Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Digital Clock Drawing As An Alzheimer's Disease Susceptibility Biomarker: Associations With Genetic Risk Score And Apoe In Older Adults, L I Thompson, M Cummings, S Emrani, David J. Libon, A Ang, C Karjadi, R Au, C Liu

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia in older adults, but most people are not diagnosed until significant neuronal loss has likely occurred along with a decline in cognition. Non-invasive and cost-effective digital biomarkers for AD have the potential to improve early detection.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the validity of DCTclockTM (a digitized clock drawing task) as an AD susceptibility biomarker.

DESIGN: We used two primary independent variables, Apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele carrier status and polygenic risk score (PRS). We examined APOE and PRS associations with DCTclockTM composite scores as dependent measures.

SETTING: We used existing data …

Neurologic Outcomes For Adult Spinal Cord Ependymomas Stratified By Tumor Location: A Retrospective Cohort Study And 2-Year Outlook, Keanu Chee, Grégoire P Chatain, Michael W Kortz, Stephanie Serva, Keshari Shrestha, Timothy H Ung, Jens-Peter Witt, Michael Finn

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

Determine whether craniocaudal spinal cord tumor location affects long-term neurologic outcomes in adults diagnosed with spinal ependymomas (SE). A retrospective cohort analysis of patients aged ≥ 18 years who underwent surgical resection for SE over a ten-year period was conducted. Tumor location was classified as cervical, thoracic, or lumbar/conus. Primary endpoints were post-operative McCormick Neurologic Scale (MNS) scores at < 3 days, 6 weeks, 1 year, and 2 years. One-way ANOVA was performed to detect significant differences in MNS scores between tumor locations. Twenty-eight patients were identified. The average age was 44.2 ± 15.4 years. Sixteen were male, and 13 were female. There were 10 cervical-predominant SEs, 13 thoracic-predominant SEs, and 5 lumbar/conus-predominant SEs. No significant differences were observed in pre-operative MNS scores between tumor locations (p = 0.73). One-way ANOVA testing demonstrated statistically significant differences in post-operative MNS scores between tumor locations at < 3 days (p = 0.03), 6 weeks (p = 0.009), and 1 year (p = 0.003); however, no significant difference was observed between post-operative MNS scores at 2 years (p = 0.13). The mean MNS score for patients with thoracic SEs were higher at all follow-up time points. Tumors arising in the thoracic SE are associated with worse post-operative neurologic outcomes in comparison to SEs arising in other spinal regions. This is likely multifactorial in etiology, owing to both anatomical differences including spinal cord volume as well as variations in tumor characteristics. No significant differences in 2-year MNS scores were observed, suggesting that patients ultimately recover from neurological insult sustained at the time of surgery.

Persistence To Anti-Cgrp Monoclonal Antibodies And Onabotulinumtoxina Among Patients With Migraine: A Retrospective Cohort Study, Larry Charleston, Brian Talon, Christine Sullivan, Carlton Anderson, Steven Kymes, Stephane A. Regnier, Seema Soni-Brahmbhatt, Stephanie J. Nahas

Department of Jefferson Headache Center papers and presentations

BACKGROUND: To date, real-world evidence on persistence to anti-calcitonin gene-related peptide (anti-CGRP) monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) or onabotulinumtoxinA have excluded eptinezumab. This retrospective cohort study was performed to compare treatment persistency among patients with migraine on anti-CGRP mAbs (erenumab, fremanezumab, galcanezumab, or eptinezumab) or onabotulinumtoxinA.

METHODS: This retrospective study used IQVIA PharmMetrics data. Adult patients with migraine treated with an anti-CGRP mAb or onabotulinumtoxinA who had 12 months of continuous insurance enrollment before starting treatment were included. A "most recent treatment episode" analysis was used in which the most recent episode was defined as the latest treatment period with the same …

Awareness & Prevention Of Health Hazards For Americans Embarking In Space Tourism, Krzysztof Zembrzuski

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Since the beginning of spaceflight, keeping humans healthy has been a serious concern. Prior to 2021, astronauts had to undergo an elite selection process to embark in space travel. Now that commercial spaceflight is a reality, the criteria to experience space has been significantly loosened, raising health concerns to a larger and unhealthier pool of travelers. Most commercial spaceflight clients are anticipated to be middle-aged adults, which implies many will suffer from high blood pressure and heart disease, both of which are frequent ailments in this age group. Because of the massive compression the body undergoes during takeoff and return, …

Barriers To Colorectal Cancer Screening For Low-Income Hispanic Men In Urban Areas Between 50-75, Alex Vega

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Although CRC screening rates have improved in non-Hispanic whites (NHW), Hispanic adult males (HAM) aged 50-75 in urban areas continue to experience low screening rates and higher CRC morbidity and mortality. This review aims to identify the barriers to CRC screening among HAM and propose targeted interventions to increase screening rates. A comprehensive literature review was conducted using databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Key search terms included "colorectal cancer", "screening", "Hispanic adult males", "urban", "barriers", and "interventions". Factors identified include poverty, language …

Case Study Of Horner Syndrome Due To Internal Carotid Artery Dissection, Kajel Patel

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Carotid artery dissection can occur either spontaneously or because of trauma. It is usually the most common cause of stroke in middle-aged patients. The symptoms can be transient or persistent and typically occur a few days after the inciting traumatic event.

Limitations Of Telemedicine Vs. Face-To-Face Eye Examination In A Patient With New Headaches, Joseph Hallak, Od, Danielle Kalberer, Od

Optometric Clinical Practice

Background: During the emergence and rise of COVID-19, precaution directives and limitations on in-person eye examinations re-routed a significant portion of care to telemedicine and virtual modalities. While these technologies allowed for healthcare communications that otherwise could not occur during such trying times, there are major limitations to these sanctioned applications. This report will present a seemingly benign case that could have easily been re-routed from an in-person examination to a telemedicine version due to the patient’s seemingly “routine” vision complaints.

Case Report: A 50-year-old male patient contacted the eye clinic with a complaint of a minor, new, unexplained headache …

Machine Learning Analyses Of Highly-Multiplexed Immunofluorescence Identifies Distinct Tumor And Stromal Cell Populations In Primary Pancreatic Tumors, Krysten Vance, Alphan Alitinok, Seth Winfree, Heather Jensen Smith, Benjamin Swanson Md, Phd, Paul M. Grandgenett, Kelsey Klute, Daniel J Crichton, Michael A. Hollingsworth

Journal Articles: Eppley Institute

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a formidable challenge for patients and clinicians.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the distribution of 31 different markers in tumor and stromal portions of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and identify immune cell populations to better understand how neoplastic, non-malignant structural, and immune cells, diversify the TME and influence PDAC progression.

METHODS: Whole slide imaging (WSI) and cyclic multiplexed-immunofluorescence (MxIF) was used to collect 31 different markers over the course of nine distinctive imaging series of human PDAC samples. Image registration and machine learning algorithms were developed to largely automate an imaging analysis pipeline identifying distinct cell …

Relationships Of Serum Cc16 Levels With Smoking Status And Lung Function In Copd, Kelli C. Gribben, Jill A. Poole, Amy J. Nelson, Paraskevi A. Farazi, Christopher S. Wichman, Art J. Heires, Debra J. Romberger, Tricia D. Levan

Journal Articles: Pulmonary & Critical Care Med

Background: The club cell secretory protein (CC16) has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and low CC16 serum levels have been associated with both risk and progression of COPD, yet the interaction between smoking and CC16 on lung function outcomes remains unknown.

Methods: Utilizing cross-sectional data on United States veterans, CC16 serum concentrations were measured by ELISA and log transformed for analyses. Spirometry was conducted and COPD status was defined by post-bronchodilator FEV₁/FVC ratio < 0.7. Smoking measures were self-reported on questionnaire. Multivariable logistic and linear regression were employed to examine associations between CC16 levels and COPD, and lung function with adjustment for covariates. Unadjusted Pearson correlations described relationships between CC16 level and lung function measures, pack-years smoked, and years since smoking cessation.

Results: The study population (N = 351) was mostly male, white, with an average age over 60 years. An interaction between CC16 and smoking status on …

Barriers To Lung Cancer Screening Among African American Males Aged 50-70 In The United States, Edward Marines

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Objectives:

• Identify the different barriers to lung cancer screening among African American males
• Examine potential methods of increasing access and participation within this population

Human Islet Response To Selected Type 1 Diabetes-Associated Bacteria: A Transcriptome-Based Study, Ahmed M. Abdellatif, Heather Jensen Smith, Robert Z. Harms, Nora Sarvetnick

Journal Articles: Eppley Institute

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune disease that results from destruction of pancreatic β-cells. T1D subjects were recently shown to harbor distinct intestinal microbiome profiles. Based on these findings, the role of gut bacteria in T1D is being intensively investigated. The mechanism connecting intestinal microbial homeostasis with the development of T1D is unknown. Specific gut bacteria such as Bacteroides dorei (BD) and Ruminococcus gnavus (RG) show markedly increased abundance prior to the development of autoimmunity. One hypothesis is that these bacteria might traverse the damaged gut barrier, and their constituents elicit a response from human islets that causes …

Genomic Prediction Of Relapse In Recipients Of Allogeneic Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation., J Ritari, K Hyvärinen, S Koskela, M Itälä-Remes, R Niittyvuopio, A Nihtinen, U Salmenniemi, M Putkonen, L Volin, T Kwan, T Pastinen, J Partanen

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation currently represents the primary potentially curative treatment for cancers of the blood and bone marrow. While relapse occurs in approximately 30% of patients, few risk-modifying genetic variants have been identified. The present study evaluates the predictive potential of patient genetics on relapse risk in a genome-wide manner. We studied 151 graft recipients with HLA-matched sibling donors by sequencing the whole-exome, active immunoregulatory regions, and the full MHC region. To assess the predictive capability and contributions of SNPs and INDELs, we employed machine learning and a feature selection approach in a cross-validation framework to discover the …

Serum Nutrient Levels And Aging Effects On Periodontitis, Jeffrey L Ebersole, Joshua Lambert, Heather Bush, Pinar Emecen Huja, Arpita Basu

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Periodontal disease damages tissues as a result of dysregulated host responses against the chronic bacterial biofilm insult and approximately 50% of US adults > 30 years old exhibit periodontitis. The association of five blood nutrients and periodontitis were evaluated due to our previous findings regarding a potential protective effect for these nutrients in periodontal disease derived from the US population sampled as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999–2004). Data from over 15,000 subjects was analyzed for blood levels of cis-β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, folate, vitamin D, and vitamin E, linked with analysis of the presence and severity of periodontitis. …

A Multicenter Study To Evaluate Pulmonary Function In Osteogenesis Imperfecta., Allison Tam, Shan Chen, Evan Schauer, Ingo Grafe, Venkata Bandi, Jay R. Shapiro, Robert D. Steiner, Peter A. Smith, Michael B. Bober, Tracy Hart, David Cuthbertson, Jeffrey Krischer, Mary Mullins, Peter H. Byers, Robert A. Sandhaus, Michaela Durigova, Francis H. Glorieux, Frank Rauch, Vernon Reid Sutton, Brendan Lee, Members Of The Brittle Bone Disorders Consortium, Eric T. Rush, Sandesh C S Nagamani

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Pulmonary complications are a significant cause for morbidity and mortality in osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). However, to date, there have been few studies that have systematically evaluated pulmonary function in individuals with OI. We analyzed spirometry measurements, including forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV₁ ), in a large cohort of individuals with OI (n = 217) enrolled in a multicenter, observational study. We show that individuals with the more severe form of the disease, OI type III, have significantly reduced FVC and FEV₁ which do not follow the expected trends of the …

The Association Between Subclass-Specific Igg Fc N-Glycosylation Profiles And Hypertension In The Uygur, Kazak, Kirgiz, And Tajik Populations, J. N. Liu, Mamatyusupu Dolikun, Jerko Štambuk, Irena Trbojević-Akmačić, J. Zhang, Hao Wang, D. Q. Zheng, X. Y. Zhang, H. L. Peng, Z. Y. Zhao, D. Liu, Yang Sun, Q. Sun, Q. H. Li, J. X. Zhang, Ming Sun, W. J. Cao, Ana Momčilović, Genadij Razdorov, L. J. Wu, Alyce Russell, Y. X. Wang, Song Manshu, Gordan Lauc, Wei Wang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Hypertension results from the interaction of genetic and acquired factors. IgG occurs in the form of different subclasses, of which the effector functions show significant variation. The detailed differences between the glycosylation profiles of the individual IgG subclasses may be lost in a profiling method for total IgG N-glycosylation. In this study, subclass-specific IgG Fc glycosylation profile was investigated in the four northwestern Chinese minority populations, namely, Uygur (UIG), Kazak (KZK), Kirgiz (KGZ), and Tajik (TJK), composed of 274 hypertensive patients and 356 healthy controls. The results showed that ten directly measured IgG N-glycan traits (i.e., IgG1G0F, IgG2G0F, IgG2G1FN, IgG2G1FS, …

An Eqtl Landscape Of Kidney Tissue In Human Nephrotic Syndrome., Christopher E. Gillies, Rosemary Putler, Rajasree Menon, Edgar Otto, Kalyn Yasutake, Viji Nair, Paul Hoover, David Lieb, Shuqiang Li, Sean Eddy, Damian Fermin, Michelle T. Mcnulty, Nephrotic Syndrome Study Network (Neptune), Nir Hacohen, Krzysztof Kiryluk, Matthias Kretzler, Xiaoquan Wen, Matthew G. Sampson, Tarak Srivastava

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) studies illuminate the genetics of gene expression and, in disease research, can be particularly illuminating when using the tissues directly impacted by the condition. In nephrology, there is a paucity of eQTL studies of human kidney. Here, we used whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and microdissected glomerular (GLOM) and tubulointerstitial (TI) transcriptomes from 187 individuals with nephrotic syndrome (NS) to describe the eQTL landscape in these functionally distinct kidney structures. Using MatrixEQTL, we performed cis-eQTL analysis on GLOM (n = 136) and TI (n = 166). We used the Bayesian "Deterministic Approximation of Posteriors" (DAP) to fine-map …

Can Capture Be Used To Identify Undiagnosed Patients With Mild-To-Moderate Copd Likely To Benefit From Treatment?, Nancy K. Leidy, Fernando J. Martinez, Karen G. Malley, David M. Mannino, Meilan K. Han, Elizabeth D. Bacci, Randall W. Brown, Julia F. Houfek, Wassim W. Labaki, Barry J. Make, Catherine A. Meldrum, Wilson Quezada, Stephen Rennard, Byron Thomashow, Barbara P. Yawn

Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: COPD Assessment in Primary Care To Identify Undiagnosed Respiratory Disease and Exacerbation Risk (CAPTURE™) uses five questions and peak expiratory flow (PEF) thresholds (males ≤350 L/min; females ≤250 L/min) to identify patients with a forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁)/forced vital capacity (FVC)11 60%–80% predicted) who may also benefit from diagnosis and treatment.

Methods: Data from the CAPTURE development study were used to test its sensitivity (SN) and specificity (SP) differentiating mild-to-moderate COPD (n=73) from no COPD (n=87). SN and SP for differentiating all COPD cases (mild to severe; n=259) from those without COPD (n=87) were …

Agreement Between Clinician-Rated Versus Patient-Reported Outcomes In Huntington Disease, Noelle E Carlozzi, Nicholas R Boileau, Joel S Perlmutter, Kelvin L Chou, Julie C Stout, Jane S Paulsen, Michael K Mccormack, David Cella, Martha A Nance, Jin-Shei Lai, Praveen Dayalu

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Clinician-rated measures of functioning are often used as primary endpoints in clinical trials and other behavioral research in Huntington disease. As study costs for clinician-rated assessments are not always feasible, there is a question of whether patient self-report of commonly used clinician-rated measures may serve as acceptable alternatives in low risk behavioral trials.

AIM: The purpose of this paper was to determine the level of agreement between self-report and clinician-ratings of commonly used functional assessment measures in Huntington disease.

DESIGN: 486 participants with premanifest or manifest Huntington disease were examined. Total Functional Capacity, Functional Assessment, and Independence Scale assessments …

Exacerbation Recovery Patterns In Newly Diagnosed Or Maintenance Treatment-Naïve Patients With Copd: Secondary Analyses Of Ticari 1 Trial Data, David M. Mannino, Emmanuelle M. Clerisme-Beaty, Joanne Franceschina, Naitee Ting, Nancy K. Leidy

Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: Little is known about the recovery patterns from acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) in newly diagnosed or maintenance treatment-naïve patients with COPD. This study describes the course of AECOPD in these patients at the time of treatment for the symptoms of acute respiratory tract infection (RTI).

Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of data from a 12-week, randomized clinical trial (TICARI 1) testing the efficacy and safety of once-daily tiotropium 18 µg maintenance therapy versus placebo in newly diagnosed or maintenance treatment-naïve COPD patients with acute RTI symptoms for ≤7 days. Patients received standard care …

Bilateral Facial Spasm Following Guillain-Barré Syndrome, Zain Guduru, John Morgan, Kapil Sethi

Neurology Faculty Publications

Background: We report a patient who developed lower facial muscle spasm at rest and bilateral facial synkinesis several months after treatment of Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS); this finding, to our knowledge, is hitherto unreported.

Phenomenology Shown: Bilateral synkinesis, facial muscles spasm at rest, bilateral postparalytic facial syndrome.

Educational Value: Aberrant regeneration of nerve fibers post GBS, resulting in facial muscles spasm at rest, bilateral synkinesis.

Central Nervous System Histoplasmosis: Multicenter Retrospective Study On Clinical Features, Diagnostic Approach And Outcome Of Treatment, Joseph Wheat, Thein Myint, Ying Guo, Phebe Kemmer, Chadi A. Hage, Colin Terry, Marwan M. Azar, James Riddell, Peter Ender, Sharon Chen, Kareem Shehab, Kerry Cleveland, Eden Esguerra, James Johnson, Patty Wright, Vanja Douglas, Pascalis Vergidis, Winnie Ooi, John Baddley, David Bamberger, Raed N. Khairy, Holenarasipur R. Vikram, Elizabeth Jenny-Avital, Geetha Sivasubramanian, Karen Bowlware, Barbara Pahud, Juan Sarria, Townson Tsai, Maha Assi, Satish Mocherla

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement occurs in 5 to 10% of individuals with disseminated histoplasmosis. Most experience has been derived from small single center case series, or case report literature reviews. Therefore, a larger study of central nervous system (CNS) histoplasmosis is needed in order to guide the approach to diagnosis, and treatment.

A convenience sample of 77 patients with histoplasmosis infection of the CNS was evaluated. Data was collected that focused on recognition of infection, diagnostic techniques, and outcomes of treatment.

Twenty nine percent of patients were not immunosuppressed. Histoplasma antigen, or anti-Histoplasma antibodies were detected in the …

Factors Associated With End-Of-Life Planning In Huntington Disease., Nancy R Downing, Siera Goodnight, Sena Chae, Joel S Perlmutter, Michael Mccormack, Elizabeth Hahn, Stacey K Barton, Noelle Carlozzi

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: Knowledge of one's gene status for adult onset conditions provides opportunity to make advance end-of-life (EOL) plans. The purposes of these analyses were to (1) determine the prevalence of EOL plans, including advance directives (ADs) among persons across 3 stages of Huntington disease (HD) and (2) examine factors associated with having ADs in this sample.

METHODS: Data are from 503 participants in the HD Quality of Life study. Participants completed an online health-related quality-of-life survey that included questions regarding EOL planning and self-reported HD symptoms. Frequencies were calculated for EOL planning by the HD stage. Bivariate analysis and logistic …

Evaluating Cognition In Individuals With Huntington Disease: Neuroqol Cognitive Functioning Measures, Jin-Shei Lai, Siera Goodnight, Nancy R Downing, Rebecca E Ready, Jane S Paulsen, Anna L Kratz, Julie C Stout, Michael K Mccormack, David Cella, Christopher Ross, Jenna Russell, Noelle E Carlozzi

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

PURPOSE: Cognitive functioning impacts health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for individuals with Huntington disease (HD). The Neuro-QoL includes two patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures of cognition-Executive Function (EF) and General Concerns (GC). These measures have not previously been validated for use in HD. The purpose of this analysis is to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Neuro-QoL Cognitive Function measures for use in HD.

METHODS: Five hundred ten individuals with prodromal or manifest HD completed the Neuro-QoL Cognition measures, two other PRO measures of HRQOL (WHODAS 2.0 and EQ5D), and a depression measure (PROMIS Depression). Measures of functioning The Total …

Word-List Intrusion Errors Predict Progression To Mild Cognitive Impairment, Kelsey R Thomas, Joel Eppig, Emily C Edmonds, Diane M Jacobs, David J Libon, Rhoda Au, David P Salmon, Mark W Bondi, Alzheimer’S Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: Preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) defined by a positive AD biomarker in the presence of normal cognition is presumed to precede mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Subtle cognitive deficits and cognitive inefficiencies in preclinical AD may be detected through process and error scores on neuropsychological tests in those at risk for progression to MCI.

METHOD: Cognitively normal participants (n = 525) from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative were followed for up to 5 years and classified as either stable normal (n = 305) or progressed to MCI (n = 220). Cox regressions were used to determine whether baseline process scores on …

Evaluation Of Individual And Combined Markers Of Urine Dipstick Parameters And Total Lymphocyte Count As A Substitute For Cd4 Count In Low-Resource Communities In Ghana, Enoch Odame Anto, Christian Obirikorang, Emmanuel Acheampong, Bright Amankwaa, Bright Oppong Afranie, Sampson Donkor, Isaac Hope, Juliana Jommo, Esther Osaah

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

We evaluated the individual and combined levels of urine dipstick and total lymphocyte count (TLC) as surrogate markers for CD4 count in a low-resource community in Ghana. This cross-sectional study recruited 200 HIV-infected patients from the Saint Francis Xavier Hospital, Assin Fosu, Ghana. Complete blood count, CD4 count, and urine dipstick analysis were measured for participants. The threshold values were determined as/

Relationships Among Apathy, Health-Related Quality Of Life, And Function In Huntington's Disease., Nora E Fritz, Nicholas R Boileau, Julie C Stout, Rebecca Ready, Joel S Perlmutter, Jane S Paulsen, Kimberly Quaid, Stacey Barton, Michael K Mccormack, Susan L Perlman, Noelle E Carlozzi

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

Up to 90% of individuals with Huntington's disease (HD)-a progressive, inherited neurodegenerative disorder-experience apathy. Apathy is particularly debilitating because it is marked by a reduction in goal-directed behaviors, including self-care, social interactions, and mobility. The objective of this study was to examine relationships between variables of apathy, functional status, physical function, cognitive function, behavioral status/emotional function, and health-related quality of life. Clinician-rated measures of physical, cognitive, and behavioral function, including one clinician-rated item on apathy, and self-reported measures of physical function, health-related quality of life, and emotional, cognitive, and social function were collected in a single session from 487 persons …

Suicidal Ideation Assessment In Individuals With Premanifest And Manifest Huntington Disease., Melissa Wesson, Nicholas R Boileau, Joel S Perlmutter, Jane S Paulsen, Stacey K Barton, Michael K Mccormack, Noelle E Carlozzi

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Huntington disease (HD) is associated with increased risk of suicide.

OBJECTIVE: This study compares suicide ideation in HD to the general population, assesses factors associated with increased prevalence of suicidal thoughts, and compares clinician-rated to self-reported assessments of suicidal ideation.

METHODS: We examined 496 participants with premanifest or manifest HD. Clinician-rated suicidal ideation was measured using the Problem Behaviors Assessment - short form. Self-reported ideation was measured using two items from the HDQLIFE Concern with Death and Dying item bank. Independent sample t-tests were conducted to compare the prevalence of suicidal thoughts between our HD sample and the U.S. …

A New Measure For End Of Life Planning, Preparation, And Preferences In Huntington Disease: Hdqlife End Of Life Planning, Noelle E Carlozzi, E A Hahn, S A Frank, J S Perlmutter, N D Downing, M K Mccormack, S Barton, M A Nance, S G Schilling, Hdqlife Site Investigators And Coordinators

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Huntington disease is a fatal inherited neurodegenerative disease. Because the end result of Huntington disease is death due to Huntington disease-related causes, there is a need for better understanding and caring for individuals at their end of life.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to develop a new measure to evaluate end of life planning.

DESIGN: We conducted qualitative focus groups, solicited expert input, and completed a literature review to develop a 16-item measure to evaluate important aspects of end of life planning for Huntington disease. Item response theory and differential item functioning analyses were utilized to examine …

Prevalence Of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Copd) In China In 1990 And 2010., Kit Yee Chan, Xue Li, Wanjing Chen, Peige Song, Nuen Wing Katy Wong, Adrienne N Poon, Weiyan Jian, Ireneous N Soyiri, Simon Cousens, Davies Adeloye, Aziz Sheikh, Harry Campbell, Igor Rudan, Global Health Epidemiology Research Group (Gherg).

Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is set to become the third most frequent cause of death and also the third largest cause of global morbidity by 2020. In China, where the population is aging rapidly, COPD has become one of the leading causes of disability and a large economic burden. An epidemiological assessment of the COPD in China is required, with a focus on the number of cases living with disease, main determinants of the disease and time trends.

Methods: We systematically searched large Chinese bibliographic databases and English databases to identify spirometry-based epidemiological studies of the prevalence of …

Influence Of Dietary Salt Knowledge, Perceptions, And Beliefs On Consumption Choices After Stroke In Uganda, Martin N. Kaddumukasa, Elly Katabira, Martha Sajatovic, Svetlana Pundik, Mark Kaddumukasa, Larry B. Goldstein

Neurology Faculty Publications

Background

Previous research on Uganda's poststroke population revealed that their level of dietary salt knowledge did not lead to healthier consumption choices.

Purpose

Identify barriers and motivators for healthy dietary behaviors and evaluate the understanding of widely accepted salt regulation mechanisms among poststroke patients in Uganda.

Methods

Convergent parallel mixed methods triangulation design comprised a cross-sectional survey (n = 81) and 8 focus group discussions with 7-10 poststroke participants in each group. We assessed participant characteristics and obtained insights into their salt consumption attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge. Qualitative responses were analyzed using an inductive approach with thematic analytic procedures. Relationships …