Medical Specialties Commons^™

Evaluation Of Body Mass Index (Bmi): A Risk Factor For Stroke Among Pakistani Youth, Shafaq Saleem, Safia Awan, Ibrar Rafique, Kashif Hafeez

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Background and objective: Body Mass Index (BMI) has been recognized as a significant risk factor for stroke, especially among younger populations in South Asia. Rising obesity rates contribute to non-communicable diseases, with increased stroke incidences being observed in younger adults. The objective of this study was to assess BMI distribution among Pakistani youth across various educational levels, providing insight into obesity trends and potential health risks.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted through an online platform, surveying 2,223 respondents across 38 cities in Pakistan. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered, covering 600 educational institutions. Participants were categorized by BMI using WHO …

The Effect Of Limb Salvage Efforts In Different Age Groups: Relationships Between Major And Minor Amputations, Wenye Song, Javier La Fontaine, Naohiro Shibuya, John Prochaska, Daniel C. Jupiter

School of Podiatric Medicine Publications

“Limb salvage” efforts, such as performing minor amputations before infections spread proximally from the foot to decrease major lower extremity amputation, are an important part of healthcare today. It is unclear whether these efforts are preventing the number of major amputations and improving patients’ quality of life and the cost-effectiveness of the U.S. healthcare system. Rates of non-traumatic lower extremity amputation (NLEA) among patients with diabetes decreased in the early 2000s but rebounded in the 2010s. We analyzed the proportion of major amputations and differences in amputation rates between age groups in Texas. Patient data was extracted from the Texas …

Radiogenomics-Based Risk Prediction Of Glioblastoma Multiforme With Clinical Relevance, Xiaohua Qian, Hua Tan, Xiaona Liu, Weiling Zhao, Michael D Chan, Pora Kim, Xiaobo Zhou

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM)is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor. Although temozolomide (TMZ)-based radiochemotherapy improves overall GBM patients' survival, it also increases the frequency of false positive post-treatment magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessments for tumor progression. Pseudo-progression (PsP) is a treatment-related reaction with an increased contrast-enhancing lesion size at the tumor site or resection margins miming tumor recurrence on MRI. The accurate and reliable prognostication of GBM progression is urgently needed in the clinical management of GBM patients. Clinical data analysis indicates that the patients with PsP had superior overall and progression-free survival rates. In this study, we aimed …

The Relationship Between Healthcare Access And Change In Health-Related Quality-Of-Life Among The General Population Of Five Countries During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nadja Alexandrov, Emily Stella Scott, Mathieu F. Janssen, Erica I. Lubetkin, John N. Yfantopoulos, Gouke J. Bonsel, Juanita A. Haagsma

Publications and Research

Purpose To determine whether (1) healthcare access at onset of the pandemic and (2) age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and pre-existing health status were associated with change in health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study includes a general population sample of five countries.

Methods An online questionnaire was administered to respondents from Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic between April 22nd and May 5th of 2020, and 1 year later between May 23rd and June 29th of 2021. The questionnaire included questions on demographic background, health status, and …

Insights From Targeted Fecal Metabolomic Analysis Reveal Altered Metabolic Pathways In Treatment-Naive Pediatric Subjects With Crohn's Disease, Nadia Ashrafi, Ali Yilmaz, Nicolette Monacelli, Rose E. Callahan, Ilyas Ustun, Nathan M. Novotny, J W. Rattray, Kypros Nicolaides, Stewart Graham

Conference Presentation Abstracts

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a heterogeneous and multifactorial inflammatory bowel disease with a significant global health impact. Genetic and lifestyle factors contribute to its etiology, emphasizing dysregulation of intestinal and dietary habits. Our study aimed to identify fecal metabolites from treatment-naïve, pediatric sufferers of CD, which allowed us to investigate the underlying biochemical perturbations associated with the disease, highlighting potential, translational targets. Using a Waters Acquity UPLC coupled with a Xevo-TQ-S mass spectrometer, we quantified >500 metabolites in fecal samples (n=72) of pediatric CD sufferers. We developed diagnostic tests capable of accurately discriminating between children with CD and healthy individuals …

Treatment Of Recalcitrant Hailey-Hailey Disease With Naltrexone And Dupilumab: A Report Of Two Cases., Breanna Santoso, Rachel Krevh, Alexa Israeli, Austin Cusick, Dawn Merritt, Michael Holsinger

Ambulatory and Primary Care Articles

This report presents two cases of patients with long-standing, treatment-resistant Hailey-Hailey disease (HHD) who experienced significant symptom relief through a combination therapy of oral naltrexone and dupilumab injections. The therapeutic potential of targeting the Th2 pathway and Ca

From Pre-Clinical To Translational Brain Metastasis Research: Current Challenges And Emerging Opportunities, Emilija Aleksandrovic, Siyuan Zhang, Dihua Yu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Brain metastasis, characterized by poor clinical outcomes, is a devastating disease. Despite significant mechanistic and therapeutic advances in recent years, pivotal improvements in clinical interventions have remained elusive. The heterogeneous nature of the primary tumor of origin, complications in drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier, and the distinct microenvironment collectively pose formidable clinical challenges in developing new treatments for patients with brain metastasis. Although current preclinical models have deepened our basic understanding of the disease, much of the existing research on brain metastasis has employed a reductionist approach. This approach, which often relies on either in vitro systems or in …

Genetic Evidence For Functional Diversification Of Gram-Negative Intermembrane Phospholipid Transporters, Ashutosh K Rai, Katsuhiro Sawasato, Haley C Bennett, Anastasiia Kozlova, Genevieve C Sparagna, Mikhail Bogdanov, Angela M Mitchell

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria is a barrier to chemical and physical stress. Phospholipid transport between the inner and outer membranes has been an area of intense investigation and, in E. coli K-12, it has recently been shown to be mediated by YhdP, TamB, and YdbH, which are suggested to provide hydrophobic channels for phospholipid diffusion, with YhdP and TamB playing the major roles. However, YhdP and TamB have different phenotypes suggesting distinct functions. It remains unclear whether these functions are related to phospholipid metabolism. We investigated a synthetic cold sensitivity caused by deletion of fadR, a transcriptional regulator …

Associations Between Longer Leukocyte Telomere Length And Increased Lung Cancer Risk Among Never Smokers In Urban China, Jason Y Y Wong, Xiao-Ou Shu, Wei Hu, Batel Blechter, Jianxin Shi, Kevin Wang, Richard Cawthon, Qiuyin Cai, Gong Yang, Mohammad L Rahman, Bu-Tian Ji, Yutang Gao, Wei Zheng, Nathaniel Rothman, Qing Lan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: The complex relationship between measured leukocyte telomere length (LTL), genetically predicted LTL (gTL), and carcinogenesis is exemplified by lung cancer. We previously reported associations between longer pre-diagnostic LTL, gTL, and increased lung cancer risk among European and East Asian populations. However, we had limited statistical power to examine the associations among never smokers by gender and histology.

METHODS: To investigate further, we conducted nested case-control analyses on an expanded sample of never smokers from the prospective Shanghai Women's Health Studies (798 cases and 792 controls) and Shanghai Men's Health Studies (161 cases and 162 controls). We broke the case-control …

Enhancing Foot Care Education And Support Strategies In Adults With Type 2 Diabetes, Hsiao-Hui Ju, Madelene Ottosen, Jeffery Alford, Jed Jularbal, Constance Johnson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: People with diabetes are susceptible to serious and disabling foot complications, which increase their morbidity and mortality rates. Examining the perspectives of people with diabetes on their foot care routines could help elucidate their beliefs and offer practical ways to prevent foot problems.

PURPOSE: We explored the perspectives of adults with diabetes on their foot care practices to identify and enhance foot care education and support strategies.

METHODOLOGY: Using the Zoom platform, 29 adults with diabetes completed a 3-month telehealth educational program, during which interviews were conducted. This article reports the results of thematic content analysis of the qualitative …

Increased Incidence Of Vestibular Disorders In Patients With Sars-Cov-2, Lawrance Lee, Evan French, Daniel H Coelho, Nauman F Manzoor, Adam B Wilcox, Adam M Lee, Alexis Graves, Alfred Anzalone, Amin Manna, Amit Saha, Amy Olex, Andrea Zhou, Andrew E Williams, Andrew Southerland, Andrew T Girvin, Anita Walden, Anjali A Sharathkumar, Benjamin Amor, Benjamin Bates, Brian Hendricks, Brijesh Patel, Caleb Alexander, Carolyn Bramante, Cavin Ward-Caviness, Charisse Madlock-Brown, Christine Suver, Christopher Chute, Christopher Dillon, Chunlei Wu, Clare Schmitt, Cliff Takemoto, Dan Housman, Davera Gabriel, David A Eichmann, Diego Mazzotti, Don Brown, Eilis Boudreau, Elaine Hill, Elizabeth Zampino, Emily Carlson Marti, Emily R Pfaff, Evan French, Farrukh M Koraishy, Federico Mariona, Fred Prior, George Sokos, Greg Martin, Harold Lehmann, Heidi Spratt, Hemalkumar Mehta, Hongfang Liu, Hythem Sidky, J W Awori Hayanga, Jami Pincavitch, Jaylyn Clark, Jeremy Richard Harper, Jessica Islam, Jin Ge, Joel Gagnier, Joel H Saltz, Joel Saltz, Johanna Loomba, John Buse, Jomol Mathew, Joni L Rutter, Julie A Mcmurry, Justin Guinney, Justin Starren, Karen Crowley, Katie Rebecca Bradwell, Kellie M Walters, Ken Wilkins, Kenneth R Gersing, Kenrick Dwain Cato, Kimberly Murray, Kristin Kostka, Lavance Northington, Lee Allan Pyles, Leonie Misquitta, Lesley Cottrell, Lili Portilla, Mariam Deacy, Mark M Bissell, Marshall Clark, Mary Emmett, Mary Morrison Saltz, Matvey B Palchuk, Melissa A Haendel, Meredith Adams, Meredith Temple-O'Connor, Michael G Kurilla, Michele Morris, Nabeel Qureshi, Nasia Safdar, Nicole Garbarini, Noha Sharafeldin, Ofer Sadan, Patricia A Francis, Penny Wung Burgoon, Peter Robinson, Philip R O Payne, Rafael Fuentes, Randeep Jawa, Rebecca Erwin-Cohen, Rena Patel, Richard A Moffitt, Richard L Zhu, Rishi Kamaleswaran, Robert Hurley, Robert T Miller, Saiju Pyarajan, Sam G Michael, Samuel Bozzette, Sandeep Mallipattu, Satyanarayana Vedula, Scott Chapman, Shawn T O'Neil, Soko Setoguchi, Stephanie S Hong, Steve Johnson, Tellen D Bennett, Tiffany Callahan, Umit Topaloglu, Usman Sheikh, Valery Gordon, Vignesh Subbian, Warren A Kibbe, Wenndy Hernandez, Will Beasley, Will Cooper, William Hillegass, Xiaohan Tanner Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: Determine the incidence of vestibular disorders in patients with SARS-CoV-2 compared to the control population.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective.

SETTING: Clinical data in the National COVID Cohort Collaborative database (N3C).

METHODS: Deidentified patient data from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative database (N3C) were queried based on variant peak prevalence (untyped, alpha, delta, omicron 21K, and omicron 23A) from covariants.org to retrospectively analyze the incidence of vestibular disorders in patients with SARS-CoV-2 compared to control population, consisting of patients without documented evidence of COVID infection during the same period.

RESULTS: Patients testing positive for COVID-19 were significantly more likely to have …

Barriers To The Assessment And Recommendation Of Hpv Vaccination Among Healthcare Providers In Texas, Onyema G Chido-Amajuoyi, Ikponmwosa Osaghae, Henry K Onyeaka, Sanjay Shete

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Healthcare providers (HCPs) recommendations for HPV vaccination plays a critical role in increasing vaccination uptake. This study assesses the prevalence of reported barriers to HPV vaccination assessment and recommendation among HCPs in Texas.

METHODS: Study data were obtained from a population-based survey of HCPs currently practicing in Texas. Participants were asked about their HPV vaccination assessment and recommendation practices and the reasons for not assessing or recommending the vaccine. Barriers were stratified by HCP characteristics including age, sex, race/ethnicity, location of practice, provider type, and type of facility.

RESULTS: Among the 826 HCPs included in this study, 47.3 % …

A Prismatic View Of The Epigenetic-Metabolic Regulatory Axis In Breast Cancer Therapy Resistance, Chandrima Das, Apoorva Bhattacharya, Swagata Adhikari, Atanu Mondal, Payel Mondal, Santanu Adhikary, Siddhartha Roy, Kenneth Ramos, Kamlesh K Yadav, John A Tainer, Tej K Pandita

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Epigenetic regulation established during development to maintain patterns of transcriptional expression and silencing for metabolism and other fundamental cell processes can be reprogrammed in cancer, providing a molecular mechanism for persistent alterations in phenotype. Metabolic deregulation and reprogramming are thus an emerging hallmark of cancer with opportunities for molecular classification as a critical preliminary step for precision therapeutic intervention. Yet, acquisition of therapy resistance against most conventional treatment regimens coupled with tumor relapse, continue to pose unsolved problems for precision healthcare, as exemplified in breast cancer where existing data informs both cancer genotype and phenotype. Furthermore, epigenetic reprograming of the …

Understanding The Treatment Paradigm And The Sequencing Of Antiglaucoma Fixed-Dose Combinations In A Tertiary Center In South India, Ronnie George, Praggya Mishra, Balekudaru Shantha, Lingam Vijaya, Nitin Maksane, Neha Gurha

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: To analyze the medical management of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and ocular hypertension (OHT) and the placement of fixed-drug combination drugs (FDC) in the treatment paradigm at a tertiary eye care center in South India.

METHODS: Retrospective study (January 2011-December 2015) of newly diagnosed POAG and OHT patients (≥18 years) with ≥5 years follow-up. Primary outcome included percentage use of different antiglaucoma drugs (at initiation) and FDCs at the first, second, and third progression (sequencing). Secondary outcomes: Percentage discontinuation for different FDCs, efficacy parameters (decrease in intraocular pressure (IOP)/visual field), adverse events, and the median number of antiglaucoma medications …

Clinical Features And Genomic Epidemiology Of Bloodstream Infections Due To Enterococcal Species Other Than Enterococcus Faecalis Or E Faecium In Patients With Cancer, Dierdre B Axell-House, Patrycja A Ashley, Stephanie L Egge, Truc T Tran, Claudia Pedroza, Meng Zhang, An Q Dinh, Shelby R Simar, Pranoti V Sahasrabhojane, William R Miller, Samuel A Shelburne, Blake M Hanson, Cesar A Arias

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Non–Enterococcus faecium, non–E. faecalis (NFF) enterococci are a heterogeneous group of clinically pathogenic enterococci that include species with intrinsic low-level vancomycin resistance. Patients with cancer are at increased risk for bacteremia with NFF enterococci, but their clinical and molecular epidemiology have not been extensively described.

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of all patients (n = 70) with NFF bacteremia from 2016 to 2022 at a major cancer center. The main outcomes assessed were 30-day mortality, microbiological failure (positive blood cultures for ≥4 days), and recurrence of bacteremia (positive blood cultureclearance). Whole-genome sequencing was performed on all …

Duration Of Androgen Deprivation Therapy With Postoperative Radiotherapy For Prostate Cancer: A Comparison Of Long-Course Versus Short-Course Androgen Deprivation Therapy In The Radicals-Hd Randomised Trial, Chris C Parker, Howard Kynaston, Adrian D Cook, Noel W Clarke, Charles N Catton, William R Cross, Peter M Petersen, Rajendra A Persad, Cheryl A Pugh, Fred Saad, John Logue, Heather Payne, Lorna C Bower, Chris Brawley, Mary Rauchenberger, Maroie Barkati, David M Bottomley, Klaus Brasso, Hans T Chung, Peter W M Chung, Ruth Conroy, Alison Falconer, Vicky Ford, Chee L Goh, Catherine M Heath, Nicholas D James, Charmaine Kim-Sing, Ravi Kodavatiganti, Shawn C Malone, Stephen L Morris, Abdenour Nabid, Aldrich D Ong, Rakesh Raman, Sree Rodda, Paula Wells, Jane Worlding, Wendy R Parulekar, Mahesh K B Parmar, Matthew R Sydes

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Previous evidence supports androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with primary radiotherapy as initial treatment for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the use and optimal duration of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy remains uncertain.

METHODS: RADICALS-HD was a randomised controlled trial of ADT duration within the RADICALS protocol. Here, we report on the comparison of short-course versus long-course ADT. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after previous radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to add 6 months of ADT …

Mash: Mediation Analysis Of Survival Outcome And High-Dimensional Omics Mediators With Application To Complex Diseases, Sunyi Chi, Christopher R Flowers, Ziyi Li, Xuelin Huang, Peng Wei

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Environmental exposures such as cigarette smoking influence health outcomes through intermediate molecular phenotypes, such as the methylome, transcriptome, and metabolome. Mediation analysis is a useful tool for investigating the role of potentially high-dimensional intermediate phenotypes in the relationship between environmental exposures and health outcomes. However, little work has been done on mediation analysis when the mediators are high-dimensional and the outcome is a survival endpoint, and none of it has provided a robust measure of total mediation effect. To this end, we propose an estimation procedure for Mediation Analysis of Survival outcome and High-dimensional omics mediators (MASH) based on sure …

International Consensus Guidelines For The Definition, Detection, And Interpretation Of Autophagy-Dependent Ferroptosis, Xin Chen, Andrey S Tsvetkov, Han-Ming Shen, Ciro Isidoro, Nicholas T Ktistakis, Andreas Linkermann, Werner J H Koopman, Hans-Uwe Simon, Lorenzo Galluzzi, Shouqing Luo, Daqian Xu, Wei Gu, Olivier Peulen, Qian Cai, David C Rubinsztein, Jen-Tsan Chi, Donna D Zhang, Changfeng Li, Shinya Toyokuni, Jinbao Liu, Jong-Lyel Roh, Enyong Dai, Gabor Juhasz, Wei Liu, Jianhua Zhang, Minghua Yang, Jiao Liu, Ling-Qiang Zhu, Weiping Zou, Mauro Piacentini, Wen-Xing Ding, Zhenyu Yue, Yangchun Xie, Morten Petersen, David A Gewirtz, Michael A Mandell, Charleen T Chu, Debasish Sinha, Eftekhar Eftekharpour, Boris Zhivotovsky, Sébastien Besteiro, Dmitry I Gabrilovich, Do-Hyung Kim, Valerian E Kagan, Hülya Bayir, Guang-Chao Chen, Scott Ayton, Jan D Lünemann, Masaaki Komatsu, Stefan Krautwald, Ben Loos, Eric H Baehrecke, Jiayi Wang, Jon D Lane, Junichi Sadoshima, Wan Seok Yang, Minghui Gao, Christian Münz, Michael Thumm, Martin Kampmann, Di Yu, Marta M Lipinski, Jace W Jones, Xuejun Jiang, Herbert J Zeh, Rui Kang, Daniel J Klionsky, Guido Kroemer, Daolin Tang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Macroautophagy/autophagy is a complex degradation process with a dual role in cell death that is influenced by the cell types that are involved and the stressors they are exposed to. Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent oxidative form of cell death characterized by unrestricted lipid peroxidation in the context of heterogeneous and plastic mechanisms. Recent studies have shed light on the involvement of specific types of autophagy (e.g. ferritinophagy, lipophagy, and clockophagy) in initiating or executing ferroptotic cell death through the selective degradation of anti-injury proteins or organelles. Conversely, other forms of selective autophagy (e.g. reticulophagy and lysophagy) enhance the cellular defense …

The Combination Of Tumor Mutational Burden And T-Cell Receptor Repertoire Predicts The Response To Immunotherapy In Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Yalun Li, Liyan Ji, Yingqian Zhang, Jiexin Zhang, Alexandre Reuben, Hao Zeng, Qin Huang, Qi Wei, Sihan Tan, Xuefeng Xia, Weimin Li, Jianjun Zhang, Panwen Tian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Tumor mutational burden (TMB) and T-cell receptor (TCR) might predict the response to immunotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the predictive value of the combination of TMB and TCR was not clear. Targeted DNA and TCR sequencing were performed on tumor biopsy specimens. We combined TMB and TCR diversity into a TMB-and-TCR (TMR) score using logistic regression. In total, 38 patients with advanced NSCLC were divided into a discovery set (

Longitudinal Changes In The Carotid Arteries Of Head And Neck Cancer Patients Following Radiation Therapy: Results From A Prospective Serial Imaging Biomarker Characterization Study, Efstratios Koutroumpakis, Abdallah Sherif Radwan Mohamed, Peter Chaftari, David I Rosenthal, Dorothy Gujral, Christopher Nutting, Serageldin Kamel, Mohamed A Naser, Peter Kim, Roland Bassett, Clifton D Fuller, Elie Mouhayar, Md Anderson Head Neck Radiation Oncology Cardiovascular Working Group

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: We prospectively evaluated morphologic and functional changes in the carotid arteries of patients treated with unilateral neck radiation therapy (RT) for head and neck cancer.

METHODS: Bilateral carotid artery duplex studies were performed at 0, 3, 6, 12, 18 months and 2, 3, 4, and 5 years following RT. Intima media thickness (IMT); global and regional circumferential, as well as radial strain, arterial elasticity, stiffness, and distensibility were calculated.

RESULTS: Thirty-eight patients were included. A significant difference in the IMT from baseline between irradiated and unirradiated carotid arteries was detected at 18 months (median, 0.073 mm vs -0.003 mm; …

Prioritization Of Kidney Cell Types Highlights Myofibroblast Cells In Regulating Human Blood Pressure, Mahboube Ganji-Arjenaki, Zoha Kamali, International Consortium Of Blood Pressure; Soroush Sardari, Soroush Sardari, Martin De Borst, Harold Snieder, Ahmad Vaez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Blood pressure (BP) is a highly heritable trait with over 2000 underlying genomic loci identified to date. Although the kidney plays a key role, little is known about specific cell types involved in the genetic regulation of BP.

METHODS: Here, we applied stratified linkage disequilibrium score (LDSC) regression to connect BP genome-wide association studies (GWAS) results to specific cell types of the mature human kidney. We used the largest single-stage BP genome-wide analysis to date, including up to 1,028,980 adults of European ancestry, and single-cell transcriptomic data from 14 mature human kidneys, with mean age of 41 years.

RESULTS: …

A Phase I Study Of Tak-659 And Paclitaxel In Patients With Taxane-Refractory Advanced Solid Tumors, M A Gouda, J Shunyakova, A Naing, E Dumbrava, D S Hong, Y Yuan, P Yang, A Myers, Y Liang, J Peng, D Karp, A M Tsimberidou, J Rodon, T A Yap, S A Piha-Paul, F Meric-Bernstam, S Fu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Paclitaxel resistance limits durability of response in patients with initial clinical benefit. Overexpression of spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) has been proposed as a possible resistance mechanism. This phase I trial evaluated the safety and preliminary activity of the SYK inhibitor TAK-659 combined with paclitaxel in patients with advanced taxane-refractory solid tumors.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with advanced solid tumors and prior progression on taxane-based therapy received intravenous infusion of paclitaxel on days 1, 8, and 15 plus oral TAK-659 daily in 28-day cycles. The dose-escalation phase included six cohorts treated at different dose levels; the dose-expansion phase included patients …

The Fourth Trimester: Embracing The Chaos Of The Postpartum Period, Tabitha M. Quebedeaux, Stacey Holman

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Proposed Addition To The Modified Wells Criteria: Exploring Thrombosis In The E-World, Nidhin John, Amanda Kileen

School of Podiatric Medicine - Student Research

The advancement of technology and over-reliance on electronics have led to "e-thrombosis." This review investigates the link between prolonged sedentary behavior due to extensive electronic use and the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The term "e-thrombosis" was introduced in 2003 by Beasley et al., highlighting the risk of immobility associated with electronics. E-thrombosis is particularly relevant post-COVID-19, with increased remote working and online learning. This review evaluates recent studies to determine if e-thrombosis should be considered in updated screening tools like the Wells Score.

A systematic literature review was conducted using PubMed, Direct Science, and …

Single-Cell Analysis Identifies Plk1 As A Driver Of Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment In Luad, Yifan Kong, Chaohao Li, Jinpeng Liu, Sai Wu

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

PLK1 (Polo-like kinase 1) plays a critical role in the progression of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Recent studies have unveiled that targeting PLK1 improves the efficacy of immuno- therapy, highlighting its important role in the regulation of tumor immunity. Nevertheless, our understanding of the intricate interplay between PLK1 and the tumor microenvironment (TME) remains incomplete. Here, using genetically engineered mouse model and single- cell RNA-seq analysis, we report that PLK1 promotes an immunosuppressive TME in LUAD, characterized with enhanced M2 polarization of tumor associated macrophages (TAM) and dampened antigen presentation process. Mechanistically, elevated PLK1 coin- cides with increased secretion of CXCL2 …

Androgen Aggravates Aortic Aneurysms Via Suppression Of Pd-1 In Mice, Xufang Mu, Shu Liu, Zhuoran Wang, Kai Jiang, Timothy S. Mcclintock, Arnold Stromberg, Alejandro V. Tezanos, Eugene S. Lee, John A. Curci, Ming C. Gong, Zhenheng Guo

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Androgen has long been recognized for its pivotal role in the sexual dimorphism of cardiovascular diseases, including aortic aneurysms (AAs), a devastating vascular disease with a higher prevalence and fatality rate in men than in women. However, the mechanism by which androgen mediates AAs is largely unknown. Here, we found that male, not female, mice developed AAs when exposed to aldosterone and high salt (Aldo-salt). We revealed that androgen and androgen receptors (ARs) were crucial for this sexually dimorphic response to Aldo-salt. We identified programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), an immune checkpoint, as a key link between androgen and …

Smoking Cessation By Cancer Treatment Status Among Cervical Cancer Survivors, Cherell Cottrell-Daniels, Charles E. Hoogland, Bethany Shorey Fennell, Vani N. Simmons, Damon J. Vidrine, Jennifer I. Vidrine

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Introduction: Continued smoking following a cancer diagnosis is associated with poorer cancer treatment outcomes and survival times. Little is known about how cancer treatment status at the time of tobacco treatment enrollment impacts long-term smoking cessation outcomes. Using data from a smoking cessation RCT, this study compared long-term cessation outcomes of women undergoing active treatment for cervical cancer at trial enrollment (n=40) to outcomes of women with a history of cervical cancer or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) who were not undergo- ing active cancer treatment at enrollment (n=154)

Methods: Participants (n=194) were randomized to Standard Treatment (ST) or ST plus …

Thyroid Cartilage Metastases From Prostate Cancer On 18f Psma Pet Ct: A Case Series, Poonamjeet Loyal, Samuel Gitau, Khalid Makhdomi

Imaging & Diagnostic Radiology, East Africa

Prostate cancer metastases to the thyroid cartilage is an extremely rare phenomenon. We report three cases of advanced prostate carcinoma with metastases to the thyroid cartilage identified on 18F prostate-specific membrane antigen-1007 (PSMA-1007) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT). The pathophysiology and possibility for under-reporting are also discussed. Prostate cancer metastases to the larynx should be considered in the differential diagnosis of thyroid cartilage lesions in patients with advanced prostate cancer and is associated with poor prognosis.

A Wide Range Of Fusions And Alterations Are Detected In Myb- Or Mybl1- Altered Gliomas, S Rajan, Z Abdullaev, H Lidov, Y Wilson, D Thomas, Joseph Fullmer, K Jones, D Brown, P Kobalka, A Buckley

Conference Presentation Abstracts

Background: Diffuse astrocytoma, MYB- or MYBL1-altered are rare pediatric low-grade gliomas, reported in young adults that are often associated with refractory seizures and generally located in the supratentorial compartment. While GFAP is consistently expressed, interestingly OLIG2 expression (another glial marker) is not a common finding. Here we describe the various associated genetic alterations. Methods: Fourteen cases matching to methylation class (MC), Diffuse astrocytoma, MYB- or MYBL1-altered, were analyzed for structural variants/fusion partners. Results: The median age was 16 years (range 1-64), with male: female ratio of 1:1. All but one was supratentorial (one located in pons). On histology, some showed …

Displacement Of Hospital-Acquired, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Clones By Heterogeneous Community Strains In Kenya Over A 13-Year Period, Justin Nyasinga, Zubair Munshi, Collins Kigen, Andrew Nyerere, Lillian Musila, Andrew Whitelaw, Wilma Ziebuhr, Gunturu Revathi

Pathology, East Africa

We determined antibiotic susceptibility and employed Oxford Nanopore whole-genome sequencing to explore strain diversity, resistance, and virulence gene carriage among methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains from different infection sites and timepoints in a tertiary Kenyan hospital. Ninety-six nonduplicate clinical isolates recovered between 2010 and 2023, identified and tested for antibiotic susceptibility on the VITEK ID/AST platform, were sequenced. Molecular typing, antibiotic resistance, and virulence determinant screening were performed using the relevant bioinformatics tools. The strains, alongside those from previous studies, were stratified into two periods covering 2010–2017 and 2018–2023 and comparisons were made. Mirroring phenotypic profiles, aac(6′)-aph(2″) [aminoglycosides]; gyrA (S84L) …