Funeral practices and grief

Does restricting the ceremonial/ritual arrangements around a cremation to a minimum have a negative association with grief over time? This question has increasingly concerned professionals in the funeral industry as well as those in healthcare capacities working with bereaved persons. We examined the relationship between cremation arrangements and levels of grief. Bereaved people in the UK completed questionnaires 2 to 5 months post-loss and a year later (N=233 with complete data). Complexity of the cremation service was not significantly related to grief; neither was satisfaction with arrangements (which was typically high). Results suggested that it makes no difference to grief whether a more minimalistic or elaborate funeral ceremony is chosen under conditions where the bereaved feel free to make choices that best suit their situation. We concluded that the funeral industry seems to be offering bereaved people an appropriate range of cremation arrangement choices to meet their needs. Important limits to generalizability are discussed. That funeral services serve multiple functions for bereaved persons is emphasized.</p

Socio-economic costs of bereavement in Scotland: main study report.

The Socio-Economic Costs of Bereavement in Scotland (SECOB) research study was funded by the Scottish Government Health Directorates in late 2010 as part of ongoing work to inform national policy on bereavement and bereavement care practice. The project aimed to: a) articulate the likely nature and scope of the impact of bereavement on social and economic aspects of life for Scottish citizens as evidenced in relevant literature; b) seek to estimate the socio-economic costs of bereavement in an emergent sub-set of key aspects, and c) develop methodological approaches that will enhance capacity for large-scale research into the socio-economic impact of bereavement

Onto better TRAILs for cancer treatment

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), also known as Apo-2 ligand (Apo2L), is a member of the TNF cytokine superfamily. By cross-linking TRAIL-Receptor (TRAIL-R) 1 or TRAIL-R2, also known as death receptors 4 and 5 (DR4 and DR5), TRAIL has the capability to induce apoptosis in a wide variety of tumor cells while sparing vital normal cells. The discovery of this unique property among TNF superfamily members laid the foundation for testing the clinical potential of TRAIL-R-targeting therapies in the cancer clinic. To date, two of these therapeutic strategies have been tested clinically: (i) recombinant human TRAIL and (ii) antibodies directed against TRAIL-R1 or TRAIL-R2. Unfortunately, however, these TRAIL-R agonists have basically failed as most human tumors are resistant to apoptosis induction by them. It recently emerged that this is largely due to the poor agonistic activity of these agents. Consequently, novel TRAIL-R-targeting agents with increased bioactivity are currently being developed with the aim of rendering TRAIL-based therapies more active. This review summarizes these second-generation novel formulations of TRAIL and other TRAIL-R agonists, which exhibit enhanced cytotoxic capacity toward cancer cells, thereby providing the potential of being more effective when applied clinically than first-generation TRAIL-R agonists