90 research outputs found
Side effects of analgesia may significantly reduce quality of life in symptomatic multiple myeloma: a cross-sectional prevalence study
Background Pain is a common symptom in patients with
multiple myeloma (MM). Many patients are dependent on
analgesics and in particular opioids, but there is limited information
on the impact of these drugs and their side effects on
health-related quality of life (HRQoL).
Method In a cross-sectional study, semi-structured interviews
were performed in 21 patients attending the hospital with
symptomatic MM on pain medications. HRQoL was measured
using items 29 and 30 of the European Organisation for
Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30.
Results Patients were able to recall a median of two (range
0â4) analgesics. They spontaneously identified a median
of two (range 1â5) side effects attributable to their analgesic
medications. Patientsâ assessment of HRQoL based on
the EORTC QLQ-C30 questions 29/30 was mean 48.3
(95 % CI; 38.7â57.9) out of 100. Patientsâ assessment of
their HRQoL in the hypothetical situation, in which they
would not experience any side effects from analgesics, was
significantly higher: 62.6 (53.5â71.7) (t test, p=0.001).
Conclusion This study provides, for the first time, evidence
that side effects of analgesics are common in symptomatic
MM and may result in a statistically and clinically significant
reduction of self-reported HRQoL
Comparative Oncogenomic Analysis of Copy Number Alterations in Human and Zebrafish Tumors Enables Cancer Driver Discovery
The identification of cancer drivers is a major goal of current cancer research. Finding driver genes within large chromosomal events is especially challenging because such alterations encompass many genes. Previously, we demonstrated that zebrafish malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are highly aneuploid, much like human tumors. In this study, we examined 147 zebrafish MPNSTs by massively parallel sequencing and identified both large and focal copy number alterations (CNAs). Given the low degree of conserved synteny between fish and mammals, we reasoned that comparative analyses of CNAs from fish versus human MPNSTs would enable elimination of a large proportion of passenger mutations, especially on large CNAs. We established a list of orthologous genes between human and zebrafish, which includes approximately two-thirds of human protein-coding genes. For the subset of these genes found in human MPNST CNAs, only one quarter of their orthologues were co-gained or co-lost in zebrafish, dramatically narrowing the list of candidate cancer drivers for both focal and large CNAs. We conclude that zebrafish-human comparative analysis represents a powerful, and broadly applicable, tool to enrich for evolutionarily conserved cancer drivers.Kathy and Curt Marble Cancer Research FundArthur C. MerrillNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant CA106416)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant ROI RR020833)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant 1F32GM095213-01
The protein phosphatase activity of PTEN is essential for regulating neural stem cell differentiation
âGetting a tick in the boxâ: exploring accountancy undergraduates' use of information and communications technology
Tapentadol Prolonged Release Versus Strong Opioids for Severe, Chronic Low Back Pain: Results of an Open-Label, Phase 3b Study
Quiet sigma delta quantization, and global convergence for a class of asymmetric piecewise-affine maps
Antigen-specific tolerance by autologous myelin peptide-coupled cells: a phase 1 trial in multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a devastating inflammatory disease of the brain and spinal cord that is thought to result from an autoimmune attack directed against antigens in the central nervous system. The aim of this first-in-man trial was to assess the feasibility, safety, and tolerability of a tolerization regimen in MS patients that uses a single infusion of autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells chemically coupled with seven myelin peptides (MOG1-20, MOG35-55, MBP13-32, MBP83-99, MBP111-129, MBP146-170, and PLP139-154). An open-label, single-center, dose-escalation study was performed in seven relapsing-remitting and two secondary progressive MS patients who were off-treatment for standard therapies. All patients had to show T cell reactivity against at least one of the myelin peptides used in the trial. Neurological, magnetic resonance imaging, laboratory, and immunological examinations were performed to assess the safety, tolerability, and in vivo mechanisms of action of this regimen. Administration of antigen-coupled cells was feasible, had a favorable safety profile, and was well tolerated in MS patients. Patients receiving the higher doses (>1 Ă 10(9)) of peptide-coupled cells had a decrease in antigen-specific T cell responses after peptide-coupled cell therapy. In summary, this first-in-man clinical trial of autologous peptide-coupled cells in MS patients establishes the feasibility and indicates good tolerability and safety of this therapeutic approach
A foam single-face pretreatment to modify silk fabric using EBODAC to improve inkjet printing performance
Loopâloop interaction of HIV-1 TAR RNA with N3Ⲡâ P5Ⲡdeoxyphosphoramidate aptamers inhibits in vitro Tat-mediated transcription
A hairpin RNA aptamer has been identified by in vitro selection against the transactivation-responsive element (TAR) of HIV-1. A nuclease-resistant N3Ⲡâ P5Ⲡphosphoramidate isosequential analog of this aptamer also folds as a hairpin and forms with TAR a loopâloop âkissingâ complex with a binding constant in the low nanomolar range as demonstrated by electrophoretic mobility-shift assays and surface plasmon resonance experiments. The key structural determinants, which contribute to the stability of the RNA aptamerâTAR complex, loop complementarity and the GA residues closing the aptamer loop, remain crucial for the N3Ⲡâ P5ⲠaptamerâTAR complex. Moreover, the N3Ⲡâ P5Ⲡphosphoramidate aptamer specifically interferes with the binding of a peptide derived from the transactivator protein (Tat) peptide to TAR and selectively inhibits the Tat-mediated transcription in an in vitro assay, which marks this nuclease-resistant aptamer as a relevant candidate for experiments in cells
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