The adaptations of a quality of life questionnaire for routine use in clinical practice: the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire in Cystic Fibrosis.

The assessment of quality of life (QOL) is necessary to monitor the course of disease and to assess the effect of new and existing interventions in clinical practice. This will only be achieved if QOL can be measured accurately and routinely. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the methodology involved in the adaptation and shortening of the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire (CRDQ) in a population of adults with cystic fibrosis (CF). A single interviewer administered the CRDQ to a sample of 45 adult patients (32 males) with CF prior to assessment of spirometric measures of lung function. Those patients whose lung function was stable at the time of study, and who could attend for a retest within 14 days, were asked to complete the questionnaire at a subsequent visit (n=10). The average interval between visits was 7 days (range 5-14 days). Correlations between spirometry and CRDQ dimensions ranged from -0.003 to 0.426. The fatigue, emotion and mastery dimensions showed high internal consistency, and adequate construct validity. In the small number of patients suitable for retest, the results indicated that the dimensions exhibited adequate test retest reliability. In contrast low internal consistency was demonstrated for the dyspnoea dimension. The fatigue, emotion and mastery dimensions could be reduced, in terms of their number of items without a substantial loss in explanatory power. This study suggests that QOL measurement can be made convenient, and so more easily accessible for routine clinical assessment.

A descriptive study of the usage of spinal manipulative therapy techniques within a randomised clinical trial in acute low back pain

The majority of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of spinal manipulative therapy have not adequately de?ned the terms ‘mobilization’ and ‘manipulation’, nor distinguished between these terms in reporting the trial interventions. The purpose of this study was to describe the spinal manipulative therapy techniques utilized within a RCT of manipulative therapy (MT; n=80), interferential therapy (IFT; n=80), and a combination of both (CT; n=80) for people with acute low back pain (LBP). Spinal manipulative therapy was de?ned as any ‘mobilization’ (low velocity manual force without a thrust) or ‘manipulation’ (high velocity
thrust) techniques of the spine described by Maitland and Cyriax.
The 16 physiotherapists, all members of the Society of Orthopaedic Medicine, utilized three spinal manipulative therapy patterns in the RCT: Maitland Mobilization (40.4%, n=59), Maitland Mobilization/Cyriax Manipulation (40.4%, n=59) and Cyriax Manipulation (19.1%, n=28). There was a signi?cant difference between the MT and CT groups in their usage of spinal manipulative therapy techniques (w2=9.178; df=2;P=0.01); subjects randomized to the CT group received three times more Cyriax Manipulation (29.2%, n=21/72) than those randomized to the MT group (9.5%, n=7/74; df=1; P=0.003).
The use of mobilization techniques within the trial was comparable with their usage by the general population of physiotherapists in Britain and Ireland for LBP management. However, the usage of manipulation techniques was considerably higher than reported in physiotherapy surveys and may re?ect the postgraduate training of trial therapists.

Approved Social Work Training in Northern Ireland: Using Research to Examine Competence-Based Learning and Influence Policy Change

This article reports on how research activity helped describe and analyse ASW (Approved Social Worker) learning experience as well as acting as a catalyst for change and development in policy and practice in Northern Ireland. The paper contextualizes the study by outlining the legislation, the main features of the ASW role and the approach to ASW training in Northern Ireland, and by reviewing the literature on the efficacy and value of competence-based learning. While the findings do not provide conclusive evidence that a competence-based approach is inherently more effective than previous courses, they do indicate that candidates who were trained in this way were moderately more satisfied than those who had participated in non-competence based programmes. The research also highlights the importance of the interrelationship between training, practice experience and support in developing and sustaining competence. The paper concludes with a review of the recommendations arising from the study and an analysis of the developments in training and regulations relating to practice experience and re-approval of ASWs since publication of the research. The study is of contemporary interest given the proposed changes to the role of ASWs/Mental Health Officers in the context of the reviews of UK mental health law.

The clinical effect of dietary supplementation with omega-3 fish oils and/or copper in systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of dietary supplementation with omega-3 fish oils with or without copper on disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Fish oil supplementation has a beneficial effect on murine models of SLE, while exogenous copper can decrease the formation of lupus erythematosus cells in rats with a hydralazine-induced collagen disease. METHODS: A double blind, double placebo controlled factorial trial was performed on 52 patients with SLE. Patients were randomly assigned to 4 treatment groups. Physiological doses of omega-3 fish oils and copper readily obtainable by dietary means were used. One group received 3 g MaxEPA and 3 mg copper, another 3 g MaxEPA and placebo copper, another 3 mg copper and placebo fish oil, and the fourth group received both placebo capsules. Serial measurements of disease activity using the revised Systemic Lupus Activity Measure (SLAM-R) and peripheral blood samples for routine hematological, biochemical, and immunological indices were taken at baseline, 6, 12, and 24 weeks. RESULTS: There was a significant decline in SLAM-R score from 6.12 to 4.69 (p <0.05) in those subjects taking fish oil compared to placebo. No significant effect on SLAM-R was observed in subjects taking copper. Laboratory variables were unaffected by either intervention. CONCLUSION: In the management of SLE, dietary supplementation with fish oil may be beneficial in modifying symptomatic disease activity.

A FUNCTIONAL, COMPARATIVE AND CLINICAL ANALYSIS OF SPERM-BORNE OOCYTE ACTIVATING FACTOR, PAWP

Successful fertilization depends upon the activation of metaphase II arrested oocytes by sperm-borne oocyte activating factor (SOAF). Failure of oocyte activation is considered as the cause of treatment failure in a proportion of infertile couples. SOAF induces the release of intracellular calcium in oocyte which leads to meiotic resumption and pronuclear formation. Calcium release is either in the form of single calcium transient in echinoderm and amphibian oocytes or several calcium oscillations in ascidian and mammalian oocytes. Although the SOAF attributes are established, it is not clear which sperm protein(s) play such role. Sperm postacrosomal WW binding protein (PAWP) satisfies a developmental criteria set for a candidate SOAF. This study shows that recombinant human PAWP protein or its transcript acts upstream of calcium release and fully activates the amphibian and mammalian oocytes. Interference trials provided evidence for the first time that PAWP mediates sperm-induced intracellular calcium release through a PPXY/WWI domain module in Xenopus, mouse and human oocytes. Clinical applications of PAWP were further investigated by prospective study on the sperm samples from patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). PAWP expression level, analyzed by flow cytometry, was correlated to ICSI success rate and embryonic development. This study also explored the developmental expression of the other SOAF candidate, PLCζ in male reproductive system and its function during fertilization. Our findings showed for the first time that PLCζ most likely binds to the sperm head surface during epididymal passage and is expressed in epididymis. We demonstrated that PLCζ is also compartmentalized early in spermiogenesis and thus could play an important role during spermiogenesis. Detailed analysis of in vitro fertilization revealed that PLCζ disappears from sperm head during acrosome reaction and is not detectable during sperm incorporation into the oocyte cytoplasm. In conclusion, this dissertation provides evidence for the essential non-redundant role of sperm PAWP in amphibian and mammalian fertilization; recommends PAWP as a biomarker for prediction of ICSI outcomes in infertile couples; and proposes that sperm PLCζ may have functions other than inducing oocyte activation during fertilization.

5-Fluorouracil: mechanisms of action and clinical strategies

5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is widely used in the treatment of cancer. Over the past 20 years, increased understanding of the mechanism of action of 5-FU has led to the development of strategies that increase its anticancer activity. Despite these advances, drug resistance remains a significant limitation to the clinical use of 5-FU. Emerging technologies, such as DNA microarray profiling, have the potential to identify novel genes that are involved in mediating resistance to 5-FU. Such target genes might prove to be therapeutically valuable as new targets for chemotherapy, or as predictive biomarkers of response to 5-FU-based chemotherapy.