Acupuncture and osteopathic medicine for atopic dermatitis: a three-armed, randomized controlled explorative clinical trial.

Background: Patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) frequently use acupuncture (ACU) and osteopathic medicine (OM), although their therapeutic benefits are unclear.

Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of ACU and OM in patients with AD.

Methods: In a three-armed, single-centre, randomized controlled open explorative clinical trial, adult patients with AD received ACU, OM or no study intervention (control group; CG) plus routine care.

Aβ oligomer concentration in mouse and human brain and its drug-induced reduction ex vivo.

The elimination of amyloid beta (Aβ) oligomers is a promising strategy for therapeutic drug development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD mouse models that develop Aβ pathology have been used to demonstrate in vivo efficacy of compounds that later failed in clinical development. Here, we analyze the concentration and size distribution of Aβ oligomers in different transgenic mouse models of AD and in human brain samples by surface-based fluorescence intensity distribution analysis (sFIDA), a highly sensitive method for detecting and quantitating protein aggregates.

Cost-effectiveness of patient navigation programs for stroke patients-A systematic review.

Objective: Stroke remains a leading cause of premature death, impairment and reduced quality of life. Its aftercare is performed by numerous different health care service providers, resulting in a high need for coordination. Personally delivered patient navigation (PN) is a promising approach for managing pathways through health care systems and for improving patient outcomes.

Implementation of a patient-collected audio recording audit & feedback quality improvement program to prevent contextual error: stakeholder perspective.

Background: Using patient audio recordings of medical visits to provide clinicians with feedback on their attention to patient life context in care planning can improve health care delivery and outcomes, and reduce costs. However, such an initiative can raise concerns across stakeholders about surveillance, intrusiveness and merit. This study examined the perspectives of patients, physicians and other clinical staff, and facility leaders over 3 years at six sites during the implementation of a patient-collected audio quality improvement program designed to improve patient-centered care in a non-threatening manner and with minimal effort required of patients and clinicians.

Impact of an unannounced standardized veteran program on access to community-based services for veterans experiencing homelessness.

Background: The United States Department of Veterans Affairs established a program in which actors incognito portray veterans experiencing homelessness with pre-determined needs to identify barriers to access and services at community-based organizations.

Methods: From 2017 to 2019, actors who varied in gender, skin color and age portrayed one of three scripts at all VA Community-Based Resource and Referral Centers (CRRCs) serving veterans experiencing homelessness in 30 cities and completed an evaluative survey. They carried authentic VA identification and were registered in a VA patient database for each identity.