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This retrospective study evaluated clinical outcomes in 124 consecutive gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) patients who underwent transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF) at 2 community hospitals. Out of 123 patients treated successfully, 110 gave consent (74% female, median age 60 [range 21-87] years, body mass index 27.5 [19.0-47.9]). At a median 7-month follow-up (range 5-17), typical and atypical symptom scores were normalized in 75% to 80% of patients, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) were completely discontinued by 93%, and 83% were satisfied with their current health condition. Endoscopy in 53 patients revealed Hill grade I tight valves in 89% of the cases, reduced hiatal hernia in 33/34 (97%), and healed reflux esophagitis in 25/30 (83%). Based on global analysis, 72% of the patients were in remission, 20% improved symptomatically, and only 8% had ongoing GERD. These results supported the safety and efficacy of TIF as well as encouraged its application as an alternative treatment of GERD refractory to PPIs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

• Organoid models can be optimized for use in high-throughput screens to study disease relevant phenotypes. • High-throughput imaging can be used for morphological analyses in neural organoids. • MEA recordings are multiplexed with high-throughput imaging to analyze neuronal circuits at network and single-cell levels. The need for scalable high-throughput screening (HTS) approaches for 3D human stem cell platforms remains a central challenge for disease modeling and drug discovery. We have developed a workflow to screen cortical organoids across platforms. We used serum-free embryoid bodies (SFEBs) derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and employed high-content imaging (HCI) to assess neurite outgrowth and cellular composition within SFEBs. We multiplexed this screening assay with both multi-electrode arrays (MEAs) and single-cell calcium imaging. HCI was used to assess the number of excitatory neurons (VGlut+) in experimental replicates of hiPSC-derived SFEBs, demonstrating experiment-to-experiment consistency. Neurite detection using HCI was applied to assess neurite morphology. MEA analysis showed that firing and burst rates in SFEBs decreased with blockade of NMDARs and AMPARs and increased with GABAR blockade. We also demonstrate effective combination of both MEA and HCI to analyze VGlut+ populations surrounding electrodes within MEAs. HCI-based (Ca2+) transient analysis revealed firing in individual cells surrounding active MEA electrodes. Current methods to generate neural organoids show high degrees of variability, and often require sectioning or special handling for analysis. The protocol outlined in this manuscript generates SFEBs with high degree of consistency making them amenable to complex assays combining HTS and electrophysiology allowing for an in-depth, unbiased analysis. SFEBs can be used in combination with HTS to compensate for experimental variability common in 3D cultures, while significantly decreasing processing speed, making this an efficient starting point for phenotypic drug screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]