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Glioma patients carry the burden of having both a progressive neurological disease and cancer, and may face a variety of symptoms, including depression and anxiety. These symptoms are highly prevalent in glioma patients (median point prevalence ranging from 16–41% for depression and 24–48% for anxiety when assessed by self-report questionnaires) and have a major impact on health-related quality of life and even overall survival time. A worse overall survival time for glioma patients with depressive symptoms might be due to tumor progression and/or its supportive treatment causing depressive symptoms, an increased risk of suicide or other (unknown) factors. Much is still unclear about the etiology of depressive and anxiety symptoms in glioma. These psychiatric symptoms often find their cause in a combination of neurophysiological and psychological factors, such as the tumor and/or its treatment. Although these patients have a particular idiosyncrasy, standard treatment guidelines for depressive and anxiety disorders apply, generally recommending psychological and pharmacological treatment. Only a few nonpharmacological trials have been conducted evaluating the efficacy of psychological treatments (eg, a reminiscence therapy-based care program) in this population, which significantly reduced depressive and anxiety symptoms. No pharmacological trials have been conducted in glioma patients specifically. More well-designed trials evaluating the efficacy of nonpharmacological treatments for depressive and anxiety disorders in glioma are urgently needed to successfully treat psychiatric symptoms in brain tumor patients and to improve (health-related) quality of life.

ObjectiveTo provide insight into professionals’ perceptions of and experiences with shared decision-making (SDM) in the treatment of symptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS).MethodsA semistructured interview study was performed in the heart centres of academic and large teaching hospitals in the Netherlands between June and December 2020. Cardiothoracic surgeons, interventional cardiologists, nurse practitioners and physician assistants (n=21) involved in the decision-making process for treatment of severe AS were interviewed. An inductive thematic analysis was used to identify, analyse and report patterns in the data.ResultsFour primary themes were generated: (1) the concept of SDM, (2) knowledge, (3) communication and interaction, and (4) implementation of SDM. Not all respondents considered patient participation as an element of SDM. They experienced a discrepancy between patients’ wishes and treatment options. Respondents explained that not knowing patient preferences for health improvement hinders SDM and complicating patient characteristics for patient participation were perceived. A shared responsibility for improving SDM was suggested for patients and all professionals involved in the decision-making process for severe AS.ConclusionsProfessionals struggle to make highly complex treatment decisions part of SDM and to embed patients’ expectations of treatment and patients’ preferences. Additionally, organisational constraints complicate the SDM process. To ensure sustainable high-quality care, professionals should increase their awareness of patient participation in SDM, and collaboration in the pathway for decision-making in severe AS is required to support the documentation and availability of information according to the principles of SDM.

A positive predictive genetic test for Huntington’s disease (HD) can be a life-changing event for both carriers and their partners, leading to lower wellbeing and increasing the risk for separation and divorce. The ‘Hold me Tight’ program (HmT), based on emotionally focused couples’ therapy, aims at strengthening the couple bond by targeting attachment needs. This study investigates whether the HmT program helps couples strengthen their relationship, as an investment in a future where the disease will affect life in many ways. In a multiple baseline design using three baselines of varying length, 15 couples of presymptomatic HD-carriers and their partners were included. In three consecutive groups, couples underwent the intervention (an adapted version of the 8-session HmT program) in four weekly sessions and completed self-report questionnaires throughout the study period of 19 weeks (17 measurements). Attachment style was assessed at baseline, resilience at baseline and at the end of the follow-up, while relationship satisfaction and wellbeing were measured weekly. A multi-level model was applied to the data. Over the course of the study, wellbeing and relationship satisfaction significantly improved; resilience, however, did not. Furthermore, all three outcome measures were moderated by attachment style, with more securely attached individuals showing better outcomes. HmT improved wellbeing and relationship satisfaction of couples facing HD. Due to these improvements and high patient acceptability rates, this program could become a standardized procedure in HD care. The program could be adapted for other populations, e.g., couples facing other genetic neurological disorders.

Graphical Abstract

In this second report on the fluorescence overlay antigen mapping (FOAM) technique, we highlight some of the errors that may influence faithful color rendition of slide preparations using triple antigen immunofluorescence staining. Reliable interpretation of multicolor fluorescence images requires that the observer can unambiguously assign each color in these images to the presence of a specific combination of the labeled antigens. This is possible only when the image fidelity meets certain standards. The present study concentrates on color fidelity which is easily undermined by spectral matching errors, image contrast errors, and exposure time errors. Evaluation of these errors, using the photomicrographic overlay variant of FOAM, showed the potential unreliability of the simultaneous use of multiple fluorophores for immunofluorescence microscopy. The procedures described here may serve as a solid starting point in formulating technical conditions that allow reliable color rendition in multicolor immunofluorescence microscopy. Furthermore, these procedures can be adapted to studies other than the analysis of basement membrane zone antigens, to which they have been first applied.