Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Rare Presentation Of Omental Tuberculosis With Drug-Induced Jaundice In A Teenage Female: A Case Report, Archana Venkatesan, Krishna Ravi

Advances in Clinical Medical Research and Healthcare Delivery

Omental tuberculosis (TB) is a rare form of abdominal TB, often presenting with nonspecific symptoms that mimic malignancies. We report a case of a 16-year-old female from India who presented with abdominal distension, vomiting, weight loss, and amenorrhea. Imaging revealed an abdominal mass, and a diagnosis of omental TB was confirmed via histopathology. This case highlights the diagnostic challenge posed by such atypical presentations, especially in TB-endemic regions. The patient also developed rifampicin-induced jaundice, which resolved upon drug cessation and supportive care. Anti-TB therapy was cautiously reintroduced at a modified dose. This report underscores the need for high clinical suspicion, …

Bilateral Congenital Radioulnar Synostosis - Case Report, Derek A. Diangelis, Matthew J. Hudson

Advances in Clinical Medical Research and Healthcare Delivery

A 2-year-old male presented to an orthopedic outpatient office due to a supination defect in both of his upper limbs. X-rays of the affected limbs revealed fusion of the proximal radioulnar joints indicating congenital radioulnar synostosis (CRUS). CRUS is abnormal development of the upper limbs occurring during weeks 3—7 of embryological development. Causes of CRUS include genetic syndromes and spontaneous mutations. Treatment options include nonoperative and surgical treatments, however, treatment is controversial due to a lack of clinical evidence. Proposed screening methods could help improve detection rates and improve clinical management. This report aims to increase awareness of CRUS and …

A Case Of Fatal Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus And Encephalitis In An Immunocompetent Host With A Review Of Literature, Kellyn E. Wilkes, Rutwik Pradeep Sharma, Laurie Proia

Advances in Clinical Medical Research and Healthcare Delivery

Herpes zoster is a common disease that can have several complications. Here, we present a case of herpes zoster ophthalmicus with coexisting encephalitis that unfortunately resulted in patient mortality. A 70-year-old male with a past medical history of Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia presented to the emergency department after being found altered at home. Physical exam was notable for left-sided crusted facial rash, left conjunctival injection, and purulent drainage coming from the right eye. Given the location and appearance of his rash, he was diagnosed with herpes zoster ophthalmicus. There was suspicion for encephalitis given his altered mental status but unfortunately, …

Mycobacterium Shimoidei: A Case Report Of A Rare Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Infection In An American Patient With A Favorable Outcome, Madison Baker, Farah Majdoub, Asad Nasir

Advances in Clinical Medical Research and Healthcare Delivery

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are common environmental pathogens, but they are an uncommon cause of illness. One such mycobacteria, Mycobacterium shimoidei, was discovered in 1968 and found to cause a respiratory illness in 1975. Since then, fewer than 100 cases have been reported worldwide. Symptoms can include cough, fever, weight loss, and hemoptysis This report describes an American patient with no travel history who was found to have significant pulmonary disease caused by this rare non-tuberculous mycobacteria.

Engineering Enac Constructs To Examine Pip2 And Ubiquitin Competition On Enac Regulation And Stability, Lacie Johnson

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

The epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) plays a critical role in sodium homeostasis, fluid balance, and blood pressure regulation. ENaC activity is tightly controlled by post-translational mechanisms, including ubiquitination-mediated degradation and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) dependent channel activation. PIP2 is a phospholipid necessary to facilitate the maximal channel opening. Previous studies suggest that intracellular PIP2 binding sites are located in proximity to ubiquitination sites on ENaC subunits, raising the possibility of PIP2 binding to influence channel stability and function. This thesis aimed to engineer and validate molecular tools capable of examining the interplay between PIP2 binding and ubiquitination in ENaC regulation. A …

Cleavage And Polyadenylation Specificity Factor Subunit 5 Regulates Pulmonary Artery Smooth Muscle Expansion And Hypoxic Response, Scott D Collum, Lisha Zhu, Tingting W Mills, Rene Girard, Jamie Tran, Tinne C J Mertens, Cory Wilson, Nancy Wareing, Erik E Suarez, Howard J Huang, Rahat Hussain, Bindu Akkanti, Wenjin J Zheng, Hari K Yalamanchili, Bela Patel, Eric J Wagner, Sandeep Agarwal, Harry Karmouty-Quintana

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a fatal condition that affects individuals with systemic sclerosis (SSc), a multiorgan fibrotic disease with limited treatment options. A central feature of PH is vascular remodeling, defined by the narrowing of the arteriole lumen due to cell proliferation and extracellular matrix deposition. Herein, we identify a central mechanism that can regulate multiple transcripts important for vascular remodeling. The highlight of our study is the demonstration that reduced pulmonary artery smooth muscle (PASMC) Nudt21, which codes for the RNA binding protein Cleavage and Polyadenylation Specificity Factor Subunit 5 (CPSF5) The, known to regulate alternative polyadenylation, results …

Insomnia In Stimulant Use Disorders: Prevalence And Associations With Negative Affect, Isabella G Bourtin, Constanza De Dios, Jessica Vincent, Joy M Schmitz, Scott D Lane, Heather E Webber

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Research suggests that sleep disturbances are common among people who use psychostimulants, including cocaine use and methamphetamine use. These sleep disturbances hinder recovery, heighten relapse risk, and worsen physical and mental health outcomes. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and severity of insomnia among individuals who use cocaine and methamphetamine and to explore potential psychological factors that are associated with more severe insomnia. The sample included participants who completed in-person screening assessments for ongoing studies at an outpatient research clinic. As a part of this screening, participants completed the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and validated assessments of psychological domains …

Dean's Research Newsletter, February 2026, Neil W. Schluger

SOM Dean's Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Effects Of Novel Hexylamine Compounds On Hn6 Carcinoma Cell Survival, Lydia Neven '27, Dominic Pittman '26

Annual Student Research Poster Session

Cancer is a broad term encompassing hundreds of distinct diseases, each arising from unique genetic and environmental factors. Because of this diversity, there is a continual need to develop new chemotherapies. Oral cancer, in particular, remains one of the most common cancers worldwide, yet effective therapeutic options for this malignancy remain limited. Although billions of dollars are invested annually in cancer drug discovery in the United States, the process of evaluating and advancing candidate compounds often represents a critical bottleneck, leading many promising therapies to be abandoned before their full potential is understood. In collaboration with the Hansen lab, we …

The Long-Term Effectiveness Of The Anti-Obesity Medication Phentermine (Leap) Trial: Rationale, Design, And Baseline Characteristics, Caroline Blackwell Young, Emily Rives, Kimberly A Gudzune, Byron C Jaeger, Courtney G Simmons, Brian N White, Stephanie A Hooker, Deborah B Horn, Deborah R Young, Jennifer Vesely, Amanda Velazquez, Catherine Price, Shelly D Cook, Katy Martin-Fernandez, Galina Inzhakova, Nicholas M Pajewski, Jamy D Ard, Kristina H Lewis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Current clinical practice guidelines support the long-term use of pharmacotherapy for obesity treatment. Historically, phentermine has been one of the most prescribed obesity medications (OMs), however, its long-term efficacy and safety have never been evaluated in a randomized trial as its market approval predates such requirements. Here we describe the design, rationale, and baseline characteristics for a 24-month, double-blind, randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy, cardiovascular risk, and safety of phentermine in adults with overweight or obesity.

Methods: This multicenter trial will compare outcomes among participants randomized to phentermine 24 mg daily versus placebo for 24 months. All participants …

Population-Scale Sequencing Resolves Determinants Of Persistent Ebv Dna, Sherry S Nyeo, Erin M Cumming, Oliver S Burren, Meghana S Pagadala, Jacob C Gutierrez, Thahmina A Ali, Laura C Kida, Yifan Chen, Hoyin Chu, Fengyuan Hu, Xueqing Zoe Zou, Benjamin Hollis, Margarete A Fabre, Stewart Macarthur, Quanli Wang, Leif S Ludwig, Kushal K Dey, Slavé Petrovski, Ryan S Dhindsa, Caleb A Lareau

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is an endemic herpesvirus implicated in autoimmunity, cancer and neurological disorders. Although primary infection is often subclinical, persistent EBV infection can drive immune dysregulation and long-term complications. Despite the ubiquity of infection, the determinants of EBV persistence following primary exposure remain poorly understood, although human genetic variation partially contributes to this phenotypic spectrum1–3. Here we demonstrate that existing whole genome sequencing (WGS) data of human populations can be used to quantify persistent EBV DNA. Using WGS and health record data from the UK Biobank (n = 490,560) and All of Us ( …

Associations Between County-Level Vape-Free Air Law Coverage And E-Cigarette Use Behaviors Among U.S. Adolescents In Monitoring The Future, James H. Buszkiewicz, Yanmei Xie, Catherine A. Vander Woude, Steven Cook, Bukola Usidame, Megan E. Patrick, Michael R. Elliott, James F. Thrasher, Nancy L. Fleischer

Department of Health and Kinesiology Faculty Publications

Purpose

We examined whether workplace and hospitality vape-free air law (VAL) population coverage was associated with adolescent e-cigarette use and related disparities in the United States.

Methods

We analyzed associations between county-level workplace and hospitality VAL coverage (100% vs. < 100%) and current e-cigarette use (2014–2022) and first e-cigarette initiation (2015–2022) among US 8th, 10th, and 12th graders using nationally representative, cross-sectional Monitoring the Future data. We implemented weighted, grade-stratified, modified Poisson regression models, adjusted for individual-, county-, and state-level confounding factors, examining disparities by sex, race and ethnicity, parental education, and college educational expectations through two-way interactions.

Results

Workplace and hospitality VAL coverage was not associated with adolescent e-cigarette use or initiation overall. However, we did find that VAL coverage was associated with lower current e-cigarette use in some sociodemographic subgroups. Full (100%) hospitality VAL coverage was linked to lower e-cigarette use among male 8th and 12th graders, 12th graders with parents without a bachelor's degree, Hispanic 8th …

Lessons Learned In A Data Linkage Project On Fatal Drowning, Rohit P Shenoi, Ned Levine, Elizabeth A Camp, Linh Nguyen, Sandra Mckay, Shaila Zaman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Drowning is the leading cause of death in US children 1-4 years old. The epidemiology of drowning at a regional level is understudied because no single data source provides complete information on persons who drown. Probabilistic data linkage is a novel way of studying the epidemiology of drowning. This study aimed to document the lessons learned during the linkage process.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of persons of all ages who died from unintentional drowning in metropolitan Houston from 2016 to 2022. We describe the lessons learned during the project planning and execution phases which pertained to data …

A Murine Model Of Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome Demonstrates Compromised Limb Function In The Ischemic Hind Limb, Saran Lotfollahzadeh, Herreet Paul, Joshua Bonifacio, Ricardo Almiron, Isaac Hockestra, Kylla Przekop, Trent Yamamoto, Maria Carmen Piqueras, Wenqing Yin, Kashvi Sethuraman, Asha Jose, Marina Malikova, Jeffrey J Siracuse, Mostafa Belghasem, Howard Cabral, Nazish Sayed, Vipul C Chitalia

Faculty and Staff Publications

Key Points:

1. Cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) is a global public health problem; however, its mediators remain poorly known, in part due to the lack of a reliable animal model.

2. A combination of high fat and adenine diet recapitulate some of the CKD and metabolic phenotypes of CKM.

3. This model also demonstrates myocardial fibrosis and peripheral artery disease with sex-based differences and can be leveraged to probe mechanisms of CKM.

Background: Cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome is a public health problem in the United States and results in premature cardiovascular disease at a relatively preserved GFR. The molecular mediators of CKM are poorly understood, partly …

Pair-Feeding Study Designs Can Create Biases And Inflate Type I Error Rates: A Simulation Study, Wasiuddin Najam, Daniel E Kpormegbey, Deependra K Thapa, Bret Rust, Lilian Golzarri-Arroyo, Lance H Baumgard, Louis Wai-Tong Fan, Joseph G Ibrahim, Edith J Mayorga, David B Allison

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Objective: Pair-feeding is a study design element where one group's food intake is provided to another group to assess whether a treatment effect is independent of food intake. Investigators often assume equivalent food intake across experimental conditions and exclude it from the statistical analysis. However, the impact of this practice on type I error (T1Er) rates has not been quantified.

Methods: We conducted a Monte Carlo simulation in which animals were assigned baseline weights and food intakes, then randomized to non-pair-fed or pair-fed groups. Daily food intake for both groups was initially drawn from the baseline food intake distribution. For …

Enteral And Intravenous Supplementation Of Arginine And Citrulline Fail To Prevent Necrotizing Enterocolitis In Preterm Neonatal Pigs, Caitlin Vonderohe, Julia Garcia Mancebo, Valeria Melendez Hebib, Barbara Stoll, Inka Didelija, Sarah Elefson, Mahmoud Mohammad, Brooklynn Earls, Greg Guthrie, Doug Burrin

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the most common gastrointestinal emergency in preterm infants with a morality rate that approaches 50%. Arginine has been widely studied in the field of clinical nutrition as a supplement for patients experiencing critical illness because it can be metabolized into nitric oxide, an important agent for supporting immunity and microcirculation. Citrulline has received less attention but can be metabolized into arginine and has a much longer plasma half-life than arginine. We used the highly translational preterm pig model to determine the effect of intravenous and enteral supplementation of arginine and citrulline on NEC incidence in …

Unravelling The Molecular Mechanisms Causal To Type 2 Diabetes Across Global Populations And Disease-Relevant Tissues, Ozvan Bocher, Ana Luiza Arruda, Satoshi Yoshiji, Chi Zhao, Alicia Huerta-Chagoya, Chen-Yang Su, Xianyong Yin, Davis Cammann, Henry J Taylor, Jingchun Chen, Ken Suzuki, Ravi Mandla, Ta-Yu Yang, Fumihiko Matsuda, Josep M Mercader, Jason Flannick, James B Meigs, Alexis C Wood, Marijana Vujkovic, Benjamin F Voight, Cassandra N Spracklen, Jerome I Rotter, Andrew P Morris, Eleftheria Zeggini

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a prevalent disease arising from complex molecular mechanisms. Here we leverage T2D genetic associations to identify causal molecular mechanisms in an ancestry-aware and tissue-aware manner. Using two-sample Mendelian randomization corroborated by colocalization across four global ancestries, we analyse 20,307 gene and 1,630 protein expression levels using blood-derived cis-quantitative trait loci (QTLs). We detect causal effects of genetically predicted levels of 335 genes and 46 proteins on T2D risk, with 16.4% and 50% replication in independent cohorts, respectively. Using gene expression cis-QTLs derived from seven T2D-relevant tissues, we identify causal links between the expression of 676 …

Uncovering Predictors Of Bipolar Ii Conversion To Bipolar I: A Machine Learning Analysis Of National Health Records In Taiwan, Chih-Wei Hsu, Yang-Chieh Brian Chen, Liang-Jen Wang, Kuo-Chuan Hung, Mu-Hong Chen, Eduard Vieta, Chien-Yuan Chen, Chih-Sung Liang, Andre F Carvalho

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background: Bipolar II disorder (BD-II) can progress to bipolar I disorder (BD-I), carrying profound psychosocial consequences. However, limited research has investigated the transition from BD-II to BD-I. Our study uses machine learning to predict the conversion using real-world data.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (2000-2013) to identify adults diagnosed with BD-II. A predictive model for BD-I conversion was developed using extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), incorporating demographic factors, healthcare utilization, comorbidities, and psychotropic medication use. The dataset was randomly divided into development (80 %) and test (20 %) sets. Model performance …

Catatonia And Elevated Mortality: A Population-Wide Cohort Study With Healthy, Sibling, And Schizophrenia Spectrum Controls, Chih-Wei Hsu, Yang-Chieh Brian Chen, Marco Solmi, Chih-Sung Liang, Mu-Hong Chen, Yao-Hsu Yang, Liang-Jen Wang, Edward Chia-Cheng Lai

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Aim: To determine whether catatonia is associated with increased long-term all-cause and cause-specific mortality.

Methods: Using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Database (2000-2022), we assembled a population-based cohort of all adults (≥18 years) with catatonia and matched each to four controls without catatonia on sex and birthdate. Mortality was compared between (1) individuals with catatonia and their unaffected siblings and (2) individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders with catatonia and those with schizophrenia spectrum disorders without catatonia. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality; secondary outcomes were natural- and unnatural-cause deaths. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated with …

Does Hla-B27 Status Influence Ixekizumab Efficacy In Axial Spondyloarthritis? Results From The Coast-V, Coast-W, And Coast-X Trials, John D Reveille, Martin Rudwaleit, Proton Rahman, Jose A Maldonado-Cocco, Marina Magrey, Rebecca Bolce, Khai Jing Ng, Theresa Hunter Gibble, Jeffrey Lisse, So Young Park, Andris Kronbergs, Victoria Navarro-Compán

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

Introduction: The human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 is associated with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and is a predictor of response to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors. However, limited data are available on HLA-B27 and interleukin-17 inhibitors. We evaluated the influence of HLA-B27 status on ixekizumab response through 52 weeks in patients with axSpA.

Methods: Data were analyzed from three randomized placebo-controlled trials: COAST-V (NCT02696785), COAST-W (NCT02696798), and COAST-X (NCT02757352). Patients fulfilled the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society (ASAS) criteria for radiographic (r)-axSpA or non-radiographic (nr)-axSpA. Patients were randomized to receive 80 mg ixekizumab every 2 weeks, 80 …

Rare Heterozygous Missense Variants In Vsx2 Are Associated With Retinal Detachment, Daniel C Brock, Justin S Dhindsa, Yifan Chen, Vida Ravanmehr, Jonathan Mitchell, Fengyuan Hu, Xiaoyin Li, Likhita Nandigam, Quanli Wang, Kevin Wu, Jessica C Butts, Hardeep S Dhindsa, Benjamin J Frankfort, Nicholas M Tran, Slavé Petrovski, Ryan S Dhindsa

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Retinal detachment (RD) is a sight-threatening emergency requiring urgent intervention to prevent permanent vision loss. While both environmental and genetic risk factors contribute to RD, its complete genetic architecture remains unknown. Here, we performed the largest whole genome sequencing-based case-control study in RD to date, including data from 7,276 RD cases and 236,741 controls in the UK Biobank. Through variant- and gene-level association analyses, we identified VSX2 as a genetic determinant of RD risk while confirming established associations including FAT3, RDH5, and COL2A1. Gene-level collapsing analysis revealed that rare heterozygous missense variants in VSX2 confer a 2.8-fold …

Investigation Of Teratogenic Concerns In The Coronavirus Disease Of 2019 Era, Kate Richardson, Emily C Daykin, Kathleen Shields, S Shahrukh Hashmi, Lorrie Harris-Sagaribay, Molly Daniels, Myla Ashfaq

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: MotherToBaby (MTB) is a teratogen information service that provides information about exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding to the public and healthcare providers. During the Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, MTB received an influx of queries regarding the teratogenicity of the virus and the vaccine. The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency and type of exposures asked about prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic through March 2022 and to evaluate the demographics of individuals who made inquiries.

Methods: Data from MTB contacts (2018-2022) were accessed through a data-sharing agreement. The data were cleaned and …

Development And Implementation Of An Mri-Only Simulation, Planning, And Treatment Workflow For Prostate Radiotherapy Using Synthetic Ct On Mr-Linac, Reza Reiazi, Yao Ding, Sarath Vijayan, Jinzhong Yang, Ergys Subashi, Yao Zhao, Belinda M Lee, Hunter L Emory, Vi T Dinh, Greg L Swiedom, Jie Deng, Mu-Han Lin, Peter Balter, Rajat J Kudchadker, Elaine E Cha, Seungtaek Choi, Yusung Kim, Eun Young Han, Surendra Prajapati

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: We evaluated the feasibility of a magnetic resonance (MR)-only simulation, planning, and treatment (MROSPT) workflow for prostate cancer patients using synthetic computed tomography (sCT) generated from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. By validating sCT-based dose calculations, we aimed to streamline radiotherapy workflows, eliminate the need for CT simulation, and enable reliable clinical implementation of MR-based radiotherapy for MR-linac (MRL).

Methods: We developed a comprehensive workflow encompassing the entire process from initial consultation to treatment delivery. After developing the workflow, a retrospective dosimetric validation study was performed on nine men with prostate cancer. They underwent CT and MRI simulations, and …

Icosapent Ethyl Reduces Cvd Risk In Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome: Reduce-It Ckm, Michael Miller, Deepak L Bhatt, Eliot A Brinton, Terry A Jacobson, Ph Gabriel Steg, Steven B Ketchum, Armando Lira Pineda, Jean-Claude Tardif, Christie M Ballantyne

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background/introduction: Cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome was recently identified as a cardiometabolic disorder that incorporates chronic kidney disease with the metabolic syndrome (MetS). REDUCE-IT (Reduction of Cardiovascular Events with Icosapent Ethyl-Intervention Trial) was an international, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that randomized hypertriglyceridemic (TG, 150-499 mg/dL) statin-treated patients with established cardiovascular disease (CVD) or diabetes and multiple CVD risk factors to icosapent ethyl (IPE) or placebo (4 grams/day). It is unknown if renal insufficiency added to MetS confers incremental CVD risk in secondary prevention patients without diabetes and if IPE lowers that risk.

Methods: The current study evaluated the secondary prevention patient subgroup with …

Utilization Of Intensive Care Interventions In Critically Ill Patients With Candidemia Versus Bacteremia: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study, Mary North Jones, Masayuki Nigo, Stefano Casarin, James Kurian, Aarjav Sanghvi, Enshuo Hsu, Stephen L Jones, Ashton Connor, David B Corry, Cesar A Arias, Max W Adelman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objectives: Candida species are one of the most common causes of ICU-onset bloodstream infection (BSI). Yet, there is no robust guidance on when to initiate empiric antifungals for ICU patients suspected of BSI. We compared patients with ICU-onset candidemia vs. ICU-onset bacteremia to determine which patients may benefit from empiric antifungals.

Design: We compared characteristics between patients with bacteremia vs. candidemia at time of culture. We determined risk factors for death and constructed a multivariable regression to determine if candidemia is an independent risk factor for death.

Setting/patients: We included ICU patients from a hospital system in Houston, Texas (n …

Medical Aid In Dying: A Narrative Review Of The Recent Academic Literature In The United States., Holland Kaplan, Soraira Pacheco, Keziah M Thomas, Christopher L Ulmschneider, Anjiya Sulaiman, Chandni Lotwala, Derek Dawes, Issa A Hanna, Courtney Nguyen, Caroline G Snider, Gabriel M Aisenberg

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Medical aid in dying (MAiD) is a practice in which a healthcare professional provides assistance to a terminally ill patient seeking to end their life. To assess how academic discourse may shape public opinion and policy in the United States, we conducted a narrative review of the literature published between 2020 and 2024. Articles were categorized as supportive, opposing, or neutral, and patterns were examined across authorship, disciplinary focus, and target populations. Our findings reveal that most recent publications adopt supportive or neutral stances toward MAiD, with a slight increase in opposition beginning in 2022. Authorship discipline strongly influenced position, …

Therapeutic Potential Of C1-Inhibitor In Vascular Diseases And Beyond, Linda Sundler Björkman, Harish Eswaran, Steven P Grover

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

C1INH (C1-inhibitor) is a multifunctional SERPIN (serine protease inhibitor) that functions as a major negative regulator of the complement, coagulation, and kallikrein-kinin systems. C1INH products were originally developed for the treatment of hereditary angioedema associated with C1INH deficiency. A growing body of literature indicates that C1INH products may find utility in the management of several other disease states. In this review, we detail the key biological activities of C1INH and consider the pathophysiological role of C1INH targets in many conditions. The therapeutic potential of exogenous C1INH is highlighted in the settings of thromboembolism, ischemia-reperfusion injury, sepsis, transplantation, and coronavirus disease …

Urinary Biomarkers Of Acute Kidney Injury In Neonates < 25 Weeks’ Gestation: A Pilot Study, Jazmin D Humphreys, Aman Jain, Amir M Khan, Tina O Findley, Mar Romero-Lopez, Sepideh Saroukhani, Rita D Swinford, Matthew A Rysavy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) occurs in 30% of premature neonates and is associated with adverse outcomes that may be mitigated with early detection. Diagnosis of AKI relies on serum creatinine (SCr) which has several limitations, including lack of sensitivity and specificity. There are limited data on the utility of alternative urine biomarkers to predict AKI in neonates born at < 25 weeks' gestation.

Methods: Urine was collected from neonates born at < 25 weeks' gestation during the first postnatal week. Two urine AKI biomarkers, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) were measured. Study participants were prospectively followed to determine development of AKI, defined by the neonatal modified Kidney Disease-Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria, during the first postnatal week. The association of NGAL and EGF with AKI was analyzed using mixed-effect linear regression models adjusting for gestational age at birth.

Results: A total of 26 neonates were enrolled in this study. After adjusting for gestational age at birth, the mean difference in log-transformed biomarkers at three time points for urine NGAL and …

Markvcid2 Consortium For Clinical Validation Of Biomarkers Of Cerebral Small Vessel Disease: Validation Framework And Baseline Characteristics, Steven M Greenberg, Marylin S Albert, Hongyu An, Konstantinos Arfanakis, Arnold M Evia, Arvind Caprihan, Andria L Ford, Myriam Fornage, Gregory S Day, Jason D Hinman, Gregory A Jicha, Amir H Kashani, Joel H Kramer, Christian Lachner, Jin-Moo Lee, Peiying Liu, Hanzhang Lu, Pauline Maillard, Ronald C Petersen, Bruce M Psaty, John M Ringman, Gary A Rosenberg, Claudia L Satizabal, Sean I Savitz, Julie A Schneider, Sudha Seshadri, Prashanthi Vemuri, Danny J J Wang, Donna M Wilcock, B Gwen Windham, Rong Zhang, Carissa Tuozzo, Herpreet Singh, Sue Moy, Vilma Okey-Ewurum, Courtney B Page, Hillary Mulder, Pia Kivisäkk, Deborah Blacker, Lidiya Mazina, Karl G Helmer, Kristin Schwab, Lisa M Wruck, Roderick A Corriveau

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To establish a framework for validating candidate biomarkers of cerebral small vessel diseases (SVD) associated with cognitive impairment and characterize individuals enrolled by the MarkVCID2 consortium under this framework.

Methods: Participants age 60 to 90 years were enrolled across 17 MarkVCID2 sites. Recruitment was targeted to enrich in cognitive symptoms (mild dementia, mild cognitive impairment, subjective cognitive decline), defined risk factors (diabetes mellitus, advanced hypertension), and Black/African American, White, and Hispanic/Latino subgroups. Enrolled participants underwent baseline visits that included cognitive testing, multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and biofluid collection. Provisional risk for SVD-related cognitive decline was estimated primarily by …

Outcomes Of Witnessed Versus Unwitnessed Patients With Stroke After Endovascular Therapy In The Extended Time Window, Liisa Tomppo, Nicolas Martinez-Majander, Muhammad M Qureshi, Thanh N Nguyen, Raul G Nogueira, Simon Nagel, Jelle Demeestere, Volker Puetz, Hilde Henon, Marta Olive-Gadea, João Pedro Marto, Anne Dusart, Peter A Ringleb, Osama O Zaidat, Diogo C Haussen, Mahmoud H Mohammaden, Mohamad Abdalkader, Jean Raymond, Santiago Ortega-Gutierrez, Sunil A Sheth, Hiroshi Yamagami, João Nuno Ramos, Francois Caparros, Daniel P O Kaiser, Marc Ribo, Sergio Salazar-Marioni, Kanta Tanaka, Pekka Virtanen, Ajit S Puri, James E Siegler, Syed F Zaidi, Mouhammad Jumaa, Eugene Lin, Jordi Mayol, Rita Ventura, Simon Winzer, Piers Klein, Flavio Bellante, Jorge Cespedes, Anke Wouters, Hesham E Masoud, Liqi Shu, Alicia C Castonguay, Christian Herweh, Monica Cheng, Wei Hu, Daniel Roy, Shadi Yaghi, Robin Lemmens, Charlotte Cordonnier, Markus A Möhlenbruch, Daniel Strbian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: It remains unclear whether outcomes of patients treated with endovascular thrombectomy with large-vessel occlusion and unwitnessed onset of stroke differ from those with witnessed onset in the extended time window.

Methods: We enrolled patients with anterior circulation large-vessel occlusion (internal carotid artery, M1, or M2 segment of the middle cerebral artery) undergoing endovascular thrombectomy within 6 to 24 hours from the time last seen well, from 2014 to 2022, at 66 sites in Europe, North America, and Asia. Patients with a prestroke modified Rankin Scale score of >3 or age < 18 were excluded. We categorized patients by onset mode as witnessed or unwitnessed. The primary outcome was the modified Rankin Scale shift at 90 days. Secondary outcomes were functional independence, a composite of functional independence or return of Rankin to prestroke level, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, mortality, and a composite of severe disability or mortality at 90 days. We applied inverse probability of treatment weighting to compare outcomes between the groups.

Results: Of 5098 patients assessed for eligibility, we included …