Browsing by Author "Younger, Jarred"

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    A common language for Gulf War Illness (GWI) research studies: GWI common data elements
    (Elsevier, 2022) Cohen, Devra E.; Sullivan, Kimberly A.; McNeil, Rebecca B.; Gulf War Illness Common Data Elements Working Group; Symptoms Assessment Working Group; McNeil, Rebecca B.; Ashford, Wes; Bested, Alison; Bunker, James; Cheema, Amanpreet; Cohen, Devra E.; Cook, Dane; Cournoyer, Jeffrey; Craddock, Travis; Golier, Julia; Hardie, Anthony; Helmer, Drew; Lindheimer, Jacob B.; Janulewicz Lloyd, Patricia; Kerr, Kathleen; Krengel, Maxine; Nadkarni, Shree; Nugent, Shannon; Paris, Bonnie; Reinhard, Matthew; Rumm, Peter; Schneiderman, Aaron; Sims, Kellie J.; Steele, Lea; Turner, Marsha; Systems Assessment Working Group; Sullivan, Kimberly A.; Abdullah, Laila; Abreu, Maria; Abu-Donia, Mohamed; Aenlle, Kristina; Arocho, Jimmy; Balbin, Elizabeth; Baraniuk, James; Block, Karen; Block, Michelle; DeBeer, Bryann; Engdahl, Brian; Filipov, Nikolay; Fletcher, Mary Ann; Kalasinsky, Victor; Kokkotou, Efi; Lidie, Kristy; Little, Deborah; Loging, William; Morris, Marianna; Nathanson, Lubov; Nichols, Montra Denise; Pasinetti, Giulio; Shungu, Dikoma; Waziry, Paula; VanLeeuwen, Jon; Younger, Jarred; Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Medicine
    Aims: The Gulf War Illness programs (GWI) of the United States Department of Veteran Affairs and the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program collaborated with experts to develop Common Data Elements (CDEs) to standardize and systematically collect, analyze, and share data across the (GWI) research community. Main methods: A collective working group of GWI advocates, Veterans, clinicians, and researchers convened to provide consensus on instruments, case report forms, and guidelines for GWI research. A similar initiative, supported by the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) was completed for a comparative illness, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), and provided the foundation for this undertaking. The GWI working group divided into two sub-groups (symptoms and systems assessment). Both groups reviewed the applicability of instruments and forms recommended by the NINDS ME/CFS CDE to GWI research within specific domains and selected assessments of deployment exposures. The GWI CDE recommendations were finalized in March 2018 after soliciting public comments. Key findings: GWI CDE recommendations are organized in 12 domains that include instruments, case report forms, and guidelines. Recommendations were categorized as core (essential), supplemental-highly recommended (essential for specified conditions, study types, or designs), supplemental (commonly collected, but not required), and exploratory (reasonable to use, but require further validation). Recommendations will continually be updated as GWI research progresses. Significance: The GWI CDEs reflect the consensus recommendations of GWI research community stakeholders and will allow studies to standardize data collection, enhance data quality, and facilitate data sharing.
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    Brief Report: IL-1β Levels Are Associated With Chronic Multisite Pain in People Living With HIV
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2017-08-01) Merlin, Jessica S.; Westfall, Andrew O.; Heath, Sonya L.; Goodin, Burel R.; Stewart, Jesse C.; Sorge, Robert E.; Younger, Jarred; Psychology, School of Science
    BACKGROUND: The pathophysiology of chronic pain experienced by people living with HIV (PLWH) in the current antiretroviral treatment era is poorly understood. We sought to investigate the relationship between inflammation and chronic pain in PLWH. We hypothesized that, among PLWH who have undetectable HIV viral loads, those with chronic multisite pain (CMP) would have higher levels of circulating pain-related inflammatory markers than those without chronic pain. SETTING: This study was conducted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Center for AIDS Research Network of Integrated Clinical System site. METHODS: We compared inflammatory markers in 70 PLWH with CMP and 70 PLWH without chronic pain. Custom multiplex human inflammatory assays were completed on banked plasma specimens to measure cytokines commonly associated with chronic inflammatory pain: interleukin 1β (IL-1β), eotaxin, IL-15, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor α, and leptin. Logistic regression models were built using group status (CMP vs no pain) as the outcome variable, with each cytokine as independent variables and age, sex, substance use, and prescribed opioid medications as covariates. RESULTS: Participants were mostly men (71%); 53% were 50 years or older. The most common sites of pain were low back (86%), hands/feet (81%), and knee (66%). Median CD4 T-cell count was 676 cells per milliliter. IL-1β was significantly higher in the CMP group than in the individuals without chronic pain (odds ratio: 1.35, 95% confidence interval: 1.01 to 1.82, P < 0.05). Eotaxin, IL-15, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor α, and leptin were not significantly different between groups. CONCLUSIONS: We found that PLWH who also have CMP have significantly higher levels of IL-1β than PLWH who do not have any pain. Future work on the role of IL-1β on chronic pain pathogenesis in this population may inform novel approaches to chronic pain management.