Ochsner Health System

Leadership in academic institutions and professional societies plays a critical role in shaping the future of scholarship, governance, and educational equity. However, a persistent trend, particularly in long-established organizations, reveals that retired faculty, such as professors emeriti, often fill executive leadership roles. While emeriti may continue to offer valuable mentorship and institutional memory, their appointment to decision-making positions raises significant structural and ethical concerns. This commentary critiques the reliance on retired academics for active leadership, highlighting key risks including diminished accountability, generational disconnection, ethical incongruence, and leadership bottlenecks that impede the advancement of early- and mid-career scholars. Drawing on governance literature and demographic data, the article calls for structural reforms that promote active, inclusive, and forward-looking leadership models. Practical recommendations include revising governance bylaws, establishing advisory roles for emeriti, and fostering intergenerational partnerships to ensure sustainable academic leadership. The future of academia cannot be led solely by the past. It must be shared by those actively engaged in its present with the assistance of those who have experience in such roles before retirement.

We read with great interest the study “Intra-articular corticosteroid injections versus platelet-rich plasma as a treatment for cervical facetogenic pain: a randomized clinical trial”[1][1] and commend the authors for investigating innovative, non-steroid interventions for the treatment of

HighlightsWhat are the main fundings?SATB2 is highly expressed in mesothelioma.Inhibition of SATB2 expression reverses drug resistance and enhances the effects of chemotherapy in mesothelioma.What are the implications of the main findings?SATB2 can serve as a diagnostic biomarker for mesothelioma.It can be considered a novel target for treating mesothelioma.SATB2 (special AT-rich binding protein 2) functions as a chromatin-associated epigenetic regulator that modulates gene expression, in part by serving as a transcriptional cofactor. This study assessed whether SATB2 overexpression is sufficient to promote in vitro transformation of human mesothelial cells and whether SATB2 suppression in mesothelioma cancer stem cell (CSC)–enriched populations is associated with altered chemoresistance. SATB2 expression was high in human malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) cell lines but absent in Met5A mesothelial cells. Ectopic SATB2 expression in Met5A cells was associated with acquisition of malignant and stem cell–like phenotypes, including increased expression of stem cell markers and pluripotency-associated factors, as well as anchorage-independent growth in soft agar and spheroid formation in suspension culture. In contrast, Met5A cells transduced with an empty vector did not form colonies or mesospheres. SATB2 overexpression in Met5A cells was also associated with increased motility, migration, and invasion, accompanied by induction of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)–related transcription factors relative to empty vector controls. Conversely, shRNA-mediated SATB2 knockdown in an MPM cell line attenuated proliferation, EMT-associated features, and CSC-like characteristics. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays identified SATB2 occupancy at promoter regions of Bcl2, XIAP, KLF4, c-Myc, NANOG, and SOX2, consistent with a role in transcriptional regulation of genes linked to transformation, pluripotency, cell survival, proliferation, and EMT. In CSC-enriched cells, SATB2 inhibition was associated with increased sensitivity to cisplatin and pemetrexed, concomitant with reduced OCT4 and SOX2 expression. Collectively, these findings support SATB2 as a candidate therapeutic target in MPM and suggest that SATB2 suppression may enhance chemotherapy response when combined with standard agents.

This Viewpoint discusses discordance in code status decisions between clinicians and patients with end-stage cancer and provides ethical frameworks for its resolution.

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) use among patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) has been associated with improved glycemic control, though improvement in non-glycemic outcomes is less consistent. We hypothesize that CGM use in patients with T1DM in a real-world clinical setting is associated with both improved glycemic and clinical outcomes.This was a retrospective cohort study of patients with T1DM receiving care at a large health system from 2016 to 2023. Primary outcomes included (1) glycemic control and (2) a composite comprising severe maternal morbidity, preeclampsia with severe features, delivery prior to 34 weeks, and admission for diabetic ketoacidosis. Primary glycemic outcome was hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) <6% in the second trimester. We compared patients using CGM, our exposure group, to patients using traditional blood glucose monitoring (TBGM). During initial data abstraction, we noted variation in CGM target blood glucose settings. A subgroup analysis was performed in which patients using CGM were evaluated by device setting, with those set to targets consistent with American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommendations compared with those with more permissive goals. Adjusted odds ratios were calculated using multivariable logistic regression to adjust for potential confounding variables.Among 288 patients with T1DM, there were 145 deliveries in the CGM group and 143 in the traditional capillary blood glucose monitoring group. Midtrimester on-target glycemic control was improved in the CGM group compared with traditional monitoring (40.7 vs. 17.5%, adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.32; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.21-4.12). There was no difference in the rate of the composite outcome (CGM: 42.8% vs. TBGM: 49.0%, aOR = 0.70; 95% CI: 0.40-1.22), nor was there a difference in secondary outcomes. In patients using CGM, those with stricter targets had improved glycemic control as well as reduced rates of preterm delivery prior to 37 weeks (18.8 vs. 56.9%, aOR = 0.16, 95% CI: 0.05-0.48) and neonatal intensive care unit admission (37.5 vs. 60.0%, aOR = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.14-0.96).CGM use in T1DM is associated with improved glycemic control throughout pregnancy; however, this does not uniformly translate to improved clinical outcomes. Lack of adherence to ADA blood glucose targets may contribute to these findings. · Glycemic control in pregnancy is improved with CGM use in patients with T1DM.. · CGM use does not translate to consistent improvement in clinical outcomes.. · Stricter CGM targets are associated with improvement in glycemic control and some clinical outcomes.. · Simply prescribing an intervention does not automatically lead to benefit..

Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABC) comprises a group of rapidly growing, nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) capable of causing a wide spectrum of infections. MABC is classified into three subspecies namely abscessus, bolletii, and massiliense, each with distinct antibiotic resistance patterns. Over the past decade, cases of NTM inoculation during tattooing have increased, with Mycobacterium abscessus being the most commonly implicated NTM pathogen. Herein we describe the case of a 37-year-old woman who presented with erythematous papules over a tattoo on her right upper chest 15 days after getting a tattoo. Importantly, our report highlights the challenges in diagnosing Mycobacterium abscessus infections due to its multidrug resistance and discusses the available treatment options. Furthermore, our case also highlights the need for stricter regulation and enforcement of sterile practices during the production and use of tattoo inks, as well as the sterilization of tattooing equipment, to help reduce the risk of infection.