Longitudinal results of strengthening the parent-team alliance in child semi-residential psychiatry: does team investment make a difference?

Background: In a semi-residential setting where children switch daily between treatment and home, establishment of a strong parent-team alliance can be a challenge. The development of alliance with parents and the symptoms of the child might be strengthened by a structured investment of treatment team members.

Methods: Participants were caregivers and treatment team members of 46 children (6-12 years) who received semi-residential psychiatric treatment.

Dissection of a metastatic gene expression signature into distinct components.

Background: Metastasis, the process whereby cancer cells spread, is in part caused by an incompletely understood interplay between cancer cells and the surrounding stroma. Gene expression studies typically analyze samples containing tumor cells and stroma. Samples with less than 50% tumor cells are generally excluded, thereby reducing the number of patients that can benefit from clinically relevant signatures.

The chemokine and chemokine receptor profile of infiltrating cells in the wall of arteries with cardiac allograft vasculopathy is indicative of a memory T-helper 1 response.

Background: Despite improvement in short-term patient survival after heart transplantation (HTx), long-term survival rates have not improved much, mainly because of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV). Cytokines and chemokines are considered to play an important role in CAV development.

Methods And Results: We focused on coronary arteries of HTx patients and made an inventory of the infiltrating cells and the expression of cytokines as well as chemokines and chemokine receptors (C+CR) in the different layers of the vessel wall with CAV.

Brain natriuretic peptide is produced both by cardiomyocytes and cells infiltrating the heart in patients with severe heart failure supported by a left ventricular assist device.

Background: Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a cardiac neurohormone synthesized in cardiac ventricles as a result of increased wall stress. Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) support in patients with end-stage heart failure results in reduced wall stress and therefore may change BNP levels in the heart.

Methods: BNP plasma levels were measured in 17 patients with end-stage HF before LVAD implantation and at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after LVAD support.