Experience of Autologous Stem Cell Transplant in Multiple Myeloma: The Patient and Caregiver Perspective.

A qualitative study of the experiences of patients who received autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) was conducted to better understand their MM disease journey, including first symptoms, diagnosis, ASCT, and recovery. Sixteen participants, including 12 patients with MM and 4 caregivers of patients with MM, were interviewed in focus group meetings. Pain, weakness, and bone pain were common first symptoms among patients.

Patient Perceptions of CAR-T Therapy in the USA: Findings from In-Depth Interviews.

Introduction: Chimeric antigen receptor-T cell (CAR-T) therapy has revolutionized advanced blood cancer treatment. However, preparation, administration, and recovery from these therapies can be complex and burdensome to patients and their care partners. Utilization of an outpatient setting for CAR-T therapy administration could help improve convenience and quality of life.

Considerations for the US health-system pharmacist in a world of biosimilars.

As numerous biosimilar products are forecast to enter the US market in the coming years, health-system pharmacists will be faced with novel challenges while incorporating them into clinical practice. The current regulatory approval framework and guidance from the US Food and Drug Administration do not address many real-world scenarios that pharmacists will encounter. We provide an overview of the evolving healthcare landscape shaped by the entry of multiple biosimilars, including for a given reference product, and their impact on the health-system pharmacist with respect to formulary assessment, implementation, and education of various health-system stakeholders, including patients.

Direct measurement of off-state trapping rate fluctuations in single quantum dot fluorescence.

Fluorescence decay times measured during the off-state of single CdSe/ZnS quantum dot blinking are found to decrease with increasing off-state duration, contradicting the charging model widely considered to explain the blinking phenomenon. The change in the nonradiative process of a short off-state duration compared to a long one is investigated here through simultaneous measurement of fluorescence decay and blinking behavior. The results are investigated in the framework of two models based on fluctuating trapping rates.

Femtosecond pump-probe studies of actinic-wavelength dependence in aqueous chlorine dioxide photochemistry.

The actinic or photolysis-wavelength dependence of aqueous chlorine dioxide (OClO) photochemistry is investigated using femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy. Following photoexcitation at 310, 335, and 410 nm the photoinduced evolution in optical density is measured from the UV to the near IR. Analysis of the optical-density evolution illustrates that the quantum yield for atomic chlorine production (Phi(Cl)) increases with actinic energy, with Phi(Cl)=0.