The Dutch version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-NL): Translation, reliability and construct validity

Background The purpose of this study was to make a cross-culturally adapted, Dutch version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP), a 49-item questionnaire measuring oral health-related quality of life, and to examine its psychometric properties. Methods The original English version of the OHIP was translated into the Dutch language, following the guidelines for cross-cultural adaptation of health-related quality of life measures. The resulting OHIP-NL's psychometric properties were examined in a sample of 119 patients (68.9 % women; mean age = 57.1 ± 12.2 yrs). They were referred to the clinic of Prosthodontics and Implantology with complaints concerning their partial or full dentures or other problems with missing teeth. To establish the reliability of the OHIP-NL, internal consistency and test-retest reliability (N = 41; 1 - 2 weeks interval) were examined, using Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), respectively. Further, construct validity was established by calculating ANOVA. Results Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were excellent (Cronbach's alpha = 0.82 - 0.97; ICC = 0.78 - 0.90). In addition, all associations were significant and in the expected direction. Conclusion In conclusion: the OHIP-NL can be considered a reliable and valid instrument to measure oral health-related quality of life

Cost-effectiveness and budget impact analyses of a colorectal cancer screening programme in a high adenoma prevalence scenario using MISCAN-Colon microsimulation model

This economic evaluation showed a screening intervention with a major health gain that also produced net savings when a long follow-up was used to capture the late economic benefit. The number of colonoscopies required was high but remain within the capacity of the Basque Health Service. So far in Europe, no other population Colorectal Cancer screening programme has been evaluated by budget impact analysis

Effect of simulated dawn on quality of sleep – a community-based trial

BACKGROUND: Morning light exposure administered as simulated dawn looks a promising method to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder, but it may moreover help with resetting the inaccurate organisation of body clock functions relative to sleep occurring in winter among people in general. Disturbances in sleep patterns are common and may compromise wellbeing even in the short term. Our hypothesis was that simulated dawn could improve the subjective quality of sleep during winter. METHODS: A community-based trial with 100 volunteer subjects provided with dawn simulators. Study period lasted for eight weeks, and subjects used the dawn simulators for two weeks at a time, each subject acting as his own control (ABAB-design). Main outcome measure was subjective quality of sleep recorded each morning with Groningen Sleep Quality Scale. RESULTS: 77 subjects completed the trial. Quality of sleep improved while subjects were using dawn simulator-devices (p = 0.001). The treatment became beneficial after six days' use of dawn simulator, but the effect did not last after the use was ceased. CONCLUSION: Dawn simulation may help to improve the subjective quality of sleep, but the benefits are modest. Further research is needed to verify these findings and to elucidate the mechanism by which dawn simulation acts on the sleep-wake pattern

Secreted and tumour targeted human carboxylesterase for activation of irinotecan

Irinotecan (CPT-11) is an anticancer agent for the treatment of colon cancer. CPT-11 can be considered as a prodrug, since it needs to be activated into the toxic drug SN-38 by the enzyme carboxylesterase. An approach to achieve tumour specific activation of CPT-11 is to transduce the cDNA encoding carboxylesterase into tumour cells. A secreted form of carboxylesterase may diffuse through a tumour mass and may activate CPT-11 extracellularly. This could enhance the antitumour efficacy by exerting a bystander effect on untransduced cells. In addition a secreted tumour-targeted form of carboxylesterase should prevent leakage of the enzyme from the site of the tumour into the circulation. We have constructed a secreted form of human liver carboxylesterase-2 by deletion of the cellular retention signal and by cloning the cDNA downstream of an Ig kappa leader sequence. The protein was secreted by transfected cells and showed both enzyme activity and efficient CPT-11 activation. To obtain a secreted, tumour-targeted form of carboxylesterase-2 the cDNA encoding the human scFv antibody C28 directed against the epithelial cell adhesion molecule EpCAM, was inserted between the leader sequence and carboxylesterase-2. This fusion protein showed CPT-11 activation and specific binding to EpCAM expressing cells. Importantly, in combination with CPT-11 both recombinant carboxylesterase proteins exerted strong antiproliferative effects on human colon cancer cells. They are, therefore, promising new tools for gene directed enzyme prodrug therapy approaches for the treatment of colon carcinoma with CPT-11

Drawings of very preterm-born children at 5 years of age: a first impression of cognitive and motor development?

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to examine differences in drawing skills between very preterm and term children, and to determine whether very preterm children's cognitive and motor development is reflected in the draw-a-person test (DAP) at age 5. Seventy-two very preterm children (birth weight <1,500 g and/or gestational age <32 weeks) and 60 term children at 5 years of age were compared on the DAP. Cognitive and motor skills of the very preterm children had been assessed four times, at 1/2, 1, 2, and 5 years of age. Very preterm children showed a developmental delay in drawing ability. Structural equation modeling revealed a positive relation between both cognitive as well as motor development and the DAP. CONCLUSION: The DAP could be a crude parameter for evaluating cognitive and motor deficits of very preterm children. A worrisome result should be followed by more standardized tests measuring cognitive and motor skill

Early transcriptional response in the jejunum of germ-free piglets after oral infection with virulent rotavirus

Germ-free piglets were orally infected with virulent rotavirus to collect jejunal mucosal scrapings at 12 and 18 hours post infection (two piglets per time point). IFN-gamma mRNA expression was stimulated in the mucosa of all four infected piglets, indicating that they all responded to the rotavirus infection. RNA pools prepared from two infected piglets were used to compare whole mucosal gene expression at 12 and 18 hpi to expression in uninfected germ-free piglets (n = 3) using a porcine intestinal cDNA microarray. Microarray analysis identified 13 down-regulated and 17 up-regulated genes. Northern blot analysis of a selected group of genes confirmed the data of the microarray. Genes were functionally clustered in interferon-regulated genes, proliferation/differentiation genes, apoptosis genes, cytoskeleton genes, signal transduction genes, and enterocyte digestive, absorptive, and transport genes. Down-regulation of the transport gene cluster reflected in part the loss of rotavirus-infected enterocytes from the villous tips. Data mining suggested that several genes were regulated in lower- or mid-villus immature enterocytes and goblet cells, probably to support repair of the damaged epithelial cell layer at the villous tips. Furthermore, up-regulation was observed for IFN-γ induced guanylate binding protein 2, a protein that effectively inhibited VSV and EMCV replication in vitro (Arch Virol 150:1213–1220, 2005). This protein may play a role in the small intestine’s innate defense against enteric viruses like rotavirus