1. HYST: a hybrid set-based test for genome-wide association studies, with application to protein-protein interaction-based association analysis
Miao-Xin Li, Johnny S H Kwan, Pak C Sham Am J Hum Genet. 2012 Sep 7;91(3):478-88. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2012.08.004.
The extended Simes' test (known as GATES) and scaled chi-square test were proposed to combine a set of dependent genome-wide association signals at multiple single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for assessing the overall significance of association at the gene or pathway levels. The two tests use different strategies to combine association p values and can outperform each other when the number of and linkage disequilibrium between SNPs vary. In this paper, we introduce a hybrid set-based test (HYST) combining the two tests for genome-wide association studies (GWASs). We describe how HYST can be used to evaluate statistical significance for association at the protein-protein interaction (PPI) level in order to increase power for detecting disease-susceptibility genes of moderate effect size. Computer simulations demonstrated that HYST had a reasonable type 1 error rate and was generally more powerful than its parents and other alternative tests to detect a PPI pair where both genes are associated with the disease of interest. We applied the method to three complex disease GWAS data sets in the public domain; the method detected a number of highly connected significant PPI pairs involving multiple confirmed disease-susceptibility genes not found in the SNP- and gene-based association analyses. These results indicate that HYST can be effectively used to examine a collection of predefined SNP sets based on prior biological knowledge for revealing additional disease-predisposing genes of modest effects in GWASs.
2. Safety of Abdominoplasty with Concomitant Abdominal or Minimally Invasive Hysterectomy: An ACS NSQIP Study
Tsung Mou, Deepanjana Das, Oluwateniola Brown, Christina Lewicky-Gaupp, Kimberly S Kenton, Carol Emi Bretschneider Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2022 Aug;46(4):1724-1730. doi: 10.1007/s00266-021-02714-5. Epub 2022 Jan 23.
Background: To compare 30-day postoperative complications following abdominoplasty with and without concomitant hysterectomy. Our secondary objective was to compare outcomes following abdominoplasty by route of hysterectomy. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) Database from 2014 to 2018. We included women who underwent abdominoplasty alone (ABP) and abdominoplasty with concomitant hysterectomy (ABP+Hyst). The ABP+Hyst group included both abdominal hysterectomy (ABP+AH) and minimally invasive hysterectomy (ABP+MIH). Results: Analysis included 9064 women of whom 2.4% had ABP+Hyst (216 ABP+AH and 53 ABP+MIH). Both ABP and ABP+Hyst had similar 30-day postoperative complication rates (11.5% vs. 14.1%, p=.22). Patients with ABP+Hyst had a longer length of hospital stay when compared to ABP alone [2 days (IQR 1-2) vs. 1 day (IQR 0-2), p<.001). Operating time was longer in ABP+Hyst by 76 minutes (p<.001). In a multivariable logistic regression model controlling for age, race, BMI, ASA class, smoking status, hysterectomy, operative time, and major medical comorbidity, concomitant hysterectomy was not associated with increased odds of 30-day postoperative complications. Both ABP+AH and ABP+MIH had low 30-day complication rates (15.3% vs. 9.4%, p=.273). However, ABP+MIH had a 38 minute longer median operating time (p=.008) but with a shorter length of stay by 1 day (p<.001). Conclusion: Concomitant hysterectomy at the time of abdominoplasty was not associated with an increase in complications during the first 30-days after surgery regardless of route of hysterectomy. These data suggest that selected patients can safely be offered combined surgery. Level of evidence iv: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .
3. Corneal Hysteresis, Intraocular Pressure, and Progression of Glaucoma: Time for a "Hyst-Oric" Change in Clinical Practice?
Patrick Murtagh, Colm O'Brien J Clin Med. 2022 May 20;11(10):2895. doi: 10.3390/jcm11102895.
It is known that as people age their tissues become less compliant and the ocular structures are no different. Corneal Hysteresis (CH) is a surrogate marker for ocular compliance. Low hysteresis values are associated with optic nerve damage and visual field loss, the structural and functional components of glaucomatous optic neuropathy. Presently, a range of parameters are measured to monitor and stratify glaucoma, including intraocular pressure (IOP), central corneal thickness (CCT), optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans of the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) and the ganglion cell layer (GCL), and subjective measurement such as visual fields. The purpose of this review is to summarise the current evidence that CH values area risk factor for the development of glaucoma and are a marker for its progression. The authors will explain what precisely CH is, how it can be measured, and the influence that medication and surgery can have on its value. CH is likely to play an integral role in glaucoma care and could potentially be incorporated synergistically with IOP, CCT, and visual field testing to establish risk stratification modelling and progression algorithms in glaucoma management in the future.