891 research outputs found

    Prevalence, impact and cost of multimorbidity in a cohort of people with chronic pain in Ireland: a study protocol

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    Introduction Multimorbidity (MM) refers to the coexistence of two or more chronic conditions within one person, where no one condition is considered primary. As populations age and healthcare provision improves, MM is becoming increasingly common and poses a challenge to the single morbidity approach to illness management, usually adopted by healthcare systems. Indeed, recent research has shown that 66.2% of the people in primary care in Ireland are living with MM. Healthcare usage and cost is significantly associated with MM, and additional chronic conditions lead to exponential increases in service usage and financial costs, and decreases in physical and mental well-being. Certain conditions, for example, chronic pain, are highly correlated with MM. This study aims to assess the extent, profile, impact and cost of MM among Irish adults with chronic pain.  Methods and analysis Using cluster sampling, participants aged 18 years and over will be recruited from Irish pain clinics and provided an information package and questionnaire asking them to participate in our study at three time points, 1 year apart. The questionnaire will include our specially developed checklist to assess the prevalence and impact of MM, along with validated measures of quality of life, pain, depression and anxiety, and illness perception. Economic data will also be collected, including direct and indirect costs.  Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been granted by the Research Ethics Committee of the National University of Ireland, Galway. Dissemination of results will be via journal articles and conference presentations

    A cluster-randomised controlled feasibility trial evaluating the Cognitive Occupation-Based programme for people with Multiple Sclerosis (COB-MS)

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    Introduction There is a high prevalence of cognitive difficulties in MS, but despite this, there are few programmes targeting cognition that focus on the ability to function well in everyday life. The Cognitive Occupation-Based programme for people with Multiple Sclerosis (COB-MS), an occupation-focused cognitive intervention, was developed to address this. It addresses both the functional difficulties and the wide-ranging symptoms that present in MS. Objective Here we report on the results of a cluster-randomised controlled feasibility trial (ISRCTN11462710; registered 4th September 2019) evaluating the COB-MS in terms of feasibility and initial efficacy as a cognitive intervention for people with MS. Method The eight-session COB-MS intervention was delivered remotely by occupational therapists to participants with MS in the intervention group. Following the end of the trial the COB-MS was delivered to the wait-list control group. Data was collected from people with MS experiencing cognitive difficulties at baseline, post-intervention, 12-weeks, and 6-month follow-up. The primary outcome measure was the Goal Attainment Scaling at 12 weeks. Data was also collected in the domains of cognition, quality of life, and mood. Results One hundred and eighteen people with MS and cognitive difficulties were randomised to either usual care (n = 60) or COB-MS intervention (n = 58). Ninety-four participants were retained at 6-month follow-up. The COB-MS was found to be feasible, including trial procedures and protocol. Data indicates that the COB-MS is accepted by participants and had positive impacts on daily life. Those allocated to the COB-MS group had a significant improvement in the primary outcome compared to the control condition. Progression criteria set for the feasibility trial have been met therefore further testing of the COB-MS at a definitive trial is supported by the results. Conclusion The results provide a strong basis for a pathway to a future definitive trial of COB-MS, with respect to both feasibility and preliminary, clinical efficacy

    Effectiveness of a biopsychosocial e-learning intervention on the clinical judgements of medical students and GP trainees regarding future risk of disability in patients with chronic lower back pain: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

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    Introduction Chronic lower back pain (CLBP) is a major healthcare problem with wide ranging effects. It is a priority for appropriate management of CLBP to get individuals back to work as early as possible. Interventions that identify biopsychosocial barriers to recovery have been observed to lead to successfully reduced pain-related work absences and increased return to work for individuals with CLBP. Modern conceptualisations of pain adopt a biopsychosocial approach, such as the flags approach. Biopsychosocial perspectives have been applied to judgements about future adjustment, recovery from pain and risk of long-term disability; and provide a helpful model for understanding the importance of contextual interactions between psychosocial and biological variables in the experience of pain. Medical students and general practitioner (GP) trainees are important groups to target with education about biopsychosocial conceptualisations of pain and related clinical implications. Aim The current study will compare the effects of an e-learning intervention that focuses on a biopsychosocial model of pain, on the clinical judgements of medical students and trainees. Methods and analysis Medical student and GP trainee participants will be randomised to 1 of 2 study conditions: (1) a 20 min e-learning intervention focused on the fundamentals of the flags approach to clinical judgement-making regarding risk of future pain-related disability; compared with a (2) wait-list control group on judgement accuracy and weighting (ie, primary outcomes); flags approach knowledge, attitudes and beliefs towards pain, judgement speed and empathy (ie, secondary outcomes). Participants will be assessed at preintervention and postintervention. Ethics and dissemination The study will be performed in agreement with the Declaration of Helsinki and is approved by the National University of Ireland Galway Research Ethics Committee. The results of the trial will be published according to the CONSORT statement and will be presented at conferences and reported in peer-reviewed journals

    Quantum state preparation and macroscopic entanglement in gravitational-wave detectors

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    Long-baseline laser-interferometer gravitational-wave detectors are operating at a factor of 10 (in amplitude) above the standard quantum limit (SQL) within a broad frequency band. Such a low classical noise budget has already allowed the creation of a controlled 2.7 kg macroscopic oscillator with an effective eigenfrequency of 150 Hz and an occupation number of 200. This result, along with the prospect for further improvements, heralds the new possibility of experimentally probing macroscopic quantum mechanics (MQM) - quantum mechanical behavior of objects in the realm of everyday experience - using gravitational-wave detectors. In this paper, we provide the mathematical foundation for the first step of a MQM experiment: the preparation of a macroscopic test mass into a nearly minimum-Heisenberg-limited Gaussian quantum state, which is possible if the interferometer's classical noise beats the SQL in a broad frequency band. Our formalism, based on Wiener filtering, allows a straightforward conversion from the classical noise budget of a laser interferometer, in terms of noise spectra, into the strategy for quantum state preparation, and the quality of the prepared state. Using this formalism, we consider how Gaussian entanglement can be built among two macroscopic test masses, and the performance of the planned Advanced LIGO interferometers in quantum-state preparation

    Searching for a Stochastic Background of Gravitational Waves with LIGO

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    The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) has performed the fourth science run, S4, with significantly improved interferometer sensitivities with respect to previous runs. Using data acquired during this science run, we place a limit on the amplitude of a stochastic background of gravitational waves. For a frequency independent spectrum, the new limit is ΩGW<6.5×105\Omega_{\rm GW} < 6.5 \times 10^{-5}. This is currently the most sensitive result in the frequency range 51-150 Hz, with a factor of 13 improvement over the previous LIGO result. We discuss complementarity of the new result with other constraints on a stochastic background of gravitational waves, and we investigate implications of the new result for different models of this background.Comment: 37 pages, 16 figure

    Decreased brain venous vasculature visibility on susceptibility-weighted imaging venography in patients with multiple sclerosis is related to chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency.

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    BACKGROUND: The potential pathogenesis between the presence and severity of chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) and its relation to clinical and imaging outcomes in brain parenchyma of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients has not yet been elucidated. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between CCSVI, and altered brain parenchyma venous vasculature visibility (VVV) on susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) in patients with MS and in sex- and age-matched healthy controls (HC). METHODS: 59 MS patients, 41 relapsing-remitting and 18 secondary-progressive, and 33 HC were imaged on a 3T GE scanner using pre- and post-contrast SWI venography. The presence and severity of CCSVI was determined using extra-cranial and trans-cranial Doppler criteria. Apparent total venous volume (ATVV), venous intracranial fraction (VIF) and average distance-from-vein (DFV) were calculated for various vein mean diameter categories: .9 mm. RESULTS: CCSVI criteria were fulfilled in 79.7% of MS patients and 18.2% of HC (p < .0001). Patients with MS showed decreased overall ATVV, ATVV of veins with a diameter < .3 mm, and increased DFV compared to HC (all p < .0001). Subjects diagnosed with CCSVI had significantly increased DFV (p < .0001), decreased overall ATVV and ATVV of veins with a diameter < .3 mm (p < .003) compared to subjects without CCSVI. The severity of CCSVI was significantly related to decreased VVV in MS (p < .0001) on pre- and post-contrast SWI, but not in HC. CONCLUSIONS: MS patients with higher number of venous stenoses, indicative of CCSVI severity, showed significantly decreased venous vasculature in the brain parenchyma. The pathogenesis of these findings has to be further investigated, but they suggest that reduced metabolism and morphological changes of venous vasculature may be taking place in patients with MS
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