The Impact of Chemotherapy-Related Cognitive Impairment on Social Roles and Well-Being in Breast Cancer Survivors.

Purpose: To explore the impact of disruptions in information processing (DIPs) on social roles, well-being, and quality of life (QOL) in breast cancer survivors after chemotherapy.

Participants & Setting: Experiences of DIPs were explored in eight breast cancer survivors aged 53-70 years, 12-60 months post-treatment, referred from a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center and a nonprofit breast cancer support organization from January 6 to August 31, 2020.

Methodologic Approach: This study used a mixed-methods approach.

Electrophysiological resting state brain network and episodic memory in healthy aging adults.

Recent studies have emphasized the changes in large-scale brain networks related to healthy aging, with the ultimate purpose to aid in differentiating normal neurocognitive aging from neurodegenerative disorders that also arise with age. Emerging evidence from functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) indicates that connectivity patterns within specific brain networks, especially the Default Mode Network (DMN), distinguish those with Alzheimer's disease from healthy individuals. In addition, disruptive alterations in the large-scale brain systems that support high-level cognition are shown to accompany cognitive decline at the behavioral level, which is commonly observed in the aging populations, even in the absence of disease.

R2 and R2* MRI assessment of liver iron content in an undifferentiated diagnostic population with hyperferritinaemia, and impact on clinical decision making.

Purpose: To confirm the linear correlation between Ferriscan® R2 (1/T2 Relaxomatry) and R2* (1/T2* Relaxometry) derived 3D Gradient echo (GRE) mDIXON-Quant sequence (Philips) with simultaneous production of a proton density fat fraction (PDFF) in undifferentiated patients with hyperferritinaemia, and to prospectively determine the clinical utility of this tool in these patients by recording the impact on clinical decision-making.

Materials And Methods: Participants referred to a hospital haematology outpatient clinic for investigation and management of elevated serum ferritin (two serum ferritin levels > 500 μg/L 4 weeks apart) were included in the study.

Exclusion Criteria: contraindications to MRI; clinically relevant investigations for alternative causes of hyperferritinaemia pending; and terminal illness.

Amplitude of fNIRS Resting-State Global Signal Is Related to EEG Vigilance Measures: A Simultaneous fNIRS and EEG Study.

Recently, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has been utilized to image the hemodynamic activities and connectivity in the human brain. With the advantage of economic efficiency, portability, and fewer physical constraints, fNIRS enables studying of the human brain at versatile environment and various body positions, including at bed side and during exercise, which complements the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, like fMRI, fNIRS imaging can be influenced by the presence of a strong global component.

Evaluation of student perceptions with 2 interprofessional assessment tools-the Collaborative Healthcare Interdisciplinary Relationship Planning instrument and the Interprofessional Attitudes Scale-following didactic and clinical learning experiences in the United States.

Purpose: This study investigated changes in students' attitudes using 2 validated interprofessional survey instruments-the Collaborative Healthcare Interdisciplinary Relationship Planning (CHIRP) instrument and the Interprofessional Attitudes Scale (IPAS)-before and after didactic and clinical cohorts.

Methods: Students from 7 colleges/schools participated in didactic and clinical cohorts during the 2017-2018 year. Didactic cohorts experienced 2 interactive sessions 6 months apart, while clinical cohorts experienced 4 outpatient clinical sessions once monthly.

Sleep-Disordered Breathing and Cerebral Oxygenation During Sleep in Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment.

The current study examined relationships between laterality in cerebral oxygenation (L-COX), sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), and daytime function in 16 adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). All participants underwent two nights of diagnostic polysomnography. Using dual-cerebral oximetry, L-COX was defined by differences ≥4% in right- versus left-sided percent cerebral oxyhemoglobin saturation.

Successful treatment of central nervous system myeloma manifesting as cauda equina nodules with intrathecal chemotherapy, lenalidomide and dexamethasone.

We report a case of central nervous system myeloma manifesting as cauda equina nodules, successfully treated with triple intrathecal (IT) chemotherapy, lenalidomide and dexamethasone. After presenting with multiple plasmacytomas which led to a diagnosis of non-secretory myeloma at age 56, the patient underwent multiple episodes of treatment for relapsing myeloma over a 7-year period. In March 2017, he presented with declining gait over a month with bilateral hip flexion weakness, absent lower limb reflexes and dorsal column loss.

Accelerated vascular aging and persistent cognitive impairment in older female breast cancer survivors.

Advances in breast cancer treatment have markedly increased survivorship over the past three decades, with over 3.1 million survivors expected to live into their 70s and 80s. Without symptom relief interventions, nearly 35% of these survivors will have life-altering and distressing cognitive symptoms.

EEG fluctuations of wake and sleep in mild cognitive impairment.

Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI), a condition in which the memory functions of cognition are significantly impaired, is an established risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a tool capable of measuring the dynamics of the brain's neural networks, and is thus an important means in analysis and understanding of aMCI. In this proof-of-concept study, we compared the brain activation patterns of ten aMCI subjects with those of four healthy subjects during sleep by employing a 64-channel EEG data collection system.

Outcomes of Cancer Survivorship Care Provided by Advanced Practice RNs Compared to Other Models of Care: A Systematic Review.

Problem Identification: Advanced practice RNs (APRNs) have become leaders in providing survivorship care. However, outcomes of survivorship care provided by APRNs compared to other providers remain unclear.

Literature Search: A systematic literature search included articles published after 2005 that described a survivorship model of care and use of a survivorship care plan (SCP), as well as reported outcomes.

The Experience of Cancer in American Indians Living in Oklahoma.

Many cancers in American Indians (AIs) are not diagnosed early leading to effects on physical, social, and emotional well-being or quality of life (QOL). Little research has been done on QOL of AIs in Oklahoma. This study examined the experience of living with cancer of AIs in Oklahoma to gain greater understanding of QOL issues and provide a basis for interventions to improve QOL.

Cancer screening in the older adult: issues and concerns.

Making individual recommendations for cancer screening in older adult patients may be difficult and time consuming, because of the need to incorporate complex issues of life expectancy, health status, risks and benefits, and individual values and wishes. In this article, current recommendations and related risks and benefits are summarized. Specific issues and concerns are addressed, with suggestions for strategies to assist older adults in making screening decisions.

Microcalcifications Detected as an Abnormality on Screening Mammography: Outcomes and Followup over a Five-Year Period.

Objectives. This study reviewed the outcome of women attending a breast screening program recalled for assessment of microcalcifications and examined the incidence of a breast carcinoma detected during the following five years in any of the women who were given a benign diagnosis at assessment. Method.

Expressive writing in early breast cancer survivors.

Aims: This article is the report of a study aimed at determining whether or not expressive writing improves the quality-of-life of early breast cancer survivors. An additional aim is the investigation of whether or not the type of writing prompt makes a difference in results.

Background: The risk of distress can extend well beyond the time of a breast cancer diagnosis.

IL-18 contributes to renal damage after ischemia-reperfusion.

IL-18 is a proinflammatory cytokine produced by macrophages and other cell types present in the kidney during ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), but its role in this injury is unknown. Here, compared with wild-type mice, IL-18(-/-) mice subjected to kidney IRI demonstrated better kidney function, less tubular damage, reduced accumulation of neutrophils and macrophages, and decreased expression of proinflammatory molecules that are downstream of IL-18. For determination of the relative contributions of leukocytes and parenchymal cells to IL-18 production and subsequent kidney damage during IRI, bone marrow-chimeric mice were generated.

Reflective writing and nursing education.

Reflective writing is a valued tool for teaching nursing students and for documentation, support, and generation of nursing knowledge among experienced nurses. Expressive or reflective writing is becoming widely accepted in both professional and lay publications as a mechanism for coping with critical incidents. This article explores reflective writing as a tool for nursing education.

Oligogenic combinations associated with breast cancer risk in women under 53 years of age.

Common, but weakly penetrant, functional polymorphisms probably account for most of the genetic risk for breast cancer in the general population. Current polygenic risk models assume that component genes act independently. To test for potential gene-gene interactions, single nucleotide polymorphisms in ten genes with known or predicted roles in breast carcinogenesis were examined in a case-control study of 631 Caucasian women diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 53 years and 1,504 controls under the age of 53 years.

Breast cancer risk: evaluating the risk and role of genetic testing.

Identifying women who might have an increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer due to family history can be difficult for physicians and patients alike. All physicians can identify those women who might be at an increased risk for familial or hereditary breast cancer. Gene testing can refine the estimate of the risk after thorough discussion of the benefits and limitations of current testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2.