CHARLETTA A. AYERS, MD, MPH

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Researchers interviewed clinic staff and patients to understand why low-income and minority women miss follow-up colposcopy appointments after abnormal cervical cancer screening, and to shape a text message intervention meant to help. Both groups valued reminders and basic education about HPV and cervical cancer, but raised concerns about privacy and the limits of text-only outreach for patients facing transportation, childcare, or psychological barriers. The findings led the team to add a health coaching component for patients with complex needs, moving toward a combined text-plus-human support approach.

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This study examined how well planning teams worked together during the early phase of the New Jersey Kids Study, a large statewide research initiative on child health. Teams with more senior researchers and larger size were more effective, while greater age spread and diversity of institutional affiliations were associated with lower team effectiveness. Leadership quality stood out as a key factor in whether researchers wanted to stay involved with the project.

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This study tested how the presence of other pollinating insects and pesticide exposure change the rate at which a focal bee visits flowers. All co-foraging species disrupted the focal pollinator's foraging under at least one set of conditions, and this interference was strongest when flowers were plentiful and when bees had been exposed to a neonicotinoid pesticide. The results show that how pollinators affect each other depends heavily on the surrounding environment, which matters for predicting how pollinator populations respond to agricultural stressors.

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This study compared two electrode types — ones that sit on the surface of the dorsal root ganglion and ones that penetrate into it — for their ability to selectively stimulate individual nerve branches in the legs of cats. Surface electrodes activated a single nerve branch about two-thirds of the time and penetrating electrodes about four-fifths of the time, with both showing similar patterns of which nerves they could reach. Surface electrodes required higher stimulation currents but offered a wider usable range, suggesting they could be a safer and clinically practical option for a sensory nerve implant.

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Researchers electrically stimulated nerve cell clusters in the lower spine of awake, standing cats and measured whether this shifted the animals' weight distribution across their legs. Low-level stimulation reliably produced postural shifts without signs of pain or distress, and stronger currents produced larger shifts. These results support using dorsal root ganglion stimulation as a way to deliver sensory feedback that could help people with amputations or other nerve injuries maintain balance.

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Researchers built a new heart disease risk calculator called Astro-CHARM that combines standard risk factors — blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, diabetes — with coronary artery calcium scores and inflammation markers for adults aged 40 to 65. Adding calcium scores significantly improved the calculator's ability to correctly predict who would have a heart attack or stroke over roughly 11 years of follow-up. The tool is available as a free app and website, and is the first risk calculator to bring all these factors together for middle-aged adults without prior heart disease.

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Researchers used ultrasound to help insert intrauterine devices (IUDs—a form of birth control) in 67 women who had complications like fibroids, unusual uterine shape, or previous IUD rejection, and successfully placed the device in 84 of them. The ultrasound guidance worked when doctors could see exactly where to place the IUD, but failed in cases where patients were in too much pain, had a blocked cervix, or couldn't have an old device removed first. This approach could help women who can't get standard IUD insertions due to physical problems or sensitivity to exams.

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Penetrating microelectrode arrays placed in the lower spinal nerve clusters of cats were used to selectively activate individual nerve branches supplying specific parts of the hind leg. About 85% of stimulating electrodes could activate just one nerve branch at a time, at low charge levels and with a meaningful range before selectivity was lost. This precision in targeting specific limb regions makes dorsal root ganglion stimulation a strong candidate for delivering realistic touch and position sense to lower-limb amputees.

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Microelectrode arrays were implanted in the lumbar dorsal root ganglia of cats for up to six months to test whether they could reliably activate sensory nerve fibers over time. Stimulation thresholds started low but rose over the months, and the proportion of working electrodes declined, though some still responded at modest current levels 26 weeks after implantation. The study confirms that long-term sensory activation through the dorsal root ganglia is possible but points to the need for better electrode durability to make this practical in humans.

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This work explored two ways to deliver artificial sensory feedback — stimulating nerve clusters in the spine or stimulating the brain's touch area directly — by studying how limb position and movement are encoded in each location. Electrically activating spinal ganglia with movement-like patterns produced brain activity resembling natural movement, and the brain could reliably distinguish different stimulation patterns across a wide range of pulse rates. A monkey was also able to detect stimulation through most implanted brain electrodes, supporting both spinal and cortical approaches as viable paths to sensory prosthetics.

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Using electrodes in the sensory cortex of anesthetized cats, this study measured how different patterns of nerve stimulation delivered to spinal ganglia produced different brain responses. Higher stimulation rates lowered the threshold for triggering a cortical response, and nearby stimulation sites produced distinguishable responses at low but not high stimulation levels. These interactions between stimulation rate, strength, and location must be accounted for when designing electrical patterns intended to convey touch or position sense through a prosthetic limb.

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This review covers how a woman's sexual and psychological health is intertwined with her gynecologic care, and how cultural attitudes, mental health, and social support all shape outcomes. Primary care physicians are positioned to address these issues if they create an open, supportive environment and know when to refer patients to specialists. The quality of the physician-patient relationship can meaningfully worsen or improve a woman's psychosexual wellbeing.

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Balloon angioplasty was used to widen narrowed renal arteries in 90 patients with high blood pressure caused by reduced blood flow to the kidneys. The procedure succeeded initially in 95% of cases, and over roughly two years of follow-up, average diastolic blood pressure fell by about 37 mmHg, with most patients either cured or improved. Patient selection, correct balloon sizing, and a strong initial blood pressure response were the main predictors of lasting benefit.

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This technical note describes using the armpit artery as an access route for balloon dilation of narrowed kidney arteries, as an alternative to the more common groin approach. The axillary approach is particularly useful in patients with extensive hardening of the arteries below the kidneys that would block access from below. The technique extends the reach of renal artery angioplasty to patients who cannot be treated through standard routes.

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Researchers surveyed nearly 30,000 adults in a community to find out how many had high blood pressure but didn’t know it. They discovered that 101 people were unaware of having hypertension, with 58% having dangerously high measurements (over 100 mm Hg). The results showed that young white males without a family history of high blood pressure were the least aware of their condition, highlighting that regular blood pressure checks by doctors might be more effective than community surveys. Who this helps: This helps doctors identify and treat patients who are unaware of their high blood pressure.