Physician Attitudes toward the Use of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for the Treatment of Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection

BACKGROUND: Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a safe and effective, yet infrequently used therapy for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI)

Maternal opioid treatment after delivery and risk of adverse infant outcomes: population based cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether maternal opioid treatment after delivery is associated with an increased risk of adverse infant outcomes. DESIGN: Population based cohort study in Ontario, Canada. 865 691 mother-infant pairs discharged from hospital alive within seven days of delivery from 1 September 2012 to 31 March 2020. Each mother who filled an opioid prescription within seven days of discharge was propensity score matched to a mother who did not. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was hospital readmission of infants for any reason within 30 days of their mother filling an opioid prescription (index date). Infant related secondary outcomes were any emergency department visit, hospital admission for all cause injury, admission to a neonatal intensive care unit, admission with resuscitation or assisted ventilation, and all cause death. RESULTS: 85 675 mothers (99.8% of the 85 852 mothers prescribed an opioid) who filled an opioid prescription within seven days of discharge after delivery were propensity score matched to 85 675 mothers who did not. Of the infants admitted to hospital within 30 days, 2962 (3.5%) were born to mothers who filled an opioid prescription compared with 3038 (3.5%) born to mothers who did not. Infants of mothers who were prescribed an opioid were no more likely to be admitted to hospital for any reason than infants of mothers who were not prescribed an opioid (hazard ratio 0.98, 95% confidence interval 0.93 to 1.03) and marginally more likely to be taken to an emergency department in the subsequent 30 days (1.04, 1.01 to 1.08), but no differences were found for any other adverse infant outcomes and there were no infant deaths. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study suggest no association between maternal opioid prescription after delivery and adverse infant outcomes, including death

Interactions between the Ig-Superfamily Proteins DIP-α and Dpr6/10 Regulate Assembly of Neural Circuits

Drosophila Dpr (21 paralogs) and DIP proteins (11 paralogs) are cell recognition molecules of the immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) that form a complex protein interaction network. DIP and Dpr proteins are expressed in a synaptic layer-specific fashion in the visual system. How interactions between these proteins regulate layer-specific synaptic circuitry is not known. Here we establish that DIP-α and its interacting partners Dpr6 and Dpr10 regulate multiple processes, including arborization within layers, synapse number, layer specificity, and cell survival. We demonstrate that heterophilic binding between Dpr6/10 and DIP-α and homophilic binding between DIP-α proteins promote interactions between processes in vivo. Knockin mutants disrupting the DIP/Dpr binding interface reveal a role for these proteins during normal development, while ectopic expression studies support an instructive role for interactions between DIPs and Dprs in circuit development. These studies support an important role for the DIP/Dpr protein interaction network in regulating cell-type-specific connectivity patterns

Summary of the 8th Annual Bladder Cancer Think Tank: Collaborating to move research forward

International audienceOBJECTIVES:The 8th Annual Bladder Cancer Think Tank (BCAN-TT) brought together a multidisciplinary group of clinicians, researchers, and patient advocates in an effort to advance bladder cancer research.METHODS AND MATERIALS:With the theme of "Collaborating to Move Research Forward," the meeting included three panel presentations and seven small working groups.RESULTS:The panel presentations and interactive discussions focused on three main areas: gender disparities, sexual dysfunction, and targeting novel pathways in bladder cancer. Small working groups also met to identify projects for the upcoming year, including: (1) improving enrollment and quality of clinical trials; (2) collecting data from multiple institutions for future research; (3) evaluating patterns of care for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer; (4) improving delivery of care for muscle-invasive disease; (5) improving quality of life for survivors; (6) addressing upper tract disease; and (7) examining the impact of health policy changes on research and treatment of bladder cancer.CONCLUSIONS:The goal of the BCAN-TT is to advance the care of patients with bladder cancer and to promote collaborative research throughout the year. The meeting provided ample opportunities for collaboration among clinicians from multiple disciplines, patients and patient advocates, and industry representative

Deregulated expression of cytokine receptor gene, CRLF2, is involved in lymphoid transformation in B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia

We report 2 novel, cryptic chromosomal abnormalities in precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL): a translocation, either t(X;14)(p22;q32) or t(Y;14)(p11;q32), in 33 patients and an interstitial deletion, either del(X)(p22.33p22.33) or del(Y)(p11.32p11.32), in 64 patients, involving the pseudoautosomal region (PAR1) of the sex chromosomes. The incidence of these abnormalities was 5% in childhood ALL (0.8% with the translocation, 4.2% with the deletion). Patients with the translocation were older (median age, 16 years), whereas the patients with the deletion were younger (median age, 4 years). The 2 abnormalities result in deregulated expression of the cytokine receptor, cytokine receptor-like factor 2, CRLF2 (also known as thymic stromal-derived lymphopoietin receptor, TSLPR). Overexpression of CRLF2 was associated with activation of the JAK-STAT pathway in cell lines and transduced primary B-cell progenitors, sustaining their proliferation and indicating a causal role of CRLF2 overexpression in lymphoid transformation. In Down syndrome (DS) ALL and 2 non-DS BCP-ALL cell lines, CRLF2 deregulation was associated with mutations of the JAK2 pseudokinase domain, suggesting oncogenic cooperation as well as highlighting a link between non-DS ALL and JAK2 mutations