richard young

OBJECTIVE: Preclinical work suggests that excess glucocorticoids and reduced cortical γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) may affect sex-dependent differences in brain regions implicated in stress regulation and depressive phenotypes. The authors sought to address a critical gap in knowledge, namely, how stress circuitry is functionally affected by glucocorticoids and GABA in current or remitted major depressive disorder (MDD). METHODS: Multimodal imaging data were collected from 130 young adults (ages 18-25), of whom 44 had current MDD, 42 had remitted MDD, and 44 were healthy comparison subjects...

BACKGROUND: Preventable harms from medications are significant threats to patient safety in community settings, especially among ambulatory older adults on multiple prescription medications. Patients may partner with primary care professionals by taking on active roles in decisions, learning the basics of medication self-management, and working with community resources. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the impact of a set of patient partnership tools that redesign primary care encounters to encourage and empower patients to make more effective use of those encounters to improve medication safety...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Anterior basal encephaloceles are considered a rare entity and are often associated with midline cerebral abnormalities. Those with a large skull base defect and herniation of brain parenchyma in the neonate or young infant present unique challenges for surgical management. METHODS: We analyzed the neurosurgical administrative and operative databases between 1986 and 2022 to determine clinical presentation, operative approach, and outcome of basal encephaloceles...

BACKGROUND: Uganda has approximately 1.2 million people aged 15-64 years living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Previous studies have shown a higher prevalence of premalignant cervical lesions among HIV-positive women than among HIV-negative women. Additionally, HIV-infected women are more likely to have human papilloma virus (HPV) infection progress to cancer than women not infected with HIV. We determined the prevalence of premalignant cervical lesions and their association with HIV infection among women attending a cervical cancer screening clinic at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) in southwestern Uganda...

Lead exposure can have serious consequences for health and development. The neurological and behavioral effects of lead are considered irreversible. Young children are particularly vulnerable to lead poisoning. In 2020, Pure Earth and UNICEF estimated that one in three children had elevated blood lead levels above 5 µg/dL. The sources of lead exposure vary around the world and can range from household products, such as spices or foodware, to environmental pollution from nearby industries. The aim of this study was to analyze common products from markets in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) for their lead content to determine whether they are plausible sources of exposure...

The prevalence of hepatitis B and delta viruses (HBV/HDV) among people who use drugs (PWUD) remains largely unknown. In the context of one Philadelphia-based harm reduction organization (HRO), this study aimed to assess HBV/HDV prevalence and facilitate linkage to care. Participants completed a demographic HBV/HDV risk factor survey and were screened for HBV and reflexively for HDV if positive for HBV surface antigen or isolated core antibody. Fisher's exact tests and regression were used to understand relationships between risks and HBV blood markers...

Non-melanomatous cutaneous spindle cell neoplasms are a rare group of malignancies that present a diagnostic challenge, and for which there is a lack of consensus on how to best manage patients with advanced disease and only limited reports of immune-checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) responses. In this study, we performed a single-center retrospective review of treatment outcomes for all advanced non-melanomatous cutaneous spindle cell neoplasms treated with ICIs. Blinded histopathology reviews occurred to confirm each diagnosis...

Infants, children and young people with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions often experience acute, transient pain episodes known as breakthrough pain. There is currently no established way to assess breakthrough pain in paediatric palliative care. Anecdotal evidence suggests that it is frequently underdiagnosed and undertreated, resulting in reduced quality of life. The development of a standardised paediatric breakthrough pain assessment, based on healthcare professionals' insights, could improve patient outcomes...

BACKGROUND: There are significant clinical, policy and societal concerns about the impact on young people (YP), from admission to psychiatric wards far from home. However, research evidence is scarce. AIMS: To investigate the impact of at-distance admissions to general adolescent units, from the perspectives of YP, parents/carers and healthcare professionals (HCPs) including service commissioners, to inform clinical practice, service development and policy. METHOD: Semistructured interviews with purposive samples of YP aged 13-17 years (n=28) and parents/carers (n=19) across five large regions in England, and a national sample of HCPs (n=51), were analysed using a framework approach...

BACKGROUND: Primary sclerosing cholangitis is a progressive inflammatory liver disease characterized by biliary and liver fibrosis. Vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1) is important in the inflammatory process driving liver fibrosis. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of VAP-1 blockade with a monoclonal antibody (timolumab, BTT1023) in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. METHODS: BUTEO was a prospective, single-arm, open-label, multicenter, phase II trial, conducted in 6 centers in the United Kingdom...

Respiratory diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are common in England with the worst respiratory outcomes observed in the most deprived areas. There is limited published research to establish whether the rate of oral corticosteroid (OCS) prescribing for asthma and COPD is linked to levels of deprivation. This study carried out a multivariable regression analysis of publicly available data and found that deprivation is associated with a statistically significant increase in the proportion of patients receiving an OCS prescription for asthma or COPD at a GP practice level (p < 0...

Ortega, DG, Housh, TJ, Smith, RW, Arnett, JE, Neltner, TJ, Schmidt, RJ, and Johnson, GO. The effects of anchoring a fatiguing forearm flexion task to a high versus low rating of perceived exertion on torque and neuromuscular responses. J Strength Cond Res 38(5): e219-e225, 2024-This study examined the torque and neuromuscular responses following sustained, isometric, forearm flexion tasks anchored to 2 ratings of perceived exertion (RPE). Nine men (mean ± SD: age = 21.0 ± 2.4 years; height = 179.5 ± 5...

INTRODUCTION: Based on a large body of previous research suggesting that smell loss was a predictor of COVID-19, we investigated the ability of SCENTinel®, a newly validated rapid olfactory test that assesses odor detection, intensity, and identification, to predict SARS-CoV-2 infection in a community sample. METHODS: Between April 5, 2021, and July 5, 2022, 1,979 individuals took one SCENTinel® test, completed at least one physician-ordered SARS-CoV-2 PCR test, and endorsed a list of self-reported symptoms...

INTRODUCTION: Suicide death remains a significantly rarer event among Latina/o/x populations compared to non-Latina/o/x populations. However, the reasons why Latina/o/x communities experience relatively lower suicide rates are not fully understood. Critical gaps exist in the examination of Latina/o/x suicide death, especially in rural settings, where suicide death by firearm is historically more common within non-Latina/o/x populations. METHOD: We tested whether the prevalence of Latina/o/x firearm suicide was meaningfully different in urban and rural environments and from non-Latino/a/x decedents when controlling for age, sex, and a social deprivation metric, the Area Deprivation Index...

Cells have evolved mechanisms to distribute ∼10 billion protein molecules to subcellular compartments where diverse proteins involved in shared functions must efficiently assemble. Such assembly is presumed to unfold as a result of specific interactions between biomolecules; however, recent evidence suggests that distinctive chemical environments within subcellular compartments may also play an important role. Here, we test the hypothesis that protein groups with shared functions also share codes that guide them to compartment destinations...

BACKGROUND: The present study evaluated the long-term safety and tolerability of rimegepant, an orally administered small molecule calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist, in people with migraine. METHODS: This multicenter, long-term, open-label safety study included adults (≥18 years) with ≥1 year history of migraine who were sequentially enrolled into three groups: participants in the first two groups had either 2-8 or 9-14 moderate to severe migraine attacks per month by history and treated as needed ( pro re nata [PRN]) with one rimegepant 75 mg oral tablet up to once per calendar day for 52 weeks (PRN 2-8 and PRN 9-14); a third group, included to collect safety data during higher-frequency dosing, had 4-14 moderate to severe migraine attacks per month by history and who took one rimegepant tablet every other day as scheduled dosing plus PRN dosing of one rimegepant tablet for migraine attacks of any severity on nonscheduled dosing days for 12 weeks (every other day (EOD) + PRN)...

BACKGROUND: Studies conducted in Western societies have identified variables associated with chronic pain, but few have done so across cultures. Our study aimed to clarify the relationship between specific mental health markers (i.e., depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], perceived stress) as well as specific protective factors (i.e., social support and self-efficacy) related to physical pain among university students across non-WEIRD and WEIRD samples. METHOD: A total of 188 university students (131 women and 57 men) were included in the study...

Human parechoviruses (PeV-A) are increasingly being recognized as a cause of infection in neonates and young infants, leading to a spectrum of clinical manifestations ranging from mild gastrointestinal and respiratory illnesses to severe sepsis and meningitis. However, the host factors required for parechovirus entry and infection remain poorly characterized. Here, using genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 loss-of-function screens, we identify myeloid-associated differentiation marker (MYADM) as a host factor essential for the entry of several human parechovirus genotypes including PeV-A1, PeV-A2 and PeV-A3...

The high noise level of dynamic Positron Emission Tomography (PET) images degrades the quality of parametric images. In this study, we aim to improve the quality and quantitative accuracy of Ki images by utilizing deep learning techniques to reduce the noise in dynamic PET images. We propose a novel denoising technique, Population-based Deep Image Prior (PDIP), which integrates population-based prior information into the optimization process of Deep Image Prior (DIP). Specifically, the population-based prior image is generated from a supervised denoising model that is trained on a prompts-matched static PET dataset comprising 100 clinical studies...

PURPOSE: Corneal ulcers frequently result in ocular morbidity and may lead to permanent visual impairment if severe or untreated. This study aims to evaluate the association of patient factors and ocular exam findings on clinical outcomes for patients diagnosed with a corneal ulcer at a tertiary care center in the Bronx, New York. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was conducted on all ambulatory and admitted patients diagnosed with a corneal ulcer (identified using ICD-10 code H16...