Purpose: We qualitatively explored the unique needs and preferences for financial toxicity screening and interventions to address financial toxicity among adolescents and emerging adults (younger AYAs: 15-25 years) with cancer and their caregivers.
Methods: We recruited English- or Spanish-speaking younger AYAs who were treated for cancer within the past 2 years and their caregivers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore preferences for screening and interventional study development to address financial toxicity.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare, neurodegenerative motor neuron disease that affects voluntary muscle movement. Often, difficulty in coughing, breathing, and swallowing are sequela associated with the condition, and the presence of bulbar muscle predominant weakness results in deleterious effects on airway clearance and secretion management. This narrative review will provide practical guidance for clinicians treating this population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Qual Stud Health Well-being
December 2023
Background: COVID-19 added responsibilities to faculty in health-related fields. Educators in these areas have experienced pandemic-related role strain in both the clinical and academic settings.
Purpose: This investigation sought to identify how health science faculty at one institution perceived challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic in their role and to glean opportunities for institutions to increase the degree of support for faculty.
In Fall 2020, universities saw extensive transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among their populations, threatening health of the university and surrounding communities, and viability of in-person instruction. Here we report a case study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where a multimodal "SHIELD: Target, Test, and Tell" program, with other non-pharmaceutical interventions, was employed to keep classrooms and laboratories open. The program included epidemiological modeling and surveillance, fast/frequent testing using a novel low-cost and scalable saliva-based RT-qPCR assay for SARS-CoV-2 that bypasses RNA extraction, called covidSHIELD, and digital tools for communication and compliance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have been shown to be immunomodulatory, tissue regenerative, and graft promoting; however, several questions remain with regard to ideal MSC source and timing of administration. In this study, we utilized a rigorous preclinical model of allogeneic islet cell transplantation, incorporating reduced immune suppression and near to complete mismatch of major histocompatibility antigens between the diabetic cynomolgus monkey recipient and the islet donor, to evaluate both the graft promoting impact of MSC source, that is, derived from the islet recipient, the islet donor or an unrelated third party as well as the impact of timing. Co-transplant of MSC and islets on post-operative day 0, followed by additional IV MSC infusions in the first posttransplant month, resulted in prolongation of rejection free and overall islet survival and superior metabolic control for animals treated with recipient as compared to donor or third-party MSC.
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