Educating Health Professionals about Disability: A Review of Interventions

Health professionals need to understand the human rights and health needs of disabled people. This review of evidence on interventions demonstrates that a range of often innovative approaches have been trialled. Lectures by faculty are less effective in changing attitudes than contact with disabled people themselves. Existing examples of good practice need to be scaled up, and better and more long-term evaluations of impact are required

Prostate cancer and Hedgehog signalling pathway

[Abstract] The Hedgehog (Hh) family of intercellular signalling proteins have come to be recognised as key mediators in many fundamental processes in embryonic development. Their activities are central to the growth, patterning and morphogenesis of many different regions within the bodies of vertebrates. In some contexts, Hh signals act as morphogens in the dose-dependent induction of distinct cell fates within a target field, in others as mitogens in the regulation of cell proliferation or as inducing factors controlling the form of a developing organ. These diverse functions of Hh proteins raise many intriguing questions about their mode of action. Various studies have now demonstrated the function of Hh signalling in the control of cell proliferation, especially for stem cells and stem-like progenitors. Abnormal activation of the Hh pathway has been demonstrated in a variety of human tumours. Hh pathway activity in these tumours is required for cancer cell proliferation and tumour growth. Recent studies have uncovered the role for Hh signalling in advanced prostate cancer and demonstrated that autocrine signalling by tumour cells is required for proliferation, viability and invasive behaviour. Thus, Hh signalling represents a novel pathway in prostate cancer that offers opportunities for prognostic biomarker development, drug targeting and therapeutic response monitoring

ACUTE EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE CONSUMPTION ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY AT REST

ACUTE EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE CONSUMPTION ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY AT REST J.E. Kumanchik, J.R. McNeal, and N.H. Lawton Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA The cardiovascular system (CVS) is primarily controlled by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Heart rate variability (HRV) is considered a balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic activity of the ANS that regulates heart rate, and thus a determinant of cardiovascular health. Therefore, measurement of HRV can provide insight into the autonomic function of the CVS and factors that influence it, such as caffeine consumption. PURPOSE: This study sought to determine the acute effects of caffeine consumption on HRV at rest. METHODS: A group of 23 apparently healthy male and female adults (21-27 years) were used for this study. Following 5 min of quiet sitting, subjects underwent an initial electrocardiogram (ECG) recording at rest for 3 min, using a 3-lead ECG. Subjects then consumed a dosage of caffeine equivalent to 2 mg per 1 kg of body mass using caffeinated jellybeans. Thirty minutes following ingestion, subjects underwent a second ECG recording at rest for 3 min. From the ECG record, duration between successive R-R waves was measured to determine HRV before and after caffeine consumption. A paired-samples t-test was conducted to compare HRV at rest between no caffeine (NC) and caffeine (C) conditions. Two independent-samples t-tests were conducted to determine if there were significant differences in HRV at rest in NC and C conditions between sexes. RESULTS: All HRV data are reported in the unit of milliseconds (msec). Coefficient of variation (CV) is also reported. There was a significant difference in HRV between NC (.76 ± .13 msec; CV = 17.1%) and C (.81 ± .15 msec; CV = 18.5%) conditions (p \u3c .001). There was no significant difference in HRV between sex in the NC condition (Male = .77 ± .14 msec, CV = 18.1%; Female = .75 ± .13 msec, CV = 17.3%; p = .689) or the C condition (Male = .83 ± .15 msec, CV = 18.07%; Female = .79 ± .15 msec, CV = 18.9%; p = .547). CONCLUSION: These data suggest caffeine does have an effect on HRV at rest. Specifically, the results from this study suggest that caffeine consumption decreases HRV at rest, regardless of sex. Researchers or clinicians using HRV as a diagnostic tool should be aware that caffeine ingestion can reduce HRV, and should consider controlling for caffeine ingestion in their protocols