Personalized transcriptome signatures in a cardiomyopathy stem cell biobank.

Background: There is growing evidence that pathogenic mutations do not fully explain hypertrophic (HCM) or dilated (DCM) cardiomyopathy phenotypes. We hypothesized that if a patient's genetic background was influencing cardiomyopathy this should be detectable as signatures in gene expression. We built a cardiomyopathy biobank resource for interrogating personalized genotype phenotype relationships in human cell lines.

Cost comparison of adverse event management among breast and ovarian cancer patients treated with poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors: analysis based on phase 3 clinical trials.

Background: The economic impact of adverse events (AEs) for poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPis) in ovarian or breast cancer has not been widely evaluated.

Objective: Compare PARPi-related AE management costs from a US payer perspective.

Methods: The frequency of treatment-related grade 3-4 AEs was obtained from published clinical trials of PARPis for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer (AOC), platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer (PSROC), and metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

Patient preferences and experiences regarding thrombopoietin-receptor agonists for immune thrombocytopenia in the United Kingdom and Ireland (TRAPeze UK & IE study).

Objectives: To establish the experiences with and preferences towards existing thrombopoietin-receptor agonist (TPO-RA) treatments of individuals with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) in the UK and Ireland, based on treatment attributes.

Methods: Responses from UK and Ireland individuals with ITP were collected in a pan-European online survey (TRAPeze, [Thrombopoietin-Receptor Agonist Patient experience survey]) from 18 September 2020 to 18 February 2021. TRAPeze was a survey of treatment preference regarding TPO-RAs (using a discrete choice experiment design), participant demographics, disease characteristics, treatment history, overall satisfaction with therapy, direct healthcare resource utilization and wider social impact.

Real-world treatment patterns and outcomes in small-cell lung cancer: a systematic literature review.

Background: Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for 12-15% of lung cancers and is associated with poor survival outcomes and high symptom burden. This study employed a broad, systematic search strategy and timeframe to identify evidence on real-world treatment patterns and outcomes for SCLC outside the USA, including understanding sub-populations such as extensive-stage (ES) or limited-stage (LS) disease.

Methods: Databases (MEDLINE, Embase, and EBM reviews) were searched for journal articles published in the English language between 1 January 2000-1 March 2020 and supplemented by hand searching of conference abstracts and posters presented at conferences between 1 January 2016-1 March 2020 reporting real-world treatment outcomes in patients with SCLC.

A Review of the Important Role of in Pharmacogenomics.

Cytochrome P450 2D6 () is a critical pharmacogene involved in the metabolism of ~20% of commonly used drugs across a broad spectrum of medical disciplines including psychiatry, pain management, oncology and cardiology. Nevertheless, is highly polymorphic with single-nucleotide polymorphisms, small insertions/deletions and larger structural variants including multiplications, deletions, tandem arrangements, and hybridisations with non-functional CYP2D7 pseudogenes. The frequency of these variants differs across populations, and they significantly influence the drug-metabolising enzymatic function of CYP2D6.

Phenotypically Silent Bone Morphogenetic Protein Receptor 2 Mutations Predispose Rats to Inflammation-Induced Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension by Enhancing the Risk for Neointimal Transformation.

Background: (bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2) mutations are critical risk factors for hereditary pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) with approximately 20% of carriers developing disease. There is an unmet medical need to understand how environmental factors, such as inflammation, render mutants susceptible to PAH. Overexpressing 5-LO (5-lipoxygenase) provokes lung inflammation and transient PAH in mice.

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of cephalosporins for the treatment of Lyme disease.

Background: Lyme disease accounts for >90% of all vector-borne disease cases in the United States and affect ~300,000 persons annually in North America. Though traditional tetracycline antibiotic therapy is generally prescribed for Lyme disease, still 10%-20% of patients treated with current antibiotic therapy still show lingering symptoms.

Methods: In order to identify new drugs, we have evaluated four cephalosporins as a therapeutic alternative to commonly used antibiotics for the treatment of Lyme disease by using microdilution techniques like minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC).

Somatization in cancer.

Somatic symptoms can occur in disease-free cancer patients. The causes of such symptoms in cancer can be many and varied. These could be due to anxiety, depression, somatization or a manifestation of illness behaviour.

Transfer of communication skills training from workshop to workplace: the impact of clinical supervision.

Objective: Recent studies have recognised that the communication skills learned in the training environment are not always transferred back into the clinical setting. This paper reports a study which investigated the potential of clinical supervision in enhancing the transfer process.

Methods: A randomised controlled trial was conducted involving 61 clinical nurse specialists.

Identifying the concerns of women undergoing chemotherapy.

This cross-sectional study aimed to identify key concerns of cancer patients receiving in-patient chemotherapy, determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression, and assess whether ward nurses could identify patients' concerns. Thirty-three women on a chemotherapy ward in the northwest of England who had breast, ovarian, cervical or uterine cancer were interviewed using a Concerns Checklist and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Patients expressed an average of 10.

Giving feedback to learners in the practice.

Background: Many general practitioners accept vocational registrars and medical students into their practice. Giving feedback to students on their work performance is an essential component of teaching in general

Objective: This article examines the central role of feedback in the teaching of medical students and registrars and provides practical guidelines on how to provide feedback in the setting of a busy general practice, describes some barriers and pitfalls, and provides a registrar's perspective on what learners see as important.

Discussion: For feedback to be effective, it must be given in a supportive environment.

Can oncology nurses treat depression? A pilot project.

Background: Depression is a common problem in all medically ill populations. Reported prevalence rates of major depression in patients with cancer are up to 50%. Cancer patients attending primary care and medical outpatient clinics with comorbid major depressive disorder frequently do not receive effective treatment.

Managing the difficult consultation.

Patients are more likely to develop psychological problems if their concerns are unresolved and their information needs unmet. However, many health professionals are uncertain how to elicit patients' concerns or tailor information appropriately. These difficulties may also lead to psychological problems for the health professional.

A patient-centred approach to defining and assessing interviewing competency.

The inclusion of communication skills as a core competency in health care curricula, has led to the need to define adequacy in this area. Developments in the field of interview analysis have meant that robust and objective ways of assessing interview behaviours are now available; however, these systems in themselves do not provide a model for assessing competency. As adequacy in interviewing is contextually driven, this paper discusses the potential of using patient centeredness to address the issue.

Validation of the Cardiovascular Limitations and Symptoms Profile (CLASP) in chronic stable angina.

Purpose: This study aimed to establish the reliability, validity, and sensitivity of the Cardiovascular Limitations and Symptoms Profile (CLASP) in a group of patients with chronic stable angina.

Methods: After 226 patients with angina had been recruited, they were randomly allocated to one of three groups: a 10-week hospital-based angina management program (n = 75; men = 56; age = 60 +/- 8 years), routine care (n = 74; men = 52; age = 61 +/- 7 years), and exercise therapy (n = 77; men = 60; age = 60 +/- 7 years). All the patients were assessed with CLASP on two occasions: at baseline and at 10 weeks.