VA San Diego Healthcare System

Development and Validation of a Coronary Artery Calcium Volume and Density Score

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring is a useful tool for coronary heart disease (CHD) risk prediction. The current standard method, the Agatston score, weights plaque area upward by density. However, higher density is inversely associated with CHD. We aimed to devel...

Pilot Study of Cannabis Use Reduction and Associated Functional Outcomes.

AIMS: Interventions for cannabis use disorder often reduce the frequency and quantity of use, but rarely achieve sustained abstinence. It remains unclear whether reductions in use (rather than sustained abstinence) result in meaningful improvements in functioning. This study eval...

Associations of metformin-based antidiabetic combinations and Alzheimer’s disease onset: a retrospective EHR cohort study

Abstract Background Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) is an established risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Previous literature primarily examines the neuroprotective benefits of antidiabetic medications (metformin, SGLT2 inhibitors, and GLP-1 receptor agonists) in isolati...

Natural anti–NMDAR1 autoantibodies are associated with lower risk for depression and PTSD symptoms after traumatic brain injury

Abstract Exposure to a traumatic brain injury (TBI) increases risk of developing psychiatric symptoms including depression, anxiety, and post‑traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, biological risk and resiliency factors that help explain the heterogeneity in outcomes are limi...

Activation of IL-17+ ILC subsets in IL-18R-deficient mice during fungal allergen exposure

Abstract Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) are critical players during type 2 inflammation present in most forms of asthma. ILC2s are tissue-resident cells that produce cytokines IL-5 and IL-13 critical to eosinophilic airway inflammation, mucus production, remodeling, and hy...

Maternal immune activation disrupts epigenomic and functional maturation of cortical excitatory neurons

Elevated levels of maternal pro-inflammatory cytokines following severe infection during gestation can disrupt offspring neural development and increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. The viral mimetic Poly(I:C) reproduces the effects of gestational influenza exposure,...

Robust inference and correlates from genetic associations with personality

Personality traits describe stable differences in how people think, feel and behave, and how they interact with and experience their social and physical environments1,2. Many questions remain unanswered about associations between DNA and personality traits, such as their robustne...

Associations Between Combat Exposure, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Sleep Outcomes Among Post-9/11 Veterans

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the relationship between veterans' combat experiences and multiple dimensions of sleep health and how traumatic brain injury (TBI) history may modulate these relationships. METHODS: Participants were 17,812 post-9/11 veterans (mean±SD age=46.6±10.8...

Feasibility of implementing collaborative decision skills training among veterans with psychosis: a qualitative study guided by the practical, robust implementation and sustainability model

Abstract Background Collaborative Decision Skills Training (CDST) is a promising group intervention for adults with serious mental illness (SMI) intended to increase collaborative decision-making (CDM) at the patient-clinician level. CDST previously underwent a systematic, commun...

Modulation of neuronal excitability and plasticity by BHLHE41 conveys lithium non-responsiveness

Abstract Many bipolar disorder (BD) patients are non-responsive to lithium. The mechanisms underlying lithium (non-)responsiveness are largely unknown. By using gene-set enrichment analysis methods, we found that core clock gene-sets are significantly associated with lithium resp...