Pritzker School of Medicine

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 28, 2024 -- For older adults, having greater numbers of sensory disabilities is associated with worse subsequent mental health, according to a study published online Aug. 27 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society . Alexander Z. Wang, from the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago, and colleagues examined the impact of hearing, vision, and olfaction disability on mental health outcomes in older U.S. adults using data from the first three rounds of the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (2005/6, 2010/11, and 2015/16). Data were analyzed from 3,940 respondents during 10 years of follow-up. The researchers observed an association for a greater number of sensory disabilities with a greater risk for low self-rated mental health, frequent depressive symptoms, frequent perceived stress , and frequent loneliness symptoms over time. Older adults with a greater number of sensory disabilities had an increased risk for low self-rated mental health and loneliness symptoms over time after adjustment for covariates (hazard ratios, 1.22 and 1.13, respectively). Older adults with vision disability had an increased risk for low self-rated mental health and loneliness symptoms in a Cox proportional hazards model (hazard ratios, 1.34 and 1.21, respectively). "Increased awareness about the role that sensory disabilities may have on mental health in older adults may help physicians and other health care professionals to provide targeted assessment of specific mental health conditions for older adults based on their sensory disabilities and provide more personalized care to patients," the authors write. One author disclosed ties to Sanofi/Regeneron and Optinose. Abstract/Full Text Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

Argonne scientists have used isoporous membranes -- membranes with pores of equal size and shape -- and recirculation to create separations at the nanoscale that overcome previous limitations. Imagine a close basketball game that comes down to the final shot. The probability of the ball going through the hoop might be fairly low, but it would dramatically increase if the player were afforded the opportunity to shoot it over and over. A similar idea is at play in the scientific field of membrane separations, a key process central to industries that include everything from biotechnology to petrochemicals to water treatment to food and beverage. "Separations lie at the heart of so many of the products we use in our everyday lives," said Seth Darling, head of the Advanced Materials for Energy Water Systems (AMEWS) Center at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory. ​"Membranes are the key to achieving efficient separations." Many commercial processes use membranes to separate out different sizes of solutes, which are substances that are dissolved in water or other fluids. Nearly all commercial membranes are polydisperse, which means that their pore sizes are not consistent. For these membranes, it's nearly impossible to do a sharp separation of materials as different sizes of solutes can fit through different pores. ​"Essentially all commercial membranes, all membranes that are actually used for anything, have a wide range of pore sizes -- little pores, medium pores and big pores," Darling said. Darling and his colleagues at Argonne and the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago have been interested in looking at the properties of isoporous membranes, which are membranes in which all the pores are the same size. Previously, scientists had believed there was a limit to the sharpness of the separations that they could achieve at the nanoscale, not only because of variations in pore size, but also a phenomenon called ​"hindered transport." Hindered transport refers to the internal resistance of the fluid medium as the solute attempts to go through the pore. "The water in the pore will create drag on a molecule or particle that's trying to get through, causing it to slow down," Darling said. ​"Those slower solutes appear to be rejected by the membrane. Counterintuitively, objects even half the size of the pore will end up being rejected about half the time." Overcoming rejection created by hindered transport would enable unprecedented selectivity in size-based separations, he explained. "The regime we're interested in involves pores approximately 10 nanometers in diameter. With a perfect membrane and proper process design, we believe we could separate solutes with as little as a five percent difference in size. Current membranes have no chance to pull that off," Darling said. In a new study, Darling and his colleagues uncovered a dynamic that could only be revealed by studying isoporous membranes, and that gives hope for surmounting hindered transport limitations. ​"Until now, scientists had implicitly assumed that each solute only gets one try to go through a pore, and that hindered transport would produce rejection of many solutes that were smaller than the pore size, causing them to remain in the feed stream rather than the output stream," Darling added. ​"Although it might seem obvious to some, people never really considered a situation in which the solutes could make multiple attempts to get through a membrane." To give the solute molecules multiple chances to get through the pore required cycling the feed solution for multiple weeks. ​"Even with an extended period of experimentation, we're still only seeing individual solutes trying to get through a pore a couple of times on average, but it makes a big difference in moving the separation curve towards a sharper step-like function," Darling said. ​"Given longer time, or more likely an improved process design, we believe we will see a clear, sharp separation right where the pore size matched the solute size." The insights learned from isoporous membranes could be applicable to existing membrane materials engineered to increase the number of opportunities for solutes to pass through the pores. ​"If these fundamental studies can be successfully transferred to industrial membrane separations, it could have tremendous impact across numerous sectors of our economy," he said. The work was supported by DOE's Office of Basic Energy Sciences.

SAN DIEGO, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Two new officers and five new board members will be installed immediately upon conclusion of the 2024 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. The officers and board members are all board-certified dermatologists and members of the AAD, the world's largest dermatologic society that represents nearly 21,000 physicians who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of skin, hair, and nail conditions. Seemal R. Desai, MD, FAAD, will hold the office of president for one year. Dr. Desai completed his undergraduate studies at Emory University, earned his medical degree from Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, and completed his dermatology residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he served as chief resident. He serves as the Founder and Medical Director of Innovative Dermatology and as clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Texas Southwestern. He previously served on the AAD's Board of Directors, as chair of the AAD's Leadership Development Steering Committee, on the SkinPAC Board of Advisors, and as chair of the AADA Compounding Workgroup. In addition, Dr. Desai was appointed to the United States Food and Drug Administration, where he currently serves on the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee. Dr. Desai is the past president of the Skin of Color Society, past president of the DFW Dermatological Society and past president of the Texas Dermatological Society. Cyndi J. Yag -Howard, MD, FAAD, will hold the office of vice president for one year. She is in private practice in Naples, Florida, and is an affiliate clinical professor of dermatology at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, where she earned her medical degree, completed her dermatology residency, and served as chief resident. She previously served as a member of the Academy's Board of Directors, the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology (JAAD) Editorial Board, and the AADA's Council on Government Affairs and Health Policy, and chair of the AAD's Nominating and Organizational Structure Committees. Dr. Yag-Howard also served as vice president of the Women's Dermatologic Society and as president of the Florida Academy of Dermatology. Board Members Each individual listed below will serve a four-year term on the American Academy of Dermatology's Board of Directors. M. Laurin Council, MD, MBA, FAAD, is the director of dermatologic surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, from which she received her medical degree and an MBA. She has served on the Board of Directors for the American College of Mohs Surgery, the American Society for Dermatology Surgery, and the Women's Dermatologic Society. Dr. Council is also involved in several local and state medical and dermatologic societies in St. Louis and Missouri. Carrie L. Davis, MD, FAAD, is in private practice in Bloomington, Indiana. She received her medical degree and completed her dermatology residency at Indiana University School of Medicine, where she is now a Clinical Assistant Professor. In recognition of her advocacy efforts, she was named the AADA Advocate of the Year in 2023. Dr. Davis is completing her term as Chair of the AADA's Congressional Policy Committee. She also serves in leadership roles in her state medical association and is a past president of the Indiana Academy of Dermatology. Howard W. Rogers, MD, PhD, FAAD, is a dermatologist in private practice in Norwich, Connecticut. He received his medical degree and PhD and completed his dermatology residency at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Rogers has served as Chair of the AADA's Patient Access and Payer Relations Committee, and previously served as President, Vice President, Secretary Treasurer, and on the Board of Directors for the American College of Mohs Surgery. Alexander S. Gross, MD, FAAD, is in private practice in Cumming, Georgia, and an assistant clinical professor of dermatology and of community and family health at Emory University Medical Center in Atlanta. He completed his undergraduate studies at Emory and received his medical degree from the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, Florida. Dr. Gross is completing his term as Chair of the Academy's State Policy Committee, and has been involved in several additional Academy councils, committees, and task forces. He was named the AADA's Advocate of the Year in 2015. In addition, Amy Derick, MD, FAAD, will assume the chair of the Advisory Board and serve a four-year term on the AAD Board of Directors. Dr. Derick is in private practice in the Chicago and Tampa Bay areas, clinical instructor of dermatology at Northwestern University, voluntary assistant professor in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and an academic associate member at the University of Chicago Section of Dermatology, Biological Sciences Division at the Pritzker School of Medicine. She received her medical degree at the University of Chicago, completed her internship at Northwestern University, and completed her dermatology residency at the University of Chicago, where she served as chief resident of dermatology. She is currently the President of the Illinois Dermatological Society and the Vice Chair of the Florida Board of Medicine. Dr. Derick was previously chair of the Illinois Medical Disciplinary Board. She was named the AADA's Advocate of the Year in 2021 and was the 2023 Illinois Physician Leader of the Year. About the AAD Headquartered in Rosemont, Ill., the American Academy of Dermatology, founded in 1938, is the largest, most influential and most representative of all dermatologic associations. With a membership of more than 20,800 physicians worldwide, the AAD is committed to advancing the diagnosis and medical, surgical, and cosmetic treatment of the skin, hair, and nails; advocating high standards in clinical practice, education and research in dermatology; and supporting and enhancing patient care because skin, hair, and nail conditions can have a serious impact on your health and well-being. For more information, contact the AAD at (888) 462-DERM (3376) or aad.org. Follow @AADskin on Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest and YouTube and @AADskin1 on Instagram. SOURCE American Academy of Dermatology