University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School

Comparative Effectiveness of Phenobarbital vs Diazepam for Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome

Importance Phenobarbital use for alcohol withdrawal syndrome is increasing, but its effectiveness and safety have largely been compared with lorazepam rather than against more pharmacokinetically similar long-acting, self-tapering benzodiazepines such as diazepam. Objective To em...

Hypoxia and right ventricular dysfunction in patients with acute pulmonary embolism

In patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE), hypoxia may increase pulmonary vascular resistance and worsen right ventricular dysfunction (RVD), which is a key prognostic factor. However, associations between hypoxia, RVD and clinical outcomes have not been well described. To d...

Hearing Screening Among Underserved US Adults: A Scoping Review of Modalities and Determinants

ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate existing literature on hearing screening outcomes and follow‐through among the adult population in the US. Data Sources PubMed, Ovid Medline, Scopus, and CINAHL databases. Review Methods A comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed,...

Reusable R analysis modules accompanying "Multi-scale integration identifies an ox-LDL-autophagy-inflammasome framework linking osteoporosis and neurodegeneration"

This software package accompanies the manuscript Multi-scale integration identifies an ox-LDL-autophagy-inflammasome framework linking osteoporosis and neurodegeneration. The package contains six reusable R modules for data input and validation, statistical and complex-survey ana...

Epigenetic aging and transposon dysregulation reflect size-related lifespan compression in dogs

The extraordinary lifespan variation in domestic dogs provides a natural experiment for testing how intrinsic rates of biological aging shape lifespan. Using 1640 methylomes from 894 dogs, we developed an epigenetic clock that predicted mortality and demonstrated that epigenetic...

Sex-dependent DNA methylation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) shows well-established sex differences in incidence, age at onset and progression, but their biological basis is unclear. We hypothesised that the DNA methylation changes associated with ALS differ between the sexes, which would point to sex-sp...

Neonatal Urticaria as the First Manifestation of Neonatal Onset Multisystem Inflammatory Disease Treated Empirically With Anakinra

ABSTRACT Urticarial eruptions in neonates, especially within hours to days of birth, should prompt workup for cryopyrin‐associated periodic syndrome (CAPS) disorders. This report details a 9‐h‐old neonate with urticaria as the first manifestation of neonatal onset multisystem inf...

Alzheimer’s disease neuropathological characterization of the dog brain and relationship to biofluid biomarkers and cognitive function

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting more than 55 million people worldwide and is characterized by cognitive decline, amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles. Although transgenic rodent models have advanced understanding of...

Mental Health and Emotional Functioning of Parents from Separated–Reunited Chinese Immigrant Families

ABSTRACT Early and prolonged parent–child separation (EPPCS) may affect the health and well‐being of affected families. This phenomenon is common but understudied among Chinese immigrant families, especially those living in low‐income communities. Whereas some research has been c...

Epidemiology and Oncologic Patterns of Cervical Spine Metastases and Primary Tumors

STUDY DESIGN: Narrative review. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the epidemiology and oncologic patterns of metastatic and primary cervical spine tumors and evaluate the classification systems, instability assessments, cord compression frameworks, and prognostic tools used in their manage...

Subtype-specific differences in susceptibility to monoclonal antibodies and vaccines among contemporary RSV-A and RSV-B isolates

ABSTRACT Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continues to circulate at high levels despite the introduction of new monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and vaccines targeting the pre-fusion F (pre-F) protein. We analyzed the viral genome sequences of 133 RSV clinical samples collected duri...

Factors associated with longitudinal survey adherence and smartwatch usage among older adults in the electronic Framingham Heart Study

Sustaining long-term adherence to digital health protocols remains a major challenge, and factors influencing sustained use of digital devices among older adults are poorly understood. We identified sociodemographic, health-related, and technological factors associated with longi...

The Role of Electrocauterization in Preventing Ganglion Recurrence: Evaluating Adjuncts to Standard Surgical Excision

BACKGROUND: Ganglion cysts are the most common soft-tissue tumors of the hand and wrist, frequently recurring after surgical excision (6%-41%). Open resection is the treatment of choice, yet significant variation persists in techniques from basic stalk resection to tissue window...

Forty-five years of academic neurosurgery in Paraguay: A systematic review and bibliometric analysis of the transition to self-reliance

Background: While the global neurosurgical burden is highest in low- and middle-income countries, scientific output remains dominated by high-income nations. Paraguay has seen a dramatic seven-fold increase in its neurosurgical workforce since 1980, yet its academic footprint rem...

Increased Insulin Action, Glucose Metabolism and Muscle Function in Supervillin‐Knockout and Supervillin‐Mutant Mice

ABSTRACT We here describe mouse models with complementary homozygous Svil mutations. In skeletal muscle, Svil‐Mut mice express the Svil ‐encoded N‐terminus fused to the βgal‐neo gene‐trap tag and lack the highly conserved archvillin C‐terminus; Svil‐KO mice lack expression of all...

The impact of a randomized controlled trial of a lifestyle intervention on postpartum physical activity among predominantly Puerto Rican women with overweight and obesity: Proyecto Mamá

Engaging in physical activity during pregnancy decreases the risk of gestational diabetes and excessive weight gain, thereby reducing postpartum risk of type 2 diabetes and postpartum weight retention. Such long-term adverse health outcomes disproportionately affect Hispanic wome...

Markers of microvascular instability predict severity and survival in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Introduction Most research on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) has focused on the interplay among fibroblasts, the immune system and epithelial cells. There is growing evidence that microvascular dysfunction also plays a role in disease progression, but large human translation...

Preclinical Evaluation of Novel Conserved Neisseria gonorrhoeae Vaccine Candidates Identified Through Infection-Informed Antigen Discovery

Background: The continued emergence of antimicrobial-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae highlights the urgent need for an effective vaccine. We evaluated the immunogenicity and vaccine potential of six new gonococcal conserved hypothetical proteins identified through our immunobioin...

Management of Soft Tissue and Visceral Leiomyosarcomas

Importance Leiomyosarcoma is a rare and heterogeneous malignant mesenchymal neoplasm associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Given recent advances in biologic understanding and the complexity of leiomyosarcoma, a consensus-driven approach is needed to harmonize manag...

Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) regulatory T cells effectively suppress autoimmune uveitis in presence of antigen

We evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor T regulatory (CAR Treg) cells to reduce ocular inflammation in a mouse model of experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU). Engineered CAR Tregs that recognize adeno-associated virus (AAV) as antigen were delivered sys...