Development of a health-related lifestyle self-management intervention for patients with coronary heart disease.
Heart Lung. 2009 Nov-Dec;38(6):491-8
Authors: Fernandez RS, Davidson P, Griffiths R, Juergens C, Salamonson Y
Risk-factor modification after an acute coronary event is imperative, and intervention strategies are continuously being developed to assist patients with behavioral change and, consequently, decreasing the risk of further coronary episodes. This article describes the development of the health-related lifestyle self-management (HeLM) intervention, which is a brief structured intervention embedded within the transtheoretical model of behavioral change. The HeLM intervention was developed by undertaking three discrete yet interrelated studies and consisted of the following components: goal-setting, the HeLM booklet, feedback regarding personal risk, team-building and communication with the patient’s family physician, three supportive telephone calls, trained interviewers, a refrigerator magnet, and a health diary for self-monitoring. The HeLM intervention has been successfully implemented in 50 patients with acute coronary syndrome after discharge from hospital and has been demonstrated to be feasible and practical and could easily be delivered by health care professionals.
19944873
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Acute myelogenous leukemia and myelodysplasia secondary to breast cancer treatment: case studies and literature review.
Am J Med Sci. 2010 Jan;339(1):36-40
Authors: Cole M, Strair R
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Chemotherapy and radiation therapy for breast cancer are known to increase the risk of developing a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and/or acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Alkylating agents and topoisomerase II inhibitors, fundamental to the treatment of breast cancer, are the most likely contributors to this increase in risk. Radiation therapy adds to the risk, and there is speculation that granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) may also predispose to leukemia. The purpose of this systemic review is to bring to the attention of family physicians the unintended consequence of leukemia secondary to aggressively treated breast cancer. METHODS: The medical records of several patients from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, with previously treated breast cancer admitted for therapy for AML or myelodysplasia, were reviewed. In addition, the recent literature on this topic was reviewed. RESULTS: Cases of patients whose AML was likely secondary to their treatment for breast cancer were used to illustrate the role of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and perhaps G-CSF in the development of leukemia. CONCLUSIONS: Chemotherapy and radiation therapy administered for breast cancer predispose patients to the development of MDS or AML. We hypothesize that the breast cancer (BRCA) gene mutations might add to the risk and that primary care physicians must be aware of the long-term risks of cytotoxic therapy, including the development of MDS or AML.
19996729
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The role of prostacyclin in lung cancer.
Transl Res. 2010 Feb;155(2):57-61
Authors: Tennis MA, Vanscoyk M, Keith RL, Winn RA
Prostanoids are bioactive lipids that interact with 7-membrane-spanning G-protein-coupled receptors on target cells to impart their biologic effects.(1) They include prostaglandins, prostacyclin, and thromboxane. Prostanoids are widely distributed; mediate several diverse biologic effects like platelet aggregation and smooth-muscle contraction; and are known to be involved in allergies, acquired immunity, and cancer metastasis.(2) Prostanoids have also been associated with breast and endometrial cancer promotion, and with the inhibition of melanoma. The role of prostanoids in the development of lung disease has been poorly understood. In particular, prostacyclin possesses significant anti-inflammatory and antimetastatic properties and is the main product of cyclooxygenase-2 activity in the lung. In fact, the balance of the various members of the prostanoids family, specifically the prosoglandins PGE(2) and prostacyclin (PGI(2)), seems to play an increasingly important role in the development of lung cancer. Gaining a better understanding of prostanoids and their associated pathways is critical to the future development of molecular-based and pharmaceutical treatments of lung disease.
20129485
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