ABSTRACT
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVE: The Radiology Scholars Certificate Program (RSCP) is an elective course for preclinical medical students which aims to improve radiology knowledge, dispel misconceptions regarding the field, and train future clinicians who have a greater understanding of the scope of the field. Previously, we have shown that students demonstrate improved knowledge of radiological topics as well as improved perception of radiology as a field after completing the program. In this study we attempt to determine whether these effects persist up to two years following program completion. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A two-part questionnaire was sent to all third- and fourth-year medical students at our institution in order to assess their objective ability to select appropriate imaging studies and interpret basic imaging findings, as well as evaluate their subjective attitudes and comfort level with radiology topics. Statistical analysis compared students who completed the RSCP to non-RSCP controls. RESULTS: A total of 54 students responded to the survey (34 had previously completed the RSCP). RSCP participants were significantly more likely to select appropriate imaging workups and correctly interpret imaging findings compared to controls (p < 0.001). Furthermore, RSCP participants reported significantly higher confidence in their ability to order imaging (p < 0.001) and significantly higher satisfaction with their radiology education (p < 0.001). RSCP participants were less likely to agree with negative stereotypes regarding radiology and reported more favorable perceptions of the field. CONCLUSION: Preclinical radiology-driven medical student education programs like the RSCP offer the potential for lasting improvements in students' understanding of and attitudes toward radiology as a field. We believe that such programs will help address challenges facing the field of radiology regarding recruitment, diversity, and interdisciplinary understanding.
ABSTRACT
With an expanding aging population burdened with comorbidities, there is considerable interest in treatments that optimize health in later life. Acarbose (ACA), a drug used clinically to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), can extend mouse life span with greater effect in males than in females. Using a genetically heterogeneous mouse model, we tested the ability of ACA to ameliorate functional, pathological, and biochemical changes that occur during aging, and we determined which of the effects of age and drug were sex dependent. In both sexes, ACA prevented age-dependent loss of body mass, in addition to improving balance/coordination on an accelerating rotarod, rotarod endurance, and grip strength test. Age-related cardiac hypertrophy was seen only in male mice, and this male-specific aging effect was attenuated by ACA. ACA-sensitive cardiac changes were associated with reduced activation of cardiac growth-promoting pathways and increased abundance of peroxisomal proteins involved in lipid metabolism. ACA further ameliorated age-associated changes in cardiac lipid species, particularly lysophospholipids - changes that have previously been associated with aging, cardiac dysfunction, and cardiovascular disease in humans. In the liver, ACA had pronounced effects on lipid handling in both sexes, reducing hepatic lipidosis during aging and shifting the liver lipidome in adulthood, particularly favoring reduced triglyceride (TAG) accumulation. Our results demonstrate that ACA, already in clinical use for T2DM, has broad-ranging antiaging effects in multiple tissues, and it may have the potential to increase physical function and alter lipid biology to preserve or improve health at older ages.
