Medical Specialties Commons^™

Ethnic Differences In Maternal Adipokines During Normal Pregnancy, Xinhua Chen, Theresa O Scholl

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Two adipokines (adiponectin and resistin) have opposite relations with insulin resistance and inflammation. Our major focus was to determine whether there were detectable ethnic differences in maternal adipokines during pregnancy. We also explored the correlation of the adipokines with maternal glucose homeostasis, blood pressure and anthropometric parameters. Pregnant women (n = 1634) were from a large prospective cohort study in Camden NJ (African-American 36.8%; Hispanic 47.6%; Caucasian 15.6%). Serum adiponectin and resistin were measured at entry (week 16.8) and the 3rd trimester (week 30.7) using the Luminex xMapTechnology. Significant differences were observed among ethnic groups, controlling for confounding variables. African …

‘Much Clearer With Pictures’: Using Community-Based Participatory Research To Design And Test A Picture Option Grid For Underserved Patients With Breast Cancer, Marie-Anne Durand, Shama Alam, Stuart W. Grande, Glyn Elwyn

Dartmouth Scholarship

Women of low socioeconomic status (SES) diagnosed with early stage breast cancer experience decision-making, treatment and outcome disparities. Evidence suggests that decision aids can benefit underserved patients, when tailored to their needs. Our aim was to develop and test the usability, acceptability and accessibility of a pictorial encounter decision aid targeted at women of low SES diagnosed with early stage breast cancer.

Outcomes With As-Needed Ranibizumab After Initial Monthly Therapy: Long-Term Outcomes Of The Phase Iii Ride And Rise Trials., David S. Boyer, Quan Dong Nguyen, David M. Brown, Karen Basu, Jason S. Ehrlich

Journal Articles: Ophthalmology

PURPOSE: To determine whether the efficacy and safety achieved with monthly ranibizumab as treatment for diabetic macular edema (DME) can be maintained with less-than-monthly treatment.

DESIGN: Open-label extension (OLE) phase of randomized, sham-controlled phase III trials: RIDE (NCT00473382) and RISE (NCT00473330).

PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred of 582 adults who completed the 36-month randomized core studies elected to enter the OLE.

METHODS: All patients participating in the OLE were eligible to receive 0.5 mg ranibizumab according to predefined re-treatment criteria: Treatment was administered when DME was identified by the investigator on optical coherence tomography or when best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) worsened by …

Multivariate Criteria Most Accurately Distinguish Cardiac From Noncardiac Causes Of Dyspnea, Mirza Nubair Ahmad, Syed Hasan Yusuf, Rafath Ullah, Mirza Mujadil Ahmad, Mary K Ellis, Haroon Yousaf, Timothy E Paterick, Khawaja Afzal Ammar

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing provides oxygen pulse as a continuous measure of stroke volume, which is superior to other stress-testing methods in which systolic function is measured at baseline and at peak stress. However, the optimal peak oxygen pulse criterion for distinguishing cardiac from noncardiac causes of exercise limitation is unknown.

In comparing several peak oxygen pulse criteria against the clinical standard of cardiopulmonary exercise testing, we retrospectively studied 54 consecutive patients referred for cardiopulmonary exercise testing. These exercise tests included measurement of oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, breathing reserve, arterial blood gases at baseline and at peak stress, exercise electrocardiogram, …

Tunneling A Pulmonary Artery Graft: A Simplified Way To Insert And Remove A Temporary Right Ventricular Assist Device, Pankaj Saxena, Silvana F Marasco

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Right ventricular failure can occur early or late after left ventricular assist device implantation. Support with a right ventricular assist device is needed in patients whose right ventricular failure does not respond to conservative management. The use of a temporary right ventricular assist device can enable the recovery of right ventricular function and avoid the use of a more permanent biventricular assist device, which is associated with complications and higher costs. We present our technique of instituting temporary right ventricular assist device support in patients who have undergone left ventricular assist device implantation.

Migrated Avalon Veno-Venous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Cannula: How To Adjust Without Interruption Of Flow., Daizo Tanaka, Harrsion T. Pitcher, Nicholas C. Cavarocchi, Hitoshi Hirose

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

The Avalon dual lumen cannula is presently the cannula of choice for veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) via right internal jugular cannulation. This cannula establishes VV-ECMO with a single cannulation; however, it requires appropriate positioning to gain adequate oxygenation. Malposition of this cannula can cause inadequate ECMO flow, hypoxia, and structural injury. We have experienced two cases of migration: one into the hepatic vein and the other into the right ventricle. The former was repositioned using echocardiographic guidance without using a guidewire. The latter was repositioned using a guidewire from the femoral vein under fluoroscopy, without antegrade wire placement into …

Enos Transfection Of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Yields Bioactive Nitric Oxide Production And Improved Results In Vascular Tissue Engineering., Stephen Mcilhenny, Ping Zhang, Thomas Tulenko, Jason Comeau, Sarah Fernandez, Aleksandra Policha, Matthew Ferroni, Elizabeth J Faul, Gabor Bagameri, Irving Shapiro, Paul J. Dimuzio

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

This study evaluates the durability of a novel tissue engineered blood vessel (TEBV) created by seeding a natural vascular tissue scaffold (decellularized human saphenous vein allograft) with autologous adipose-derived stem cells (ASC) differentiated into endothelial-like cells. Previous work with this model revealed the graft to be thrombogenic, likely due to inadequate endothelial differentiation as evidenced by minimal production of nitric oxide (NO). To evaluate the importance of NO expression by the seeded cells, we created TEBV using autologous ASC transfected with the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene to produce NO. We found that transfected ASC produced NO at levels …

Saving Life And Brain With Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: A Single-Center Analysis Of In-Hospital Cardiac Arrests., Graham Peigh, Nicholas C. Cavarocchi, Hitoshi Hirose

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: Despite advances in medical care, survival to discharge and full neurologic recovery after cardiac arrest remains less than 20% after cardiopulmonary resuscitation. An alternate approach to traditional cardiopulmonary resuscitation is extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which places patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation and provides immediate cardiopulmonary support when traditional resuscitation has been unsuccessful. We report the results from extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the Thomas Jefferson University.

METHODS: Between 2010 and June 2014, 107 adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation procedures were performed at the Thomas Jefferson University. Patient demographics, survival to discharge, and neurologic recovery of patients who underwent extracorporeal …

Dna-Repair Defects And Olaparib In Metastatic Prostate Cancer., Joaquin Mateo, Suzanne Carreira, Shahneen Sandhu, Susana Miranda, Helen Mossop, Raquel Perez-Lopez, Daniel Nava Rodrigues, Dan Robinson, Aurelius Omlin, Nina Tunariu, Gunther Boysen, Nuria Porta, Penny Flohr, Alexa Gillman, Ines Figueiredo, Claire Paulding, George Seed, Suneil Jain, Christy Ralph, Andrew Protheroe, Syed Hussain, Robert Jones, Tony Elliott, Ursula Mcgovern, Diletta Bianchini, Jane Goodall, Zafeiris Zafeiriou, Chris T Williamson, Roberta Ferraldeschi, Ruth Riisnaes, Bernardette Ebbs, Gemma Fowler, Desamparados Roda, Wei Yuan, Yi-Mi Wu, Xuhong Cao, Rachel Brough, Helen Pemberton, Roger A'Hern, Amanda Swain, Lakshmi P Kunju, Rosalind Eeles, Gerhardt Attard, Christopher J Lord, Alan Ashworth, Mark A Rubin, Karen E Knudsen, Felix Y Feng, Arul M Chinnaiyan, Emma Hall, Johann S De Bono

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is a heterogeneous disease, but current treatments are not based on molecular stratification. We hypothesized that metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancers with DNA-repair defects would respond to poly(adenosine diphosphate [ADP]-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibition with olaparib.

METHODS: We conducted a phase 2 trial in which patients with metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer were treated with olaparib tablets at a dose of 400 mg twice a day. The primary end point was the response rate, defined either as an objective response according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, version 1.1, or as a reduction of at least 50% in the …

Effect Of Mycophenolate Mofetil On The White Blood Cell Count And The Frequency Of Infection In Systemic Lupus Erythematosus., Ananta Subedi, Laurence S. Magder, Michelle Petri

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Leukopenia is a common manifestation of SLE. Addition of immunosuppressive therapy in a SLE patient who is already leukopenic is a clinical concern. It could worsen leukopenia, increase the risk of infection, or both. The aim of this study was to analyze the immediate effect of mycophenolate mofetil on the white blood cell count and the rate of infection in SLE patients. Two hundred and forty-four patients within the Hopkins Lupus Cohort who were newly started on mycophenolate mofetil were included in the study. The white blood cell count and interval infection history on the day mycophenolate mofetil was started …

Invariant Characteristics Of Carcinogenesis., Simon Sherman, Nirosha Rathnayake, Tengiz Mdzinarishvili

Journal Articles: Eppley Institute

Carcinogenic modeling is aimed at mathematical descriptions of cancer development in aging. In this work, we assumed that a small fraction of individuals in the population is susceptible to cancer, while the rest of the population is resistant to cancer. For individuals susceptible to cancer we adopted methods of conditional survival analyses. We performed computational experiments using data on pancreatic, stomach, gallbladder, colon and rectum, liver, and esophagus cancers from the gastrointestinal system collected for men and women in the SEER registries during 1975-2009. In these experiments, we estimated the time period effects, the birth cohort effects, the age effects …

Racial Disparities In Intravenous Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator Use Persist At Primary Stroke Centers., Hugo J. Aparicio, Brendan G. Carr, Scott E. Kasner, Michael J. Kallan, Karen C. Albright, Dawn O. Kleindorfer, Michael T. Mullen

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Primary stroke centers (PSCs) utilize more recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) than non-PSCs. The impact of PSCs on racial disparities in rt-PA use is unknown.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We used data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2004 to 2010, limited to states that publicly reported hospital identity and race. Hospitals certified as PSCs by The Joint Commission were identified. Adults with a diagnosis of ischemic stroke were analyzed. Rt-PA use was defined by the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision procedure code 99.10. Discharges (304 152 patients) from 26 states met eligibility criteria, and of these 71.5% were …

A Phase 3 Trial Of 2 Years Of Androgen Suppression And Radiation Therapy With Or Without Adjuvant Chemotherapy For High-Risk Prostate Cancer: Final Results Of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Phase 3 Randomized Trial Nrg Oncology Rtog 9902., Seth A. Rosenthal, Daniel Hunt, A. Oliver Sartor, Kenneth J. Pienta, Leonard G. Gomella, David Grignon, Raghu Rajan, Kevin J. Kerlin, Christopher U. Jones, Michael Dobelbower, William U Shipley, Kenneth Zeitzer, Daniel A. Hamstra, Viroon Donavanik, Marvin Rotman, Alan C. Hartford, Jeffrey Michalski, Michael Seider, Harold Kim, Deborah A. Kuban, Jennifer Moughan, Howard Sandler

Department of Urology Faculty Papers

PURPOSE: Long-term (LT) androgen suppression (AS) with radiation therapy (RT) is a standard treatment of high-risk, localized prostate cancer (PCa). Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 9902 was a randomized trial testing the hypothesis that adjuvant combination chemotherapy (CT) with paclitaxel, estramustine, and oral etoposide plus LT AS plus RT would improve overall survival (OS).

METHODS AND MATERIALS: Patients with high-risk PCa (prostate-specific antigen 20-100 ng/mL and Gleason score [GS] ≥ 7 or clinical stage ≥ T2 and GS ≥ 8) were randomized to RT and AS (AS + RT) alone or with adjuvant CT (AS + RT + CT). CT was …

Prognostic Role Of Bnp In Children Undergoing Surgery For Congenital Heart Disease: Analysis Of Prediction Models Incorporating Standard Risk Factors., Massimiliano Cantinotti, Raffaele Giordano, Marco Scalese, Sabrina Molinaro, Francesca Della Pina, Simona Storti, Luigi Arcieri, Bruno Murzi, Marco Marotta, Vitali Pak, Vincenzo Poli, Giorgio Iervasi, Shelby Kutty, Aldo Clerico

Journal Articles: Pediatrics

BACKGROUND: The routine use of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in pediatric cardiac surgery remains controversial. Our aim was to test whether BNP adds information to predict risk in pediatric cardiac surgery.

METHODS: In all, 587 children undergoing cardiac surgery (median age 6.3 months; 1.2-35.9 months) were prospectively enrolled at a single institution. BNP was measured pre-operatively, on every post-operative day in the intensive care unit, and before discharge. The primary outcome was major complications and length ventilator stay >15 days. A first risk prediction model was fitted using Cox proportional hazards model with age, body surface area and Aristotle score …

The Evolution Of Epilepsy Surgery Between 1991 And 2011 In Nine Major Epilepsy Centers Across The United States, Germany, And Australia., Lara Jehi, Daniel Friedman, Chad Carlson, Gregory Cascino, Sandra Dewar, Christian Elger, Jerome Engel, Robert Knowlton, Ruben Kuzniecky, Anne Mcintosh, Terence J O'Brien, Dennis Spencer, Michael R. Sperling, Gregory Worrell, Bill Bingaman, Jorge Gonzalez-Martinez, Werner Doyle, Jacqueline French

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: Epilepsy surgery is the most effective treatment for select patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. In this article, we aim to provide an accurate understanding of the current epidemiologic characteristics of this intervention, as this knowledge is critical for guiding educational, academic, and resource priorities.

METHODS: We profile the practice of epilepsy surgery between 1991 and 2011 in nine major epilepsy surgery centers in the United States, Germany, and Australia. Clinical, imaging, surgical, and histopathologic data were derived from the surgical databases at various centers.

RESULTS: Although five of the centers performed their highest number of surgeries for mesial temporal sclerosis …

Simple New Risk Score Model For Adult Cardiac Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Simple Cardiac Ecmo Score., Graham Peigh, Nicholas Cavarocchi, Scott W. Keith, Hitoshi Hirose

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Although the use of cardiac extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is increasing in adult patients, the field lacks understanding of associated risk factors. While standard intensive care unit risk scores such as SAPS II (simplified acute physiology score II), SOFA (sequential organ failure assessment), and APACHE II (acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II), or disease-specific scores such as MELD (model for end-stage liver disease) and RIFLE (kidney risk, injury, failure, loss of function, ESRD) exist, they may not apply to adult cardiac ECMO patients as their risk factors differ from variables used in these scores.

METHODS: Between 2010 and …

Thromboembolism After Intramedullary Nailing For Metastatic Bone Lesions., Brandon Shallop, Alexandria Starks, Simon Greenbaum, David S Geller, Alan Lee, John Ready, Geno J Merli, Mitchell Maltenfort, Phd, John A Abraham

Rothman Institute Papers

BACKGROUND: The risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients undergoing intramedullary nailing for skeletal metastatic disease is currently undefined. The purpose of our study was to determine the risk of thromboembolic events, to define the risk factors for VTE, and to define the rate of wound complications in this population.

METHODS: A retrospective review of surgical databases at three National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers identified 287 patients with a total of 336 impending or pathologic long-bone fractures that were stabilized with intramedullary nailing between February 2001 and April 2013. Statistical analysis was performed utilizing multivariable logistic regression and Fisher …

Gm1 Ganglioside In Parkinson's Disease: Pilot Study Of Effects On Dopamine Transporter Binding., Jay S. Schneider, Franca Cambi, Stephen M. Gollomp, Hiroto Kuwabara, James R. Brašić, Benjamin E. Leiby, Stephanie Sendek, Dean F. Wong

Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: GM1 ganglioside has been suggested as a treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD), potentially having symptomatic and disease modifying effects. The current pilot imaging study was performed to examine effects of GM1 on dopamine transporter binding, as a surrogate measure of disease progression, studied longitudinally.

METHODS: Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging data were obtained from a subset of subjects enrolled in a delayed start clinical trial of GM1 in PD [1]: 15 Early-start (ES) subjects, 14 Delayed-start (DS) subjects, and 11 Comparison (standard-of-care) subjects. Treatment subjects were studied over a 2.5 year period while Comparison subjects were studied over 2 …

Type Of Preoperative Aura May Predict Postsurgical Outcome In Patients With Temporal Lobe Epilepsy And Mesial Temporal Sclerosis., Ali Akbar Asadi-Pooya, Maromi Nei, Ashwini Sharan, Michael R. Sperling

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

PURPOSE: As the initial symptoms of epileptic seizures, many types of auras have significant localizing or lateralizing value. In this study, we hypothesized that the type of aura may predict postsurgical outcome in patients with medically refractory temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS).

METHODS: In this retrospective study, all patients with a clinical diagnosis of medically refractory TLE due to unilateral mesial temporal sclerosis who underwent epilepsy surgery at the Jefferson Comprehensive Epilepsy Center were recruited. Patients were prospectively registered in a database from 1986 through 2014. Postsurgical outcome was classified into two groups: seizure freedom or …

Speckle-Tracking Echocardiographic Measures Of Right Ventricular Function Correlate With Improvement In Exercise Function After Percutaneous Pulmonary Valve Implantation., Shahryar M. Chowdhury, Ziyad M. Hijazi, John T. Fahey, John F. Rhodes, Saibal Kar, Raj Makkar, Michael Mullen, Qi-Ling Cao, Girish S. Shirali

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Speckle-tracking echocardiographic (STE) measures of right ventricular (RV) function appear to improve after transcatheter pulmonary valve implantation (TPVI). Measures of exercise function, such as ventilatory efficiency (the minute ventilation [VE]/carbon dioxide production [VCO2] slope), have been shown to be prognostic of mortality in patients who may require TPVI. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between STE measures of RV function and changes in VE/VCO2 after TPVI.

METHODS: Speckle-tracking echocardiography and cardiopulmonary exercise testing were performed at baseline and 6 months after TPVI in 24 patients from four centers. Conventional echocardiographic measures of RV function were …

The Development And Application Of An Oncology Therapy-Related Symptom Checklist For Adults (Trsc) And Children (Trsc-C) And E-Health Applications., Arthur R. Williams, David D. Williams, Phoebe D. Williams, Farrokh Alemi, Hosai Hesham, Blaine Donley, Raya E. Kheirbek

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Studies found that treatment symptoms of concern to oncology/hematology patients were greatly under-identified in medical records. On average, 11.0 symptoms were reported of concern to patients compared to 1.5 symptoms identified in their medical records. A solution to this problem is use of an electronic symptom checklist that can be easily accessed by patients prior to clinical consultations.

PURPOSE: Describe the oncology Therapy-Related Symptom Checklists for Adults (TRSC) and Children (TRSC-C), which are validated bases for e-Health symptom documentation and management. The TRSC has 25 items/symptoms; the TRSC-C has 30 items/symptoms. These items capture up to 80% of the …

Infusion Of Reconstituted High-Density Lipoprotein, Csl112, In Patients With Atherosclerosis: Safety And Pharmacokinetic Results From A Phase 2a Randomized Clinical Trial, Pierluigi Tricoci, Denise M. D'Andrea, Paul A. Gurbel, Zhenling Yao, Marina Cuchel, Brion Winston, Robert Schott, Robert Weiss, Michael A. Blazing, Louis Cannon, Alison L. Bailey, Dominick J. Angiolillo, Andreas Gille, Charles L. Shear, Samuel D. Wright, John H. Alexander

Gill Heart & Vascular Institute Faculty Publications

Background CSL112 is a new formulation of human apolipoprotein A‐I (apoA‐I) being developed to reduce cardiovascular events following acute coronary syndrome. This phase 2a, randomized, double‐blind, multicenter, dose‐ranging trial represents the first clinical investigation to assess the safety and pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of a CSL112 infusion among patients with stable atherosclerotic disease.

Methods and Results Patients were randomized to single ascending doses of CSL112 (1.7, 3.4, or 6.8 g) or placebo, administered over a 2‐hour period. Primary safety assessments consisted of alanine aminotransferase or aspartate aminotransferase elevations >3× upper limits of normal and study drug–related adverse events. Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic assessments included apoA‐I plasma …

Modified Maze Procedure For Atrial Fibrillation As An Adjunct To Elective Cardiac Surgery: Predictors Of Mid-Term Recurrence And Echocardiographic Follow-Up, Claudia Loardi, Francesco Alamanni, Fabrizio Veglia, Claudia Galli, Alessandro Parolari, Marco Zanobini

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

The radiofrequency maze procedure achieves sinus rhythm in 45%–95% of patients treated for atrial fibrillation. This retrospective study evaluates mid-term results of the radiofrequency maze—performed concomitant to elective cardiac surgery—to determine sinus-rhythm predictive factors, and describes the evolution of patients' echocardiographic variables.

From 2003 through 2011, 247 patients (mean age, 64 ± 9.5 yr) with structural heart disease (79.3% mitral disease) and atrial fibrillation underwent a concomitant radiofrequency modified maze procedure. Patients were monitored by 24-hour Holter at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months, then annually. Eighty-four mitral-valve patients underwent regular echocardiographic follow-up. Univariate and multivariate analysis for risk factors …

Age At Onset In Patients With Medically Refractory Temporal Lobe Epilepsy And Mesial Temporal Sclerosis: Impact On Clinical Manifestations And Postsurgical Outcome., Ali Akbar Asadi-Pooya, Michael R. Sperling

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

PURPOSE: To evaluate the demographic and clinical manifestations and postsurgical outcome of childhood-onset mesial temporal sclerosis and temporal lobe epilepsy (MTS-TLE) and establishing the potential differences as compared to the patients with adult-onset MTS-TLE.

METHOD: In this retrospective study all patients with a clinical diagnosis of medically refractory TLE due to mesial temporal sclerosis, who underwent epilepsy surgery at Jefferson comprehensive epilepsy center, were recruited. Patients were prospectively registered in a database from 1986 through 2014. Postsurgical outcome was classified into two groups; seizure-free or relapsed. Clinical manifestations and outcome were compared between patients with childhood-onset MTS-TLE (i.e., age at …

Sweat Gland Density And Response During High-Intensity Exercise In Athletes With Spinal Cord Injuries, Robert C. Pritchett, A. M. Al-Nawaiseh, K. K. Pritchett, V. Nethery, P. A. Bishop, J. M. Green

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Sweat production is crucial for thermoregulation. However, sweating can be problematic for individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI), as they display a blunting of sudomotor and vasomotor responses below the level of the injury. Sweat gland density and eccrine gland metabolism in SCI are not well understood. Consequently, this study examined sweat lactate (S-LA) (reflective of sweat gland metabolism), active sweat gland density (SGD), and sweat output per gland (S/G) in 7 SCI athletes and 8 able-bodied (AB) controls matched for arm ergometry VO₂peak. A sweat collection device was positioned on the upper scapular and medial calf of …

Efficacy Of Galactose And Adalimumab In Patients With Resistant Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis: Report Of The Font Clinical Trial Group., Howard Trachtman, Suzanne Vento, Emily Herreshoff, Milena Radeva, Jennifer Gassman, Daniel T. Stein, Virginia J. Savin, Mukut Sharma, Jochen Reiser, Changli Wei, Michael Somers, Tarak Srivastava, Debbie S. Gipson

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Patients with resistant focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) who are unresponsive to corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive agents are at very high risk of progression to end stage kidney disease. In the absence of curative treatment, current therapy centers on renoprotective interventions that reduce proteinuria and fibrosis. The FONT (Novel Therapies for Resistant FSGS) Phase II clinical trial (NCT00814255, Registration date December 22, 2008) was designed to assess the efficacy of adalimumab and galactose compared to standard medical therapy which was comprised of lisinopril, losartan, and atorvastatin.

METHODS: Key eligibility criteria were biopsy confirmed primary FSGS or documentation of a causative …

Sex Differences In Clinical Features Of Early, Treated Parkinson's Disease, Erika F. Augustine, Adriana Pérez, Rohit Dhall, Chizoba C. Umeh, Aleksandar Videnovic, Franca Cambi, Anne-Marie A. Wills, Jordan J. Elm, Richard M. Zweig, Lisa M. Shulman, Martha A. Nance, Jacquelyn Bainbridge, Oksana Suchowersky

Neurology Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: To improve our understanding of sex differences in the clinical characteristics of Parkinson's Disease, we sought to examine differences in the clinical features and disease severity of men and women with early treated Parkinson's Disease (PD) enrolled in a large-scale clinical trial.

METHODS: Analysis was performed of baseline data from the National Institutes of Health Exploratory Trials in Parkinson's Disease (NET-PD) Long-term Study-1, a randomized, multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 10 grams of oral creatine/day in individuals with early, treated PD. We compared mean age at symptom onset, age at PD diagnosis, and age at randomization between …

Medial Opening Wedge High Tibial Osteotomy: A Retrospective Review Of Patient Outcomes Over 10 Years, Fotios P. Tjoumakaris, Nicholas J. Lombardi, Bradford Tucker, Matthew D. Pepe

Rothman Institute Papers

Objectives: High tibial osteotomy (HTO) has become a well-established treatment for unicompartmental osteoarthritis of the knee. Over the last 30 years, various techniques have been introduced to advance this procedure. The purpose of this study is to review the outcomes of patients who received medial opening wedge HTO over the last ten years (2002-2012) using a modern, low profile, medially based fixation device. In addition, we sought to determine if obese patients had a less favorable outcome than their non-obese counterparts. Methods: Ninety-three patients were identified from a surgical database as having undergone a HTO for medial compartment osteoarthritis of …

Risk Analysis Of Prostate Cancer In Practical, A Multinational Consortium, Using 25 Known Prostate Cancer Susceptibility Loci., Ali Amin Al Olama, Sara Benlloch, Antonis C Antoniou, Graham G Giles, Gianluca Severi, David E Neal, Freddie C Hamdy, Jenny L Donovan, Kenneth Muir, Johanna Schleutker, Brian E Henderson, Christopher Haiman, Fredrick R Schumacher, Nora Pashayan, Paul D P Pharoah, Elaine A Ostrander, Janet L Stanford, Jyotsna Batra, Judith A Clements, Suzanne K Chambers, Maren Weischer, Børge G Nordestgaard, Sue A Ingles, Karina D Sorensen, Torben F Orntoft, Jong Y Park, Cezary Cybulski, Christiane Maier, Thilo Doerk, Joanne L Dickinson, Lisa Cannon-Albright, Hermann Brenner, Timothy R Rebbeck, Charnita Zeigler-Johnson, Tomonori Habuchi, Stephen N Thibodeau, Kathleen A Cooney, Pierre O Chappuis, Pierre Hutter, Radka P Kaneva, William D Foulkes, Maurice P Zeegers, Yong-Jie Lu, Hong-Wei Zhang, Robert Stephenson, Angela Cox, Melissa C Southey, Amanda B Spurdle, Liesel Fitzgerald, Daniel Leongamornlert, Edward Saunders, Malgorzata Tymrakiewicz, Michelle Guy, Tokhir Dadaev, Sarah J Little, Koveela Govindasami, Emma Sawyer, Rosemary Wilkinson, Kathleen Herkommer, John L Hopper, Aritaya Lophatonanon, Antje E Rinckleb, Zsofia Kote-Jarai, Rosalind A Eeles, Douglas F Easton

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies have identified multiple genetic variants associated with prostate cancer risk which explain a substantial proportion of familial relative risk. These variants can be used to stratify individuals by their risk of prostate cancer.

METHODS: We genotyped 25 prostate cancer susceptibility loci in 40,414 individuals and derived a polygenic risk score (PRS). We estimated empirical odds ratios (OR) for prostate cancer associated with different risk strata defined by PRS and derived age-specific absolute risks of developing prostate cancer by PRS stratum and family history.

RESULTS: The prostate cancer risk for men in the top 1% of the …

Obesity Early In Adulthood Increases Risk But Does Not Affect Outcomes Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Manal M. Hassan, Reham Abdel-Wahab, Ahmed Kaseb, Ahmed Shalaby, Alexandria Phan, Hashem El-Serag, Ernest Hawk, Jeff Morris, Kanwal Pratap Singh Raghav, Ju-Seog Lee, Jean-Nicolas Vauthey, Gehan Bortus, Harrys Torres, Christopher Amos, Robert Wolff, Donghui Li

Dartmouth Scholarship

Despite the significant association between obesity and several cancers, it has been difficult to establish an association between obesity and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Patients with HCC often have ascites, making it a challenge to accurately determine body mass index (BMI), and many factors contribute to the development of HCC. We performed a case–control study to investigate whether obesity early in adulthood affects risk, age of onset, or outcomes of patients with HCC.