Circulating microRNA as Biomarkers for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus—A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a severe pregnancy complication for both the woman and the child. Women who suffer from GDM have a greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) later in life. Identification of any potential biomarkers for the early prediction of gestational diabetes can help prevent the disease in women with a high risk. Studies show microRNA (miRNA) as a potential biomarker for the early discovery of GDM, but there is a lack of clarity as to which miRNAs are consistently altered in GDM. This study aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate miRNAs associated with GDM by comparing GDM cases with normoglycemic controls. The systematic review was performed according to PRISMA guidelines with searches in PubMed, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect. The primary search resulted in a total of 849 articles, which were screened according to the prior established inclusion and exclusion criteria. Following the screening of articles, the review was based on the inclusion of 35 full-text articles, which were evaluated for risk of bias and estimates of quality, after which data were extracted and relative values for miRNAs were calculated. A meta-analysis was performed for the miRNA species investigated in three or more studies: MiR-29a, miR-330, miR-134, miR-132, miR-16, miR-223, miR-155, miR-122, miR-17, miR-103, miR-125, miR-210, and miR-222. While some miRNAs showed considerable between-study variability, miR-29a, miR-330, miR-134, miR-16, miR-223, and miR-17 showed significant overall upregulation in GDM, while circulating levels of miR-132 and miR-155 were decreased among GDM patients, suggesting further studies of these as biomarkers for early GDM discovery.</p

Use of a Social Robot (LOVOT) for Persons With Dementia:Exploratory Study

BACKGROUND: Approximately 50 million people worldwide are living with dementia. Social robots have been developed and tested to determine whether they improve the quality of life for persons with dementia. A new mobile social robot called LOVOT has artificial intelligence and sensor technologies built in. LOVOT, which is manufactured in Japan, has not yet been tested for use by persons with dementia. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore how the social robot LOVOT interacts with persons with dementia and how health care professionals experience working with LOVOT in their interaction with persons with dementia. METHODS: The study was carried out at 3 nursing homes in Denmark, all with specialized units for persons with dementia. The interaction between the persons with dementia and LOVOT was tested in both individual sessions for 4 weeks and group sessions for 12 weeks. A total of 42 persons were included in the study, of which 12 were allocated to the individual sessions. A triangulation of data collection techniques was used: the World Health Organization-5 questionnaire, face scale, participant observation, and semistructured focus group interviews with health care professionals (n=3). RESULTS: There were no clinically significant changes in the well-being of the persons with dementia followed in the individual or group interaction sessions over time. The results from the face scale showed that in both the individual and group sessions, persons with dementia tended to express more positive facial expressions after the sessions. Findings on how persons with dementia experienced their interaction with LOVOT can be stated in terms of the following themes: LOVOT opens up communication and interaction; provides entertainment; creates a breathing space; is accepted and creates joy; induces feelings of care; can create an overstimulation of feelings; is not accepted; is perceived as an animal; is perceived as being nondemanding; and prevents touch deprivation. Findings regarding the health care professionals’ experiences using LOVOT were as follows: the artificial behavior seems natural; and it is a communication tool that can stimulate, create feelings of security, and open up communication. Our findings indicate that the social robot is a tool that can be used in interactions with persons with dementia. CONCLUSIONS: The LOVOT robot is the next generation of social robots with advanced artificial intelligence. The vast majority of persons with dementia accepted the social robot LOVOT. LOVOT had positive effects, opened up communication, and facilitated interpersonal interaction. Although LOVOT did not create noticeable effects on social well-being, it gave individual persons a respite from everyday life. Some residents were overstimulated by emotions after interacting with LOVOT. Health care professionals accepted the social robot and view LOVOT as a new tool in the work with persons with dementia

En selvfølgelig succes:en kritisk udforskning af patientuddannelsers subjektiveringspraksis

Patientuddannelser bliver et stadig mere udbredt fænomen inden for sundhedssektorens virke, hvor patienter i stigende grad positioneres som (professionaliserede) samarbejdspartnere i et behandlingsforløb. Denne artikel tager konkret udgangspunkt i patientuddannelsen “LÆR AT TACKLE angst og depression”; et kursus, der rummer en bred vifte af anbefalinger til, hvordan man optimalt set håndterer sin tilværelse med angst og depression og bygger på en peer-to-peer tankegang. Med afsæt i kritisk psykologi, governmentality teori samt poststrukturalistiske begreber undersøges det, hvorledes kurset søger at forme deltagernes livsførelse og selvforståelse på måder, der er i overensstemmelse med kursets evidensbase- rede forskrifter. Artiklen er således en kritisk kommentar til den manglende refleksion over de betingelser for subjektiveringsprocesser, som naturaliseres i kursusrummet, hvor en individualisering af menneskelige problemstillinger og en tilpasningstankegang til et koncept sætter sig igennem – og hvor der gives klare dessiner for hvem og hvordan man bør være, hvis man vil ses som en, der succesfuldt tager ansvar for sin egen lidelse. Kursusrummet er således et særligt rum for forhandling; af positioner, selvforståelser og normalitet.Patient education programmes are becoming increasingly common within the communal health sector in Denmark, and patients are to a larger extent positioned as (professionalised) collaborators in their own treatments. This paper examines the Danish municipal patient education programme “Lær at tackle angst og depression” (“Learn to manage anxiety and depression”). The objective of this patient education programme is to educate its course participants to (self)manage their anxiety and/ or depression disorder (in optimal ways) in their respective everyday lives, by introducing a large array of recommendations on how to achieve an optimal self-management; building on evidence based knowledge and organised as a peer-to-peer initiative. With conceptual awarenesses from critical psychology, governmentality theory and poststructuralism the article explores how the course aims at shaping participants’ ways of conducting their everyday life as well as their self-understanding in ways that fit the rationales of the course. The article offers a critical comment on the lack of reflexivity displayed in relation to the subjectification processes that seem to be naturalised in the course setting: these imply an individualisation of problems and an adaptation mindset, offering clear-cut directives for who and how to be, if one is to be perceived as successfully taking responsibility for one’s condition. The article unfolds how the course setting becomes a particular space for negotiations: of positions, self-understanding and normality