Current Project Publications

CONCLUSIONS: Using Predicting Risk of CVD Events 30-year predicted total CVD risk identified a subgroup of younger adults with low 10-year and high 30-year risk who may benefit from earlier preventive interventions. Hypertension was the leading contributor to CVD in this risk category.

CONCLUSIONS: Moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity was low across RUCA categories with rural-urban differences in PA driven by LIPA and SB. Educational attainment modified the association between rurality and LIPA, suggesting education may play a role in rural-urban differences in PA.

CONCLUSIONS: WC and WHR identifies misclassification of conventional BMI categories and reclassifies CVD risk across normal weight, overweight, and obesity, adding diagnostic and prognostic value.

INTRODUCTION: The impact of incremental dietary changes on cognitive health is inadequately understood. We investigated dietary modifications and subsequent cognitive impairment in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke study.

Polygenic risk score (PRS) methods are evolving, and the benefit of adding functional annotations to the variant weights has been especially promising. However, less attention has been given to how the linkage disequilibrium (LD) reference panel used affects the score performance.

Neighborhood factors, encompassing social, built, and natural environments, may explain geographic differences in the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on populations. Data from pre-existing national, population-based cohorts could be leveraged to better understand how pre-existing conditions (both individual and neighborhood) contribute to risk factor development and disease progression.

OBJECTIVE: With the expected demographic shift toward those ≥65 years of age in the United States, late onset epilepsy (LOE) poses a significant public health issue, yet it has been historically understudied. We are undertaking an effort in the Epilepsy-Cog study to pool individual participant data from six United States-based prospective cohort studies.

Recent studies suggest that attending a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) versus attending a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) may improve later-life health outcomes for Black adults. No studies have evaluated differences in all-cause mortality.

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BACKGROUND: Studies linking mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variants to cognition yielded inconsistent findings, and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

CONCLUSIONS: Older adults with LUTS have subtle differences in cognitive function, especially in new learning, verbal memory, and verbal fluency/executive function that should be considered in treatment decisions.

Stroke risk may be affected by the level of development in a neighborhood, which may in turn affect access to health-promoting environmental features, or exposure to noise and air pollution. This study investigated development intensity as a potential influence on stroke risk, using data from the United States Geological Survey National Land Cover Database (NLCD).

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Blood-based biomarkers offer a widely available, scalable, and noninvasive method to study neurodegeneration. However, the association between blood-based biomarkers of neurodegeneration and long-term risk of mortality, as well as dementia-specific mortality in a racially diverse cohort, remains understudied.

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CONCLUSIONS: Higher BMI was robustly associated with increased risk for most outcomes, particularly HF and AF, even after adjusting for traditional risk factors. Observed sex differences in the relative hazard of higher BMI categories and stroke, total CVD, and all-cause mortality suggest potential differences in underlying biological mechanisms.

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CONCLUSIONS: Higher BMI was robustly associated with increased risk for most outcomes, particularly HF and AF, even after adjusting for traditional risk factors. Observed sex differences in the relative hazard of higher BMI categories and stroke, total CVD, and all-cause mortality suggest potential differences in underlying biological mechanisms.

CONCLUSIONS: In this large cohort of patients with high-grade asymptomatic carotid stenosis, higher end-diastolic flow velocities correlated with greater TTP delays, supporting a definition of hemodynamically significant stenosis. Our findings have implications for the management of asymptomatic carotid stenosis, which will be tested in the CREST-H study.

CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with high-grade stenosis without recent symptoms, the addition of stenting led to a lower risk of a composite of perioperative stroke or death or ipsilateral stroke within 4 years than intensive medical management alone. Carotid endarterectomy did not lead to a significant benefit.

CONCLUSION: The association of maternal educational attainment on GA-specific IMR among late preterm and term infants differs by race and ethnicity. Disparities in IMR persist among Black infants despite educational attainment, while Hispanic infants had lower IMR at lower levels of educational attainment compared with White infants.

CONCLUSIONS: MVP prevalence aligned with population-based epidemiologic studies. PREVENT risk category may differentiate individuals at higher risk for MVP and for other VHD.

CONCLUSIONS: Site-generated, core laboratory-interpreted ultrasound examination provides a reliable way of characterizing carotid plaque morphological features across studies performed at many CREST-2 sites. The initial cohort of patients randomized in CREST-2 had heterogeneity of plaque features despite causing high-grade stenosis.

CONCLUSION: We describe an ongoing posttrial follow-up study of stroke prevention following IMM with or without carotid revascularization. The study relies on screening for stroke endpoints through periodic telephonic interviews and validation of endpoints through medical record review and vascular neurology video visits.

CONCLUSION: The registry has facilitated assembly of a high‐performing team of stent operators for the CREST‐2 trial. With continued support of the many operators, we anticipate completing enrollment by the summer of 2024.

CONCLUSION: Results from C3FIT will help to determine which model of care yields better outcomes for patients and their caregivers, which will build scientific evidence about post-stroke recovery and has the potential to impact post-stroke care across the country.

CONCLUSIONS: Stent design influences periprocedural stroke or death in carotid stenting. Closed-cell stents are associated with a lower event rate when treating primary atherosclerosis, but not in the setting of restenosis.

The authors present a comprehensive review on the history and development of oncolytic herpes simplex viral therapies for malignant glioma with a focus on mechanisms of delivery in prior and ongoing clinical trials.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Preterm infants, critically ill infants with AKI, and infants with critical cardiac disease are at increased risk of CKD. We recommend (1) risk assessment at the time of discharge, (2) clinician and family education, and (3) kidney health assessments based on the degree of risk.

Effective health communication between healthcare providers and patients is a cornerstone of quality healthcare. It underpins trust, comprehension, and patient-informed care.

Achieving optimal cardiovascular health in rural populations can be challenging for several reasons including decreased access to care with limited availability of imaging modalities, specialist physicians, and other important health care team members. Therefore, innovative solutions are needed to optimize health care and address cardiovascular health disparities in rural areas.