Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Scurvy: A Rare Disease Or A Rare Diagnosis?, David F. Gaieski

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

Introduction:

Scurvy, the disease state caused by ascorbic acid deficiency, was once an extremely common disease but is now thought to be a rare disease in postmodern societies. Physicians are not trained to consider scurvy as a possible diagnosis in patients at risk; rather, it is considered a rare diagnosis to add to a differential for completeness’s sake.

Methods:

We sought to describe the scorbutic patients seen by one physician during a busy academic emergency medicine career. Case series of patients seen by one physician between 1993 and 2023 at five academic teaching hospitals with Emergency Departments (EDs) in the …

Impact Of Electronic Cigarettes On Pediatric, Adolescent And Young Adult Leukemia Patients, Sanila Sarkar, Lea M Stitzlein, Joya Chandra

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Electronic cigarettes, which deliver an aerosolized, nicotine-containing product upon inhalation, are a public health issue that continue to gain popularity among adolescents and young adults in the United States. Use of electronic cigarettes is wide, and extends to pediatric patients with multiple comorbidities, including childhood cancer, leaving them vulnerable to further negative health outcomes. Acute leukemias are the most common type of cancer in pediatric populations, and treatment outcomes for these patients are improving; consequently, there is an increased emphasis on the effect of behavioral lifestyle factors on quality of life in survivorship. The rate of electronic cigarette use is …

Potential Value Of A Rapid Syndromic Multiplex Pcr For The Diagnosis Of Native And Prosthetic Joint Infections: A Real-World Evidence Study, Stéphanie Pascual, Brooklyn Noble, Nusreen Ahmad-Saeed, Catherine Aldridge, Simone Ambretti, Sharon Amit, Rachel Annett, Shaan Ashk O'Shea, Anna Maria Barbui, Gavin Barlow, Lucinda Barrett, Mario Berth, Alessandro Bondi, Nicola Boran, Sara E Boyd, Catarina Chaves, Martin Clauss, Peter Davies, Ileana T Dianzo-Delgado, Jaime Esteban, Stefan Fuchs, Lennart Friis-Hansen, Daniel Goldenberger, Andrej Golle, Juha O Groonroos, Ines Hoffmann, Tomer Hoffmann, Harriet Hughes, Marina Ivanova, Peter Jezek, Gwennan Jones, Zeynep Ceren Karahan, Cornelia Lass-Flörl, Frédéric Laurent, Laura Leach, Matilde Lee Horsbøll Pedersen, Caroline Loiez, Maureen Lynch, Robert J Maloney, Martin Marsh, Olivia Milburn, Shanine Mitchell, Luke S P Moore, Lynn Moffat, Marianna Murdjeva, Michael E Murphy, Deepa Nayar, Giacomo Nigrisoli, Fionnuala O'Sullivan, Büşra Öz, Teresa Peach, Christina Petridou, Mojgan Prinz, Mitja Rak, Niamh Reidy, Gian Maria Rossolini, Anne-Laure Roux, Patricia Ruiz-Garbajosa, Kordo Saeed, Llanos Salar-Vidal, Carlos Salas Venero, Mathyruban Selvaratnam, Eric Senneville, Peter Starzengruber, Ben Talbot, Vanessa Taylor, Rihard Trebše, Deborah Wearmouth, Birgit Willinger, Marjan Wouthuyzen-Bakker, Brianne Couturier, Florence Allantaz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: The BIOFIRE Joint Infection (JI) Panel is a diagnostic tool that uses multiplex-PCR testing to detect microorganisms in synovial fluid specimens from patients suspected of having septic arthritis (SA) on native joints or prosthetic joint infections (PJIs). Methods: A study was conducted across 34 clinical sites in 19 European and Middle Eastern countries from March 2021 to June 2022 to assess the effectiveness of the BIOFIRE JI Panel. Results: A total of 1527 samples were collected from patients suspected of SA or PJI, with an overall agreement of 88.4 % and 85 % respectively between the …

Current And Emerging Antiviral Agents In The Prevention And Treatment Of Cytomegalovirus In Pediatric Transplant Recipients, Kristen G Valencia Deray, Lara A Danziger-Isakov, Kevin J Downes

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Despite current prophylaxis regimens, cytomegalovirus (CMV) is common in hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and solid organ transplantation (SOT) and remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Newer antiviral medications are reshaping the landscape for prevention and treatment of CMV DNAemia, infection, and disease. Letermovir is approved for CMV prevention in adult HCT patients and is attractive due to the absence of marrow suppression seen with ganciclovir/valganciclovir. Letermovir should not be routinely used for CMV treatment due to its low threshold for resistance. Maribavir is approved for the treatment of refractory or resistant CMV disease in HCT and SOT recipients …

Comparative Efficacy, Quality Of Life, Safety, And Tolerability Of Atogepant And Rimegepant In Migraine Prevention: A Matching-Adjusted Indirect Comparison Analysis, Cristina Tassorelli, Kateryna Onishchenko, Rashmi B. Halker Singh, Molly Duan, Laure Dupont-Benjamin, Matthew Hemstock, Corey Voller, Peter Mcallister, Stephanie J. Nahas, Pranav Gandhi, Jessica Ailani

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Comparative evaluations of preventive migraine treatments can help inform clinical decision making for managing migraine in clinical practice.

METHODS: An anchored matching-adjusted indirect comparison analysis was conducted using pooled participant-level data from two phase 3 atogepant trials (ADVANCE and PROGRESS) and one phase 2/3 rimegepant trial (BHV3000-305) to evaluate the relative efficacy and safety/tolerability of atogepant and rimegepant as preventive migraine treatments. Participants receiving atogepant 60 mg once daily, rimegepant orally disintegrating tablet 75 mg once every other day, and placebo were included. Only participants meeting the BHV3000-305 inclusion/exclusion criteria were analyzed: ≥6 monthly migraine days and ≤18 monthly …

Gamma Delta T Cells In Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Biology And Emerging Therapeutic Strategies, Adishwar Rao, Akriti Agrawal, Gautam Borthakur, Venkata Lokesh Battula, Abhishek Maiti

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

γδ T cells play an important role in disease control in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and have become an emerging area of therapeutic interest. These cells represent a minor population of T lymphocytes with intrinsic abilities to recognize antigens in a major histocompatibility complex-independent manner and functionally straddle the innate and adaptive immunity interface. AML shows high expression of phosphoantigens and UL-16 binding proteins that activate the Vδ2 and Vδ1 subtypes of γδ T cells, respectively, leading to γδ T cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Insights from murine models and clinical data in humans show improved overall survival, leukemia-free survival, reduced risk of …

A Phase 1/2 Study Of Mini-Hyper-Cvd Plus Venetoclax In Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Nicholas J Short, Elias Jabbour, Nitin Jain, Jayastu Senapati, Lewis Nasr, Fadi G Haddad, Zhenhua Li, Yu-Chih Hsiao, Jun J Yang, Naveen Pemmaraju, Maro Ohanian, William G Wierda, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Gautam Borthakur, Lina Han, Lianchun Xiao, Xuelin Huang, Regina Abramova, Min Zhao, Rebecca Garris, Marina Konopleva, Farhad Ravandi, Hagop Kantarjian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Preclinical studies suggest that Bcl-2 inhibition with venetoclax has antileukemic activity in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and may synergize with conventional chemotherapy. We designed a phase 1/2 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of low-intensity chemotherapy in combination with venetoclax in adults with relapsed or refractory ALL. Patients received the mini-hyper-CVD regimen (dose-attenuated hyperfractionated cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and dexamethasone alternating with methotrexate and cytarabine) in combination with venetoclax (200 mg or 400 mg daily) on days 1 to 14 in cycle 1 and on days 1 to 7 in consolidation cycles. Twenty-two patients were treated. The median number of …

Mortality After Major Cardiovascular Events In Survivors Of Childhood Cancer, Wendy Bottinor, Cindy Im, David R Doody, Saro H Armenian, Alexander Arynchyn, Borah Hong, Rebecca M Howell, David R Jacobs, Kirsten K Ness, Kevin C Oeffinger, Alexander P Reiner, Gregory T Armstrong, Yutaka Yasui, Eric J Chow

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Adult survivors of childhood cancer are at risk for cardiovascular events.

Objectives: In this study, we sought to determine the risk for mortality after a major cardiovascular event among childhood cancer survivors compared with noncancer populations.

Methods: All-cause and cardiovascular cause-specific mortality risks after heart failure (HF), coronary artery disease (CAD), or stroke were compared among survivors and siblings in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) and participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate HRs and 95% CIs between groups, adjusted for demographic and clinical …

Polyaminer-Bulk Is A Deep Learning-Based Algorithm That Decodes Alternative Polyadenylation Dynamics From Bulk Rna-Seq Data, Venkata Soumith Jonnakuti, Eric J Wagner, Mirjana Maletić-Savatić, Zhandong Liu, Hari Krishna Yalamanchili

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Alternative polyadenylation (APA) is a key post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism; yet, its regulation and impact on human diseases remain understudied. Existing bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-seq)-based APA methods predominantly rely on predefined annotations, severely impacting their ability to decode novel tissue- and disease-specific APA changes. Furthermore, they only account for the most proximal and distal cleavage and polyadenylation sites (C/PASs). Deconvoluting overlapping C/PASs and the inherent noisy 3' UTR coverage in bulk RNA-seq data pose additional challenges. To overcome these limitations, we introduce PolyAMiner-Bulk, an attention-based deep learning algorithm that accurately recapitulates C/PAS sequence grammar, resolves overlapping C/PASs, captures non-proximal-to-distal APA changes, …

The Hip Spine Relationship—What We Know And What We Don’T: A Narrative Review, Michael Mccurdy, Yunsoo Lee, Gino Dinicola, Albert Ku, Alex R. Vaccaro, Alan S. Hilibrand, Gregory D. Schroeder, Christopher K. Kepler, Mark J. Lambrechts

Rothman Institute Papers

Background and Objective: The hip-spine syndrome was first described in 1983. The premise of the report was that the hip and spine are closely related and patients can easily have overlapping conditions and misdiagnoses. Since that time, there has been considerable advancement in our understanding of spinopelvic parameters and how degenerative disc disease can affect the pelvis and subsequently the acetabulum. Our objective is to provide an updated review on the relationship between hip and spine degeneration, how we define the relationship, and what steps should be taken when planning surgical intervention for these patients.

Methods: A literature review was …

Clonal Gene Signatures Predict Prognosis In Mesothelioma And Lung Adenocarcinoma, Yupei Lin, Bryan M Burt, Hyun-Sung Lee, Thinh T Nguyen, Hee-Jin Jang, Claire Lee, Wei Hong, Robert Taylor Ripley, Christopher I Amos, Chao Cheng

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare but lethal pleural cancer with high intratumor heterogeneity (ITH). A recent study in lung adenocarcinoma has developed a clonal gene signature (ORACLE) from multiregional transcriptomic data and demonstrated high prognostic values and reproducibility. However, such a strategy has not been tested in other types of cancer with high ITH. We aimed to identify biomarkers from multi-regional data to prognostically stratify MPM patients. We generated a multiregional RNA-seq dataset for 78 tumor samples obtained from 26 MPM patients, each with one sample collected from a superior, lateral, and inferior region of the tumor. By …

Multiple Daily Injection Insulin Regimen Is An Effective, And More Economical, Alternative To Continuous Insulin Infusion For Type 1 Diabetics, Julia Yee

Clinical Research in Practice: The Journal of Team Hippocrates

A clinical decision report using:

Heller S, White D, Lee E, et al. A cluster randomised trial, cost-effectiveness analysis and psychosocial evaluation of insulin pump therapy compared with multiple injections during flexible intensive insulin therapy for type 1 diabetes: the REPOSE Trial. Health Technol Assess. 2017 Apr;21(20):1-278. https://doi.org/10.3310/hta21200

for a patient with type 1 diabetes.

Immunotherapy Resistance In Solid Tumors: Mechanisms And Potential Solutions, Daniel Lefler, Steven Manobianco, Babar Bashir

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

While the emergence of immunotherapies has fundamentally altered the management of solid tumors, cancers exploit many complex biological mechanisms that result in resistance to these agents. These encompass a broad range of cellular activities - from modification of traditional paradigms of immunity via antigen presentation and immunoregulation to metabolic modifications and manipulation of the tumor microenvironment. Intervening on these intricate processes may provide clinical benefit in patients with solid tumors by overcoming resistance to immunotherapies, which is why it has become an area of tremendous research interest with practice-changing implications. This review details the major ways cancers avoid both natural …

Collagen Type Xii Is Undetectable In Keratoconus Bowman’S Layer, Mohammed Rigi, Hyeck-Soo Son, Loren Moon, Mario Matthaei, Divya Srikumaran, Albert S Jun, Charles G Eberhart, Uri S Soiberman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Corneal biomechanical failure is the hallmark of keratoconus (KC); however, the cause of this failure remains elusive. Collagen type XII (

METHODS: TaqMan quantitative PCR was performed on 31 corneal epithelium samples of progressive KC and myopic control eyes. Tissue microarrays were constructed using full-thickness corneas from 61 KC cases during keratoplasty and 18 non-KC autopsy eyes and stained with an antibody specific to COL12A1. Additionally,

RESULTS: COL12A1 expression was reduced at transcript levels in KC epithelium compared to controls (ratio: 0.58, p<0.03). Immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that COL12A1 protein expression in BL was undetectable, with reduced expression in KC epithelium, basement membrane, and stroma.

CONCLUSIONS: The apparent absence of COL12A1 in KC BL, together with the functional importance that

Immunogenicity Phase Ii Study Evaluating Booster Capacity Of Nonadjuvanted Aks-452 Sars-Cov-2 Rbd Fc Vaccine, David G Alleva, Eline A Feitsma, Yester F Janssen, Hendrikus H Boersma, Thomas M Lancaster, Thillainaygam Sathiyaseelan, Sylaja Murikipudi, Andrea R Delpero, Melanie M Scully, Ramya Ragupathy, Sravya Kotha, Jeffrey R Haworth, Nishit J Shah, Vidhya Rao, Shashikant Nagre, Shannon E Ronca, Freedom M Green, Stephen A Shaw, Ari Aminetzah, Schelto Kruijff, Maarten Brom, Gooitzen M Van Dam, Todd C Zion

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

AKS-452, a subunit vaccine comprising an Fc fusion of the ancestral wild-type (WT) SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein receptor binding domain (SP/RBD), was evaluated without adjuvant in a single cohort, non-randomized, open-labelled phase II study (NCT05124483) at a single site in The Netherlands for safety and immunogenicity. A single 90 µg subcutaneous booster dose of AKS-452 was administered to 71 adults previously primed with a registered mRNA- or adenovirus-based vaccine and evaluated for 273 days. All AEs were mild and no SAEs were attributable to AKS-452. While all subjects showed pre-existing SP/RBD binding and ACE2-inhibitory IgG titers, 60-68% responded to AKS-452 …

Revascularization Strategies For Acute And Chronic Mesenteric Ischemia: A Narrative Review, Jacob J Gries, Takashi Sakamoto, Bing Chen, Hafeez Ul Hassan Virk, Mahboob Alam, Chayakrit Krittanawong

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Mesenteric ischemia is a challenging condition characterized by insufficient blood perfusion to the mesentery and, consequently, intestinal tissues that continues to perplex clinicians. Despite its low prevalence, the condition’s variable clinical presentation and elusive radiographic diagnosis can delay life-saving interventions in the acute setting and deteriorate the quality of life of patients when left undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Purpose: Review and summarize recent diagnostic updates and emergent intervention strategies for acute and chronic mesenteric ischemia. Methods: A narrative review of all relevant studies from January 2022 through September 2023. Results: A total of 11 studies from MEDLINE, supplemented with 44 studies …

A Stool Based Qpcr For The Diagnosis Of Tb In Children And People Living With Hiv In Uganda, Eswatini And Mozambique (Stool4tb): A Protocol For A Multicenter Diagnostic Evaluation, Lucia Carratala-Castro, Willy Ssengooba, Alex Kay, Sozinho Acácio, Joanna Ehrlich, Andrew R Dinardo, Nosisa Shiba, Joachim K Nsubuga, Shilzia Munguambe, Belén Saavedra-Cervera, Patricia Manjate, Durbbin Mulengwa, Busizwe Sibandze, Mangaliso Ziyane, George Kasule, Edson Mambuque, Moorine Penninah Sekadde, Eric Wobudeya, Moses L Joloba, Jan Heyckendorf, Christoph Lange, Sabine Hermans, Anna Mandalakas, Alberto L García-Basteiro, Elisa Lopez-Varela, Stool4tb Global Partnership

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of mortality worldwide. Children and people living with HIV (PLHIV) have an increased risk of mortality, particularly in the absence of rapid diagnosis. The main challenges of diagnosing TB in these populations are due to the unspecific and paucibacillary disease presentation and the difficulty of obtaining respiratory samples. Thus, novel diagnostic strategies, based on non-respiratory specimens could improve clinical decision making and TB outcomes in high burden TB settings. We propose a multi-country, prospective diagnostic evaluation study with a nested longitudinal cohort evaluation to assess the performance of a new stool-based qPCR, developed …

Deep Phenotyping Of Post-Infectious Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Brian Walitt, Komudi Singh, Samuel R. Lamunion, Mark Hallett, Steve Jacobson, Kong Chen, Yoshimi Enose-Akahata, Richard Apps, Jennifer J. Barb, Patrick Bedard, Robert J. Brychta, Ashura Williams Buckley, Peter D. Burbelo, Brice Calco, Brianna Cathay, Li Chen, Snigdha Chigurupati, Jinguo Chen, Foo Cheung, Lisa M.K. Chin, Benjamin W. Coleman, Amber B. Courville, Madeleine S. Deming, Bart Drinkard, Li Rebekah Feng, Luigi Ferrucci, Scott A. Gabel, Angelique Gavin, David S. Goldstein, Shahin Hassanzadeh, Sean C. Horan, Silvina G. Horovitz, Kory R. Johnson, Anita Jones Govan, Kristine M. Knutson, Joy D. Kreskow, Mark Levin, Jonathan J. Lyons, Nicholas Madian, Nasir Malik, Andrew L. Mammen, John A. Mcculloch, Patrick M. Mcgurrin, Joshua D. Milner, Ruin Moaddel, Geoffrey A. Mueller, Amrita Mukherjee, Sandra Muñoz-Braceras, Gina Norato, Katherine Pak, Iago Pinal-Fernandez, Traian Popa, Lauren B. Reoma, Michael N. Sack, Farinaz Safavi, Leorey N. Saligan, Brian A. Sellers, Stephen Sinclair, Bryan Smith, Joseph Snow, Stacey Solin, Barbara J. Stussman, Giorgio Trinchieri, Sara A. Turner, C. Stephenie Vetter, Felipe Vial, Carlotta Vizioli, Ashley Williams, Shanna B. Yang, Avindra Nath

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

Post-infectious myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (PI-ME/CFS) is a disabling disorder, yet the clinical phenotype is poorly defined, the pathophysiology is unknown, and no disease-modifying treatments are available. We used rigorous criteria to recruit PI-ME/CFS participants with matched controls to conduct deep phenotyping. Among the many physical and cognitive complaints, one defining feature of PI-ME/CFS was an alteration of effort preference, rather than physical or central fatigue, due to dysfunction of integrative brain regions potentially associated with central catechol pathway dysregulation, with consequences on autonomic functioning and physical conditioning. Immune profiling suggested chronic antigenic stimulation with increase in naïve and decrease …

Uncommon Presentation Of Kaposi Sarcoma In An Hiv-Negative Patient: A Case Report And Review Of The Literature, Hope Daskalakis, Nina M. Ventura, Joy Anne Lowry, Mara Weinstein Velez

Advances in Clinical Medical Research and Healthcare Delivery

Kaposi Sarcoma (KS) is a multifocal systemic disease first identified in 1872. It most commonly involves the skin, mucous membranes, lymph nodes, and gastrointestinal tract. There are four clinically distinct subtypes of KS that have been identified: Chronic or classic KS, African endemic KS, KS due to iatrogenic immunosuppression, and AIDS-related epidemic KS. The human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) has been implicated in all subtypes of KS. We present a unique case of KS in a 79-year-old male with a widespread distribution of skin lesions on his palms, soles, chest, and back. This case report highlights a novel presentation of classical …

Primary Adrenal Insufficiency In Autoimmune Polyglandular Syndrome Type 1 - A Case Report And Literature Review, Hafiza A. Qadeer Md, Reshma Samkutty, Caitlyn Moss

Advances in Clinical Medical Research and Healthcare Delivery

Autoimmune Polyglandular Syndrome (APS) type 1 is a rare autosomal recessive disorder secondary to AIRE gene mutation, that is classically characterized by autoimmune hypoparathyroidism, chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis and Addison’s disease. A review of the literature shows that these disease manifestations may present in any order in different age groups. Patients with APS type 1 are also at risk for other endocrinopathies. We present the case of a female patient with a history of APS type 1 and type 1 diabetes who presented with new onset hypoglycemia and decreased insulin requirement and was diagnosed with new onset adrenal insufficiency due to …

Radio-Histopathological Presentation And Multidisciplinary Treatment Of Adolescent Paratesticular Rhabdomyosarcoma: A Case Report, Troy Nguyen, Joseph Hatem, Abhijit Datir, Joel Thompson

Advances in Clinical Medical Research and Healthcare Delivery

Paratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma (PRMS) is a rare condition predominantly affecting the pediatric and adolescent population. In this case report, we discuss a 17-year-old male with a slow-growing, painless scrotal mass, ultimately diagnosed as embryonal PRMS — the most common and favorable rhabdomyosarcoma subtype. The report underscores the typical clinico-radiological presentation of PRMS and the pivotal part of histopathological evaluation in establishing a definitive diagnosis. Multidisciplinary intervention including surgery and chemoradiotherapy resulted in total remission. Therefore, this report underlines the significance of prompt diagnosis and comprehensive management in ensuring a favorable prognosis of PRMS.

Multivalent Cytomegalovirus Glycoprotein B Nucleoside Modified Mrna Vaccines Did Not Demonstrate A Greater Antibody Breadth, Hsuan-Yuan Wang, Leike Li, Cody S Nelson, Richard Barfield, Sarah Valencia, Cliburn Chan, Hiromi Muramatsu, Paulo J C Lin, Norbert Pardi, Zhiqiang An, Drew Weissman, Sallie R Permar

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) remains the most common congenital infection and infectious complication in immunocompromised patients. The most successful HCMV vaccine to date, an HCMV glycoprotein B (gB) subunit vaccine adjuvanted with MF59, achieved 50% efficacy against primary HCMV infection. A previous study demonstrated that gB/MF59 vaccinees were less frequently infected with HCMV gB genotype strains most similar to the vaccine strain than strains encoding genetically distinct gB genotypes, suggesting strain-specific immunity accounted for the limited efficacy. To determine whether vaccination with multiple HCMV gB genotypes could increase the breadth of anti-HCMV gB humoral and cellular responses, we immunized 18 female …

Recombinant Rod Domain Of Vimentin Reduces Sars-Cov-2 Viral Replication By Blocking Spike Protein-Ace2 Interactions, Fong Wilson Lam, Cameron August Brown, Shannon Elizabeth Ronca

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Although the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is the primary preventive intervention, there are still few antiviral therapies available, with current drugs decreasing viral replication once the virus is intracellular. Adding novel drugs to target additional points in the viral life cycle is paramount in preventing future pandemics. The purpose of this study was to create and test a novel protein to decrease SARS-CoV-2 replication. We created the recombinant rod domain of vimentin (rhRod) in E. coli and used biolayer interferometry to measure its affinity to the SARS-CoV-2 S1S2 spike protein and the ability to block the SARS-CoV-2–ACE2 interaction. We performed plaque assays …

Piriformis Syndrome With A Variant Presentation, Roberto Chuapoco, Ryan E. Linford

Annual Research Symposium

Piriformis syndrome has long been a diagnostic quandary due to its tendency to present as other nerve-related conditions. Piriformis syndrome is commonly caused by entrapment of the sciatic nerve as it travels through the greater sciatic foramen due to hypertrophy of the piriformis muscle. However, its constellation of symptoms, including radiating pain down the thigh, can easily be mistaken for lumbosacral radiculopathy. This case report aims to address the misdiagnosis of piriformis syndrome which has prolonged pain for many patients and increased the cost of medical care. It demonstrates a 76-year-old female with a confounding presentation of piriformis syndrome: buttock …

Diagnosing Acute Compartment Syndrome: A Surgical Emergency, Kallin J. Austin, Lara Laughrey, Marco Trevino, Eric Liou, Matthew Hazel, Brody Harn

Annual Research Symposium

Determine best practices for diagnosing acute compartment syndrome in the lower limb by comparing the sensitivity and specificity of commonly use techniques.

P90rsk Pathway Inhibition Synergizes With Cisplatin In Tmem16a Overexpressing Head And Neck Cancer, Abdulkader Yassin-Kassab, Suman Chatterjee, Nayel Khan, Nathaniel Wang, Vlad C Sandulache, Eric H-B Huang, Timothy F Burns, Umamaheswar Duvvuri

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) constitutes one of the most common types of human cancers and often metastasizes to lymph nodes. Platinum-based chemotherapeutic drugs are commonly used for treatment of a wide range of cancers, including HNSCC. Its mode of action relies on its ability to impede DNA repair mechanisms, inducing apoptosis in cancer cells. However, due to acquired resistance and toxic side-effects, researchers have been focusing on developing novel combinational therapeutic strategies to overcome cisplatin resistance. In the current study, we identified p90RSK, an ERK1/2 downstream target, as a key mediator and a targetable signaling node against …

Description Of Cryptococcosis Following Sars-Cov-2 Infection: A Disease Survey Through The Mycosis Study Group Education And Research Consortium (Msg-19), Jeremey Walker, Todd Mccarty, Gerald Mcgwin, Eloy E Ordaya, Paschalis Vergidis, Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner, Mehriban Mammadova, Andrej Spec, Adriana M Rauseo, John Perfect, Julia Messina, Gabriel Vilchez, Rachel Mcmullen, Carolynn T Jones, Peter G Pappas

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Invasive fungal infections have been described throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Cryptococcal disease after infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been reported in several isolated case reports and 1 larger case series. We sought to describe cryptococcal infections following SARS-CoV-2 through establishing a database to investigate underlying risk factors, disease manifestations, and outcomes.

METHODS: We created a crowdsourced call for cases solicited through the Mycoses Study Group Education and Research Consortium, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Emerging Infectious Diseases Network, and infectious diseases Twitter groups. Data were collected in a web-based and secure REDCap …

Adaptation Of Chagas Disease Screening Recommendations For A Community Of At-Risk Hiv In The United States, Jesica Hayon, Sofia Lupo, Cristina Poveda, Kathryn M Jones, Qian Qian, Hulin Wu, Thomas P Giordano, Charles J Fleischmann, Caryn Bern, Jeffrey D Whitman, Eva H Clark

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Chagas disease (CD), caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is underdiagnosed in the United States. Improved screening strategies are needed, particularly for people at risk for life-threatening sequelae of CD, including people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV, PWH). Here we report results of a CD screening strategy applied at a large HIV clinic serving an at-risk population.

Tobacco And Covid-19, Palak Srivastava, Palak Srivastava

Annual Research Symposium

The relationship between tobacco use and COVID-19 has been a subject of ongoing research. Evidence suggests that tobacco may contribute to an increased susceptibility to respiratory infections, potentially exacerbating the severity of COVID-19 symptoms.

Long Trimer-Immunization Interval And Appropriate Adjuvant Reduce Immune Responses To The Soluble Hiv-1-Envelope Trimer Base, Hongying Duan, Angela R Corrigan, Cheng Cheng, Andrea Biju, Christopher A Gonelli, Adam S Olia, I-Ting Teng, Kai Xu, Sijy O'Dell, Sandeep Narpala, Mike Castro, Leonid Serebryannyy, Jennifer Wang, Danealle K Parchment, Edward K Sarfo, Jelle Van Schooten, John-Paul Todd, Shuishu Wang, Darcy R Harris, Hui Geng, Alexander J Jafari, Vrc Production Program, Ruth A Woodward, Nicole A Doria-Rose, Kathryn E Foulds, Adrian B Mcdermott, Marit J Van Gils, Richard A Koup, Theodore C Pierson, Peter D Kwong, John R Mascola

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Soluble 'SOSIP'-stabilized HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) trimers elicit dominant antibody responses targeting their glycan-free base regions, potentially diminishing neutralizing responses. Previously, using a nonhuman primate model, we demonstrated that priming with fusion peptide (FP)-carrier conjugate immunogens followed by boosting with Env trimers reduced the anti-base response. Further, we demonstrated that longer immunization intervals further reduced anti-base responses and increased neutralization breadth. Here, we demonstrate that long trimer-boosting intervals, but not long FP immunization intervals, reduce the anti-base response. Additionally, we identify that FP priming before trimer immunization enhances antibody avidity to the Env trimer. We also establish that adjuvants Matrix …