Informal and formal long-term care utilization and unmet needs in Europe: examining socioeconomic disparities and the role of social policies for older adults.

The rising number of older adults with limitations in their daily activities has major implications for the demands placed on long-term care (LTC) systems across Europe. Recognizing that demand can be both constrained and encouraged by individual and country-specific factors, this study explains the uptake of home-based long-term care in 18 European countries with LTC policies and pension generosity along with individual factors such as socioeconomic status. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe conducted in 2019, we apply a two-part multilevel model to assess if disparities in use of LTC are driven by disparities in needs or disparities in use of care when in need.

Neuropsychological assessment in pediatric epilepsy surgery: A French procedure consensus.

Neuropsychological assessment is a mandatory part of the pre- and post-operative evaluation in pediatric epilepsy surgery. The neuropsychology task force of the ILAE - French Chapter aims to define a neuropsychological procedure consensus based on literature review and adapted for French practice. They performed a systematic review of the literature published between 1950 and 2023 on cognitive evaluation of individuals undergoing presurgical work-up and post-surgery follow-up and focused on the pediatric population aged 6-16.

Cerebral and cognitive modifications in retired professional soccer players: TC-FOOT protocol, a transverse analytical study.

Introduction: Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. This contact sport carries the risk of exposure to repeated head impacts in the form of subconcussions, defined as minimal brain injuries following head impact, with no symptom of concussion. While it has been suggested that exposure to repetitive subconcussive events can result in long-term neurophysiological modifications, and the later development of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the consequences of these repeated impacts remain controversial and largely unexplored in the context of soccer players.

Connectivity Alterations in Emotional and Cognitive Networks During a Manic State Induced by Direct Electrical Stimulation.

Mania is characterized by affective and cognitive alterations, with heightened external and self-awareness that are opposite to the alteration of awareness during epileptic seizures. Electrical stimulations carried out routinely during stereotactic intracerebral EEG (SEEG) recordings for presurgical evaluation of epilepsy may represent a unique opportunity to study the pathophysiology of such complex emotional-behavioral phenomenon, particularly difficult to reproduce in experimental setting. We investigated SEEG signals-based functional connectivity between different brain regions involved in emotions and in consciousness processing during a manic state induced by electrical stimulation in a patient with drug-resistant focal epilepsy.

The challenges of measuring social cohesion in public health research: A systematic review and ecometric meta-analysis.

The relationship between social cohesion and health has been studied for decades. Yet, due to the contextual nature of this concept, measuring social cohesion remains challenging. Using a meta-analytical framework, this review's goal was to study the ecometric measurement properties of social cohesion in order to describe dissimilarities in its measurement as well as bring a new perspective on the empirical usefulness of the concept itself.

Wireless Home Blood Pressure Monitoring System With Automatic Outcome-Based Feedback and Financial Incentives to Improve Blood Pressure in People With Hypertension: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Hypertension is prevalent in Singapore and is a major risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and increased health care costs. Strategies to lower blood pressure include lifestyle modifications and home blood pressure monitoring. Nonetheless, adherence to home blood pressure monitoring remains low.

Facilitators of and barriers to implementing a traditional Chinese medicine collaborative model of care for axial spondyloarthritis: a qualitative study.

Background: Conventional therapy may be inadequate for many patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) may be a viable alternative, but its effectiveness for axSpA is unknown. We are currently conducting a pragmatic randomised controlled trial (RCT) to investigate the effectiveness of a TCM collaborative model of care (TCMCMC), which combines usual rheumatologic care with acupuncture for patients with axSpA.

Process- and Outcome-Based Financial Incentives to Improve Self-Management and Glycemic Control in People with Type 2 Diabetes in Singapore: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Sub-optimally controlled diabetes increases risks for adverse and costly complications. Self-management including glucose monitoring, medication adherence, and exercise are key for optimal glycemic control, yet, poor self-management remains common.

Objective: The main objective of the Trial to Incentivize Adherence for Diabetes (TRIAD) study was to determine the effectiveness of financial incentives in improving glycemic control among type 2 diabetes patients in Singapore, and to test whether process-based incentives tied to glucose monitoring, medication adherence, and physical activity are more effective than outcome-based incentives tied to achieving normal glucose readings.

Demand for Cancer Screening Services: Results From Randomized Controlled Discrete Choice Experiments.

Objectives: Low uptake of cancer screening services is a global concern. Our aim was to understand factors that influence the screening decision, including screening and treatment subsidies and a gain-frame message designed to present screening as a win-win.

Methods: We analyzed preferences for mammography and Pap smear among women in Singapore by means of discrete choice experiments while randomly exposing half of respondents to a gain-framed public health message promoting the benefits of screening.

Depression could modulate neuropsychological status in epilepsy.

While cognition and depression have often been studied in patients with epilepsy, only a few studies have so far attempted to link these two domains, and more specifically to investigate the specific impact of depression on cognition in epilepsy. In this review, we performed an extensive search of the literature database to provide a better understanding of this subject. Using several inclusion criteria (adult population, quantitative depression/neuropsychological assessment, statistical analyses of the impact of depression on cognitive scores, patients with epilepsy (PWE) and no other neurological disease, and studies including at least 20 patients), we identified 20 articles (out of 712 search results) that investigated both depression and cognition in PWE.

French neuropsychological procedure consensus in epilepsy surgery.

Introduction: Neuropsychological assessment is an integral component of the surgical procedure in patients with epilepsy. As no French consensus for neuropsychological assessment was available, the main goal of this work was to define French neuropsychological procedure consensus in regard to literature review.

Method: A panel of expert in neuropsychology was created within the framework of the French League Against Epilepsy.

Using Adherence-Contingent Rebates on Chronic Disease Treatment Costs to Promote Medication Adherence: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Poor adherence to medications is a global public health concern with substantial health and cost implications, especially for chronic conditions. In the USA, poor adherence is estimated to cause 125,000 deaths and cost $US100 billion annually. The most successful adherence-promoting strategies that have been identified so far have moderate effect, are relatively costly, and raise availability, feasibility, and/or scalability issues.

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of incentives as a tool for prevention of non-communicable diseases: A systematic review.

The rising epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) poses substantial health and economic challenges to both individuals and society. Application of incentive-based strategies based on traditional and behavioural economic theory has emerged as a potential strategy to address rising rates of NCDs. Yet, whether or not incentives truly represent a promising strategy for addressing NCDs has not been systematically addressed nor is it clear whether certain behavioural economic strategies outperform others or simply offering a cash-based incentive for meeting a goal.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) collaborative care for patients with axial spondyloarthritis (AcuSpA): protocol for a pragmatic randomized controlled trial.

Background: Axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) is a chronic disease which results in fatigue, pain, and reduced quality of life (QoL). Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), especially acupuncture, has shown promise in managing pain. Although a TCM collaborative model of care (TCMCMC) has been studied in cancer, there are no randomized controlled trials investigating TCM in AxSpA.

An Early Investigation into Possible Alternatives to Stapled Hysterotomy in Open Fetal Surgery.

Purpose: We hypothesized that surgical energy could be used to create hysterotomies in open fetal surgery.

Study Design: Initial studies compared the LigaSure Impact and Harmonic ACE + 7 Shears in the efficiency of hysterotomy and thermal damage. Pregnant ewes at an estimated gestational age (EGA) of 116 to 120 days (term = 145;  = 7) underwent hysterotomy using either device.

Nitric oxide-releasing semi-crystalline thermoplastic polymers: preparation, characterization and application to devise anti-inflammatory and bactericidal implants.

Semi-crystalline thermoplastics are an important class of biomaterials with applications in creating extracorporeal and implantable medical devices. In situ release of nitric oxide (NO) from medical devices can enhance their performance via NO's potent anti-thrombotic, bactericidal, anti-inflammatory, and angiogenic activity. However, NO-releasing semi-crystalline thermoplastic systems are limited and the relationship between polymer crystallinity and NO release profile is unknown.

Determination of eight carbonyl compounds in aerosols trapped in phosphate buffer saline solutions to support in vitro assessment studies.

When investigating the toxicological impact of aerosols using in vitro systems like cell cultures, it is essential to have a quantitative measurement of the chemicals that the cells are exposed to. Carbonyl compounds represent an important class of marker compounds for in vitro and in vivo exposure to different toxicological agents, including cigarette smoke (CS). A new LC-MS/MS method that quantifies eight of these analytes in aerosols trapped in phosphate-buffered saline solutions has been developed to measure exposure.

[Nursing home, caregiving practice and new work organisation].

The recent ageing of the population is resulting in a corresponding increase in the functional dependence of elderly people. Nursing homes hosting this specific population must adapt to this new profile of resident and their arrival at an increasingly older age. Caregiving tasks are becoming more cumbersome affecting the working conditions of caregivers who also face the new management approaches which are imposed.

Trial to Incentivise Adherence for Diabetes (TRIAD): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Many people with diabetes have suboptimal glycaemic control due to not being adherent to their treatment regimen. Behavioural economic theory suggests that the lack of adherence results from the disconnect between the timing of when costs and benefits accrue. One strategy to address this discontinuity is to offer patients a near-term benefit, such as a financial reward.

Insular cognitive impairment at the early stage of dementia with Lewy bodies: a preliminary study.

Background: The anterior part of the insula appears atrophied in the early stage of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) whereas it is not the case in early Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop neuropsychological markers supposed to reflect insular dysfunction, which would facilitate early diagnosis of DLB, namely in comparison to AD.

Methods: Twelve patients with DLB, 12 patients with AD, all at the stage of Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild dementia, as well as 10 Controls subjects (CS) participated in the study.

Meta-analysis of first-line therapies with maintenance regimens for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in molecularly and clinically selected populations.

Evidence has suggested survival benefits of maintenance for advanced NSCLC patients not progressing after first-line chemotherapy. Additionally, particular first-line targeted therapies have shown survival improvements in selected populations. Optimal first-line and maintenance therapies remain unclear.

Multicomponent intervention versus usual care for management of hypertension in rural Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background: High blood pressure (BP) is the leading attributable risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). In rural South Asia, hypertension continues to be a significant public health issue with sub-optimal BP control rates. The goal of the trial is to compare a multicomponent intervention (MCI) to usual care to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the MCI for lowering BP among adults with hypertension in rural communities in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Stated Uptake of Physical Activity Rewards Programmes Among Active and Insufficiently Active Full-Time Employees.

Background: Employers are increasingly relying on rewards programmes in an effort to promote greater levels of activity among employees; however, if enrolment in these programmes is dominated by active employees, then they are unlikely to be a good use of resources.

Objective: This study uses a stated-preference survey to better understand who participates in rewards-based physical activity programmes, and to quantify stated uptake by active and insufficiently active employees.

Methods: The survey was fielded to a national sample of 950 full-time employees in Singapore between 2012 and 2013.