Peopling

Harold (Hal) C. Slavkin, DDS, the 22nd president of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (1993 to 1994), died on December 22, 2023. During a career that spanned almost 6 decades, Hal distinguished himself as an international authority on craniofacial biology and an advocate for oral health equity. He served as dean of the University of Southern California's dental school, founded the school's Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, created the nation's first PhD program in craniofacial biology, and served as the sixth director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Overweight and obesity have been found to exhibit a statistically significant increase in corrected QT interval (QTc), a major contributing factor to sudden death. However, the influence of widely used weight loss strategies including diet, exercise, anti-obesity drugs, and bariatric surgery on QTc remains inconsistent. Therefore, the present systematic review and meta-analysis aim to quantitatively analyse and evaluate the effect of weight loss on QTc in obese patients after diet control with exercise intervention and anti-obesity drugs, as well as bariatric surgery...

Focal atrophy of the left anterior temporal lobe has been associated with the semantic type of primary progressive aphasia evolving to semantic dementia. In contrast, focal atrophy of the right temporal lobe has more recently been described as a controverse entity reported as the right temporal variant of FTD. We describe two cases of FTD dementia syndromes: in Case 1, atrophy of the right temporal lobe led to significant behavioural impairment and difficulties in recognizing known people. In Case 2, atrophy of the left temporal lobe was associated with severe aggressive, ritualistic behaviour and aphasia...

AIM: To review the baseline and clinical characteristics of patients referred to a New Zealand Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI) service across a 4-year timeframe. METHOD: We compared two cohorts, and identified variables associated with being accepted or declined, and reasons for decline, by an EPI service between 2013 and 2017. RESULTS: There were 576 people with suspected psychosis referred to the EPI service for assessment: 300 (52%) were accepted, 221 (38%) declined and 55 (10%) were not processed...

BACKGROUND: Bladder cancer (BC) is a common malignancy in Europe and in North America. Among BC, muscle-invasive bladder cancers (MIBC) are distinguished, as they require aggressive treatment due to their spreading potential and the poor prognosis. Despite its clinical relevance, little information on MIBC in a general population setting is available. This study aims to report practice patterns and survival outcomes for MIBC patients in a general population setting. METHODS: MIBC among BC incident in 2011 and 2012 recorded in a French population-based cancer registry (810,000 inhabitants) were included in the study...

Clean intermittent self-catheterisation (CISC) is considered the preferred option to an indwelling catheter for emptying the bladder in people with a range of voiding dysfunctions. CISC has a lower risk of complications and urinary tract infections. This narrative review of previous qualitative research explores the quality-of-life impacts and highlights the challenges that men face. It will provide nurses who teach CISC with some useful insights into the male experience and the issues of concordance and adherence...

Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in Ireland with knee osteoarthritis the most common presentation. One in five women and one in 10 men over the age of 60 in Ireland are diagnosed with osteoarthritis. The causative factors are multifactorial, but the increasing incidence of obesity is contributing greatly to the occurrence of osteoarthritis of the weight-bearing joints. The rheumatology advanced nurse practitioner is an autonomous clinical practitioner and potential solution to the growing numbers of people needing interventions for osteoarthritis, due to their ability to assess, diagnose, treat, and discharge these patients who ordinarily would be assessed from a medical waiting list...

UNLABELLED: Incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) is a skin inflammation caused by contact with urine or faeces or both. It has a negative effect on the patient's quality of life and is indicative of the care provided. However, globally there is a lack of empirical data on the prevalence of IAD. AIM: To identify, for the first time, the proportion of older adults in extended care settings in Ireland affected by IAD. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, multisite, point prevalence survey, across three community extended care settings for older people in Ireland...

Clean intermittent self-catheterisation is a common procedure undertaken by people with bladder dysfunction. However, it is not without its complications, the main one being urinary tract infection. The most common causes of urinary tract infections are poor hygiene, technique and adherence, excessive post-void residual urine and bladder trauma. A catheter with new Micro-hole Zone Technology has been developed, which can potentially improve bladder emptying and minimise these complications. A case study is used to illustrate its effects in practice...

Background: Injury of peripheral nerve capable of regeneration with much poorer prognosis affects people's life quality. The recovery of nerve function after transplantation for peripheral nerve injury remain a worldwide problem. Silicon-induced biofilms as vascularized biological conduits can promote nerve regeneration by encapsulating autologous or allogeneic nerve graft. Objective: We proposed to explore the effect of silicon-induced biofilms on nerves regeneration and whether the VEGF/VEGFR2/ERK pathway was involved in the present study...

People with eating disorders are often placed on lengthy waitlists for treatment. This is problematic, as increased time spent on waitlists has been shown to predict dropout. We examined whether providing brief interventions to people on a waitlist improved retention or outcomes in treatment. Participants ( N  = 85) were referred to a university training clinic for 10-session cognitive behavioural therapy for non-underweight patients with eating disorders (CBT-T). While waitlisted for CBT-T, participants were randomised to one of two waitlist interventions or a control condition...

Background: Tinnitus can severely impair people's quality of life. Stress has been involved in the pathogenesis of multiform mental disorders. Tinnitus-related annoying symptoms have a negative effect on the life quality of tinnitus sufferers. Objectives: The aim of this study is to explore the association between stress and the symptomatic tinnitus. Methods: A total of 183 participants were categorized into 3 groups, depending on the presence of tinnitus-related symptoms. All participants underwent audiological examination, and their demographic data were collected via a questionnaire...

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a major health problem worldwide as it can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and insulin resistance. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing worldwide across different age groups. There is evidence of an inverse relationship between calcium intake and body weight. The clinical relevance of a small reduction in body weight has been questioned. However, at a population level, a small effect could mitigate the observed global trends...

BACKGROUND: Trauma plays an important role in the development of psychosis, but no studies have investigated whether a trauma-focused therapy could prevent psychosis. AIMS: This study aimed to establish whether it would be feasible to conduct a multicentre randomised controlled trial (RCT) to prevent psychosis in people with an at-risk mental state (ARMS), using eye-movement desensitisation and reprocessing therapy (EMDR). METHOD: This started as a mixed-method randomised study comparing EMDR to treatment as usual but, as a result of low participant recruitment, was changed to a single-arm feasibility study...

BACKGROUND: Unconfirmed beta-lactam allergy in pregnant people has been associated with higher morbidity, unnecessary exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics and prolonged hospitalisation. There are no published data on beta-lactam allergies in pregnant people in Australia. AIMS: The aim was to describe patient-reported beta-lactam allergies and appropriateness for antibiotic allergy de-labelling in a maternity cohort in Australia. METHODS: Maternity patients aged ≥18 years admitted to our institution between March 2021 and June 2021 with a beta-lactam allergy documented in their electronic medical record were interviewed for details of their allergy...

BACKGROUND: Timely outpatient follow-up and readmission after discharge are common quality indicators in psychiatric care, but their association varies in previous research. We aimed to examine whether the impact of outpatient follow-up and other factors on readmission risk evolves over time in people with non-affective psychotic disorder (NAP). METHODS: The Finnish Quality of Care Register includes all people diagnosed with NAP since January 2010. Here, we followed patients with a hospital discharge between 2017 and 2021 until readmission, death, or up to 365 days...

BACKGROUND: We examined whether cannabis use contributes to the increased risk of psychotic disorder for non-western minorities in Europe. METHODS: We used data from the EU-GEI study (collected at sites in Spain, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands) on 825 first-episode patients and 1026 controls. We estimated the odds ratio (OR) of psychotic disorder for several groups of migrants compared with the local reference population, without and with adjustment for measures of cannabis use...

Ethnolinguistically diverse 2S/LGBTQI+ (two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex) populations have unique healthcare needs and experience health inequities compared to their cisgender or heterosexual peers. This community-based participatory study sought to describe the profile and healthcare needs and experiences of official language minority French-speaking 2S/LGBTQI+ adults in Manitoba. Participants ( N = 80) reported that gender and sexual identity were often concealed from service providers; many respondents faced discrimination based on their ethnolinguistic and sexual identities...

INTRODUCTION: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a central nervous system (CNS) disease associated with inflammation, demyelination, and neurodegeneration. It affects more than 2 million people globally, and usually occurs in young adults, three-quarters of whom are women. Importantly, accurate diagnosis and treatment are essential, as this disease can lead to the rapid development of disability. The choroid plexus (CP) is a structure widely known as the main cerebrospinal fluid source. However, it is also involved in immune cell trafficking to the cerebrospinal fluid, which is increased in different neurological disorders, particularly those associated with neuroinflammation...

INTRODUCTION: There has been a significant increase in methamphetamine/amphetamine use in North America, particularly among people who use opioids. Despite its association with several negative health consequences, the population of people who use methamphetamine/amphetamine with opioids is not well characterised. The aim of this study was to investigate correlates of methamphetamine/amphetamine use among adults with prescription-type opioid use disorder (POUD) starting methadone or buprenorphine/naloxone as part of a pragmatic randomised treatment trial in Canada...