Family-school connections and internalizing problems among children living with asthma in urban, low-income neighborhoods

Children with asthma living in urban environments are at risk for experiencing internalizing problems and difficulties at school due to social context and health-related stressors. Parent confidence and participation in the school and children’s attitudes about school were explored in association with children’s depressed mood and school anxiety. Forty-five parent—child dyads were recruited from urban community health centers. Most participants were members of ethnic minority groups. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that higher levels of parent confidence in the school were associated with fewer symptoms of school anxiety in children. Children’s attitudes toward school moderated the relation between parent participation in the school and children’s depressed mood. Specifically, lower levels of parent participation were associated with higher levels of depressed mood only for children with the least positive school attitudes. Although preliminary, these results suggest the importance of attending to family—school connections to optimize the school-related psychological functioning of children living with asthma in urban environments

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase 1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age  6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score  652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N = 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in Asia and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

Brief Report: Randomized Phase 2 Studies of Checkpoint Inhibitors Alone or in Combination with Pegilodecakin in Patients with Metastatic Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (CYPRESS-1 and CYPRESS-2)

INTRODUCTION: Checkpoint inhibitors (CPI) have been approved to treat metastatic NSCLC. Pegilodecakin+CPI suggested promising efficacy in phase 1 IVY, providing rationale for randomized phase 2 trials CYPRESS-1 and CYPRESS-2. METHODS: CYPRESS-1 (N=101) and CYPRESS-2 (N=52) included ECOG 0-1, 1L/2L metastatic NSCLC, respectively, without known EGFR/ALK mutations. Patients were randomized 1:1; control arms received pembrolizumab (CYPRESS-1) or nivolumab (CYPRESS-2); experimental arms received pegilodecakin+CPI. Patients had PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS) ≥50% (CYPRESS-1) or 0-49% (CYPRESS-2). Primary endpoint was ORR per investigator. Secondary endpoints included PFS, OS, and safety. Exploratory endpoints included immune activation biomarkers. RESULTS: Median follow-up for CYPRESS-1 and CYPRESS-2 was 10.0 and 11.6 months, respectively. Results for pegilodecakin+pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab were: ORR per investigator 47%vs.44% (Odds ratio:1.1;95%CI[0.5,2.5]); mPFS 6.3vs.6.1 months (HR:0.937;95%CI[0.541,1.625]); and mOS 16.3 months vs. not reached (HR:1.507;95%CI[0.708,3.209]). Results per blinded independent central review (BICR) were consistent. Treatment discontinuation rate due to AEs doubled in the experimental arm (32%vs.15%). Gr≥3 treatment related adverse events (TRAEs)(62%vs.19%) included anemia(20%vs.0%) and thrombocytopenia(12%vs.2%). Results for pegilodecakin+nivolumab versus nivolumab were: ORR per investigator 15%vs.12% (Odds ratio:1.2;95%CI[0.3,5.9]); mPFS 1.9vs.1.9 months (HR:1.006;95%CI[0.519,1.951]); and mOS 6.7vs.10.7 months (HR:1.871;95%CI[0.772,4.532]). Gr≥3 TRAEs (70.4%vs.16.7%) included anemia(40.7%vs.0%), fatigue(18%vs.0%), and thrombocytopenia(14.8%vs.0%). Biomarker data suggested activation of immunostimulatory signals of IL-10R pathway in pegilodecakin-containing arms. CONCLUSION: Despite evidence of biological effect in peripheral blood, adding pegilodecakin to CPI did not improve ORR, PFS, or OS, in 1L/2L NSCLC. Pegilodecakin+CPI demonstrated overall higher toxicity compared to CPI alone, leading to doubling of treatment discontinuation rate due to AEs

Festschrift Honouring René Gallet

I consider myself extremely lucky to have worked with René Gallet whom I met for the first time in May 2001 when I was appointed to the English Studies Department at Caen University. Our research specialities are different and I was not aware of René’s remarkable career before my arrival in Caen. I was soon to discover someone particularly special – special because of his immense knowledge and erudition, special because of his illuminating presence amongst his students and colleagues and special because of his modesty, generosity and rare kindness. René Gallet is exceptional, not only because of his most inspiring courses but also because of his human qualities..