Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Endothelin Receptor Antagonists (Era) In Hypertension And Chronic Kidney Disease: A Rose With Many Thorns, Michael N. Doumas, V. Athyros, N. Katsiki, A. Reklou, A. Lazaridis, A. Karagiannis

Medicine Faculty Publications

The discovery of endothelin created a lot of enthusiasm and paved new therapeutic avenues for the treatment of arterial hypertension. Endothelin plays a significant role in blood pressure regulation through pronounced vasoconstriction and modulation of sodium and water reabsorption in the kidneys. Endothelin receptor antagonists have been tested in many clinical trials in patients with arterial hypertension, heart failure, pulmonary arterial hypertension, systemic sclerosis, chronic kidney disease, and diabetic nephropathy. However, the results were usually disappointing, except in pulmonary hypertension and scleroderma digital ulcers. The future of ERAs for the treatment of arterial hypertension and chronic kidney disease does not …

Diagnostic Error - Mini Review And Case Report Of Patient Death Resulting From Delayed Diagnosis Of Acute Prostatitis, Dragica K. Mrkoci, Katherine C. Chretien

Medicine Faculty Publications

A 57-year old man presenting with frequent and painful urination and negative initial urinalysis for infection was given a diagnosis of benign prostate hypertrophy, which was never revised by subsequent providers. Instead, the patient continued to be treated for urinary retention and pain. A potent NSAID, Toradol (ketorolac), was included in his regimen. One day prior to his demise, the patient was diagnosed with prostatic abscess and admitted for treatment with intravenous antibiotics. However the patient died on hospital day one from massive GI bleeding. Autopsy revealed an underlying peptic ulcer.

This case shines a light on diagnostic error: missed, …

No-Pharmacological Intervention: Pomegranate Juice For The Management Of Hypertension And The Improvement Of Cardiovascular Health, Konstantinos Tzimalos, Michael N. Doumas, Vasilios Athyros

Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Emergence Of Ambulatory Measurement Of Arterial Stiffness And Central Blood Pressure: A Promising Novelty Of Clinical Importance Or Just Another Marker?, Antonios Lazaridis, Aristotle University Of Thessaloniki, Michael N. Doumas, Andromachi Reklou, A. Karagiannis

Medicine Faculty Publications

Whereas brachial blood pressure (BP) is still considered the gold standard for the estimation of cardiovascular risk in all clinical trials and guidelines, scientific interest is shifting towards central hemodynamics and the scientific community is experiencing a whole new revolution with the emergence of novel cardiovascular markers such as the ambulatory measurement of central BP and arterial stiffness. Central BP has already started to demonstrate its superiority over peripheral BP as a better and more reliable predictor of end-organ damage in cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, ambulatory measurement of central BP and pulse wave velocity are expected to add much more useful …

Foreign Body Aspiration Presenting With Asthma-Like Symptoms, Jennifer C. Kam, Vikram Doriswamy, Javier F. Dieguez, Joan Dabu, Matthew Cholankeril, Mayur Govind, Richard Miller, Marc Adelman

Medicine Faculty Publications

Aspiration of a foreign body into the tracheobronchial tree is rare in adults. In the majority of these cases there is an underlying condition such as mental retardation, depressed mental status, impairment in the swallowing reflex, neurological impairment, alcohol or sedative abuse, or complications from dental manipulations that contributed to the aspiration. These patients are commonly misdiagnosed with asthma and typically do not respond to mainstay anti-inflammatory and/or bronchodilator therapy. We describe the case of a patient with a foreign body aspiration in the upper trachea not recognized by radiographic studies that presented with asthma-type symptoms.

Genomic Profiling Reveals The Potential Role Of Tcl1a And Mdr1 Deficiency In Chemotherapy-Induced Cardiotoxicity, Timothy A. Mccaffrey, Constantine Tziros, Jannet Lewis, Richard Katz, Robert S. Siegel, William B. Weglicki, Jay H. Kramer, I. Tong Mak, Ian Toma, Liang Chen, Elizabeth Benas, Alexander Lowitt, Shruti Rao, Linda Witkin, Yi Lian, Zhaoqing Yang, Sidney W. Fu

Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: Anthracyclines, such as doxorubicin (Adriamycin), are highly effective chemotherapeutic agents, but are well known to cause myocardial dysfunction and life-threatening congestive heart failure (CHF) in some patients.

Methods: To generate new hypotheses about its etiology, genome-wide transcript analysis was performed on whole blood RNA from women that received doxorubicin-based chemotherapy and either did, or did not develop CHF, as defined by ejection fractions (EF)≤40%. Women with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy unrelated to chemotherapy were compared to breast cancer patients prior to chemo with normal EF to identify heart failure-related transcripts in women not receiving chemotherapy. Byproducts of oxidative stress in plasma …

Biclonal Gammopathy In A Patient Taking Efalizumab For The Treatment Of Psoriasis, Antonia Fthenakis, Kurt S. Wenk, Alison Ehrlich, Jeanny B. Aragon-Ching

Dermatology Faculty Publications

We report a patient who developed biclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance during treatment with
efalizumab for psoriasis. This plasma cell disorder was found during the evaluation of the patient’s complaint of mild lower extremity paresthesia. The gammopathy spontaneously remitted following cessation of therapy and has not recurred to date. Given the increasing use and development of biological agents for the treatment of psoriasis and other disorders, this finding and the mechanisms by which it may have occurred is of clinical significance.

B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Associated With T(8;22)(P11.2q11.2): Role Of Additional Cytogenic Anomalies, Kate M. Serdy, Shireen R. Khoury, Louis Depalma

Pathology Faculty Publications

B lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) may be associated with recurrent cytogenetic and molecular abnormalities. We describe the fourth-known case of B-ALL associated with the t(8;22)(p11.2q11.2) – a translocation seen more frequently in T lymphoblastic leukemia and acute myelogenous leukemia. This patient’s leukemia involves a combination of additional cytogenetic anomalies not yet described in the literature, including del(11)(q13q23), add(9)(p22), and monosomy 7. Given the role in B cell differentiation of genes in the affected regions, including MEN1 (11q13), ATM (11q22), ETS1(11q23), MLL (11q23), AF9 (9p22), and IKZ-F1 (7p12), this case may provide further insight into B cell leukemogenesis associated with the t(8;22). …

Whole Blood Platelet Aggregation And Release Reaction Testing In Uremic Patients, Jay Zeck, Jason Schallheim, Susie Q. Lew, Louis Depalma

Pathology Faculty Publications

Background: Platelet function analysis utilizing platelet-rich plasma and optical density based aggregometry fails to identify patients at risk for uremia associated complications.

Methods: We employed whole blood platelet aggregation analysis based on impedance as well as determination of ATP release from platelet granules detected by a chemiluminescence method. Ten chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 4 or 5 predialysis patients underwent platelet evaluation. Our study aims to evaluate this platform in this patient population to determine if abnormalities could be detected. Results. Analysis revealed normal aggregation and ATP release to collagen, ADP, and high-dose ristocetin. ATP release had a low response …

Middle Ear Myoclonus: Two Informative Cases And A Systematic Discussion Of Myogenic Tinnitus, Aviva Ellenstein, Nadia Yusuf, Mark Hallett

Neurology Faculty Publications

Background: The term middle ear myoclonus (MEM) has been invoked to explain symptoms of tinnitus presumably caused by the dysfunctional movement of either of the two muscles that insert in the middle ear: tensor tympani and stapedius. MEM has been characterized through heterogeneous case reports in the otolaryngology literature, where clinical presentation is variable, phenomenology is scarcely described, the pathogenic muscle is usually not specified, natural history is unknown, and the presumptive definitive treatment, tensor tympani or stapedius tendon lysis, is inconsistently effective. It is not surprising that no unique acoustogenic mechanism or pathophysiologic process has been identified to explain …

Comparing Hormone Therapy Effects In Two Rcts And Two Large Observational Studies That Used Similar Methods For Comprehensive Data Collection And Outcome Assessment, Arthur Hartz, Tao He, Robert Wallace, John H. Powers

Medicine Faculty Publications

Objectives Prospective observational studies (OSs) that collect adequate information about confounders can validly assess treatment consequences. However, what constitutes adequate information is unknown. This study investigated whether the extensive information collected by the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) in two OSs and two randomised controlled trials (RCTs) was adequate.

Design Secondary analysis of WHI data. Cox regression was used to select from all baseline risk factors those that best predicted outcome. Cox regression that included these risk factors was used for two types of analyses: (1) comparing RCT and OS assessments of the effects of hormone therapy on outcome for participants …

Children With Special Health Care Need’S Association Of Passive Tobacco Smoke Exposure And Dental Caries: 2007 National Survey Of Children’S Health, R Constance Wiener

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine a relationship between passive tobacco smoke exposure (secondhand and third hand tobacco smoke exposure) and dental caries in Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) ages 0-17 years.

Method: This study used data from the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health involving 17,901 CSHCN. Telephone survey data were used to determine recent caries experience and passive tobacco smoke exposure (secondhand and third hand tobacco smoke exposure). Recent caries was defined as a positive response to if CSHCN had “decayed teeth or cavities within the past 6 months.” Passive smoke was defined …

Obesity And Preference-Weighted Quality Of Life Of Ethnically Diverse Middle School Children: The Healthy Study, Roberto P. Trevino, Trang H. Pham, Sharon Edelstein

GW Biostatistics Center

No abstract provided.

Himmelfarb Library Annual Report 2013, George Washington University, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library

Himmelfarb Library Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Department Of Education: Fy 2013 Annual Report, Lehigh Valley Health Network

Department of Education

No abstract provided.

Examination Of The Impact Of Living Arrangements And Marital Status On Depression Among Older Adult Male Veterans, Nicole M. Behne

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

As the older adult population grows, depression rates are also on the rise. This is especially evident among American veterans, who experience a depression incidence close to 30%, making it one of the most common diagnoses treated within the Veterans Health Administraiton (Hankin, Spiro, Miller et al, as cited in Cully, Zimmer, Khan & Petersen, 2008).

The purpose of this study is to identify key demographic variables associated with depression among older male veterans. The results could help improve patterns of care, hopefully improving the management of depression. The retrospective descriptive study uses existing medical record data to identify patterns …

Understanding The Vocation Of Health Professionals, Laura Hey, Kate Nowakowski

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

This project seeks to determine if and how physicians and dentists understand their work as a vocation or calling. In order to accomplish this, we interviewed dentists and physicians who were at different points in their careers and analyzed the data in comparison with theological sources on vocation. Dentists defined their vocation in broad terms, saying that it was more than their work. Physicians, on the other hand, see their vocation to mean the work that they do as a physician. Both groups found the most fulfillment in their careers when they feel a sense of joy and excitement, when …

Identification Of Contributing Factors To Alcohol Abuse In Korean And Vietnam War Veterans, Hannah Prososki

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

Background: It is known that alcohol use is prevalent among American military personnel. There is little research on whether or not alcohol abuse in the military today can also be applied to Korean and Vietnam era war veterans.

Objective: This study aims to discover if risk factors for alcohol abuse patterns from Korean and Vietnam War veterans match a more recent predictive model for veteran alcohol abuse.

Method: A Retrospective descriptive study, using existing medical record data, drawn from a total record set of 400 veterans, 59 of which met inclusion criteria for alcohol abuse. Cases were then …

Household Catastrophic Medical Expenses In Eastern China: Determinants And Policy Implications, Xiaohong Li, Jay J. Shen, Jun Lu, Mei Sun, Chengyue Li, Fengshui Chang, Mo Hao

School of Public Health Faculty Research

Background: Much of research on household catastrophic medical expenses in China has focused on less developed areas and little is known about this problem in more developed areas. This study aimed to analyse the incidence and determinants of catastrophic medical expenses in eastern China.

Methods: Data were obtained from a health care utilization and expense survey of 11,577 households conducted in eastern China in 2008. The incidence of household catastrophic medical expenses was calculated using the method introduced by the World Health Organization. A multi-level logistic regression model was used to identify the determinants.

Results: The incidence of household catastrophic …

Dr. William Gorgas And His Management Style In The Eradication Of Yellow Fever During The Panama Canal Construction: A Historical Case Study, Faisal H. Aboul-Enein

2010-2016 Archived Posters

This study describes the style of management of Dr. William Gorgas as he led the public health effort to reduce diseases to a level that permitted the completion of the Panama Canal construction. Initially, Gorgas was skeptical of the mosquito vector theory. He fully accepted this theory after participating in Walter Reed's massive cleanup of Havana, Cuba during the Spanish American War of 1898. During 1905 to 1914, Gorgas was selected to lead the sanitary effort during the construction of the Panama Canal. The lessons learned from this historical case study provide public health administrators with guidance to effectively lead …

The Effect Of Antihypertensive Drugs On Arterial Stiffness And Central Hemodynamics: Not All Fingers Are Made The Same, Michael N. Doumas, Eugenia Gkaliagkousi, N. Katsiki, Andromachi Reklou, Antonios Lazaridis, Konstantinos Karagiannis

Medicine Faculty Publications

Arterial stiffness and central hemodynamics attract increasing scientific interest within the hypertensive community during the last decade. Accumulating evidence indicates that aortic stiffness is a strong and independent predictor of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality in hypertensive patients, and its predictive value extends beyond traditional risk factors. The role of central hemodynamics and augmentation index (a marker of reflected waves), remains less established and requires further investigation. Several lines of evidence indicate that antihypertensive therapy results in significant reductions of pulse wave velocity and central hemodynamics. However, beta-blockers seem to be the only exception with significant within-class differences. Conventional beta-blockers, …

Transmission Potential Of Influenza A/H7n9, February To May 2013, China, Gerardo Chowell, Lone Simonsen, Sherry Towers, Mark A. Miller, Cecile G. Viboud

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

Background

On 31 March 2013, the first human infections with the novel influenza A/H7N9 virus were reported in Eastern China. The outbreak expanded rapidly in geographic scope and size, with a total of 132 laboratory-confirmed cases reported by 3 June 2013, in 10 Chinese provinces and Taiwan. The incidence of A/H7N9 cases has stalled in recent weeks, presumably as a consequence of live bird market closures in the most heavily affected areas. Here we compare the transmission potential of influenza A/H7N9 with that of other emerging pathogens and evaluate the impact of intervention measures in an effort to guide pandemic …

Alloreactivity-Based Medical Conditions, Stanislav Vukmanovic, Margaret G. Petroff, Anne M. Stevens, Daniel Rukavina

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Can Healthy Transplanted Tissue Be Used To Restore Motor Function In Patients With Parkinson's Disease?, Aliza Erlbaum

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Parkinson’s Disease is a condition that disrupts the lives the many people. The disease is characterized by a loss of dopamine producing neurons in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra of the ventral midbrain, and symptoms include a lack of motor control and rigidity in motion. Currently, there are many treatments available to treat patients with Parkinson’s disease. However, each treatment involves many adverse side effects that most wish to avoid. Science is discovering possible innovative, alternative options to treat Parkinson’s disease such as the transplantation of healthy dopaminergic neurons directly into the striatum of the patient. Methods include …

Are Oncolytic Viruses A Cure For Cancer? A Look At Reovirus, Adenovirus, And Hsv-1 In Cancer Treatment, Yehuda Rosenberg

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

This paper aims to evaluate the option of utilizing Oncolytic Viruses as a viable treatment in fighting cancer. However, due to the broad nature of the subject, a more limited purview is necessary. With that in mind, the focus will be on a few of the more researched ones: Reovirus, Adenovirus, and HSV-1. In each case, we will examine what makes each of these potential options. This will include an examination of each one's tumor-specificity. Cancer and viral physiology will be discussed as necessary to examine the distinct protein expressions in tumor cells, so that the virus's method of battling …

Low-Income Adults Food Management Practices And Nutrition Behaviors And The Association With Diet, Sarah Elizabeth Lewis

Theses and Dissertations--Nutrition and Food Systems

Food insecurity and diet quality are concerns in low-income populations, contributing to high rates of obesity. Food management skills may enable low-income populations to obtain a healthy food supply rather than relying on less expensive and less nutritious foods to fill their diets. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between food management practices and diet quality in SNAP-ED/EFNEP participants. This study examines the association between food management behaviors and dietary outcomes (Healthy Eating Index totals, total calories, carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and servings of fruits, vegetables, milk, and meats/beans) as measured by the Behavior Checklist …

I Remember - Memories Of An Academic Neophyte, June J. Pilcher

Publications

This past year, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Psychology June Pilcher spent six months in Austria as a Fulbright-Freud Scholar, researching, teaching, training and traveling. It was a marvelous experience for her, and one that she pursued in part because of another Fulbright award almost 30 years ago. Clemson World asked her to share her reflections.

Vascular Depression: An Early Indicator Of Decline, Daniel Lee Paulson

Wayne State University Dissertations

Women over the age of 80 represent a rapidly growing demographic group. While older women live longer than men, they do so with more years of disability and frailty. The emergence of geriatric disorders such as vascular disease, depression, frailty and cognitive decline in the aging US population place additional strain and expense on the already over-burdened public health care system. Meanwhile, integrated models of care are associated with preserved functional independence, reduced medical costs, and greater satisfaction for both health care providers and patients. Implementation of integrated care demands process-models of disease that contextualize symptoms within broader patterns of …

Microenvironment Generated During Egfr Targeted Killing Of Pancreatic Tumor Cells By Atc Inhibits Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Through Cox2 And Pge2 Dependent Pathway, Archana Thakur, Dana Schalk, Elyse Tomaszewski, Sri Kondadasula, Hiroshi Yano, Fazlul H. Sarkar, Lawrence G. Lum

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are one of the major components of the immune-suppressive network, play key roles in tumor progression and limit therapeutic responses. Recently, we reported that tumor spheres formed by breast cancer cell lines were visibly smaller in a Th₁ enriched microenvironment with significantly reduced differentiation of MDSC populations in 3D culture. In this study, we investigated the mechanism(s) of bispecific antibody armed ATC mediated inhibition of MDSC in the presence or absence of Th₁ microenvironment.

Methods

We used 3D co-culture model of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with pancreatic cancer cells MiaPaCa-2 [MiaE] …

Inhibition Of Hedgehog Signaling Sensitizes Nsclc Cells To Standard Therapies Through Modulation Of Emt-Regulating Mirnas, Aamir Ahmad, Ma'in Y. Maitah, Kevin R. Ginnebaugh, Yiwei Li, Bin Bao, Shirish M. Gadgeel, Fazlul H. Sarkar

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Epidermal growth factor receptor- tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) benefit Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, and an EGFR-TKIi erlotinib, is approved for patients with recurrent NSCLC. However, resistance to erlotinib is a major clinical problem. Earlier we have demonstrated the role of Hedgehog (Hh) signaling in Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal transition (EMT) of NSCLC cells, leading to increased proliferation and invasion. Here, we investigated the role of Hh signaling in erlotinib resistance of TGF-β1-induced NSCLC cells that are reminiscent of EMT cells.

Methods

Hh signaling was inhibited by specific siRNA and by GDC-0449, a small molecule antagonist of G protein coupled …