Prospective study on health-related quality of life, oral mucositis and oral health on during treatment of head and neck cancer.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined health related Quality of Life (HR-QoL) during the treatment of head and neck cancer (HNC) with even fewer focusing on the impact of oral mucositis (OM) on HR-QoL. Studies performed during treatment of HNC makes it possible to follow fluctuations in HR-QoL, OM and other treatment related side effects. The aim was to prospectively analyze HR-QoL, changes in clinical variables and the impact of OM on HR-QoL during HNC treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients were recruited before commencing curative cancer treatment and were given professional oral care weekly during oncologic treatment. HR-QoL was reported before, during (week 2, 4 and 6) and three months after treatment using the EORTC Quality of Life questionnaires C30 and H&N35 and the stimulated whole salivary secretion rate was determined at the same time-points. OM (erythema and ulceration) was registered using the Oral Mucositis Assessment Scale (OMAS), at baseline, weekly during treatment and post treatment. Differences in HR-QoL between different timepoints were analyzed. To analyze the impact of OM on HR-QoL the patients were categorized into two groups: no/mild OM (OMAS ulceration score 0-1) or severe OM (OMAS ulceration score ≥ 2) and HR-QoL was compared between the two OM groups at three timepoints during treatment. RESULTS: Fifty-seven patients (43 men, 14 women), with a mean age of 58 years were included. Patients reported progressively impaired HR-QoL, with peak issues noted at weeks 4 and 6, particularly in social eating, senses, appetite loss, sticky saliva, and decreasing salivary secretion rates were determined. Patients with severe OM reported worse HR-QoL compared to those with no/mild OM. Persistent problems 3 months post treatment were appetite loss, dry mouth, senses (smell and taste) and problems with social eating. CONCLUSION: Patients experienced exacerbated symptoms and problems weeks 4 and 6 of oncological treatment, especially among those with severe OM, stressing the importance of clinically monitoring the patients to reduce and alleviate their symptoms. Persistent problems three months post treatment are likely associated with the reduced salivary secretion rate indicating that patients should be monitored also after completed oncological treatment.

Increased immune marker variance in a population of invasive birds.

Immunity and parasites have been linked to the success of invasive species. Especially lower parasite burden in invasive populations has been suggested to enable a general downregulation of immune investment (Enemy Release and Evolution of Increased Competitive Ability Hypotheses). Simultaneously, keeping high immune competence towards potentially newly acquired parasites in the invasive range is essential to allow population growth. To investigate the variation of immune effectors of invasive species, we compared the mean and variance of multiple immune effectors in the context of parasite prevalence in an invasive and a native Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus) population. Three of ten immune effectors measured showed higher variance in the invasive population. Mean levels were higher in the invasive population for three effectors but lower for eosinophil granulocytes. Parasite prevalence depended on the parasite taxa investigated. We suggest that variation of specific immune effectors, which may be important for invasion success, may lead to higher variance and enable invasive species to reduce the overall physiological cost of immunity while maintaining the ability to efficiently defend against novel parasites encountered.

Variations in odontological care routines for patients undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer in county councils/regions of Sweden.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate current odontological care routines for patients treated for head and neck cancers in the county councils/regions (C/Rs) of Sweden. METHODS: An invitation to fill in a web-based questionnaire was sent to dentists/dental hygienists working in dental clinics in the 12 C/Rs, treating and responsible for the odontological care of patients undergoing treatment for cancer of the head and neck. The questionnaire started with two mandatory and one non-mandatory questions, followed by questions regarding routines before (n = 28), during (n = 23), and after (n = 9) treatment, plus two additional questions, totalling 65 questions. RESULTS: Four dental hygienists and six dentists in 10 of the 12 C/Rs answered the questionnaire. Three C/Rs stated that they measure both the unstimulated and stimulated salivary secretion rate, and another C/R stated that they measure the stimulated secretion rate only. Similar recommendations were given regarding oral hygiene, salivary stimulants and substitutes, and extra fluoride. However, great variations were seen regarding recommendations for preventing and relieving oral mucositis. There were also discrepancies regarding information about the importance of avoiding smoking and alcohol. In seven C/Rs, patients visited the dental hygienist once a week during cancer treatment. CONCLUSION: The results suggests that there are great variations in odontological care given to patients undergoing treatment for cancer of the head and neck region in different county councils/regions in Sweden. There is a need to develop and implement evidence-based guidelines to decrease the risk of oral complications and increase both the quality of life and the quality of care.

Dispersal and adaptation strategies of the high mountain butterfly Boloria pales in the Romanian Carpathians.

BACKGROUND: Habitat quality is one main trigger for the persistence of butterflies. The effects of the influencing biotic and abiotic factors may be enhanced by the challenging conditions in high-alpine environments. To better our knowledge in this field, we performed a mark-release-recapture study with Boloria pales in the Southern Carpathians. METHODS: We analysed population structure, movement and foraging behaviour to investigate special adaptations to the alpine environment and to reveal differences between sexes. We compared these aspects in one sector with and one sector without grazing to address the effects of grazing intensity on habitat quality. RESULTS: We observed "soft" protandry, in which only a small number of males appeared before females, and an extended emergence of individuals over the observed flight period, dividing the population's age structure into three phases; both observations are considered adaptations to high mountain environments. Although both sexes were mostly sedentary, movement differences between them were obvious. Males flew larger distances than females and were more flight-active. This might explain the dimorphism in foraging behaviour: males preferred nectar sources of Asteraceae, females Caprifoliaceae. Transition from the grazed to the ungrazed sector was only observed for males and not for females, but the population density was higher and the flight distances of the individuals were significantly longer on the grazed sector compared with the ungrazed one. CONCLUSION: Soft protandry, an extended emergence of the individuals and an adapted behavioural dimorphism between sexes render to represent a good adaptation of B. pales to the harsh environmental conditions of high mountain ecosystems. However, land-use intensity apparently has severe influence on population densities and movement behaviour. To protect B. pales and other high-alpine species from the negative consequences of overgrazing, areas without or just light grazing are needed.