Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Aquat Toxicol 2021 Mar 26;235:105815. Epub 2021 Mar 26.

San Diego State University School of Public Health, 5500 Campanile Dr., Hardy Tower 119, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA. Electronic address:

Tris(4-chlorophenyl)methanol (TCPMOH) is a water contaminant with unknown etiology, but is believed to be a byproduct of DDT manufacturing. It is highly persistent in the environment, and bioaccumulates in marine species. TCPMOH has also been measured in human breast milk, which poses a risk for developing infants. Read More

J Surg Oncol 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Section of Surgical Oncology, Division of Surgery, Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center, Jacksonville, Florida, USA.

Background: Clinical and pathologic staging determine treatment of pancreatic cancer. Clinical stage has been shown to underestimate final pathologic stage in pancreatic cancer, resulting in upstaging.

Methods: National Cancer Database was used to identify clinical stage I pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Read More

Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM 2021 Apr 5:100366. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

Friend Research Institute, Baltimore MD.

Background: Screening for substance use is recommended during pregnancy and many clinicians rely on urine drug screening to identify newborns at potential risk for withdrawal.

Objective: To determine the concordance and discordance rates between maternal and neonatal drug testing at or near the time of delivery.

Study Design: This retrospective chart review was performed at a single institution that employs universal testing for those who consent. Read More

Cancer Cytopathol 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Department of Cytology and Gynecologic Pathology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.

Background: Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is one of the most commonly used techniques for evaluating lymphadenopathy. Recently, the Sydney system was proposed for assessing the performance, classification, and reporting of lymph node (LN) cytopathology. The present study was conducted to assess the risk of malignancy associated with each of the diagnostic categories of the proposed Sydney system. Read More

Diabetologia 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

JDRF/Wellcome Diabetes and Inflammation Laboratory, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

Aims/hypothesis: Given the potential shared aetiology between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, we aimed to identify any genetic regions associated with both diseases. For associations where there is a shared signal and the allele that increases risk to one disease also increases risk to the other, inference about shared aetiology could be made, with the potential to develop therapeutic strategies to treat or prevent both diseases simultaneously. Alternatively, if a genetic signal co-localises with divergent effect directions, it could provide valuable biological insight into how the association affects the two diseases differently. Read More

BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 2021 Apr 7;21(1):119. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Center for Vulnerable Populations, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, USA.

Background: Implementation of evidence-based interventions often involves strategies to engage diverse populations while also attempting to maintain external validity. When using health IT tools to deliver patient-centered health messages, systems-level requirements are often at odds with 'on-the ground' tailoring approaches for patient-centered care or ensuring equity among linguistically diverse populations.

Methods: We conducted a fidelity and acceptability-focused evaluation of the STAR MAMA Program, a 5-month bilingual (English and Spanish) intervention for reducing diabetes risk factors among 181 post-partum women with recent gestational diabetes. Read More

Curr Oncol 2021 Mar 22;28(2):1294-1301. Epub 2021 Mar 22.

Department of Urology, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu 5011194, Japan.

This study aimed to determine the predictive value of the Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System version 2 (PI-RADS v2) based on biparametric magnetic resonance imaging (bpMRI) with combined target biopsy (TBx) and systematic biopsy (SBx) in patients with suspicion of having clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa). In this retrospective study, we reviewed the clinical and pathological records of 184 consecutive patients who underwent bpMRI before prostate biopsy. We focused on patients with PI-RADS v2 scores ≥ 3. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2021 Mar 5;22(5). Epub 2021 Mar 5.

Department of Gynecological Endocrinology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-535 Poznan, Poland.

Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), previously known as premature ovarian failure or premature menopause, is defined as loss of ovarian function before the age of 40 years. The risk of POI before the age of 40 is 1%. Clinical symptoms develop as a result of estrogen deficiency and may include amenorrhea, oligomenorrhea, vasomotor instability (hot flushes, night sweats), sleep disturbances, vulvovaginal atrophy, altered urinary frequency, dyspareunia, low libido, and lack of energy. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2021 Mar 24;22(7). Epub 2021 Mar 24.

Department of Human Genetics and South Texas Diabetes and Obesity Institute, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, Brownsville, TX 78520, USA.

The in vitro modeling of cardiac development and cardiomyopathies in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes (CMs) provides opportunities to aid the discovery of genetic, molecular, and developmental changes that are causal to, or influence, cardiomyopathies and related diseases. To better understand the functional and disease modeling potential of iPSC-differentiated CMs and to provide a proof of principle for large, epidemiological-scale disease gene discovery approaches into cardiomyopathies, well-characterized CMs, generated from validated iPSCs of 12 individuals who belong to four sibships, and one of whom reported a major adverse cardiac event (MACE), were analyzed by genome-wide mRNA sequencing. The generated CMs expressed CM-specific genes and were highly concordant in their total expressed transcriptome across the 12 samples (correlation coefficient at 95% CI =0. Read More

J Mol Diagn 2021 Mar 30. Epub 2021 Mar 30.

Asuragen Inc. Austin, Texas.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a severe autosomal recessive disease caused by disruptions in the SMN1 gene. The nearly identical SMN2 gene copy number is associated with disease severity. SMN1 duplication markers such as c. Read More

JMIR Res Protoc 2021 Mar 31;10(3):e25699. Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Department of Population Health Science, John D Bower School of Population Health, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States.

Background: In 1999, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was identified as an emerging epidemic in youth, and racial and ethnic minority youth were identified with high risk. Two decades later, no gold standard T2DM prevention intervention has been established for this population.

Objective: This study tests the efficacy of a telehealth diabetes prevention intervention for African American (AA) families with children with risk for T2DM. Read More

Oncologist 2021 Mar 30. Epub 2021 Mar 30.

Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 22 S. Greene St., Baltimore, MD, 21201.

Background: In head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), black patients continue to have worse survival when compared to white patients. The cause of this disparity is multifaceted and cannot be explained by one etiology alone. To investigate this disparity, we utilized the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked database to examine adherence to guideline concordant care (GCC) as defined by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). Read More

J Gastrointest Surg 2021 Mar 25. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

Department of Surgery, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Columbus, OH, USA.

Background: The utilization of cancer-directed treatment for patients with all stages of pancreatic cancer in the USA is unknown. This study sought to examine national practice patterns and identify patient, hospital, regional, and other factors associated with disparities in the use of guideline-concordant cancer-directed therapy.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with PDAC between 2004 and 2015 were queried from the National Cancer Data Base. Read More

J Surg Res 2021 Mar 22;264:37-44. Epub 2021 Mar 22.

Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.

Background: The frequency and cost of postoperative surveillance for older adults (>65 y) with T1N0M0 low-risk papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) have not been well studied.

Methods: Using the SEER-Medicare (2006-2013) database, frequency and cost of surveillance concordant with American Thyroid Association (ATA) guidelines (defined as an office visit, ≥1 thyroglobulin measurement, and ultrasound 6- to 24-month postoperatively) were analyzed for the overall cohort of single-surgery T1N0M0 low-risk PTC, stratified by lobectomy versus total thyroidectomy.

Results: Majority of 2097 patients in the study were white (86. Read More

Front Genet 2021 4;12:617245. Epub 2021 Mar 4.

Department of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.

Background: Observational studies have shown an association of increased iron status with a higher risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Iron status might be a novel target for ALS prevention if a causal relationship exists. We aimed to reveal the causality between iron status and ALS incidence using a large two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR). Read More

Front Physiol 2021 4;12:614946. Epub 2021 Mar 4.

Key Lab of Medical Electrophysiology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.

T-wave alternans (TWA) reflects every-other-beat alterations in the morphology of the electrocardiogram ST segment or T wave in the setting of a constant heart rate, hence, in the absence of heart rate variability. It is believed to be associated with the dispersion of repolarization and has been used as a non-invasive marker for predicting the risk of malignant cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death as numerous studies have shown. This review aims to provide up-to-date review on both experimental and simulation studies in elucidating possible mechanisms underlying the genesis of TWA at the cellular level, as well as the genesis of spatially concordant/discordant alternans at the tissue level, and their transition to cardiac arrhythmia. Read More

J Low Genit Tract Dis 2021 Apr;25(2):130-136

Private Practice, Palma, Spain.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of Papilocare, a Coriolus versicolor-based vaginal gel, in repairing human papillomavirus (HPV)-related low-grade cervical lesions.

Methods: The study is a multicenter, open-label, randomized, parallel-group, watchful waiting approach-controlled trial involving 91 HPV-positive women with low-grade Pap smear alterations and consistent colposcopy.

Results: The percentage of patients with normal Pap smear and concordant colposcopy 3 and 6 months after receiving treatment (78. Read More

Am J Surg Pathol 2021 Feb 22. Epub 2021 Feb 22.

*Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA Departments of †Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery ¶Biostatistics **Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN ‡Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY §Department of Pharmacology and Regenerative Medicine, The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL Departments of ∥Pathology and Immunology #Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.

Early studies estimate that 5% to 10% of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas overexpress p16 but are unassociated with transcriptionally-active high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV). Patients with discordant HPV testing may experience clinical outcomes that differ from traditional expectations. To document the rate of p16 and HPV mRNA positivity, characterize patients with discordant testing, and identify features that may warrant selective use of HPV-specific testing after p16 IHC, a multi-institutional, retrospective review of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma patients with p16 IHC and HPV mRNA testing by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was performed. Read More

J Am Coll Cardiol 2021 Mar;77(11):1439-1450

Department of Clinical Biochemistry and the Copenhagen General Population Study, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; The Copenhagen City Heart Study, Frederiksberg Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; Faculty of Health and Medical Science, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address:

Background: In cholesterol guidelines, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol remains the primary target while apolipoprotein B (apoB) and non-high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol are secondary targets.

Objectives: This study sought to determine if elevated apoB and/or non-HDL cholesterol are superior to elevated LDL cholesterol in identifying statin-treated patients at residual risk of all-cause mortality and myocardial infarction.

Methods: In total, 13,015 statin-treated patients from the Copenhagen General Population Study were included with 8 years median follow-up. Read More

Am J Gastroenterol 2021 Mar 10. Epub 2021 Mar 10.

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA; Department of Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.

Introduction: Esophageal epidermoid metaplasia (EEM) is a rare disease.

Methods: Patients with EEM diagnosed between 2014 and 2020 were reviewed.

Results: Forty EEM cases were identified. Read More

J Oral Pathol Med 2021 Mar 18. Epub 2021 Mar 18.

Department of Histopathology, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

Background: Considering the shared aetiology of Human Papillomavirus infections in oropharyngeal and cervical cancers and the possible role for sexual transmission, several key aspects of the relationship between cervical and oral infections merit investigation, including prevalence of concomitant oral HPV infection and type-specific concordance with concurrent cervical infections.

Methods: A cross-section study was performed on women referred to colposcopy clinics with cytological abnormalities and a cervical HPV infection. An oral rinse sample was taken from the participants at their baseline visit for HPV testing, and a demographic and risk factor questionnaire was also administered. Read More

Eur Heart J 2021 Mar;42(12):1147-1156

Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Borgmester Ib Juuls Vej 73, opgang 7, Herlev 2730, Denmark.

Aims: With the current focus on lipoprotein(a) as a likely causal risk factor for cardiovascular disease and new drugs potentially on the market to lower lipoprotein(a) levels, the safety of lowering lipoprotein(a) to low levels becomes increasingly important. We tested whether low levels of lipoprotein(a) and corresponding LPA genotypes associate with major disease groups including cancers and infectious disease.

Methods And Results: We included 109 440 individuals from the Copenhagen General Population Study. Read More

Clin Respir J 2021 Mar 15. Epub 2021 Mar 15.

Department of Pulmonology and Internal Medicine, Mazumdar Shaw Medical Center, Narayana Health City, Bengaluru, India.

Introduction: The inflammation and fibrosis in diffuse parenchymal lung diseases (DPLDs) in varied proportions give rise to different patterns in radiology and histopathology. The radiological pattern on CT of the thorax most often allows us to make a diagnosis with varying levels of confidence, to optimize management. With a multidisciplinary team bringing the strengths of their individual domains of knowledge, clinical, radiological, histopathological, and in many cases rheumatological, the level of confidence in making this diagnosis increases, often to the stage where the diagnosis is most often right, is concordant with the diagnosis achieved at histopathology and therefore obviates the need for lung biopsy which carries its own costs and risks of complications. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Mar 10;11(1):5604. Epub 2021 Mar 10.

Qatar Metabolic Institute, Endocrine Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.

There are currently several diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes (GDM). Both the WHO -2013 and NICE diagnose GDM based on a single step 75 g OGT; however; each uses different glucose thresholds. Previous studies have shown that the prevalence of GDM using the NICE criteria (GDM-N) is lower than that using the WHO-2013 criteria (GDM-W). Read More

Epilepsy Behav 2021 Apr 6;117:107878. Epub 2021 Mar 6.

Department of Neurology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, MI 19107, United States. Electronic address:

Objective: To evaluate whether cardiovascular risk, risk awareness, and guideline concordant treatment differ in individuals with versus without epilepsy.

Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We included participants ≥18 years for 2013-2018. Read More

JAMA Psychiatry 2021 Mar 10. Epub 2021 Mar 10.

Institute for Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

Importance: Observational studies have reported associations between antihypertensive medication and psychiatric disorders, although the reported direction of association appears to be dependent on drug class.

Objective: To estimate the potential effect of different antihypertensive drug classes on schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This 2-sample mendelian randomization study assessed the association between a single-nucleotide variant (SNV) and drug target gene expression derived from existing expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) data in blood (sample 1) and the SNV-disease association from published case-control genome-wide association studies (sample 2). Read More

J Atheroscler Thromb 2021 Mar 6. Epub 2021 Mar 6.

Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Keio University School of Medicine.

Aims: The categories in the comprehensive lipid and risk management guidelines were proposed by the Japan Atherosclerosis Society (JAS Guidelines 2017), which adopted the estimated 10 year absolute risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) incidence in the Suita score. We examined whether those categories were concordant with the degree of arterial stiffness.

Methods: In 2014, the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), an arterial stiffness parameter, was measured in 1,972 Japanese participants aged 35-74 years in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Read More

J Affect Disord 2021 Feb 26;286:49-57. Epub 2021 Feb 26.

Peking University Clinical Research Institute, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China. Electronic address:

Background: The existing findings of the longitudinal impact of low-to-moderate drinking on symptomatic depression were controversial, as results ranged from finding no association to finding both a protective and adverse association.

Methods: The present study examined the association between low-to-moderate alcohol consumption and incident depressive symptoms by pooled analysis of three European, American and Chinese representative samples of middle-aged and older adults.

Results: A total of 29,506 participants (55. Read More

Eur J Nutr 2021 Mar 6. Epub 2021 Mar 6.

Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.

Purpose: Evolutionary discordance may contribute to the high burden of chronic disease-related mortality in modern industrialized nations. We aimed to investigate the associations of a 7-component, equal-weight, evolutionary-concordance lifestyle (ECL) score with all-cause and cause-specific mortality.

Methods: Baseline data were collected in 2003-2007 from 17,465 United States participants in the prospective REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study. Read More

Diagnostics (Basel) 2021 Feb 22;11(2). Epub 2021 Feb 22.

Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea.

Genetic diagnosis for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative metastatic breast cancer patients with the germline (gBRCA) mutation has been emphasized since the development of polyadenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase inhibitors. Myriad Genetics, Inc.'s (Salt Lake City, UT, USA) companion diagnostics service is almost exclusively used for genetic testing. Read More