Real-world clinical utility of a multi-protein, blood-based biomarker assay for disease activity assessments in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Blood-based biomarkers have emerged as promising tools to optimize treatment decisions in multiple sclerosis (MS) including initiation, switch, or cessation of disease modifying therapies.

Objectives: The clinically validated MS disease activity (MSDA) test measures 18 proteins to derive a disease activity score. This study tests the clinical utility of MSDA in real-world practice.

The role of occupational therapists in return-to-work practice for people with post-COVID condition: A scoping review.

BackgroundReturn to work has become more valuable today more than ever especially for adult workers who experience post-COVID condition.ObjectiveThis scoping review aims to map the extant literature on the role of occupational therapists for people with post COVID condition returning to work. Specifically, we described the roles of occupational therapists, identified the professionals occupational therapists work with in this practice setting, and determined whether the concept of return to work is perceived as an outcome or a process.

Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging in myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders.

Background: Aquaporin-4 antibody positive (AQP4+) neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) are two distinct antibody-mediated neuroinflammatory diseases. Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI) are advanced diffusion-weighted MRI models providing quantitative metrics sensitive to cerebral microstructural changes. This study aims to differentiate brain tissue damage in NMOSD and MOGAD from controls and investigate its association with clinical disability, using NODDI and DTI-derived measures, including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity.

A quantitative multi-parameter mapping protocol standardized for clinical research in multiple sclerosis.

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) involves mapping microstructure in standardized units sensitive to histological properties and supplements conventional MRI, which relies on contrast weighted images where intensities have no biophysical meaning. While measuring tissue properties such as myelin, iron or water content is desired in a disease context, qMRI changes may typically reflect mixed influences from aging or pre-clinical degeneration. We used a fast multi-parameter mapping (MPM) protocol for clinical routine at 3T to reconstruct whole-brain quantitative maps of magnetization transfer saturation (MT), proton density (PD), longitudinal (R1), and transverse relaxation rate (R2*) with 1.

Professional identity development of Flemish occupational therapists: A narrative study.

Background: A less developed professional identity negatively influences a person's mental well-being and is suggested to potentially affect quality of care and thus clients' well-being. Literature indicates that a strong developed professional identity is to strive for. In Flanders, Belgium, cultural and legislative challenges negatively impact the professional development of occupational therapists.

Students and Faculty Experiences, Perceptions and Knowledge on Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Background And Objective: The University of the Philippines Manila (UPM) subcommittee on students in distress was convened during the COVID-19 pandemic to develop "plans, programs and mechanisms" to deal with students experiencing distress and mental health concerns. This study was conducted as one of the activities of the Subcommittee to inform policy to address the following research objective: to describe the experiences, perceptions, and knowledge of both students and faculty members of UP Manila regarding distress.

Methods: An online survey tool was created using the results from seven online focus group discussions among 20 faculty of UP Manila.

Prediction of A. Baumannii Amikacin Resistance in Clinical Metagenomics.

Respiratory tract infections are a serious threat to health, especially in the presence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Existing AMR detection methods are limited by slow turnaround times and low accuracy due to the presence of false positives and negatives. In this study, we simulate 1,116 clinical metagenomics samples on both Illumina and Nanopore sequencing from curated, real-world sequencing of A.

Technology Use for Home-Based Stroke Rehabilitation in Switzerland From the Perspectives of Persons Living With Stroke, Informal Caregivers, and Therapists: Qualitative Interview and Focus Group Study.

Background: Stroke is a leading cause for long-term disability, requiring both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation and self-training in the home environment. Technology-based tools are gradually gaining acceptance as additional and suitable options for extending the rehabilitation process. While the experiences of persons living with stroke, therapists, and informal caregivers with respect to technology use have already been investigated in other countries, this topic is underexplored in the Swiss context.

Erratum: 541 A Framework for Multicultural and Multidisciplinary Near-Peer Mentoring for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Education: A University of Florida Friend Group - CORRIGENDUM.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1017/cts.2024.

Case report: Approaches to treatment-refractory and super-refractory glutamic acid decarboxylase antibody-spectrum disorders.

Background: Glutamic acid decarboxylase antibody-spectrum disorders (GAD-SDs) include a group of autoimmune neurological diseases associated with neuronal excitability, most noticeably stiff person syndrome. Immune modulators are the mainstay of treatment, but a significant number of patients remain refractory.

Methods: We present our single-center experience of eight cases of GAD-SD, two of which were refractory to immune modulatory treatments.

German translation and validation of the Interprofessional Facilitation Scale.

We identified evidence from item response theory (IRT) to examine a German translation of the Interprofessional Facilitation Scale (IPFS). The IPFS was administered to  = 130 mixed-health profession participants in a post-interprofessional education practicum questionnaire. We used IRT analyses to examine the following three aspects of the IPFS: (a) general factor strength, (b) subscale usability, and (c) item bias.

Unraveling the "Greener Pastures" Concept: The Phenomenology of Internationally Educated Occupational Therapists.

The Philippines is one of the major labor exporters for health care workers in the world and occupational therapists are the second most likely professionals behind nurses to work in "greener pastures" overseas. This phenomenological study describes the migration experiences of Philippine-trained occupational therapists working in high-income, Anglophone countries. Researchers conducted online interview for 15 participants who were previously/currently unemployed/underemployed.

N-acetylglucosamine inhibits inflammation and neurodegeneration markers in multiple sclerosis: a mechanistic trial.

Background: In the demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis (MS), chronic-active brain inflammation, remyelination failure and neurodegeneration remain major issues despite immunotherapy. While B cell depletion and blockade/sequestration of T and B cells potently reduces episodic relapses, they act peripherally to allow persistence of chronic-active brain inflammation and progressive neurological dysfunction. N-acetyglucosamine (GlcNAc) is a triple modulator of inflammation, myelination and neurodegeneration.

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for a patient with multiple autoimmune diseases.

Level of autoantibodies after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. AGA, antigliadin antibody; AHSCT, autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; Anti-GAD65, Ab anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase epitope 65 antibody; Anti-TPO, anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody; CU, chemiluminescent unit.

Sociomaterial perspective as applied in interprofessional education and collaborative practice: a scoping review.

Learning and working together towards better health outcomes today have become more complex requiring an investigation on how interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional collaboration (IPC) practices could be sustained and further developed. Through a sociomaterial perspective, we can better understand IPE and IPC practices by foregrounding the material aspect of learning and working together and examining its relationship with humans and their interactions. This article aimed to examine existing literature that discusses the application of sociomaterial perspectives in IPE and IPC.

Children with special needs and their access to rehabilitation services in the Philippines: A Q methodology study on perceived barriers by family members.

Background: Childhood disability remains a lowly prioritized and funded international health concern in the world today. Exacerbated by poverty, a lack of bureaucratic support, and societal discrimination, rehabilitation services are not readily accessible for Filipino families who happen to have a child with disability. This article intends to determine the perceived barriers of Filipino service users when it comes to accessing rehabilitation services for children with special needs in Cagayan de Oro City and to propose suggestions to improve the access to rehabilitation services from an international health perspective.

Potential roles of occupational therapists in urban planning for age-friendly environments: A Q-methodology.

Background: Urban planning for age-friendly environments is an important issue, and occupational therapists and occupational scientists could contribute to planning such environments; however, knowledge of the potential roles of occupational therapists is limited.

Aim: To explore the potential roles of occupational therapists in urban planning for age-friendly environments in Japan from the perspectives of occupational therapists and stakeholders.

Materials And Methods: A Q-methodology study was conducted to gain viewpoints from occupational therapists and stakeholders regarding their roles in the urban planning of age-friendly environments for older people in Japan.

A Rapid Review of the Factors That Influence Service User Involvement in Interprofessional Education, Practice, and Research.

Service user involvement in interprofessional education and collaborative practice remains limited despite the increasing push for this by governments and grant funding bodies. This rapid review investigated service user involvement in interprofessional education, practice, and research to determine factors that enable or hinder such involvement. Following the Cochrane and the World Health Organization's rapid review guidelines, a targeted search was undertaken in four databases.

βIV-Spectrin Autoantibodies in 2 Individuals With Neuropathy of Possible Paraneoplastic Origin: A Case Series.

Objective: To identify the autoantigen in 2 individuals with possible seronegative paraneoplastic neuropathy.

Methods: Serum and CSF were screened by tissue-based assay and panned for candidate autoantibodies by phage display immunoprecipitation sequencing (PhIP-Seq). The candidate antigen was validated by immunostaining knockout tissue and HEK 293T cell-based assay.

Attitudes of Filipino health profession students toward interprofessional education: a descriptive study.

The thrust of interprofessional education is to prepare health professions students to deliberately learn and work together with a common goal of providing better and safer care for service users. This study sought to describe the attitudes of health profession students toward interprofessional education and to identify which among the variables (i.e.

Association of a Marker of N-Acetylglucosamine With Progressive Multiple Sclerosis and Neurodegeneration.

Importance: N-glycan branching modulates cell surface receptor availability, and its deficiency in mice promotes inflammatory demyelination, reduced myelination, and neurodegeneration. N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) is a rate-limiting substrate for N-glycan branching, but, to our knowledge, endogenous serum levels in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are unknown.

Objective: To investigate a marker of endogenous serum GlcNAc levels in patients with MS.

The dark side of occupation within the context of modern-day beauty pageants.

Background: The desire to be physically beautiful is inherent among human beings. In particular, some women who participate in modern-day beauty pageants tend to spend more time, energy, money and emotional resources to alter their natural body and looks to fit socially and culturally constructed standards of beauty.

Objective: The authors frame beauty pageants as the context where diverse occupations are at play with the purpose of becoming a 'beauty queen'.

Experience of Filipinos with Spinal Cord Injury in the Use of Assistive Technology: An Occupational Justice Perspective.

Assistive technology (AT) is often required to facilitate the performance of occupations and promote inclusion and reduction of dependency among persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). However, only 5-15% of individuals in developing countries have access to AT. This study is aimed at exploring the experience of Filipinos with SCI as they use AT and understand these from an occupational justice (OJ) perspective.