UW Neurological Surgery Recent PubMed Publications

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Cervical cancer, one of the most common gynecological cancers in the United States, is highly preventable due to the papanicoloau (Pap) test with human papillomavirus (HPV) co-screening. However, there is increasing evidence of low adherence to screening guidelines by health care providers (HCP). The purpose of this study was to identify and improve health care providers' attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge of the most updated screening guidelines and to provide them with an evidence-based...

The statin drug target, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR), is strongly linked to body mass index (BMI), yet how HMGCR influences BMI is not understood. In mammals, studies of peripheral HMGCR have not clearly identified a role in BMI maintenance and, despite considerable central nervous system expression, a function for central HMGCR has not been determined. Similar to mammals, Hmgcr is highly expressed in the Drosophila melanogaster brain. Therefore, genetic and pharmacological...

High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) constitutes the majority of all ovarian cancer cases and has staggering rates of both refractory and recurrent disease. While most patients respond to the initial treatment with paclitaxel and platinum-based drugs, up to 25% do not, and of the remaining that do, 75% experience disease recurrence within the subsequent two years. Intrinsic resistance in refractory cases is driven by environmental stressors like tumor hypoxia which alter the tumor...

We present a 4-year-old who suffered blunt abdominal trauma leading to Chance fractures to the lumbar spine, bucket-handle injuries to the ileum and descending colon, and an aortic intimal injury leading to occlusion of the infrarenal aorta with extension to the bifurcation. Her vascular injuries were managed by endarterectomy of the intimal injury, thrombectomy of the distal aorta and bilateral iliac arteries using a Fogarty catheter, and patch angioplasty of the infrarenal aorta using bovine...

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The Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOSE) is a functional outcome measure intended to place individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) into one of eight broad levels of injury-related disability. This simplicity is not always optimal, particularly when more granular assessment of individuals' injury recovery is desired. However, the GOSE is customarily assessed using a multi-question interview that contains richer information than is reflected in the GOSE score. Using data from the...

While serum alkaline phosphatase activity has become a routine clinical measurement, we have found that physicians' knowledge of the pathophysiology of this enzyme is almost solely limited to the concept that an elevated serum alkaline phosphatase suggests disease of liver or bone. For example, physicians at all levels of training had no understanding of such basic physiological information as the function of alkaline phosphatase in the liver or how this enzyme is eliminated from the serum....

CONCLUSION: A simulation model indicates that initiation of medications for opioid use disorder and linkage policies among detox patients in Massachusetts, USA could prevent fatal opioid overdoses in the opioid use disorder population and would be cost-effective from a health-care sector perspective.

In order for the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to make an equivalence determination for a foreign meat, poultry or egg products inspection procedure that differs from FSIS inspection procedures (an Individual Sanitary Measure or ISM), a country must demonstrate objectively that its food safety inspection system provides the same level of public health protection as the FSIS inspection system. To evaluate microbiological testing data...

The content and neural representation of autobiographical memories change over time; however, these changes are poorly understood. We hypothesize that the content of memories becomes semanticized, while the neural representation moves from mesial to cortical structures. We conducted an fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) study on the effects of time on autobiographical memory retrieval. Twenty healthy participants were cued by a selection of photographs that represented distinct...

CONCLUSIONS: The authors report the third iteration of their quality improvement protocol to reduce the risk of shunt infection. Compliance with the protocol was high. These updated data suggest that the incorporation of AICs is an important, modifiable infection prevention measure. Vancomycin irrigation was also identified as a protective factor but requires further study to better understand its role in preventing shunt infection.

BACKGROUND: Factors such as age, pre-injury health, and injury severity, account for less than 35% of outcome variability in traumatic brain injury (TBI). While some residual outcome variability may be attributable to genetic factors, published candidate gene association studies have often been underpowered and subject to publication bias.

There is a spectrum of approaches to neurotoxicological science from high-throughput in vitro cell-based assays, through a variety of experimental animal models to human epidemiological and clinical studies. Each level of analysis has its own advantages and limitations. Experimental animal models give essential information for neurobehavioral toxicology, providing cause-and-effect information regarding risks of neurobehavioral dysfunction caused by toxicant exposure. Human epidemiological and...

CONCLUSIONS: Compared with admission HH score, GCS 24 hours after admission (or 24 h after aneurysm repair) is more likely to be associated with in-hospital mortality after aSAH.

CONCLUSIONS: An e-Delphi consensus study has produced the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network opioid use disorder core outcomes set (version 1) for opioid use disorder treatment efficacy and effectiveness research.

After the spinal cord injury, inflammation and cytotoxicity cause further damage to neural cells. The progression of this secondary injury might be reduced by the administration of anti-inflammatory drugs. To allow the local delivery of such drugs while minimizing dural opening, we have created a polypyrrole (PPy)-coated microneedle array using a microscale three-dimensional (3D) printing technology that facilitates electronically controlled encapsulation and the transdural release of drugs. PPy...

Breathing is composed of multiple, distinct behaviors that are bidirectionally regulated through autonomic and voluntary mechanisms. One behavioral component is the sigh, which serves distinct physiological and psychological roles. In two accompanying reviews we will discuss these roles. The present review focuses on the physiological function, where sighs play a critical role in controlling lung compliance by preventing the collapse of alveoli. Implicated in the generation of sighs and normal...

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CONCLUSIONS: Using criteria recommended by the international iNPH guidelines, the authors found that evaluation and treatment of iNPH are safe and effective. Testing with CSF drainage and treatment with shunt surgery are associated with a high rate of sustained improvement and a low rate of complications for iNPH in the 1st year after shunt surgery. Patients who had undergone shunt surgery for iNPH experienced improvement in gait, cognitive function, bladder symptoms, depression, and functional...