JNC

Clinical trials of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV infection have established its efficacy as upwards of 99%. Despite this, the effectiveness of this medication has been shown to be diminished by individual factors, such as medication adherence. We completed a systematic review to identify and describe interventions to improve oral PrEP adherence. Overall, 16 articles were located. Two of the articles reported on results from the same trial and were collapsed for analysis, bringing the total to 15 studies...

Promoting adherence to HIV care among persons with HIV (PWH) is a key component to address the rising HIV epidemic in the Philippines. HIV care adherence is a complex process that may change throughout an individual's life course or "journey" living with HIV. This qualitative study aimed to explore the HIV care adherence journey of PWH. Maximum variation sampling was used in selecting 12 PWH and 3 health care providers for in-depth online interviews analyzed using thematic analysis. The four themes that emerged to describe the HIV care adherence journey are integration, relation, navigation, and manifestation...

Health inequities for those living with HIV have persisted for key populations in the United States and globally. To address these inequities, in accordance with Goals 2 and 3 of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States, the evidence indicates that the therapeutic alliance could be effective in addressing impediments that undermine HIV outcomes. Nonetheless, the therapeutic alliance relies on health care providers, particularly nurses, reporting burnout and moral injury, further exacerbated by COVID-19...

Although changes in dietary sodium intake alter blood pressure (BP) in salt-sensitive individuals, pathophysiological mechanisms are still unknown. It has been reported that uromodulin is involved in sodium tubular transport, and genome-wide association studies pointed to UMOD gene as one of the most important gene candidates for arterial hypertension. Our aim was to analyze urinary uromodulin, salt intake and BP in 326 young middle-aged subjects (mean age 36±8 years, 49.4% male). In a subgroup of 175 individuals, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and echocardiogram were performed...

The neurovascular unit, composed of vascular endothelium, vascular smooth muscle, extracellular matrix components, pericytes, astrocytes, microglia, and neurons, allows the highly regulated exchange of molecules and the limited trafficking of cells to the brain through coordinated signaling activity. The passage of peripheral immune cells to the brain parenchyma is observed when there is clear damage to the barriers of this neurovascular unit, as occurs in traumatic brain injury. The possibility of leukocyte infiltration to the brain in neurodegenerative conditions has been proposed...

Couple-based HIV interventions that increase uptake of two or more effective biomedical HIV prevention methods may be a promising HIV prevention strategy for young Black and Latino heterosexual couples. We conducted in-depth, semi-structured individual interviews with 23 Black and Latino adolescent and young adult heterosexual couples that explored their attitudes toward using combination HIV prevention methods (CHPMs). A qualitative hybrid thematic analysis approach was used to identify key themes. Themes included: (a) attitudes that encouraged uptake-CHPMs increased assurance of safety against HIV/sexually transmitted infections and (b) attitudes that impeded uptake-CHPMs are too much to do and are not appropriate for serious relationships...

De novo variants in the NaV 1.2 voltage-gated sodium channel gene SCN2A are among the major causes of developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEE). Based on their biophysical impact on channel conductance and gating, SCN2A DEE variants can be classified into gain-of-function (GoF) or loss-of-function (LoF). Clinical and functional data have linked early seizure onset DEE to the GoF SCN2A variants, whereas late seizure onset DEE is associated with the loss of SCN2A function. This study aims to assess the impact of GoF and LoF SCN2A variants on cultured neuronal network activity and explore their modulation by selected antiseizure medications (ASM)...

Though previous studies revealed the potential associations of elevated levels of plasma fibrinogen with dementia, there is still limited understanding regarding the influence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers on these associations. We sought to investigate the interrelationships among fibrinogen, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarkers, and cognition in non-demented adults. We included 1996 non-demented adults from the Chinese Alzheimer's Biomarker and LifestylE (CABLE) study and 337 from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database...

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been associated with changes in the processing of internal body signals, known as interoception. Changes in brain structure, particularly in the insula, are thought to underlie impaired interoception. As studies specifically investigating this association are largely lacking, this analysis takes an approach that compares meta-analytic results on interoception with recently published meta-analytic results on gray matter reduction in AUD. A systematic literature search identified 25 eligible interoception studies...

As persistent elevation of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) promotes fibrosis of muscles and joints and accelerates disease progression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), we investigated whether inhibition of TGF-β would be effective against both exacerbations. The effects of TGF-β and its inhibitor on myoblasts and fibroblasts were tested in vitro and confirmed in vivo, and the dual action of a TGF-β inhibitor in ameliorating the pathogenic role of TGF-β in ALS mice was identified...

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe and multifactorial disease, with onset usually in young adulthood, which follows a progressive course throughout life. Replicated epidemiological studies have suggested inflammatory mechanisms and neuroimmune risk factors as primary contributors to the onset and development of BD. While not all patients display overt markers of inflammation, significant evidence suggests that aberrant immune signaling contributes to all stages of the disease and seems to be mood phase dependent, likely explaining the heterogeneity of findings observed in this population...

Stressful life events contribute to the onset of major depressive disorder (MDD). We recently demonstrated abnormalities in ubiquitination in the pathophysiology of MDD. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. We investigated the involvement of the ubiquitination system-mediated glutamatergic dysfunction in social impairment induced by chronic social defeat stress (CSDS). Adult C57BL/6J mice were exposed to aggressor ICR male mice for 10 consecutive days. Social impairment was induced by CSDS in the social interaction test 1 days after the last stress exposure...

Hermona Soreq holds a Hebrew University Slesinger Chair in Molecular Neuroscience and is among the founding members of the Edmond and Lily Safra Center of Brain Sciences (ELSC). Soreq's research (H-impact: 98) focuses on acetylcholine (ACh)-related pathways and combines RNA-sequencing technologies, transgenic engineering, and molecular biology tests with in-depth analysis approaches. Her work addresses microRNAs (miRs) and transfer RNA fragments (tRFs) which have rapidly acquired wide recognition as global controllers of regulatory processes in healthy and diseased brain and body, including anxiety, inflammation, and cognition...

Dysregulation of synaptic glutamate levels can lead to excitotoxicity such as that observed in stroke, traumatic brain injury, and epilepsy. The role of increased intracellular calcium (Ca2+ ) in the development of excitotoxicity is well established. However, less is known regarding the impact of glutamate on endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-Ca2+ -mediated processes such as proteostasis. To investigate this, we expressed a secreted ER Ca2+ modulated protein (SERCaMP) in primary cortical neurons to monitor exodosis, a phenomenon whereby ER calcium depletion causes the secretion of ER-resident proteins that perform essential functions to the ER and the cell...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms. Motor symptoms include bradykinesia, resting tremors, muscular rigidity, and postural instability, while non-motor symptoms include cognitive impairments, mood disturbances, sleep disturbances, autonomic dysfunction, and sensory abnormalities. Some of these symptoms may be influenced by the proper hippocampus functioning, including adult neurogenesis. Doublecortin (DCX) is a microtubule-associated protein that plays a pivotal role in the development and differentiation of migrating neurons...

The mitochondrial translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO) has been linked to functions from steroidogenesis to regulation of cellular metabolism and is an attractive therapeutic target for chronic CNS inflammation. Studies in Leydig cells and microglia indicate that TSPO function may vary between cells depending on their specialized roles. Astrocytes are critical for providing trophic and metabolic support in the brain. Recent work has highlighted that TSPO expression increases in astrocytes under inflamed conditions and may drive astrocyte reactivity...

Xanthurenic acid (XA) raises a growing multidisciplinary interest based upon its oxidizing properties, its ability to complex certain metal ions, and its detoxifier capacity of 3-hydroxykynurenine (3-HK), its brain precursor. However, little is still known about the role and mechanisms of action of XA in the central nervous system (CNS). Therefore, many research groups have recently investigated XA and its central functions extensively. The present paper critically reviews and discusses all major data related to XA properties and neuronal activities to contribute to the improvement of the current knowledge on XA's central roles and mechanisms of action...

Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders worldwide, affecting approximately 280 million people, with probably much higher unrecorded cases. Depression is associated with symptoms such as anhedonia, feelings of hopelessness, sleep disturbances, and even suicidal thoughts. Tragically, more than 700 000 people commit suicide each year. Although depression has been studied for many decades, the exact mechanisms that lead to depression are still unknown, and available treatments only help a fraction of patients...

Depressive disorders are a common and debilitating form of mental illness with significant impacts on individuals and society. Despite the high prevalence, the underlying causes and mechanisms of depressive disorders are still poorly understood. Neurochemical systems, including serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, have been implicated in the development and perpetuation of depressive symptoms. Current treatments for depression target these neuromodulator systems, but there is a need for a better understanding of their role in order to develop more effective treatments...

BACKGROUND: Clinical competence is critical to evaluating nursing students' capacity to undertake professional nursing practice in a safe and professional environment without any bias of examiners. Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is used as an assessment method of students' clinical practice skills. AIMS: The aim of this study is to assess the nursing faculty members' perception toward OSCE to be used as an assessment method of nursing students in their performing of nursing procedures, as well as explore the advantages and disadvantages of OSCE as perceived by study participants...