Diagnosis Commons^™

Using Data And Evidence To Improve Quality Of Life For Patients With Alzheimer’S Disease, Ying Wang

2023

As an irreversible, progressive brain disorder, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) imposes a severe burden upon patients and their caregivers, as well as the healthcare system. Of the ten leading causes of death in the United States, Alzheimer’s disease is the only one without a pharmacological intervention that has been proven to cure or delay the onset of the disease. Aging is the primary risk factor contributing to Alzheimer’s disease in the elderly. With an aging population that continues to grow, the challenges for the healthcare system surrounding AD become more and more serious. My dissertation aims to contribute to a better …

Standard Deviations Of Mr Signal Intensities Show A Consistent Trend During Imaging Follow-Ups For Glioblastoma Patients When Corrected For Non-Biological Heterogeneity Due To Hardware And Software Variation, Subhendra N. Sarkar, Rafael Rojas, Evans Lespinasse, Xiangfu Zhang, Ruth Zeron

Publications and Research

Introduction

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) has a poor prognosis in spite of advanced MRI guided treatments today. Routine MRI using conventional T₁ or advanced permeability based MRI of GBM often does not adequately represent changing tumor phases or overall survival. In this work, region of interest (ROI) based tissue MR standard deviation (SD) is demonstrated as an important MRI variable that could be a potential biomarker of GBM heterogeneity and radioresistance.

Materials and methods

MRI characterization is often qualitative and lacks reproducibility. Using standardized MRI phantoms we have normalized retrospective records of 12 radioresistant GBM patients that underwent radiation therapy …

Social Determinants Of Mental Health Considerations For Counseling Children And Adolescents, Kaprea F. Johnson, Patrick D. Cunningham, Camila Tirado, Oswaldo Moreno, Nancy N. Gillespie, Bisola Duyile, Dequindre C. Hughes, Emily Goodman Scott, Dana Brookover

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Childhood is a crucial period for developing a strong social and emotional foundation critical for mental well-being. Given that the childhood developmental period is vital for mental health, it is essential to address social determinants that can disrupt development and have lasting adverse effects on psychological and physical health. Therefore, professional counselors specializing in children and adolescent mental health care can benefit from understanding and utilizing the social determinants of mental health (SDOMH) framework in practice. This article details the SDOMH framework and considerations for SDOMH-informed treatments for professional counselors working in settings with children and adolescents.

Dermatoses Of The Breast During Lactation, Divya Shan, Sindhuja Koppu, Valerie Coleman, Gauri Gulati, Kimberly Salkey

Open and Affordable Course Content at VCU

No abstract provided.

Dermatologic Manifestations Of Rheumatic Disease: Malignant Cutaneous Tumors, Divya Shan, Julianna S. Kang, Allison Cinats, Julia R. Nunley, Beth Rubinstein

Open and Affordable Course Content at VCU

No abstract provided.

Molecular Detection Of Entamoeba Histolytica In Diarrheic Fecal Samples From Patients Attending National Hepatology And Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Azza Hasan Abbas, El Shahat Ahmed Elshahat, Heba Mohamed Abdelglil

Journal of Medicine in Scientific Research

Background: Amoebiasis is a worldwide disease caused by Entamoeba histolytica infection. The true prevalence is unknown due to the difficulty in distinguishing Entamoeba histolytica from non-pathogenic amoebas especially when microscopic diagnosis is performed, to overcome microscopy misidentification. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay is necessary as a highly sensitive and specific technique. Objective: To determine the value of Real-Time PCR (RT.PCR) in the diagnosis of Entamoeba histolytica in the stool samples of diarrheic patients attending NHTMI versus microscopy, copro- antigen, and serum antibodies detection techniques. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 diarrheic patients. Their stool samples were …

Integrating Feminist Approaches In Counseling Work With Adult Women, Kristen M. Toole

Adultspan Journal

The scope of ‘women’s issues’ in counseling is an ever-evolving landscape. Recent events such as the reversal of Roe v. Wade and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on women serve as powerful reminders of the necessity of this focus while underscoring a deep-rooted history of oppressive patriarchal structures. Therefore, counselors must remain informed of the unique considerations surrounding adult women in counseling and acquire proficiency in versatile techniques to meet this population’s nuanced needs. This article examines the complexity of contemporary womanhood and explores the fundamentals of Feminist Counseling Theory (FCT), a holistic, multiculturally conscious, social justice theory in counseling. …

Recognizing Ableism And Practicing Disability Humility: Conceptualizing Disability Across The Lifespan, Katherine M. Atkins, Tamekia Bell, Tilottama Roy-White, Maria Page

Adultspan Journal

Disability culture is often misunderstood by counselors who lack extensive training in working with individuals with disabilities (IWDs) (Stuntzner & Hartley, 2014). This quantitative study used the Counseling Clients with Disability Survey (CCDS) to explore the beliefs and perceived knowledge of counselors-in-training (CITs), counselors, and counselor educators regarding preparation to counsel IWDs, which is particularly important as disability status can change across the lifespan, and given that the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) Standards Review Committee provided a guide to the draft standards incorporating the infusion of disability concepts. Results indicate that counselors were competent …

Diagnosis And Management Of Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome, Sara Read

Capstone Showcase

Cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) is a chronic and debilitating condition that can be encountered in a multitude of clinical settings. It is classified as a functional gastrointestinal disorder and is often misdiagnosed. Proper identification and management of this condition are crucial to patient care and quality of life. This article reviews the hypothesized etiologies, clinical presentation, and diagnosis of CVS as well as recommendations for management in a variety of settings. As an understudied and underdiagnosed condition, it is important that clinicians have a basic understanding of this disorder.

An Explainable Deep Learning Prediction Model For Severity Of Alzheimer's Disease From Brain Images, Godwin O. Ekuma

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have become the go-to method for medical imaging classification on various imaging modalities for binary and multiclass problems. Deep CNNs extract spatial features from image data hierarchically, with deeper layers learning more relevant features for the classification application. The effectiveness of deep learning models are hampered by limited data sets, skewed class distributions, and the undesirable "black box" of neural networks, which decreases their understandability and usability in precision medicine applications. This thesis addresses the challenge of building an explainable deep learning model for a clinical application: predicting the severity of Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD …

Ultrahigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry Quantitation Of O-Cresol In Hydrolyzed Human Urine To Assess Toluene Exposure, Eric Langlois, Sébastien Gagné

Études primaires

Rationale

Toluene is a volatile organic compound used in domestic and industrial applications. The main routes of workplace exposure to toluene are inhalation and dermal contact. As toluene exposure can cause severe nervous system damage, its quantification is crucial to prevent occupational illness. Toluene is metabolized mainly as hippuric acid, S-benzylmercapturic acid and epoxides. These are rapidly converted to o-/p-cresol, which is then excreted in the urine as conjugated glucuronides and sulfates. o-Cresol and its conjugates can be chemically hydrolyzed to form free o-cresol, which can then serve as a urinary biomarker of toluene exposure. Current …

Use Of Blood Flow Restriction Training With A Collegiate Baseball Player Following Hook Of The Hamate Excision, J P. Goza, R M. Galbraith, A P. Jacobsen, B J. Warner, S A. Cage

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Background: A 21-year-old male collegiate baseball player underwent successful excision of the hook of hamate of the left hand. Following two weeks in a padded splint to allow for appropriate scar healing, the patient’s sutures were removed and rehabilitation was initiated. Initial rehabilitation consisted of passive range of motion exercises progressing to active range of motion exercises. After one week of range of motion exercises and improvement of range of motion, resistance training with blood flow restriction was initiated. Differential Diagnosis: Hook of the hamate excision. Treatment: Week 3: Prior to beginning resistance training with blood flow restriction, grip strength …

Twelfth Rib Avulsion Fracture In A Collegiate Baseball Pitcher: A Case Report., L K. Warner, A P. Jacobsen, R M. Galbraith, C Hodges, B J. Warner, S A. Cage

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Background: A 21-year-old male collegiate baseball player reported to the athletic training staff after experiencing acute pain in his left side following throwing a pitch. The patient experienced immediate difficulty with active lateral flexion and trunk rotation. Palpation revealed spasm and tenderness along the internal and external oblique muscle. The patient reported having subluxed a rib on a previous occasion. While the pain experienced was similar, the patient stated that there was more pain along the muscle bellies of the internal and external oblique muscles compared to the previous injury. No difficulties with breathing, bowel movements, or urination were reported. …

Slowing It Down: The Impact Of A Core Stabilization Program Of Hypermobile Sprinters, T Spears, J Gonzalez-Pons, J Debose

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a common complaint in sprinters, and it can present itself in many ways. One study published in 2019 surveyed 2539 runners; 22.6% of them reported LBP of some kind at least once within that year.5 LBP can occur in sprinters for many reasons. One study noted that muscle weakness, imbalance, and improper recruitment of hip and/or core musculature are a few sources of LBP in athletes.4 The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a core stabilization program on athletes suffering from lumbar facet hypermobility. Differential Diagnosis: Conditions that are typically …

Superficial Peroneal Nerve Entrapment In Female Collegiate Tennis Athlete: A Disablement Model Case Study, Sarah Branning, Neeru Jayanthi, Zachary K. Winkelmann

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

A 19-year-old female, NCAA Division I collegiate tennis player presented with a burning and aching sensation halfway up the lateral portion of her right calf following an extensive period spent in a squatting position. This discomfort began distal to the fibular head, then ran along her lateral calf, reached into her ankle, and wrapped behind the lateral malleolus. Initially, the patient only noticed this discomfort during long durations of physical activity. However, she began to report symptoms with activities of daily living (ADLs) and following workouts. The patient first received a working diagnosis of a stress reaction along the mid …

Return-To-Tennis Considerations And An Elusive Diagnosis For A Cuboid Avulsion Fracture: A Disablement Model Case Study, Grant G. Yee, Zachary K. Winkelmann, Zoe J. Foster

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

This disablement-model case study is focused on a 23-year-old NCAA Division I men’s tennis player that sustained an injury in a competitive singles tennis match. Upon initial examination, the athletic trainer diagnosed the individual with an anterior talofibular ligament sprain and treated conservatively. The patient experienced significant disruptions to his activities of daily living due to his difficulties with ambulation during the early stages of his recovery. Interestingly, the patient was eventually diagnosed with a cuboid avulsion fracture. Midfoot fractures are uncommonly experienced in the general population, and are particularly uncommon in tennis athletes, making them difficult to recognize. Clinical …

University Football Player With Hoffa’S Fat Pad Syndrome: A Disablement Model Case Study, Kaitlyn Jones, Kristy Dao, Zachary K. Winkelmann

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

A 23-year-old university football player presented with acute onset anterior knee pain with no distinct mechanism of injury. The pain began soon after the start of fall football camp and prevented the patient from participating in team activities, including weights and practices. Along with pain, the patient experienced edema, decreased knee flexion range of motion, and an antalgic gait. The findings of the evaluation of this patient were consistent with Hoffa’s fat pad syndrome, an inflammatory and impingement condition of the infrapatellar fat pad that is often a rare diagnosis of exclusion. Conservative treatment was used for this patient, which …

Acute Management Of An Abdominal Cavity Perforation In A Collegiate Baseball Pitcher: A Case Report., D M. Gallegos, A P. Jacobsen, R M. Galbraith, R L. Peebles, B J. Warner, S A. Cage

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Background: A 21-year-old male collegiate baseball player was performing warm up exercises when he tripped backwards onto one of the team’s pitching machines that had been laid on its side. Upon falling backward, the patient sustained a puncture wound through the left buttock from one of the machine’s handles. Unaware of the injury, the patient’s teammates lifted him off of the machine and retrieved the athletic trainer. Evaluation revealed a deep wound with visible adipose tissue and musculature. At this time, the patient was immediately transported to the emergency department of the local hospital, and team physicians were informed to …

Hook Of The Hamate Fracture In A Collegiate Baseball Player Preceded By A Hamate Stress Fracture, H N. Parker, R M. Galbraith, A P. Jacobsen, C Hodges, B J. Warner, S A. Cage

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Background: A 21-year-old male collegiate baseball player reported to the athletic training staff complaining of pain along the hypothenar eminence of the left hand. The patient’s pain was intensified when swinging a bat but remained constant even at rest. The patient reported symptoms beginning approximately three weeks prior to being evaluated by the athletic training staff, but delaying reporting symptoms in order to continue playing. Physical exam revealed tenderness over the hook of the hamate and hypothenar eminence, decreased active wrist extension, decreased grip strength, and pain with resisted pronation and supination. At this time, the patient was removed from …

The Diagnosis, Rehabilitation, And Treatment Of Posterior Impingement In A High School Baseball Pitcher, K Tisdale

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Introduction: Posterior impingement, also known as internal impingement, is a type of secondary impingement that is caused by overuse and repetitive movements of the shoulder overhead during motions such as throwing, spiking, etc. A combination of shoulder abduction and external rotation produces impingement of the infraspinatus and/or of the supraspinatus against the posterior-superior glenoid. Posterior impingement is common in overhead athletes, and this mechanism is usually seen during the cocking phase of throwing. Someone suffering from posterior impingement may complain of posterior shoulder pain, posterior stiffness and decline in performance. Patient Information: In this case study, a 15- year-old male …

Low Ferritin Count In Female Collegiate Soccer Player Presents As Concussion, E N. Nelson, T D. Pitcock, M K. Knoblauch, L J. Harrison

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Background: Women’s soccer leads the National Collegiate Athletic Association for having the highest number of concussions in female sports. Common symptoms of concussion can include light headedness, headaches, and dizziness, but these symptoms are not exclusive to concussions. Female athletes may experience nutritional deficits that can lead to a wide range of symptoms mimicking those commonly experienced with a concussion such as headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. The patient in this case is a 21- year-old female soccer athlete who presented with sensitivity to light, light headedness, nausea, and fatigue after experiencing repeated ‘headers’ as well as a collision during a …

Figure-8-Reconstruction Of Posterior Sternoclavicular Joint Dislocation 18 Days Post Initial Injury, M Suri, S Bunemann

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Introduction: Traumatic sternoclavicular joint injuries account for less than 3% of all traumatic joint injuries1. Although rare, posterior dislocation of the sternoclavicular joint has the potential to be life-threatening due to the proximity of vital structures posterior to the manubrium. This injury typically requires a high-energy force applied through the joint2. SC dislocations become increasingly difficult to reduce after 24 hours, so timely diagnosis and treatment are important. Glass et al. found mediastinal compression occurred 30% of the time with posterior dislocations. If left untreated, prolonged pressure on the superior mediastinum can cause erosion of the great vessels, tracheoesophageal fistula, …

A Comparison Of Chief Complaints, Specific Diagnoses, And Demographics Of Pediatric Urgent Care Visits Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Study, Zaharoula A. Viennas, Julie Martin, Benjamin Klick, Tammy Speerhas, Turaj Vazifedan, Danielle Millspaugh, Jennifer Ferris, Margret Bedle, Lauren Paluch, Theresa Guins

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

There was an increased incidence of pediatric patients who presented with injuries caused by falls not related to sports or other recreational activities, as well as for animal bites, during the early pandemic period of April 2020. Education of parents and caregivers of young children is warranted to raise awareness of the even greater potential for falls and animal bites when children are confined at home for longer than typical periods of time, as occurred with the stay-at-home government orders during the initial period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Identifying The Serious Clinical Outcomes Of Adverse Reactions To Drugs By A Multi-Task Deep Learning Framework, Haochen Zhao, Peng Ni, Qichang Zhao, Xiao Liang, Di Ai, Shannon Erhardt, Jun Wang, Yaohang Li, Jiianxin Wang

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) have a direct impact on human health. As continuous pharmacovigilance and drug monitoring prove to be costly and time-consuming, computational methods have emerged as promising alternatives. However, most existing computational methods primarily focus on predicting whether or not the drug is associated with an adverse reaction and do not consider the core issue of drug benefit-risk assessment-whether the treatment outcome is serious when adverse drug reactions occur. To this end, we categorize serious clinical outcomes caused by adverse reactions to drugs into seven distinct classes and present a deep learning framework, so-called GCAP, for predicting the …

Leukocyte Surface Biomarkers Implicate Deficits Of Innate Immunity In Sporadic Alzheimer's Disease, Xin Huang, Yihan Li, Christopher Fowler, James D. Doecke, Yen Ying Lim, Candace Drysdale, Vicky Zhang, Keunha Park, Brett Trounson, Kelly Pertile, Rebecca Rumble, John W. Pickering, Robert A. Rissman, Floyd Sarsoza, Sara Abdel-Latif, Yong Lin, Vincent Doré, Victor Villemagne, Christopher C. Rowe, Jurgen Fripp, Ralph Martins, James S. Wiley, Paul Maruff, Jacobo E. Mintzer, Colin L. Masters, Ben J. Gu

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction:

Blood-based diagnostics and prognostics in sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD) are important for identifying at-risk individuals for therapeutic interventions.

Methods:

In three stages, a total of 34 leukocyte antigens were examined by flow cytometry immunophenotyping. Data were analyzed by logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses.

Results:

We identified leukocyte markers differentially expressed in the patients with AD. Pathway analysis revealed a complex network involving upregulation of complement inhibition and downregulation of cargo receptor activity and Aβ clearance. A proposed panel including four leukocyte markers – CD11c, CD59, CD91, and CD163 – predicts patients’ PET Aβ status with an …

Locally Performed Postoperative Circulating Tumour Dna Testing Performed During Routine Clinical Care To Predict Recurrence Of Colorectal Cancer, Ryan Cohen, Aaron Beasley, Melanie Mccoy, Cameron Platell, Katie Meehan, Elin Gray, Kathy Fuller

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Identifying patients at high risk for colorectal cancer recurrence is essential for improving prognosis. In the postoperative period, circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) has been demonstrated as a significant prognostic indicator of recurrence. These results have been obtained under the strict rigours of clinical trials, but not validated in a real-world setting using in-house testing. We report the outcomes of locally performed postoperative ctDNA testing conducted during routine clinical care and the association with the recurrence of colorectal cancer. Methods: We recruited 36 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer between 2018 and 2020. Postoperative plasma samples were collected at …

Three-Dimensional Evaluation Of The Mandibular Lingula On Cone-Beam Computed Tomographic Images In The Turkish Population, Zerrin Unal Erzurumlu, Damla Torul

Journal of Dentistry Indonesia

Objective: The purpose of this study was to provide morphometric and anatomical data for mandibular lingula (Li) in The Turkish population using three dimensional-cone beam computed tomography (3D-CBCT) images. Methods: CBCT images of the patients taken between July 2020 and March 2021, were retrieved from the archival records. A total of 100 Li’s of 50 patients who met the criteria of this study were evaluated. The distances between the tip of the Li and ramal landmarks/occlusal plane were measured and the shape of the Li was evaluated on 3D-CBCT images. Results: CBCT images of the 50 patients (19 males and …

The Diagnostic Performance Of Ultrasonography In The Evaluation Of Extrathyroidal Extension In Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Peter P. Issa, Aaron L. Albuck, Eslam Hossam, Mohammad Hussein, Mohamed Aboueisha, Abdallah S. Attia, Mahmoud Omar, Seif Abdelrahman, Gehad Naser, Robert D.E. Clark, Eman Toraih, Emad Kandil

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Extrathyroidal extension (ETE) in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is an indication of disease progression and can influence treatment aggressiveness. This meta-analysis assesses the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography (US) in detecting ETE. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed by searching PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane for studies published up to April 2022. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were calculated. The areas under the curve (AUC) for summary receiver operating curves were compared. A total of 11 studies analyzed ETE in 3795 patients with PTC. The sensitivity of ETE detection was 76% (95%CI = 74–78%). The …

Advances In Nlp Algorithms On Unstructured Medical Notes Data And Approaches To Handling Class Imbalance Issues, Hanna Lu

Computational and Data Sciences (PhD) Dissertations

This dissertation is composed of three research projects, each addressing one aspect of the text classification tasks on unstructured medical notes.

The first study investigated the model performance of sequence deep learning models that are widely used in NLP tasks such as RNN, GRU, LSTM, Bi-LSTM, as well as CNN and the novel and more advanced attention-based algorithms such as the Transformer Encoder and BERT-Base. The model performances of these algorithms were evaluated with and without pre-trained word embeddings. The Transformer Encoder model stood out as the best model for all tasks and the CNN model produced comparable performance when …

Alpha, Beta-Unsaturated Aldehydes: The Underrepresented Markers Of Disease., Saurin Sutaria

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The peroxidation of unsaturated fatty acids is a widely recognized metabolic process that creates a complex mixture of volatile organic compounds including aldehydes. Elevated levels of reactive oxygen species in cancer cells promote random lipid peroxidation, which leads to an increase in a variety of aldehydes. Many of these volatile aldehydes are exhaled and are of interest as potential markers of disease. Chapter 1 presents a review of reported aldehydes in the exhaled breath of lung cancer patients. alpha,beta-Unsaturated aldehydes, detected primarily when derivatized during exhaled breath preconcentration, are underreported in the reviewed articles. Chapter 1 concludes with our hypothesis …