Category: Nevin Manimala

N Engl J Med. 2025 Sep 11;393(10):994-1003. doi: 10.1056/NEJMsa2415987.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In 2019, seven county correctional facilities (jails) in Massachusetts initiated pilot programs to provide all Food and Drug Administration-approved medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD).

METHODS: This observational study used linked state data to examine postrelease MOUD receipt, overdose, death, and reincarceration among persons with probable opioid use disorder (OUD) in carceral settings who did or did not receive MOUD from these programs from September 1, 2019, through December 31, 2020. Log-binomial and proportional-hazards models were adjusted for propensity-score weights and baseline covariates that remained imbalanced after propensity-score weighting.

RESULTS: The study cohort included 6400 persons with probable OUD: 2711 (42.4%) received MOUD in jail and 3689 (57.6%) did not. Among persons treated with MOUD in jail, 67.9% received buprenorphine, 25.7% received methadone, and 6.5% received naltrexone. Treated persons were more likely than those not treated to be White (75.4% vs. 58.1%), to be sentenced (31.6% vs. 13.2%), to be receiving MOUD at jail entry (73.7% vs. 17.1%), and to receive MOUD during the first 30 days after community release (60.2% vs. 17.6%; adjusted relative risk, 1.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.38 to 1.50). Only 50.4% of MOUD recipients engaged in MOUD treatment for 75% of the first 90 days after release, and 57.5% were receiving MOUD at 180 days. Receipt of MOUD in jail, as compared with no such receipt, was associated with lower postrelease risks of fatal overdose (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.64), nonfatal overdose (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.68 to 0.85), death from any cause (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.35 to 0.56), and reincarceration (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.81 to 0.94). The incidence of hospitalizations did not differ substantially between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Receipt of MOUD in jail was associated with an increased likelihood of postrelease MOUD initiation and decreased risks of overdose, death from any cause, and reincarceration. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and others.).

PMID:40929634 | DOI:10.1056/NEJMsa2415987

Pain Med Case Rep. 2023 Sep;7(5):275-280.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an increasing health concern in both those with and without previous military experience. There is a growing body of evidence for the use of stellate ganglion block (SGB), a procedure performed to treat pain conditions and cardiac arrythmias, in the treatment of PTSD. There have been multiple clinical studies, randomized and nonrandomized, that have demonstrated positive results for the use of SGB.

CASE REPORT: In this case series, we present 3 patients with military background and treatment resistant PTSD who underwent SGBs. All 3 patients experienced a decrease in their clinical symptoms and improved quality of life.

CONCLUSION: Patients with refractory PTSD may benefit from SGB for treatment of their symptoms. PTSD symptoms may be sympathetically mediated, lending to the effect of SGB for symptom management. Data from recent clinical trials demonstrate a statistically significant reduction in PTSD symptoms when compared to sham procedures.

PMID:40929591

JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2025 Sep 10;11:e67115. doi: 10.2196/67115.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The Brazilian project, launched in 2021, aims to establish a nationwide injury registry that systematically collects detailed information on incidents and individuals across the country, regardless of injury severity. The registry integrates information from prehospital and hospital care, various health systems lacking interoperability, and data from sectors such as firefighters and police. Its primary aim is to enhance health surveillance by providing timely, high-quality information that guides prevention strategies and informs policymaking. In addition, the project seeks to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with injuries.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the effects of injury registry data on policymaking, hospitalization rates or duration, and mortality.

METHODS: The systematic review followed PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, with a protocol registered in PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, CRD42023481528). A total of 5 databases were searched in November 2023, with an update conducted in March 2024, incorporating reference lists from the studies included. Two reviewers independently screened records, extracted data, and assessed methodological quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, resolving disagreements with a third reviewer. Studies were eligible if they reported results related to the implementation and use of injury or trauma registry data for at least one outcome of interest, while those based on other sources were excluded. Synthesis of findings was presented in tables, and the observed results were reported as number or percentage differences.

RESULTS: Out of 9100 studies retrieved, 3951 were excluded due to duplication, leaving 5149 for selection, with 15 full texts reviewed. Only 5 studies met the inclusion criteria, highlighting a notable scarcity of research on the effects or results of registry data on injury outcomes. It is important to note that the studies included reflect correlations rather than causalities, and there are currently no publications on impact. The findings suggest that injury and trauma registries have the potential to inform policymaking, which can lead to enhanced health outcomes. One study noted a 3-day reduction in intensive care unit stay (from 16 to 13 days; P<.05) and a 4% reduction in expected hospital mortality (from 17.5% to 21.5%) for patients with an Injury Severity Score ≥16, while another showed a 42% annual decrease in traffic injury hospital admissions (from 45 to 16). Significant methodological heterogeneity and the small number of studies limited the feasibility of a meta-analysis.

CONCLUSIONS: Establishing an injury registry in Brazil presents a significant opportunity to enhance health outcomes through informed policymaking. While it is crucial to set appropriate expectations regarding its effects on morbidity and mortality, particularly concerning the causality and transportability of the findings to the Brazilian context, its role in facilitating preventive measures and improving surveillance capabilities remains valuable.

PMID:40929579 | DOI:10.2196/67115

Cereb Cortex. 2025 Aug 1;35(8):bhaf245. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf245.

ABSTRACT

This Editorial shares with the neuroscience community the signs of progress in making Cerebral Cortex more attractive. Furthermore, the journal commemorates the Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM), introduced by Karl Friston and his collaborators three decades ago. Over time, SPM has had a profound impact on the way of thinking in neuroscience. The journal offers a magnificent fireworks display of reflections on the past, present and future of SPM. Yet, the debate extends far beyond SPM. It touches on crucial issues such as how to interpret the growing body of neuroimaging data and explain it in a biologically plausible way that echoes the nature of brain function.

PMID:40928750 | DOI:10.1093/cercor/bhaf245

Cereb Cortex. 2025 Aug 1;35(8):bhaf240. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf240.

ABSTRACT

Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) adheres to rigorous methodological standards, including: spatial normalization, inter-subject averaging, voxel-wise contrasts, and coordinate reporting. This rigor ensures that a thematically diverse literature is amenable to meta-analysis. BrainMap is a community database (www.brainmap.org; www.portal.brainmap.org) launched contemporaneously with SPM with the goal of efficiently sharing the results and methods of the literature compliant with SPM standards. The SPM-BrainMap symbiosis has motivated the development of coordinate-based meta-analytic methods and a substantial literature of secondary analyses. Collectively this corpus constitutes system-level probabilistic maps and models of the human brain, which details its functional organization, network architecture, and alterations by disease.

PMID:40928749 | DOI:10.1093/cercor/bhaf240

Cereb Cortex. 2025 Aug 1;35(8):bhaf234. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf234.

ABSTRACT

This paper marks the 30th anniversary of the Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) software and the journal Cerebral Cortex: two modest milestones that mark the inception of cognitive neuroscience. We take this opportunity to reflect on SPM, a generation after its introduction. Each of the authors of this paper-who represent a small selection of the many contributors to SPM-were asked to consider lessons learned, what has gone well, and where there is room for improvement in future development. We hope that this review of SPM-and its aspirations-will provide some context for current imaging neuroscience and foreground some potential directions for the future of the field.

PMID:40928747 | DOI:10.1093/cercor/bhaf234

Cereb Cortex. 2025 Aug 1;35(8):bhaf243. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf243.

ABSTRACT

Statistical Parametric Mapping is a widely used package of software for brain image analysis. It has also been the vehicle for sustained theoretical innovation and global impact in cognitive neuroscience. What can we learn from its success as it reaches middle age?

PMID:40928746 | DOI:10.1093/cercor/bhaf243

Clin Anat. 2025 Sep 10. doi: 10.1002/ca.70025. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This research sought to examine the prevalence and severity of hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI) in the Chicagoland anatomical body donor population. The study further aimed to elucidate potential demographic risk factors for HFI, including sex, age at death, and structural vulnerability index (SVI), as well as any common comorbidities, as gleaned from death certificates. HFI is an irregular bony overgrowth of the endocranial surface of the frontal bone. It is most often observed in postmenopausal women or in individuals with growth hormone disorders. This work investigated the distribution of HFI in a predominantly geriatric anatomical body donor population (n_total = 235, n_female = 127 n_male = 108; 19-104 years), using a macroscopic classification system that considers both the morphological appearance and the size of the affected area. Relationships between HFI and variables of interest were assessed through various non-parametric statistical tests and binomial logistic regression. While HFI was not associated with age-at-death or SVI, results indicate that there were significant sex differences in both HFI prevalence and severity. Females demonstrated higher rates of HFI across all severity types, whereas in males, HFI lesions were much less common and mostly limited to the earliest stages of disease progression. HFI was also associated with neoplasms as a cause of death. Among cancer deaths, individuals with hormone-sensitive cancers had a higher prevalence of HFI, but this difference was not statistically significant. While the causal pathways of these relationships remain unclear, the association with cancer may potentially explain the reportedly higher HFI prevalence rates in modern compared to past populations. Moreover, this research has bioarcheological and forensic implications as HFI is sometimes used to infer age and sex, given its association with older-aged females.

PMID:40927897 | DOI:10.1002/ca.70025

Am J Biol Anthropol. 2025 Sep;188(1):e70121. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.70121.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This study explores cranial morphological variation and population continuity in the Carpathian Basin from the 1st to 13th centuries CE. It focuses on assessing biological differences and similarities across major archaeological periods, with particular emphasis on the Avar, Hungarian Conquest, and Árpádian Age populations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 1,597 adult crania (864 males, 733 females) were analyzed using six neurocranial measurements. Morphological distances between populations were calculated using Canberra distance. Canonical Variate Analysis (CVA), Multidimensional Scaling (MDS), and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were applied to evaluate intergroup differentiation.

RESULTS: The analyses revealed significant morphological variation between most archaeological groups. Avars-especially the Late Avar population-formed distinct morphological patterns, primarily along the first canonical axis influenced by cranial breadth and height. Males showed statistically significant differences between Early and Late Avar groups, whereas the corresponding comparison among females did not reach significance. The strongest separations occurred between Avars and the Gepidic, Sarmatian, and Transition groups, consistent with CVA and MDS findings.

DISCUSSION: The results suggest population continuity in some cases (e.g., Early-Late Avar, Conquest-Árpádian Age), but also highlight evidence of population restructuring, particularly among males. Recent genetic research supports these findings, indicating patrilineal descent and local kinship cohesion within Avar communities. This study underscores the value of the integration of cranial morphometrics with multivariate statistical approaches to reconstruct complex demographic histories in early medieval Central Europe.

PMID:40927894 | DOI:10.1002/ajpa.70121

Health Inf Manag. 2025 Sep 10:18333583251362536. doi: 10.1177/18333583251362536. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The success of disease registry systems (DRSs) depends on developing software that aligns with the registry’s specific needs.

OBJECTIVE: This study focuses on localising the Checklist with Items for Patient Registry sOftware Systems (CIPROS) to facilitate the DRS assessment.

METHOD: This applied and cross-sectional study was carried out in 2023 in six phases. The first phase involved translating the CIPROS checklist. In the second phase, experts validated the face validity of the checklist. The third phase focused on calculating the content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) for each item. In the fourth phase, the items removed earlier were reassessed. In the fifth phase, definitions for each item were proposed. The sixth phase encompassed calculating the reliability of the localised checklist. For the data analysis, descriptive statistics were computed using SPSS software.

RESULTS: The original checklist included 12 aspects and 72 items. After evaluating the CVR and CVI indicators, 40 items were validated. By reassessing the deleted items, the localised checklist was created, composed of 56 items categorised into 11 aspects.

CONCLUSION: The localised tool would support the authorities responsible for DRSs when making software purchasing decisions. Additionally, it would be advantageous for policymakers by helping them establish the criteria for DRS assessment.Implications for health information management practice:Localising the registry assessment tool will facilitate its use; providing descriptions of assessment tool items leads to a uniform understanding and ease of use of the tool.

PMID:40927886 | DOI:10.1177/18333583251362536