Medical Sciences Commons^™

2022 American College Of Rheumatology Guideline For Vaccinations In Patients With Rheumatic And Musculoskeletal Diseases, Anne R Bass, Eliza Chakravarty, Elie A Akl, Clifton O Bingham, Leonard Calabrese, Laura C Cappelli, Sindhu R Johnson, Lisa F Imundo, Kevin L Winthrop, Reuben J Arasaratnam, Lindsey R Baden, Roberta Berard, S Louis Bridges, Jonathan T L Cheah, Jeffrey R Curtis, Polly J Ferguson, Ida Hakkarinen, Karen B Onel, Grayson Schultz, Vidya Sivaraman, Benjamin J Smith, Jeffrey A Sparks, Tiphanie P Vogel, Eleanor Anderson Williams, Cassandra Calabrese, Joanne S Cunha, Joann Fontanarosa, Miriah C Gillispie-Taylor, Elena Gkrouzman, Priyanka Iyer, Kimberly S Lakin, Alexandra Legge, Mindy S Lo, Megan M Lockwood, Rebecca E Sadun, Namrata Singh, Nancy Sullivan, Herman Tam, Marat Turgunbaev, Amy S Turner, James Reston

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: To provide evidence-based recommendations on the use of vaccinations in children and adults with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs).

Methods: This guideline follows American College of Rheumatology (ACR) policy guiding management of conflicts of interest and disclosures and the ACR guideline development process, which includes the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology. It also adheres to the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) criteria. A core leadership team consisting of adult and pediatric rheumatologists and a guideline methodologist drafted clinical population, intervention, comparator, outcomes (PICO) questions. A review team performed a systematic literature review …

Case Report: Exposure To Relapsing Fever Group Borreliae In Patients With Undifferentiated Febrile Illness In Mexico, Edwin Vázquez-Guerrero, Guadalupe Gordillo-Pérez, Nora Ríos-Sarabia, Job E Lopez, J Antonio Ibarra

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Relapsing fever (RF) borreliosis is a neglected disease in Mexico. A retrospective serological survey using diagnostic antigens GlpQ and BipA from Borrelia turicatae was performed to evaluate human exposure to RF borreliae. Seventy serum samples were used from a cohort of patients with undifferentiated febrile illness in Mexico. Four samples were positive to GlpQ and three to BipA. Results indicate that RF borreliae continue to circulate in regions of Mexico and pose a risk to human health.

Sars-Cov-2 Variants Offer A Second Chance To Fix Vaccine Inequities, Peter J Hotez

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Global COVID-19 vaccine equity remains aspirational for much of the world. But the emergence of rapidly evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants provides new opportunities to correct past public policies, support local vaccine production and combat rising anti-vaccine aggression.

Initial Evidence For Reliable And Valid Use Of Scores On The 8-Item Econ-Qol Short Form To Measure Economic Quality Of Life In Caregivers Of Persons With Traumatic Brain Injury, Noelle E Carlozzi, Christopher Graves, Jonathan P Troost, Michael A Kallen, David S Tulsky, Robin A Hanks, Phillip A Ianni, Jennifer A Miner, Angelle M Sander

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: To provide reliability and validity data to support the clinical utility of Economic Quality of Life Measure (Econ-QOL) scores in caregivers of civilians and service members/veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey study.

SETTING: Three academic medical centers and a Veterans Affairs treatment facility.

PARTICIPANTS: 376 caregivers of civilians (n=213) and service members/veterans (n=163) with TBI (N=376).

INTERVENTIONS: N/A.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Econ-QOL and several patient-reported outcome measures (Traumatic Brain Injury Caregiver Quality of Life Caregiver-Specific Anxiety and Caregiver Strain, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System sleep-related impairment, Neurological Quality of Life Measurement System positive affect and well-being) …

Clinical Characteristics, Impairment, And Psychiatric Morbidity In 102 Youth With Misophonia, Andrew G Guzick, Matti Cervin, Eleanor E A Smith, Jane Clinger, Isabel Draper, Wayne K Goodman, Marijn Lijffijt, Nicholas Murphy, Adam B Lewin, Sophie C Schneider, Eric A Storch

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: There is little information on the clinical presentation, functional impact, and psychiatric characteristics of misophonia in youth, an increasingly recognized syndrome characterized by high emotional reactivity to certain sounds and associated visual stimuli.

METHOD: One-hundred-two youth (8-17 years-old) with misophonia and their parents were recruited and compared with 94 youth with anxiety disorders. Participants completed validated assessments of misophonia severity, quality of life, as well as psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses.

RESULTS: The most common misophonia triggers included eating (96 %), breathing (84 %), throat sounds (66 %), and tapping (54 %). Annoyance/irritation, verbal aggression, avoidance behavior, and family impact …

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy For Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Samuel D Spencer, Jordan T Stiede, Andrew D Wiese, Wayne K Goodman, Andrew G Guzick, Eric A Storch

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by the presence of debilitating obsessions and compulsions. Cognitive and behavioral models of OCD provide a strong theoretic and empirical foundation for informing effective psychotherapeutic treatment. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for OCD, which includes a deliberate emphasis on exposure and response/ritual prevention, has consistently demonstrated robust efficacy for the treatment of pediatric and adult OCD and is the front-line psychotherapeutic treatment for OCD. Two case vignettes describing CBT for OCD in practice as well as recommendations for clinicians are provided.

Transcatheter Aortic Valve-In-Valve-In-Valve Replacement In A Young Woman With Transcatheter Structural Valve Deterioration Within A Degenerated Aortic Root Homograft, Jonathan C Hong, Vicente Orozco-Sevilla, Jose G Diez, Joseph S Coselli

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement is a well-established procedure for older patients with symptomatic, severe aortic stenosis. However, data are lacking on its durability and long-term complications, particularly in young patients and patients treated for aortic valve regurgitation. This article describes the case of a 27-year-old woman with complex congenital cardiovascular disease who, after 4 previous aortic valve replacement procedures, presented with structural deterioration of her most recent replacement valve, which had been placed by transcatheter aortic valve replacement inside a failed aortic root homograft 6 years earlier. After the patient had undergone this transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedure to treat …

Brain Ageing In Schizophrenia: Evidence From 26 International Cohorts Via The Enigma Schizophrenia Consortium, Constantinos Constantinides, Laura K M Han, Clara Alloza, Linda Antonella Antonucci, Celso Arango, Rosa Ayesa-Arriola, Nerisa Banaj, Alessandro Bertolino, Stefan Borgwardt, Jason Bruggemann, Juan Bustillo, Oleg Bykhovski, Vince Calhoun, Vaughan Carr, Stanley Catts, Young-Chul Chung, Benedicto Crespo-Facorro, Covadonga M Díaz-Caneja, Gary Donohoe, Stefan Du Plessis, Jesse Edmond, Stefan Ehrlich, Robin Emsley, Lisa T Eyler, Paola Fuentes-Claramonte, Foivos Georgiadis, Melissa Green, Amalia Guerrero-Pedraza, Minji Ha, Tim Hahn, Frans A Henskens, Laurena Holleran, Stephanie Homan, Philipp Homan, Neda Jahanshad, Joost Janssen, Ellen Ji, Stefan Kaiser, Vasily Kaleda, Minah Kim, Woo-Sung Kim, Matthias Kirschner, Peter Kochunov, Yoo Bin Kwak, Jun Soo Kwon, Irina Lebedeva, Jingyu Liu, Patricia Mitchie, Stijn Michielse, David Mothersill, Bryan Mowry, Víctor Ortiz-García De La Foz, Christos Pantelis, Giulio Pergola, Fabrizio Piras, Edith Pomarol-Clotet, Adrian Preda, Yann Quidé, Paul E Rasser, Kelly Rootes-Murdy, Raymond Salvador, Marina Sangiuliano, Salvador Sarró, Ulrich Schall, André Schmidt, Rodney J Scott, Pierluigi Selvaggi, Kang Sim, Antonin Skoch, Gianfranco Spalletta, Filip Spaniel, Sophia I Thomopoulos, David Tomecek, Alexander S Tomyshev, Diana Tordesillas-Gutiérrez, Therese Van Amelsvoort, Javier Vázquez-Bourgon, Daniela Vecchio, Aristotle Voineskos, Cynthia S Weickert, Thomas Weickert, Paul M Thompson, Lianne Schmaal, Theo G M Van Erp, Jessica Turner, James H Cole, Enigma Schizophrenia Consortium, Danai Dima, Esther Walton

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Schizophrenia (SZ) is associated with an increased risk of life-long cognitive impairments, age-related chronic disease, and premature mortality. We investigated evidence for advanced brain ageing in adult SZ patients, and whether this was associated with clinical characteristics in a prospective meta-analytic study conducted by the ENIGMA Schizophrenia Working Group. The study included data from 26 cohorts worldwide, with a total of 2803 SZ patients (mean age 34.2 years; range 18–72 years; 67% male) and 2598 healthy controls (mean age 33.8 years, range 18–73 years, 55% male). Brain-predicted age was individually estimated using a model trained on independent data based on …

Serum Bile Acids As A Prognostic Biomarker In Biliary Atresia Following Kasai Portoenterostomy, Sanjiv Harpavat, Kieran Hawthorne, Kenneth D R Setchell, Monica Narvaez Rivas, Lisa Henn, Charlotte A Beil, Saul J Karpen, Vicky L Ng, Estella M Alonso, Jorge A Bezerra, Stephen L Guthery, Simon Horslen, Kathy M Loomes, Patrick Mckiernan, John C Magee, Robert M Merion, Jean P Molleston, Philip Rosenthal, Richard J Thompson, Kasper S Wang, Ronald J Sokol, Benjamin L Shneider, Childhood Liver Disease Research Network (Children)

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: In biliary atresia, serum bilirubin is commonly used to predict outcomes after Kasai portoenterostomy (KP). Infants with persistently high levels invariably need liver transplant, but those achieving normalized levels have a less certain disease course. We hypothesized that serum bile acid levels could help predict outcomes in the latter group.

APPROACH AND RESULTS: Participants with biliary atresia from the Childhood Liver Disease Research Network were included if they had normalized bilirubin levels 6 months after KP and stored serum samples from the 6-month post-KP clinic visit ( n = 137). Bile acids were measured from the stored …

Fibroblast Growth Factor 19 Secretion And Function In Perinatal Development, Caitlin Vonderohe, Gregory Guthrie, Douglas G Burrin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Limited work has focused on fibroblast growth factor-19 (FGF19) secretion and function in the perinatal period. FGF19 is a potent growth factor that coordinates development of the brain, eye, inner ear, and skeletal system in the embryo, but after birth, FGF19 transitions to be an endocrine regulator of the classic pathway of hepatic bile acid synthesis. FGF19 has emerged as a mediator of metabolism and bile acid synthesis in aged animals and adults in the context of liver disease and metabolic dysfunction. FGF19 has also been shown to have systemic insulin-sensitizing and skeletal muscle hypertrophic effects when induced or supplemented …

Clinical Course And Outcomes Of Patients With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease-Related Hepatocellular Cancer (Nafld-Hcc), Jinna Chu, George Cholankeril, Xian Yu, Abbas Rana, Yamini Natarajan, Hashem B El-Serag, Jennifer Kramer, Fasiha Kanwal

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Among etiologies for hepatocellular (HCC), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) carries a high risk of competing non-cancer mortality. The effect of cancer and non-cancer factors on risk of death after NAFLD-HCC diagnosis remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the role of non-cancer mortality with NAFLD-HCC.

METHODS: Using a retrospective cohort of patients with NAFLD diagnosed at 130 facilities in the Veterans Administration, we identified patients with incident HCC diagnosed between January 1, 2005 and June 30, 2018. We determined cause of death as HCC-related, non-HCC liver-related, and non-liver-related after HCC diagnosis. We used Cox proportional hazards regression …

Risk Factors And Prognostic Significance Of Platelet Count Abnormalities In Children With Hiv Infection On Antiretroviral Therapy, Joseph Lubega, Taylor O Kim, Gladstone Airewele, Amanda Grimes, Shaun Bulsara, Erin Peckham, Sebastian R Wanless, Heather Haq, Peter Elyanu, Philippa Musoke, Mwita Lumumba, Adeodata Kekitiinwa, Mogomotsi Matshaba, Michael Scheurer, Jenny Despotovic

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: To establish the incidence, risk factors and correlation with survival of thrombocytopenia and thrombocytosis (T/T) among children with HIV infection (CWH).

DESIGN: A retrospective nested case control study of patients 0-18 years in five Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI) centers in sub-Sahara Africa, 2004-2014.

METHODS: Clinical and laboratory variables including complete blood counts (CBC) were extracted from the BIPAI electronic medical record system. Incident cases of T/T were identified and frequency-matched on follow-up time with controls with normal platelets. We calculated the prevalence and incidence density of T/T and used conditional logistic regression to evaluate their association with …

The Quality And Management Of Penicillin Allergy Labels In Pediatric Primary Care, Margaret G Taylor, Torsten Joerger, Sara Anvari, Yun Li, Jeffrey S Gerber, Debra L Palazzi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Penicillin allergy labels are the most common drug allergy label. The objective of this study was to describe the quality and management of penicillin allergy labels in the pediatric primary care setting.

METHODS: Retrospective chart review of 500 of 18 015 children with penicillin allergy labels born from January 1, 2010 to June 30, 2020 randomly selected from an outpatient birth cohort from Texas Children's Pediatrics and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia networks. Penicillin allergy risk classification ("not allergy," "low risk," "moderate or high risk," "severe risk," "unable to classify") was determined based on documentation within (1) the …

The Tumor-Immune Ecosystem In Shaping Metastasis, Yang Gao, Jeffrey M Rosen, Xiang H-F Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

A better understanding of the mechanisms regulating cancer metastasis is critical to develop new therapies and decrease mortality. Emerging evidence suggests that the interactions between tumor cells and the host immune system play important roles in establishing metastasis. Tumor cells are able to recruit immune cells, which in turn promotes tumor cell invasion, intravasation, survival in circulation, extravasation, and colonization in different organs. The tumor-host immunological interactions also generate a premetastatic niche in distant organs which facilitates metastasis. In this review, we summarize the recent findings on how tumor cells and immune cells regulate each other to coevolve and promote …

Bacteremia, Liver Injury, And Pneumonitis: Strongyloides Unleashed By A Supplement, Emily Y Xiao, Robert L Pecha, Zaven Sargsyan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Types Of Diagnostic Errors Reported By Paediatric Emergency Providers In A Global Paediatric Emergency Care Research Network, Prashant Mahajan, Joseph A Grubenhoff, Jim Cranford, Maala Bhatt, James M Chamberlain, Todd Chang, Mark Lyttle, Rianne Oostenbrink, Damian Roland, Richard M Rudy, Kathy N Shaw, Robert Velasco Zuniga, Apoorva Belle, Nathan Kuppermann, Hardeep Singh

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Diagnostic errors, reframed as missed opportunities for improving diagnosis (MOIDs), are poorly understood in the paediatric emergency department (ED) setting. We investigated the clinical experience, harm and contributing factors related to MOIDs reported by physicians working in paediatric EDs.

Methods: We developed a web-based survey in which physicians participating in the international Paediatric Emergency Research Network representing five out of six WHO regions, described examples of MOIDs involving their own or a colleague's patients. Respondents provided case summaries and answered questions regarding harm and factors contributing to the event.

Results: Of 1594 physicians surveyed, 412 (25.8%) responded (mean age=43 …

Asthma And Cardiovascular Disease: A Bidirectional Association?, Muhammad Adrish, Nicola A Hanania

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Thoracolumbar Scoliosis In Pediatric Patients With Loeys-Dietz Syndrome: A Case Series, Melissa A Lopresti, Prazwal Athukuri, A Basit Khan, Marc Prablek, Rajan Patel, Rory Mayer, David F Bauer, Frank T Gerow, Shaine A Morris, Sandi Lam, Vijay Ravindra

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) is a genetic connective tissue disorder that predominantly affects cardiovascular, skeletal, and craniofacial structures. Associated thoracolumbar scoliosis in LDS can be challenging to manage, though other etiologies of pediatric scoliosis have better-defined management guidelines. We examined our institutional experience regarding the treatment of pediatric patients with LDS and scoliosis. Methodology In this retrospective study, all patients seen at our pediatric tertiary care center from 2004 through 2018 with a diagnosis of LDS were reviewed, and those with radiographic diagnoses of scoliosis (full-length scoliosis X-rays) were included. Demographic, clinical, and radiographic parameters were collected, and management strategies …

A Scoping Review Of Randomized Clinical Trials For Pain Management In Pediatric Tonsillectomy And Adenotonsillectomy, Michael C Shih, Barry D Long, Phayvanh P Pecha, David R White, Yi-Chun C Liu, Emily Brennan, Mariam I Nguyen, Clarice S Clemmens

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: To examine the volume, topics, and reporting trends in the published literature of randomized clinical trials for pharmacologic pain management of pediatric tonsillectomy and adenotonsillectomy and to identify areas requiring further research.

DATA SOURCES: PubMed (National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health), Scopus (Elsevier), CINAHL (EBSCO), and Cochrane Library (Wiley).

METHODS: A systematic search of four databases was conducted. Only randomized controlled or comparison trials examining pain improvement with a pharmacologic intervention in pediatric tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy were included. Data collected included demographics, pain-related outcomes, sedation scores, nausea/vomiting, postoperative bleeding, types of drug comparisons, modes of administration, …

Urinary Cd163 Is A Marker Of Active Kidney Disease In Childhood-Onset Lupus Nephritis, Haleigh Inthavong, Kamala Vanarsa, Jessica Castillo, M John Hicks, Chandra Mohan, Scott E Wenderfer

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the utility of urine CD163 for detecting disease activity in childhood-onset SLE (cSLE) patients.

METHODS: Sixty consecutive pediatric patients fulfilling four or more ACR criteria for SLE and 20 healthy controls were recruited for testing of urinary CD163 using ELISA. SLE disease activity was assessed using the SLEDAI-2K.

RESULTS: Urine CD163 was significantly higher in patients with active LN than inactive SLE patients and healthy controls, with receiver operating characteristics area under the curve values ranging from 0.93 to 0.96. LN was ascertained by kidney biopsy. Levels of CD163 significantly correlated …

Corrigendum To 'The Hemophilia Joint Health Score Version 21 Validation In Adult Patients Study: A Multicenter International Study' [Research And Practice In Thrombosis And Haemostasis, 6/2, (2022) E12690], Adrian Minford, Leonardo R Brand Ao, Maha Othman, Christoph Male, Rezan Abdul-Kadir, Paul Monagle, Andrew D Mumford, Dorothy Adcock, Björn Dahlbäck, Predrag Miljic, Maria T Desancho, Jun Teruya

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

This corrects the article "The Hemophilia Joint Health Score version 2.1 Validation in Adult Patients Study: A multicenter international study" in volume 6, e12690.

Fine Needle Aspiration Of Pancreatic Lesions Focusing On Secondary Tumors With Emphasis Of Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Clinicopathological Study With Follow-Up, Maria Yanqing Chen, Neda Zarrin-Khameh, Ya Xu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The data on metastatic tumors to the pancreas diagnosed by fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy is limited. We report our experience of FNA of primary and secondary pancreatic tumors emphasizing metastatic breast cancer in the pancreas.

METHOD: Total 274 cases of pancreatic FNA in 10 years were retrospectively reviewed. Literature review of metastatic breast cancers to the pancreas was performed.

RESULTS: Out of the 274 cases, 7 (7/274, 2.6%) cases were non-diagnostic, 46 (46/274, 16.8%) cases were negative for malignancy, and 40 (40/274, 14.6%) cases were under the category of atypical cells. There were 133 (133/274, 48.5%) cases diagnosed …

Prevalence Of Abnormal Spirometry In Individuals With A Smoking History And No Known Obstructive Lung Disease, Thuonghien V Tran, Gregory L Kinney, Alejandro Comellas, Karin F Hoth, Arianne K Baldomero, A James Mamary, Jeffrey L Curtis, Nicola Hanania, Richard Casaburi, Kendra A Young, Victor Kim, Barry Make, Emily S Wan, Alejandro A Diaz, John Hokanson, James D Crapo, Edwin K Silverman, Surya P Bhatt, Elizabeth Regan, Spyridon Fortis, Copdgene® Investigators – Core Units, Copdgene® Investigators – Clinical Centers

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: Recent evidence suggests a high prevalence of undiagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). These individuals are at risk of exacerbations and delayed treatment. We analyzed an at-risk population for the prevalence of abnormal spirometry to provide clarity into who should undergo early spirometry.

METHODS: We analyzed data from the COPDGene study. Participants with ≥10 pack-years of smoking were included. Individuals with self-reported or physician-diagnosed COPD, asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and/or were on inhalers were excluded. Parsimonious multivariable logistic regression models identified factors associated with abnormal spirometry, defined as either airflow obstruction (AFO) or preserved ratio impaired spirometry. Variables were …

B-Complex Vitamins For Patients With Tango2-Deficiency Disorder, Sarah E Sandkuhler, Lilei Zhang, Joshua K Meisner, Lina Ghaloul-Gonzalez, Cheyenne M Beach, David Harris, Pascale De Lonlay, Seema R Lalani, Christina Y Miyake, Samuel J Mackenzie

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Access To Clinically Indicated Genetic Tests For Pediatric Patients With Medicaid: Evidence From Outpatient Genetics Clinics In Texas, Haley Streff, Crescenda L Uhles, Heather Fisher, Rachel Franciskovich, Rebecca O Littlejohn, Amanda Gerard, Julianna Hudnall, Hadley Stevens Smith

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose: Little is known about how Medicaid coverage policies affect access to genetic tests for pediatric patients. Building upon and extending a previous analysis of prior authorization requests (PARs), we describe expected coverage of genetic tests submitted to Texas Medicaid and the PAR and diagnostic outcomes of those tests.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed genetic tests ordered at 3 pediatric outpatient genetics clinics in Texas. We compared Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes with the Texas Medicaid fee-for-service schedule (FFSS) to determine whether tests were expected to be covered by Medicaid. We assessed completion and diagnostic yield of commonly ordered tests.

Results: …

Cognitive And Academic Performance Of Rural Zambian Youth Exposed To Hiv, Sophie Jago, Joseph Mwaba Chirwa, Mei Tan, Philip E Thuma, Elena L Grigorenko

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Studies focusing on children affected by HIV have shown that they have generally lower academic performance, however, few studies separate children who are HIV exposed and infected (CHEI) and those who are HIV exposed but uninfected (CHEU). Importantly, in rural sub-Saharan Africa, the majority of studies on CHEI and CHEU examine academic performance indirectly based on cognitive test scores. Therefore, studies assessing the effects of HIV on academic achievement directly for CHEI and CHEU are needed. This article evaluates the effects of HIV-infection on cognitive and academic performance by comparing CHEI (n = 82) and CHEU (n = 1045) aged …

Fetal Nephrology: A Quaternary Care Center Experience, Auda M Plaud Gonzalez, Catherine Joseph, Samantha R Stover, Ahmed Nassr, Chester J Koh, Joseph R Angelo, Michael C Braun

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUTs) represent 15%–20% of prenatally diagnosed abnormalities. Maternal characteristics, the frequency of various forms of kidney disease including CAKUT referred for prenatal nephrology consultation, and their perinatal outcomes are less well defined.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed of fetal CAKUT and other forms of kidney disease referred for prenatal nephrology consults at Texas Children's Hospital Fetal Center from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2018.

Results: Two hundred seventeen prenatal nephrology consultations were performed during the study period, representing 4.7% of total Fetal Center referrals at a mean estimated …

Ectopic Lymphoid Structures In The Aged Lacrimal Glands, Jeremias G Galletti, Kaitlin K Scholand, Claudia M Trujillo-Vargas, Zhiyuan Yu, Olivier Mauduit, Vanessa Delcroix, Helen P Makarenkova, Cintia S De Paiva

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Aging is a complex biological process in which many organs are pathologically affected. We previously reported that aged C57BL/6J had increased lacrimal gland (LG) lymphoid infiltrates that suggest ectopic lymphoid structures. However, these ectopic lymphoid structures have not been fully investigated. Using C57BL/6J mice of different ages, we analyzed the transcriptome of aged murine LGs and characterized the B and T cell populations. Age-related changes in the LG include increased differentially expressed genes associated with B and T cell activation, germinal center formation, and infiltration by marginal zone-like B cells. We also identified an age-related increase in B1

Sinus Node Dysfunction: Current Understanding And Future Directions, Pavan Manoj, Jitae A Kim, Stephanie Kim, Tingting Li, Maham Sewani, Mihail G Chelu, Na Li

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The sinoatrial node (SAN) is the primary pacemaker of the heart. Normal SAN function is crucial in maintaining proper cardiac rhythm and contraction. Sinus node dysfunction (SND) is due to abnormalities within the SAN, which can affect the heartbeat frequency, regularity, and the propagation of electrical pulses through the cardiac conduction system. As a result, SND often increases the risk of cardiac arrhythmias. SND is most commonly seen as a disease of the elderly given the role of degenerative fibrosis as well as other age-dependent changes in its pathogenesis. Despite the prevalence of SND, current treatment is limited to pacemaker …

Inflammatory Signalling In Atrial Cardiomyocytes: A Novel Unifying Principle In Atrial Fibrillation Pathophysiology, Dobromir Dobrev, Jordi Heijman, Roddy Hiram, Na Li, Stanley Nattel

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Inflammation has been implicated in atrial fibrillation (AF), a very common and clinically significant cardiac rhythm disturbance, but its precise role remains poorly understood. Work performed over the past 5 years suggests that atrial cardiomyocytes have inflammatory signalling machinery - in particular, components of the NLRP3 (NACHT-, LRR- and pyrin domain-containing 3) inflammasome - that is activated in animal models and patients with AF. Furthermore, work in animal models suggests that NLRP3 inflammasome activation in atrial cardiomyocytes might be a sufficient and necessary condition for AF occurrence. In this Review, we evaluate the evidence for the role and pathophysiological significance …