Efficacy of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine as a Non-Pharmacological Approach for Alleviating Pain and Muscle Stiffness in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis and a Comparison to Conventional Medical Interventions

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a progressive neurological condition characterized by a range of debilitating symptoms, including muscle stiffness, fatigue, spasticity, tremors, and gait disturbance. Traditional treatments often face adherence challenges and escalating costs, prompting the exploration of alternative interventions like Osteopathic Manipulation Techniques (OMT). While the effectiveness of OMT in MS remains underexplored, initial studies suggest promising outcomes, such as improved mobility, reduced fatigue, and enhanced range of motion. Specifically, indirect OMT techniques like counterstain, myofascial release, and muscle energy techniques have shown efficacy in addressing muscle tension, spasticity, and gait abnormalities. Integrating OMT into MS management may offer a holistic approach to symptom alleviation, potentially reducing the reliance on symptom-managing medications. However, challenges exist in standardizing OMT practices and gathering objective data due to the subjective nature of treatment and varying scopes of practice globally. Despite these limitations, OMT presents a compelling avenue for enhancing the quality of life for individuals with MS by targeting symptoms at their root cause, thus warranting further investigation and integration into comprehensive treatment strategies

Cardiovascular Disease Prediction Modelling: A Machine Learning Approach

The objective of this project is to utilize the UCI Heart Disease dataset to identify physiological biomarkers that are highly correlated with heart disease incidence. A predictive model can then be developed using these biomarkers to estimate the likelihood of someone having or developing a heart-related condition. This study compares the efficacy of predicting cardiovascular disease as an outcome using three machine learning algorithms: Support Vector Machine, Gaussian Naive Bayes, and logistic regression. Support Vector Machine works by creating hyperplanes between data points to conduct classification. Gaussian Naive Bayes works by using the conditional probabilities of events to classify the target. In logistic regression, the independent variables included all features in the data set except for “target,” which is a categorical variable that indicates whether the patient has cardiovascular disease. The dependent variable included the “target” variable. The findings suggest that the logistic regression model had the highest accuracy in predicting cardiovascular disease. The results of this study can be beneficial to healthcare professionals in developing new preventative protocols for assessing and treating cardiovascular disease

Factors Affecting Caregiver Burden in Informal Caregivers of Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often require lifelong care to meet their daily needs, which is typically provided by informal sources like family members as well as formal caregivers from home health agencies. The persistent stress of raising a child with ASD can potentially lead to parental burnout, highlighting the importance of understanding the struggles faced by these caregivers. Clinicians must prioritize the well-being of both the individuals with ASD and their dedicated caregivers by gaining a comprehensive understanding of the challenges they encounter. Our research aims to investigate and comprehend the specific challenges faced by caregivers of individuals diagnosed with ASD. By utilizing the Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI; Novak & Guest, 1989), we sought to pinpoint the primary elements that contribute to caregiver burden and evaluate how it affects the wellbeing of caregivers. These findings can ultimately lay the foundation for targeted interventions and strategies aimed at lessening the burden on caregivers, ensuring they receive the necessary support to provide optimal care for their loved ones with ASD while maintaining their own well-being

Variables Contributing to The Psychosocial Strain on Caregivers of Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder

This research, conducted at the Rowan-Virtua Integrated Special Needs (RISN) Center, Sewell, New Jersey, explores the psychosocial strain on caregivers of patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Utilizing the Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI), we assessed multiple psychosocial dimensions, including time dependency, emotional health, development, social relationships, and physical health. Data was extracted from a total of 295 patient charts; this poster analyzes the initial sample of 99 patients by incorporating demographic variables and caregiver burden scores into a tailored database for comprehensive analysis. Our findings reveal a statistically significant correlation between the age of patients and increased developmental scores in the CBI, suggesting that older patients tend to impose higher developmental demands on caregivers. Gender analysis showed no significant correlation with CBI scores. The study underscores the persistent psychosocial challenges faced by caregivers, pointing to the necessity for enhanced supportive measures and further research into the factors influencing caregiver burden. This ongoing project continues to expand with the aim of contributing to better-informed care strategies for both ASD patients and their caregivers

RNA sequencing data from the guts of Drosophila wildtype and CG3740/nazo double mutant 20-day-old males

<p>Lipid dyshomeostasis has been implicated in a variety of diseases ranging from obesity to neurodegenerative disorders such as Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation (NBIA). Here, we uncover the physiological role of Nazo, the Drosophilamelanogaster homolog of the NBIA-mutated protein – c19orf12, whose function has been elusive. Ablation of Drosophila c19orf12 homologs leads to dysregulation of multiple lipid metabolism genes. nazo mutants exhibit markedly reduced gut lipid droplet and whole-body triglyceride contents. Consequently, they are sensitive to starvation and oxidative stress. Nazo is required for maintaining normal levels of Perilipin-2, an inhibitor of the lipase – Brummer. Concurrent knockdown of Brummer or overexpression of Perilipin-2 rescues the nazo phenotype, suggesting that this defect, at least in part, may arise from diminished Perilipin-2 on lipid droplets leading to aberrant Brummer-mediated lipolysis. Our findings potentially provide novel insights into the role of c19orf12 as a possible link between lipid dyshomeostasis and neurodegeneration, particularly in the context of NBIA.</p><p>The samples( guts) were dissected in ice-cold PBS and flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen followed by RNA extraction using a standard RNA extraction kit (Qiagen) before being processed. </p&gt

The lipid droplet phenotype in <i>nazo</i> mutant is due to dysregulated lipolysis.

(A) Confocal images of male guts from 20-day old male flies of indicated genotypes stained with BODIPY 493/503 dye (BODIPY 493/503 dye–green and DAPI–blue; Scale bar = 10μm); Concurrent enterocyte specific knockdown of the lipase Brummer rescues the reduced gut lipid droplet phenotype resulting from Nazo depletion. Similarly, overexpression of Perilipin-2, a regulator of Brummer, rescues the Nazo depletion phenotype. (B) Quantification of the percentage area occupied by lipid droplets midguts of flies of indicated genotypes (N = 5–6 males, Student’s t-test **** p-value = nazo mutants relative to wild type flies, (D) Quantification of the relative intensity of Plin2 /Actin from western blots. (Student’s t-test **** p-value = < 0.0013) (E) Model for the role of Nazo in lipid homeostasis. Nazo is a lipid droplet associated protein that maintains lipid droplets by restraining the lipase activity of Brummer. Lack of Nazo leads to increased lipolysis and reduced TAG levels resulting in increased sensitivity to oxidative stress and starvation.</p

S9 Fig -

(A) Confocal images of guts from 20-day old flies of indicated genotypes stained with BODIPY 493/503 dye (BODIPY 493/503 dye–green and DAPI–blue; Scale bar = 10μm); Concurrent Knockdown of the lipase brummer but not dob in CG740 null, nazo microRNA background using ubiquitous actin-Gal4 driver can rescue the reduced gut lipid droplet phenotype resulting from Nazo depletion. Similarly, overexpression of Perilipin-2, a regulator of Brummer, but not Sturkopf (another lipid metabolism gene) rescues the nazo depletion phenotype (B) Quantification of the percentage area occupied by lipid droplets in guts of flies of indicated genotypes (N = 5–6 males, Student’s t-test **** p-value = (TIF)</p

Fig 4 -

nazo mutants show diminished organismal triglyceride stores along with increased sensitivity to starvation and oxidative stress (A) Confocal images of fat-body of 40-day old male adults of indicated genotypes, stained with BODIPY 493/503 dye (BODIPY 493/503 dye–green and DAPI–blue; Scale bar = 10μm) (B) Quantification of percentage area covered by lipid droplets in each fat body (N = 5–6 males; Student’s t-test, p-value ***p NP-Gal4::UAS-NazoMyc; nazo/nazo. 6 males per genotype per biological replicates were used in triplicates. (Student’s t-test **** p-value = 2O2, counted every 12 hours (N = 80),Student’s t-test, p-value ***p 2O2 quantification shows that nazo mutants along with CG3740 have increased H2O2 levels relative to WT flies. 8 males per genotypes per biological replicates were used in quadruplets. (Student’s t-test **** p-value = < 0.0001. * = 0.0188).</p

S3 Fig -

(A) Guts from 20-day-old males with relish mutation or ubiquitous knockdown of dSTING by Actin-Gal4 driven dSTING RNAi do not show gut lipid droplet depletion on BODIPY 493/503 dye staining (Scale bar 10μm). (B) Quantification of the amount of food consumed by adult males in 24-hour period laced with Blue-1 food dye color shows that nazo mutants do not have feeding defects. (N = 20, Student t-test p-value ns = not significant) (C) Quantification of gut fluorescence in flies of indicated genotypes fed with fluorescent oleic acid reveals that that nazo mutants are not defective in absorption of fluorescent labeled oleic acid (N = 20, Student t-test, p-value ns = not significant). (D) Quantification of whole-body glucose from males of indicated genotypes. 8 males per genotype per biological replicates were used in triplets. (Student t-test p-value ns = not significant) (E) Nazo microRNA leads to efficient depletion of Nazo transcript. Relative expression of nazo transcripts in guts of flies ubiquitously expressing NazomircroRNA under actin-Gal4 driver. The three transgenic lines represent different insertions of the same microRNA transgene. (Student’s t-test p-value **** = (TIF)</p

S8 Fig -

Confocal images of guts from 20-day old flies harboring a GFP trap in plin-2 (LSD-2) locus stained with GFP (green), Lipid-TOX-Red, and DAPI shows reduced levels of Perilipin-2 upon Nazo depletion (Scale bar = 10μm). (TIF)</p