Congratulations to Matt O’Brien, PhD in the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics on his recent article published in Behavior Analysis in Practice.

The Promise of Accountable Care Organizations: “The Code,” Reimbursement, and an Ethical No-Win Situation for Behavior Analysts. March 2019,12(1),247-254.

Abstract: Clinical ethics, with its emphasis on the actions of clinicians, risks overlooking the ways in which broader health-care structures influence the behavior of health-care providers. Analysis of a factual case study demonstrates that status quo reimbursement practices may place behavior analysts in a position where, no matter how they act, they risk acting unethically. By contrast, the reimbursement model set by accountable care organizations (ACOs), part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), may offer a solution. However, making good on the promise of ACOs will require more resources than any individual behavior analyst possesses. In order to encourage institutional structures that facilitate ethical practice, behavior analysts’ professional organizations should engage in contemporary political discussions about the state of American health care.

Congratulations to Dr. Matt Rysavy (current fellow in neonatology) for his recent editorial in JAMA!

Rysavy MA, Ehret DEY. Extremely Preterm Birth Outcomes in Sweden JAMA. 2019;321(12):1163-1164. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.2020.

Congratulations to Dr. Bell, Dr. Colaizy, and Dr. Rysavy for their most recent article in JAMA Pediatrics!

Brumbaugh JE, Hansen NI, Bell EF, Sridhar A, Carlo WA, Hintz SR, Vohr BR, Colaizy TT, Duncan AF, Wyckoff MH, Baack ML, Rysavy MA, DeMauro SB, Stoll BJ, Das A, Higgins RD, for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Outcomes of Extremely Preterm Infants With Birth Weight Less Than 400 g. JAMA Pediatr. Published online March 25, 2019. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.0180.

Conclusions and Relevance Infants born with a birth weight less than 400 g are at high risk of mortality and significant morbidity. Although 21% of infants survived to 18 to 26 months’ corrected age with active treatment, neurodevelopment impairment was common among survivors

Congratulations to Dr. Uc on another publication in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition!

Schwarzenberg SJ, Uc A, Zimmerman B, Wilschanski M, Wilcox CM, Whitcomb DC, Werlin SL, Troendle D, et al. Chronic Pancreatitis: Pediatric and Adult Cohorts Show Similarities in Disease Progress Despite Different Risk Factors. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2019 Apr;68(4):566-573. doi: 10.1097/MPG.0000000000002279.

“Despite disparity in age of onset, children and adults with chonic pancreatitis (CP) exhibit similarity in demographics, CP treatment, and pain. Differences between groups in radiographic findings and diabetes prevalence may be related to differences in risk factors associated with disease and length of time of CP.”

Congratulations to Dr. Uc on her most recent publication in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.

Grover AS, Freeman AJ, Abu-El-Haija M, Eisses JF, Gardner TB, Liu QY, Lowe ME, Nathan JD, Palermo TM, Singh VK, Trout AT, Uc A, Husain SZ, Morinville VD. Updates in Pediatric Pancreatology: Proceedings of the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition Frontiers in Pediatric Pancreatology Symposium. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2019 Feb;68(2):e27-e33. doi: 10.1097/MPG.0000000000002186

It was Christmas in January for Dr. Mathews from the Division of Child Neurology as she recently had four articles published in rapid succession for which she was a co-author. Congratulations to Dr. Mathews on her scholarly success! The articles are listed below.

Kristin M Conway , Katy Eichinger, Christina Trout, Paul A Romitti , Katherine D Mathews and Shree K Pandya; Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking and Research Network (MD STARnet). Needs management in families affected by childhood-onset dystrophinopathies. SAGE Open Medicine. 2019. 7, 1-11.

Angela J. Lee, BA,* Karra A. Jones, MD, PhD,* Russell J. Butterfield, MD, PhD, Mary O. Cox, BS, Chamindra G. Konersman, MD, Carla Grosmann, MD, Jose E. Abdenur, MD, Monica Boyer, NP, Brent Beson, MD, Ching Wang, MD, James J. Dowling, MD, PhD, Melissa A. Gibbons, MS, Alison Ballard, NP, Joanne S. Janas, MD, Robert T. Leshner, MD, Sandra Donkervoort, MS, CGC, Carsten G. B¨onnemann, MD, Denise M. Malicki, MD, PhD, Robert B. Weiss, PhD, Steven A. Moore, MD, PhD, and Katherine D. Mathews, MD. Clinical, genetic, and pathologic characterization of FKRP Mexican founder mutation c.1387A>G. Neurol Genet 2019;5:e315. doi:10.1212/NXG.0000000000000315.

Hernan D. Gonorazky, Sergey Naumenko, Arun K. Ramani, Viswateja Nelakuditi, Pouria Mashouri, Peiqui Wang, Dennis Kao, Krish Ohri, Senthuri Viththiyapaskaran, Mark A. Tarnopolsky, Katherine D. Mathews, Steven A. Moore, Andres N. Osorio, David Villanova, Dwi U. Kemaladewi, Ronald D. Cohn, Michael Brudno, James J. Dowling. Expanding the Boundaries of RNA Sequencing as a Diagnostic Tool for Rare Mendelian Disease. Am J Hum Gen. 2019. 104.1-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajhg.2019.01.012.

David R. Lynch, Lauren Hauser, Ashley McCormick, McKenzie Wells, Yi Na Dong, Shana McCormack , Kim Schadt, Susan Perlman, Sub H. Subramony, Katherine D. Mathews, Alicia Brocht, Julie Ball, Renee Perdok, Amy Grahn, Tom Vescio, Jeffrey W. Sherman & Jennifer M. Farmer. Randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study of interferon‐γ 1b in Friedreich Ataxia. Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology. 2019. doi: 10.1002/acn3.731.

Drs. Katie Larson Ode (Endo), Aliye Uc (GI), and Andy Norris (Endo) teamed up for a collaborative article published in the Journal of Cystic Fibrosis on “Incretin dysfunction and hyperglycemia in cystic fibrosis: Role of acyl-ghrelin.”

The research suggests a mechanism by which elevated AG (acyl-ghrelin) contributes to CF hyperglycemia through inhibition of insulin secretion, an effect magnified by low GLP-1 and GIP. Interventions that lower ghrelin, ghrelin action, and/or raise GLP-1 or GIP might improve glycemia in CF.