Effects of galcanezumab on acute medication use and health care resource utilization in treatment-resistant migraine: results from randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, conquer

IntroductionAcute headache medication use (AHM) and health care resource utilization (HCRU) in patients with protocol-defined treatment-resistant migraine treated with galcanezumab (GMB).Material and methodsIn the 3-month double-blind (DB) study phase, patients with episodic or chronic migraine and 2-4 migraine preventive category failures due to lack of effectiveness or safety/tolerability, received GMB 120 mg/month (following initial 240 mg loading dose) or placebo (PBO); an optional 3-month open-label (OL) GMB treatment followed. AHM was self-reported daily with eDiary and paper-forms. HCRU was reported at baseline (retrospectively for previous 6 months) and at monthly visits.ResultsOf the 462 patients (GMB n=232, PBO n=230), baseline mean (±SD) days/month of AHM was 12.3 (±6.0); 44.8% had AHM overuse. The percentage of patients reporting migraine-specific HCRU at baseline in the GMB and PBO groups were respectively: 40% and 50% healthcare-professional visits (HCP), 6% and 5% emergency-room (ER) visits, and in each, 2% hospitalizations. LS mean reductions from baseline in the mean number of days/month with AHM in the DB was greater for the GMB group (3.9 to 4.5 days) compared to PBO (0.4 to 1.0 days) in each of the first 3 months; change difference, -3.1 to -3.5, p<0.001 at each month during Months 1-3. During theOL, reductions from baseline ranged -4.7 to -5.3 days; prior PBO group reductions were comparable to that observed in GMB. During the DB, reductions from baseline of migraine-specific HCP (per 100 person- years) were numerically greater with GMB than PBO (-215.5 vs -155.3); during OL, the prior PBO group reductions (-212.9) were similar to GMB (-222.6). For both groups, migraine-specific ER visits were <13 and hospitalizations were <2 per 100 person-years during the DB and OL.ConclusionsGMB-treated patients with treatment-resistant migraine had clinically meaningful reductions in days with AHM and numerically greater reductions in migraine-specific HCP. The abstract was previously presented at EHF (2020)

Mice Lacking Delta -6 Desaturase Provide New Insight Into the Essentiality of Highly Unsaturated Fatty Acids

155 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008.This knockout mouse presents itself as an ideal model for the continued investigation of HUFA including AA, DHA and DPA.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

Mice Lacking Delta -6 Desaturase Provide New Insight Into the Essentiality of Highly Unsaturated Fatty Acids

155 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008.This knockout mouse presents itself as an ideal model for the continued investigation of HUFA including AA, DHA and DPA.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

Epidemiology of pediatric trauma during the COVID-19 pandemic shelter in place

The first COVID-19 cases occurred in the US in January of 2020, leading to the implementation of shelter in place. This study seeks to define the impact of shelter in place on the epidemiology of pediatric trauma. We examined pediatric trauma admissions at 5 Level 1 and 1 Level 2 US pediatric trauma centers between January 1 and June 30, 2017–2020. Demographic and injury data were compared between pre– and post–shelter in place patient cohorts. A total of 8772 pediatric trauma activations were reviewed. There was a 13% decrease in trauma volume in 2020, with a nadir at 16 days following implementation of shelter in place. Injury severity scores were higher in the post–shelter in place cohort. The incidence of nonmotorized vehicle accidents and gunshot wounds increased in the post–shelter in place cohort. We found an overall decrease in pediatric trauma volume following shelter in place. However, injuries tended to be more severe. Our findings help inform targeted injury prevention campaigns during future pandemics. •Shelter-in-place policies led to a 13% decrease in overall pediatric trauma volume.•Biggest decrease occurred in the 30 days surrounding the start of shelter in place.•Nonmotorized vehicle accidents and gunshot wounds increased with shelter in place.•Injury severity was higher among the shelter-in-place cohort compared to controls.•The incidence of nonaccidental trauma did not change with shelter in place

Docosahexaenoic acid supplementation fully restores fertility and spermatogenesis in male delta-6 desaturase-null mice

Delta-6 desaturase-null mice (−/−) are unable to synthesize highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs): arachidonic acid (AA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and n6-docosapentaenoic acid (DPAn6). The −/− males exhibit infertility and arrest of spermatogenesis at late spermiogenesis. To determine which HUFA is essential for spermiogenesis, a diet supplemented with either 0.2% (w/w) AA or DHA was fed to wild-type (+/+) and −/− males at weaning until 16 weeks of age (n = 3–5). A breeding success rate of DHA-supplemented −/− was comparable to +/+. DHA-fed −/− showed normal sperm counts and spermiogenesis. Dietary AA was less effective in restoring fertility, sperm count, and spermiogenesis than DHA. Testis fatty acid analysis showed restored DHA in DHA-fed −/−, but DPAn6 remained depleted. In AA-fed −/−, AA was restored at the +/+ level, and 22:4n6, an AA elongated product, accumulated in testis. Cholesta-3,5-diene was present in testis of +/+ and DHA-fed −/−, whereas it diminished in −/− and AA-fed −/−, suggesting impaired sterol metabolism in these groups. Expression of spermiogenesis marker genes was largely normal in all groups. In conclusion, DHA was capable of restoring all observed impairment in male reproduction, whereas 22:4n6 formed from dietary AA may act as an inferior substitute for DHA

Like-minded sources on Facebook are prevalent but not polarizing.

Many critics raise concerns about the prevalence of echo chambers on social media and their potential role in increasing political polarization. However, the lack of available data and the challenges of conducting large-scale field experiments have made it difficult to assess the scope of the problem1,2. Here we present data from 2020 for the entire population of active adult Facebook users in the USA showing that content from like-minded sources constitutes the majority of what people see on the platform, although political information and news represent only a small fraction of these exposures. To evaluate a potential response to concerns about the effects of echo chambers, we conducted a multi-wave field experiment on Facebook among 23,377 users for whom we reduced exposure to content from like-minded sources during the 2020 US presidential election by about one-third. We found that the intervention increased their exposure to content from cross-cutting&nbsp;sources and decreased exposure to uncivil language, but had no measurable effects on eight preregistered attitudinal measures such as affective polarization, ideological extremity, candidate evaluations and belief in false claims. These precisely estimated results suggest that although exposure to&nbsp;content from like-minded&nbsp;sources on social media is common, reducing its prevalence during the 2020 US presidential election did not correspondingly reduce polarization in beliefs or attitudes

The effects of Facebook and Instagram on the 2020 election: A deactivation experiment.

We study the effect of Facebook and Instagram access on political beliefs, attitudes, and behavior by randomizing a subset of 19,857 Facebook users and 15,585 Instagram users to deactivate their accounts for 6 wk before the 2020 U.S. election. We report four key findings. First, both Facebook and Instagram deactivation reduced an index of political participation (driven mainly by reduced participation online). Second, Facebook deactivation had no significant effect on an index of knowledge, but secondary analyses suggest that it reduced knowledge of general news while possibly also decreasing belief in misinformation circulating online. Third, Facebook deactivation may have reduced self-reported net votes for Trump, though this effect does not meet our preregistered significance threshold. Finally, the effects of both Facebook and Instagram deactivation on affective and issue polarization, perceived legitimacy of the election, candidate favorability, and voter turnout were all precisely estimated and close to zero