Digital Commons Network^™

Clinical Exome Sequencing Uncovers A High Frequency Of Mendelian Disorders In Infants With Stroke: A Retrospective Analysis, Runjun D Kumar, Linyan Meng, Pengfei Liu, Christina Y Miyake, Kim C Worley, Weimin Bi, Seema R Lalani

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background:

Stroke causes significant disability and is a common cause of death worldwide. Previous studies have estimated that 1-5% of stroke is attributable to monogenic etiologies. We set out to assess the utility of clinical exome sequencing (ES) in the evaluation of stroke.

Methods:

We retrospectively analyzed 124 individuals who received ES at the Baylor Genetics reference lab between 2012 and 2021 who had stroke as a major part of their reported phenotype.

Results:

Ages ranged from 10 days to 69 years. 8.9% of the cohort received a diagnosis, including 25% of infants less than 1 year old; an additional …

Cardiac Size, Shape, And Ventricular Contractility In Fetuses At Sea Level With An Estimated Weight Less-Than 10th Centile, Wesley Lee, Lauren M Mack, Roxanna Miremadi, Betul Yilmaz Furtun, Haleh Sangi-Haghpeykar, Greggory R Devore

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: To investigate cardiac size, shape, and ventricular contractility in fetuses with estimated fetal weight (EFW)(Houston).

METHODS: A prospective ultrasound study examined 37 fetuses with EFWsize, shape, and contractility of both ventricles were analyzed with speckle tracking methods. Z scores were calculated using the mean ± standard deviation (SD) derived from normal controls. Measurements were abnormal if their Z score values were+1.65. The proportion of small fetuses with abnormal parameters was compared to normal reference ranges. Results were compared to a similar published study of small fetuses at higher altitude in Denver.

RESULTS: About one-third of Houston fetuses with EFW(RV) …

The Role Of Dynamic Dna Methylation In Liver Transplant Rejection In Children., Mylarappa Ningappa, Xiaojian Shao, Chethan Ashokkumar, Qingyong Xu, Adriana Zeevi, Elin Grundberg, Tomi Pastinen, Rakesh Sindhi

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Transcriptional regulation of liver transplant (LT) rejection may reveal novel predictive and therapeutic targets. The purpose of this article is to test the role of differential DNA methylation in children with biopsy-proven acute cellular rejection after LT.

Methods: Paired peripheral blood DNA samples were obtained before and after LT from 17 children, including 4 rejectors (Rs) and 13 nonrejectors (NRs), and assayed with MethylC capture sequencing approach covering 5 million CpGs in immune-cell-specific regulatory elements. Differentially methylated CpGs (DMCs) were identified using generalized linear regression models adjusting for sex and age and merged into differentially methylated regions (DMRs) comprising 3 …

Investigating Health Disparities Associated With Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome In Children After Sars-Cov-2 Infection., Laura D. Zambrano, Kathleen N. Ly, Ruth Link-Gelles, Margaret M. Newhams, Manzilat Akande, Michael J. Wu, Leora R. Feldstein, Keiko M. Tarquinio, Leila C. Sahni, Becky J. Riggs, Aalok R. Singh, Julie C. Fitzgerald, Jennifer E. Schuster, John S. Giuliano, Janet A. Englund, Janet R. Hume, Mark W. Hall, Christina M. Osborne, Sule Doymaz, Courtney M. Rowan, Christopher J. Babbitt, Katharine N. Clouser, Steven M. Horwitz, Janet Chou, Manish M. Patel, Charlotte Hobbs, Adrienne G. Randolph, Angela P. Campbell, Overcoming Covid-19 Investigators

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a postinfectious severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-related complication that has disproportionately affected racial/ethnic minority children. We conducted a pilot study to investigate risk factors for MIS-C aiming to understand MIS-C disparities.

METHODS: This case-control study included MIS-C cases and SARS-CoV-2-positive outpatient controls less than 18 years old frequency-matched 4:1 to cases by age group and site. Patients hospitalized with MIS-C were admitted between March 16 and October 2, 2020, across 17 pediatric hospitals. We evaluated race, ethnicity, social vulnerability index (SVI), insurance status, weight-for-age and underlying medical conditions as risk …

The Roles Of Sleep And Eating Patterns In Adiposity Gain Among Preschool-Aged Children, Amy R Goetz, Ishita Jindal, Jennette P Moreno, Maurice R Puyau, Anne L Adolph, Salma Musaad, Nancy F Butte, Fida Bacha

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Short sleep durations are related to risks for obesity in preschool children. However, the underlying mechanism or mechanisms are not clear.

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the relationships between sleep characteristics and body composition, energetics, and weight-regulating behaviors in preschool-aged children, as well as the longitudinal associations between children's sleep and eating patterns and body composition at a 1-year follow-up.

METHODS: Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of 118 children aged 3-5 years. Sleep (duration, midpoint, regularity) and physical activity (PA) were measured by accelerometry over 6 consecutive days; total energy expenditure (TEE) was measured using the doubly labeled water …

Association Of Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Analogue Use With Subsequent Use Of Gender-Affirming Hormones Among Transgender Adolescents., Andrea L. Nos, David A. Klein, Terry A. Adirim, Natasha A. Schvey, Elizabeth Hisle-Gorman, Apryl Susi, Christina M. Roberts

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Importance: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa) use during puberty improves mental health among transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) adolescents. In previous studies, most (96.5%-98.1%) TGD adolescents who started GnRHa subsequently started gender-affirming hormones (GAH), raising concerns that GnRHa use promotes later use of GAH.

Objective: To determine whether GnRHa use among TGD adolescents is associated with increased subsequent GAH use.

Design, Setting, and Participants: This is a retrospective cohort study of administrative records collected between 2009 and 2018. The current analysis was completed in August 2022. Participants were enrolled in the US Military Healthcare System (MHS) with an initial TGD-related encounter occurring …

Current Practices In Delaying Testing For Ige-Mediated Food Allergy After Anaphylaxis, Jordan Pitt, Cody Shopper, Paul Dowling, Christopher Miller, Ashley K. Sherman, Salman Aljubran

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Background

Objective

Methods

Resource Utilization And Multidisciplinary Care Needs For Patients With Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome., Jordan T. Jones, William R. Black, Wendy Cogan, Elisabeth Callen

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) represents a family of heritable connective tissue disorders with overlapping phenotypic features, frequently including joint hypermobility, tissue fragility, and skin hyperextensibility. Comorbid symptoms are common for patients with EDS and include multiple body systems marked by neurologic, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal issues, chronic pain, headaches, and anxiety and depression. The many comorbidities lead to high disease burden, which requires greater healthcare utilization.

METHODS: This survey of families examines healthcare utilization, of adults and minors, through evaluation of subspecialty care appointments across many healthcare systems in one region.

RESULTS: There were 155 adults and 83 minors with a …

Development And Validation Of A Goal Attainment Scale For Families Affected By Maternal Substance Use., Danielle F. Chiang, Emily Siedlik, Oneta Templeton

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

The Team for Infants Exposed to Substance use (TIES) Program is a longstanding home-based family support program that provides a multidisciplinary, community-facing model to address the complex needs of families with young children affected by maternal substance use. The model required a comprehensive assessment tool to guide creation of individualized family goals with steps to achievement and measurement of progress on those goals. This article describes the development of a goal attainment scale and the analysis conducted to validate the scale for the service population. TIES model developers and community partners developed the goal attainment scale to assess outcomes in …

Rare Variants In Genes Encoding Subunits Of The Epithelial Na+ Channel Are Associated With Blood Pressure And Kidney Function, Brandon M Blobner, Annet Kirabo, Ossama B Kashlan, Shaohu Sheng, Donna K Arnett, Lewis C Becker, Eric Boerwinkle, Jenna C Carlson, Yan Gao, Richard A Gibbs, Jiang He, Marguerite R Irvin, Sharon L R Kardia, Tanika N Kelly, Charles Kooperberg, Stephen T Mcgarvey, Vipin K Menon, May E Montasser, Take Naseri, Susan Redline, Alexander P Reiner, Muagututi'a S Reupena, Jennifer A Smith, Xiao Sun, Dhananjay Vaidya, Karine A Viaud-Martinez, Daniel E Weeks, Lisa R Yanek, Xiaofeng Zhu, Ryan L Minster, Thomas R Kleyman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: The epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) is intrinsically linked to fluid volume homeostasis and blood pressure. Specific rare mutations in SCNN1A, SCNN1B, and SCNN1G, genes encoding the α, β, and γ subunits of ENaC, respectively, are associated with extreme blood pressure phenotypes. No associations between blood pressure and SCNN1D, which encodes the δ subunit of ENaC, have been reported. A small number of sequence variants in ENaC subunits have been reported to affect functional transport in vitro or blood pressure. The effects of the vast majority of rare and low-frequency ENaC variants on blood pressure are …

Temporal Trends In Lipoprotein(A) Concentrations: The Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities Study, Matthew R Deshotels, Caroline Sun, Vijay Nambi, Salim S Virani, Kunihiro Matsushita, Bing Yu, Christie M Ballantyne, Ron C Hoogeveen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Plasma lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]) concentrations are primarily determined by genetic factors and are believed to remain stable throughout life. However, data are scarce on longitudinal trends in Lp(a) concentrations over time. Therefore, it is unclear whether measurement of Lp(a) once in a person's life is sufficient for cardiovascular risk assessment in all adults.

Methods and Results: Lp(a) concentrations, specifically apolipoprotein(a) concentrations, were measured at visits 4 and 5, ≈15 years apart, in 4734 adult participants of the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) study (mean age at visits 4 and 5, 60.7±5.1 and 75.5±5.2 years, respectively). Participants were categorized by baseline …

Salpingitis In An Adolescent Female With Constipation And Abdominal Pain, Gal Barak, Matthew R Carroll, Andrea Dean

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Abdominal pain is one of the most common presenting complaints in the emergency room for pediatric patients. While constipation is one of the most common causes for abdominal pain in pediatrics, serious intra-abdominal pathology must always be excluded. We report a pre-coital post-menarchal adolescent female who presented with severe abdominal pain and constipation and had radiographic findings of salpingitis. It was suspected that uterine and adnexal changes seen on imaging resulted from the fecal mass compressing the genitourinary tract leading to fluid collection manifesting as radiographic evidence of salpingitis. This mechanism is similar to bladder outlet obstruction resulting from compression …

Letter To The Editor, Magdalene M Assimon, Patrick H Pun, Lily Wang, Sana M Al-Khatib, M Alan Brookhart, David J Weber, Wolfgang C Winkelmayer, Jennifer E Flythe

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Looking On The Horizon; Potential And Unique Approaches To Developing Radiation Countermeasures For Deep Space Travel, Rihana S Bokhari, Afshin Beheshti, Sarah E Blutt, Dawn E Bowles, David Brenner, Robert Britton, Lawrence Bronk, Xu Cao, Anushree Chatterjee, Delisa E Clay, Colleen Courtney, Donald T Fox, M Waleed Gaber, Sharon Gerecht, Peter Grabham, David Grosshans, Fada Guan, Erin A Jezuit, David G Kirsch, Zhandong Liu, Mirjana Maletic-Savatic, Kyle M Miller, Ruth A Montague, Prashant Nagpal, Sivan Osenberg, Luke Parkitny, Niles A Pierce, Christopher Porada, Susan M Rosenberg, Paul Sargunas, Sadhana Sharma, Jamie Spangler, Daniel Naveed Tavakol, Dilip Thomas, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, Chunbo Wang, Luke Whitcomb, Damian W Young, Dorit Donoviel

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Future lunar missions and beyond will require new and innovative approaches to radiation countermeasures. The Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) is focused on identifying and supporting unique approaches to reduce risks to human health and performance on future missions beyond low Earth orbit. This paper will describe three funded and complementary avenues for reducing the risk to humans from radiation exposure experienced in deep space. The first focus is on identifying new therapeutic targets to reduce the damaging effects of radiation by focusing on high throughput genetic screens in accessible, sometimes called lower, organism models. The second focus …

Predicting The Disease Severity In Male Individuals With Ornithine Transcarbamylase Deficiency, Svenja Scharre, Roland Posset, Sven F Garbade, Florian Gleich, Marie J Seidl, Ann-Catrin Druck, Jürgen G Okun, Andrea L Gropman, Sandesh C S Nagamani, Georg F Hoffmann, Stefan Kölker, Matthias Zielonka, Urea Cycle Disorders Consortium (Ucdc) And The European Registry And Network For Intoxication Type Metabolic Diseases (E-Imd) Consortia Study Group

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTC-D) is an X-linked metabolic disease and the most common urea cycle disorder. Due to high phenotypic heterogeneity, ranging from lethal neonatal hyperammonemic events to moderate symptoms and even asymptomatic individuals, the prediction of the disease course at an early disease stage is very important to individually adjust therapies such as medical treatment or liver transplantation. In this translational study, we developed a severity-adjusted classification system based on in vitro residual enzymatic OTC activity.

Methods: Applying a cell-based expression system, residual enzymatic OTC activities of 71 pathogenic OTC variants were spectrophotometrically determined and subsequently correlated with …

Integration Of A Simulation Curriculum Across Semesters In An Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program, Katie L. Mcdermott, Jennifer K. Pfister, Jill C. Kuester, Leslie A. Talbert, Christine A. Schindler

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Introduction

Simulation is a common strategy for health care education. Research regarding simulation for nurse practitioner education is sparse. This paper describes the integration of a nine simulation session curriculum into a nurse practitioner program, including motivating factors, process description, and lessons learned.

Results

Students report high satisfaction and improved perception of confidence and competence of knowledge, skills, and performance.

Discussion

Integrated learning experiences and outcomes that span an educational program are needed in the transition to competency-based education. This description serves as a guide for other programs seeking to incorporate simulation-based education.

Running As A Way Fat Women Re-Story Their Bodies And Construct A Runner Identity In A North American Sociocultural Context, Jennifer M. Ohlendorf, Lisa Anders

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Aim

This research sought to identify the process by which women who identify as fat or as not having a typical athletic body construct an athletic identity and persist in their running and other athletic endeavors despite body size-related barriers.

Methods

From an online recruitment effort, 19 North American women runners in larger bodies completed interviews in which they told the story of how they had become runners. A narrative analysis with a feminist, constructivist approach was conducted to identify story types.

Results

Four narrative types were identified: reclaiming the body, reclaiming health, space-making, and future-imagining. Through finding a size- …

Atrial Fibrillation With Controlled Ventricular Rate And New-Onset Heart Failure: Atypical Presentation, Worse Prognosis, Vinay Mehta, Alexander Albers, Maharaj Singh, Timothy E. Paterick

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Background: There is deficient literature comparing patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who present with rapid ventricular rate (RVR) versus controlled ventricular rate (CVR) associated with new-onset heart failure.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate patients with new-onset cardiomyopathy (CM) and a concomitant or preceding history of AF and compare patients with CVR (≤100 bpm) to those with RVR (>100 bpm).

Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed CM, defined as a left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40%, were identified from our healthcare database and divided into two groups: those with a ventricular rate ≤100 bpm (CVR-CM, n=79) and those with a ventricular …

Joyce Roberts: Midwifery Scholar, Educator, Legend, And Friend, Mary Ellen Stanton, Lisa Hanson, Carrie Klima, Lisa Kane Low

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Dilated Cardiomyopathy With Multiple Left Ventricular Thrombi And Embolic Stroke After Mild Covid-19, Radhapriya Yalamanchi, Madhan Kumar Murugan, Krishnaswamy Chandrasekharan, Refai Showkathali

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

COVID-19 is a novel disease with multisystem involvement, but most patients have pulmonary and cardiovascular involvement in the acute stages. The cardiovascular impact of acute COVID-19 is well recognized and ranges from myocarditis, arrhythmias, and thrombotic occlusion of coronary arteries to spontaneous coronary artery dissection and microthrombi in small coronary vessels on autopsy. We report a case of a 37-year-old man who recovered from mild COVID-19 only to present a few weeks later with devastating cardiovascular involvement that included severe left ventricular impairment resulting from nonischemic cardiomyopathy, multiple left ventricular thrombi, and embolic stroke.

Effects Of Escalating Temporary Mechanical Circulatory Support In Patients With Worsening Cardiogenic Shock, Iyad N Isseh, Sarah Gorgis, Carina Dagher, Shivani Sharma, Mir B Basir, Sachin Parikh

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

BACKGROUND: Cardiogenic shock-related mortality is substantial, and temporary mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices are frequently used. The authors aimed to describe patient characteristics and outcomes in patients with worsening cardiogenic shock requiring escalation of temporary MCS devices.

METHODS: Worsening cardiogenic shock was defined as persistent hypotension, increasing doses of vasopressors/inotropes, worsening hypoperfusion, or worsening invasive hemo-dynamics. Escalation of temporary MCS devices was defined as adding or exchanging an existing MCS device. Variables were evaluated by logistic regression models and receiver operating characteristic curves.

RESULTS: From July 1, 2016, to July 1, 2018, a total of 81 consecutive patients experienced worsening …

Usefulness Of A Perfusion Balloon For Intraprocedural Stent Thrombosis In A Patient With St-Segment Elevated Myocardial Infarction Complicated With Cardiogenic Shock, Taro Takeyama, Yukiko Mizutani, Tetsuya Ishikawa, Kota Yamada, Hidehiko Nakamura, Shiro Nakahara, Isao Taguchi

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Intraprocedural stent thrombosis is a rare but serious complication of reperfusion therapy for acute coronary syndrome. There is currently no consensus on the intraprocedural management of intraprocedural stent thrombosis. It is difficult to attain thrombolysis in myocardial infarction flow grade 3, particularly in cases of cardiogenic shock. A 49-year-old man who presented with anterior ST-segment elevated acute myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock underwent emergency percutaneous coronary intervention to diffuse proximal lesions in the left anterior descending artery under the support of intra-aortic balloon pumping. Intraprocedural stent thrombosis occurred following the postdilations with a 3.5- × 38-mm everolimus-eluting stent. Despite administration …

Image Analysis Reveals Differences In Tumor Multinucleations In Black And White Patients With Human Papillomavirus-Associated Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Can F Koyuncu, Reetoja Nag, Cheng Lu, Germán Corredor, Vidya S Viswanathan, Vlad C Sandulache, Pingfu Fu, Kailin Yang, Quintin Pan, Zelin Zhang, Jun Xu, Deborah J Chute, Wade L Thorstad, Farhoud Faraji, Justin A Bishop, Mitra Mehrad, Patricia D Castro, Andrew G Sikora, Lester D R Thompson, Rebecca D Chernock, Krystle A Lang Kuhs, Jay K Wasman, Jingqin R Luo, David J Adelstein, Shlomo A Koyfman, James S Lewis, Anant Madabhushi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Understanding biological differences between different racial groups of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) patients, who have differences in terms of incidence, survival, and tumor morphology, can facilitate accurate prognostic biomarkers, which can help develop personalized treatment strategies.

METHODS: This study evaluated whether there were morphologic differences between HPV-associated tumors from Black and White patients in terms of multinucleation index (MuNI), an image analysis-derived metric that measures density of multinucleated tumor cells within epithelial regions on hematoxylin-eosin images and previously has been prognostic in HPV-associated OPSCC patients. In this study, the authors specifically evaluated whether the same …

Structural Brain Alterations Associated With Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviors In Young People: Results From 21 International Studies From The Enigma Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviours Consortium, Laura S Van Velzen, Maria R Dauvermann, Lejla Colic, Luca M Villa, Hannah S Savage, Yara J Toenders, Alyssa H Zhu, Joanna K Bright, Adrián I Campos, Lauren E Salminen, Sonia Ambrogi, Rosa Ayesa-Arriola, Nerisa Banaj, Zeynep Başgöze, Jochen Bauer, Karina Blair, Robert James Blair, Katharina Brosch, Yuqi Cheng, Romain Colle, Colm G Connolly, Emmanuelle Corruble, Baptiste Couvy-Duchesne, Benedicto Crespo-Facorro, Kathryn R Cullen, Udo Dannlowski, Christopher G Davey, Katharina Dohm, Janice M Fullerton, Ali Saffet Gonul, Ian H Gotlib, Dominik Grotegerd, Tim Hahn, Ben J Harrison, Mengxin He, Ian B Hickie, Tiffany C Ho, Frank Iorfino, Andreas Jansen, Fabrice Jollant, Tilo Kircher, Bonnie Klimes-Dougan, Melissa Klug, Elisabeth J Leehr, Elizabeth T C Lippard, Katie A Mclaughlin, Susanne Meinert, Adam Bryant Miller, Philip B Mitchell, Benson Mwangi, Igor Nenadić, Amar Ojha, Bronwyn J Overs, Julia-Katharina Pfarr, Fabrizio Piras, Kai G Ringwald, Gloria Roberts, Georg Romer, Marsal Sanches, Margaret A Sheridan, Jair C Soares, Gianfranco Spalletta, Frederike Stein, Giana I Teresi, Diana Tordesillas-Gutiérrez, Aslihan Uyar-Demir, Nic J A Van Der Wee, Steven J Van Der Werff, Robert R J M Vermeiren, Alexandra Winter, Mon-Ju Wu, Tony T Yang, Paul M Thompson, Miguel E Rentería, Neda Jahanshad, Hilary P Blumberg, Anne-Laura Van Harmelen, Enigma Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviours Consortium, Lianne Schmaal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Identifying brain alterations associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) in young people is critical to understanding their development and improving early intervention and prevention. The ENIGMA Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviours (ENIGMA-STB) consortium analyzed neuroimaging data harmonized across sites to examine brain morphology associated with STBs in youth. We performed analyses in three separate stages, in samples ranging from most to least homogeneous in terms of suicide assessment instrument and mental disorder. First, in a sample of 577 young people with mood disorders, in which STBs were assessed with the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). Second, in a sample …

Genome-Wide Meta-Analyses Reveal Novel Loci For Verbal Short-Term Memory And Learning, Jari Lahti, Samuli Tuominen, Qiong Yang, Giulio Pergola, Shahzad Ahmad, Najaf Amin, Nicola J Armstrong, Alexa Beiser, Katharina Bey, Joshua C Bis, Eric Boerwinkle, Jan Bressler, Archie Campbell, Harry Campbell, Qiang Chen, Janie Corley, Simon R Cox, Gail Davies, Philip L De Jager, Eske M Derks, Jessica D Faul, Annette L Fitzpatrick, Alison E Fohner, Ian Ford, Myriam Fornage, Zachary Gerring, Hans J Grabe, Francine Grodstein, Vilmundur Gudnason, Eleanor Simonsick, Elizabeth G Holliday, Peter K Joshi, Eero Kajantie, Jaakko Kaprio, Pauliina Karell, Luca Kleineidam, Maria J Knol, Nicole A Kochan, John B Kwok, Markus Leber, Max Lam, Teresa Lee, Shuo Li, Anu Loukola, Tobias Luck, Riccardo E Marioni, Karen A Mather, Sarah Medland, Saira S Mirza, Mike A Nalls, Kwangsik Nho, Adrienne O'Donnell, Christopher Oldmeadow, Jodie Painter, Alison Pattie, Simone Reppermund, Shannon L Risacher, Richard J Rose, Vijay Sadashivaiah, Markus Scholz, Claudia L Satizabal, Peter W Schofield, Katharina E Schraut, Rodney J Scott, Jeannette Simino, Albert V Smith, Jennifer A Smith, David J Stott, Ida Surakka, Alexander Teumer, Anbupalam Thalamuthu, Stella Trompet, Stephen T Turner, Sven J Van Der Lee, Arno Villringer, Uwe Völker, Robert S Wilson, Katharina Wittfeld, Eero Vuoksimaa, Rui Xia, Kristine Yaffe, Lei Yu, Habil Zare, Wei Zhao, David Ames, John Attia, David A Bennett, Henry Brodaty, Daniel I Chasman, Aaron L Goldman, Caroline Hayward, M Arfan Ikram, J Wouter Jukema, Sharon L R Kardia, Todd Lencz, Markus Loeffler, Venkata S Mattay, Aarno Palotie, Bruce M Psaty, Alfredo Ramirez, Paul M Ridker, Steffi G Riedel-Heller, Perminder S Sachdev, Andrew J Saykin, Martin Scherer, Peter R Schofield, Stephen Sidney, John M Starr, Julian Trollor, William Ulrich, Michael Wagner, David R Weir, James F Wilson, Margaret J Wright, Daniel R Weinberger, Stephanie Debette, Johan G Eriksson, Thomas H Mosley, Lenore J Launer, Cornelia M Van Duijn, Ian J Deary, Sudha Seshadri, Katri Räikkönen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Understanding the genomic basis of memory processes may help in combating neurodegenerative disorders. Hence, we examined the associations of common genetic variants with verbal short-term memory and verbal learning in adults without dementia or stroke (N = 53,637). We identified novel loci in the intronic region of CDH18, and at 13q21 and 3p21.1, as well as an expected signal in the APOE/APOC1/TOMM40 region. These results replicated in an independent sample. Functional and bioinformatic analyses supported many of these loci and further implicated POC1. We showed that polygenic score for verbal learning associated with brain activation in right parieto-occipital region during …

Longitudinal Associations Of Risk Factors And Hepatocellular Carcinoma In Patients With Cured Hepatitis C Virus Infection, Jennifer R Kramer, Yumei Cao, Liang Li, Donna Smith, Jagpreet Chhatwal, Hashem B El-Serag, Fasiha Kanwal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: There are limited data on the effect and evolution of risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with virologically cured hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with HCV who achieved sustained virological response with direct-acting antivirals from 130 Veterans Administration hospitals during 2014-2018, followed through 2021. Cox proportional hazards models were constructed at 3 landmark times (baseline and 12 and 24 months after sustained virological response) to examine associations between demographic, clinical, and behavioral factors and HCC risk, stratified by cirrhosis status.

Results: Among 92,567 patients (32% cirrhosis), 3,247 cases …

Estimation Of Tumor Cell Total Mrna Expression In 15 Cancer Types Predicts Disease Progression, Shaolong Cao, Jennifer R Wang, Shuangxi Ji, Peng Yang, Yaoyi Dai, Shuai Guo, Matthew D Montierth, John Paul Shen, Xiao Zhao, Jingxiao Chen, Jaewon James Lee, Paola A Guerrero, Nicholas Spetsieris, Nikolai Engedal, Sinja Taavitsainen, Kaixian Yu, Julie Livingstone, Vinayak Bhandari, Shawna M Hubert, Najat C Daw, P Andrew Futreal, Eleni Efstathiou, Bora Lim, Andrea Viale, Jianjun Zhang, Matti Nykter, Bogdan A Czerniak, Powel H Brown, Charles Swanton, Pavlos Msaouel, Anirban Maitra, Scott Kopetz, Peter Campbell, Terence P Speed, Paul C Boutros, Hongtu Zhu, Alfonso Urbanucci, Jonas Demeulemeester, Peter Van Loo, Wenyi Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Single-cell RNA sequencing studies have suggested that total mRNA content correlates with tumor phenotypes. Technical and analytical challenges, however, have so far impeded at-scale pan-cancer examination of total mRNA content. Here we present a method to quantify tumor-specific total mRNA expression (TmS) from bulk sequencing data, taking into account tumor transcript proportion, purity and ploidy, which are estimated through transcriptomic/genomic deconvolution. We estimate and validate TmS in 6,590 patient tumors across 15 cancer types, identifying significant inter-tumor variability. Across cancers, high TmS is associated with increased risk of disease progression and death. TmS is influenced by cancer-specific patterns of gene …

Successful Use Of Continuous Erector Spinae Plane Blocks In A Patient With Variant Angina After Large Ventral Hernia Repair, Alexandra L Belfar, Yi Deng, Raymond C Yu, Annas Sabbagh

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Coronary artery spasm constitutes the primary underlying pathology of variant angina. Because provocation of coronary artery spasm may occur with both excess sympathetic and excess parasympathetic stimulation, patients with this disorder have extremely limited options for perioperative pain control. This is especially true for procedures involving extensive abdominal incision/manipulation. Whereas neuraxial analgesia might otherwise be appropriate in these cases, several studies have demonstrated that coronary artery spasm can occur as a result of epidural placement, and therefore, that this may not be an optimal choice for patients with variant angina. This report discusses the case of a patient with a …

Population Density And Reproductive Seasonality Of Tryonia Cheatumi (Gastropoda: Cochliopidae), The Phantom Tryonia, Kathryn E. Perez, Nina Noreika, Chad Norris, Marty Kelly, Melissa Lopez, Christina Ortega, Salma Ruiz Sandoval, Samantha Gonzalez, Weston Nowlin

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

We studied population density, population size, and reproductive seasonality of the Phantom Tryonia, Tryonia cheatumi (Pilsbry, 1935). This endangered freshwater snail is found only in the San Solomon Spring system, a cienega, or karst-based, arid-land freshwater spring system, in western Texas, USA. We sampled populations at seven locations in the system seasonally over a 2-yr period. San Solomon Spring, the system's largest spring and modified into a swimming pool, had the largest population of T. cheatumi, with an estimated 49 million individuals and a mean density as high as 23,626 ± 39,030 (individuals/m2 ± SD). There were seasonal differences …

The Skin Through Reflectance Confocal Microscopy - Historical Background, Technical Principles, And Its Correlation With Histopathology, Naiara Braghiroli

All Publications

Since its first introduction into medical practice, reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) has been a valuable non-invasive diagnostic tool for the assessment of benign and malignant neoplasms of the skin. It has also been used as an adjunct for diagnosing equivocal cutaneous neoplasms that lack characteristic clinical or dermoscopic features. The use of RCM has led to a decreased number of biopsies of benign lesions. Multiple published studies show a strong correlation between RCM and histopathology thereby creating a bridge between clinical aspects, dermoscopy, and histopathology. Dermatopathologists may potentially play an important role in the interpretation of confocal images, by their …