Randomised controlled trial of fish oil supplement to treat cancer cachexia

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: Our overall aim is to provide an overview of interventions for preventing falls in older people by summarising the evidence from multiple Cochrane intervention reviews that evaluate the effects (primarily, rate of falls and number of fallers) of these interventions in different populations of older people, such as those defined by setting or by specific medical conditions. Fall prevention interventions will include those in the following categories: supervised or unsupervised exercises; medication; surgery; management of urinary incontinence; fluid or nutrition therapy; psychological; environment and assistive technologies; social environment; knowledge/education interventions and any other interventions that do not fall into one of these categories (Lamb 2007). Interventions tested may belong to one category ('single' intervention), or more than one category ('multiple' and 'multifactorial' interventions)

Randomized controlled trial of live lactobacillus acidophilus plus bifidobacterium bifidum in prophylaxis of diarrhea during radiotherapy in cervical cancer patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Radiation-induced diarrhea is frequently observed during pelvic radiotherapy. This study was performed to determine the ability of a probiotic containing live lactobacillus acidophilus plus bifidobacterium bifidum to reduce the incidence of radiation-induced diarrhea in locally advanced cervical cancer patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients who were undergoing pelvic radiotherapy concurrent with weekly cisplatin were randomly assigned to a study drug or placebo, in a double-blind study. Diarrhea was graded weekly according the Common Toxicity Criteria (CTC) system. Stool consistency and white and red blood cell count in stool were also assessed. The primary endpoint was to reduce the incidence of diarrhea, defined by a CTC grade 2 or more, and the need for anti-diarrheal medication.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 63 patients were enrolled. Grade 2 -3 diarrhea was observed in 45% of the placebo group (n = 31) and 9% of the study drug group (n = 32) (p = 0.002). Anti-diarrheal medication use was significantly reduced in the placebo group (p = 0.03). The patients in the study drug group had a significantly improved stool consistency (p < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Live lactobacillus acidophilus plus bifidobacterium bifidum reduced the incidence of radiation-induced diarrhea and the need for anti-diarrheal medication and had a significant benefits on stool consistency.</p

Estimating the potential survival gains by eliminating socioeconomic and sex inequalities in stage at diagnosis of melanoma.

BACKGROUND: Although inequalities in cancer survival are thought to reflect inequalities in stage at diagnosis, little evidence exists about the size of potential survival gains from eliminating inequalities in stage at diagnosis. METHODS: We used data on patients diagnosed with malignant melanoma in the East of England (2006-2010) to estimate the number of deaths that could be postponed by completely eliminating socioeconomic and sex differences in stage at diagnosis after fitting a flexible parametric excess mortality model. RESULTS: Stage was a strong predictor of survival. There were pronounced socioeconomic and sex inequalities in the proportion of patients diagnosed at stages III-IV (12 and 8% for least deprived men and women and 25 and 18% for most deprived men and women, respectively). For an annual cohort of 1025 incident cases in the East of England, eliminating sex and deprivation differences in stage at diagnosis would postpone approximately 24 deaths to beyond 5 years from diagnosis. Using appropriate weighting, the equivalent estimate for England would be around 215 deaths, representing 11% of all deaths observed within 5 years from diagnosis in this population. CONCLUSIONS: Reducing socioeconomic and sex inequalities in stage at diagnosis would result in substantial reductions in deaths within 5 years of a melanoma diagnosis.This article is an independent research supported by different funding bodies, beyond the authors’ own employing organisations. MJR was partially funded by a Cancer Research UK Postdoctoral Fellowship (CRUK_A13275). GL is supported by a Postdoctoral Fellowship award by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR PDF-2011-04-047) to end of 2014 and a Cancer Research UK Clinician Scientist Fellowship award (A18180) from January 2015. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Health Service (NHS), the National Institute for Health Research, the Department of Health, Cancer Research UK, or any other organisation. We thank all staff at the National Cancer Registration Service, Public Health England, Eastern Office, who helped collect and code data used in this study. We particularly acknowledge the help of Dr Clement H Brown and Dr Brian A Rous who were responsible for staging.This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v112/n1s/full/bjc201550a.html

Understanding missed opportunities for more timely diagnosis of cancer in symptomatic patients after presentation.

The diagnosis of cancer is a complex, multi-step process. In this paper, we highlight factors involved in missed opportunities to diagnose cancer more promptly in symptomatic patients and discuss responsible mechanisms and potential strategies to shorten intervals from presentation to diagnosis. Missed opportunities are instances in which post-hoc judgement indicates that alternative decisions or actions could have led to more timely diagnosis. They can occur in any of the three phases of the diagnostic process (initial diagnostic assessment; diagnostic test performance and interpretation; and diagnostic follow-up and coordination) and can involve patient, doctor/care team, and health-care system factors, often in combination. In this perspective article, we consider epidemiological 'signals' suggestive of missed opportunities and draw on evidence from retrospective case reviews of cancer patient cohorts to summarise factors that contribute to missed opportunities. Multi-disciplinary research targeting such factors is important to shorten diagnostic intervals post presentation. Insights from the fields of organisational and cognitive psychology, human factors science and informatics can be extremely valuable in this emerging research agenda. We provide a conceptual foundation for the development of future interventions to minimise the occurrence of missed opportunities in cancer diagnosis, enriching current approaches that chiefly focus on clinical decision support or on widening access to investigations.We acknowledge the helpful and incisive comments by Dr Rikke Sand Andersen (Aarhus University, Denmark) in conceptualising this piece and in drafts of the manuscript. The work is independent research supported by different funding schemes. GL was supported by a Post-Doctoral Fellowship by the National Institute for Health Research (PDF-2011-04-047) until the end of 2014 and by a Cancer Research UK Clinician Scientist Fellowship award (A18180) from 2015. HS is supported by the VA Health Services Research and Development Service (CRE 12-033; Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers USA 14-274), the VA National Center for Patient Safety, the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (R01HS022087) and in part by the Houston VA HSR&D Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety (CIN 13–413). PV was supported by CaP, funded by The Danish Cancer Society and the Novo Nordisk Foundation.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared at http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2015.4

Mechanism of Splicing Regulation of Spinal Muscular Atrophy Genes

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is one of the major genetic disorders associated with infant mortality. More than 90% cases of SMA result from deletions or mutations of Survival Motor Neuron 1 (SMN1) gene. SMN2, a nearly identical copy of SMN1, does not compensate for the loss of SMN1due to predominant skipping of exon 7. However, correction of SMN2 exon 7 splicing has proven to confer therapeutic benefits in SMA patients. The only approved drug for SMA is an antisense oligonucleotide (Spinraza™/Nusinersen), which corrects SMN2 exon 7 splicing by blocking intronic splicing silencer N1 (ISS-N1) located immediately downstream of exon 7. ISS-N1 is a complex regulatory element encompassing overlapping negative motifs and sequestering a cryptic splice site. More than 40 protein factors have been implicated in the regulation of SMN exon 7 splicing. There is evidence to support that multiple exons of SMN are alternatively spliced during oxidative stress, which is associated with a growing number of pathological conditions. Here, we provide the most up to date account of the mechanism of splicing regulation of the SMN genes

Modelling of the effect of ELMs on fuel retention at the bulk W divertor of JET

Effect of ELMs on fuel retention at the bulk W target of JET ITER-Like Wall was studied with multi-scale calculations. Plasma input parameters were taken from ELMy H-mode plasma experiment. The energetic intra-ELM fuel particles get implanted and create near-surface defects up to depths of few tens of nm, which act as the main fuel trapping sites during ELMs. Clustering of implantation-induced vacancies were found to take place. The incoming flux of inter-ELM plasma particles increases the different filling levels of trapped fuel in defects. The temperature increase of the W target during the pulse increases the fuel detrapping rate. The inter-ELM fuel particle flux refills the partially emptied trapping sites and fills new sites. This leads to a competing effect on the retention and release rates of the implanted particles. At high temperatures the main retention appeared in larger vacancy clusters due to increased clustering rate

Impact of ICRF on the scrape-off layer and on plasma wall interactions: From present experiments to fusion reactor

Recent achievements in studies of the effects of ICRF (Ion Cyclotron Range of Frequencies) power on the SOL (Scrape-Off Layer) and PWI (Plasma Wall Interactions) in ASDEX Upgrade (AUG), Alcator C-Mod, and JET-ILW are reviewed. Capabilities to diagnose and model the effect of DC biasing and associated impurity production at active antennas and on magnetic field connections to antennas are described. The experiments show that ICRF near-fields can lead not only to E×B convection, but also to modifications of the SOL density, which for Alcator C-Mod are limited to a narrow region near antenna. On the other hand, the SOL density distribution along with impurity sources can be tailored using local gas injection in AUG and JET-ILW with a positive effect on reduction of impurity sources. The technique of RF image current cancellation at antenna limiters was successfully applied in AUG using the 3-strap AUG antenna and extended to the 4-strap Alcator C-Mod field-aligned antenna. Multiple observations confirmed the reduction of the impact of ICRF on the SOL and on total impurity production when the ratio of the power of the central straps to the total antenna power is in the range 0.6<P$_{cen}$/P$_{total}$<0.8. Near-field calculations indicate that this fairly robust technique can be applied to the ITER ICRF antenna, enabling the mode of operation with reduced PWI. On the contrary, for the A2 antenna in JET-ILW the technique is hindered by RF sheaths excited at the antenna septum. Thus, in order to reduce the effect of ICRF power on PWI in a future fusion reactor, the antenna design has to be optimized along with design of plasmafacing components

The effect of beryllium oxide on retention in JET ITER-like wall tiles

Preliminary results investigating the microstructure, bonding and effect of beryllium oxide formation on retention in the JET ITER-like wall beryllium tiles, are presented. The tiles have been investigated by several techniques: Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) equipped with Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), Transmission Electron microscopy (TEM) equipped with EDX and Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS), Raman Spectroscopy and Thermal Desorption Spectroscopy (TDS). This paper focuses on results from melted materials of the dump plate tiles in JET. From our results and the literature, it is concluded, beryllium can form micron deep oxide islands contrary to the nanometric oxides predicted under vacuum conditions. The deepest oxides analyzed were up to 2-micron thicknesses. The beryllium Deuteroxide (BeOxDy) bond was found with Raman Spectroscopy. Application of EELS confirmed the oxide presence and stoichiometry. Literature suggests these oxides form at temperatures greater than 700 °C where self-diffusion of beryllium ions through the surface oxide layer can occur. Further oxidation is made possible between oxygen plasma impurities and the beryllium ions now present at the wall surface. Under Ultra High Vacuum (UHV) nanometric Beryllium oxide layers are formed and passivate at room temperature. After continual cyclic heating (to the point of melt formation) in the presence of oxygen impurities from the plasma, oxide growth to the levels seen experimentally (approximately two microns) is proposed. This retention mechanism is not considered to contribute dramatically to overall retention in JET, due to low levels of melt formation. However, this mechanism, thought the result of operation environment and melt formation, could be of wider concern to ITER, dependent on wall temperatures