Digital Commons Network^™

Redefining Cardiac Biomarkers In Predicting Mortality Of Inpatients With Covid-19, Juan-Juan Qin, Xu Cheng, Feng Zhou, Fang Lei, Gauri Akolkar, Jingjing Cai, Xiao-Jing Zhang, Alice Blet, Jing Xie, Peng Zhang, Ye-Mao Liu, Zizhen Huang, Ling-Ping Zhao, Lijin Lin, Meng Xia, Ming-Ming Chen, Xiaohui Song, Liangjie Bai, Ze Chen, Xingyuan Zhang, Da Xiang, Jing Chen, Qingbo Xu, Xin-Liang Ma, Rhian M Touyz, Chen Gao, Haitao Wang, Liming Liu, Weiming Mao, Pengcheng Luo, Youqin Yan, Ping Ye, Manhua Chen, Guohua Chen, Lihua Zhu, Zhi-Gang She, Xiaodong Huang, Yufeng Yuan, Bing-Hong Zhang, Yibin Wang, Peter P Liu, Hongliang Li

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

The prognostic power of circulating cardiac biomarkers, their utility, and pattern of release in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients have not been clearly defined. In this multicentered retrospective study, we enrolled 3219 patients with diagnosed COVID-19 admitted to 9 hospitals from December 31, 2019 to March 4, 2020, to estimate the associations and prognostic power of circulating cardiac injury markers with the poor outcomes of COVID-19. In the mixed-effects Cox model, after adjusting for age, sex, and comorbidities, the adjusted hazard ratio of 28-day mortality for hs-cTnI (high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I) was 7.12 ([95% CI, 4.60-11.03] P<0.001), (NT-pro)BNP (N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide or brain natriuretic peptide) was 5.11 ([95% CI, 3.50-7.47] P<0.001), CK (creatine phosphokinase)-MB was 4.86 ([95% CI, 3.33-7.09] P<0.001), MYO (myoglobin) was 4.50 ([95% CI, 3.18-6.36] P<0.001), and CK was 3.56 ([95% CI, 2.53-5.02] P<0.001). The cutoffs of those cardiac biomarkers for effective prognosis of 28-day mortality of COVID-19 were found to be much lower than for regular heart disease at about 19%-50% of the currently recommended thresholds. Patients with elevated cardiac injury markers above the newly established cutoffs were associated with significantly increased risk of COVID-19 death. In conclusion, cardiac biomarker elevations are significantly associated with 28-day death in patients with COVID-19. The prognostic cutoff values of these biomarkers might be much lower than the current reference standards. These findings can assist in better management of COVID-19 patients to improve outcomes. Importantly, the newly established cutoff levels of COVID-19-associated cardiac biomarkers may serve as useful criteria for the future prospective studies and clinical trials.

Barriers To Psychosocial Support And Quality Of Life For Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Survey Study, Rebecca Lawrence, Md, Cuckoo Choudhary, Md

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Background: Psychological comorbidities are common among people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and are associated with worse disease outcomes. Evidence-based psychotherapy is an effective means to increase psychosocial support. This study aimed to identify the barriers to attending psychotherapy.

Methods: This electronic survey study included a demographic, quality of life, and barriers to psychotherapy questionnaire. Quality of life was assessed using the Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (SIBDQ). Barriers were assessed using the Perceived Barriers to Psychological Treatments scale (PBPT). Linear regression was used to identify participant characteristics associated with higher PBPT scores.

Results: One hundred eighty-seven …

Unexpected Brain Imaging Findings In Patients With Seizures, Boulenouar Mesraoua, Matthias Koepp, Bernhard Schuknecht, Dirk Deleu, Hassan J Al Hail, Gayane Melikyan, Lubna Elsheikh, A A Asadi-Pooya

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

New imaging technologies have advanced our ability to localize the epileptogenic zone in patients with epilepsy. As a result of the constant improvement of the image quality, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become the most important ancillary tool in the management of patients with epilepsy. Magnetic resonance imaging for the evaluation of patients with epilepsy should be done using a special temporal lobe protocol and read by physicians experienced with the findings in patients with epilepsy. On the other hand, in the healthy populations, incidental structural brain abnormalities have been reported in 18% of people. Incidental, subtle, or unexpected structural …

Atrial Myocyte Nlrp3/Camkii Nexus Forms A Substrate For Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation, Jordi Heijman, Azinwi Phina Muna, Tina Veleva, Cristina E Molina, Henry Sutanto, Marcel Tekook, Qiongling Wang, Issam H Abu-Taha, Marcel Gorka, Stephan Künzel, Ali El-Armouche, Hermann Reichenspurner, Markus Kamler, Viacheslav Nikolaev, Ursula Ravens, Na Li, Stanley Nattel, Xander H T Wehrens, Dobromir Dobrev

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

RATIONALE: Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is a common and troublesome complication of cardiac surgery. POAF is generally believed to occur when postoperative triggers act on a preexisting vulnerable substrate, but the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms are largely unknown.

OBJECTIVE: To identify cellular POAF mechanisms in right atrial samples from patients without a history of atrial fibrillation undergoing open-heart surgery.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Multicellular action potentials, membrane ion-currents (perforated patch-clamp), or simultaneous membrane-current (ruptured patch-clamp) and [Ca

CONCLUSIONS: Preexisting Ca

Loss Of Speg Inhibitory Phosphorylation Of Ryanodine Receptor Type-2 Promotes Atrial Fibrillation, Hannah M Campbell, Ann P Quick, Issam Abu-Taha, David Y Chiang, Carlos F Kramm, Tarah A Word, Sören Brandenburg, Mohit Hulsurkar, Katherina M Alsina, Hui-Bin Liu, Brian Martin, Dennis Uhlenkamp, Oliver M Moore, Satadru K Lahiri, Eleonora Corradini, Markus Kamler, Albert J R Heck, Stephan E Lehnart, Dobromir Dobrev, Xander H T Wehrens

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Enhanced diastolic calcium (Ca

METHODS: Western blotting was performed with right atrial biopsies from patients with paroxysmal AF. SPEG atrial knockout mice were generated using adeno-associated virus 9. In mice, AF inducibility was determined using intracardiac programmed electric stimulation, and diastolic Ca

RESULTS: Western blotting revealed decreased SPEG protein levels in atrial biopsies from patients with paroxysmal AF in comparison with patients in sinus rhythm. SPEG atrial-specific knockout mice exhibited increased susceptibility to pacing-induced AF by programmed electric stimulation and enhanced Ca

CONCLUSIONS: Unlike other kinases (PKA, CaMKII) that increase RyR2 activity, SPEG phosphorylation reduces RyR2-mediated sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca

Structural Characterization Of A Clinically Described Heparin-Like Substance In Plasma Causing Bleeding, Yanlei Yu, Karen Bruzdoski, Vadim Kostousov, Lisa Hensch, Shiu-Ki Hui, Fakiha Siddiqui, Amber Farooqui, Ahmed Kouta, Fuming Zhang, Jawed Fareed, Jun Teruya, Robert J Linhardt

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Heparin-like substances (HLS) have been described in various clinical situations, including in settings of liver disease associated with infection, transplant, and metastasis. HLS are generally attributed to circulating glycosaminoglycans. Initial results for this patient showed coagulopathy due to liver disease without HLS. Two weeks after liver transplantation, a 10 year-old female with liver failure patient began to bleed from catheter insertion sites, mouth, and nares and HLS was suspected. The patient subsequently died and these clinical samples resulted in the isolation of a single heparan sulfate (HS) present at high concentrations in the plasma. Analysis of this HS showed it …

Self-Regulation And Emotional Reactivity In Infants With Prenatal Exposure To Opioids And Alcohol, Kathryn G Beauchamp, Jean Lowe, Ronald M Schrader, Shikhar Shrestha, Crystal Aragón, Natalia Moss, Julia M Stephen, Ludmila N Bakhireva

Pediatrics Research and Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Infants with prenatal substance exposure are at increased risk for developmental problems, with self-regulatory challenges being some of the most pronounced. The current study aimed to investigate the extent to which prenatal substance exposure (alcohol, opioids) impacts infant self-regulation during a relational stressor and the association between self-regulation and infant affect.

METHODS: Participants were 100 mother-child dyads recruited prenatally (Mean = 23.8 gestational weeks) and completed the Still Face Paradigm (SFP) when infants were 5 to 8 months of age (Mean = 6.9 months) as part of an ENRICH prospective birth cohort study. Based on prospective repeated assessment of …

Empirical Fluoroquinolones Versus Broad-Spectrum Beta-Lactams For Gram-Negative Bloodstream Infections In The Absence Of Antimicrobial Resistance Risk Factors, Majdi N. Al-Hasan, Alyssa P. Gould, Chelsea Drennan, Olivia Hill, Julie Ann Justo, Joseph Kohn, P Brandon Bookstaver

Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES: Increasing antimicrobial resistance rates limit empirical antimicrobial treatment options for Gram-negative bloodstream infections (GN-BSI). However, antimicrobial resistance may be predicted based on patient-specific risk factors using precision medicine concepts. This retrospective, 1:2 matched cohort examined clinical outcomes in hospitalized adults without major risk factors for antimicrobial resistance receiving empirical fluoroquinolones or broad-spectrum beta-lactams (BSBL) for GN-BSI at Prisma Health-Midlands hospitals in Columbia, SC, USA from January 2010 through June 2015. METHODS: Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine early treatment failure at 72-96 h from GN-BSI. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to examine 28-day mortality and hospital length …

Efficacy Of Hydroxychloroquine And Tocilizumab In Patients With Covid-19: Single-Center Retrospective Chart Review., Sohaib Roomi, Waqas Ullah, Faizan Ahmed, Soban Farooq, Usama Sadiq, Asad Chohan, Munnam Jafar, Maryum Saddique, Shristi Khanal, Robert Watson, Margot Boigon

Abington Jefferson Health Papers

BACKGROUND: During the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an unfounded fervor surrounding the use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and tocilizumab (TCZ); however, evidence on their efficacy and safety have been controversial.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the overall clinical effectiveness of HCQ and TCZ in patients with COVID-19. We hypothesize that HCQ and TCZ use in these patients will be associated with a reduction in in-hospital mortality, upgrade to intensive medical care, invasive mechanical ventilation, or acute renal failure needing dialysis.

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed to determine the impact of HCQ …

Reliability And Validity Of The English Version Of The Aospine Prost (Patient Reported Outcome Spine Trauma), Said Sadiqi, Marcel F Dvorak, Alex R. Vaccaro, Gregory D. Schroeder, Marcel W Post, Lorin M Benneker, Frank Kandziora, S Rajasekaran, Klaus J Schnake, Emiliano N Vialle, F Cumhur Oner

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers

STUDY DESIGN: Multicenter validation study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to translate and adapt the AOSpine PROST (Patient Reported Outcome Spine Trauma) into English, and test its psychometric properties among North-American spine trauma patients.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: In the absence of an outcome instrument specifically designed and validated for traumatic spinal column injury patients, it is difficult to measure the effect size of various treatment options. The AOSpine Knowledge Forum Trauma initiated a project and developed the AOSpine PROST consisting of 19 items.

METHODS: Patients were recruited from two level-1 North-American trauma centers. For concurrent validity, next …

The De Winter Ecg Pattern: Distribution And Morphology Of St Depression, Zhong-Qun Zhan, Yang Li, Li-Hong Han, Kjell C Nikus, Yochai Birnbaum, Adrian Baranchuk

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The reported positive predictive value (PPV) for the "de Winter ECG pattern" to predict an acute left anterior descending artery (LAD) lesion is inconsistent. Besides, the morphology of upsloping or nonupsloping ST depression (STD) may have different significance of severity and prognostication.

METHODS: We searched the MEDLINE database using "de Winter" or "junctional ST-depression with tall symmetrical T-waves" or "tall T wave" or "STEMI equivalent" as the item up to March 2020. We compared the ECG differences between the different culprit arteries and various morphological STD.

RESULTS: A total of 70 patients with analyzable ECGs were included. In 60 …

Fat And Fat-Free Mass Index References In Children And Young Adults: Assessments Along Racial And Ethnic Lines, Roman J Shypailo, William W Wong

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background: Fat-free mass index (FFMI) and fat mass index (FMI) are superior to BMI and fat percentage in evaluating nutritional status. However, existing references fail to account for racial/ethnic differences in body composition among children.

Objectives: Our goal was to produce age-based normative references for FFMI and FMI in children for specific racial/ethnic groups.

Methods: Body composition, weight, and height were measured in 1122 normal healthy children aged 2-21 y. Bone mineral content measured by DXA, total body water by deuterium dilution, and total body potassium by whole-body γ counting were combined to calculate fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass …

Covid-19: Postmortem Diagnostic And Biosafety Considerations, J Matthew Lacy, Erin G. Brooks, Joshua Akers, Danielle Armstrong, Lauren Decker, Adam Gonzalez, William Humphrey, Romana Mayer, Matthew Miller, Catherine Perez, Jose Antonio Ruiz Arango, Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran, Wendy Stroh, Suzanne Utley

Pathology Research and Scholarship

As a result of the 2019 novel human coronavirus (COVID-19) global spread, medical examiner/coroner offices will inevitably encounter increased numbers of COVID-19-infected decedents at autopsy. While in some cases a history of fever and/or respiratory distress (eg, cough or shortness of breath) may suggest the diagnosis, epidemiologic studies indicate that the majority of individuals infected with COVID-19 develop mild to no symptoms. Those dying with-but not of-COVID-19 may still be infectious, however. While multiple guidelines have been issued regarding autopsy protocol in cases of suspected COVID-19 deaths, there is some variability in the recommendations. Additionally, limited recommendations to date have …

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Utility In Postpartum Patients, Bindu Akkanti, Ismael A Salas De Armas, Ayaaz K Sachedina, Jennifer M Sunny, Mahmoud Samy Ahmed, Avaleen Kaur, Kha T Dinh, Rahat Hussain, Sachin Kumar, Sriram Nathan, Marwan Jumean, Manish K Patel, Mehmet H Akay, Jayeshkumar A Patel, Barbi Witz, John Zaki, Igor Banjac, Lisa Janowiak, Igor D Gregoric, Biswajit Kar

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Although extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used in many different populations, its use in pregnant or postpartum patients has not been widely studied. This article reviews the ECMO experience in this population at a large urban hospital. Electronic medical records for all pregnant or postpartum patients who required ECMO between 2012 and 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Data on clinical characteristics, outcomes, and complications were gathered. Comparisons between survivors and nonsurvivors were completed. Ten postpartum patients were identified. The patients presented as follows: four with cardiac arrest, one with a massive pulmonary embolism, three with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), …

Masculinized Second-To-Fourth Digit Ratio (2d:4d Ratio) Is Associated With Lower Cortisol Response In Infant Female Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca Mulatta), Elizabeth K. Wood, Parker Jarman, Elysha Cash, Alexander Baxter, John P. Capitanio, James Dee Higley

Faculty Publications

The second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D ratio) is considered a postnatal proxy measure for the degree of prenatal androgen exposure (PAE), which is the primary factor responsible for masculinizing the brain of a developing fetus. Some studies suggest that the organizational effects of PAE may extend to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to stress. This study investigates the relationship between 2D:4D ratio and HPA axis functioning using a rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) model. Subjects were N = 268 (180 females, 88 males) rhesus monkey infants (3–4 months of age). Plasma cortisol concentrations were assayed from two blood samples obtained …

Nine-Year Prospective Efficacy And Safety Of Brain-Responsive Neurostimulation For Focal Epilepsy, Dileep R Nair, Kenneth D Laxer, Peter B Weber, Anthony M Murro, Yong D Park, Gregory L Barkley, Brien J Smith, Ryder P Gwinn, Michael J Doherty, Katherine H Noe, Richard S Zimmerman, Gregory K Bergey, William S Anderson, Christianne Heck, Charles Y Liu, Ricky W Lee, Toni Sadler, Robert B Duckrow, Lawrence J Hirsch, Robert E Wharen, William Tatum, Shraddha Srinivasan, Guy M Mckhann, Mark A Agostini, Andreas V Alexopoulos, Barbara C Jobst, David W Roberts, Vicenta Salanova, Thomas C Witt, Sydney S Cash, Andrew J Cole, Gregory A Worrell, Brian N Lundstrom, Jonathan C Edwards, Jonathan J Halford, David C Spencer, Lia Ernst, Christopher T Skidmore, Michael R Sperling, Ian Miller, Eric B Geller, Michel J Berg, A James Fessler, Paul Rutecki, Alica M Goldman, Eli M Mizrahi, Robert E Gross, Donald C Shields, Theodore H Schwartz, Douglas R Labar, Nathan B Fountain, W Jeff Elias, Piotr W Olejniczak, Nicole R Villemarette-Pittman, Stephan Eisenschenk, Steven N Roper, Jane G Boggs, Tracy A Courtney, Felice T Sun, Cairn G Seale, Kathy L Miller, Tara L Skarpaas, Martha J Morrell, Rns System Ltt Study

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: To prospectively evaluate safety and efficacy of brain-responsive neurostimulation in adults with medically intractable focal onset seizures (FOS) over 9 years.

METHODS: Adults treated with brain-responsive neurostimulation in 2-year feasibility or randomized controlled trials were enrolled in a long-term prospective open label trial (LTT) to assess safety, efficacy, and quality of life (QOL) over an additional 7 years. Safety was assessed as adverse events (AEs), efficacy as median percent change in seizure frequency and responder rate, and QOL with the Quality of Life in Epilepsy (QOLIE-89) inventory.

RESULTS: Of 256 patients treated in the initial trials, 230 participated in …

Aadc Deficiency From Infancy To Adulthood: Symptoms And Developmental Outcome In An International Cohort Of 63 Patients, Toni S Pearson, Laura Gilbert, Kathleen D Meeks, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency (AADCD) is a rare, autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired synthesis of dopamine, noradrenaline, adrenaline and serotonin, leading to a complex syndrome of motor, behavioral, and autonomic symptoms. This retrospective study assessed the symptoms and developmental outcome of a large international cohort of patients with AADCD via physician and/or caregiver responses to a detailed, standardized questionnaire. Sixty-three patients (60% female; ages 6 months-36 years, median 7 years; 58 living) from 23 individual countries participated. Common symptoms at onset (median age 3 months, range 0-12 months) were hypotonia, developmental delay, and/or oculogyric crises. Oculogyric crises …

Complete Chemical Structures Of Human Mitochondrial Trnas, Takeo Suzuki, Yuka Yashiro, Ittoku Kikuchi, Yuma Ishigami, Hironori Saito, Ikuya Matsuzawa, Shunpei Okada, Mari Mito, Shintaro Iwasaki, Ding Ma, Xuewei Zhao, Kana Asano, Huan Lin, Yohei Kirino, Yuriko Sakaguchi, Tsutomu Suzuki

Computational Medicine Center Faculty Papers

Mitochondria generate most cellular energy via oxidative phosphorylation. Twenty-two species of mitochondrial (mt-)tRNAs encoded in mtDNA translate essential subunits of the respiratory chain complexes. mt-tRNAs contain post-transcriptional modifications introduced by nuclear-encoded tRNA-modifying enzymes. They are required for deciphering genetic code accurately, as well as stabilizing tRNA. Loss of tRNA modifications frequently results in severe pathological consequences. Here, we perform a comprehensive analysis of post-transcriptional modifications of all human mt-tRNAs, including 14 previously-uncharacterized species. In total, we find 18 kinds of RNA modifications at 137 positions (8.7% in 1575 nucleobases) in 22 species of human mt-tRNAs. An up-to-date list of 34 …

Regional Correlation Of Biochemical Measures Of Amyloid And Tau Phosphorylation In The Brain, Kanta Horie, Nicolas R Barthélemy, Nipun Mallipeddi, Yan Li, Erin E Franklin, Richard J Perrin, Randall J Bateman, Chihiro Sato

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathologic change is characterized by amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) that consist of aggregated amyloid beta (Abeta) and hyperphosphorylated tau proteins (p-tau), respectively. Although the global relationship between Abeta and p-tau has been studied for decades, it is still unclear whether a regional correlation exists between Abeta and p-tau in the human brain. Recent studies in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) have suggested that tau phosphorylation at specific sites such as T217 is modified at an early stage of AD when amyloid plaques become detectable. We applied biochemical and mass spectrometry methods in human brain samples with and …

Law School News: Judge Rogeriee Thompson, Legal Pioneer Dorothy Crockett Among Influential "Women Of The Century" 08/19/2020, Eryn Dion, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Low-Dose Versus High-Dose Carfilzomib With Dexamethasone (S1304) In Patients With Relapsed-Refractory Multiple Myeloma, Sikander Ailawadhi, Rachael Sexton, Suzanne Lentzsch, Muneer H Abidi, Peter M Voorhees, Adam D Cohen, Eric M Rohren, Stephen Heitner, Kevin Kelly, Niklas J Mackler, David M Baer, Antje Hoering, Brian Durie, Robert Z Orlowski

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

PURPOSE: Treatment of multiple myeloma has evolved tremendously and optimal utilization of available therapies will ensure maximal patient benefits.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: We report the Southwest Oncology Group randomized phase II trial (S1304) comparing twice weekly low-dose (27 mg/m

RESULTS: Among 143 enrolled patients, of whom 121 were eligible and analyzable, the overall response rate was 42.8%, with no significant difference between the arms (

CONCLUSIONS: This randomized trial did not support a benefit of fixed duration, twice weekly 56 mg/m

Prevalence Of Helicobacter Pylori Positive Non-Cardia Gastric Adenocarcinoma Is Low And Decreasing In A Us Population, Theresa H Nguyen, Niharika Mallepally, Tariq Hammad, Yan Liu, Aaron P Thrift, Hashem B El-Serag, Mimi C Tan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori infection is an established causal factor for non-cardia gastric cancer. H. pylori negative gastric cancer prevalence among US patients is unclear.

METHODS: This retrospective cohort study examined H. pylori prevalence among consecutive patients with incident non-cardia gastric adenocarcinoma at the Houston VA Hospital (11/2007-10/2018). H. pylori positivity was defined by H. pylori on histopathology, positive antibody serology, stool antigen, or urea breath testing. We examined for trends in H. pylori negative gastric cancer based on year of diagnosis. Associations between histopathologic and cancer-related outcomes with H. pylori positivity were determined using regression models.

RESULTS: Of 91 patients …

Post-Registration Experience Of Nivolumab In Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: An International Study, Petros Fessas, Ahmed Kaseb, Yinghong Wang, Anwaar Saeed, David Szafron, Tomi Jun, Sirish Dharmapuri, Abdul Rafeh Naqash, Mahvish Muzaffar, Musharraf Navaid, Uqba Khan, Chiehju Lee, Anushi Bulumulle, Bo Yu, Sonal Paul, Neil Nimkar, Dominik Bettinger, Francesca Benevento, Hannah Hildebrand, Tiziana Pressiani, Yehia I Abugabal, Nicola Personeni, Yi-Hsiang Huang, Lorenza Rimassa, Celina Ang, Thomas Marron, David J Pinato

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Nivolumab is Food and Drug Administration approved in sorafenib-experienced, advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Post-registration data of treatment in a real-world setting is lacking.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed an international, multicenter observational study to confirm safety and efficacy of nivolumab in 233 patients treated outside clinical trials from eight centers in North America, Europe and Asia.

RESULTS: Patients received nivolumab for Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage C (n=191, 92.0%) and Child-Pugh (CP) A (n=158, 67.8%) or B (n=75, 32.2%) HCC as first (n=85, 36.5%) or second to fourth systemic therapy line …

Platypnea-Orthodeoxia Syndrome Caused By An Intracardiac Shunt, Sanket P Borgaonkar, Wilson W Lam, Mehdi Razavi, Dhaval R Parekh

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome, a rare condition characterized by posture-related dyspnea, is usually caused by an intracardiac shunt, hepatopulmonary syndrome, or shunting resulting from severe pulmonary disease. We report the case of a 33-year-old woman who presented with increasing dyspnea and oxygen desaturation when she sat up or arose. Our diagnosis was platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome. A lead of a previously implanted pacemaker exacerbated a severe tricuspid regurgitant jet that was directed toward the patient's intra-atrial septum. Percutaneous closure of a small secundum atrial septal defect eliminated right-to-left shunting and substantially improved the patient's functional status. In addition to this case, we discuss this …

Profound And Redundant Functions Of Arcuate Neurons In Obesity Development, Canjun Zhu, Zhiying Jiang, Yuanzhong Xu, Zhao-Lin Cai, Qingyan Jiang, Yong Xu, Mingshan Xue, Benjamin R Arenkiel, Qi Wu, Gang Shu, Qingchun Tong

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

The current obesity epidemic faces a lack of mechanistic insights. It is known that the acute activity changes of a growing number of brain neurons rapidly alter feeding behaviour; however, how these changes translate to obesity development and the fundamental mechanism underlying brain neurons in controlling body weight remain elusive. Here, we show that chronic activation of hypothalamic arcuate GABAergic (GABA

Longitudinal Effects Of A Novel Advanced Pneumatic Compression Device On Patient-Reported Outcomes In The Management Of Cancer-Related Head And Neck Lymphedema: A Preliminary Report, Carolina Gutiérrez, Harvey N Mayrovitz, Syed Hassan Shiraz Naqvi, Ron J Karni

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors experience head and neck lymphedema (HNL), which requires treatment to prevent morbidity. We explore the self-reported outcomes and satisfaction of patients with HNC receiving treatment for HNL with an advanced pneumatic compression device (APCD).

METHODS: HNC survivors (n = 205) prescribed with an at-home Flexitouch head and neck APCD completed pretreatment and posttreatment self-reported assessments addressing efficacy, function, and symptoms. Participant average age was 60 years with 74% male. Pre-post responses for ≥25 days of use were assessed via the non-parametric Wilcoxon Signed Rank test.

RESULTS: Analysis revealed statistically significant improvement in all …

Symmetric Inverse Consistent Nonlinear Registration Driven By Mutual Information, Wen Fury, Keun Woo Park, Zhuhao Wu, Eunhee Kim, Moon-Sook Woo, Yu Bai, Lynn E Macdonald, Susan D Croll, Sunghee Cho

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Stroke is a major cause of chronic neurological disability. There is considerable interest in understanding how acute transcriptome changes evolve into subacute and chronic patterns that facilitate or limit spontaneous recovery. Here we mapped longitudinal changes in gene expression at multiple time points after stroke in mice out to 6 months.

METHODS: Adult C57BL/6 mice were subjected to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. Longitudinal transcriptome levels were measured at 10 time points after stroke from acute to recovery phases of ischemic stroke. Localization and the number of mononuclear phagocytes were determined in the postischemic brain. Whole-mount brain …

Modulation Of Hedgehog Signaling By Kappa Opioids To Attenuate Osteoarthritis, Alexander E Weber, Omid Jalali, Sean Limfat, Ruzanna Shkhyan, Robert Van Der Horst, Siyoung Lee, Yucheng Lin, Liangliang Li, Erik N Mayer, Liming Wang, Nancy Q Liu, Frank A Petrigliano, Jay R Lieberman, Denis Evseenko

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: Inhibition of hedgehog (HH) signaling prevents cartilage degeneration and promotes repair in animal models of osteoarthritis (OA). This study, undertaken in OA models and in human OA articular cartilage, was designed to explore whether kappa opioid receptor (KOR) modulation via the inhibition of HH signaling may have therapeutic potential for achieving disease-modifying activity in OA.

METHODS: Primary human articular cartilage and synovial tissue samples from patients with knee OA undergoing total joint replacement and from healthy human subjects were obtained from the National Disease Research Interchange. For in vivo animal studies, a partial medial meniscectomy (PMM) model of knee …

Association Of Tph1 And Serotonin Transporter Genotypes With Treatment Response For Suicidal Ideation: A Preliminary Study, David A Nielsen, Huiqiong Deng, Michelle A Patriquin, Mark J Harding, John Oldham, Ramiro Salas, J Christopher Fowler, B Christopher Frueh

Staff and Researcher Publications

Variants in three genes coding for components of the serotonergic system, the tryptophan hydroxylase 1 (TPH1) rs1799913, serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) 5-HTTLPR, and serotonin receptor 2A (HTR2A) rs6311, were evaluated for association with suicidal ideation (SI) and with recovery from SI in a psychiatric inpatient population. Five hundred and eighty-two adult inpatients, including 390 patients who had SI, collected from December 2012 to April 2016 were assessed. SI recovery, calculated as change in SI between the first two-week period after admission and weeks 5 and 6, was appraised for association with the three variants. In this preliminary study, both TPH1 and …

Mechanical Prosthetic Valve Sparing For Aortic Root Abscess Complicated By Infective Endocarditis, Ahmed Ahmed, Ayman Ammar, Yasser Elnahas, Mohammed Abd Al Jawad

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Aortic root abscess complicated by infective endocarditis of a mechanical prosthetic valve is associated with morbidity and death. We retrospectively report our experience with a valve-sparing technique for managing this condition.

From October 2014 through November 2017, 41 patients at our center underwent surgery for aortic root abscess complicated by infective endocarditis of a mechanical prosthetic valve. Twenty (48.7%) met prespecified criteria for use of our valve-sparing technique after careful assessment of the mechanical valve and surrounding tissues. Our technique involved draining the abscess, aggressively débriding all infected and necrotic tissues, and then repairing the resulting defect by suturing a …