Kalen M. has a modest appearance, a kind voice, and an impish snicker. She spent over a decade routinely driving 80 miles to and from Farmington Correctional Center: seven years as a visiting Zen Buddhist priest and five years as a prison chaplain. Kalen often heard about the difficulties the men had upon release and […]
The Washington University COVID-19 biorepository that was jointly sponsored by The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital, the Siteman Cancer Center, and the ICTS, has been an incredible success. Use of these samples has diminished substantially over the past two years and all remaining samples are being distributed to final users by the Tissue Procurement Core. The […]
Introduction: Atherosclerosis (AT) is a progressive cardiovascular disease characterized by persistent inflammation and excessive cholesterol deposition within the artery wall and is the fundamental pathological process underlying coronary artery disease and stroke. Macrophage (MФ) foam cells play a central role in the pathogenesis of AT. Surfactant protein A (SPA) is a lipid-associating protein involved with […]
Introduction: The capability to translate research to the clinic is contingent upon the ability to study disease-causing mutations from patients in a cell type specific manner. This is most commonly accomplished through the introduction of these disease-causing mutations in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and their subsequent differentiation. However, in certain cases, editing these genes […]
Introduction: Inhibiting epigenetic modulators can transcriptionally reactivate transposable elements (TEs). These TE transcripts often generate unique peptides that can serve as novel antigens for immunotherapy. Here, we asked if TEs activated by epigenetic therapy could appreciably increase the antigen repertoire in glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer with low mutation and neoantigen burden. Methods: We treated […]
Introduction: Globally, aneurysms affect 2-5% and afflict millions in the U.S., presenting significant health threats due to their high rupture rate that can lead to death. Conventional aneurysm coil treatments grapple with problems such as adverse bodily reactions, biocompatibility issues, and a recurrence risk of about 20%, with complete occlusion failures in 10-15% of patients […]
Introduction: Implant-based breast augmentation is one of the most common cosmetic surgeries with over one million procedures performed to date using silicone implants. In 2022, 78% of breast reconstruction surgeries after mastectomy were also implant-based. Despite this popularity, over 10% of patients experience postoperative capsular contracture, potentially resulting in pain and distorted appearance. Current literature […]
Introduction: Many surgical procedures create large dead spaces prone to fluid accumulation, leading to hematomas and seromas. Drains are used to prevent these complications, but they often cause patient discomfort and have potential for infection. Our objective is to develop a biodegradable tissue adhesive with strong adhesion and biocompatibility to obliterate surgical dead space. Methods: […]
Introduction: While internal anal sphincter (IAS) Botox has been increasingly utilized in children with disordered defecation (DD), no literature regarding clinical efficacy or quality of life (QoL) influence exists. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the effect of IAS Botox as an adjunct to standard treatment for DD on patient/caregiver QoL metrics in association with corresponding […]
Introduction: Pregnant individuals with substance use disorders (SUD) are at higher risk of developing severe complications from COVID-19. Infants < 6 months are also at significant risk. Vaccination in perinatal individuals can help protect both mother and infant from severe outcomes; however, vaccine hesitancy is high. We evaluated COVID-19 vaccination rates among postpartum patients with […]