Developing a service improvement initiative for people with learning disabilities in hospice settings.

People with learning disabilities are often marginalised in healthcare, including in hospice settings, and as a result may not receive effective end of life care. Research in hospice settings has identified that many staff lack confidence, skills and knowledge in caring for people with learning disabilities, which can have a negative effect on the care these individuals receive. To address these issues, the author has proposed a service improvement initiative, which she developed as part of her learning disability nursing degree programme.

Results of the APML3 trial incorporating all-trans-retinoic acid and idarubicin in both induction and consolidation as initial therapy for patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Background: Initial therapy for patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia most often involves the combination of all-trans-retinoic acid with anthracycline-based chemotherapy. The role of non-anthracycline drugs in induction and consolidation is less well-established and varies widely between different cooperative group protocols.

Design And Methods: In an attempt to minimize relapse and maximize survival for patients with newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia, the Australasian Leukaemia and Lymphoma Group utilized all-trans-retinoic acid and idarubicin as anti-leukemic therapy for both induction and consolidation.

A rapid RT-PCR screening assay incorporating multiplexed validated control genes for CBF rearrangements at diagnosis in AML.

Aims: Our objective was to establish a multiplexed assay using the Biomed 1 primers to detect AML1-ETO transcripts and 10 different CBFB-MYH11 transcripts, using BCR and ABL transcripts as controls.

Methods: Control genes were systematically tested for characteristics of optimal controls. The final assay was validated on 50 AML patient samples.

A unique structural abnormality of chromosome 16 resulting in a CBF beta-MYH11 fusion transcript in a patient with acute myeloid leukemia, FAB M4.

A 43-year-old female with a peripheral white cell count of 118.0 x 10(9)/L and 96% blasts was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), FAB M4. Cytogenetics, performed on a bone marrow sample, revealed the following abnormal karyotype: 46,XX,ins(16)(q22p13.

Absolute quantitation of specific mRNAs in cell and tissue samples by comparative PCR.

A comparative PCR assay, for the absolute quantitation of specific mRNAs in cell and tissue samples, has been designed to overcome problems with previous techniques. cDNAs made from the RNAs are co-amplified with "competitor" plasmid templates under conditions in which reagents are not limiting at the equivalence point, thereby preventing competition between target and competitor templates and distinguishing the assay from competitive PCR assays. The cDNAs are serially diluted, and competitor templates concentrations are kept constant, rather than vice versa, as occurs in competitive PCR assays.