BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE

At the 2024 ACAAI Annual Scientific Meeting, 2 studies revealed widespread mismanagement of anaphylaxis, with only 14% of patients accurately identifying symptoms requiring epinephrine. Additionally, 40% of EMS protocols lacked neurologic symptoms in anaphylaxis definitions, emphasizing the need for better education and updated protocols.

Extended lymph node surgery in bladder cancer patients does not improve survival or reduce disease recurrence risk compared to standard surgery, and increases complication risk, according to an NCI-supported clinical trial.

National Allied Health Professions Week, Nov. 3-10, honors diverse health roles supporting U.S. healthcare. Established post-WWII, 'allied health' gained prominence with the 1966 Allied Health Professions Personnel Training Act. The Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions, formed in 1967, created National Allied Health Week in 1991, now Professions Week. Baylor's School of Health Professions' programs in nurse anesthesia, genetic counseling, orthotics and prosthetics, and physician assistant advance these fields through innovative education and technology.

Meningiomas, common brain tumors, often effectively treated but 20% behave aggressively and recur. Multiply recurrent meningiomas (MRM) resist treatment and recur multiple times. Researchers studied 1,186 patients, finding MRMs more numerous, larger, and common in men. MRMs exhibit greater chromosomal instability and DNA methylation, with reduced gene expression of EDNRB, associated with increased cell proliferation. This study provides insights into MRMs, potentially guiding precision medicine and predicting recurrence.

Trimodality therapy (TMT) for muscle-invasive localized bladder cancer aims to standardize trial eligibility criteria and endpoints, proposing bladder intact event-free survival (BIEFS) as a primary endpoint. An expert panel recommends pragmatic eligibility criteria and emphasizes patient-reported quality of life assessments to advance bladder preservation and treatment.

DRAGEN platform by Baylor College of Medicine and Illumina outperforms existing methods in speed and accuracy for comprehensive genome analysis, processing 35x coverage in ~30 mins. DRAGEN's multigenome mapping, hardware acceleration, and machine learning detect variants faster and more accurately across SNVs, indels, SVs, and CNVs, with high F-measures, fewer false positives/negatives, and scalability in processing 3,202 genomes simultaneously.

Halloween sugar overload can cause blood sugar spikes and crashes, leading to irritability and symptoms like dizziness. Luis Rustveld advises starting with a balanced meal, engaging in physical activity, and sticking to the American Heart Association’s daily sugar limit of 25 grams. Offering fruit or protein-rich snacks can help control cravings, while dark chocolate and hard candies are better options. Sugar-free treats with sugar alcohols can cause GI distress, and limiting sugar intake before bedtime is recommended.

Authors from various institutions collaborated on study conception, data collection, analysis, and manuscript drafting, focusing on tuberculosis research.

FluMist, a nasal flu vaccine approved for at-home use by the FDA, contains weakened flu virus strains and is effective for ages 2-49. It offers a good immune response but isn't suitable for immunocompromised individuals or those with lung disease. It will be available for home use in fall 2025.

A study by Amer F. Alsoudi et al. suggests curcuma-based nutritional supplements (CBNS) may reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and its progression. The study, involving 66,804 CBNS users and 1,809,440 non-users, found significantly lower risks of developing AMD and geographic atrophy, blindness, and needing anti-VEGF therapy among CBNS users. The authors recommend further studies to confirm these findings and explore safety and mechanisms.