Physical Health Checks and Follow-Up Care in Deprived and Ethnically Diverse People With Severe Mental Illness: Co-Designed Recommendations for Better Care.

Background: There is wide variation in premature mortality rates in adults with severe mental illness (SMI) across London, with Tower Hamlets (a highly deprived and ethnically diverse area) scoring the highest.

Objective: To identify examples of best practice and co-design recommendations for improving physical health checks and follow-up care amongst people with SMI in Tower Hamlets.

Methods: Data were collected through online questionnaires (using SMI physical health best practice checklists), one-on-one interviews (n = 7) and focus groups (n = 3) with general practices, secondary mental health services, commissioners and leads of community services and public health programmes, experts by experience and community, voluntary and social enterprise organisations in Tower Hamlets.

Addition of fibers derived from paper mill sludge in paper coatings: impact on microstructure, surface and optical properties.

Traditionally, cellulose nanofiber (CNF) production has primarily relied on virgin cellulose sources. Yet, the shift to using paper mill sludge (PMS) as a source for CNF underscores the significance of reusing and recycling industrial byproducts. PMS contains significant amounts of cellulose that can be extracted as a raw material.

Challenges and learning in carrying out an enhanced sample to provide small area data for the dental survey of five-year-old children in England.

Objective: To investigate the method, learning and challenges of using an enhanced sample to provide small area data for the dental survey of five-year-old children in England.

Design: Pilot in six London local authorities, of increased sample size during a national survey to enable a more precise sample size calculation to deliver information accurate at electoral ward level. Challenges were explored through interviews with the teams who either planned or conducted the survey.

Patient and professional engagement in the procurement of dental services.

Objective: To describe the process of patient and professional engagement in the procurement of a specialist dental service. Stakeholder engagement is the practice of interacting with, and influencing, project stakeholders to the overall benefit of the project and its advocates. The successful completion of a project usually depends on how the stakeholders view it.

Parenting and oral health in an inner-city environment: a qualitative pilot study.

Background: Preventable oral diseases such as dental caries remain common in the United Kingdom. Clustering of poor health is observed within deprived communities, such as inner-city areas, where elevated levels of dental need are associated with lower uptake of dental care. Successful oral health promotion (OHP) initiatives are contingent upon effective community engagement.

Oral health and oral health behaviours of five-year-old children in the Charedi Orthodox Jewish Community in North London, UK.

Objective: To report on the oral health status and oral health behaviours of five-year-old Charedi Orthodox Jewish children attending schools in London, UK.

Basic Research Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Method: Clinical examinations mirroring the 2015 National Dental Public Health Epidemiology Programme for England for five-year-olds and a parental questionnaire on oral health behaviours.

Oral impacts on quality of life and problem-oriented attendance among South East London adults.

Background: Dental care seeking behaviour is often driven by symptoms. The value of oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) measures to predict utilisation of dental services is unknown. This study aims to explore the association between OHRQoL and problem-oriented dental attendance among adults.

Looking after the mouth - Evaluation of a pilot for a new approach to training care home carers in Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

Objective This pilot study aimed to produce and evaluate training resources and training in oral health care, including oral hygiene, for carers in care homes in Surrey and Medway.Methods During two training days, for carers from these homes, short, interactive presentations were given on a range of topics relevant to oral health care and oral hygiene of older people, followed by practical training. Prior to any training all attendees completed a 39 question questionnaire to establish their baseline knowledge of oral health and hygiene.

Listening to older adults: community consultation on a new dental service.

Background: Increased life expectancy, retention of a natural dentition often heavily restored, and increasing risks of oral disease mean that older people have particular dental needs and yet uptake of care is low. A new health and wellbeing centre in south London offering student-delivered care has been built to serve the local community. Community views could informed the planning of acceptable care for older people.

Inequalities in the use of dental services among adults in inner South East London.

Improving access to National Health Service (NHS) dentistry is a public health issue that has been a focus for successive governments and policy makers in the UK. To inform this process, commissioners of services need to understand trends in service use and demands of the local population. This study explored inequalities in dental services use among adults in a socially deprived, ethnically diverse metropolitan area of London; satisfaction with services; and public views for improvement of services.

Phase II study of docetaxel in combination with everolimus for second- or third-line therapy of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

We conducted a phase II study of docetaxel in combination with everolimus, a mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor, for salvage therapy of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) based on promising preclinical and early-phase clinical data. Patients with advanced-stage NSCLC treated with one or two previous systemic therapy regimens were given docetaxel (60 mg/m) and everolimus (5 mg orally once daily on days 1-19) every 3 weeks. Archived tumor specimens were evaluated for markers of mTOR pathway activation (total and phosphorylated mTOR, Akt, S6, eIF4e, and 4EBP1).

Insights into the oral health beliefs and practices of mothers from a north London Orthodox Jewish community.

Background: The objective of this study was to explore oral health knowledge and beliefs and access to dental care in a culturally distinct Orthodox Jewish community in North London, with a view to informing local health policy.

Methods: A dual method qualitative approach to data collection was adopted in this study utilising semi-structured face to face interviews and focus groups with women from this North London orthodox Jewish community. In total nine interviews and four focus groups were conducted with a purposive sample of thirty three mothers from the community aged 21-58 years.

Sequence dependence of cell growth inhibition by EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor ZD1839, docetaxel, and cisplatin in head and neck cancer.

Background: This study was to explore whether the efficacy of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor ZD1839 (Z, Iressa, gefitinib) plus chemotherapeutic agents docetaxel (D) and cisplatin (P) may benefit from sequencing of the combination.

Methods: Three head and neck cancer cell lines were used to study the effect of various combinations of and relative sequencing of D, P, and Z in cell growth inhibition. A population pharmacokinetic stimulation study was conducted on Z in silico and used together with the growth inhibition data to derive principles for future in vivo use of this drug combination.

Current status and future perspectives of chemoprevention in head and neck cancer.

The incidence of SCCHN is expected to be approximately 42,800 new cases in the United States with more than 12,000 deaths from this disease for the year 2006. The five-year survival rate for patients with SCCHN in the United States and other developed countries is still poor, approximately 40%, and even those patients who do not experience recurrence of the original cancer, have a high risk of developing a second primary malignancy. Thus, a preventative approach before the development of invasive cancer is highly desirable and novel strategies to reduce cancer incidence in SCCHN and other tobacco-carcinogen related malignancies are being pursued.

Combined modality therapy of esthesioneuroblastoma.

Objective: Esthesioneuroblastoma (ENB) is a rare tumor of the olfactory epithelium. The objective of this study was to evaluate treatment modalities including surgery, IMRT, and chemotherapy and patient outcomes.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on a total of 21 patients.

Enhancement of docetaxel-induced cytotoxicity by blocking epidermal growth factor receptor and cyclooxygenase-2 pathways in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Purpose: The addition of molecular targeted agents to enhance the cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic agents is a promising strategy in cancer treatment. The combination of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors and epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as celecoxib and ZD1839 (gefitinib), was reported to achieve synergistic cell growth inhibition in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Therefore, we postulated that the addition of celecoxib and ZD1839 to docetaxel, a cytotoxic agent, might further increase antitumor activity.

Targeting human herpesvirus-8 for treatment of Kaposi's sarcoma and primary effusion lymphoma.

Purpose Of Review: Human herpesvirus-8, also called the Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus, is present in all cases of Kaposi's sarcoma and primary effusion lymphoma and in some cases of multicentric Castleman's disease. This review discusses mechanisms by which human herpesvirus-8 contributes to tumorigenesis and how this knowledge can be used to target the virus for the treatment of these tumors.

Recent Findings: Most primary effusion lymphomas and Kaposi's sarcoma tumor cells are latently infected with human herpesvirus-8 and hence resistant to antiherpesvirus drugs that are dependent on lytic replication.

The targeting of primary effusion lymphoma cells for apoptosis by inducing lytic replication of human herpesvirus 8 while blocking virus production.

Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a B-cell lymphoma in which human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) is found within all tumor cells and represents a target for selectively destroying tumor cells. HHV-8 is latent in most PEL cells and, hence, resistant to antiviral agents that inhibit lytic replication. We demonstrate that PEL cell lines containing HHV-8 without and with coinfection with Epstein-Barr virus responded to the antiseizure medication valproate with entry into the lytic cascade and production of infectious virus.

Syndecan-2 regulates transforming growth factor-beta signaling.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) has multiple functions including increasing extracellular matrix deposition in fibrosis. It functions through a complex family of cell surface receptors that mediate downstream signaling. We report here that a transmembrane heparan sulfate proteoglycan, syndecan-2 (S2), can regulate TGF-beta signaling.

A novel model to study renal myofibroblast formation in vitro.

Background: In chronic renal disease, the decrease of excretory renal function closely correlates with the extent of interstitial fibrosis. A common feature of interstitial fibrosis is the occurrence of myofibroblasts, which are regarded as the predominant cells in matrix synthesis. We studied the transformation of renal fibroblasts into myofibroblasts in vitro as a model to elucidate the mechanisms underlying this process.

Control of extracellular matrix assembly by syndecan-2 proteoglycan.

Extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and organization is maintained by transmembrane signaling and integrins play major roles. We now show that a second transmembrane component, syndecan-2 heparan sulfate proteoglycan, is pivotal in matrix assembly. Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells were stably transfected with full length (S2) or truncated syndecan-2 lacking the C-terminal 14 amino acids of the cytoplasmic domain (S2deltaS).

Cardiac involvement in proximal myotonic myopathy.

Proximal myotonic myopathy (PROMM) is a recently described autosomal dominantly inherited disorder resulting in proximal muscles weakness, myotonia, and cataracts. A few patients with cardiac involvement (sinus bradycardia, supraventricular bigeminy, conduction abnormalities) have been reported. The cases of three relatives with PROMM (weakness of neck flexors and proximal extremity muscles, calf hypertrophy, myotonia, cataracts) are reported: a 54 year old man, his 73 year old mother, and 66 year old aunt.

Acute and chronic effects on cholesterol biosynthesis of LDL-apheresis with or without concomitant HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor therapy.

To determine the acute and long-term effects of low density lipoprotein (LDL) reduction on cholesterol biosynthesis, we studied changes in the cholesterol precursors mevalonic acid (MVA) and lathosterol in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia undergoing LDL-apheresis. Long-term LDL-apheresis in eight patients resulted in slight but insignificant increases in plasma MVA levels and lathosterol/cholesterol (L/C) ratios over 18 months. In short-term studies, six patients not on drugs and six patients treated with lovastatin or pravastatin had blood taken immediately before and after LDL-apheresis, and afterwards on days 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7.