Ectopic sodium channel expression decreases excitability of Drosophila Kenyon cells.

Neurons stabilize their physiological properties in part by homeostatic compensation between different ion channel conductances. However, little is known about this process in the central brain in vivo. We studied this problem in Kenyon cells, the third-order olfactory neurons in the fruit fly Drosophila that store olfactory associative memories.

Multicenter basket trial for Central Nervous System tumors identifies activity of the CDK4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib in recurrent meningioma.

Background: Central nervous system (CNS) tumors are associated with considerable morbidity and high mortality. Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) regulate cell division in cancer, and CDK4/6 inhibitors are used for the treatment of breast cancer, representing an attractive therapy for different tumor types.

Methods: Here, we report mature results of a multicenter basket trial exploring the CDK4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib in patients with recurrent CNS tumors, including patients with glioma, primary CNS lymphoma, meningioma, and ependymoma.

Adaptive variant in Andeans is associated with improved ventilation and sleep phenotypes.

Highland groups have adapted to the extreme selective pressures of hypoxia at high altitude via alterations in the oxygen-transport cascade. , which encodes the catalytic subunit of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), is a notable target of natural selection in Andeans and has been associated with protective fetal phenotypes in this population. AMPK is a universal cellular energy sensor involved in a multitude of physiological processes, including ventilation and the hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR) in animal models.

Brain-derived extracellular vesicle microRNAs in Lewy body and Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Robust plasma-based biomarkers to distinguish Lewy body disease (LBD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are currently lacking. We applied track-etch magnetic nanopore (TENPO) sorting for enrichment of brain-derived extracellular vesicle (EV) signatures as potential biomarkers to address this gap.

Methods: We analyzed plasma from 137 autopsy-confirmed patients [30 LBD, 31 AD, 30 AD/LBD, 19 AD with amygdala Lewy bodies (AD/ALB), and 27 controls], sequencing miRNAs from TENPO-isolated GluR2-positive (neuron-enriched) and GLAST-positive (astrocyte-enriched) EVs, and measuring plasma proteins (Aβ40, Aβ42, tau, p-Tau181, p-Tau231) via SIMOA.

Changes to the serum lipidome and their relation to coronary plaque in the first six months after acute myocardial infarction.

Background And Aims: The measurement of lipid species in blood holds promise for identifying new biomarkers associated with coronary atherosclerosis. Here, we examined for relationships between circulating lipid species and coronary plaque changes following acute myocardial infarction (MI) in patients on guideline-recommended treatment.

Methods: In this post-hoc analysis of the INFLAME study, patients presenting with MI underwent serum lipidomic analysis and coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) during admission and at 6-month follow-up.

Insurance Barriers to High-Cost Anti-Infective Medications Post Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant.

Hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) is a potentially curative treatment modality for patients with hematologic malignancies, but it can be associated with significant financial burden and toxicity due to increased medical expenditures (ie, prescription drugs). Prophylactic anti-infective medications are an essential component of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) and help mitigate early post-transplant complications. Although these prophylactic anti-infective medications are essential, insurance barriers (ie, prior authorizations, denials, and high out-of-pocket costs) limit access for many patients and may result in reduced access to allo-HCT.

Machine learning integration of echocardiographic and clinical data to improve prediction of survival following myocardial infarction.

Aims: Machine learning (ML) could improve risk stratification following myocardial infarction (MI). However, previous ML studies for risk prediction following MI did not incorporate comprehensive echocardiographic data. This study sought to use machine learning (ML) to integrate comprehensive echocardiographic and clinical data for the predicting all-cause mortality following MI.

American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Series #11: Updated Cytomegalovirus Guidelines in Hematopoietic Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy Recipients.

The Practice Guidelines Committee of the American Society of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy partnered with the society's Transplant Infectious Diseases Special Interest Group to update its previous infectious disease guidelines for the prevention and management of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and disease following hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). The two updates, published in 2021, focused on the prevention and management of CMV infection, respectively, including refractory and resistant CMV infections. To best serve clinical providers, each standalone topic in the infectious diseases series has been published in a concise format of frequently asked questions (FAQs).

Pericoronary Adipose Tissue Attenuation in Patients with Future Acute Coronary Syndromes: The ICONIC Study.

Purpose Pericoronary adipose tissue attenuation (PCATa) measured at coronary CT angiography (CCTA) is an imaging biomarker of coronary inflammation associated with long-term adverse cardiac events. The authors hypothesized that PCATa may independently identify patients at risk for acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Materials and Methods The authors performed a retrospective substudy of the Incident Coronary Syndromes Identified by Computed Tomography (ICONIC) study, a propensity-matched case-control study of patients with CCTA followed by ACS.

Revised European Society of Endocrinology Clinical Practice Guideline for the management of aggressive pituitary tumours and pituitary carcinomas.

Pituitary tumours, originating from endocrine cells of the anterior pituitary, are quite common, and in most cases well-controlled by surgery or medical treatment. However, a small subset of pituitary tumours presents with multiple local recurrences or tumour progression despite combined surgical, medical or radiotherapeutic treatment. These are known as aggressive pituitary tumours (APT); also called aggressive pituitary neuroendocrine tumours (PitNETs); or, in the rare case of metastases, pituitary carcinomas (PC) or metastatic PitNETs.

miRNA panel from HER2+ and CD24+ plasma extracellular vesicle subpopulations as biomarkers of early-stage breast cancer.

Background: Mammography screening has improved early breast cancer detection, leading to reduced mortality and lower rates of advanced breast cancer. However, mammography has a high false positive rate that results in over a million invasive breast biopsies of benign lesions in the US each year. Therefore, there is a need for noninvasive, blood-based diagnostics that can accurately assess risk of malignancy for women with indeterminate lesions identified by mammography, such as BI-RADS category 4 breast lesions.

Effect of low-dose colchicine on pericoronary inflammation and coronary plaque composition in chronic coronary disease: a subanalysis of the LoDoCo2 trial.

Background: Low-dose colchicine (0.5 mg once daily) reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events in coronary disease, but its mechanism of action is not yet fully understood. We investigated whether low-dose colchicine is associated with changes in pericoronary inflammation and plaque composition in patients with chronic coronary disease.

Interventional Neuro-Oncology: Expanding the Frontiers of Image-Guided Therapy.

Interventional neuro-oncology is an evolving subspecialty that leverages minimally invasive endovascular and percutaneous techniques to improve outcomes for patients with spine, brain, and head-neck tumours. While conventional interventions have historically focused on vascular pathologies such as stroke and aneurysms, interventional techniques in oncology are gaining prominence. This review explores the role of image-guided interventions in preoperative tumour embolization, middle meningeal artery embolization in thrombocytopenic cancer patients, management of head and neck hemorrhage, intra-arterial drug delivery, and spinal interventions.

A population-based analysis of the molecular landscape of glioma in adolescents and young adults reveals insights into gliomagenesis.

Gliomas are a major cause of cancer-related deaths in adolescents and young adults (AYAs; ages 15-39 years). Different molecular alterations drive gliomas in children and adults, leading to distinct biology and clinical consequences, but the implications of pediatric- versus adult-type alterations in AYAs are unknown. Our population-based analysis of 1,456 clinically and molecularly characterized gliomas in patients aged 0-39 years addresses this gap.

Phase Ib study with expansion of ibrutinib, lenalidomide and rituximab in patients with relapsed/refractory CNS lymphoma.

Background: Treatment options for recurrent/refractory CNS lymphoma are limited but the Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib has shown promise.. To increase efficacy and reduce resistance, ibrutinib was combined with lenalidomide in a pre-clinical study and rituximab (R2I) in a phase Ib trial with expansion.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy for aggressive pituitary neuroendocrine tumors.

Background: Pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs) that progress following surgery and radiotherapy are in need of additional treatment options. Responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been described; however, the feasibility of ICI therapy and biomarkers of response have not been formally assessed.

Methods: We performed a single center, prospective, phase 2 trial investigating the activity of ipilimumab and nivolumab in PitNET patients.

Combined Mammographic Breast Density and Breast Arterial Calcification as an Incremental Predictor of Coronary Artery Disease.

Contemporary risk calculators underestimate coronary artery disease (CAD) risk in women. Breast arterial calcification (BAC) associates with CAD. Low breast density (BD) (greater breast adipose tissue) associates with cardiometabolic disease.

Effect of statin therapy on coronary inflammation assessed by pericoronary adipose tissue computed tomography attenuation.

Aims: Pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) attenuation on coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is an imaging biomarker of coronary inflammation. The natural history of PCAT attenuation remains unknown. High-intensity statin therapy has pleiotropic anti-inflammatory effects.

The Association of Opioid Prescriptions to Children after Discharge from Surgery and New Opioid Prescription Fills in Family Members.

Objective: To determine whether family members of pediatric surgical patients who filled a discharge opioid prescription would have higher rates of new opioid prescription fills compared with family members of patients who did not fill a pediatric surgical discharge opioid prescription.

Study Design: Using OptumLabs Data Warehouse administrative claims, we performed a retrospective cohort study of pediatric surgery patients aged 5 through 18 and their family members, based on whether an opioid prescription for the child was filled after surgery. Neither patients nor family members had any history of prior opioid use.

Coronary plaque characteristics quantified by artificial intelligence-enabled plaque analysis: Insights from a multi-ethnic asymptomatic US population.

Background: Ethnic differences in coronary atherosclerosis remain to be fully elucidated. We aimed to assess quantitative plaque characteristics from coronary CT Angiography (CCTA) in relation to ethnicity and cardiovascular risk factors in a multi-ethnic asymptomatic US population.

Methods: This cross-sectional study retrospectively evaluated 388 asymptomatic patients selected from a prospective CCTA registry.

Feasibility and Safety of Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Advanced Navigation to Optimize Intra-arterial Chemotherapy Infusion of Skull Base Tumors.

 To assess the feasibility and safety of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) advanced navigation for optimizing intra-arterial chemotherapy infusion (IACI) in patients with skull base tumors.  Retrospective review on 10 consecutive IACI procedures performed in five patients (four women, 1 man) over a 1-year period. The median age of the patients was 71 years (interquartile range: 34-74).

Phenotyping atherosclerotic plaque and perivascular adipose tissue: signalling pathways and clinical biomarkers in atherosclerosis.

Computed tomography coronary angiography provides a non-invasive evaluation of coronary artery disease that includes phenotyping of atherosclerotic plaques and the surrounding perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT). Image analysis techniques have been developed to quantify atherosclerotic plaque burden and morphology as well as the associated PVAT attenuation, and emerging radiomic approaches can add further contextual information. PVAT attenuation might provide a novel measure of vascular health that could be indicative of the pathogenetic processes implicated in atherosclerosis such as inflammation, fibrosis or increased vascularity.