Am J Public Health. 2015 Jan 21:e1-e5. [Epub ahead of print]

Health Policy, Ethics, and the Kansas Legislative Health Academy.

Blacksher E1, Maree G, Schrandt S, Soderquist C, Steffensmeier T, St Peter R.

Author information

• 1Erika Blacksher is with the Department of Bioethics and Humanities, University of Washington, Seattle. Gina Maree is with Innovative Leadership Strategies LLC, Kansas City, MO. Suzanne Schrandt is with the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Washington, DC. Chris Soderquist is with Pontifex Consulting, Hanover, NH. Tim Steffensmeier is with the Department of Communication Studies, Kansas State University, Manhattan. Robert St. Peter is with the Kansas Health Institute, Topeka.

Abstract

We describe a unique program, the Kansas Legislative Health Academy, that brings together state legislators from across the political spectrum to build their capacity in advancing policies that can improve the health of Kansans. To that end, the academy helps legislators develop new skills to deliberate the ethics of health policy, use systems thinking to understand the long- and short-term effects of policy action and inaction, and engage in acts of civic leadership. The academy also seeks to foster an environment of respectful open dialogue and to build new cross-chamber and cross-party relationships. Among the most important outcomes cited by program participants is the value of sustained, personal interaction and problem solving with individuals holding differing political views.

Ethics placebos

J Trauma Dissociation. 2015 Jan 20. [Epub ahead of print]

Steps to Strengthen Ethics in Organizations: Research Findings, Ethics Placebos, and What Works.

Pope KS1.

Author information

• 1a Norwalk , CT.

Abstract

Research shows many organizations overlook needs and opportunities to strengthen ethics. Barriers can make it hard to see the need for stronger ethics and even harder to take effective action. These barriers include the organization's misleading use of language, misuse of an ethics code, culture of silence, strategies of justification, institutional betrayal, and ethical fallacies. Ethics placebos tend to take the place of steps to see, solve, and prevent problems. This article reviews relevant research and specific steps that create change.

Tension with traditional research structure and goals: "...almost all research participants wanted disclosure of at least some types of incidental findings."

Eur J Hum Genet. 2015 Jan 21. doi: 10.1038/ejhg.2014.298. [Epub ahead of print]

Research participants in NGS studies want to know about incidental findings.

Jelsig AM1, Qvist N2, Brusgaard K1, Ousager LB1.

Author information

• 1Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense University Hospital, Odense C, Denmark.
• 2Surgical Department A, Odense University Hospital, Odense C, Denmark.

Abstract

Following the implementation of high-throughput sequencing legal and ethical issues are discussed intensively. The management of incidental findings (IFs) in a research setting have been investigated but there is a lack of literature concerning research participant's perspective. The aim of this study was to investigate whether research participants want disclosure of IFs and what kind of IFs they want to know about. One hundred and twenty-seven research participants in a study of gastrointestinal polyps were informed about whole-exome sequencing and the risk of IFs. They were asked to decide whether they (A) wanted disclosure of IFs no matter whether the variants were associated with a non-treatable or non-preventable condition, (B) wanted disclosure of variants associated with treatable or preventable conditions or (C) wanted no disclosure at all. Participants who wanted disclosure of all the IFs (A) accounted for the majority (n=78), 45 of the participants only wanted disclosure of variants, which could lead to surveillance or treatment (B) and 4 participants did not want IFs to be disclosed at all (C). The study showed that almost all research participants wanted disclosure of at least some types of IFs.

Health Policy Plan. 2015 Jan 20. pii: czu137. [Epub ahead of print]

Engaging for-profit providers in TB control: lessons learnt from initiatives in South Asia.

Khan MS1, Salve S2, Porter JD2.

Author information

• 1TB Centre, London School of Hygiene and Topical Medicine and Research Alliance for Advocacy and Development, Pakistan, Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Maharashtra Association of Anthropological Sciences (MAAS), Pune, India and Departments of Clinical Research and Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Mishal.Khan@lshtm.ac.uk.
• 2TB Centre, London School of Hygiene and Topical Medicine and Research Alliance for Advocacy and Development, Pakistan, Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Maharashtra Association of Anthropological Sciences (MAAS), Pune, India and Departments of Clinical Research and Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Abstract

There has been a huge expansion in the private health-care sector over the past two decades, particularly in South Asia, resulting in over 80% of patients seeking care from private health providers. Despite concerns about the quality and equity of private sector service provision, most government public health bodies recognize that the private sector reaches individuals that public institutions cannot cater to, thereby being important in moving closer to universal health coverage. Numerous initiatives have been launched and are being planned to involve private practitioners in effectively diagnosing, reporting and managing infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. However, there is a notable dearth of papers discussing which elements of private sector engagement strategies are more or less successful and the ethical issues that arise when engagement strategies are operationalized. This article brings together the authors' experiences of working on projects to engage private allopathic health providers in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India for improved tuberculosis control. Motivations of and strategies required to engage private allopathic heath providers, specifically doctors, diagnostic laboratories and pharmacies, and some of the ethical issues that arise when designing programmes for engagement are discussed.

Adam Bonin on judicial fundraising: "In the end, the problem isn’t so much with who’s making the ask as with its very existence."

INSIDE TAKE: End the Judicial Fundraising Charade

Let us demand real reforms, not fig leaves.

BY ADAM BONIN  |  JANUARY 20, 2015 AT 10:30 AM

"But this doesn’t, as the Florida Bar argues, avoid “the potential for quid pro quo corruption and the appearance of corruption by breaking the direct link between contributors and judicial candidates.” It just adds one more link to the chain.

In the end, the problem isn’t so much with who’s making the ask as with its very existence. There is no system in which attorneys and parties are funding the campaigns of the judges before whom they will appear which will be free from the potential for corruption."

Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/citified/2015/01/20/judicial-fundraising-charade/#Dtt04mZFDODxML1Y.99

"Today is a victory for Penn State nation," said Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman

Penn Staters, Victim Advocates Don't Embrace NCAA Over Paterno Deal

Sandusky was convicted in 2012 of sexually abusing 10 children, sometimes on campus, and is serving 30 to 60 years in prison.

The pact emerged just days after a federal judge declined to rule on the constitutionality of the sanctions and weeks before a Pennsylvania court was to hold a trial on the legality of the penalties.

"Today is a victory for Penn State nation," said Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, who had sued the NCAA with state Treasurer Rob McCord. "The NCAA has surrendered."

The penalties sprung from the scandal that erupted when Sandusky was accused of sexually abusing boys, some of them on campus.

Maybe Paterno will get his statue back, too

"...the most nauseating, the most horrifying, the most indefensible institutionalization of corruption in American sports..."

Penn State still doesn't get it

 "It is hard to believe that the NCAA and the school could take the most nauseating, the most horrifying, the most indefensible institutionalization of corruption in American sports -- the Jerry Sandusky scandal -- and make it worse, but today they just did," said ESPN's Keith Olbermann said on his show Friday.

 

"Nothing more ignorant has ever happened in major college sports."

Give the NCAA the Death Penalty

 

"I kept asking myself, 'What are they celebrating?'"

Is Paterno's legacy all that matters? 

As hundreds rallied to celebrate the deal cut by the NCAA to restore 112 Penn State victories striped from the team (111 of them Paterno’s), I kept asking myself, “What are they celebrating?”

 

 

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/tailgaters/Joe-Paterno-Penn-State-legacy-409-wins-all-that-matters.html#1tCo6Ehu2QY345Id.99

2 UVA Frats Holding Out on New Party Policy Agreement Back Down on Protest 'Reluctantly'

"Given the University's poor handling of this matter, we are now exploring the right to pursue any legal remedies."

Read more: http://www.universityherald.com/articles/14963/20150117/2-uva-frats-holding-out-on-new-party-policy-agreement-back-down-on-protest-reluctantly.htm#ixzz3P63TfoVt

Two-year-old kids being admitted to hospital for obesity in Merseyside

 

Al Stewart's Year of the Cat

Al Stewart's Year of the Cat

Watch James Taylor Sing ‘You’ve Got a Friend’ Beside John Kerry in Paris

Watch James Taylor Sing ‘You’ve Got a Friend’ Beside John Kerry in Paris

 

HT:PP

The Motley Fool: 2 Ways Crashing Oil Prices Could Trigger the Next Global Financial Panic

2 Ways Crashing Oil Prices Could Trigger the Next Global Financial Panic

By Adam Galas

"The recent crash in oil prices, the worst since the financial crisis, has left investors in oil-related stocks reeling, but U.S. consumers are cheering as gas prices have plunged nearly 40% to their lowest levels in five and a half years."

Our challenge: "Only 21% of participants reported understanding the nomenclature used in pathology reports 'all the time'."

J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2015 Jan 8:1-5. [Epub ahead of print]

Pathologic examination of the placenta and its clinical utility: a survey of obstetrics and gynecology providers.

Odibo I1, Gehlot A, Ounpraseuth ST, Magann EF.

Author information

• 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and.

Abstract

Objective: To determine provider awareness of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) recommended guidelines for examination of placenta and evaluate the Obstetrician -Gynecologist's perception of the clinical utility of placenta pathology reports. 

Study design: An anonymous survey of Obstetrician Gynecologists who attended the national conference of The Central Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (CAOG) in 2013 assessing their knowledge of the CAP guidelines and utilization of information obtained from pathology reports. Chi-square or Fisher's exact test were used to evaluate association between specialists and non-specialist providers as related to survey questions and multivariable logistic regression used to explore factors associated with utilization and awareness of the guidelines. 

Results: A total of 218 providers attended the conference and 111 surveys were completed. Only 36% of participants were aware of the CAP guidelines for pathologic examination of the placenta. The odds that a physician with more than 15 years of experience will send a placenta for examination was 0.210 times that of physicians with less than 15 years of experience (CI 0.084, 0.521). The odds for awareness of the CAP guideline among subspecialists who participated in the study were 3.630 times the odds for non-specialist (CI 1.44, 9.147). In addition, the odds of sending a placenta for those physicians in a community hospital are 0.300 times that of physicians in a University hospital (CI 0.110, 0.820). The presence of a pathologist skilled in obstetrics and gynecology did not seem to affect awareness of the CAP guidelines, perception of the usefulness of the guidelines and likelihood of sending a placenta for examination. Only 21% of participants reported understanding the nomenclature used in pathology reports "all the time". Participants ranked the explanation of adverse pregnancy outcome as the most useful clinical application of placenta pathologic examination and most advocated for continued placental pathologic examination. 

Conclusion: Most of the participants in this study were not aware of the CAP guidelines. The study also revealed deficits in understanding the nomenclature on pathology reports even though providers overall recognized the clinical utility of pathologic examination of the placenta. This emphasizes the importance of actively incorporating the concept of pathologic changes of the placenta into the curriculum for training obstetrician gynecologists and pathologists and for institutions to streamline policies centered on pathologic examination of the placenta.

J R Soc Interface. 2015 Mar 6;12(104). pii: 20141105. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2014.1105.

Modelling the propagation of social response during a disease outbreak.

Fast SM1, González MC2, Wilson JM3, Markuzon N4.

Author information

• 1Operations Research Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA Draper Laboratory, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
• 2Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
• 3Ascel Bio National Infectious Disease Forecast Center, Ascel Bio LLC, New York City, NY 10018, USA.
• 4Draper Laboratory, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA nmarkuzon@draper.com.

Abstract

Epidemic trajectories and associated social responses vary widely between populations, with severe reactions sometimes observed. When confronted with fatal or novel pathogens, people exhibit a variety of behaviours from anxiety to hoarding of medical supplies, overwhelming medical infrastructure and rioting. We developed a coupled network approach to understanding and predicting social response. We couple the disease spread and panic spread processes and model them through local interactions between agents. The social contagion process depends on the prevalence of the disease, its perceived risk and a global media signal. We verify the model by analysing the spread of disease and social response during the 2009 H1N1 outbreak in Mexico City and 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome and 2009 H1N1 outbreaks in Hong Kong, accurately predicting population-level behaviour. This kind of empirically validated model is critical to exploring strategies for public health intervention, increasing our ability to anticipate the response to infectious disease outbreaks.

J Law Med Ethics. 2014 Dec;42(4):535-49. doi: 10.1111/jlme.12174.

Upstream health law.

Sage WM1, McIlhattan K.

Author information

• 1Physician and attorney, holds the James R. Dougherty Chair in law at the University of Texas.

Abstract

For the first time, entrepreneurs are aggressively developing new technologies and business models designed to improve individual and population health, not just to deliver specialized medical care. Consumers of these goods and services are not yet "patients"; they are simply people. As this sector of the health care industry expands, it is likely to require new forms of legal governance, which we term "upstream health law."

"gastric cancer remains the fourth most common type of cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide"

J Carcinog. 2014 Dec 19;13:14. doi: 10.4103/1477-3163.146506. eCollection 2014.

Gastric cancer review.

Carcas LP1.

Author information

• 1Department of Hematology and Oncology Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Miami, Florida 33136, USA.

Abstract

Gastric cancer is an aggressive disease that continues to have a daunting impact on global health. Despite an overall decline in incidence over the last several decades, gastric cancer remains the fourth most common type of cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. This review aims to discuss the global distribution of the disease and the trend of decreasing incidence of disease, delineate the different pathologic subtypes and their immunohistochemical (IHC) staining patterns and molecular signatures and mutations, explore the role of the pathogen H. pylori in tumorgenesis, discuss the increasing incidence of the disease in the young, western populations and define the role of biologic agents in the treatment of the disease.

From Pusan Natl U-Korea: Pharmacotherapy for obesity

J Menopausal Med. 2014 Dec;20(3):90-6. doi: 10.6118/jmm.2014.20.3.90. Epub 2014 Dec 24.

Pharmacotherapy for obesity.

Joo JK1, Lee KS1.

Author information

• 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.

Abstract

Obesity is an important risk factor for metabolic disease and various cancers. Treatments of obesity include lifestyle intervention, pharmacotherapy, and bariatric surgery. If weight loss with lifestyle intervention is only modest, pharmacotherapy might be needed. Pharmacotherapy agents can be grouped by treatment period as short term or long term use agent. Several sympathomimetic drugs such as benzphetamine, diethylpropion, phendimetrazine and phentermine, are approved for short term treatment due to their safety issues. For long term treatment, orlistat, lorcaserin, and combination of phentermine/topiramate are approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Orlistat partially blocks intestinal digestion of fat, therefore producing weight loss. Lorcaserin is a serotonin 2C receptor agonist. The combination of phentermine/topiramate produces a mean weight loss of 8-10 kg. Side effects of each drug are quite different. For obesity patient, side effects are important factor when choosing drugs. The goal of this article is to review currently available anti-obesity drugs.

From the NYP: I gained 43 pounds to prove obese people are lazy

I gained 43 pounds to prove obese people are lazy

By Andrea Morabito

January 16, 2015 | 11:41am

"Hopkins has also not budged on her more controversial opinions, including that parents should be held responsible for having fat children and her opposition to people being allowed to get weight-loss surgery through the UK’s government-provided health coverage. And she still won’t hire someone who is overweight."

From Washington State U: (The Ethics of) Teaching Science and Ethics

J Microbiol Biol Educ. 2014 Dec 15;15(2):135-8. doi: 10.1128/jmbe.v15i2.841. eCollection 2014.

(The Ethics of) Teaching Science and Ethics: A Collaborative Proposal.

Kabasenche WP1.

Author information

• 1School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs, Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4880.

Abstract

I offer a normative argument for a collaborative approach to teaching ethical issues in the sciences. Teaching science ethics requires expertise in at least two knowledge domains-the relevant science(s) and philosophical ethics. Accomplishing the aims of ethics education, while ensuring that science ethics discussions remain grounded in the best empirical science, can generally best be done through collaboration between a scientist and an ethicist. Ethics as a discipline is in danger of being misrepresented or distorted if presented by someone who lacks appropriate disciplinary training and experience. While there are exceptions, I take philosophy to be the most appropriate disciplinary domain in which to gain training in ethics teaching. Science students, who must be prepared to engage with many science ethics issues, are poorly served if their education includes a misrepresentation of ethics or specific issues. Students are less well prepared to engage specific issues in science ethics if they lack an appreciation of the resources the discipline of ethics provides. My collaborative proposal looks at a variety of ways scientists and ethicists might collaborate in the classroom to foster good science ethics education.

Strahlenther Onkol. 2015 Jan 10. [Epub ahead of print]

The SS x-ray unit as an instrument for "total registration" and "race selection"

Schmidt M1, Winzen T, Groß D.

Author information

• 1Institute for the History, Theory and Ethics of Medicine, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Wendlingweg 2, MTI II, 52074, Aachen, Germany, maschmidt@ukaachen.de.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

The aim of this article is to show that, after the onset of World War II at the latest, the central task of the x-ray unit of the Nazi-SS (Schutzstaffel) led by Prof. Hans Holfelder was by no means the early diagnosis of tuberculosis. Its primary purpose, rather, was to serve the various "racial" and inhuman aims of the SS itself.

METHODS:

Main historical sources and information about the SS x-ray unit are surveyed and analyzed.

RESULTS:

Clearly, the significance of the x-ray storm unit was increasingly subordinated to the necessities of the war until its original objectives disappeared from focus completely. The main purpose of operation of the x-ray storm unit thus by no means lay in the early detection of tuberculosis and did not therefore serve tuberculosis control.

CONCLUSION:

The actual objective lay, rather, in the implementation of SS aims in terms of Volk politics, genetics, and "racial hygiene".

From NYU: Imbalance of Opinions Expressed on Twitter Relating to CT Radiation Risk: An Opportunity for Increased Radiologist Representation

AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2015 Jan;204(1):W48-51. doi: 10.2214/AJR.14.12705.

Imbalance of Opinions Expressed on Twitter Relating to CT Radiation Risk: An Opportunity for Increased Radiologist Representation.

Prabhu V1, Rosenkrantz AB.

Author information

• 11 Department of Radiology, NYU Langone Medical Center, 660 First Ave, New York, NY 10016.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to assess perspectives and information relating to CT radiation risk on Twitter, a popular microblogging social network. 

MATERIALS AND METHODS. Publicly available posts on Twitter ("tweets") containing both the words "CT" and "radiation" were identified from the 1st week of each month in 2013. Type of user posting and source of linked articles were recorded. Two reviewers assessed the content of tweets and links regarding CT's benefit-to-risk ratio (favorable, unfavorable, etc.). 

RESULTS. Six hundred twenty-one relevant tweets were tweeted by 557 unique users, of whom 90 (16%) were physicians (17 of these were radiologists), 30 (5%) were medical practices or hospitals, 34 (6%) were patients, 8 (1%) were physicists or technologists, and 395 (71%) were other types of users. Two hundred twenty-seven tweets included user commentary regarding CT's benefit-to-risk ratio, of which 134 (59%) were unfavorable or concerned, 65 (29%) were neutral, 22 (10%) were informative regarding CT dose reduction strategies, and only 6 (3%) were favorable. Four hundred seventy-two tweets (76%) included links to a total of 99 unique articles, of which 25 (25%) were unfavorable or concerned, 10 (10%) were favorable, 25 (25%) were neutral, and 39 (39%) were informative regarding CT dose reduction. Article types were non-peer-reviewed medical sources (n = 50), lay press (n = 15), peer-reviewed medical journals (n = 13), blogs (n = 12), advertisements (n = 5), and informational websites (n = 4). 

CONCLUSION. The large majority of content on Twitterwas either unfavorable or concerned regarding CT radiation risk. Most articles were not peer-reviewed and were posted by nonphysicians; posts by physicians were largely by nonradiologists. More active engagement on Twitter by radiologists and physicists and increased dissemination of peer-reviewed articles may achieve a more balanced representation and alleviate concerns regarding CT radiation risk on social networks.

Weight training is better for belly fat than cardio

Weight training is better for belly fat than cardio

“This study underscores the importance of weight training in reducing abdominal obesity,especially among the elderly,” said Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at HSPH and senior author of the study. “To maintain a healthy weight and waistline, it is critical to incorporateweight training with aerobic exercise.”

Cyber addictions

Addict Behav. 2014 Sep 28;43C:28-32. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.09.020. [Epub ahead of print]

Cyber addictions: toward a psychosocial perspective.

Suissa AJ1.

Author information

• 1University of Quebec in Montreal, School of Social Work H3C 3P8, Canada. Electronic address: Suissa.amnon@uqam.ca.

Abstract

The concept of cyberaddiction is far from being unanimously accepted by scientists (Ko, Yen, Yen, Chen, & Chen 2012; Pezoa-Jares, Espinoza-Luna & Vasquez-Medina 2012; Nadeau et al., 2011; Perraton, Fusaro & Bonenfant 2011). The same is true of addiction to videogames (Hellman, Schoenmakers, Nordstrom, & Van Holst 2013; Coulombe 2010); or to Facebook (Andreassen et al., 2012; Levard & Soulas, 2010). While certain researchers wished to see this condition included in the DSM-5 (Block, 2008), others question the operational and practical bases for the diagnostic criteria. Some see cyberaddiction as a problem linked more to time management, to brain deficits, to an impulse-control disorder or to psychosocial conditions while others consider it to be a pre-existing comorbidity. Considering that most addiction problems are generally understood more as individual and pathological problems rather than the result of psychosocial conditions (poverty, unemployment, weak social ties, social exclusion, hyper individualism, etc), the aim of this article is to propose a psychosocial perspective for this emerging trend in cyberaddictions. To what extent social conditions and cyberaddiction behaviors constitute a potential pathology? Can we include a psychosocial approach to gain a more general picture of this contemporary issue? In response to these questions, a contextualization and an attempt to define cyberaddiction will be followed by an analysis of some major issues in the development of this type of addiction. A demonstration of the cycle of addiction on how people develop addictions, including cyberaddictions, will be done within a psychosocial perspective in order to seize the multifactorial aspects of this addiction.

Sarcoidosis Vasc Diffuse Lung Dis. 2015 Jan 5;31(4):266-274.

Treatment and outcome of lung cancer in idiopathic interstitial pneumonias.

Kreuter M1, Ehlers-Tenenbaum S, Schaaf M, Oltmanns U, Palmowski K, Hoffmann H, Schnabel PA, Heußel CP, Puderbach M, Herth FJ, Warth A.

Author information

• 1. michael.kreuter@med.uni-heidelberg.de.

Abstract

Background: 

Idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIP) are associated with an increased lung cancer (LC) risk. However, data on the prognostic and therapeutic impact are limited. We therefore aimed to analyze the outcome of IIP patients with LC under different treatment modalities.

Methods: 

Patients with IIPs diagnosed in a tertiary interstitial lung diseases (ILD) center were reviewed for LC diagnosis.

Results:

Of 265 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), 142 with non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP), and 71 with cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP), 16%, 4%, and 6% were affected byLC, respectively. Patient characteristics were: IPF: 93% male, median age 67 years, forced vital capacity (FVC) 82%, diffusion capacity for Carbon monoxide (DLCO) 41%, mean survival 20 months. NSIP: 67% male, median age 70 years, FVC 72%, DLCO 43%, mean survival 35 months. COP: 50% male, median age 66 years, FVC 93%, DLCO 77%, mean survival 88 months. Significant treatment-related toxicities occurred in 55% IPF, 20% NSIP und 0% COP patients. 30-days postoperative mortality was 25% in IPF, and 0% in NSIP/COP while rate of radiation pneumonitis was 24% in IPF.

Conclusions: 

LC is a frequent comorbidity in IIP, with a higher incidence and reduced survival in IPF compared to other IIPs. LC treatment is associated with significant toxicity, specifically in IPF. Interdisciplinary evaluation of therapeutic options in IIP patients diagnosed with LC is therefore mandatory.

From Case Western Reserve U: CD30 is a potential therapeutic target in diffuse malignant mesothelioma

Mol Cancer Ther. 2015 Jan 14. pii: molcanther.0972.2014. [Epub ahead of print]

CD30 is a potential therapeutic target in malignant mesothelioma.

Dabir S1, Kresak A2, Yang M3, Fu P4, Wildey G5, Dowlati A6.

Author information

• 1Division of Hematology/Oncology, Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals of Cleveland.
• 2Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
• 3Pathology, University Hospitals Case Medical Center.
• 4Dept of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University.
• 5Hematology & Oncology, Case Western Reserve University.
• 6Hematology and Oncology, Case Western Reserve University afshin.dowlati@case.edu.

Abstract

CD30 is a cytokine receptor belonging to the tumor necrosis factor superfamily (TNFRSF8) that acts as a regulator of apoptosis. The presence of CD30 antigen is important in the diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease and anaplastic large cell lymphoma. There have been sporadic reports of CD30 expression in non-lymphoid tumors, including malignant mesothelioma. Given the remarkable success of brentuximab vedotin, an antibody-drug conjugate directed against CD30 antigen, in lymphoid malignancies, we undertook a study to examine the incidence of CD30 in mesothelioma and to investigate the ability to target CD30 antigen in mesothelioma. Mesothelioma tumor specimens (N = 83) were examined for CD30 expression by immunohistochemistry. Positive CD30 expression was noted in 13 mesothelioma specimens, primarily those of epithelial histology. There was no significant correlation of CD30 positivity with either tumor grade, stage or survival. Examination of four mesothelioma cell lines (H28, H2052, H2452, and 211H) for CD30 expression by both FACS analysis and confocal microscopy showed that CD30 antigen localized to the cell membrane. Brentuximab vedotin treatment of cultured mesothelioma cells produced a dose-dependent decrease in cell growth and viability at clinically relevant concentrations. Our studies validate the presence of CD30 antigen in a subgroup of epithelial-type mesothelioma tumors and indicate that selectedmesothelioma patients may derive benefit from brentuximab vedotin treatment.

From Johns Hopkins: What Are Health-Related Users Tweeting?

J Med Internet Res. 2014 Oct 15;16(10):e237.

What Are Health-Related Users Tweeting? A Qualitative Content Analysis of Health-Related Users and Their Messages on Twitter.

Lee JL1, DeCamp M, Dredze M, Chisolm MS, Berger ZD.

Author information

• 1Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy & Management, Baltimore, MD, United States. jllee@jhu.edu.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Twitter is home to many health professionals who send messages about a variety of health-related topics. Amid concerns about physicians posting inappropriate content online, more in-depth knowledge about these messages is needed to understand health professionals' behavior on Twitter.

OBJECTIVE:

Our goal was to characterize the content of Twitter messages, specifically focusing on health professionals and their tweets relating to health.

METHODS:

We performed an in-depth content analysis of 700 tweets. Qualitative content analysis was conducted on tweets by health users on Twitter. The primary objective was to describe the general type of content (ie, health-related versus non-health related) on Twitter authored by health professionals and further to describe health-related tweets on the basis of the type of statement made. Specific attention was given to whether a tweet was personal (as opposed to professional) or made a claim that users would expect to be supported by some level of medical evidence (ie, a "testable" claim). A secondary objective was to compare content types among different users, including patients, physicians, nurses, health care organizations, and others.

RESULTS:

Health-related users are posting a wide range of content on Twitter. Among health-related tweets, 53.2% (184/346) contained a testable claim. Of health-related tweets by providers, 17.6% (61/346) were personal in nature; 61% (59/96) made testable statements. While organizations and businesses use Twitter to promote their services and products, patient advocates are using this tool to share their personal experiences with health.

CONCLUSIONS:

Twitter users in health-related fields tweet about both testable claims and personal experiences. Future work should assess the relationship between testable tweets and the actual level of evidence supporting them, including how Twitter users-especially patients-interpret the content of tweets posted by health providers.