastroenterologists, oncologists) from 12 countries identified knowledge gaps, reviewed 37061 articles, and proposed recommendations using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network methodology …

Baseline Α-Synuclein Seeding Activity And Disease Progression In Sporadic And Genetic Parkinson’S Disease In The Ppmi Cohort, Jackson G Schumacher, Xinyuan Zhang, Eric A Macklin, Jian Wang, Armin Bayati, Johannes M Dijkstra, Hirohisa Watanabe, Michael A Schwarzschild, Marianna Cortese, Xuehong Zhang, Xiqun Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: α-Synuclein (α-syn) seed amplification assays (SAAs) have shown remarkable potential in diagnosing Parkinson's disease (PD). Using data from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) cohort, we aimed to test whether baseline α-syn seeding activity and α-syn SAA kinetic parameters are associated with disease progression in sporadic PD, LRRK2-associated PD (LRRK2 PD), and GBA-associated PD (GBA PD).

Methods: We analysed 7 years of motor, non-motor, and cognitive assessments and 5 years of dopamine transporter imaging along with baseline α-syn SAA results from 564 PPMI participants (n = 332 sporadic PD, 162 LRRK2 PD, and 70 GBA PD) using linear mixed-effects …

Author Correction: Ppp2r1a Mutations Portend Improved Survival After Cancer Immunotherapy, Yibo Dai, Anne Knisely, Mitsutake Yano, Minghao Dang, Emily M Hinchcliff, Sanghoon Lee, Annalyn Welp, Manoj Chelvanambi, Matthew Lastrapes, Heng Liu, Zhe Yuan, Chen Wang, Hao Nie, Stephanie Jean, Luis J Montaner, Jiakai Hou, Ami Patel, Shrina Patel, Bryan Fellman, Ying Yuan, Baohua Sun, Renganayaki Krishna Pandurengan, Edwin Roger Parra Cuentas, Joseph Celestino, Yan Liu, Jinsong Liu, R Tyler Hillman, Shannon N Westin, Anil K Sood, Pamela T Soliman, Aaron Shafer, Larissa A Meyer, David M Gershenson, David Vining, Dhakshinamoorthy Ganeshan, Karen Lu, Jennifer A Wargo, Weiyi Peng, Rugang Zhang, Linghua Wang, Amir A Jazaeri

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Lifecycles Of Cochrane Systematic Reviews (2003-2024): A Bibliographic Study, Shiyin Li, Chong Wu, Zichen Zhang, Mengli Xiao, Mohammad Hassan Murad, Lifeng Lin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and objectives: The relevance of Cochrane systematic reviews depends on timely completion and updates. This study aimed to empirically assess the lifecycles of Cochrane reviews published from 2003 to 2024, including transitions from protocol to review, update patterns, and withdrawals.

Methods: We extracted data from Cochrane Library publications between 2003 and 2024. Each review topic was identified using a unique six-digit DOI-based ID. We recorded protocol publication, review publication, updates, and withdrawals (i.e., removed from the Cochrane Library for editorial or procedural reasons), calculating time intervals between stages and conducting subgroup analyses by review type.

Results: Of 8137 protocols, …

Deep Learning-Based Cardiac Chamber Segmentation In Magnetic Resonance-Guided Adaptive Radiation Therapy, Xinru Chen, Yao Ding, Julius Weng, Carol C Wu, Yao Zhao, Angela Sobremonte, Mustefa Mohammedsaid, Zhan Xu, Xiaodong Zhang, Joshua S Niedzielski, Sanjay S Shete, Laurence E Court, Zhongxing Liao, Jihong Wang, Ergys Subashi, Percy P Lee, Jinzhong Yang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Accurate cardiac chamber segmentation is crucial for improving cardiac sparing in magnetic resonance (MR)-guided adaptive radiation therapy, especially in patients at risk for radiation-induced cardiotoxicity. Here, we developed and evaluated automatic segmentation models for cardiac chambers that use daily MR images acquired on a 1.5-T MR-Linac system.

Methods and materials: Twenty healthy volunteers underwent daily MR scanning on a 1.5-T MR-Linac, with 2 radial sequences: T2/T1 3DVaneXD balanced fast field echo with spectral attenuated inversion recovery (bFFE-SPAIR) and T1 3DVaneXD mDixon. Three flip angles were tested for each sequence to determine optimal image quality for chamber segmentation. Full-resolution 3D …

Isatuximab Plus Bortezomib, Lenalidomide, And Dexamethasone For Transplant-Ineligible Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma Patients: A Frailty Subgroup Analysis Of The Imroz Trial, Salomon Manier, Meletios-Athanasios Dimopoulos, Xavier P Leleu, Philippe Moreau, Michele Cavo, Hartmut Goldschmidt, Robert Z Orlowski, Muriel Tron, Christina Tekle, Marie-France Brégeault, Andrea T Shafer, Meral Beksac, Thierry Facon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) meeting frailty criteria have worse outcomes than those identified as non-frail. Here, we present a post hoc subgroup analysis of IMROZ, a global, phase III, open-label study investigating isatuximab (Isa) with bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (VRd) followed by Isa-Rd (N=265) versus VRd followed by Rd (N=181) in newly diagnosed transplant-ineligible MM (Ti NDMM) patients using the simplified International Myeloma Working Group (sIMWG) frailty score. Although patients aged >80 years were excluded, there was no exclusion for patients meeting frailty criteria. All patients received standard VRd/Rd dosing; Isa-VRd patients received intravenous Isa (cycle 1, 10 mg/kg …

Systematic Literature Review Of Intravenous Versus Subcutaneous Administration Of Oncology Therapies: A Clinical, Economic And Patient Perspective, Saby George, Maria T Bourlon, Michael J Overman, Matt Dixon, Karishma Shelley, Kristen J Markus, Rachel M Kewley, Sophie I Pope, Laurence Albigès

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Subcutaneous (SC) formulations of oncology therapies offer a potentially less time-consuming and more convenient alternative to intravenous (IV) administration. However, exploring the potential benefits of SC over IV administration from a broader perspective is necessary to understand the larger-scale impact. In this systematic literature review (SLR), we evaluated the efficacy, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD), safety, and patient and healthcare provider (HCP) preference for SC/IV oncology therapies, along with differences in patient outcomes, costs, and time requirements. The SLR was conducted in January 2019 and updated in May 2023, and included 169 publications. Studies providing comparative results between IV and SC formulations regarding …

Peripartum Depression Pharmacotherapies Targeting Gaba-Glutamate Neurotransmission, Alan C Courtes, Louisa Smitherman, Lokesh Shahani, Jair C Soares, Laura Goetzl, Rodrigo Machado-Vieira

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Peripartum depression (PPD) represents a significant public health concern, affecting 10-17% of women globally. Traditional monoaminergic treatments demonstrate limited efficacy and delayed onset of action. The glutamate-GABA imbalance hypothesis provides a novel theoretical framework for understanding depression pathophysiology and developing targeted therapeutic interventions. This review examines emerging pharmacotherapeutic approaches targeting glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmitter systems for PPD treatment. Search criteria targeted randomized clinical trials investigating GABA-A-positive allosteric modulators (brexanolone, zuranolone, and ganaxolone) and NMDA receptor antagonists (ketamine and esketamine) in PPD patients. Brexanolone was the first neurosteroid to receive FDA approval for PPD, while zuranolone also shows promise. Ketamine and …

Comparative Pathology Boards Facilitate The Translation Of Knowledge Between Canine And Human Cancer Patients, Jessica A Beck, Christina Mazcko, Sara Belluco, Mireille Bitar, Daniel Brat, Jonathan W Bush, Rati Chkheidze, Kara N Corps, Chad Frank, Caterina Giannini, Craig Horbinski, Jason T Huse, Jennifer W Koehler, Andrew D Miller, C Ryan Miller, M Gerard O'Sullivan, Joanna J Phillips, Daniel R Rissi, Courtney R Schott, Anat Stemmer-Rachamimov, Stephen Yip, Amy K Leblanc

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Comparative pathology boards bring together anatomic pathologists with expertise in canine and human histology to identify shared features, including immune or TME components, tumor subtypes, or prognostic tissue biomarkers. This article summarizes feedback to improve future initiatives and enhance the translational relevance of comparative oncology for human patients.

Exploring Boundaries With Food, Substances, And People In Substance Use Recovery: A Qualitative Analysis, Tiffany Champagne-Langabeer, Audrey Sarah Cohen, Kriti Shrestha, Jie Zhu, Audrey Lopez, Alisha Campbell, Christine Bakos-Block

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: In the United States, over 47 million youth and adults live with a substance use disorder (SUD). These individuals are frequently malnourished and have metabolic dysregulation as a result. Nutrition interventions incorporating a mindfulness-based approach help recovery efforts that are physical and mental.

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore and analyze the perspectives and experiences of individuals with SUD regarding emotional regulation and nutrition. The study used a mixed methods approach to generate insights for improving recovery support and developing future interventions.

Design: In 2024, an exploratory mixed methods study was conducted based on a large …

Implementation Of Screening And Assessment Tools For Diagnosing Opioid Use Disorder: A Systematic Review, Audrey Lopez, Audrey Sarah Cohen, Francine Vega, Tiffany Champagne-Langabeer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: As the prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD) continues to rise, early detection by medical professionals can often be the first step in linking individuals to treatment. This systematic review was designed to identify implemented OUD screening and assessment tools with studies published from January 2019 through June 2024, uncover common themes associated with implementation, and determine if these tools were recommended in clinical practice.

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted within PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science using the keywords 'opioid use disorder,' 'documentation,' and 'screening assessment tool.' Three investigators independently reviewed titles, abstracts, and full-text articles …

Predicting Clinical Success Of Ct-Based Functional Drained Liver Volume Assessment In Malignant Biliary Obstruction, Ethan Y Lin, Bruno C Odisio, Koustav Pal, Iwan Paolucci, Ryan P Kempen, Nicolas Cardenas, Paige Reed, Ketan Y Shah, Ahmed Awad, Rahul A Sheth, David Fuentes, Alda Tam

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose

To compare the predictive accuracy of subjective versus objective assessment of three-dimensional functional drained liver volume (fDLV) for clinical success after percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD).

Materials and Methods

This retrospective study included patients with malignant biliary obstruction and hyperbilirubinemia who underwent de novo PTBD between January 2016 and February 2017. Clinical success was defined as achieving total bilirubin level less than 1.8 mg/dL (30.8 μmol/L) within 30 days after PTBD. Seven interventional radiologists independently categorized subjective fDLV into four groups: less than 30%, 30%–50%, 51%–75%, and greater than 75% of the total liver volume. Objective fDLV was calculated …

Designing An Electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes Information Infrastructure Supported By The Re-Aim Implementation Framework, Amy C Moreno, Angela Peek, Toshiko S Stein, Kevin R Shook, Sara M Ali, Laia Humbert-Vidan, Aileen Chen, Miriam Lango, Anna Lee, Michael Spiotto, William H Morrison, Adam S Garden, Jack Phan, Steven J Frank, Katherine Hutcheson, David I Rosenthal, Clifton D Fuller, G Brandon Gunn

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) contain valuable information that can be leveraged by providers to perform timely interventions and improve quality of life and survival. However, the implementation of electronic PROs (ePROs) remains a challenge from technical and evaluation perspectives. Our objective was to construct a robust electronic health record (EHR)-integrated ePRO information infrastructure founded on RE-AIM (reach-effectiveness-adoption-implementation-maintenance) principles.

Materials and methods: We used Epic Systems as our EHR platform to build the MD Anderson Symptom Index Head and Neck Module (MDASI-HN) for release to all patients undergoing evaluation and/or treatment in our HN Radiation Oncology clinics. RE-AIM metrics were established …

Using Extension-Based Mrna Display To Design Antibody-Like Proteinogenic Peptides For Human Pd-L1, Justin N Ong, Brian J Grindel, Scott A Rankin, Sarah H Naylon, Anupallavi Srinivasamani, Guillaume J Trusz, Xiaowen Liang, Md Nasir Uddin, Lauren Fuller, Michael Curran, Stephane P Roche, Terry T Takahashi, Richard W Roberts, Steven W Millward

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Many peptide drugs rely on nonproteinogenic amino acids and chemical modifications for improved activity and proteolytic stability. However, these features also make drug production expensive and challenging to scale. Here, we engineered small, linear, proteinogenic peptides that bind human programmed death-ligand 1 (hPD-L1) with high affinity and stability using mRNA display affinity maturation. The resulting peptides, SPAM2 and SPAM3, have antibody-like affinities for hPD-L1 (dissociation constants between ~250 and 300 pM) and are selective for hPD-L1. Both SPAM2 and SPAM3 compete with hPD-L1 ligands known to interact with the programmed cell death protein 1 site and are stable in human …

Mechanisms Underlying Treatment-Resistant Depression: Exploring Sex-Based Biological Differences, Francisco E R Da Silva, Atakan Yucel, Antonio P M Menezes, Ana C Ruiz, Marcela C Carbajal Tamez, Tatiana Barichello, Giselli Scaini, Joao Quevedo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) represents a severe and complex subtype of major depressive disorder (MDD), affecting approximately 30% of patients who fail to respond adequately to multiple standard antidepressant therapies. While the pathophysiology of TRD remains incompletely understood, emerging evidence suggests that sex-based biological differences might influence its onset, progression, and treatment response. Women are disproportionately affected by depression and are more likely to experience residual symptoms and treatment resistance, potentially due to hormonal fluctuations, immune system differences, and variations in brain circuitry and neuroplasticity. This narrative explores the current literature on the mechanisms underlying TRD, with a particular emphasis on …