Rosenrobbins5382
The mechanisms underlying the association between obesity and COVID-19 severity remain unclear. After verifying that obesity was a correlate of severe COVID-19 in U.S. Military Health System (MHS) beneficiaries, we compared immunological and virological phenotypes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in both obese and non-obese participants.
COVID-19-infected MHS beneficiaries were enrolled, and anthropometric, clinical, and demographic data were collected. We compared the SARS-CoV-2 peak IgG humoral response and RT-PCR viral load in obese and non-obese patients, stratified by hospitalization, utilizing logistic regression models.
511 COVID-19 patients were analyzed, among whom 24% were obese and 14% severely-obese. Obesity was independently associated with hospitalization (aOR = 1.91, 95% CI = 1.15-3.18) and need for oxygen therapy (aOR = 3.39, 95% CI = 1.61-7.11). In outpatients, severely-obese had a log10 (1.89) higher N1 genome equivalents (GE)/reaction and log10 (2.62) higher N2 GE/reaction than non-obese (p = 0.03 and p < 0.001, respectively). We noted a correlation between BMI and peak anti-spike protein IgG in inpatients and outpatients (coefficient = 5.48, p < 0.001).
Obesity is a strong correlate of COVID-19 severity in MHS beneficiaries. These findings offer new pathophysiological insights into the relationship between obesity and COVID-19 severity.
Obesity is a strong correlate of COVID-19 severity in MHS beneficiaries. These findings offer new pathophysiological insights into the relationship between obesity and COVID-19 severity.Chronic wounds, including leg ulcers, constitute an important medical problem among older patients. Dystrophic calcifications (DC) are associated with a variety of disorders, including leg ulcers. Sodium Pyruvate chemical structure The aim of this study was to report the clinical and biological characteristics of older patients with DC in leg ulcers and to determine the morphology and chemical composition of these calcifications. We conducted a prospective monocentric study in our Geriatric-Wound and Healing ward, Rothschild Hospital, Paris, from January 2018 to December 2019. Patients with leg ulcers were screened for DC by palpation. Patients' clinical, biological and radiological findings were collected. DC morphology was analyzed using field-emission scanning electron microscopy and chemical composition was analyzed using µFourier transform infra-red spectroscopy and X-ray Fluorescence. Ten (7%) of the 143 patients hospitalized for leg ulcers presented DC. Older patients with DC were more likely to have leg ulcers with venous insufficiency (P=0.015), colonized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P=0.026), with a longer healing evolution (P=0.0072) and hypercalcemia (P=0.041). Five DC were extracted from ulcers two presented 500 nm lacunar spheres and intermingled fibrils of about 10 nm in diameter, consistent with bacterial and biofilm imprints. DC were always composed of Calcium-phosphate apatite and associated to the presence of Zinc. Our analyses were consistent with the involvement of microorganisms and inflammatory process in DC formation. Early management of venous insufficiency, treatment of chronic bacterial colonization and use of calcium-solubilizing drugs seem to be rational strategies for calcified leg ulcer management in older patients.
Although efforts to treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) in people who inject drugs (PWID) yield high rates of sustained virologic response (SVR), the relationship between successful HCV treatment and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among PWID is poorly understood. This study examined HRQOL changes throughout HCV treatment and post-treatment for PWID achieving SVR.
Participants included 141 PWID who achieved SVR following HCV treatment onsite at three opioid agonist treatment (OAT) clinics in Bronx, NY. The EQ-5D-3L assesses five health dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, anxiety/depression), producing an index of HRQOL ranging from 0-1. EQ-5D-3L was measured at baseline, 4-, 8-, and 12-weeks during treatment and 12- and 24-weeks post-treatment. Linear mixed effects regression models were used to assess changes in the mean EQ-5D-3L index over time.
Mean EQ-5D-3L index baseline was 0.66 (SE=0.02). Whereas over half the population reported no baseline problems with self-care (85.1%), usual activities (56.0%), and mobility (52.5%), at least two-thirds reported problems with pain/discomfort (78.0%) and anxiety/depression (66.0%), with 22.0% and 21.3% reporting extreme problems for pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression, respectively. Twenty-four weeks post-treatment, proportions reporting pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression decreased by 25.7% and 24.0%, respectively. The mean EQ-5D-3L index significantly improved during treatment (p<0.0001), and improvement was sustained following treatment completion, with mean EQ-5D-3L index of 0.77 (SE=0.02) 12-weeks post-SVR.
HCV treatment led to sustained improvement in HRQOL for PWID on OAT who achieved SVR. Future research is necessary to determine whether improvements in HRQOL can be sustained beyond 12-weeks post-SVR.
HCV treatment led to sustained improvement in HRQOL for PWID on OAT who achieved SVR. Future research is necessary to determine whether improvements in HRQOL can be sustained beyond 12-weeks post-SVR.Developmental studies have identified differences in prefrontal and subcortical affective structures between children and adults, which correspond with observed cognitive and behavioral maturations from relatively simplistic emotional experiences and expressions to more nuanced, complex ones. However, developmental changes in the neural representation of emotions have not yet been well explored. It stands to reason that adults and children may demonstrate observable differences in the representation of affect within key neurological structures implicated in affective cognition. Forty-five participants (25 children; 20 adults) passively viewed positive, negative, and neutral clips from popular films while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Using representational similarity analysis (RSA) to measure variability in neural pattern similarity, we found developmental differences between children and adults in the amygdala, nucleus accumbens (NAcc), and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), such that children generated less pattern similarity within subcortical structures relative to the vmPFC; a phenomenon not replicated among their older counterparts. Furthermore, children generated valence-specific differences in representational patterns across regions; these valence-specific patterns were not found in adults. These results may suggest that affective representations grow increasingly dissimilar over development as individuals mature from visceral affective responses to more evaluative analyses.
This translational research had two aims. First, to analyze and translate data from multiple original data sources to provide accurate, unbiased local community and statewide information about healthy aging. Second, to work with stakeholders to use the tools to identify disparities in healthy aging and to support their efforts to advance healthy aging.
Data sources from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, U.S. Census American Community Survey, and other sources were analyzed using small area estimation techniques to determine age/gender adjusted local community rates in Connecticut (CT), Massachusetts (MA), New Hampshire (NH), and Rhode Island (RI).
State level analyses revealed gender and racial/ethnic disparities in healthy aging. A factor analysis identified 4 dimensions of community population healthy aging/morbidity serious complex chronic disease, indolent conditions, physical disability, and psychological disability.
Healthy Aging Data Repn infographic, highlights report with state-specific multivariate analyses, and 18 interactive web-maps, 18 regional interactive web-maps, and technical documentation about data sources and methods. Overall, the research has identified variations in healthy aging and provided tools to track change over time to support age-friendly efforts in the region.
Despite their well-established benefits for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, robust evidence on the effects of statins on cognition is largely inconclusive. We apply various study designs and analytical approaches to mimic randomized controlled trial (RCT) effects from observational data.
We used observational data from 5,580 participants enrolled in the Cardiovascular Health Study from 1989/90 to 1999/2000. We conceptualized the cohort as an overlapping sequence of non-randomized trials. We compared multiple selection (eligible population, prevalent users, new-users) and analytic approaches (multivariable adjustment, inverse probability treatment weights, propensity score matching) to evaluate the association between statin use and 5-year change in global cognitive function, assessed using the Modified Mini-Mental State (3MS) examination.
When comparing prevalent users to non-users (N=2,772), statin use was associated with slower cognitive decline over 5 years (adjusted annual change in 3MSE =depending on the analytical methods used. Further studies that leverage natural or quasi experiments around statin use are needed to replicate our findings.
Microdermal grafting is used to regenerate color in white (hypopigmented) scars using knife cutting partially de-epithelialized skin for grafting. However, the scalp has more melanocytes, and dermabrasion can preserve more melanocytes than knife cutting during partial de-epithelialization. Our clinics refined the two procedures that we originally reported using dermabrasion, not knife cutting, to partially de-epithelialize skin, and harvesting melanocyte donor sites from the scalp, not the skin.
To evaluate the color regeneration results and complications of various microdermal grafting procedures for white scar color regeneration.
We described our use of the two technique refinements of microdermal grafting for white scars and reviewed 65 cases in which different variations of these procedures were used to treat scars on the face and forearms.
Sixty-five patients (36 forearms; 29 faces) were treated, 40 receiving one session, 23 receiving two sessions and 2 receiving three session treatments. The follow up was 6.5 months (range, 4-16). The use of both technical refinements of the procedures produced approximately 15% better color generation than the original procedures after one session of treatment and approximately 20% better than the original procedures after two sessions. The use of histological immunostaining examination showed that the dermabrasion method could preserve more melanocytes around the epidermal-dermal region. The complication rate was reduced.
The use of the scalp as the donor site and partial de-epithelialization by dermabrasion can be safely incorporated into this microdermal grafting procedure for better color regeneration of white scars.
The use of the scalp as the donor site and partial de-epithelialization by dermabrasion can be safely incorporated into this microdermal grafting procedure for better color regeneration of white scars.