When Blood Cell Counts Matter: Hypereosinophilic Syndrome as a Rare Cause of Ischemic Strokes.

Hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) is a rare condition characterized by elevated eosinophil counts (>1.5 x 10 on two consecutive measurements), which are of myeloid clonal in origin or are driven by excess cytokines. One subtype of HES exhibits the Fip1-like 1-platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (FIP1L1-PDGFRA) fusion gene, a gain-of-function mutation resulting in a hyperactive tyrosine kinase.

Social and emotional loneliness in a large sample of Dutch adults aged 19-65: Associations with risk factors.

Loneliness is common in adults of all ages. Prior research among older adults has shown that social loneliness (feelings of missing a wider social network) and emotional loneliness (missing an intimate relationship) differ in risk factors. Therefore, this study examined risk factors of social and emotional loneliness among adults aged 19-65 years.

Opportunities for Tailored Support to Implement Smoke-Free Homes: A Qualitative Study among Lower Socioeconomic Status Parents.

With the aim of preventing children from being exposed to secondhand smoke, we examined to which level lower socio-economic status (SES) households had implemented home smoking rules and the factors that hampered parents in their process of change toward a complete smoke-free home (SFH). We conducted a qualitative study including semi-structured in-depth interviews with 14 parents of young children living in a lower SES neighborhood of a provincial town in the Netherlands. Interview transcripts were subjected to a qualitative content analysis.

Spontaneously published illness stories on a website for young women with breast cancer: do writers and themes reflect the wider population?

This study examined writer characteristics and themes written about in a set of 167 spontaneously published stories on a Dutch website for young women with breast cancer. The stories were coded for 6 disease characteristics and 16 themes. Coding results were compared with the characteristics of young women with breast cancer in a hospital cancer register and to the frequency of problems among young breast cancer patients participating in quantitative studies.

How breast cancer patients want to search for and retrieve information from stories of other patients on the internet: an online randomized controlled experiment.

Background: Other patients' stories on the Internet can give patients information, support, reassurance, and practical advice.

Objectives: We examined which search facility for online stories resulted in patients' satisfaction and search success.

Methods: This study was a randomized controlled experiment with a 2x2 factorial design conducted online.