Medical Specialties Commons^™

Multidisciplinary Lethal Means Safety Counseling Design And Implementation: Training And Identifying Barriers In A Children's Hospital, Cassandra L. Stegall, Brendon Carnell, Jaime M. Golden, Rupa Kapoor, John H. Fanton, Paul C. Mullan, Alexandra P. Leader

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Background

Access to lethal means contributes significantly to suicide completion. Lethal means safety counseling (LMSC) is an injury prevention strategy to limit access to firearms, medications, and other means of injury. Not previously evaluated in the trauma setting, this study aims to design and implement a standardized LMSC protocol for pediatric patient discharge education in emergency (ED), trauma, and inpatient psychiatry settings.

Methods

A single-center quality improvement study at an academic pediatric urban tertiary Level-one trauma center was performed from July 2023 to February 2024. Protocol was implemented for pediatric patients discharged from three departments: ED, surgery trauma service, and …

Improved Survival With Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitor Use In Men With Male-Predominant Cancers: Real-World Large Database Study, Daniel Uralov, Sarah R. Harrington, Hani Samarah, Anika S. Walia, Marina Aweeda, Manal U. Mustafa, Parvesh Kumar, Andrew Briskin, Julian Jackson, Eric Mastrolonardo, Adam J. Luginbuhl

Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) inhibitors, commonly prescribed for erectile dysfunction, may exhibit immunomodulatory properties by reducing myeloid-derived suppressor cell activity and enhancing T-cell responses. This study evaluated the association between PDE5 inhibitor use and overall survival (OS) in male-predominant solid organ malignancies.

METHODS: Male-predominant solid tumors were identified using male-to-female incidence ratio ≥3:1 in SEER database: prostate, bladder, colon, esophageal, hypopharyngeal, laryngeal, tonsillar, and testicular cancers. Using the TriNetX Research Network, we compared male patients prescribed PDE5 inhibitors within 6 months of cancer diagnosis to those without PDE5 exposure. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed on demographic, clinical, and oncologic variables. …

3d Bioprinting Technology Innovation In Female Reproductive System, Siyao Chen, Tongxin Wang, Jiaqi Chen, Mingxing Sui, Luyao Wang, Xueyu Zhao, Jianqiao Sun, Yingli Lu

Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty Publications

Several diseases affect the female reproductive system, and both disease factors and treatments impact its integrity and function. Consequently, understanding the mechanisms of disease occurrence and exploring treatment methods are key research focuses in obstetrics and gynecology. However, constructing accurate disease models requires a microenvironment closely resembling the human body, and current animal models and 2D in vitro cell models fall short in this regard. Thus, innovative in vitro female reproductive system models are urgently needed. Additionally, female reproductive system diseases often cause tissue loss, yet effective tissue repair and regeneration have long been a bottleneck in the medical field. …

Association Between The Social Vulnerability Index And Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes, Tetsuya Kawakita, Misa Hayasaka, Lindsay Robbins, Juliana Martins, George Saade

Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty Publications

Objective: To assess the association between the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and racial disparities in pregnancy outcomes across U.S. counties and to quantify these racial disparities.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using restricted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data sets, including natality data sets, fetal death data sets, and all-cause mortality data sets from 2016 to 2021. We limited analyses to Black or White individuals aged 15-44 years from 3,114 U.S. counties. Participants were categorized into quartiles based on county-level SVI. The primary outcome was maternal mortality rate while pregnant or within 42 days of the end of …

Longitudinal Assessment Of Intravillous Arterioles In Normal Pregnancy Using Superb Microvascular Imaging, R. Horgan, E. Sinkovskaya, G. Saade, E. Kalafat, A. Heeze, A. Abuhamad

Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty Publications

Objective

To use superb microvascular imaging (SMI) to longitudinally evaluate blood flow in intravillous arterioles (IVA) in pregnancy, and to develop reference ranges for IVA pulsatility index (PI) and peak systolic velocity (PSV) from 12 to 38 weeks' gestation.

Methods

The data for this study were obtained from the National Institutes of Health-funded Human Placenta Project. Eligible for inclusion were women aged 18-35 years, with a body mass index of <  30 kg/m², without comorbidities, with a singleton pregnancy conceived spontaneously and a gestational age of ≤ 13 + 6 weeks. Exclusion criteria were maternal or neonatal complications, fetal or umbilical cord anomalies, abnormal placental implantation and delivery <  37 weeks. Each participant underwent eight ultrasound examinations during pregnancy. Using SMI technology, the total number of IVA identified was recorded in a sagittal placental section at the level of cord insertion. The PI and PSV were measured in a total of six IVA (two in the central portion of the placenta, two peripherally towards the uterine fundal portion and two peripherally towards the lower uterine segment). Umbilical artery (UA)-PI was also obtained. Multilevel regression models were used to create reference ranges for IVA-PI and IVA-PSV at 12-38 weeks' gestation.

Results

A total of 90 women fulfilled the study criteria. IVA-PI decreased throughout pregnancy from a mean ± SD of 1.04 ± 0.23 in the first trimester (at 12-13 weeks) …

American Heart Association Blood Pressure Classification And Subsequent Risk Of Preeclampsia, Rebecca Horgan, Erkan Kalafat, Elena Sinkovskaya, Alfred Abuhamad, George Saade

Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty Publications

Background: In 2017, the American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiology updated their hypertension guidelines for the nonpregnant population, lowering the diagnostic thresholds to systolic blood pressure ≥130 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥80 mmHg. This reclassification has raised important questions regarding whether blood pressure (BP) values previously considered within the normal range in pregnancy may, in fact, confer an increased risk for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs).

Objective: To evaluate the association between first-trimester BP classified by AHA thresholds and the subsequent development of HDPs.

Study design: This was a secondary analysis of a prospective, multicenter cohort …

A Rare Complication Of Dilation And Evacuation: Unrecognized Extrauterine Retained Products Of Conception, Aviana Terschueren, Lauren Siewertsz Van Reesema, Joseph Hudgens

Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty Publications

Introduction: Surgical abortions, including dilation and evacuation, are among the safest gynecological procedures, with complication rates ranging from 0.5–4.0%. Uterine perforation, though rare (0.2–0.8%), can result in serious sequela, including translocation of retained products of conception into the abdominal cavity. We present a rare case of abdominal retained products of conception following a second-trimester dilation and evacuation.

Case Report: A 29-year-old G3P1112 underwent an elective surgical abortion at 17 weeks’ gestation, complicated by hemorrhage necessitating transfer to an outside hospital. She was treated with uterotonics and a blood transfusion and was discharged after a 6-day hospitalization. Initial transvaginal ultrasound showed …

Glutamatergic Lateral Habenula Neurons Modulate Consolidation Of Associative Memories, Snigdha Srivastava, I-Ching Wang, Mikhail Y Kochukov, Jessica L Swanson, Mauro Costa-Mattioli, Benjamin R Arenkiel

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

INTRODUCTION: Despite the rise in psychiatric disorders worldwide, the underlying brain circuits responsible for these devastating conditions remain elusive. The lateral habenula (LHb) has emerged as a key brain structure in depression studies due to its hyperactive state in both patients and animal models. While this aligns with known roles in driving aversive states and regulating serotonin release, it is still unclear how acute and transient activity changes in the LHb can influence higher order cognitive processes such as learning, memory, and behavioral adaptation. Given the importance of these processes to psychiatric conditions, understanding how LHb activity impacts cognitive function …

Survey And Improvement Strategies For Gene Prioritization With Large Language Models, Matthew B Neeley, Guantong Qi, Guanchu Wang, Ruixiang Tang, Dongxue Mao, Chaozhong Liu, Sasidhar Pasupuleti, Bo Yuan, Fan Xia, Pengfei Liu, Zhandong Liu, Xia Hu

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Motivation: Rare diseases remain difficult to diagnose due to limited patient data and genetic diversity, with many cases remaining undiagnosed despite advances in variant prioritization tools. While large language models have shown promise in medical applications, their optimal application for trustworthy and accurate gene prioritization downstream of modern prioritization tools has not been systematically evaluated.

Results: We benchmarked various language models for gene prioritization using multi-agent and Human Phenotype Ontology classification approaches to categorize patient cases by phenotype-based solvability levels. To address language model limitations in ranking large gene sets, we implemented a divide-and-conquer strategy with mini-batching and token limiting …

Serglycin Controls Megakaryocyte Retention Of Platelet Factor 4 And Influences Megakaryocyte Fate In Bone Marrow, Joshua Lykins, Isabelle C. Becker, Virginia Camacho, Hammodah Rawhi Hammodah Alfar, Joonwoo Park, Joseph Italiano, Sidney W. Whiteheart

Saha Cardiovascular Research Center Faculty Publications

Megakaryocytes (MKs) produce platelets, and similar to other hematopoietic progenitors, they are involved in homeostatic aspects of their bone marrow niche. MKs release and endocytose various factors, such as platelet factor 4 (PF4)/CXCL4. Here, we show that the intra-α-granular proteoglycan, serglycin (SRGN), plays a key role in this process by retaining PF4, and perhaps other factors, during MK maturation. Immature, SRGN–/– MKs released ~80% of their PF4, and conditioned media from these cells negatively affected wild-type MK differentiation in vitro. This was replicated in wild-type MKs by treatment with the polycation surfen, a known inhibitor of glycosaminoglycan (GAG)/protein interactions. In …

Abcg5/Abcg8-Independent Mechanisms Fail To Maintain Sterol Balance In Mice Fed A High-Cholesterol Diet, Garrett B. Anspach, Rupinder Kaur, Isha Chauhan, Erika L. Savage, Brittney Poole, Victoria P. Noffsinger, Xiaoming Fu, Zeneng Wang, Clairity Voy, Ryan E. Temel, Scott M. Gordon, Robert N. Helsley, Gregory A. Graf

Saha Cardiovascular Research Center Faculty Publications

The ABCG5/ABCG8 (G5G8) sterol transporter opposes the accumulation of dietary xenosterols but is also the primary mediator of biliary cholesterol secretion. In humans and in mouse models of disrupted biliary cholesterol secretion, fecal neutral sterols (FNSs) remain constant, indicating the presence of an alternate pathway for cholesterol excretion. Transintestinal cholesterol elimination or excretion (TICE) is thought to compensate for biliary disruptions and G5G8 insufficiency. We sought to measure the compensatory increase in intestinal cholesterol secretion and provide mechanistic insight for how TICE maintains sterol balance in the absence of hepatic G5G8. Differences were not observed in FNSs between control, acute, …

How Do Patient-Provider Relationships Affect Patient Satisfaction?, Rose D. Lightspeed

Anthós

This article reviews studies on patient satisfaction within the U.S. healthcare system to investigate how physicians’ behavior influences patients’ reported quality of care. Medical negligence, neglect, and cognitive biases are identified from the reviewed literature as physician behaviors that affect the patient-provider relationship and patient satisfaction. Emphasizing patient satisfaction and involvement in their care as important considerations when evaluating patient-provider relationships, Lightspeed underscores how the complex dynamic between patient and provider–including physicians’ reported feeling of inadequate interpersonal skills and patients’ sensitivity to dismissive communication–contributes to reduced satisfaction rates. Lightspeed argues that increasing physician awareness of these factors that influence patient …

Clinical Relapse Versus Treatment Failure: The Case For Surveillance For Re-Appearance Of Minimal Measurable Disease In Pediatric Patients With Higher Risk B-All, Paul S. Gaynon, Linwei Li

School of Medicine Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Cerebrospinal Fluid And Blood-Based Biomarkers In Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Harshit Arora, Hassan Darabi, Cassandra C. Wolsh, Kelsey N. Karnik, John C. Gensel, Francis Farhadi

Neurosurgery Faculty Publications

Study Design: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM), the leading cause of spinal cord injury globally, may clinically manifest with hand numbness and tingling, loss of hand dexterity and impaired balance and gait. Biomarkers have been identified as disease indicators with recent studies exploring the role of structural and inflammatory biomarkers in diagnostic and treatment outcome prediction. The review aims to identify relevant cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood-based biomarkers associated with DCM diagnosis and prognostication.

Methods: The systematic review was conducted as per PRISMA guidelines. A comprehensive search strategy was devised to identify articles evaluating biomarkers in …

Frailty Indices In Patients Undergoing Functional Neurosurgical Procedures: A Systematic Review, Carmelo Venero Jr., Joanna M. Roy, Nirbha Ghurye, Akshay Warrier, Muhammad Usman Khalid, Niels Pacheco-Barrios, Farhan A. Mirza, Christian A. Bowers

Neurosurgery Faculty Publications

Introduction: Functional neurosurgery covers a wide array of neurological disorders with an equally vast array of treatment modalities, including neuromodulation, decompressive, and ablative therapies for disparate pathologies such as pain, neuromodulation, disconnection, and refractory epilepsy. One of the most common functional treatments is deep brain stimulation for movement disorders and select psychiatric diseases. Functional neurosurgery treats patients with reduced quality of life from pathological neuronal pathways. Optimal patient selection by preoperatively identifying high-risk patients is critical for avoiding as many operative complications as possible, in addition to managing complications better once they occur. Frailty indices have demonstrated superior discrimination in …

A Spine-Specific Lexicon For The Sentiment Analysis Of Interviews With Adult Spinal Deformity Patients Correlate With Sf-36, Sf-36, And Odi Scores: A Pilot Study Of 25 Patients, Ross Gore, Michael M. Safaee, Christopher J. Lynch, Christopher P. Ames

VMASC Publications

Classic health-related quality of life (HRQOL) metrics are cumbersome, time-intensive, and subject to biases based on the patient’s native language, educational level, and cultural values. Natural language processing (NLP) converts text into quantitative metrics. Sentiment analysis enables subject matter experts to construct domain-specific lexicons that assign a value of either negative (−1) or positive (1) to certain words. The growth of telehealth provides opportunities to apply sentiment analysis to transcripts of adult spinal deformity patients’ visits to derive a novel and less biased HRQOL metric. In this study, we demonstrate the feasibility of constructing a spine-specific lexicon for sentiment analysis …

Rvd2 Mitigates Tnfɑ-Induced Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species Through Nrf2 Signaling In Placental Trophoblasts, Taija Hahka, Deekshika Sekar, Prakash Kumar Sahoo, Aiswariya Ravi, Colman Freel, Chandan Krishnamoorthy, Sankar Ramamurthy, Rebekah Rapoza, Rebecca Drakowski, Anum Akbar, Matthew Van Ormer, Melissa Thoene, Corrine K. Hanson, Tara Nordgren, Sathish Kumar Natarajan, Ann Anderson-Berry

Journal Articles: Pediatrics

INTRODUCTION: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are marked by elevated levels of TNFα, which increases reactive oxygen species (ROS) and disrupts metabolism of trophoblasts. Resolvin D2 (RvD2), an omega-3 fatty acid-derived lipid mediator, is known to resolve inflammation, but its role in protecting trophoblasts by promoting antioxidant responses to alleviate ROS remains unclear. Nuclear translocation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) controls cellular defense mechanisms against oxidative stress and helps with the maintenance of cellular redox homeostasis. Upon translocation to nucleus, NRF2 activates the antioxidant response element (ARE), inducing the expression of genes that can mitigate ROS. Hence, …

Efficacy And Safety Of Thrombolysis For Pediatric Venous Thromboembolism: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Hassan Kawtharany, Muayad Azzam, Aseel Alkhader, Marisol Betensky, Qais Hamarsha, Hadi K. Abou Zeid, Razan Mansour, Carine Tabak, Payal Patel, Sarah L. Baghdadi, Rachel S. Bercovitz, Rukhmi Bhat, Tina Biss, Brian R. Branchford, Leonardo R. Brandão, Anthony K.C. Chan, E. Vincent S. Faustino, Julie Jaffray, Sophie Jones, Bryce A. Kerlin, Nicole Kucine, Riten Kumar, Christoph Male, Marie-Claude Pelland-Marcotte, Leslie Raffini, Chittalsinh M. Raulji, Sarah E. Sartain, Clifford M. Takemoto, Cristina Tarango, C Heleen Van Ommen, Maria C. Velez, Sara K. Vesely, John Wiernikowski, Suzan Williams, Hope P. Wilson, Gary Woods, Ayesha Zia, Paul Monagle, Reem A. Mustafa

Journal Articles: Pediatrics

We conducted this systematic review to evaluate outcomes of thrombolysis followed by anticoagulation vs anticoagulation alone in pediatric patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE). This systematic review addresses mortality, VTE resolution, recurrence, bleeding, and organ-specific outcomes in 5 PICO (population, intervention, comparison, outcomes) questions on thrombolysis across pulmonary embolism (PE), extremity deep vein thrombosis (DVT), right atrial thrombosis (RAT), cerebral sinus venous thrombosis (CSVT), and renal vein thrombosis (RVT). Meta-analysis reported risk ratios or differences (95% confidence intervals [CIs]), and absolute effects per 1000 patients. Certainty of evidence was assessed using GRADE (Grading of recommendation, assessment, Development, and Evaluation) guidelines. Thirteen …

Pay Attention! A Comparative Analysis Of Psychological Assessments And Neurological Mechanisms For Adhd Within A Pediatric Population, Kristen E. Newberry

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study evaluated the predictiveness of the WISC-V, NEPSY-II, CPT-3, and CATA when compared to each other in a sample of 272 children aged 8–16. Archival data was analyzed using binary and multinomial logistic regression models to assess concurrent validity of specific subtests and indexes. Participants were grouped by ADHD subtype (inattentive, combined/hyperactive, or no diagnosis), with gender and executive functioning measures included in the models. Findings indicated that lower Cognitive Proficiency Index (CPI) and executive functioning scores (e.g., Animal Sorting, Response Set) predicted any ADHD diagnosis compared to the no diagnosis group, whereas higher CATA scores predicted lower Inattentive …

Identification Of Potential Prophylactic Medical Countermeasures Against Acute Radiation Syndrome (Ars), Kia T. Liermann-Wooldrik, Arpita Chatterjee, Elizabeth A. Kosmacek, Molly Myers, Oluwaseun Adebisi, Louise Monga-Wells, Liu Mei, Michelle P. Takacs, Patrick H. Dussault, Daniel R. Draney, Robert Powers, James W. Checco, Chittibabu Guda, Tomáš Helikar, David B. Berkowitz, Kenneth W. Bayles, Alan H. Epstein, Lynnette Cary, Daryl J. Murry, Rebecca E. Oberley-Deegan

Journal Articles: Pathology and Microbiology

Acute radiation syndrome (ARS) occurs when hematopoietic or gastrointestinal cells are damaged by radiation exposure causing DNA damage to the bone marrow and gastrointestinal epithelial stem cell populations. In these highly proliferative cell types, DNA damage inhibits stem cell repopulation. In humans and animals, this inability to regenerate stem cells is lethal. Within this manuscript, several compounds, Amifostine, Captopril, Ciprofloxacin, PrC-210, 5-AED (5-androstene-3β,17β-diol), and 5-AET (5-androstene-3β,7β,17B-triol), are assessed for their ability to protect against ARS in an in vitro and/or in vivo setting. ARS was accomplished by irradiating mouse bone marrow cells or rat intestinal epithelial (IEC-6) cells in vitro …

Comparison Of Clinical Outcomes Between Provisional Stenting And Two-Stent Approach For True Left Main Bifurcation Lesions In The Era Of Imaging Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, Ming Leo Lau, Ho Fai Daniel Fong, Nim Pong Kwong

Journal of the Hong Kong College of Cardiology

Background

Currently there are two strategies in Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) of the true left main (LM) bifurcation lesions: provisional stenting and two-stent technique. The optimal treatment strategy for true LM bifurcation lesions is undetermined. In addition, the percentage of use of imaging-guiding in these studies was low. We would like to undertake a retrospective cohort study to compare the clinical outcomes of provisional stenting versus two-stent technique in treating the true LM bifurcation lesions with the help of intravascular imaging.

Methods

Data of consecutive patients undergoing PCI of true LM bifurcation lesions in Yan Chai Hospital from January, 2018 …

An Unusual Cause Of Acute Constrictive Pericarditis, Yue Hin Tang, Raymond Chi Yan Fung

Journal of the Hong Kong College of Cardiology

Constrictive pericarditis, a condition where the pericardium thickens and constricts, has long been considered as a chronic sequela of prior insults to the pericardium such as heart surgery, repeated pericarditis, tuberculosis infection, radiation exposure, etc. Susceptible populations are thus expected to be middle-aged.

We present a case in which a young gentleman was diagnosed with acute constrictive pericarditis due to Adult-onset Still’s disease with macrophage activation syndrome. This case illustrated that constrictive pericarditis could happen in acute settings and thus the importance of cardiologists to maintain open-minded in search of a diagnosis

Machine Learning-Based Risk Stratification For Limb-Related Outcomes In Peripheral Artery Disease Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty, Yujia Zhang, Zhoudong Jing, Zhiqiang Liu, Angel Lai, Guangming Tan, Bryan P Yan

Journal of the Hong Kong College of Cardiology

Background: Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) remain at high risk of mortality and major adverse limb events (MALE) after endovascular revascularization, yet outcome prediction tools are limited. We apply machine learning (ML) to improve prognostic stratification in this population. Methods: PAD patients undergoing percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) between 2007 and 2024 were included. The primary endpoint was 1-year major adverse limb events (MALE) or all-cause death. Data were divided into training (70%) and testing (30%) sets. Six ML models were developed, and performance was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Feature importance and risk …

Iatrogenic Femoral Arteriovenous Fistula After Leadless Pacemaker Implantation Treated With Balloon-Expandable Stent: A Report Of Three Cases, Cheuk Yin Lai, Timothy Ho Him, Mark Tk Tam, Guang-Ming Tan, Bryan P Yan

Journal of the Hong Kong College of Cardiology

Endovascular covered stenting is a minimally invasive option for treating iatrogenic femoral access site complications, including arteriovenous femoral fistula (AVF). Reports on AVF repair mainly concern small bore devices, but large bore devices such as leadless pacemakers post unique challenges. We present 3 cases of iatrogenic femoral AVF after large-bore, 27Fr access sheath insertion for leadless pacemaker implantation. Both underwent endovascular balloon-expandable covered stenting, with resolution of AVF and durable long-term results. As patients referred for leadless pacemaker implantations are often frail with co-morbidities, endovascular stenting is an appealing alternative to open surgical repair for AVF.

Back Matter, Arianna Medina

Western Journal of Orthopaedics

No abstract provided.

A Brief History Of Opioid-Use Disorder In The United States, Effect On Orthopaedics, And Current Management Options, William Curtis, Nicholas Newcomb, Eric S. Kruger, Christopher L. Shultz

Western Journal of Orthopaedics

Declared a public health emergency in 2017 and leading to 11 million years of life lost worldwide, the American opioid crisis has impacted millions of people, with up to 7 million experiencing opioid use disorder. In orthopaedic surgery, opioid analgesia has been associated with various complications, including infections, deep vein thrombosis, prolonged hospital stays, and overall inferior outcomes after surgical procedures. Orthopaedic surgeons commonly rely on opioids to provide postoperative analgesia and may frequently encounter patients with opioid use disorder. It is therefore essential that orthopaedic surgeons understand opioid use disorder, its effect on orthopaedic outcomes, and management of opioid …

Scar Tissue Adhesions, Neuromuscular Guarding, And Functional Recovery: A Case Report Of Physical Therapy Post-Cholecystectomy, Raeisa Griñe, Adam Walsh

Western Journal of Orthopaedics

Scar tissue from abdominal surgeries, such as cholecystectomy, can lead to long-term issues such as restricted movement, painful spasms, and impaired function. Laparoscopic adhesiolysis is a common surgical treatment for pathological scar tissue impairments. Conservative care, such as physical therapy, is a commonly used approach for managing pathological scar tissue. In this case, manual therapy techniques and targeted exercises successfully reduced the intensity and frequency of abdominal spasms, improved core strength and endurance, and enhanced overall functional mobility. These improvements were reflected in enhanced scores on the Lower Extremity Functional Scale and the Vancouver Scar Scale in a 59-year-old woman …

Treatment Sequence With Tebentafusp And Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors In Patients With Metastatic Uveal Melanoma And Metastatic Gna11/Gnaq Mutant Melanocytic Tumors, Florentia Dimitriou, Marlana Orloff, Erica Koch Hein, Phil Cheng, Isaac Hughes, Ester Simeone, Kamaneh Montazeri, Piyush Grover, Inderjit Mehmi, Camille Gerard, Caroline Gaudy-Marqueste, Jean-Jacques Grob, Olivier Michielin, Omid Hamid, Georgina Long, Ryan Sullivan, Ellen Kapiteijn, Douglas Johnson, Paolo Ascierto, Anthony Joshua, Richard Carvajal, Marcus Butler, Jessica Hassel, Reinhard Dummer

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Metastatic uveal melanoma (mUM) is rare. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have shown modest efficacy in mUM. Tebentafusp prolonged overall survival (OS) in a phase 3 study. We aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of the sequence of tebentafusp and ICIs.

METHODS: Patients with HLA-A * 02:01 positive mUM, or metastatic GNA11/GNAQ mutant melanocytic tumors treated with tebentafusp followed by ICIs (group 1) or the inverse sequence (group 2) at any treatment line were retrospectively identified. The primary objective was OS rate at 2 years.

RESULTS: 131 patients were included; 51 in group 1 and 80 in group 2. …

Alpha-Synuclein Interaction With Gedunin, Tony Matundura Nyabayo

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other Proteinopathies develop when α-synuclein misfolds and aggregates into toxic amyloids. While existing treatments for PD are primarily focused on managing its symptoms, a viable solution for slowing down the progress of Parkinson’s disease involves targeting the toxic α-synuclein amyloids. Gedunin, a natural inhibitor of heat shock protein 90, has been extensively used to treat malaria. Also, recent research investigations have shed light on its potential beyond malaria therapy, indicating that Gedunin may offer a possible solution for treating a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. Using plate-based assays, we examined how Gedunin influences α-synuclein fibrillation and its …

Understanding The Impact Of The Care Connect Washington Program, Hannah Cohen-Cline, Dan Fish, Taylor Doren, Abby Bush

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.