Objective: This article is a systematic review of the impact of technology-based intervention on outcomes related to care providers for those who survived a stroke.
Materials And Methods: Literature was identified in the PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Cochrane databases for evidence on technology-based interventions for stroke survivors' caregivers. The search was restricted for all English-language articles from 1970 to February 2015 that implied technology-based interventions. This review included studies that measured the impact of these types of approaches on one or more of the following: depression and any of the following-problem-solving ability, burden, health status, social support, preparedness, and healthcare utilization by care recipient-as secondary outcomes. Telephone or face-to-face counseling sessions were not of interest for this review. The search strategy yielded five studies that met inclusion criteria: two randomized clinical trials and three pilot/preliminary studies, with diverse approaches and designs.
Results: Four studies have assessed the primary outcome, two of which reported significant decreases in caregivers' depressive symptoms. Two studies had measured each of the following outcomes-burden, problem-solving ability, health status, and social support-and they revealed no significant differences following the intervention. Only one study assessed caregivers' preparedness and showed improved posttest scores. Healthcare services use by the care recipient was assessed by one study, and the results indicated significant reduction in emergency department visits and hospital re-admissions.
Conclusions: Despite various study designs and small sample sizes, available data suggest that an intervention that incorporates a theoretical-based model and is designed to target caregivers as early as possible is a promising strategy. Furthermore, there is a need to incorporate a cost-benefit analysis in future studies.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2015.0062 | DOI Listing |
Sensors (Basel)
January 2025
Department of Information Engineering, University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy.
The increasing demand for personalized healthcare, particularly among individuals requiring continuous health monitoring, has driven significant advancements in sensor technology. Wearable, non-continuous monitoring, and non-contact sensors are leading this innovation, providing novel methods for monitoring vital signs and physiological data in both clinical and home settings. However, there is a lack of comprehensive comparative studies assessing the overall functionality of these technologies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntibiotics (Basel)
January 2025
Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
Background/objectives: The huge concerns associated with biofilm-related infections in surgical procedures, along with the antibiotic resistance demonstrated by an increasing number of bacteria, have highlighted the need for alternative and effective prevention approaches. The aim of this research was to develop novel antimicrobial coatings on surgical sutures for the prevention of surgical site infections through nanotechnology-based methods.
Results: The results demonstrated that although very low amounts of silver precursor were adopted for the treatments, the silver coating was effective against and antibiotic-resistant in reducing the potential risk of infection.
Cancers (Basel)
January 2025
Pediatric Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, 9030 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, MD 20892-8200, USA.
Background: Oral therapeutic options for plexiform neurofibromas (PNs) in individuals with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) are receiving attention in clinical research. The MEK inhibitor (MEKi) Selumetinib is FDA-approved in children ages 2+ years with inoperable PNs, and shows activity in adults. Prolonged therapy with selumetinib is necessary to maintain tumor reduction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMed Phys
January 2025
Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Applied Computer Science, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
Background: Total-body (TB) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is one of the most promising medical diagnostics modalities, opening new perspectives for personalized medicine, low-dose imaging, multi-organ dynamic imaging or kinetic modeling. The high sensitivity provided by total-body technology can be advantageous for novel tomography methods like positronium imaging, demanding the registration of triple coincidences. Currently, state-of-the-art PET scanners use inorganic scintillators.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2025
PharmaEase Tech Limited, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, China.
We develop a technology based on competitive adsorption between drug molecules and water, specifically designed to address the critical issue of poor drug solubility. By specially engineering silica nanosurfaces with ultrahigh densities of silanol, we significantly enhance their affinity for both drug molecules and water, with a notably greater increase in water affinity. Such surfaces can effectively adsorb a variety of drug molecules under dry conditions.
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