Dental Public Health in Action: Delivering a domestic violence and abuse screening and identification training programme in North Staffordshire-based dental practices

Domestic violence and abuse (DVA) is a significant public health problem both globally and in the UK. Dental professionals are aptly place to detect the signs of DVA and support patients to disclose DVA. However, dental professionals may lack confidence to identify and refer patients experiencing DVA; training needs in these areas were identified in Staffordshire. Glow DVA charity and the local Dental Public Health teams worked collaboratively to develop DVA training and resources specific to the needs to the dental team; these were provided to participating dental practices in the North-Staffordshire region. Feedback from the training was positive and the training was refined to better meet the needs of the dental team.mKey challenges included obtaining dental team buy in, securing funding for the continuation of the initiative and minimising the disruption to the dental team when attending training sessions or when managing a DVA disclosure. The implementation of the training highlighted the importance of DVA champions within the third sector organisations to develop and evolve the project, within dental practices to support implementation, and within the local Dental Public Health team to facilitate dental team buy-in and sustained engagement. Future plans include developing the patient-facing resources, finding ways to formally accredit dental teams for taking part in the DVA programme, and evaluating the impact of the training programme on DVA screening, identification and referral.

Phase II Study of Combination Obinutuzumab, Ibrutinib, and Venetoclax in Treatment-Naïve and Relapsed or Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

PURPOSE

The development of highly effective targeted agents for chronic lymphocytic leukemia offers the potential for fixed-duration combinations that achieve deep remissions without cytotoxic chemotherapy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This phase II study tested a combination regimen of obinutuzumab, ibrutinib, and venetoclax for a total of 14 cycles in both patients with treatment-naïve (n = 25) and relapsed or refractory (n = 25) chronic lymphocytic leukemia to determine the response to therapy and safety.

RESULTS

The primary end point was the rate of complete remission with undetectable minimal residual disease by flow cytometry in both the blood and bone marrow 2 months after completion of treatment, which was 28% in both groups. The overall response rate at that time was 84% in treatment-naïve patients and 88% in relapsed or refractory patients. At that time, 67% of treatment-naïve patients and 50% of relapsed or refractory patients had undetectable minimal residual disease in both the blood and marrow. At a median follow-up of 24.2 months in treatment-naïve patients and 21.5 months in relapsed or refractory patients, the median progression-free and overall survival times were not yet reached, with only 1 patient experiencing progression and 1 death. Neutropenia and thrombocytopenia were the most frequent adverse events, followed by hypertension. Grade 3 or 4 neutropenia was experienced by 66% of patients, with more events in the relapsed or refractory cohort. There was only 1 episode of neutropenic fever. A favorable impact on both perceived and objective cognitive performance during treatment was observed.

CONCLUSION

The combination regimen of obinutuzumab, ibrutinib, and venetoclax offers time-limited treatment that results in deep remissions and is now being studied in phase III cooperative group trials.

Bronchial thermoplasty increases airway volume measured by functional respiratory imaging

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to use CT scanning with computational fluid dynamics to evaluate the mechanisms by which Bronchial Thermoplasty (BT) improves asthmatic symptoms.

METHODS

The study was conducted in a university teaching hospital, experienced in performing BT. Imaging studies were performed before, and after, BT of the left lung, and prior to treatment of the right lung, which therefore acted as a control. On each occasion, two high-resolution CT scans were performed, one at full inspiration (TLC) and the other at Functional Residual Capacity (FRC). The study protocol was offered to 10 patients, all of whom met the definition of severe asthma, despite high dose inhaled corticosteroids and dual long acting bronchodilators.

RESULTS

Significant increases in airway luminal volume were observed on the treated side, compared with control, at both full inspiration (by 27%) and at FRC (by 17%). The ratio of distal airway volume to lung volume significantly increased on the treated side. The change in airway volume with inspiration from FRC increased by 48% on the treated side compared to 5% in the control lung, suggesting treatment increased airway distensibility. No effect was observed on airway wall thickness, nor air trapping. There was a trend towards correlation between the improvement in airway volume at TLC and improvement in symptoms.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates that BT increases the luminal airway volume on the treated side compared to the control lung. We suggest that this is an important link between the airway smooth muscle atrophy demonstrated pathologically, and the improvement in symptoms observed clinically.

Factors influencing the tobacco control policy process in Egypt and Iran: a scoping review

INTRODUCTION

Tobacco control policy is essential for addressing the growing tobacco consumption seen in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, the single greatest preventable contributor to the non-communicable disease epidemic. Egypt and Iran have had varied success in using policy to combat this issue. The study aims to identify and compare the factors which have influenced different stages of the policy process - evidence generation, development and implementation.

METHODS

A scoping review was conducted with a systematic search of 7 databases which was conducted along with searches of Google Scholar, and the World Health Organisation and Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office websites to identify influencing factors at each stage of the policy process.

RESULTS

Twenty-seven relevant articles were identified from the literature search. Factors identified as influencing tobacco control policy in these countries were lobbying by the tobacco industry, the rise of water-pipe smoking, lack of political commitment and the lack of resources to for policy implementation. Iran was found to be leading Egypt on all three areas of the policy process. Implementation was found to be the most pivotal part of the policy process and the area in which Egypt was weakest compared to Iran.

CONCLUSION

This study addresses a gap in knowledge concerning tobacco control in the Middle East and has identified multiple factors which are potentially slowing the process of enforcing policy to address tobacco consumption. Iran is the regional leader for tobacco control and it is important for Egypt to assess the transferability of its tactics and immediately start implementing measures to control tobacco use.

Do negative symptoms of schizophrenia change over time? A meta-analysis of longitudinal data

BACKGROUND

Negative symptoms are a core component of schizophrenia which can severely impact quality of life and functional outcomes. These symptoms are understood to be highly stable but this has not been tested in a meta-analysis, despite the wealth of longitudinal data available.

METHOD

A systematic review of the literature was conducted, with eligible studies pooled into a random-effects meta-analysis. Planned meta-regressions were conducted to evaluate the impact of factors known to induce secondary negative symptoms, in addition to other possible sources of heterogeneity.

RESULTS

The main analysis included 89 samples from 41 studies, totalling 5944 participants. Negative symptoms were found to significantly reduce in all treatment interventions, including in placebo and treatment as usual conditions, with a medium effect size (ES) present across all study conditions (ES = 0.66, 95% confidence interval 0.56-0.77, I(2) = 94.0%). In a multivariate meta-regression, only the type of scale used was found to significantly influence negative symptom change. No difference in outcome was found between studies that excluded patients with a high level of positive or depressive symptoms, compared to those that did not.

CONCLUSIONS

Negative symptoms were found to reduce in almost all schizophrenia outpatient samples. A reduction was found across all conditions, with effect sizes ranging from small to large depending upon the condition type. These findings challenge the convention that negative symptoms are highly stable and suggest that they may improve to a greater extent than what has previously been assumed.

Factors affecting the removal of selected heavy metals using a polymer immobilised Sphagnum moss as a biosorbent

A hydrophilic polyurethane foam was used to immobilise dried sphagnum moss as a polymer/biomass matrix. This was then tested for its ability to remove Cu(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II) from aqueous solution. Further selected experiments using copper looked at factors which it was thought might affect the performance of the biosorbent. The optimum pH for Cu(II) and Zn(II) sorption was found to be in the range 6 - 7, whilst Pb(II) showed a more uniform sorption profile over the pH range 3 - 8. At pH values above 8 there was significant leaching of organic components from the immobilisation matrix. The immobilised biomass maintained around 90% of its sorption capacity over 10 repetitive cycles of sorption/desorption using HCl as a desorbent with typically > 95% metal ion recovery from each cycle. There were no marked differences in the maximum sorption capacities for Cu(II) using different biomass particle sizes in the immobilisation matrix, but the affinity of the immobilised biomass for Cu(II) decreased with increasing particle size. Alkali and alkaline-earth metal ions did not affect the heavy metal biosorption, but aluminium ion had a significant influence and itself could be adsorbed to a large extent. Acetic acid, urea, and carrageenan did not affect the maximum biosorption capacity of Cu(II), but carrageenan significantly reduced the affinity of biomass to metal ions probably as a result of its own biosorptive properties.

Distribution of the interleukin-8 receptors, CXCR1 and CXCR2, in inflamed gut tissue

There is increasing evidence to suggest that the potent neutrophil chemoattractant interleukin-8 (IL-8) has an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. IL-8 mediates its actions via two cell surface receptors, CXCR1 and CXCR2. This paper describes the distribution of these IL-8 receptors in the normal gastrointestinal tract and how this is modified in ulcerative colitis (UC). Paraffin-embedded colonic resection specimens were stained with monoclonal antibodies directed against CXCR1 and CXCR2 in ten cases of total UC, 16 cases of appendicitis, and 11 histologically normal sections. A semiquantitative scale of 0-4 was used to assess the proportion and intensity of positively stained cells within certain defined areas of tissue. A comparative assessment was made of the distribution of various cell populations. Dual immunostaining was used to confirm the phenotype of positively staining cells. In the histologically normal colon, the antibody against CXCR1 stained a subpopulation of macrophages deep to the epithelium and germinal centre lymphocytes. A similar pattern of staining was seen in acute appendicitis, with in addition some positively stained neutrophil polymorphs. In UC, there was up-regulation of CXCR1, with a striking increase in positively stained macrophages throughout the mucosa and of B and T lymphocytes outside the germinal centre areas. There was also intense up-regulation of CXCR1 expression by the luminal epithelium, reflected in the epithelial staining score (mean+/-SE=1.8+/-0.44 for UC cases, vs. 0.23+/-0.16 for controls and 0.25+/-0.14 for acute appendicitis). CXCR2 was only expressed on a small population of lamina propria mononuclear cells and crypt epithelial cells, with no significant differences observed between the groups. These results suggest that IL-8 may, through CXCR1, have a role beyond neutrophil recruitment in mediating the immune response in UC and that this is not merely a consequence of the acute inflammation seen in UC.