Culturally targeted messaging and racial equity in SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing by multiplex salivary measurement: Protocol overview of a SeroNet investigation.

Better understanding racial disparities observed during the COVID-19 pandemic can be aided by SARS-CoV-2 serology testing. However, racial minorities may be underrepresented in serosurveillance efforts not only due to lack of testing accessibility, but also due to hesitancy towards participating in antibody testing programs stemming from medical mistrust. We designed a randomized control trial to evaluate how non-invasive salivary antibody testing and culturally targeted communication might be used to promote racial equity in uptake of SARS-CoV-2 serology testing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Obtaining a Probability Sample of a Pregnancy Cohort of Births: A Review of the Problem and a Practical Solution.

The Michigan Archive for Research on Child Health (MARCH) study produced a probability sample of Michigan births between 2017 and 2023, with data collection beginning at first prenatal visit and continuing up to age 4. Birth certificate data were used to create a sampling frame of hospitals and associated obstetric clinics, from which a probability-proportional-size sample of 10 hospitals was drawn. Close to 100 pregnancies were then recruited in clinics serving each sampled hospital, yielding a probability sample of 1,021 births.

Maternal thyroid dysfunction and depressive symptoms during pregnancy and child behavioral and emotional problems - an ECHO multi-cohort investigation.

Background: Maternal thyroid dysfunction and maternal depression during pregnancy may increase the risk of child behavioral and emotional problems. We sought to investigate the independent and interactive associations of these two risk factors with child behavior problems.

Methods: We combined data from four cohorts in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program (N = 949).

Using Passive Antibody Therapies in the Next Pandemic.

The twenty-first century has witnessed seven human viral pandemics. Approximately once every three to four years over the past quarter-century, the world has experienced a new viral epidemic that expanded well beyond its original national borders to become a pandemic. The probability that another pandemic caused by a previously unknown agent will occur in the near future is thus very high and public health agencies must prioritize mechanisms for detecting their first signals.

Estimates of actual and potential lives saved in the United States from the use of COVID-19 convalescent plasma.

In the Spring of 2020, the United States of America (USA) deployed COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) to treat hospitalized patients. Over 500,000 patients were treated with CCP during the first year of the pandemic. In this study, we estimated the number of actual inpatient lives saved by CCP treatment in the United States of America based on CCP weekly use, weekly national mortality data, and CCP mortality reduction data from meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials and real-world data.

A Brief History of Polyclonal Antibody Therapies Against Bacterial and Viral Diseases Before COVID-19.

The use of the serum or plasma of patients or animals who have recovered from an infectious disease, or had been immunized with a relevant antigen, to treat or prevent the same infection in others began in the late 1880s when French and German scientists uncovered, one step at a time, several of the elements of the immune system's response to infection. A key finding was that the damage caused by some bacteria depends upon their secreted toxins which can be neutralized by biologic agents. Antitoxins to diphtheria and tetanus began to be manufactured in large animals in France, Germany, and the US in the 1890s and were soon being used worldwide.

Monoclonal Antibody Therapies for Infectious Diseases.

In contrast to therapy in oncology and immune-related diseases, where dozens of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been introduced, often in transformative fashion, the use of mAbs for infectious diseases is generally underdeveloped, with fewer than a dozen mAbs currently licensed for the treatment of microbial diseases. This situation is paradoxical given that antibodies are major products of the immune system for protecting against infectious diseases. The underdevelopment of mAbs for infectious diseases has several causes including the availability of effective therapy against many microbial diseases, the fact that many pathogenic microbes are antigenically diverse and thus all strains are not covered by a single mAb, and the high expense of mAb therapies.

Host factors are associated with vaginal microbiome structure in pregnancy in the ECHO Cohort Consortium.

Using pooled vaginal microbiota data from pregnancy cohorts (N = 683 participants) in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, we analyzed 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequences to identify clinical and demographic host factors that associate with vaginal microbiota structure in pregnancy both within and across diverse cohorts. Using PERMANOVA models, we assessed factors associated with vaginal community structure in pregnancy, examined whether host factors were conserved across populations, and tested the independent and combined effects of host factors on vaginal community state types (CSTs) using multinomial logistic regression models. Demographic and social factors explained a larger amount of variation in the vaginal microbiome in pregnancy than clinical factors.

The Logic and History of Passive Immunity and Antibody Therapies.

This volume takes a broad overview of antibody-based therapies prior to and during the COVID pandemic and examines their potential use in future pandemics. Passive antibody therapy was the first effective antimicrobial treatment and its development in the early twentieth century helped catalyze immunological and microbiological research. During the era of serum therapy (1890-1940) antibody-based therapies were developed against both viral and bacterial diseases.

Association of the Infant Gut Microbiome with Temperament at Nine Months of Age: A Michigan Cohort Study.

Though studies in animals and humans link the gut microbiota to brain development and control of behavior, little research has examined this connection in healthy infants. This prospective study could determine associations between infant gut microbiota at 3 months, and infant temperament at 9 months, in a prospective pregnancy cohort (Michigan Archive for Research on Child Health; = 159). Microbiota profiling with 16S rRNA gene sequencing was conducted on fecal samples obtained at 3 months of age.

Biases in Electronic Health Records Data for Generating Real-World Evidence: An Overview.

Electronic Health Records (EHR) are increasingly being perceived as a unique source of data for clinical research as they provide unprecedentedly large volumes of real-time data from real-world settings. In this review of the secondary uses of EHR, we identify the anticipated breadth of opportunities, pointing out the data deficiencies and potential biases that are likely to limit the search for true causal relationships. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the types of biases that arise along the pathways that generate real-world evidence and the sources of these biases.

Aspects of Physical Activity and Quality of Life in Adults with Cerebral Palsy.

Physical activity and sedentary behavior may differentially impact health-related quality of life in adults with cerebral palsy. The present investigation assessed the independent relationships between aspects of physical activity and sedentary behavior related to health related quality of life in adults with cerebral palsy. Through a cross-sectional online survey of 118 adults with cerebral palsy, participants self-reported the extent of their functional impairments using the Gross Motor Function Classification System, Manual Ability Classification System, and Communication Function Classification System; while mental and physical health-related quality of life were assessed using the RAND-36.

Outpatient randomized controlled trials to reduce COVID-19 hospitalization: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

This COVID-19 outpatient randomized controlled trials (RCTs) systematic review compares hospitalization outcomes amongst four treatment classes over pandemic period, geography, variants, and vaccine status. Outpatient RCTs with hospitalization endpoint were identified in Pubmed searches through May 2023, excluding RCTs <30 participants (PROSPERO-CRD42022369181). Risk of bias was extracted from COVID-19-NMA, with odds ratio utilized for pooled comparison.

Rates Among Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 Treated With Convalescent Plasma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: To examine the association of COVID-19 convalescent plasma transfusion with mortality and the differences between subgroups in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Patients And Methods: On October 26, 2022, a systematic search was performed for clinical studies of COVID-19 convalescent plasma in the literature from January 1, 2020, to October 26, 2022. Randomized clinical trials and matched cohort studies investigating COVID-19 convalescent plasma transfusion compared with standard of care treatment or placebo among hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 were included.

The contribution of epidemiology to the understanding of neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Epidemiological approaches have played an important role in creating better understanding of developmental disabilities by delineating their frequency in populations and changes in their frequency over time, by identifying etiological factors, and by documenting pathways to prevention. Both cerebral palsy (CP) and mild intellectual disability are declining in frequency in high-income countries. The diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder has increased in recent decades, but much of this increase is a result of changing approaches to ascertainment and recording.

Convalescent plasma therapy in COVID-19: Unravelling the data using the principles of antibody therapy.

Introduction: When the COVID-19 pandemic struck no specific therapies were available and many turned to COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP), a form of antibody therapy. The literature provides mixed evidence for CCP efficacy.

Areas Covered: PubMed was searched using the words COVID-19 and convalescent plasma and individual study designs were evaluated for adherence to the three principles of antibody therapy, i.

Health Care Utilization During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Individuals Born Preterm.

Importance: Limited data exist on pediatric health care utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic among children and young adults born preterm.

Objective: To investigate differences in health care use related to COVID-19 concerns during the pandemic among children and young adults born preterm vs those born at term.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this cohort study, questionnaires regarding COVID-19 and health care utilization were completed by 1691 mother-offspring pairs from 42 pediatric cohorts in the National Institutes of Health Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes Program.