Consensus guidelines for the use and interpretation of angiogenesis assays

The formation of new blood vessels, or angiogenesis, is a complex process that plays important roles in growth and development, tissue and organ regeneration, as well as numerous pathological conditions. Angiogenesis undergoes multiple discrete steps that can be individually evaluated and quantified by a large number of bioassays. These independent assessments hold advantages but also have limitations. This article describes in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro bioassays that are available for the evaluation of angiogenesis and highlights critical aspects that are relevant for their execution and proper interpretation. As such, this collaborative work is the first edition of consensus guidelines on angiogenesis bioassays to serve for current and future reference

The Impact on Family Scale: Psychometric analysis of long and short forms in parents of children with epilepsy

Dehn L, Korn-Merker E, Pfafflin M, Ravens-Sieberer U, May T. The Impact on Family Scale: Psychometric analysis of long and short forms in parents of children with epilepsy. Epilepsy & Behavior. 2014;32:21-26.Epilepsy in a child or adolescent can have severe psychosocial impact on the whole family and burdens them, especially the parents. As the familial background is essential for the child's coping and the progression of the epilepsy, parental burden should be considered within a comprehensive treatment approach. This study validated the applicability of the Impact on Family Scale (IOFS), a well-established instrument that assesses the strains of families with chronically ill or disabled children, in parents of children with epilepsy. In a sample of 219 parents, the psychometric properties of the original IOFS version (33 items) and two short forms (15 and 11 items, respectively) were examined. Both short forms revealed good reliability (Cronbach's alpha, test-retest reliability), and construct validity was verified by correlations with epilepsy-and burden-related variables. However, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated superior characteristics of the short form with 11 items (IOFS-11). In conclusion, the IOFS-11 as well as the IOFS-15 proved to be practicable, reliable, and valid tools to assess the impact of childhood epilepsy on family life in research and clinical practice. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Einflussfaktoren der psychosozialen Belastungen von Eltern anfallskranker Kinder

Dehn L, Korn-Merker E, Pfäfflin M, Fischbach H, Frantz M, May T. Einflussfaktoren der psychosozialen Belastungen von Eltern anfallskranker Kinder. Neuropädiatrie in Klinik und Praxis. 2013;12:81-87

Psychometrische Überprüfung einer Kurzform des Familien-Belastungs-Fragebogens

Dehn L, Korn-Merker E, Pfäfflin M, et al. Erfassung der Belastungen von Eltern anfallskranker Kinder. Zeitschrift für Epileptologie. 2013;26(4):214-222.Hintergrund Die Epilepsie eines Kindes oder Jugendlichen kann zu starken psychosozialen Belastungen bei den Eltern führen. In der vorliegenden Studie wurde untersucht, ob eine Kurzfassung der deutschsprachigen Version der Impact-on-Family Scale [Familien-Belastungs-Fragebogen, FaBel] geeignet ist, diese Belastungen reliabel und valide zu erfassen. Material und Methode An einer Stichprobe von 219 Eltern mit epilepsiekranken Kindern [Mittelwert (M) = 8,7 Jahre; Standardabweichung (SD) ±5,0 Jahre] wurde eine Kurzform des FaBel mit 11 “items“ (FaBel-11) psychometrisch überprüft und mit der Langversion des FaBel (33 Items) verglichen. Angaben zur Epilepsie des Kindes und zu spezifischen Beeinträchtigungen der Eltern wurden mit einem Elternfragenbogen erfasst („PESOS-Elternkurzfragebogen“). Ergebnisse Die Kurzform FaBel-11 wies eine gute Reliabilität (α = 0,91) und faktorielle Validität (exploratorische und konfirmatorische Faktorenanalyse) auf. Die Konstruktvalidität wurde durch erwartungskonforme signifikante Zusammenhänge mit epilepsie-, krankheits- bzw. belastungsbezogenen Variablen (z. B. Anfallshäufigkeit, Schwerbehindertenausweis, Komorbidität und Verhaltensauffälligkeiten des Kindes) nachgewiesen. Schlussfolgerung Der FaBel-11 scheint geeignet, die Belastungen von Eltern mit epilepsiekranken Kindern zuverlässig zu erfassen.Background Epilepsy in a child or adolescent influences the whole family system and can lead to severe psychosocial burden especially for the parents. This study investigated whether a short form of the impact on family scale is appropriate to assess the parental burden. Material and methods In a sample of parents (n = 219) with epileptic children (average age  8.7 years, SD 5.0 years) the psychometric properties of a short form of the impact on family scale (IOF, German FaBel-Fragebogen) with 11 items were examined and compared with the original long version. Epilepsy-specific data of the children and the impairment of the parents were assessed using the PESOS questionnaire for parents of children with epilepsy. Results The short form showed good reliability (α = 0.91) and factorial validity (exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis). Construct validity was demonstrated by a hypothesis-compliant significant correlations with epilepsy, disease and burden-related variables (e.g. seizure frequency, care level, comorbidity and behavioral problems). Conclusion The German IOF short form with 11 items is suitable to reliably determine the burden of parents with epileptic children in research and clinical practice