Publications by authors named "B Merrick"

Purpose: Procedural anxiety of cancer treatments may negatively impact patients and treatments. Mindfulness-promoting environment modification with virtual reality (VR) is increasingly used across medicine to minimize procedural anxiety. We aimed to assess the impacts of intrafraction mindfulness-promoting VR use during external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) on radiation therapy experience and physiological measures of distress.

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Understanding the complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors in disease etiology and the role of gene-environment interactions (GEIs) across human development stages is important. We review the state of GEI research, including challenges in measuring environmental factors and advantages of GEI analysis in understanding disease mechanisms. We discuss the evolution of GEI studies from candidate gene-environment studies to genome-wide interaction studies (GWISs) and the role of multi-omics in mediating GEI effects.

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The first British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) and Healthcare Infection Society (HIS)-endorsed faecal microbiota transplant (FMT) guidelines were published in 2018. Over the past 5 years, there has been considerable growth in the evidence base (including publication of outcomes from large national FMT registries), necessitating an updated critical review of the literature and a second edition of the BSG/HIS FMT guidelines. These have been produced in accordance with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence-accredited methodology, thus have particular relevance for UK-based clinicians, but are intended to be of pertinence internationally.

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Article Synopsis
  • The British Society of Gastroenterology and the Healthcare Infection Society created new guidelines about faecal microbiota transplant (FMT) because the knowledge about it has grown a lot since their first guidelines in 2018.
  • The new guidelines have important information about when to give FMT, how to choose good donors, and how to safely use it to treat infections, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • They also look at new research on using FMT for other health problems and give advice on special situations where FMT might be needed for patients.
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