Effects of state reinsurance programs on health insurance exchange premiums and insurer participation

Objective

The aim of the study was to estimate the effect of the state-based reinsurance programs through the section 1332 State Innovation Waivers on health insurance marketplace premiums and insurer participation.

Data Source

2015 to 2022 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Insurance Exchange Compare Datasets.

Study Design

An event study difference-in-differences (DD) model separately for each year of implementation and a synthetic control method (SCM) are used to estimate year-by-year effects following program implementation.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods

Not applicable.

Principal Findings

Reinsurance programs were associated with a decline in premiums in the first year of implementation by 10%–13%, 5%–19%, and 11%–17% for bronze, silver, and gold plans (p < 0.05). There is a trend of sustained declines especially for states that implemented their programs in 2019 and 2020. The SCM analyses suggest some effect heterogeneity across states but also premium declines across most states. There is no evidence that reinsurance programs affected insurer participation.

Conclusion

State-based reinsurance programs have the potential to improve the affordability of health insurance coverage. However, reinsurance programs do not appear to have had an effect on insurer participation, highlighting the need for policy makers to consider complementary strategies to encourage insurer participation.     

Mesenchymal neoplasms with NTRK and other kinase gene alterations

Kinase alterations are increasingly recognised as oncogenic drivers in mesenchymal tumours. Infantile fibrosarcoma and the related renal tumour, congenital mesoblastic nephroma, were among the first solid tumours shown to harbour recurrent tyrosine kinase fusions, with the canonical ETV6::NTRK3 fusion identified more than 20 years ago. Although targeted testing has long been used in diagnosis, the advent of more robust sequencing techniques has driven the discovery of kinase alterations in an array of mesenchymal tumours. As our ability to identify these genetic alterations has improved, as has our recognition and understanding of the tumours that harbour these alterations. Specifically, this study will focus upon mesenchymal tumours harbouring NTRK or other kinase alterations, including tumours with an infantile fibrosarcoma-like appearance, spindle cell tumours resembling lipofibromatosis or peripheral nerve sheath tumours and those occurring in adults with a fibrosarcoma-like appearance. As publications describing the histology of these tumours increase so, too, do the variety kinase alterations reported, now including NTRK1/2/3, RET, MET, RAF1, BRAF, ALK, EGFR and ABL1 fusions or alterations. To date, these tumours appear locally aggressive and rarely metastatic, without a clear link between traditional features used in histological grading (e.g. mitotic activity, necrosis) and outcome. However, most of these tumours are amenable to new targeted therapies, making their recognition of both diagnostic and therapeutic import. The goal of this study is to review the clinicopathological features of tumours with NTRK and other tyrosine kinase alterations, discuss the most common differential diagnoses and provide recommendations for molecular confirmation with associated treatment implications.     

CD19 + CD21lo/neg cells are increased in systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) represents a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc). The purpose of this study was to examine recirculating lymphocytes from SSc patients for potential biomarkers of interstitial lung disease (ILD). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from patients with SSc and healthy controls enrolled in the Vanderbilt University Myositis and Scleroderma Treatment Initiative Center cohort between 9/2017–6/2019. Clinical phenotyping was performed by chart abstraction. Immunophenotyping was performed using both mass cytometry and fluorescence cytometry combined with t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding analysis and traditional biaxial gating. This study included 34 patients with SSc-ILD, 14 patients without SSc-ILD, and 25 healthy controls. CD21^lo/neg cells are significantly increased in SSc-ILD but not in SSc without ILD (15.4 ± 13.3% vs. 5.8 ± 0.9%, p = 0.002) or healthy controls (5.0 ± 0.5%, p < 0.0001). While CD21^lo/neg B cells can be identified from a single biaxial gate, tSNE analysis reveals that the biaxial gate is comprised of multiple distinct subsets, all of which are increased in SSc-ILD. CD21^lo/neg cells in both healthy controls and SSc-ILD are predominantly tBET positive and do not have intracellular CD21. Immunohistochemistry staining demonstrated that CD21^lo/neg B cells diffusely infiltrate the lung parenchyma of an SSc-ILD patient. Additional work is needed to validate this biomarker in larger cohorts and longitudinal studies and to understand the role of these cells in SSc-ILD.

     

基于CiteSpace可视化分析代谢组学在中医药领域的研究现状及趋势＊

目的 应用可视化方法分析代谢组学在中医药领域的现状及趋势。方法 检索中国知网数据库（CNKI）和Web of Science 核心合集数据库2021年3月15日之前收录的中医药领域代谢组学研究的相关文献，应用CiteSpace软件对纳入的文献进行关键词、作者、研究机构等内容进行可视化分析。结果 共纳入中文文献247篇，英文文献350篇。文献数量在波动中迅速上升。中、英文文献作者合作网络显示，张爱华是中医药领域代谢组学研究发文量最多的作者，并形成了核心研究团队。发文机构显示，中国医学科学院是该领域的重要研究机构，机构间合作紧密。中、英文文献关键词分析显示，研究内容主要集中在核磁共振、代谢标记物、冠心病、质谱技术、代谢通路等相关领域。结论 中医药领域代谢组学研究的热点主要为中医药治疗代谢性疾病的机制研究。研究趋势为卵泡代谢组学研究及中药有效成分的研究。     

北京市三级甲等医院结直肠癌患者就医流向规律分析

目的 分析不同特征的结直肠癌患者就医行为选择在中医院（含中西医结合医院）、西医院及肿瘤专科医院间的差异，为合理引导结直肠癌患者适宜就医及制订相关政策提供依据。方法 收集北京地区2018年1月-2019年12月17家三级甲等医院21894例首诊结直肠癌成年住院患者的病案首页数据，采用EmpowerStats 2.0对数据进行描述性分析。结果 21894例结直肠癌患者中就诊于中医院的有862例（3.93%），西医院的有8723例（39.85%），肿瘤专科医院的有12309例（56.22%）。对于不同医疗机构，男性占比均大于女性，58-68岁患者占比最大。且结直肠癌患者年龄、医疗付款方式及肿瘤分期在不同医疗机构间的分布存在差异（P<0.001）。西医院及肿瘤专科医院结直肠癌Ⅲ期患者占比最大，而就诊于中医院患者中结直肠癌Ⅳ期最多。从地域分布来看，异地就诊比例（57.32%）大于本地，且就诊于肿瘤专科医院的患者中73.66%来自外地。患者来源前三名分别是北京市、河北省及内蒙古自治区。而在北京市内，西医院患者主要来源于朝阳区、海淀区及西城区，中医院患者主要来源于海淀区、朝阳区及丰台区，肿瘤专科医院则主要来源于朝阳区、海淀区及丰台区。结论 应大力倡导年轻以及早期结直肠癌患者向中医院分流，充分施展中医药在结直肠癌患者中的治疗优势；发挥三级医院带动作用，建立对口帮扶医院，减少不必要的跨省流动及提倡结直肠癌的早筛早治，以降低结直肠癌死亡率。     

The exercise pressor reflex: An update

The exercise pressor reflex is a feedback mechanism engaged upon stimulation of mechano- and metabosensitive skeletal muscle afferents. Activation of these afferents elicits a reflex increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and ventilation in an intensity-dependent manner. Consequently, the exercise pressor reflex has been postulated to be one of the principal mediators of the cardiorespiratory responses to exercise. In this updated review, we will discuss classical and recent advancements in our understating of the exercise pressor reflex function in both human and animal models. Particular attention will be paid to the afferent mechanisms and pathways involved during its activation, its effects on different target organs, its potential role in the abnormal cardiovascular response to exercise in diseased states, and the impact of age and biological sex on these responses. Finally, we will highlight some unanswered questions in the literature that may inspire future investigations in the field.

     

脊髓小脑共济失调2型家系ATXN2基因中间重复病例表型与分子遗传学特征

目的探讨脊髓小脑共济失调2型(SCA2)致病基因ATXN2异常等位基因中间重复个体的表型和分子遗传学特点。方法针对2005—2018年中日友好医院神经科运动障碍与神经遗传病研究中心收集的1383个常染色体显性遗传共济失调家系的先证者和部分家系成员,采用荧光标记毛细管电泳片段分析方法进行动态突变检测,对携带ATXN2基因中间重复的个体进行临床表型和遗传特征分析。结果共检出163个家系(包含先证者和家系成员共203人)携带异常扩展的ATXN2基因CAG重复序列,其中93个家系中有107例的异常扩展等位基因重复次数在29~34次之间。在其中的20个亲子对中,父系遗传16个,异常等位基因的代间扩展增加0~28次,母系遗传4个,异常等位基因的代间扩展增加0~4次。结论对于临床拟诊SCA2家系患者,需对其亲代或成年子代个体进行ATXN2基因检测,以免漏诊。动态突变基因检测有助于识别中间重复的个体,对明确家系致病基因和遗传咨询至关重要。