Citations

Measles is an RNA virus infectious disease mainly seen in children. Despite the availability of an effective vaccine against measles, it remains a health issue in children. Although it is a self-limiting disease, it becomes severe in undernourished and immune-compromised individuals. Measles infection is associated with secondary infections by opportunistic bacteria due to the immunosuppressive effects of the measles virus. Recent reports highlight that measles infection erases the already existing immune memory of various pathogens. This review covers the incidence, pathogenesis, measles variants, clinical presentations, secondary infections, elimination of measles virus on a global scale, and especially the immune responses related to measles infection.

Clinic-based headache registries collect data for a wide variety of purposes including delineating disease characteristics, longitudinal natural disease courses, headache management approaches, quality of care, treatment safety and effectiveness, factors that predict treatment response, health care resource utilization, clinician adherence to guidelines, and cost-effectiveness. Registry data are valuable for numerous stakeholders, including individuals with headache disorders and their caregivers, healthcare providers, scientists, healthcare systems, regulatory authorities, pharmaceutical companies, employers, and policymakers. This International Headache Society document may serve as guidance for developing clinic-based headache registries. Use of registry data requires a formal research protocol that includes: 1) research aims; 2) methods for data collection, harmonization, analysis, privacy, and protection; 3) methods for human subject protection; and 4) publication and dissemination plans. Depending upon their objectives, headache registries should include validated headache-specific questionnaires, patient reported outcome measures, data elements that are used consistently across studies (i.e., “common data elements”), and medical record data. Amongst other data types, registries may be linked to healthcare and pharmacy claims data, biospecimens, and neuroimaging data. Headache diagnoses should be made according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders diagnostic criteria. The data from well-designed headache registries can provide wide-ranging and novel insights into the characteristics, burden, and treatment of headache disorders and ultimately lead to improvements in the management of patients with headache.

Introduction: Although most patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP) have a benign prognosis, there is a subgroup with bileaflet MVP syndrome (biMVPS) at increased risk of idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (VF). The phenotypic features of this syndrome include myxomatous bileaflet prolapse, complex ventricular ectopy (VE), T-wave inversion in inferolateral ECG leads, and female predominance. The mechanism of ventricular arrhythmia in these patients is unknown. Methods: We reviewed our center’s ablation experience of 14 consecutive patients with biMVPS patients between February 2007 and October 2013 (n=13 female, median [range] age at index ablation 33.8 [21.0 - 58.7] years, left ventricular ejection fraction [EF] 60 [45-67] %, all ≤ moderate mitral regurgitation [MR]). We compared findings from 6 with prior sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and recurrent ICD shocks for drug refractory VF with 8 who had symptomatic drug-refractory complex VE but without prior SCA. Results: All patients with prior SCA had a predominant VE trigger for the VF. There was no difference between the two groups in EF, MR severity, VE burden, and number of different VE morphologies or foci ablated. Sites of successful VE ablation at index procedure were the LV papillary muscles (PM, n=6 anterior, 6 posterior), fascicular system (n=5 anterior, 4 posterior), mitral annulus (n=2), outflow tracts (3 RVOT, 1 LVOT), and coronary sinus (n=1). All patients had at least one LV papillary or fascicular VE focus. Purkinje origin VE was identified as the VF trigger in 6/6 SCA patients (3 from PM, 3 from LV fascicles) and only 4/8 (none from PM) non-SCA patients (p=0.04). Acute success was seen in 17/19 procedures with no complications. VF storm occurred within 24 hours of ablation in a single patient. At 310 (39 - 2099) days follow-up, 1 SCA patient received a single shock (p=0.031 compared to pre-ablation), and symptoms from VE were reduced in 12/14. Conclusions: BiMVPS is characterized by VE from the LV fascicles and papillary muscles that trigger VF. The VE is invariably multifocal and may also involve the outflow tracts and mitral annulus. Ablation of clinically dominant VE foci alleviates symptoms and reduces the number of VF-terminating ICD shocks.

AbstractBackgroundAs targeted treatments for amyloid transthyretin cardiomyopathy (ATTR‐CM) are becoming available, we aim to characterize the rates of ventricular arrhythmias (VAs), implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator (ICD) utilization, and their impact on survival.MethodsThis is a retrospective cohort study of 130 patients with ATTR‐CM diagnosed at Emory University's Cardiac Amyloidosis Center between April 2012 and September 2020. VAs were defined as nonsustained or sustained ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation.ResultsOf 130 patients, 42 had wild‐type disease (wtATTR) and 88 had hereditary variants (hATTR), most commonly Val122Ile (89%). At ATTR‐CM diagnosis, 80 (62%) patients had EF ≤ 40% consistent with systolic heart failure. Of the 69 (53%) patients with documented VAs significantly higher rates occurred among those with EF ≤ 40% compared with EF > 40% (67% vs. 28%, p = .001). Thirty‐two patients (25 hATTR, 7 wtATTR) had primary prevention ICDs implanted. Eight (25%) of these patients received appropriate ICD therapy while two (6%) experienced inappropriate therapy. Comparing patients with EF ≤ 35% with and without ICDs did not reveal any survival difference (3.3 ± 0.5 vs. 2.8 ± 0.4 years, p = .699).ConclusionsHigh rates of VAs and appropriate ICD therapy were found among a unique cohort of largely hereditary ATTR‐CM patients with a high rate of systolic heart failure.

Purpose: Transgender and gender non-binary (TGNB) individuals face numerous inequalities in healthcare and there is substantial work to be done in fostering TGNB culturally competent care in radiology. A radiology department’s online presence and use of gender-inclusive language are essential in promoting an environment of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). The naming of radiology fellowships and continuing medical education (CME) courses with terminology such as “Women’s Imaging” indicates a lack of inclusivity to TGNB patients and providers, which could result in suboptimal patient care. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of all institutions in Canada and the United States (US) offering training in Breast Imaging, Women’s Imaging, or Breast and Body Imaging. Data was collected from each institution’s radiology department website pertaining to fellowship names, EDI involvement, and CME courses. Results: 8 Canadian and 71 US radiology fellowships were identified. 75% of Canadian and 90% of US fellowships had gender-inclusive names. One (12.5%) Canadian and 29 (41%) US institutions had EDI Committees mentioned on their websites. Among institutions publicly displaying CME courses about breast/body or women’s imaging, gender-inclusive names were used in only 1 (25%) of the Canadian CME courses, compared to 81% of the US institutions. Conclusions: Most institutions in Canada and the US have gender-inclusive names for their radiology fellowships pertaining to breast and body imaging. However, there is much opportunity to and arguably the responsibility for institutions in both countries to increase the impact and visibility of their EDI efforts through creation of department-specific committees and CME courses.

In the last few decades, carcinogenesis has been extensively explored and substantial research has identified immunogenic involvement in various types of cancers. As a result, immune checkpoint blockers and other immune-based therapies were developed as novel immunotherapeutic strategies. However, despite being a promising therapeutic option, immunotherapy has significant constraints such as a high cost of treatment, unpredictable toxicity, and clinical outcomes. miRNAs are non-coding, small RNAs actively involved in modulating the immune system’s multiple signalling pathways by binding to the 3′-UTR of target genes. miRNAs possess a unique advantage in modulating multiple targets of either the same or different signalling pathways. Therefore, miRNA follows a ‘one drug multiple target’ hypothesis. Attempts are made to explore the therapeutic promise of miRNAs in cancer so that it can be transported from bench to bedside for successful immunotherapeutic results. Therefore, in the current manuscript, we discussed, in detail, the mechanism and role of miRNAs in different types of cancers relating to the immune system, its diagnostic and therapeutic aspect, the effect on immune escape, immune-checkpoint molecules, and the tumour microenvironment. We have also discussed the existing limitations, clinical success and the prospective use of miRNAs in cancer.

Abstract Background There has been an increase in overall utilization as well as improvement in overall survival (OS) after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for most hematologic disorders over time. It is not known if these changes have impacted racial/ethnic minorities equally. In this study, we describe changes in the volume and rate of autologous (auto) and allogeneic (allo) HCT and examine trends in survival in different racial/ethnic groups from 2009 to 2018. Methods Data were obtained from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) which collects patient data on most autologous and allogeneic HCT recipients in the US. We compared the number of auto and allo transplants in 4 different racial/ethnic groups: Non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs), African Americans (AAs), Hispanics and 'Others' across five 2-year cohorts from 2009 to 2018. 'Others' included Asians, Pacific Islanders and Native Americans as well as non-US residents. Since numbers in individual categories were too low to be meaningful, they were grouped together as 'Others'. Multi race individuals and those with either race or ethnicity missing were excluded. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine trends in overall mortality after auto HCT in adult patients (for NHL, HD, and MM), and allo HCT among adult and pediatric patients (for AML, ALL, lymphoma including chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and MDS/MPD) in the 4 different racial ethnic groups over 5 study time periods. These models were adjusted for sociodemographic and clinical variables (age, sex, Karnofsky/Lansky score, HCT-comorbidity index, disease, disease status, geographic region, insurance, marital status, education, distance to the transplant center, median income derived from patient's ZIP code). Graft type, donor, conditioning, GVHD prophylaxis, donor-recipient CMV match and donor-recipient sex match were included for allo HCT models. Results A total of 80,080 (59,666 NHWs, 10,683 AAs, 7,110 Hispanics) patients received an auto HCT and 60,412 (44,272 NHWs, 4,964 AAs, 7,826 Hispanics) received an allo HCTs from 2009 to 2018. The volume of auto and allo transplants increased overall, as well as within each race/ethnicity group, over the study periods. In addition, there was a significant change in the proportion of patients in each racial/ethnic group undergoing an auto HCT, with a lower proportion of NHWs and increased proportion of minorities over time (from 78%, 12% and 8% in 2009 -2010 to 71%, 15% and 10% in 2017-2018 for NHWs, AAs and Hispanics respectively; p<0.001). Similar trends were observed for allo HCT: from 76%, 8% and 12% in 2009-2010 to 71%, 9% and 14% in 2017-2018 of all allo HCTs for NHWs, AAs and Hispanics respectively; p<0.001. While there was an increase in the rate of transplants over the years across all racial/ethnic groups, the rate was higher in AAs and Hispanics as compared to NHWs (Table 1). There was no significant difference in overall mortality amongst the three main racial ethnic groups, though there was decrease in mortality over time for auto HCT and adult allo HCT patients. In the allo HCT pediatric group, AAs had higher overall mortality as compared to NHWs across all time periods. (Table 2) Figure 1 shows temporal trends in two-year survival by race and ethnicity. Conclusions This large population-based study shows an improvement in the rates and survival of auto and allo HCT in adults over time. Changes in the proportion of different racial/ethnic groups undergoing HCT are higher than rate of change of population growth (3% decline for NHWs, no change in AAs and 2% increase in Hispanics from 2010 to 2019 per William H. Frey analysis of census population estimates released June 25, 2020). Progress is reflected in higher rates of increase in racial/ ethnic minority groups and comparable survival across the racial ethnic groups in our cohort as compared to two prior registry studies (Baker et al. JCO 2005 and Baker et al. BBMT 2009) for most HCT patients. However, in pediatric patients undergoing allo HCT, the gap in survival between NHWs and AAs has continued to persist over the years. With increasing diversity of the US population, we need to strengthen our efforts for improving access to, and outcomes of HCT to narrow the gap for all patients requiring HCT, irrespective of their sociodemographic characteristics. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Wood: Koneksa Health: Consultancy, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Teladoc: Consultancy; Pfizer: Research Funding. Ailawadhi: Karyopharm: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy; GSK: Consultancy, Research Funding; Xencor: Research Funding; Cellectar: Research Funding; Medimmune: Research Funding; Ascentage: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Amgen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Research Funding; BeiGene, Ltd.: Consultancy; Sanofi: Consultancy; Oncopeptides: Consultancy. Saber: Govt. COI: Other.