Doctors Who Attend Policy School: Who Are They and Where Do They Work?

Many physicians are pursuing additional advanced degrees, though no study has evaluated the characteristics and career choices of physicians who have pursued graduate policy degrees. We therefore searched employment and alumni data from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in addition to publicly available information to identify physicians who graduated with a policy degree from 1964 to 2002. We identified 258 physicians with policy degrees and found that they are increasing in number, though females are underrepresented when compared to the female physician workforce; likely to pursue clinical training in specialties highly proximate to public policy challenges, with most physicians remaining medically licensed after residency; and more likely to hold nonclinical roles in academia, clinical leadership, and the private sector than in nonprofits and government.

Focused ultrasound ablation of melanoma with boiling histotripsy yields abscopal tumor control and antigen-dependent dendritic cell activation.

Boiling histotripsy (BH), a mechanical focused ultrasound ablation strategy, can elicit intriguing signatures of anti-tumor immunity. However, the influence of BH on dendritic cell function is unknown, compromising our ability to optimally combine BH with immunotherapies to control metastatic disease. BH was applied using a sparse scan (1 mm spacing between sonications) protocol to B16F10-ZsGreen melanoma in bilateral and unilateral settings.

Focused ultrasound ablation of melanoma with boiling histotripsy yields abscopal tumor control and antigen-dependent dendritic cell activation.

Background: Boiling histotripsy (BH), a mechanical focused ultrasound ablation strategy, can elicit intriguing signatures of anti-tumor immunity. However, the influence of BH on dendritic cell function is unknown, compromising our ability to optimally combine BH with immunotherapies to control metastatic disease.

Methods: BH was applied using a sparse scan (1 mm spacing between sonications) protocol to B16F10-ZsGreen melanoma in bilateral and unilateral settings.

Outcome in Pediatric Functional Tic Disorders Diagnosed During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objectives: The incidence of pediatric functional tics has surged during the COVID-19 pandemic with little known about prognosis. To address this knowledge gap, the investigators examined clinical courses of functional tics diagnosed during the pandemic and explored factors predicting prognosis.

Methods: Study personnel reviewed electronic medical records of 29 pediatric patients diagnosed as having functional tics between March 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021, and estimated Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) scores at follow-up encounters.

Virginia Medicaid Expansion: New Members Report Reduced Financial Concerns During The COVID-19 Pandemic.

Medicaid is a critical antipoverty program. Since the Affordable Care Act expanded Medicaid eligibility, millions of newly eligible people have enrolled, creating positive financial improvements for low-income families. We examined the association of Virginia's 2019 Medicaid expansion and changes in health care-related and non-health-care-related financial needs among newly eligible Medicaid enrollees.

Rituximab therapy for neuro - inflammatory disorders - Real world experience from South India.

Background And Objectives: To determine the real-world data regarding the use of Rituximab (RTX) in neuroinflammatory disorders (NIDS) and assess the outcomes following RTX treatment.

Methods: A cohort of consecutive patients with NIDS started on RTX (2018-2020) was included. The outcomes assessed were the proportion with favourable clinical response (FCR) as defined by clinical remission/ improvement using disease specific disability scores, comparative efficacy based on timing of initiation and B cell kinetics.

Consensus recommendation on the use of therapeutic plasma exchange for adult neurological diseases in Southeast Asia from the Southeast Asia therapeutic plasma exchange consortium.

Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is an effective and affordable treatment option in most parts of Southeast Asia (SEA). In 2018, the SEA TPE Consortium (SEATPEC) was established, consisting of regional neurologists working to improve outcome of various autoimmune neurological diseases. We proposed an immunotherapeutic guideline prioritizing TPE for this region.

Multiple regression analysis of a comprehensive transcriptomic data assembly elucidates mechanically- and biochemically-driven responses to focused ultrasound blood-brain barrier disruption.

Focused ultrasound (FUS) blood brain barrier disruption (BBBD) permits the noninvasive, targeted, and repeatable delivery of drugs to the brain. FUS BBBD also elicits secondary responses capable of augmenting immunotherapies, clearing amyloid-β and hyperphosphorylated tau, and driving neurogenesis. Leveraging these secondary effects will benefit from an understanding of how they correlate to the magnitude of FUS BBBD and are differentially affected by the mechanical and biochemical stimuli imparted during FUS BBBD.

A comparison of 2020 health policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

This paper compares health policy responses to COVID-19 in Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and United States of America (US) from January to November 2020, with the aim of facilitating cross-country learning. Evidence is taken from the COVID-19 Health System Response Monitor, a joint initiative of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, the WHO Regional Office for Europe, and the European Commission, which has documented country responses to COVID-19 using a structured template completed by country experts. We show all countries faced common challenges during the pandemic, including difficulties in scaling-up testing capacity, implementing timely and appropriate containment measures amid much uncertainty and overcoming shortages of health and social care workers, personal protective equipment and other medical technologies.

Neuromelioidosis: A Single-Center Experience with Emphasis on Imaging.

 Infection with , a gram-negative bacterium found in soil and surface water, is termed melioidosis and is commonly reported to occur in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia, where it is endemic. It is being increasingly reported in India, and transmission occurs through inhalation, inoculation, and ingestion. The neuroparenchyma, the adjacent soft tissue, and bone are known to be affected in both the acute and chronic disease forms.

Transcriptomic response of brain tissue to focused ultrasound-mediated blood-brain barrier disruption depends strongly on anesthesia.

Focused ultrasound (FUS) mediated blood-brain barrier disruption (BBBD) targets the delivery of systemically-administered therapeutics to the central nervous system. Preclinical investigations of BBBD have been performed on different anesthetic backgrounds; however, the influence of the choice of anesthetic on the molecular response to BBBD is unknown, despite its potential to critically affect interpretation of experimental therapeutic outcomes. Here, using bulk RNA sequencing, we comprehensively examined the transcriptomic response of both normal brain tissue and brain tissue exposed to FUS-induced BBBD in mice anesthetized with either isoflurane with medical air (Iso) or ketamine/dexmedetomidine (KD).

Clinical Spectrum, Therapeutic Outcomes and Prognostic predictors in Paraneoplastic Neurological Syndromes - Experiences from a Tertiary Care Center in India.

Background: Paraneoplastic Neurological Syndromes (PNSs) are a heterogeneous group of immune-mediated disorders that often precede tumor diagnosis. There are few systematic studies on the spectrum and follow-up of PNSs.

Objective: To analyze the clinical spectrum, associated tumors, antibody profile, outcomes, and prognostic predictors in a cohort of PNSs admitted in a tertiary care center.

Utility of Serial Nerve Conduction Studies in the Electrodiagnosis of Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

Background: Guillain-Barre syndrome can be electrophysiologically classified into demyelinating and axonal subtypes and nerve conduction studies remain the mainstay in electrodiagnosis. Accurate electrodiagnosis has both therapeutic and prognostic significance and different criteria sets have been proposed for classification.

Objectives: To electrophysiologically classify GBS patients into AIDP and axonal subtypes according to various published criteria (Cornblath, 1990: Hadden, 1998, Rajabally, 2015), investigate if serial NCS changes the classification, and to identify additional parameters which may support the electrodiagnosis.

United States response to the COVID-19 pandemic, January-November 2020.

As of November 2020, the United States leads the world in confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and deaths. Over the past 10 months, the United States has experienced three peaks in new cases, with the most recent spike in November setting new records. Inaction and the lack of a scientifically informed, unified response have contributed to the sustained spread of COVID-19 in the United States.

Monoclonal Gammopathies of 'Neurological Significance': Paraproteinemic Neuropathies.

Objectives: To study the clinical profile and outcomes of patients with paraproteinemic neuropathy (PPN) and to explore the utility of nerve conduction studies (NCSs) to differentiate between the demyelinating subtypes.

Methods: We did a retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with PPN between January 2010 and December 2019 in an inpatient setting. The study population consisted of patients above 16 years of age presenting with clinical features suggestive of chronic peripheral neuropathy and on evaluation was found to have PPN.

Clinical Spectrum and Outcome of Neurosarcoidosis: A Retrospective Cohort Study from a Teaching Hospital in India.

Context: Neurosarcoidosis (NS) is a chronic disease with a diverse clinical spectrum, therapeutic response, and outcome. There is scarce literature from our country regarding the same.

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical spectrum, therapeutic responses, and outcomes of NS in an Indian cohort.

Cerebral Venous Thrombosis, Seasonal Trends, and Climatic Influence: A Region-SpecificStudy.

Background And Purpose: Studies looking at seasonal variation on cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) are few with conflicting conclusions. In this region-specific study, we looked for climatic influence and seasonal trends on the incidence of CVT.

Methods: Imaging proven adult CVT cases treated over a period of 18 years from a specific geographical location with similar seasons and climatic conditions were studied.

Utility of stimulus induced after discharges in the evaluation of peripheral nerve hyperexcitability: Old wine in a new bottle?

Limited literature is available on stimulus induced after discharges (SIAD) in patients with peripheral nerve hyperexcitability (PNH). The aim of the study was to examine the diagnostic utility of SIAD in the diagnosis and monitoring of primary PNH disorders. In this retrospective study, we studied 26 patients who were admitted with a diagnosis of primary PNH to the department of Neurology from January 2013 to April 2019.

Immunomodulation of intracranial melanoma in response to blood-tumor barrier opening with focused ultrasound.

Focused ultrasound (FUS) activation of microbubbles (MBs) for blood-brain (BBB) and blood-tumor barrier (BTB) opening permits targeted therapeutic delivery. While the effects of FUS+MBs mediated BBB opening have been investigated for normal brain tissue, no such studies exist for intracranial tumors. As this technology advances into clinical immunotherapy trials, it will be crucial to understand how FUS+MBs modulates the tumor immune microenvironment.