Digital Commons Network^™

Interdisciplinary Swiss Consensus Recommendations For Follow-Up After Radical Cystectomy And Trimodal Treatment For Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer, Ernest Kaufmann, Stefanie Aeppli, Andres Affentranger, Nicolas Arnold, Winfried Arnold, Fabian Aschwanden, Panagiotis Balermpas, Jörg Beyer, Uwe Bieri, Joost Boormanns, Richard Cathomas, Berardino De Bari, Marco Dressler, Daniel S Engeler, Andreas Erdmann, Andrea Gallina, Silvia Gomez, Matthias Guckenberger, Thomas Herrmann, Thomas Hermanns, Ilaria Lucca, Hubert John, Thomas Matthias Kessler, Jan Klein, Mohamed Laouiti, David Lauffer, Seth Paul Lerner, Agostino Mattei, Michael Müntener, Daniel Nguyen, Philipp Niederberger, Alexandros Papachristofilou, Lukas Prause, Paul Martin Putora, Karsten Reinhardt, Emanuela Salati, Philippe Sèbe, Mohamed Shelan, Silvan Sigg, Räto Thomas Strebel, Arnoud Jan Templeton, Ursula Vogl, Marian Severin Wettstein, Stephen Wyler, Deborah Zihler, Thomas Zilli, Daniel Zwahlen, Beat Roth, Christian Daniel Fankhauser

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: Radical cystectomy or trimodal therapy are treatment options for non-metastatic bladder cancer. However, there is limited evidence guiding post-treatment follow-up regimens, resulting in variations in care.

Objective: A Swiss consensus meeting aimed to identify gaps in follow-up strategies and subsequently tailoring follow-up protocols after curative treatment for bladder cancer.

Methods: A consensus meeting including participants from urology, oncology, radiation oncology, neuro-urology, international advisors, and patient representatives was held. 19 pre-formulated questions addressing follow-up duration, frequency, and modalities after radical cystectomy or trimodal therapy for bladder cancer were discussed and voted by participants.

Results: 42 experts from 22 institutions participated …

Epigenetic Crosstalk In Neuroblastoma Development And Progression, Nathan Drolet, Amber Wolf, Joanna Yi, Eveline Barbieri

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Neuroblastoma (NB), a pediatric malignancy of the peripheral nervous system, accounts for 15% of pediatric cancer deaths and remains a major challenge for cancer therapy. NB originates from sympathoadrenal (SA) progenitors of the neural crest (NC) cell lineage, whose formation and differentiation are controlled by epigenetic mechanisms. Although signaling pathways and epigenetic factors implicated in NB tumorigenesis have been well-described, a holistic understanding of how development and epigenetics overlap to drive NB is lacking. By exploring vital interplays and co-dependencies between key pathways and their epigenetic control in NC development, we have gained novel insights into the mechanisms governing NB …

Case Report: Primed Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy For Multiple Solid Tumors, Jeffrey Jones, Aly Alrabaa, William Decker, Luis Ferbeyre, Gregorio Viramontes, Rafael Gonzalez, Elideth Angulo, Antonio Zamudio, Raul Hernandez, Stephen Noga, Susana Hernandez-Reyes, Paul Zhang, Darryl Smith, Ara Karamanian, Luis Tamara, Dalton Greenwood, Matthew Halpert

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Many patients with advanced solid tumors ultimately develop resistance to conventional therapies, with especially limited options for those experiencing rapid progression or poor performance status, highlighting the need for personalized immunotherapies capable of inducing durable responses. In this retrospective case series, we describe the clinical course and outcomes of five adults (4 male, 1 female; median age 51 years [range, 39-62]) with metastatic solid tumors who achieved complete and durable remission following doubly loaded autologous dendritic cell therapy after failure of standard treatments, such as immune checkpoint inhibition, radiation, surgery, or endocrine therapy. Five patients, including prostate adenocarcinoma (n=1), malignant …

Metabolites Produced By Agat+ Cells Support Regeneration In The Planarian Schmidtea Mediterranea, Aubrey M Kent, Carlos Guerrero-Hernández, Carolyn Brewster, Sean Mckinney, Jason A Morrison, Mary C Mckinney, Eric J Ross, Frederick G Mann, Blair W Benham-Pyle, Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Planarians exhibit extraordinary regenerative abilities driven by pluripotent neoblasts, yet the roles of post-mitotic progenitor and differentiated cells in this process remain incompletely understood. Here, we investigate the function of agat+ cells, epidermal progenitors expressing members of the arginine:glycine amidinotransferase (agat) gene family, in the regeneration of Schmidtea mediterranea. Comprehensive analysis of all five planarian agat paralogs revealed that agat-1, -2, -3, and -4 are co-expressed in subepidermal populations enriched at wound sites, while agat-5 is minimally expressed. RNAi-mediated knockdown of agat-1 and agat-2 resulted in severe defects: agat-1 primarily disrupted tissue homeostasis, …

Inheriting Chromosome Conformation, Kyle P Eagen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Study Of Access Region Sheet Resistance In Superlattice U-Gan Hemt And Its Compact Modeling, Vikram Magendar, Hiu Yung Wong

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Superlattice GaN structures are expected to have reduced on-state resistance due to the formation of multiple twodimensional electron gas (2DEG) channels in the access regions. The U-GaN structure, which has one channel in the gate region for normally-off operation, employs regrown Si-doped vertical GaN sidewalls to electrically connect multiple channels in the access regions. In this paper, an access region with thin superlattice layers, which is expected to have less relaxation and dislocations than the thicker one, is studied. Technology Computer-Aided Design (TCAD) simulations confirm the formation of multiple polarization-induced 2DEG channels. It is found that the equivalent access-region sheet …

Concordance Of Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization, Whole-Exome Sequencing, And Chromosomal Microarray For Evaluating High-Risk Molecular Features In Meningiomas, Brenndan Crumley, Emilie Russler-Germain, Sonika Dahiya

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Meningiomas are the most common primary intracranial tumors, classified into three WHO grades based on histologic and/or molecular criteria. cIMPACT-NOW Update 8 underscores the increasing importance of molecular testing in grading and risk stratification, noting that morphologically WHO grade 1 tumors with concurrent 1p and 22q losses demonstrate clinical behavior comparable to WHO grade 2 meningiomas. This study aimed to assess the concordance of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA), and whole-exome sequencing (WES) in defining the molecular risk profile of meningiomas.

METHODS: A total of 113 meningiomas were analyzed by WHO grade to assess the …

Spatial Variation In Socio-Economic Vulnerability To Influenza-Like Infection For The Us Population, Shrabani S. Tripathy, Joseph V. Puthussery, Taveen S Kapoor, John R. Cirrito, Rajan K. Chakrabarty

2020-Current year OA Pubs

This study aims to quantify environmental health impacts and assess risk by understanding the disproportionate burden of infectious diseases, specifically Influenza-like Illness (ILI), across regions with varying socio-economic characteristics. We introduce a novel vulnerability-based approach to better understand the complex relationship between socio-economic factors and ILI burden. We develop a machine-learning-driven framework to assess and map state-level socio-economic vulnerability to ILI in the United States. A vulnerability index was created by integrating 39 diverse socio-economic and health indicators from the latest CENSUS. A Random Forest Regression model then weighed these indicators to quantify each state's vulnerability for the ILI values …

Capacity And Site Readiness For Hypertension Control Program Implementation In Nigeria: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study, Innocent Ijezie Chukwuonye, Mark D. Huffman, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to determine the capacity and readiness of Nigerian primary healthcare facilities to adopt a multi-level approach for the diagnosis, treatment, and control of hypertension.

METHODS: Using a multi-stage sampling technique, 5 states were selected for the nationwide study, and 10 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) were selected from each of the participating states. The 50 PHCs were evaluated using the World Health Organization-modified Service Availability and Readiness Assessment, focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension in Nigeria. The indicator scores for general and cardiovascular service preparedness were computed using the proportion of PHCs …

Dysregulated Lactate Metabolism Synergizes With Als Genetic Risk Factors To Accelerate Motor Decline, Shweta Tendulkar, Tong Wu, Amy Strickland, Amber R. Hackett, Yurie Sato-Yamada, Xianrong Mao, Yo Sasaki, Jeffrey Milbrandt, A. Joseph Bloom, Aaron Diantonio

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Neurons rely on glial 'lactate shuttling' for metabolic support, which declines with aging and in neurodegenerative disease. Full disruption of lactate shuttling in peripheral nerves causes progressive axon degeneration, but we were interested to understand how partial disruption, a scenario more relevant to aging and disease, contributes to neurodegeneration risk. Pyruvate and lactate are interconverted by lactate dehydrogenases (LDHA and LDHB) in both lactate producing and consuming cells. We therefore began by investigating Ldhb knockout mice (loss of LDHA, the dominant LDH in liver and muscle, caused embryonic lethality), and discovered that they develop progressive neuromuscular junction atrophy and functional …

Implementing The Lung Donor (Lundon) Acceptability Score In U.S. Donor Management And Transplant Decision-Making: A Multi-Aim, Mixed-Methods Protocol, Nikki E. Rossetti, Su-Hsin Chang, Yan Yan, Graham Jaensch-Frie, Charles R. Liu, Nahom Y. Seyoum, Meghna Katta, Arvind Kumar, Zhizhou Yang, Christian Oncken, Christy Hamilton, Kyle Stumbaugh, Brendan Heiden, Sarah Peskoe, Varun Puri, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Despite advances in transplantation science, a persistent shortage of donor lungs continues to limit access to life-saving lung transplants. The Lung Donor (LUNDON) Acceptability Score is a validated tool that predicts donor lung utilization and post-transplant recipient outcomes, but integration into practice remains limited. This study will evaluate determinants of LUNDON score adoption, its impact on clinical decision-making, and develop tools to support its implementation.

METHODS: This is a multi-aim mixed-methods pre-implementation study that will be conducted across U.S. Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) and lung transplant centers. Aim 1 will identify barriers and facilitators of LUNDON score adoption through …

From Passive To Powerful: Creating Engaging Resident-As-Teacher Modules, Anna E Rueda, Stephanie V Sherman, Sherita J Love, Glenn C Bridges, Wesley A Mayer, Mark J Harbott, Teri L Turner, Bani M Ratan

Faculty and Staff Publications

Background: We aimed to design, implement, and evaluate three novel institutional resident-as-teacher (RAT) e-modules for postgraduate year (PGY) 1, 2, and 3 and compare them to previously utilized online trainings.

Methods: We utilized PICRAT, a model examining both students' relationship with technology (passive, interactive, creative) and instructors' use of technology (replaces, amplifies, or transforms) to create interactive experiences that amplified teaching methodologies. We compared evaluations of the previous and new trainings with an unpaired t test. New modules were assessed with one-way analysis of variance for specialty-based acceptability and content analysis of two open-ended questions.

Results: Response rates averaged 93.2% …

Clinical Informatics Education To Advance Learning Health Systems: A Scoping Review, Alexandra Zingg, L Ida Tovar, Laura Witte, Kelsey L Koym, Kyler Godwin

Library Staff Publications

Introduction: Learning health systems leverage clinical data and knowledge to advance healthcare quality. Effective training in informatics concepts and tools is essential for medical trainees to become health system experts and contributors to positive organizational change. The objective of this study is to summarize characteristics of existing clinical informatics training programs and map these to recommended Learning Health System informatics competencies. We aim to answer the following research questions: (1) How are academic medical institutions implementing informatics education initiatives for medical trainees? (2) Are these initiatives implementing recommended informatics competencies? and (3) How effective are these initiatives according to established …

Polyfluoroalkyl Substances And Altered Glucose Homeostasis In Adolescents Following Bariatric Surgery, Elizabeth Costello, Brittney O Baumert, Zhenjiang Li, Vishal Midya, Shudi Pan, Justin R Ryder, Thomas H Inge, Todd M Jenkins, Stephanie Sisley, Stavra A Xanthakos, Anita Courcoulas, Douglas I Walker, Nikos Stratakis, Damaskini Valvi, Scott M Bartell, Angela L Slitt, Rohit Kohli, Sarah Rock, Michele A La Merrill, Sandrah P Eckel, Max T Aung, Rob Mcconnell, David V Conti, Lida Chatzi

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Objectives: Bariatric surgery is an effective treatment for severe obesity and associated metabolic comorbidities. Exposure to polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) before bariatric surgery may attenuate improvements in glucose metabolism and explain some of the heterogeneity in post-surgery outcomes.

Design: This is an observational cohort study.

Methods: Adolescents (n = 186) enrolled in the Teen-Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery study were included. Eight-PFAS congeners were measured in plasma before surgery. Linear and logistic regressions were used to examine cross-sectional associations between log2-transformed PFAS (ng/mL) and fasting glucose, insulin, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Linear mixed …

Alternative Polyadenylation Signatures Distinguish Maladaptive Right Ventricular Remodeling In Pulmonary Hypertension: Implications For Rna-Based Diagnostics And Therapeutics, Janani Subramaniam, Venkata Jonnakuti, Scott D Collum, Sandra Martineau, Kai-Lieh Huang, Sandra Breuils-Bonnet, Andrea L Frump, Bindu H Akkanti, Jayeshkumar A Patel, Manish K Patel, Ismael Salas De Armas, Isabella N Lefebvre, Rajko Radovancevic, Elvin Blanco, Eric J Wagner, Igor Gregoric, Sriram Nathan, Biswajit Kar, Steeve Provencher, Sebastien Bonnet, François Potus, Hari Krishna Yalamanchili, Harry Karmouty-Quintana

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Increased pulmonary vascular pressures due to vascular remodeling, elevated vascular resistance, and vasoconstriction characterize Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). The narrowing of the pulmonary arteries and obstruction of blood flow increase the Right Ventricular (RV) afterload, forcing the RV to undergo structural and functional changes. While adaptive remodeling leads to RV compensation by maintaining function, maladaptive remodeling leads to RV decompensation, characterized by worsening function and eventual failure. At present, there is no effective treatment for these patients as therapies for left ventricular failure are ineffectual, and there are no therapies specifically targeting the RV. Therefore, there is a clear need …

Test-Retest Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Reproducibility In Head And Neck Cancer Using A 15-T Mr-Linac, Brigid A Mcdonald, Dina El-Habashy, Renjie He, Sam Mulder, Sarah Mirbahaeddin, Abdallah S R Mohamed, Sara Ahmed, Yao Ding, Jihong Wang, Stephen Y Lai, Alex Dresner, John Christodouleas, Clifton D Fuller

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose

To evaluate the reproducibility of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) using a 1.5-T MR-linac (MRI-guided linear accelerator) system.

Materials and Methods

In this retrospective study, conducted between February 2021 and January 2024, patients with HNSCC lesions underwent echo-planar imaging diffusion-weighted MRI on a 1.5-T MR-linac system at two time points before the start of radiation therapy. Mean and median ADC values and volumes were measured for each lesion. Absolute and percent reproducibility coefficients (RCs) were calculated. Linear regression analyses and F tests were performed to determine whether the lesion volume or …

Telethon Undiagnosed Disease Program: Structured Approach To Solving Rare Childhood-Onset Genetic Diseases, Annalaura Torella, Manuela Morleo, Carmine Spampanato, Raffaele Castello, Mariateresa Zanobio, Giulio Piluso, Pasquale Di Letto, Maria Elena Onore, Sarah Iffat Rahman, Francesco Musacchia, Michele Pinelli, Giuseppina Vitiello, Giulia De Riso, Angelo Selicorni, Milena Mariani, Cecilia Daolio, Valeria Capra, Marcello Scala, Francesca Nardecchia, Serena Galosi, Mario Mastrangelo, Filippo Manti, Donatella Milani, Corrado Romano, Donatella Greco, Claudia Ciaccio, Stefano D'Arrigo, Arianna De Laurentiis, Antonietta Coppola, Marcella Zollino, Domizia Pasquetti, Federica Francesca L'Erario, Albina Tummolo, Claudia Santoro, Livia Garavelli, Carla Marini, Stefania Bigoni, Alfonsina Tirozzi, Viviana Cetrangolo, Giancarlo Parenti, Diego Di Bernardo, Angela Peron, Silvia Maitz, Andrea Accogli, Gerarda Cappuccio, Sandro Banfi, Giorgio Casari, Andrea Ballabio, Nicola Brunetti-Pierri, Vincenzo Nigro, Telethon Undiagnosed Disease Study Group

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Purpose: Many children with severe genetic disorders remain undiagnosed despite advanced genomic technologies. Early diagnosis is vital for prognosis, genetic counseling, and targeted treatment development. This study aims to increase diagnostic rates in complex pediatric cases and foster research into disease mechanisms.

Methods: Launched in 2016, the Telethon Undiagnosed Diseases Program provides a structured, multicenter approach to rare disease diagnosis. Standardized case submission criteria ensured consistent clinical data collection. Children with severe, multisystemic disorders and prior negative genetic tests were eligible. After case approval, trio-based exome sequencing was performed, with regular reanalysis for unsolved cases until December 2024.

Results: Between …

Cerebellar Motor And Non-Motor Contributions To Dystonia Pathophysiology And Treatment, Linda H Kim, Cheryl Brandenburg, Roy V Sillitoe

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Dystonia is a complex neurological disorder characterized by sustained or intermittent abnormal movements and/or postures. However, dystonia's non-motor symptoms, particularly the sleep disturbances, are critical yet underexplored concerns that affect all ages. Here, we synthesize current knowledge on the motor and non-motor domains of dystonia, emphasizing the functional interconnections and plasticity within cerebellar motor, cognitive, and sleep-associated circuits to motivate more comprehensive and effective treatments that improve overall quality of life.

Organ Chips And Translational Research: Identifying And Examining New Ethical Issues, Melanie Jeske

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Organ chips, also known as organ-on-a-chip devices, tissue chips, or microphysiological systems, have emerged over the last decade as a promising translational technology amidst growing concern about the translational crisis between laboratory research and patient bedside. Pointing to high rates of failure between nonhuman animal models and safety and efficacy in humans, organ chips and similar new approach methods have attracted substantial public and private investment. As human-cell-based alternatives to animal models, organ chips promise more predictive, efficient, and ethical platforms for pharmaceutical and toxicity testing. Engineered cultivation systems that enable cells to assemble into tissue-like structures (e.g. kidney, brain, …

Putting The L In Elsi: Legal Methods For Bioethics Research, Anya E R Prince, Benjamin Berkman, Donald Ford, Dov Fox, Christi Guerrini, Amy Koopmann, Natalie Ram, Jessica L Roberts, Kayte Spector-Bagdady, Sonia Suter

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Lawyers and law professors are increasingly involved in interdisciplinary scientific teams and grant research to answer ethical, legal and policy questions related to biomedical topics. Yet, the methods that lawyers use to conduct legal research and analysis are not always familiar to scientists and social scientists conducting peer review of a proposed project with legal aims or a publication reporting a legal study. To better facilitate interdisciplinary ethical, legal, and social implications collaboration, there is a need to better explain how legal research methodologies can provide robust tools to address a range of nuanced biomedical questions. This paper explores …

Differences Between Government, Consortium, And Private Database Stewards Impacting The Genomic Data Market: A Survey Of U.S. Academic Genetic Researchers., Amanda K Greene, J Denard Thomas, Kaitlyn Jaffe, Luyun Chen, Kerry A Ryan, Brian J Zikmund-Fisher, J Scott Roberts, Amy L Mcguire, Katherine Hendy, Kayte Spector-Bagdady

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Background: Despite major shifts in U.S. federal government data sharing requirements, their impact, and relation to researcher choice of database, are underexplored. This study surveyed genetic researchers regarding trends, priorities, perceptions of quality, impact on research outcomes, and genomic data sharing and use across government, consortium, and private databases.

Methods: As part of an exploratory sequential mixed methods project, we surveyed 294 U.S.-based genomic academic researchers.

Results: Genetic researchers generally have a choice between databases, which allows them to prioritize data quality. This might explain recent trends toward the use of government and consortium databases away from private ones. Respondents …

Can I Get A Witness? The Ethical Dimensions Of Family Presence In Patient Suffering, Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, Trevor M Bibler, Holland Kaplan, Adam Omelianchuk, Joanna Smolenski

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

For patients who are suffering, the bedside presence of a family member can provide comfort, and many people hold that there is moral value in being present with a conscious, suffering patient. Yet what is the moral significance of the absence of family members when a patient is minimally conscious or unconscious and not aware of their absence? Clinicians are often troubled when family members and surrogate decision-makers who are able to spend a significant amount of time at an unconscious, seriously ill patient's bedside do not do so. Clinicians feel frustrated that they must bear the burden of witnessing …

Anything But Endo: Diagnostic Buck-Passing In Endometriosis Diagnosis, Rita Dexter, Megan Kitts, Heather Welty, Melanie Jeske

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

People living with endometriosis, a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows elsewhere in the body, often experience prolonged diagnostic journeys because of symptom variability, normalisation of period pain and other symptoms, and lack of awareness of the condition. In this article, we analyse the endometriosis diagnostic journey through the lens of epistemic injustice. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 52 people living with endometriosis in the United States, we introduce the concept of diagnostic buck-passing to characterise the phenomenon wherein individuals who seek treatment for their symptoms end up stuck in a cycle of seeing …

Access To Digital Health Technologies: Personalized Framework And Global Perspectives, Sanjiv M Narayan, Mina K Chung, Demilade Adedinsewo, Luisa C C Brant, Leslie L Davis, David Duncker, Jennifer L Hall, Janet K Han, Carolyn S P Lam, Eldrin Lewis, Joseph Loscalzo, Manlio F Márquez, Vasiliki Rahimzadeh, Fatima Rodriguez, Prashanthan Sanders, Emma Svennberg, Kenneth Stein, Mintu Turakhia, Clyde Yancy, Antonis A Armoundas

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

The emergence and rapid adoption of digital health technologies (DHT) present unprecedented opportunities to democratize and reduce disparities in health care by monitoring health and disease at the point of care in all patients. However, limited access to DHT is becoming a major obstacle to realizing these goals. Access to DHT is influenced not only by well-recognized social determinants of health, but also by digital determinants of health, such as digital literacy and the need for broad access to digital infrastructure, as well as commercial and economic factors. Addressing these challenges and designing unbiased systems of care are essential to …

Toward Ethical Provenance Tracking: The Ga4gh Model Data Access Agreement (Daa), Alexander Bernier, Bartha Maria Knoppers, Jonathan Lawson, Robyn Mcdougall, Maili Raven-Adams, Vasiliki Rahimzadeh

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Purpose: Standardizing contractual clauses that govern data access enables research institutions to responsibly steward genomic and related health data while enabling its efficient downstream reuse.

Methods: We describe a document analysis study using both qualitative and comparative law analytical approaches to identify the most common categories of clauses from 29 different data access agreements used by human biomedical research consortia globally. We furthermore characterized the legal positions and standard practices for each common element of the agreement and synthesized across them to develop model clauses. A total of 3 discussion sessions were organized virtually to refine the clauses among members …

Psychometric Properties Of A Novel Affective Bias Task And Its Application In Clinical And Nonclinical Populations, Prathik Kalva, Kourtney Kanja, Brian A Metzger, Xiaoxu Fan, Brian Cui, Bailey Pascuzzi, John Magnotti, Madaline Mocchi, Raissa Mathura, Kelly R Bijanki

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

To mitigate limitations in self-reported mood assessments, we introduce a novel affective bias task (ABT). The task quantifies instantaneous emotional state by leveraging the phenomenon of affective bias, in which people interpret external emotional stimuli in a manner consistent with their current emotional state. This study establishes task stability in measuring and tracking depressive symptoms in clinical and non-clinical populations. Initial assessment in a large non-clinical sample established normative ratings. Depressive symptoms were tracked relative to task performance in a non-clinical sample, as well as in a clinical cohort undergoing surgical evaluation for severe epilepsy. In both cohorts, a stronger …

Prevalence Of Clinically Relevant Nightmares And Their Differences By Sex And Diagnosis In Psychiatric Inpatients, Katrina A Rufino, Michelle A Patriquin, Courtney B Worley, Michael R Nadorff

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Nightmares have been shown to be associated with numerous forms of psychopathology, but the vast majority of this research has taken place in the general population and very little is known about their relation with psychopathology in those requiring inpatient hospitalization. In a sample of 1170 voluntarily admitted psychiatric inpatients, this study explores the frequency of reported nightmares in psychiatric inpatients with the aim of examining the prevalence of psychiatric diagnosis in those with and without clinically relevant nightmares. Participants completed the Disturbing Dream and Nightmare Severity Index (DDNSI) and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID-5) at admission. …

Gallbladder Decompression And Hydrodissection As Adjuncts For Ablation Of Pericholecystic Hepatocellular Carcinomas, Taylor Hoffman, Arta Kasaeian, Johnathon Chung, Ashkan Berenji, David Wynne, Mohammad Ghasemi-Rad, David Léon

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Microwave ablation is an effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma, but tumors adjacent to extrahepatic organs carry a higher risk for thermal injury. Thermoprotective techniques such as hydrodissection and gallbladder decompression can reduce this risk and expand the range of lesions amenable to percutaneous treatment. We present a case of a 68-year-old woman with hepatocellular carcinoma in hepatic segment V, with partial treatment response from prior transarterial chemoembolization. Due to the lesion's proximity to the gallbladder and transverse colon, microwave ablation was performed with concurrent ultrasound- and CT-guided gallbladder decompression and hydrodissection. The ablation was technically successful without post-procedural complications. At …

Tau In Alzheimer’S Disease: Shaping The Future Patient Journey, Catherine J Mummery, Christopher Chen Li-Hsian, Cristian A Lasagna-Reeves, Rik Ossenkoppele, Christopher C Rowe, Douglas W Scharre, Huali Wang, Simon Kyaga, Jeffrey L Cummings

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Alzheimer's disease is a complex and multifactorial disease characterized by two key pathological hallmarks: amyloid-beta plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles. Recent progress has led to the development and approval of disease-targeted therapies for Alzheimer's disease in the form of anti-amyloid-beta monoclonal antibodies. However, findings suggest that amelioration of multiple pathological drivers may be required to maximize clinical effect. An increasing body of evidence suggests that tau is a critical player in Alzheimer's disease pathophysiology, contributing significantly to neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. There are now several tau-targeting drugs in clinical development. In this review, we build on research and advancements in …

Cerebellar Deep Brain Stimulation Rescues Purkinje Cell Mitochondrial Density In A Genetic Mouse Model Of Cerebellar Ataxia, Lauren N Miterko-Myers, Lauren E Peacoe, Lita Duraine, Zhongyuan Zuo, Roy V Sillitoe

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) improves motor function in a growing list of movement diseases including Parkinson's disease, dystonia, and tremor. There is evidence that DBS may also be effective in ataxia. It is not known why DBS is effective, but modulating cell activity and conferring neuroprotection are hypothesized to underlie its benefits. Understanding the effects of DBS on neurons is paramount to extending its clinical use in the treatment of various motor and non-motor diseases. Here, we stimulated the cerebellum of Car8 waddles (Car8wdl) mice, given the cerebellum's important role in ataxia pathophysiology. Using transmission electron microscopy, we tested the …