Developing a core outcome set for interventions in people with mild cognitive impairment: study protocol.

Introduction: There is no standardised national guidance on clinical management for people living with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and therapeutic interventions are limited. Understanding what outcomes are important and meaningful to people living with MCI and developing a core outcome set (COS) for research and clinical practice will improve the impact of clinical research and contribute towards developing effective care pathways for MCI. This study aims to develop a COS for adults living with MCI intended for use in interventional and clinical settings.

A study of shingles and the development of postherpetic neuralgia in East London.

The incidence of post-herpetic neuralgia following shingles and the factors that are known to predict it were examined in a prospective observational community study of patients with acute shingles presenting to their family doctors. The detection of viral DNA in the blood at presentation as a prognostic indicator for pain was also evaluated. Patients were followed for one year and the persistence of pain following rash assessed.

The molecular epidemiology of varicella-zoster virus: evidence for geographic segregation.

Of 75 varicella-zoster virus (VZV) isolates obtained from patients in Africa, Asia, and the Far East, 74 (98.6%) were found to be positive for a BglI restriction site in gene 54. By contrast, <22% of strains from patients in the United Kingdom and in North and South America were positive for the BglI restriction site.

Phylogenetic analysis of varicella-zoster virus: evidence of intercontinental spread of genotypes and recombination.

A heteroduplex mobility assay was used to identify variants of varicella-zoster virus circulating in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Within the United Kingdom, 58 segregating sites were found out of the 23,266 examined (0.25%), and nucleotide diversity was estimated to be 0.