Real-world outcomes following ibrutinib dose reduction in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma.

This study used real-world data from three separate United States (US) databases to evaluate dosing patterns and time to next treatment (TTNT) following the first-incident adverse event (AE) in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) treated with first-line ibrutinib with and without dose reduction (DR). Median TTNT or death in patients with and without a DR following an AE in each database was as follows: Optum Clinformatics Data Mart (CDM): 59.5 and 30.

The extrafollicular response is sufficient to drive initiation of autoimmunity and early disease hallmarks of lupus.

Introduction: Many autoimmune diseases are characterized by germinal center (GC)-derived, affinity-matured, class-switched autoantibodies, and strategies to block GC formation and progression are currently being explored clinically. However, extrafollicular responses can also play a role. The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of the extrafollicular pathway to autoimmune disease development.

Assessment and management of chronic pain.

Chronic pain can have significant physical, psychological and social effects on a person's life, as well as on their families and friends. However, it is often not well-recognised or understood, which can lead to further harm. Therefore, an individualised, person-centred approach to chronic pain is essential to accurately assess pain and to develop an appropriate treatment plan.

Evaluation of the impact of nurse consultant roles in the United Kingdom: a mixed method systematic literature review.

Aim: This paper reports a mixed methods systematic review examining the impact of nurse consultant roles in adult healthcare settings, with a view to identifying indicators for demonstrating their impact on patient and professional outcomes.

Background: Nurse consultants were introduced in England in 2000 with the intention to achieve better outcomes for patients by improving quality and services. Previous studies have investigated the impact of nurse consultants, but attempts to amalgamate this evidence have been methodologically limited.

Spontaneous regression of human cancer cells in vitro: potential role of disruption of Cdk1/Cdk4 co-expression.

Background: Although well-acknowledged in vivo, spontaneous death of cancer cells in vitro is less widely appreciated.

Materials And Methods: Colony formation was studied in untreated control plates of standard clonogenic assays and measurements of actual and potential doubling times performed in asynchronous cultures of human cancer cells lines. Western blotting of lung large cell carcinoma, COR-L23 cells actively undergoing spontaneous cell death was also carried out.

Dynamic heterogeneity of proteomic expression in human cancer cells does not affect Cdk1/Cdk4 co-expression.

Tumour heterogeneity is becoming increasingly important as an obstacle to genomic and proteomic technologies designed to improve the diagnosis and treatment of human cancer. In a panel of 19 human in-vitro cancer cell lines, we show marked heterogeneity of proteomic expression of key genes responsible for the control of cell division and death. Patterns of expression of these proteins were unique for each cell line.

Theranostic proteomic profiling of cyclins, cyclin dependent kinases and Ras in human cancer cell lines is dependent on p53 mutational status.

Despite major advances in the molecular biology of the cancer cell over the past two decades, the great majority of patients are still treated by conventional cytotoxic drugs. The chemotherapy regimens employed frequently include platinating agents, taxanes, intercalating agents and topoisomerase inhibitors. Attempts to predict the therapeutic efficacy of such drugs by molecular profiling (theranostics) have up to the present time had limited success.

Will aromatherapy be a useful treatment strategy for people with multiple sclerosis who experience pain?

This paper outlines the use of massage and aromatherapy for pain management and how it might work, concentrating specifically on patients with multiple sclerosis who have long-standing pain. The services currently offered to these patients are discussed to include the assessment procedure, the treatments undertaken and the range of essential oils used. The review procedure, and continuation of the treatments are also outlined with a brief summary of audit results being presented.

Nurse of the year 2002. An interview with Amanda Howarth.

Dawn Freshwater interviews Nurse of the Year (2002) Amanda Howarth and asks her about her work as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Pain Management where she is using Complementary Therapies to help patients with Multiple Sclerosis cope with chronic pain.