UW Neurological Surgery Recent PubMed Publications

Attenuated whole organism vaccines targeting the malaria liver stage reliably confer sterile immunity. These vaccines completely protect female mice from infection, but protection in male mice remains unproven. We discover that male mice vaccinated with prime-and-trap, a whole organism-based vaccine strategy, exhibit poorer protection against Plasmodium sporozoite challenge than females. We investigate this sex difference, and identify vaccinated males have fewer hepatic memory CD8^(+) T cells...

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CIS43LS is a long-acting monoclonal antibody specific for the Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein expressed on sporozoites. We previously reported that CIS43LS is protective against P. falciparum infection as detected by thick blood smear (TBS; primary endpoint) in a phase 2 double-blind randomized trial involving 330 healthy Malian adults receiving placebo or a single intravenous infusion of 10 mg kg^(-1) or 40 mg kg^(-1) of CIS43LS (1:1:1). At enrollment, all participants received...

Toxin-antidote systems are selfish genetic elements composed of a linked toxin and antidote. The peel-1 zeel-1 toxin-antidote system in C. elegans consists of a transmembrane toxin protein PEEL-1 which acts cell autonomously to kill cells. Here we investigate the molecular mechanism of PEEL-1 toxicity. We find that PEEL-1 requires a small membrane protein, PMPL-1, for toxicity. Together, PEEL-1 and PMPL-1 are sufficient for toxicity in a heterologous system, HEK293T cells, and cause cell...

CONCLUSIONS: Patients who received lumbar ESS return to work relatively rapidly compared to the literature on traditional open lumbar procedures. The type of ESS (as dictated by the underlying pathology), as well as patient occupational physical activity requirements impact postoperative RTW.

The clinical severity of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is commonly classified according to the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) sum score as mild (13-15), moderate (9-12), or severe (3-8). A new approach is needed for characterising TBI more accurately. In 2022, the US National Institutes of Health-National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke launched an international initiative to address this need, with a focus on the acute phase of injury. Six working groups of TBI experts, implementation...

CONCLUSION: This study highlights the limitations of medical management for IIAs and underscores the need for early surgical or endovascular intervention in high-risk patients. Outcome predictors aid clinical decision-making, optimizing patient management. Further research is needed to standardize management guidelines for IIAs.

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Neuroimaging screening and surveillance is one of the first frontline diagnostic tools leveraged in the acute assessment (first 24 h postinjury) of patients suspected to have traumatic brain injury (TBI). While imaging, in particular computed tomography, is used almost universally in emergency departments worldwide to evaluate possible features of TBI, there is no currently agreed-upon reporting system, standard terminology, or framework to contextualize brain imaging findings with other...

CONCLUSION: Silent corticotroph PitNETs have high rates of extrasellar growth, often limiting the ability to achieve gross total resection. Recurrence/progression is common, occurring in 13% to 17% of cases within two years, necessitating the need for close postoperative follow-up.

This study investigated the hepatoprotective mechanisms of Volvariella volvacea fruiting body polypeptide (VVFP, 1-3 kDa) against acute alcohol-induced liver injury using multi-omics approaches. Male ICR mice pretreated with VVFP (100-400 mg/kg) showed significantly prolonged alcohol tolerance latency (p < 0.05) and accelerated sobriety recovery compared to controls. Integrated transcriptomics and metabolomics revealed VVFP's dual regulatory effects: (1) transcriptional regulation of 36...

Mitochondrial transplantation is an emerging therapeutic approach for ischemia-reperfusion injury, offering the potential to restore cellular function through the engraftment of extracellular mitochondria. The successful clinical application of this strategy depends on the delivery of metabolically active mitochondria, yet the impact of circulating therapeutic agents on mitochondrial viability remains poorly understood. This study evaluates the effects of five clinically relevant agents commonly...

BackgroundWe investigated racial disparities in radiologic and clinical outcomes of patients after middle meningeal artery embolization (MMAE) for chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) with or without evacuation surgery.MethodsThis multicenter retrospective study includes consecutive patients who underwent MMAE across 11 institutions in North America (10 in the United States and 1 in Canada). Patients were stratified using self-reported racial data. Outcomes of interest were complications, treatment...

BackgroundMiddle meningeal artery embolization (MMAE) is a promising treatment for chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH). Cancer patients are at risk for cSDH due to thrombocytopenia. The efficacy of MMAE in this population has not been studied.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective analysis of 76 patients who underwent 94 MMAEs for cSDH at 12 tertiary centers across North America and Europe between February 2018 and January 2023. We analyzed patient demographics, clinical profiles, procedural details,...

Quiescence cancer stem-like cells may play key roles in promoting tumor cell heterogeneity and recurrence for many tumors, including glioblastoma (GBM). Here we show that the protein acetyltransferase KAT5 is a key regulator of transcriptional, epigenetic, and proliferative heterogeneity impacting transitions into G0-like states in GBM. KAT5 activity suppresses the emergence of quiescent subpopulations with neurodevelopmental progenitor characteristics, while promoting GBM stem-like cell (GSC)...

The objective of this study was to characterize the 24-h blood pressure response following an acute hot-water immersion exposure, specifically examining the effect of immersion duration and water temperature, in people with hypertension. Sixteen participants (11 females; 62 ± 7 y; 31.7 ± 7.5 kg.m^(-2)) with hypertension (taking at least one anti-hypertensive medication) completed four randomized sessions: 1) 20-min and 2) 40-min hot-water immersion (40°C), 3) 40-min thermoneutral immersion...

A subset of long-duration spaceflight astronauts at the International Space Station has been documented to develop spaceflight associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS). Researchers have sought to understand SANS by quantification of ocular and brain structural changes thought to be associated with weightlessness induced headward fluid shift. Brain tissue shift and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) redistribution has been observed as measured by MRI on return to Earth, and not fully quantified. To improve...

Adherence to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) among young sexual and gender minority men who have sex with men (YSGMMSM) has been suboptimal for reducing HIV incidence in the United States. Using the syndemic framework, the present study characterized how neighborhood disadvantage and clustering of two or more syndemic conditions (depression, anxiety, polysubstance use, history of arrest, BIPOC racial identity, unemployment) was related to PrEP non-adherence among 212 YSGMMSM aged 16-24. This...

CONCLUSIONS: The study underscores the feasibility of FPMSCs for clinical uses under GMP conditions and emphasizes the importance of optimized culture protocols to improve cell proliferation and potency in MSC-based therapies.