Whole-Organ Pancreas and Islets Transplantations in UK: An Overview and Future Directions.

Whole-organ pancreas and islets transplantations are two therapeutic options to treat type 1 diabetic patients resistant to optimised medical treatment in whom severe complications develop. Selection of the best option for β-cell replacement depends on several factors such as kidney function, patient comorbidities, and treatment goals. For a patient with end-stage kidney disease, the treatment of choice is often a simultaneous transplant of the pancreas and kidney (SPK).

Blocking TGF- and -Catenin Epithelial Crosstalk Exacerbates CKD.

The TGF- and Wnt/-catenin pathways have important roles in modulating CKD, but how these growth factors affect the epithelial response to CKD is not well studied. TGF- has strong profibrotic effects, but this pleiotropic factor has many different cellular effects depending on the target cell type. To investigate how TGF- signaling in the proximal tubule, a key target and mediator of CKD, alters the response to CKD, we injured mice lacking the TGF- type 2 receptor specifically in this epithelial segment.

Depression as a predictor of disease progression and mortality in cancer patients: a meta-analysis.

Background: Cancer patients and oncologists believe that psychological variables influence the course of cancer, but the evidence remains inconclusive. This meta-analysis assessed the extent to which depressive symptoms and major depressive disorder predict disease progression and mortality in cancer patients.

Methods: Using the MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and EMBASE online databases, the authors identified prospective studies that examined the association between depressive symptoms or major/minor depression and risk of disease progression or mortality in cancer patients.

Can psychological factors account for a lack of nocturnal blood pressure dipping?

Background: In healthy individuals, blood pressure (BP) decreases, or "dips", during sleep. Ethnicity and high daytime blood pressure level are known markers of nondipping status. The literature on psychological markers of nondipping is scant but suggests that anger/hostility and chronic stress may be contributors to nondipping.

Prostate cancer stories in the Canadian print media: representations of illness, disease and masculinities.

Despite the popularity of print media as an information source for men with prostate cancer, the representation of prostate cancer within this medium remains relatively understudied. This article details the findings from an analysis of prostate cancer articles published in two Canadian national newspapers, The Globe and Mail and the National Post, from January 2001 through to December 2006. The 817 prostate cancer articles published during this period were retrieved and reviewed using manifest and latent analyses.

Women and prostate cancer support groups: the gender connect?

There are more than 100 prostate cancer support groups (PCSGs) in Canada, most of which meet on a monthly basis-yet little attention has been paid to the role of women at these groups. As part of an ongoing ethnographic study of PCSGs, we examined women's motivations for attending the groups, their ways of functioning in PCSGs and the benefits they accrued. Participant observations conducted at 13 British Columbian-based PCSGs and individual interview data from 20 women who regularly attended PCSG meetings were analyzed.

Psychological treatment of cardiac patients: a meta-analysis.

Previous reports of the effectiveness of psychological treatments (PTs) for cardiac patients reveal inconsistent results. We determined overall effects and gender differences. Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials, containing a PT arm.

Immunosuppressive therapy for ocular mucous membrane pemphigoid strategies and outcomes.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness and toxicity of a stepladder immunosuppression strategy, including the use of mycophenolate mofetil and combination therapy, in the treatment of ocular mucous membrane pemphigoid.

Design: Retrospective, noncomparative, interventional case series.

Participants: Two hundred twenty-three eyes of 115 patients.