Quality of life patient-reported outcomes for locally advanced cutaneous melanoma.

Locally advanced cutaneous melanoma has marked quality-of-life implications; however, the patient experience of symptom management and subsequent impact on quality of life has not been well described. This study aims to address the impact on patients of advanced cutaneous melanoma through qualitative interviews. Adults with stage IIIB, IIIC, or IV (M1a) cutaneous melanoma were recruited from two cancer centers in the USA and one in Australia.

Postpartum haemorrhoids--evaluation of a cooling device (Anurex) for relief of symptoms.

Postpartum haemorrhoids are a common problem, for which the recently marketed cooling device, Anurex (Roussel Uclaf Australia, Pennant Hills, NSW), was evaluated in 129 women randomly allocated to treatment and control groups. There was no difference in the rate of resolution of pain between the groups. The test group estimated a greater duration of pain relief, but this was not statistically significant.

Manipulation of gut hormone response to food by soluble fiber and alpha-glucosidase inhibition.

Preliminary data indicated that viscous fiber (guar) and alpha-glycosidase inhibition (acarbose) used in combination to slow carbohydrate absorption have an apparently additive effect in reducing the postprandial glycemic response. The full endocrine data reported here also demonstrate that reductions in insulin and gastric inhibitory polypeptide are most significant when guar and acarbose are used in combination. The results are divergent for enteroglucagon when guar and acarbose were given singly.

Effect of modifying the rate of digestion of a food on the blood glucose, amino acid, and endocrine responses in patients with cirrhosis.

To see whether foods with slower rates of digestion may benefit the metabolic abnormalities seen in cirrhosis, the same food, processed in two different ways, was fed to seven patients with cirrhosis. The breakfast of lentils processed by prolonged heating, to produce more rapid in vitro digestion, resulted in a significantly higher incremental rise in large neutral amino acid levels at 60 min (p less than 0.02) and a tendency for a more rapid rise in total amino acid concentrations by comparison with conventionally cooked lentils with slower in vitro digestion rates.

Somatostatin-14 modulates postprandial glucose levels and release of gastrointestinal and pancreatic hormones.

Ingestion of a 4,500-kcal mixed meal by healthy volunteers resulted in a significant rise of plasma somatostatin-14-like immunoreactivity (9 +/- 1 pmol l-1. Whether this peptide has a role as a humoral agent or not is still controversial and, until recently, most studies investigating its effects by exogenous administration have produced vastly supraphysiological circulating plasma levels. In order to reproduce the rise obtained following the large meal, synthetic somatostatin-14 was infused at a dose of 0.