Burden, resilience and coping in caregivers of patients with interstitial lung disease

RATIONALE:Prior work has described the experience of caregiving in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, but the effect on caregivers in interstitial lung disease (ILD) has not been explored. OBJECTIVES:Describe the burden, resilience, and health related quality of life (HRQoL) of caregivers of people with ILD. METHODS:In a mixed methods study, ILD caregivers completed questionnaires and participated in focus groups. A qualitative thematic analysis of the focus group transcripts was conducted. RESULTS:Thirty seven caregivers completed the survey, and 15 participated in the focus groups. 65% were female; the average age was 66 (SD = 13). The mean Short Form-36 role emotional and mental health scores were 18 (SD = 4) and 46 (SD = 7). The focus groups identified 4 major themes: emotional burden, changes in relationship, coping strategies, and unmet needs of caregivers. CONCLUSIONS:Caregiving for patients with ILD significantly impairs HRQoL, particularly, emotional health. Increasing resources could improve the caregiving experience in ILD

Genetic correlation between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and schizophrenia

We have previously shown higher-than-expected rates of schizophrenia in relatives of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), suggesting an aetiological relationship between the diseases. Here, we investigate the genetic relationship between ALS and schizophrenia using genome-wide association study data from over 100,000 unique individuals. Using linkage disequilibrium score regression, we estimate the genetic correlation between ALS and schizophrenia to be 14.3% (7.05-21.6; P=1 × 10) with schizophrenia polygenic risk scores explaining up to 0.12% of the variance in ALS (P=8.4 × 10). A modest increase in comorbidity of ALS and schizophrenia is expected given these findings (odds ratio 1.08-1.26) but this would require very large studies to observe epidemiologically. We identify five potential novel ALS-associated loci using conditional false discovery rate analysis. It is likely that shared neurobiological mechanisms between these two disorders will engender novel hypotheses in future preclinical and clinical studies

Under-Reporting of energy intake in elderly Australian women is associated with a higher body mass index

Design: Dietary intake was assessed using a 3-day weighed food record. Protein intake was validated by 24-hour urinary nitrogen. To examine under-reporting, participants were grouped according to their energy intake and compared to the Goldberg cut-off equation. Logistic regression was performed to assess the influence of body mass index (BMI) and social-demographic factors on under-reporting. Setting: Community dwelling elderly women from Perth, Western Australia. Participants: 217 elderly women aged 70–80 years. Results: Under-reporters had a higher physical activity level (p<0.001) compared with acceptable-reporters. The under-reporters also had a higher body weight (p=0.006), body mass index (BMI) (p=0.001), waist (p=0.011), hip circumference (p<0.001), whole body fat mass (p<0.001) and percentage body fat (p<0.001) than acceptable-reporters. Under-reporters had a significantly lower intakes of protein, fat, carbohydrate and alcohol (p<0.001) and fewer reported food items, compared with acceptable reporters. However, 24-hour urinary nitrogen was only marginally different between the two groups (p=0.053). Participants with a higher BMI were more likely to under-report their energy intake (BMI=25–29.9: odds ratio=2.98[95% CI=1.46–6.09]; BMI≥30: 5.84[2.41–14.14]). Conclusion: Under-reporting energy intake in elderly women was associated with a higher BMI, body fat and higher self-reported physical activity levels. A higher BMI (≥25) appears to be most significant factor in determining if elderly women will underreport their food intake and may be related to body image. These results have implications for undertaking surveys of food intake in elderly women

Acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS): the mechanism, present strategies and future perspectives of therapies

Acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS), which manifests as non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema, respiratory distress and hypoxemia, could be resulted from various processes that directly or indirectly injure the lung. Extensive investigations in experimental models and humans with ALI/ARDS have revealed many molecular mechanisms that offer therapeutic opportunities for cell or gene therapy. Herein the present strategies and future perspectives of the treatment for ALI/ARDS, include the ventilatory, pharmacological, as well as cell therapies