Cortical mapping of the infraspinatus muscle in healthy individuals

Background : While cortical representations of intrinsic hand muscles have been extensively studied in healthy individuals, little is known about the representation of proximal upper limb muscles. Improving our understanding of normal shoulder function is important, given that shoulder musculoskeletal disorders affect approximately 20% of the population and are suspected to involve changes in central motor representations. The purpose of the study is to describe the motor representation (motor evoked potentials (MEP) amplitude at the hotspot, map area, normalized map volume and center of gravity) of the infraspinatus muscle in healthy individuals, and to explore the potential influence of hand dominance on this representation (i.e. symmetry of the excitability and of the location of motor map between sides), as well as the effect of age and gender on motor excitability. Results : Fifteen healthy participants took part in this study. No significant asymmetry between sides was observed for motor excitability (p = 0.14), map area (p = 0.73) and normalized map volume (p = 0.34). Moreover, no side x intensity interaction was found (p = 0.54), indicating similar stimulus response properties. No difference between sides was found in the location of infraspinatus motor representation, either in the mediolateral or anteroposterior axis (p > 0.10). Neither age nor gender influenced aMT (p > 0.58) or MEP size (p > 0.61). Conclusions : As the cortical representation of infraspinatus muscles was found to be symmetric between sides, both in terms of excitability and location, comparisons between the intact and affected side could be performed in clinical studies, regardless of whether the dominant or non-dominant side is affected. The next step will be to characterize corticospinal excitability and map parameters in populations with shoulder disorders

Insights from quantitative analysis and mathematical modelling on the proposed who 2030 goals for soil-transmitted helminths [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]

Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) are a group of parasitic worms that infect humans, causing a wide spectrum of disease, notably anaemia, growth retardation, and delayed cognitive development. The three main STHs are Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and hookworm (Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale). Approximately 1.5 billion people are infected with STHs worldwide. The World Health Organization goal for 2030 is morbidity control, defined as reaching <2% prevalence of medium-to-high intensity infections in preschool-age children and school-age children (SAC). Treatment guidelines for achieving this goal have been recommended. The Neglected Tropical Diseases Modelling Consortium has developed mathematical and statistical models to quantify, predict, and evaluate the impact of control measures on STHs. These models show that the morbidity target can be achieved following current guidelines in moderate prevalence settings (20-50% in SAC). In high prevalence settings, semi-annual preventive chemotherapy (PC) ideally including adults, or at least women of reproductive age, is required. For T. trichiura, dual therapy with albendazole and ivermectin is required. In general, stopping PC is not possible without infection resurgence, unless effective measures for improved access to water, hygiene, and sanitation have been implemented, or elimination of transmission has been achieved. Current diagnostic methods are based on egg counts in stool samples, but these are known to have poor sensitivity at low prevalence levels. A target threshold for novel, more sensitive diagnostics should be defined relative to currently preferred diagnostics (Kato-Katz). Our analyses identify the extent of systematic non-access to treatment and the individual patterns of compliance over multiple rounds of treatment as the biggest unknowns and the main impediment to reaching the target. Moreover, the link between morbidity and infection intensity has not been fully elucidated. By providing more insights on all the above, we aim to inform discussions on the goals and treatment guidelines for STHs

The Human Phenotype Ontology in 2024: phenotypes around the world.

The Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) is a widely used resource that comprehensively organizes and defines the phenotypic features of human disease, enabling computational inference and supporting genomic and phenotypic analyses through semantic similarity and machine learning algorithms. The HPO has widespread applications in clinical diagnostics and translational research, including genomic diagnostics, gene-disease discovery, and cohort analytics. In recent years, groups around the world have developed translations of the HPO from English to other languages, and the HPO browser has been internationalized, allowing users to view HPO term labels and in many cases synonyms and definitions in ten languages in addition to English. Since our last report, a total of 2239 new HPO terms and 49235 new HPO annotations were developed, many in collaboration with external groups in the fields of psychiatry, arthrogryposis, immunology and cardiology. The Medical Action Ontology (MAxO) is a new effort to model treatments and other measures taken for clinical management. Finally, the HPO consortium is contributing to efforts to integrate the HPO and the GA4GH Phenopacket Schema into electronic health records (EHRs) with the goal of more standardized and computable integration of rare disease data in EHRs

CYTOCHROME P-450-MEDIATED 0-DEMETHYLATION OF TWO ELLIPTICINE DERIVATIVES Differential Effect of the Murine Ah Locus Phenotype

Send rep#{241}nt requests to: P. Lecoint

International Patient Summary Terminology

SNOMED CT is a comprehensive medical ontology used in health care sectors across the world covering a wide range of concepts that support diversity at the point of healthcare. However, not all these concepts are needed for every use case; it is better to concentrate on those parts that apply to the particular application while preserving the meaning of relevant concepts. This paper considers the application of a novel subontology extraction method to create a new resource, called the IPS terminology, which functions as a standalone ontology with the same features as SNOMED CT, but is designed for cross-border patient care. The IPS terminology has been released for free use under an open license, with the intention of promoting interoperability of health information worldwide

Opioid Use Disorder Curriculum: Preclerkship Pharmacology Case-Based Learning Session

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, over 93,000 Americans lost their lives to a preventable overdose. Medications for opioid use disorder (OUD) have been shown to decrease mortality in OUD but are underutilized. Through this case-based learning exercise, first-year medical students applied physiologic and pharmacologic principles to the diagnosis and treatment of OUD. Faculty facilitated a case discussion over a 1-hour large-group case-based learning (CBL) session. Facilitators utilized PowerPoint slides to illustrate graphs and figures while discussing the case. To evaluate students on the CBL learning objectives, three pharmacology exam questions were administered; students also evaluated the CBL's effectiveness in meeting educational objectives on three Likert-scale questions and via open-ended feedback. First-year medical students ( = 200) completed the CBL. The mean score on the exam questions was 91%. Students agreed or strongly agreed that the CBL was an effective way to learn pharmacology principles (69%), that it reinforced pharmacologic fundamentals (70%), and that it showed how pharmacology fundamentals were important in the real world of clinical medicine (86%). Qualitative feedback on the CBL was generally positive, including satisfaction with the small-group setting and practical applications of pharmacology to clinical practice. This CBL exercise contains content critical for preparing students to combat the modern opioid epidemic. The exercise provides an opportunity for learners to review fundamental pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic principles so as to ready them for clinical clerkships and beyond