Changes in perception of treatment efficacy are associated to the magnitude of the nocebo effect and to personality traits

The nocebo effect in motor performance consists in a reduction of force and increase of fatigue following the application of an inert treatment that the recipient believes to be effective. This effect is variable across individuals and it is usually stronger if conditioning -exposure to the active effect of the treatment- precedes a test session, in which the treatment is inert. In the current explorative study we used a conditioning procedure to investigate whether subjective perception of treatment effectiveness changes between the conditioning and the test session and whether this change is related to dispositional traits and to the nocebo-induced reduction of force. Results showed that 56.1% of participants perceived the treatment as more effective in the test than in the conditioning session, had a more pronounced reduction of force, felt more effort and sense of weakness and were characterized by lower levels of optimism and higher anxiety traits compared to the other 43.9% of participants, who conversely perceived the treatment as less effective in the test session than in the conditioning. These findings highlight for the first time a link between changes in perception of treatment effectiveness, personality traits and the magnitude of the nocebo response in motor performance

What is the economic evidence for mHealth? A systematic review of economic evaluations of mHealth solutions

Background Mobile health (mHealth) is often reputed to be cost-effective or cost-saving. Despite optimism, the strength of the evidence supporting this assertion has been limited. In this systematic review the body of evidence related to economic evaluations of mHealth interventions is assessed and summarized. Methods Seven electronic bibliographic databases, grey literature, and relevant references were searched. Eligibility criteria included original articles, comparison of costs and consequences of interventions (one categorized as a primary mHealth intervention or mHealth intervention as a component of other interventions), health and economic outcomes and published in English. Full economic evaluations were appraised using the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) checklist and The PRISMA guidelines were followed. Results Searches identified 5902 results, of which 318 were examined at full text, and 39 were included in this review. The 39 studies spanned 19 countries, most of which were conducted in upper and upper-middle income countries (34, 87.2%). Primary mHealth interventions (35, 89.7%), behavior change communication type interventions (e.g., improve attendance rates, medication adherence) (27, 69.2%), and short messaging system (SMS) as the mHealth function (e.g., used to send reminders, information, provide support, conduct surveys or collect data) (22, 56.4%) were most frequent; the most frequent disease or condition focuses were outpatient clinic attendance, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. The average percent of CHEERS checklist items reported was 79.6% (range 47.62–100, STD 14.18) and the top quartile reported 91.3–100%. In 29 studies (74.3%), researchers reported that the mHealth intervention was cost-effective, economically beneficial, or cost saving at base case. Conclusions Findings highlight a growing body of economic evidence for mHealth interventions. Although all studies included a comparison of intervention effectiveness of a health-related outcome and reported economic data, many did not report all recommended economic outcome items and were lacking in comprehensive analysis. The identified economic evaluations varied by disease or condition focus, economic outcome measurements, perspectives, and were distributed unevenly geographically, limiting formal meta-analysis. Further research is needed in low and low-middle income countries and to understand the impact of different mHealth types. Following established economic reporting guidelines will improve this body of research

Nutritionally Enhanced Staple Food Crops

Crop biofortification is a sustainable and cost-effective strategy to address malnutrition in developing countries. This review synthesizes the progress toward developing seed micronutrient-dense cereals and legumes cultivars by exploiting natural genetic variation using conventional breeding and/or transgenic technology, and discusses the associated issues to strengthen crop biofortification research and development. Some major QTL for seed iron and zinc, seed phosphorus, and seed phytate in common bean, rice,J;md wheat have been mapped. An iron reductase QTL associated with seed-iron ~QTL is found in common bean where the genes coding for candidate enzymes involved in phytic acid synthesis have also been mapped. Candidate genes for Ipa co segregate with mutant phenotypes identified in rice and soybean. The Gpe-B1 locus in wild emmer wheat accelerates senescence and increases nutrient remobilization from leaves to developing seeds, and another gene named TtNAM-B1 affecting these traits has been cloned. Seed iron-dense common bean and rice in Latin America; seed iron-dense common bean in eastern and southern Africa;....

Safety and tolerability of an intratumorally injected DNAzyme, Dz13, in patients with nodular basal-cell carcinoma: a phase 1 first-in-human trial (DISCOVER)

Background The nuclear transcription factor c-Jun is preferentially expressed in basal-cell carcinoma. Dz13 is a deoxyribozyme that targets JUN messenger RNA and has inhibited the growth of a range of tumours in mice. We did a phase 1 study to assess safety and tolerability in human beings. Methods Adults with nodular basal-cell carcinoma were recruited from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia, between September, 2010, and October, 2011. Patients were assigned to receive one intratumoral injected dose of 10, 30, or 100 μg Dz13, in a 50 μL volume of lipid carrier, and were assessed for adverse effects in the first 24 h then at 7, 14, and 28 days after injection. Treated tumours were surgically excised 14 days after injection and compared with the baseline biopsy samples for expression of c-Jun and tumorigenesis markers. Findings Nine patients were recruited, of whom three received each dose of Dz13. All patients completed the study with no drug-related serious adverse events. No systemic Dz13 exposure was detected. c-Jun expression was reduced in the excised tumours of all nine (100%) patients, compared with baseline, and histological tumour depth had decreased in five (56%) of nine. Proportions of cells positive for caspases 3, 8, and 9 and P53 were increased, but those of cells positive for Bcl-2 and MMP-9 were decreased. Infiltration by inflammatory and immune cells was stimulated. Interpretation Dz13 was safe and well tolerated after single intratumoral injections at all doses.Cancer Institute NSWCancer Council AustraliaNational Health and Medical Research Council (Australia

Influência do fortalecimento muscular no equilíbrio e qualidade de vida em indivíduos com doença de Parkinson

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of muscle strengthening in the balance, mobility and quality of life (QoL) in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD), and to check the correlation between muscle strengthening and QoL. Nine subjects belonging to both sexes, diagnosed with PD, participated in this study. Initially, they went through an evaluation of their balance and functional mobility through the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), the ­Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, and a QoL test through the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39). The subjects also performed a test for determining the maximum load (one-repetition maximum) for the muscle groups trained. After the normality and homogeneity of the data were verified, the Student's t-test and Spearman correlation test were carried out. A significance level of p<0.05 was considered. We verified an improvement in balance (p=0.008) and QoL (p=0.013), and a negative correlation between balance and QoL (evaluation: r=-0.65 and p=0.05, revaluation: r=-0.82 and p=0.005). It was concluded that muscle strengthening was efficient in the improvement of balance and QoL in individuals with PD.Esse estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o ­efeito do fortalecimento muscular no equilíbrio, mobilidade e na qualidade de vida (QV) de indivíduos com doença de Parkinson (DP), e verificar a correlação entre fortalecimento muscular e qualidade de vida. Participaram do estudo nove sujeitos, de ambos os sexos, com diagnóstico médico de DP. Eles, inicialmente, passaram por ­avaliação do equilíbrio e da mobilidade funcional por meio da Escala de Equilíbrio de Berg (EEB) e teste Timed Up and Go (TUG) e da QV pelo questionário Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39). Os sujeitos realizaram ainda o teste de determinação de carga máxima (1 RM) para os grupos musculares treinados. Depois de verificadas a normalidade e homogeneidade dos dados, foram realizados o teste t de Student e o teste de correlação de Spearman. Foi considerado nível de significância de p<0,05. Foi verificada melhora no equilíbrio (p=0,008) e na QV (p=0,013), e correlação negativa entre equilíbrio e QV (avaliação r=-0,65 e p=0,05; e na reavaliação r=-0,82 e p=0,005). O ­fortalecimento muscular foi eficaz na melhora no equilíbrio e na qualidade de vida de indivíduos com doença de Parkinson.Este estudio tiene como objetivo evaluar el efecto del fortalecimiento muscular en el equilibrio, movilidad y en la calidad de vida (CV) de individuos con Enfermedad de Parkinson (EP), y verificar la correlación entre el fortalecimiento muscular y calidad de vida. Participaron del estudio nueve sujetos, de ambos sexos, con diagnóstico médico de EP. Inicialmente los sujetos pasaron por una evaluación del equilibrio y la movilidad funcional por medio de la Escala de Equilibrio de Berg (EEB) y el test Timed Up and Go (TUG), y de la CV por el cuestionario Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39). Los sujetos realizaron también el test de determinación de carga máxima (1 RM) para los grupos musculares entrenados. Después de verificar la normalidad y homogeneidad de los datos fue realizado el Test t de student y el test de correlación de Spearman. Fue considerado nivel de significancia de p<0,05. Fue verificada una mejora en el Equilibrio (p=0,008) y en la CV (p=0,013), y correlación negativa entre el equilibrio y CV (evaluación r= -0,65 y p=0,05; y en la reevaluación r=-0,82 p=0,005). El fortalecimiento muscular fue eficaz en la mejora del equilibrio y en la calidad de vida de individuos con enfermedad de Parkinson