Online information for parents caring for their premature baby at home: A focus group study and systematic web search

Background

Online resources are a source of information for parents of premature babies when their baby is discharged from hospital.

Objectives

To explore what topics parents deemed important after returning home from hospital with their premature baby and to evaluate the quality of existing websites that provide information for parents post‐discharge.

Methods

In stage 1, 23 parents living in Northern Ireland participated in three focus groups and shared their information and support needs following the discharge of their infant(s). In stage 2, a World Wide Web (WWW) search was conducted using Google, Yahoo and Bing search engines. Websites meeting pre‐specified inclusion criteria were reviewed using two website assessment tools and by calculating a readability score. Website content was compared to the topics identified by parents in the focus groups.

Results

Five overarching topics were identified across the three focus groups: life at home after neonatal care, taking care of our family, taking care of our premature baby, baby's growth and development and help with getting support and advice. Twenty‐nine sites were identified that met the systematic web search inclusion criteria. Fifteen (52%) covered all five topics identified by parents to some extent and 9 (31%) provided current, accurate and relevant information based on the assessment criteria.

Conclusion

Parents reported the need for information and support post‐discharge from hospital. This was not always available to them, and relevant online resources were of varying quality. Listening to parents needs and preferences can facilitate the development of high‐quality, evidence‐based, parent‐centred resources.     

Correction to: Association of vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms with disc degeneration

European Spine Journal - Unfortunately, the following reference was missed out in the original publication.     

Surgical delivery of drug releasing poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/poly(ethylene glycol) paste with in vivo effects against glioblastoma

Introduction

The median survival of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (astrocytoma grade 4) remains less than 18 months despite radical surgery, radiotherapy and systemic chemotherapy. Surgical implantation of chemotherapy eluting wafers into the resection cavity has been shown to improve length of survival but the current licensed therapy has several drawbacks. This paper investigates in vivo efficacy of a novel drug eluting paste in glioblastoma.

Methods

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/poly(ethylene glycol) (PLGA/PEG) self-sintering paste was loaded with the chemotherapeutic agent etoposide and delivered surgically into partially resected tumours in a flank murine glioblastoma xenograft model.

Results

Surgical delivery of the paste was successful and practical, with no toxicity or surgical morbidity to the animals. The paste was retained in the tumour cavity, and preliminary results suggest a useful antitumour and antiangiogenic effect, particularly at higher doses. Bioluminescent imaging was not affected significantly by the presence of the paste in the tumour.

Conclusions

Chemotherapy loaded PLGA/PEG paste seems to be a promising technology capable of delivering active drugs into partially resected tumours. The preliminary results of this study suggest efficacy with no toxicity and will lead to larger scale efficacy studies in orthotopic glioblastoma models.     

Cognitive impairment in rapid‐onset dystonia‐parkinsonism

Rapid‐onset dystonia‐parkinsonism (RDP) is caused by mutations in the ATP1A3 gene. This observational study sought to determine if cognitive performance is decreased in patients with RDP compared with mutation‐negative controls. We studied 22 familial RDP patients, 3 non‐motor‐manifesting mutation‐positive family members, 29 mutation‐negative family member controls in 9 families, and 4 unrelated RDP patients, totaling 58 individuals. We administered a movement disorder assessment, including the Burke‐Fahn‐Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale (BFMDRS) and the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and a cognitive battery of memory and learning, psychomotor speed, attention, and executive function. The cognitive battery was designed to evaluate a wide range of functions; recognition memory instruments were selected to be relatively pure measures of delayed memory, devoid of significant motor or vocal production limitations. Comparisons of standardized cognitive scores were assessed both with and without controlling for psychomotor speed and similarly for severity of depressive symptoms. A majority of RDP patients had onset of motor symptoms by age 25 and had initial symptom presentation in the upper body (face, mouth, or arm). Among patients, the BFMDRS (mean ± SD, 52.1 ± 29.5) and UPDRS motor subscore (29.8 ± 12.7) confirmed dystonia‐parkinsonism. The affected RDP patients performed more poorly, on average, than mutation‐negative controls for all memory and learning, psychomotor speed, attention, and executive function scores (all P ≤ 0.01). These differences persisted after controlling for psychomotor speed and severity of depressive symptoms. Impaired cognitive function may be a manifestation of ATP1A3 mutation and RDP. © 2014 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society     

Sewage‐based epidemiology in monitoring the use of new psychoactive substances: Validation and application of an analytical method using LC‐MS/MS

Sewage‐based epidemiology (SBE) employs the analysis of sewage to detect and quantify drug use within a community. While SBE has been applied repeatedly for the estimation of classical illicit drugs, only few studies investigated new psychoactive substances (NPS). These compounds mimic effects of illicit drugs by introducing slight modifications to chemical structures of controlled illicit drugs. We describe the optimization, validation, and application of an analytical method using liquid chromatography coupled to positive electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐ESI‐MS/MS) for the determination of seven NPS in sewage: methoxetamine (MXE), butylone, ethylone, methylone, methiopropamine (MPA), 4‐methoxymethamphetamine (PMMA), and 4‐methoxyamphetamine (PMA). Sample preparation was performed using solid‐phase extraction (SPE) with Oasis MCX cartridges. The LC separation was done with a HILIC (150 x 3 mm, 5 µm) column which ensured good resolution of the analytes with a total run time of 19 min. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was between 0.5 and 5 ng/L for all compounds. The method was validated by evaluating the following parameters: sensitivity, selectivity, linearity, accuracy, precision, recoveries and matrix effects. The method was applied on sewage samples collected from sewage treatment plants in Belgium and Switzerland in which all investigated compounds were detected, except MPA and PMA. Furthermore, a consistent presence of MXE has been observed in most of the sewage samples at levels higher than LLOQ. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

巨噬细胞迁移抑制因子通过CC趋化因子配体2诱导巨噬细胞聚集

巨噬细胞迁移抑制因子最初是由于能抑制体外巨噬细胞随机迁移而被发现,现在它作为一种重要的调节因子参与一系列炎症性疾病过程.我们最近发现,巨噬细胞迁移抑制因子的缺失使一些由炎症介质诱发的白细胞-内皮细胞相互作用减弱,提示巨噬细胞迁移抑制因子在炎症反应中起作用的机制之一是促进白细胞聚集.……