Body of knowledge

Abdominal aortic aneurysms can be deadly, but are often underdiagnosed and, or, undertreated in women. To help address this disparity, researchers at UC Davis Health have harnessed powerful artificial intelligence (AI) software to show how these aneurysms can grow faster in women and may require more rigorous surveillance. The study was published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery.

A retrospective study by UC Davis Health researchers assessed effects of naloxone administration by paramedics to patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Published in JAMA Network Open, it concluded there was an association between naloxone administration and both return of spontaneous circulation and survival to hospital discharge. The antagonist was also associated with improved clinical outcomes in both drug-related and non-drug related cardiac arrests.

A team of UC Davis Health researchers has discovered a novel bioelectrical mechanism that harmful pathogens such as Salmonella use to find vulnerable entry points in the gut, allowing them to invade and infect the body. Authors say their study, published in Nature Microbiology, might have the potential to explain complex chronic diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, as well as potential implications for additional bacterial infections.

A major new study led by the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center has found that women who received a false-positive mammogram result that required additional imaging or biopsy were less likely to return for that follow-up screening. Asian and Hispanic/Latinx women were the least likely to return for future screening mammograms after a false positive result, which may contribute to existing health disparities. The Annals of Internal Medicine paper analyzed data on more than 3.5 million screening mammograms nationwide.

Autistic youth who were born in underserved neighborhoods are more likely to have greater attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms than those born in communities with more resources, according to a UC Davis MIND Institute-led study published in the journal JCPP Advances. The study is the first time researchers have investigated how neighborhood factors are associated with ADHD in autistic and non-autistic children, and has the potential to inform public policy changes to improve health equity.

Siblings of autistic children have a 20% chance of being autistic themselves — about seven times higher than the rate in infants with no autistic siblings — according to a paper by UC Davis MIND Institute researchers and the Baby Siblings Research Consortium. Published in Pediatrics, the new study is based on a large, diverse group of families at research sites across the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom, and confirms the same group’s 2011 findings about likelihood of autism in siblings.