Pregnancy is associated with elevation of liver enzymes in HIV-positive women on antiretroviral therapy.

The objective of this study is to assess whether pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of liver enzyme elevation (LEE) and severe LEE in HIV-positive women on antiretroviral therapy (ART)

A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Latrepirdine in Patients With Mild to Moderate Huntington Disease.

BACKGROUND Latrepirdine is an orally administered experimental small molecule that was initially developed as an antihistamine and subsequently was shown to stabilize mitochondrial membranes and function, which might be impaired in Huntington disease. OBJECTIVE To determine the effect of latrepirdine on cognition and global function in patients with mild to moderate Huntington disease. DESIGN Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. SETTING Sixty-four research centers in Australia, Europe, and North America. PATIENTS Four hundred three patients with mild to moderate Huntington disease and baseline cognitive impairment (Mini-Mental State Examination score, 10-26). INTERVENTION Latrepirdine (20 mg) vs matching placebo administered orally 3 times daily for 26 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The co-primary outcome measures were cognition as measured by the change in Mini-Mental State Examination score from baseline to week 26 and global function at week 26 as measured by the Clinician Interview-Based Impression of Change, plus carer interview, which ranges from 1 (marked improvement) to 7 (marked worsening). Secondary efficacy outcome measures included behavior, daily function, motor function, and safety. RESULTS The mean change in Mini-Mental State Examination score among participants randomized to latrepirdine (1.5-point improvement) did not differ significantly from that among participants randomized to placebo (1.3-point improvement) (P = .39). Similarly, the distribution of the Clinician Interview-Based Impression of Change, plus carer interview did not differ significantly among those randomized to latrepirdine compared with placebo (P = .84). No significant treatment effects were detected on the secondary efficacy outcome measures. The incidence of adverse events was similar between those randomized to latrepirdine (68.5%) and placebo (68.0%). CONCLUSION In patients with mild to moderate Huntington disease and cognitive impairment, treatment with latrepirdine for 6 months was safe and well tolerated but did not improve cognition or global function relative to placebo. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00920946

Secularism, fundamentalism or Catholicism: the religious composition of the United States to 2043

We provide a cohort-component projection of the religious composition of the United States, considering differences in fertility, migration, intergenerational religious transmission, and switching among 11 ethnoreligious groups. If fertility and migration trends continue, Hispanic Catholics will experience rapid growth and expand from 10 to 18 percent of the American population between 2003 and 2043. Protestants are projected to decrease from 47 to 39 percent over the same period, while Catholicism emerges as the largest religion among the youngest age cohorts. Liberal Protestants decline relative to other groups due to low fertility and losses from religious switching. Immigration drives growth among Hindus and Muslims, while low fertility and a mature age structure causes Jewish decline. The low fertility of secular Americans and the religiosity of immigrants provide a countervailing force to secularization, causing the nonreligious population share to peak before 2043

Performance of the 12-item WHODAS 2.0 in prodromal Huntington disease

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank the PREDICT-HD sites, the study participants, the National Research Roster for Huntington Disease Patients and Families, the Huntington’s Disease Society of America and the Huntington Study Group. This publication was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), through Grant 2 UL1 TR000442-06. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. This research is supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (5R01NS040068) awarded to Dr Paulsen, CHDI Foundation, Inc (A3917) awarded to Dr Paulsen, Cognitive and Functional Brain Changes in Preclinical Huntington’s Disease (HD) (5R01NS054893) awarded to Dr Paulsen, 4D Shape Analysis for Modeling Spatiotemporal Change Trajectories in Huntington’s (1U01NS082086), Functional Connectivity in Premanifest Huntington’s Disease (1U01NS082083), and Basal Ganglia Shape Analysis and Circuitry in Huntington’s Disease (1U01NS082085).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Phenotype Characterization of HD Intermediate Alleles in PREDICT-HD

BACKGROUND: Huntington disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by a CAG repeat expansion on chromosome 4. Pathology is associated with CAG repeat length. Prior studies examining people in the intermediate allele (IA) range found subtle differences in motor, cognitive, and behavioral domains compared to controls. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine baseline and longitudinal differences in motor, cognitive, behavioral, functional, and imaging outcomes between persons with CAG repeats in three ranges: normal (≤26), intermediate (27-35), and reduced penetrance (36-39). METHODS: We examined longitudinal data from 389 participants in three allele groups: 280 normal controls (NC), 21 intermediate allele [IA], and 88 reduced penetrance [RP]. We used linear mixed models to identify differences in baseline and longitudinal outcomes between groups. Three models were tested: 1) no baseline or longitudinal differences; 2) baseline differences but no longitudinal differences; and 3) baseline and longitudinal differences. RESULTS: Model 1 was the best fitting model for most outcome variables. Models 2 and 3 were best fitting for some of the variables. We found baseline and longitudinal trends of declining performance across increasing CAG repeat length groups, but no significant differences between the NC and IA groups. CONCLUSION: We did not find evidence to support differences in the IA group compared to the NC group. These findings are limited by a small IA sample size

League of Women Voters of the Huntington Area E-mail Bulletin, May, 2024

The Bulletin is published by the League, which is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy.https://mds.marshall.edu/lowv_newsletter_2020-2029/1044/thumbnail.jp

League of Women Voters of the Huntington Area Bulletin, March, 1966

The Bulletin is published by the League, which is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy.https://mds.marshall.edu/lowv_newsletters_1960_1969/1034/thumbnail.jp

League of Women Voters of the Huntington Area E-mail Bulletin, April, 2025

The periodical is published by the League, which is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy.https://mds.marshall.edu/lowv_newsletter_2020-2029/1048/thumbnail.jp

Professionalization of a nonstate actor

Can nonstate militants professionalize? That is the core question of this piece. Discussions of professionalism have spread to the state military from civilian professions such as education, medicine, and law. This piece examines whether nonstate actors exhibit the same fundamental processes found within these state-based organizations. These fundamentals are the creation of a recognized internal ethos, which acts as a collective standard for those involved. A commitment to expertise and the punishment of those who do not reach these collective expectations reinforce this ethos. To answer this question, this piece examines the development of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) during the Troubles. It highlights consistencies and inconsistencies with traditional forces and argues that groups like the PIRA can professionalize and increase their effectiveness in doing so. This widens the field of professionalism studies and provides an additional lens through which to examine nonstate groups

Traditional Knowledge of the Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus) around St. Lawrence Island, Alaska

Despite considerable research on the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) in Alaskan waters, relatively little has been conducted in the northern Bering Sea. To help fill this gap, we documented traditional knowledge of bowhead whales held by Yupik whalers of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Results include descriptions of the seasonal movements, distribution, and abundance of bowheads near St. Lawrence Island. The bowhead population appears to be increasing, as is the number of young whales seen. Changing environmental conditions are influencing distribution, leading to a somewhat earlier spring migration and a greater presence of whales near the island in winter. Hunters describe two bowhead migration paths near the island. It is unknown whether these two paths are used by two genetically different groups of whales, or whether the animals are simply responding differently to oceanographic conditions or geography. Our findings are consistent with studies of this bowhead population conducted elsewhere and suggest that additional research is needed to determine possible migratory (or genetic) differences between the two migrations of whales seen at St. Lawrence Island.Bien que de nombreuses recherches aient été effectuées sur la baleine boréale (Balaena mysticetus) dans les eaux alaskiennes, peu de recherches ont été réalisées dans le nord de la mer de Béring. Afin de combler ce vide, nous avons pris note des connaissances traditionnelles des chasseurs de baleines yupik en matière de baleines boréales sur l’île Saint-Laurent, en Alaska. Les données obtenues prennent la forme de la description des mouvements saisonniers, de la répartition et de l’abondance des baleines boréales près de l’île Saint-Laurent. La population de baleines boréales semble augmenter, comme c’est aussi le cas du nombre de jeunes baleines. L’évolution des conditions environnementales a des effets sur la répartition des baleines et engendre une migration un peu plus hâtive au printemps de même qu’une plus grande présence de baleines près de l’île l’hiver. Les chasseurs décrivent deux chemins de migration pour les baleines boréales. Nous ne savons pas si ces deux chemins sont empruntés par deux groupes de baleines différents du point de vue génétique ou si les baleines réagissent simplement différemment aux conditions océanographiques ou géographiques. Nos constatations sont conformes aux études de cette population de baleines boréales réalisées ailleurs et laissent croire que des recherches plus poussées s’avèrent nécessaires pour déterminer les différences migratoires (ou génétiques) entre les deux migrations de baleines en évidence à l’île Saint-Laurent