Quality of life assessment in patients with nonmelanoma skin cancer - psychometric validation of the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire.

Background: Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is a chronic and sometimes difficult-to-treat condition affecting the quality of life (QL). The present study was conducted to investigate whether the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) core QL Questionnaire - Cancer (QLQ-C30) is a suitable tool for the assessment of QL in patients with NMSC.

Patients And Methods: In order to define the psychometric properties of the questionnaire, the QLQ-C30 and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) were handed out to 172 patients of the Department of Dermatology at the University Hospital Regensburg, Germany.

Poly(ethylene glycol)s as Ligands in Calcium-Catalyzed Cyclic Carbonate Synthesis.

Herein the use of CaI in combination with poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether (PEG DME 500) as an efficient catalyst system for the addition of CO to epoxides is reported. This protocol is based on a nontoxic and abundant metal in conjunction with a polymeric ligand. Fifteen terminal epoxides were converted at room temperature to give the desired products in yields up to 99 %.

Recent Developments in the Synthesis of Cyclic Carbonates from Epoxides and CO.

The use of CO as a C1 building block will be of essential importance in the future. In this context the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and CO gained great attention recently. These products are valuable compounds in a variety of chemical fields.

Organocatalyzed Synthesis of Oleochemical Carbonates from CO and Renewables.

Bifunctional phosphorus-based organocatalysts proved to be highly efficient for the atom-economic reaction of CO and epoxidized oleochemicals. Notably, those products are obtained from CO and renewable feedstocks only. Structure-activity relationships have been deduced from a screening of 22 organocatalysts in a test reaction.

Geriatric Care Issues: An American and an International Perspective.

As the global population ages, there is an opportunity to benefit from the increased longevity of a healthy older adult population. Healthy older individuals often contribute financially to younger generations by offering financial assistance, paying more in taxes than benefits received, and providing unpaid childcare and voluntary work. Governments must address the challenges of income insecurity, access to health care, social isolation, and neglect that currently face elderly adults in many countries.

Synthesis of Cyclic Carbonates from Epoxides and Carbon Dioxide by Using Bifunctional One-Component Phosphorus-Based Organocatalysts.

Numerous bifunctional organocatalysts were synthesized and tested for the atom-efficient addition of carbon dioxide and epoxides to produce cyclic carbonates. These catalysts are based on phosphonium salts containing an alcohol moiety in the side chain for substrate activation through hydrogen bonding. In the model reaction, converting 1,2-butylene oxide with CO2 , 19 catalysts were tested to determine structure-activity relationships.

Randomized placebo-controlled human pilot study of cold atmospheric argon plasma on skin graft donor sites.

Cold atmospheric plasma has already been shown to decrease the bacterial load in chronic wounds. However, until now it is not yet known if plasma treatment can also improve wound healing. We aimed to assess the impact of cold atmospheric argon plasma on the process of donor site healing.

Skin ageing.

Similar to the entire organism, skin is subject to an unpreventable intrinsic ageing process. Additionally, skin ageing is also influenced by exogenous factors. Ultraviolet radiation in particular results in premature skin ageing, also referred to as extrinsic skin ageing or photoageing, which is the main cause of the changes associated with the ageing process in sun-exposed areas.

[First intention management of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) by custom-made mandibular advancement device: the medium-term results. Prospective study by the General Hospital Pneumologists College (CPHG)].

Objectives: To demonstrate the efficacy and tolerance of present generation mandibular advancement devices in the first intention treatment for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), even when severe, after one year.

Methods: Between June 2006 and December 2007, 152 patients (male: 77%; age: 50.9±10.

Quality of life in health care of non-melanoma skin cancer - results of a pilot study.

Background: Modern patient-oriented medicine increasingly involves psychosocial aspects of disease processes in therapy evaluations. We conducted a pilot study on the implementation of a suitable device assessing the quality of life of patients with non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in clinical routine.

Patients And Methods: 52 patients with NMSC were asked to fill out the German version of the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) by A.

Photodynamic therapy in dermatology.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a modern therapy modality, based upon the application of a photosensitizing agent like aminolevulinic acid, a physiological precursor of porphyrins, onto the tissue followed by illumination with light of the visible wavelength spectrum. During this oxygen-dependent reaction, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated that have immunomodulatory or cytotoxic effects. PDT shows excellent cosmetic results especially for its key indication in dermatology - the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer.

Phototoxic reactions in healthy volunteers following photodynamic therapy with methylaminolevulinate cream or with cream containing 5-aminolevulinic acid: a phase II, randomized study.

Background: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is the selective destruction of abnormal cells through activation of a photosensitizer in the presence of oxygen. Local phototoxic reactions and pain are the most common limiting side effects.

Purpose: The primary objective was to compare the local phototoxic response following PDT with methylaminolevulinate (MAL) and 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA).

Melanoma promotion after photodynamic therapy of a suspected Bowen's disease lesion.

We report on a 61-year-old male patient who developed a melanoma at the site of a suspected Bowen's lesion on the right cheek. This lesion had evolved for years and had been treated using photodynamic therapy (PDT) in an outpatient facility. Only a couple of months after a single PDT treatment, a melanoma was histologically diagnosed.

Topical photodynamic therapy with porphyrin precursors--assessment of treatment-associated pain in a retrospective study.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with aminolevulinic acid (ALA) or methyl aminolevulinate (MAL) is an approved modality for the non-invasive treatment of actinic keratoses (AK) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) offering excellent cosmetic outcome. However, pain during and after illumination is the most frequent and limiting side effect. The aim of this study was to precisely assess how reported pain during PDT is influenced by sex, age, treatment site, disease (AK/BCC) as well as the photosensitizer used.

[Skin and teeth].

Skin and teeth not only share several characteristics in their development but also have a similar ontogenetic origin from the ectoderm. Thus, numerous congenital diseases, such as genetic, infectious, inflammatory, and immune disorders affect both skin and teeth. Particularly skin diseases are often identified by the synopsis of systemic symptoms.

Conducting medication safety research projects in a primary care physician practice-based research network.

Objective: To describe a roadmap for developing a practice-based research network (PBRN) through the experience of conducting medication safety research projects in a primary care physician PBRN.

Setting: Southern Primary-care Urban Research Network (SPUR-Net) in Houston, Tex., from 2000 to 2007.

Development of a Web-based quarterly profile of providers in ATP III study.

A Web-based programmed lipid management reminder system has been developed to evaluate physician compliance with the National Cholesterol Education Program's Third Report of the Adult Treatment Panel Guidelines in primary care clinics. The system builds a knowledge-based database from an EMR database first, then generates quarterly profiles of providers and sends the profiles with a reminder letter to each participated physicians by email every quarter to help primary care providers to improve the quality of their care.

EM clustering analysis of diabetes patients basic diagnosis index.

Cluster analysis can group similar instances into same group and different instances into different groups. It assigns classes to samples without known the classes in advance. EM clustering algorithm can find number of distributions of generating data and build "mixture models".

Development of a Web-based diabetes patient management tool.

A Web-based programmed lipid management reminder system has been developed to evaluate physician compliance with the National Cholesterol Education Program's Third Report of the Adult Treatment Panel Guidelines in primary care clinics. The system builds a knowledge-based database from an EMR database first, then generates quarterly profiles of providers and sends the profiles with a reminder letter to each participated physicians by email every quarter to help primary care providers to improve the quality of their care.

Stress perceptions in community clinic: a pilot survey of patients and physicians.

This pilot survey of 103 patients and 17 physicians in an urban family medicine clinic gathered information pertinent to the design of a feasible stress intervention for patients bothered by stress, but who did not have a psychiatric diagnosis. Among patients, 45% reported being excessively bothered by stress in the preceding month, with the chief stressors being job (70% reporting), financial worries (58%) and family concerns (50%). Patients reported a variety of problems perceived to be related to stress, such as headaches, insomnia, eating control, and gastrointestinal symptoms.

Collaborative drug therapy management services and reimbursement in a family medicine clinic.

Purpose: The legislative and regulatory issues surrounding the reimbursement of pharmacists for cognitive services are reviewed and billing practices for a pharmacist-physician collaborative drug therapy management service (DTMS) in a family medicine clinic are examined. A case study is offered to illustrate the real-world application of these practices.

Summary: As regimens of prescription medications have become more complex and the potential for adverse drug reactions and interactions has increased, the need for individualized optimal drug therapy and drug-therapy experts has grown.

A wireless mobile health-related quality of life assessment.

Self-administered waiting room questionnaires are popular tools for gathering health information from patients, but they require optical scanning or manual data entry to obtain survey results. The application described here eliminates those extra steps by inputting the results into a remote database directly through wireless connection, and the assessment can be finished easily anywhere in the clinic through a mobile platform. A measure of health-related quality of life, the SF-8 Health Survey, was used in developing this application for using in the clinical setting.

Urea breath testing and analysis in the primary care office.

The 13C-urea breath test provides accurate, noninvasive diagnosis of active Helicobacter pylori infection and can document posttherapy cure. This study evaluated point-of-care testing with onsite sample analysis with the use of a desktop infrared spectrophotometer. Ambulatory patients (N=320) underwent 13C-urea breath testing, and breath samples were analyzed immediately by clinic staff with no prior breath testing experience.