UW Neurological Surgery Recent PubMed Publications

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been identified as a treatment for diseases ranging from depression to rheumatoid arthritis. Despite widespread interest, the modulation of both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines using a chronically implanted VNS device in rodents has not yet been demonstrated. Existing neuromodulation devices typically utilize application-specific integrated circuits for miniaturization. Here, we present a neuromodulation system comprising a passive, wirelessly driven,...

Synapse formation and function are coordinated spatially and temporally by a host of synaptic proteins that regulate neuronal signaling, synapse specificity, and plasticity; many of which are implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders. Members of the C1q/TNF superfamily function as synaptic organizers, shaping synapse assembly and maintenance. Among them, C1QL3 plays a putative role in trans-synaptic adhesion and modulation of synaptic strength, but the lack of a reliable antibody to detect it has...

Neuropathological analyses benefit from spatially precise volumetric reconstructions that enhance anatomical delineation and improve morphometric accuracy. Prior work has shown the feasibility of reconstructing 3D brain volumes from 2D dissection photographs. However, these outputs often exhibit coarse, overly smooth reconstructions of structures, especially under high anisotropy (i.e., reconstructions from thick slabs). Here, we introduce a computationally efficient super-resolution step that...

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CONCLUSIONS: Key to ensuring any program's successful adoption, implementation, and sustainment is understanding the costs and resources required. Costing implementation in the "real world" is both an art and a science; teams must make decisions about give-and-take related to precision and burden on participants and the research team while still producing generalizable estimates. Transdisciplinary costing guidance can address these issues and provide details and resources to help pragmatically...

Rapamycin (Rapa) is a potent inhibitor of the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) with possible applications in multiple diseases; however, it and its analogues exhibit low solubility, variable bioavailability, and dose-limiting side effects. To engineer a long-release carrier, we employ Rapa's cognate receptor (FKBP12) to modulate its solubility, rate of release, and cellular uptake. To target its internalization into cancer cells under stress with an unfolded protein response...

CONCLUSIONS: Analgosedation adjustment predominates as the treatment of choice for forme fruste CLICHÉs despite scarce literature support regarding mechanism, efficacy or influence on outcome. Frequent use of agent combinations confounds use of treatments (e.g. therapeutic intensity level) as a descriptive variable. Although details regarding clinical reasoning underlying intervention choices are lacking, it appears that intervention choice may be influenced by expediency outside of...

The post-traumatic confusional state (PTCS) is a period of recovery that follows traumatic brain injury (TBI), characterized by post-traumatic amnesia (PTA), impairments in attention, and behavioral dysregulation, among other clinical symptoms. The pathophysiology of PTCS is unknown, contributing to the absence of neurobiologically based diagnostic criteria, prognostic models, and treatments. The workgroup conducted a scoping review of the literature in MEDLINE/PubMed database and manual...

The 12th Aging Research and Drug Discovery (ARDD) meeting convened at the University of Copenhagen, presenting a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in the biology of aging. A central theme across sessions was the field's gradual shift from descriptive, correlational studies to mechanistic understandings enabling the engineering of personalized therapeutic interventions aimed at extending human healthspan. Key discussions highlighted the convergence of multiple disciplines....

CONCLUSION: Immunotherapy involving autologous dendritic cells pulsed with tumor lysate and combined with anti-PD-1 antibody might be an effective treatment for DHG. Treatment failure in our tumor model is associated with increased expression of genes implicated in remodeling extracellular matrix in the tumor microenvironment.

CONCLUSIONS: Both endoscopic and transcranial approaches yielded comparable visual outcomes in pediatric craniopharyngioma surgery. Rates of gross total resection were higher in the endoscopic cohort, suggesting that surgical approach should remain anatomy-driven, with either technique capable of preserving visual function in appropriately selected patients.

Structured acquisition and analysis of individual-level health data in the context of biomedical research can yield novel results with potential clinical or personal relevance to participants. While approaches to returning individual-level research results to study participants in civilian contexts have received some attention, unique ethical considerations informing approaches to sharing military research results, and particularly in research studies involving active-duty Special Operations...

CONCLUSION: Early BPV was not associated with GOSE-TBI at 6 months or most blood-based brain injury biomarkers. However, higher 24-hour SSD may be associated with increased in-hospital mortality. The prognostic value of BPV warrants confirmation in future prospective studies.

Our ability to advance public health and policy responses to cannabis legalization is limited by a lack of geographic data on cannabis retailers across states and over time. This study evaluated the feasibility and utility of using Google Street View (GSV) to: 1) visually verify cannabis retailers locations extracted from websites and (2) create a historical retailer list. We extracted and deduplicated cannabis retailer addresses from 6 websites advertising medical and adult use cannabis...

Reprogrammed cancer cell proliferation requires high levels of protein synthesis and concomitant folding and processing. N-terminal methionine amino peptidases (MetAP) are a class of enzymes that cleave the initiator methionine amino acids to allow for peptide maturation and co-translational processing. The protein MetAP2 is upregulated in cancer cells and has been explored as a potential anticancer target. Cellular perturbations that impinge on protein synthesis activate cellular stress...

CONCLUSIONS: At 2024 pricing, and from a U.S. hospital perspective, ES/MMAE for cSDH may not be cost-effective within a 180-day horizon, but PSA suggests a greater favorability towards ES/MMAE at higher willingness-to-pay thresholds. The positive net QALY benefit with adjunctive MMAE for cSDH suggests a small but meaningful quality-of-life improvement, preventing complete ES dominance. Cost-reduction strategies, longer time frames, and validated cSDH-specific patient-reported outcome measures...

Chromosomal translocations leading to the fusion of tropomyosin receptor kinases (TRKs) with diverse partner proteins have been identified as oncogenic drivers in many adult and pediatric cancers. While first-generation TRK kinase inhibitors, such as entrectinib and larotrectinib, have shown positive responses in TRK fusion-positive cancers, resistance mutations against these inhibitors in the kinase domain limit their efficacy. Second-generation inhibitors are in clinical evaluation,...

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight how children and parents contextualize the importance of IBD management within their lives, and draw attention to the need for personalized, patient-centered care and meaningful shared decision-making.

This narrative review aims to explore the relationship between glioma and nutrition throughout stages of treatment and recovery. Gliomas are aggressive brain tumors that significantly impair quality of life and present treatment challenges. There has been a growing interest regarding the gut-brain axis and the microbiome, particularly their roles in modulating immune function and influencing the response to cancer treatment. This review examines how specific nutritional approaches may assist...

Bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) is characterized by exposed necrotic bone that often progresses with increasing pain and impaired quality of life. Zoledronate, the most potent and widely used bisphosphonate, has been strongly associated with BRONJ development following invasive dental procedures. Given the rising incidence of BRONJ, understanding and implementing effective preventive strategies have become imperative. Biomaterials based on synthetic hydroxyapatite and...