Among older adults with early breast cancer, the risk of chemotoxicity can vary widely despite similar chronological age. Here, we evaluated whether epigenetic indicators of biological age can stratify the risk of chemotoxicity in this population. In a prospective study of 394 women age > 65 with stage I–III breast cancer treated with neo/adjuvant chemotherapy, we analyzed peripheral blood DNA methylation patterns to estimate...

Objective This study investigated how cumulative environmental exposures influence offspring behaviour and inflammation-related molecular signatures in the brain and peripheral immune system. Methods A novel "triple-hit" mouse model was developed using C57Bl/6JAusB mice (N = 70), combining preconceptual social stress, antenatal high-fat diet, and a postnatal immune challenge (poly(I:C), 10 mg/kg). At 12 weeks, offspring underw...

The heavy chain of an antibody is crucial for mediating antigen binding. IGHV genes, which partially encode the heavy chain of antibodies, exhibit vast genetic diversity largely through polymorphism and copy number variation (CNV). These genetic variations impact population-level expression levels. In this study, we analyzed expressed antibody transcriptomes and matched germline IGHV genes from donors from KwaZulu-Natal, South...

Long axial field of view (LAFOV) PET/CT scanners (> 1 m axial FOV) provide an order of magnitude higher system sensitivity compared with conventional scanners. This creates opportunities for significant radiation dose reductions for patients, without loss of diagnostic image quality or increased scan time. This study aimed to investigate changes in radiation dose received by patients undergoing whole-body [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT stu...