Diseases Commons^™

Weighted Pathway Genetic Load Analysis Of Hyperbilirubinemic Infants Indicates A Potential Genetic Component For Susceptibility To Bilirubin Neurotoxicity, Sean M. Riordan, Jean-Baptiste Lepichon, Steven Shapiro, John Cowden, Monica Villagullen, Laurence Thielemans, Dina Villanueva Garcia, Jesus Aguirre-Hernandez

Posters

Severe kernicterus spectrum disorder (KSD) is described as motor and auditory deficits resulting from brain damage caused by hyperbilirubinemia. The severity of HB does not always predict the severity of injury. The lack of a strong monogenetic link to susceptibility suggests bilirubin-induced brain damage may be due to impaired bilirubin response pathways. This poster describes work to use a modified pathway genetic load (mPGL) score method to perform a targeted genetic analysis of whole exome data from patients with various degrees of neonatal HB, with an ultimate goal of developing a neonatal screen to susceptibiltiy to bilirubin neurotoxicity.

Iron-Containing Nanoparticles For The Treatment Of Chrionic Biofilm Infections In Cystic Fibrosis, Leisha M. A. Martin

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common genetic disease resulting in the morbidity and mortality of Caucasian children and adults worldwide. Due to a genetic mutation resulting in malfunction of the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) protein, CF patients produce highly viscous mucus in their respiratory tract. This leads to impairment of the mucociliary clearance of inhaled microbes. In addition to reduced microbial clearance, anoxic environmental conditions in the lungs promote biofilm-mode growth of the pathogenic bacterial species Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Chronic infections of P. aeruginosa begin in early childhood and typically persist until respiratory failure and death result. The …

2018 Guide Summer Research - Breast Cancer, Qur'annah Jones, Delawnia Comer-Hagans

Research Days

This research poster details the relationship between cancer treatments and alternative approaches, such as mindfulness. The purpose of this study was to determine the methodology used by doctors to treat breast cancer and their willingness to try a holistic approach. This study was conducted on site at the UIC Cancer Center as well as remotely within hospitals around the Chicagoland area. We determined that mindfulness is in fact a worthwhile asset to breast cancer patients and that the field of oncology could support further research.

Body Mass Index In Multiple Sclerosis Modulates Ceramide-Induced Dna Methylation And Disease Course, Kamilah Castro, Achilles Ntranos, Mario Amatruda, Maria Petracca, Peter Kosa, Emily Y. Chen, Johannes Morstein, Dirk Trauner, Corey T. Watson, Michael A. Kiebish, Bibiana Bielekova, Matilde Inglese, Ilana Katz Sand, Patricia Casaccia

Advanced Science Research Center

Background: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) results from genetic predisposition and environmental variables, including elevated Body Mass Index (BMI) in early life. This study addresses the effect of BMI on the epigenome of monocytes and disease course in MS.

Methods: Fifty-four therapy-naive Relapsing Remitting (RR) MS patients with high and normal BMI received clinical and MRI evaluation. Blood samples were immunophenotyped, and processed for unbiased plasma lipidomic profiling and genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of circulating monocytes. The main findings at baseline were validated in an independent cohort of 91 therapy-naïve RRMS patients. Disease course was evaluated by a two-year longitudinal follow up …

The Validity Of Medicare Claims-Based Codes To Identify Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Infection In Patients With Bronchiectasis, Jennifer Ku

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Background: Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is a disease of increasing incidence, causing permanent airway damage leading to destructive pulmonary disease. Medicare claims-based codes have been used to identify NTM infection and to evaluate trends in diagnosis and disease outcomes. However, claims-based codes to identify NTM infection have not been validated.

Methods: We linked patients with a bronchiectasis diagnosis (ICD-9-CM 494.0 or 494.1) excluding cystic fibrosis from the national 2006-2014 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (Medicare) data to the U.S. Bronchiectasis Research Registry (BRR). The BRR is a national prospective cohort of patients with bronchiectasis, that collects detailed clinical, laboratory, microbiology and …

Preventing Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis In Salmonid Fish Along The Columbia River Basin, Whitney L. Wright

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) is a member of the Rhabdoviridae family and causes infectious hematopoietic necrosis (IHN) disease in many salmonid species during the juvenile or “fry” stage of life. IHNV is endemic to Western North America and occurs in the Columbia River Basin, where Steelhead and Chinook salmon are the most abundant IHNV-vulnerable species. IHNV can cause an epidemic in wild or farmed stocks, killing 90-95 percent of the fish it infects. Transmission is currently understood to occur by direct exposure through the gills, and the virus is shed typically from asymptomatic or clinically ill carrier adults at …

Aortic Stenosis, Tony Un '19

Human Diseases Graphic Novels

No abstract provided.

Cushing's And Confusion, Diana Gonzalez '20, Grace Yue '20, Amy Churchill '20, Trinity Coates '20, Annie Xu '19

Human Diseases Graphic Novels

No abstract provided.

Lights Out, Charlotte Graves '20

Human Diseases Graphic Novels

No abstract provided.

Diabetes Type I, Stroke, Arthritis And Epilepsy, Nafay Abdul '20, Danielle Lee '19, Ethan Talreja '20

Human Diseases Graphic Novels

No abstract provided.

Crohn's Disease / Myasthenia Gravis / Appendicitis / Compartment Syndrome, Maddy Chow '20, Maahum Hamayat '20, Vaishnavi Tetali '20, Milica Barac '20, Isabel Grzeskawiak '19

Human Diseases Graphic Novels

No abstract provided.

Male Determining Gene Nix May Bring An End To Transmission Of Diseases Through Mosquitoes, Mohammed Mahdi

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Female mosquitoes take blood from humans to gain protein needed to produce eggs, and in the process they can transmit viruses, such as Zika, Dengue, and chikungunya, or parasites, such as malaria. Male mosquitoes do not transmit diseases. This literature review will examine what is known about how sex is determined in mosquitoes and how this can be used to manipulate the females that spread diseases to humans. Using CRISPR Cas9, the lab of Zhijian Tu removed the Nix gene from mosquito embryos; all of these were feminized. Ectopic overexpression of Nix gene product in mosquito embryos caused even genetically …

Huntington's Disease, Diana Gonzalez '20, Grace Yue '20, Amy Xxx, Trinity Coates '20, Annie Xu '19

Human Diseases Graphic Novels

No abstract provided.

Cardiac Tamponade, Eric Errampalli '19

Human Diseases Graphic Novels

No abstract provided.

Diabetes, Diana Gonzalez '19, Grace Yue '19, Amy Churchill '20, Trinity Coates '20, Annie Xu '19

Human Diseases Graphic Novels

No abstract provided.

Epilepsy, Diana Gonzalez '20, Grace Yue '20, Amy Churchill '20, Trinity Coates '20, Annie Xu '19

Human Diseases Graphic Novels

No abstract provided.

Redefining Burnout: Exploring Common Conceptualizations And The Neurophysiology Of Chronic Stress To Establish An Integrated Allostatic Model, Danny A. Guzzi

Dissertations

Burnout is a widely researched stress-related phenomenon associated with numerous adverse outcomes for employees and organizations. Unfortunately, burnout is not well understood and research to this point has been flawed due to a lack of consensus on the definition, dimensionality, and context of the construct. Prevalent conceptualizations of burnout have been criticized for being arbitrarily developed without solid theoretical foundation and for failing to clearly distinguish burnout from depression or other work-related conditions such as compassion fatigue, secondary traumatization, and vicarious traumatization. The current project first examines relevant literature to identify commonalities among prevalent burnout conceptualizations. Then relevant stress research …

Long-Term Use Of Antibiotics And Risk Of Colorectal Adenoma, Yin Cao, Kana Wu, Raaj Mehta, David A. Drew, Mingyang Song, Paul Lochhead, Long H. Nguyen, Jacques Izard, Charles S. Fuchs, Wendy S. Garrett, Curtis Huttenhower, Shuji Ogino, Edward L. Giovannucci, Andrew T. Chan

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Objective: Recent evidence suggests that antibiotic use, which alters the gut microbiome, is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. However, the association between antibiotic use and risk of colorectal adenoma, the precursor for the majority of colorectal cancers, has not been investigated.

Design: We prospectively evaluated the association between antibiotic use at age 20–39 and 40–59 (assessed in 2004) and recent antibiotic use (assessed in 2008) with risk of subsequent colorectal adenoma among 16,642 women aged ≥ 60 enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study who underwent at least one colonoscopy through 2010. We used multivariate logistic …

From The American People: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of South African Ngos' Perceptions Of Pepfar, Antonia Asher

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The aim of this research was to understand what the ideal partnership would be between United States (US) governmental aid agencies and South African non-governmental organizations (NGOs), specifically concerning HIV/AIDS programs funded by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), from the perspective of NGOs. PEPFAR is the largest relief fund for a single disease; thus, I additionally sought to deeply reflect upon myself as a US citizen in South Africa, a country that has received trillions of dollars from taxpayers such as myself.

To accomplish this, I interviewed NGO staff about the nature of current partnerships, outcomes …

Characterizing Aft1/2-Grx3/4 Interaction And The Role Of Bol2 During Iron Regulation In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, William Rivers

Senior Theses

Iron dysregulation has been linked to a variety of human diseases, such as anemia, Friedreich’s ataxia, X-linked sideroblastic anemia, sideroblastic-like microcytic anemia, and myopathy. Thus, it is vitally important to understand the mechanisms for regulating intracellular iron. Here, we use fluorescence microscopy techniques in live cells to study interactions of the yeast proteins Grx3/4, Aft1/2, and Bol2, which have been shown to be involved in turning off iron import when the cell has adequate iron. Modified versions of genes encoding these proteins have been incorporated into several yeast backgrounds to use fluorescence to monitor interactions under varying iron levels.

The Role Of Inflammatory Pathways In Development, Growth, And Metabolism Of Skeletal Muscle In Iugr Offspring: Blood Gene Expression Of Inflammatory Factors As Novel Biomarkers For Assessing Stress And Wellbeing In Exotic Species, Robert J. Posont

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Our first study identified the effects of maternal inflammation-induced intrauterine growth restriction (MI-IUGR) on growth and muscle glucose metabolism in offspring supplemented with curcumin. MI-IUGR lambs exhibited asymmetric growth restriction at birth and 30d of age, but normal glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Hindlimb glucose oxidation was reduced by MI-IUGR and not improved by curcumin supplementation. Ex vivo muscle glucose oxidation was reduced by MI-IUGR but improved somewhat by curcumin. These finding indicate that fetal programming responses to MI contribute to neonatal growth and metabolic deficits. Neonatal curcumin supplementation had minimal effect on growth deficits but may improve glucose metabolism. …

The Pharmabiotic For Phenylketonuria: Development Of A Novel Therapeutic, Chloé Elizabeth Lebegue

Senior Theses

Phenylketonuria, now known as phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) deficiency, is a genetic disorder of metabolism affecting approximately one in every 15,000 infants born in the United States. Patients have nonfunctional PAH enzyme secondary to one or more genetic mutations. The enzyme deficit results in destructive supraphysiologic blood phenylalanine levels upon consumption of the essential dietary amino acid phenylalanine. Current standards of care mitigate signs and symptoms of the disorder, but do not approach a cure. The methods for creating a prototype pharmabiotic as an innovative treatment strategy for PAH deficiency are described herein.

DNA molecular cloning techniques were utilized to engineer …

The Influence Of Stressful Life Events On The Development Of Type 2 Diabetes, Joshua Minks

Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between distress and the development of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the presence of established risk factors. Distress secondary to mental health disparities, stressful life events, and work conditions has been shown to promote insulin resistance and the development of T2DM.

Subjects (N=79) diagnosed with T2DM within the previous six months were recruited from SSM Health Centers and VA Medical Centers in the greater St. Louis area. They completed the Recent Life Changes Questionnaire, ENRICHD Social Support Instrument, and a demographic survey and analyses were conducted to determine differences between the veteran …

Vapor Delivery Of Plant Essential Oils Alters Pyrethroid Efficacy And Detoxification Enzyme Activity In Mosquitoes, Scott T. O'Neal, Ellis J. Johnson, Leslie Catherine Rault, Troy D. Anderson

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The use of synthetic insecticides to limit the spread of mosquito-borne disease faces a number of significant challenges, including insecticide resistance, concerns related to the environmental impact of widespread insecticide use, as well as slowed development of new insecticide chemistries. One important alternative to broadcast insecticides is the use of personal protection strategies to limit contact with vector species, including the use of spatial repellents that can employ synthetic pyrethroids or botanical products to effect control. A currently underexplored area of research involves the investigation of botanical products for their potential to serve as insecticide synergists when delivered as a …

The Effects Of Huntingtin-Lowering: What Do We Know So Far?, William F. Kaemmerer, Richard C. Grondin

Neuroscience Faculty Publications

Therapies targeting mutant huntingtin DNA, mRNA, and protein have a chance at becoming the first disease-modifying treatments for Huntington’s disease, a fatal inherited neurodegenerative disorder for which only symptom management treatments are available today. This review focuses on evidence addressing several key questions pertinent to huntingtin-lowering, ranging from the functions of wild-type huntingtin (wtHTT) that may be disrupted by huntingtin-lowering treatments through the various ways huntingtin can be lowered, the tolerability of wtHTT-lowering in mice and primates, what has been found in the Ionis Pharmaceutical safety trial of a huntingtin-lowering therapy, and to the question of how much mutant huntingtin …

Dennd5b Regulates Intestinal Triglyceride Absorption And Body Mass, Scott M. Gordon, Edward B. Neufeld, Zhihong Yang, Milton Pryor, Lita A. Freeman, Xiao Fan, Iftikhar J. Kullo, Leslie G. Biesecker, Alan T. Remaley

Saha Cardiovascular Research Center Faculty Publications

Regulation of lipid absorption by enterocytes can influence metabolic status in humans and contribute to obesity and related complications. The intracellular steps of chylomicron biogenesis and transport from the Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) to the Golgi complex have been described, but the mechanisms for post-Golgi transport and secretion of chylomicrons have not been identified. Using a newly generated Dennd5b^−/− mouse, we demonstrate an essential role for this gene in Golgi to plasma membrane transport of chylomicron secretory vesicles. In mice, loss of Dennd5b results in resistance to western diet induced obesity, changes in plasma lipids, and reduced aortic atherosclerosis. In …

The Effects Of Swimming Training On Arterial Stiffness, Muscular Strength And Cardiorespiratory Endurance In Postmenopausal Women With Stage 2 Hypertension, Steven Scott

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Objective:

Aging is associated with progressive decreases in arterial health and function as well as overall fitness. It is crucial to prevent or reduce the negative effects of aging on vasculature and fitness components by implementing appropriate lifestyle interventions, such as exercise training. We examined the effects of a swimming (SWM) regimen on arterial stiffness (pulse wave velocity, PWV), blood pressure (BP), wave reflection (AIx), muscle strength and aerobic capacity in postmenopausal women with stage 2 hypertension.

Methods:

Using a parallel experimental design, participants were randomly assigned to either a SWM (n=52) or non-exercising control group (n=48) for 20 weeks. …

Investigating The Role Of Free Radicals In Huntington's Disease Using Drosophila Melanogaster, Jennifer Libov

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

During normal cell metabolism, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced as a byproduct of oxidative phosphorylation. ROS are utilized in the cell as a signaling molecule and can be maintained at healthy levels by cellular antioxidants. However, when the cell experiences oxidative stress due to environmental or genetic conditions, levels of ROS can exceed healthy levels and inhibit necessary life functions by damaging biomolecules and cellular structures. This loss of function can lead to physiological decline and neurodegeneration, such as in diseases like Alzheimer’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and, potentially, Huntington’s disease. The following experiments use the model genetic organism …

Apolipoprotein E4 Alters Astrocyte Fatty Acid Metabolism And Lipid Droplet Formation, Brandon C. Farmer, Jude Kluemper, Lance A. Johnson

Physiology Faculty Publications

Lipid droplets (LDs) serve as energy rich reservoirs and have been associated with apolipoprotein E (APOE) and neurodegeneration. The E4 allele of APOE (E4) is the strongest genetic risk factor for the development of late onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Since both E4 carriers and individuals with AD exhibit a state of cerebral lipid dyshomeostasis, we hypothesized that APOE may play a role in regulating LD metabolism. We found that astrocytes expressing E4 accumulate significantly more and smaller LDs compared to E3 astrocytes. Accordingly, expression of perilipin-2, an essential LD protein component, was higher in E4 astrocytes. We then …

The Master Synaptic Regulator: Activity Regulated Cytoskeleton Associated Protein, Arc, In Normal Aging And Diseases With Cognitive Impairment, Amber Khan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with complex underlying pathogenic mechanisms. Epidemiological studies have forecasted that in the next 3 decades, the number of AD cases will rise to epidemic proportions with enormous medical, emotional and financial burdens impacting individuals affected and society. Among many risk factors for AD, advancing age is clearly essential and necessary. Revelation of molecular changes in synaptic activities leading to the prodromal, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage may help illuminate the course of pathogenic progression and its cause-effect relationship with various targets thereby enabling target-driven disease-modifying therapeutic agents for AD.

Activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated (Arc) …