Inherited conditions have implications not only for the individual affected but for the entire family. It is in this context that family communication of genetic risk information is important to understand. This paper aims to provide an overview of the construct of family communication of genetic risk and provide implications for healthcare providers. A search of relevant literature was done with electronic databases including PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science. The findings from the literature were organized based on the Family Communication of Genetic Risk (FCGR) conceptual framework which highlights the attributes of the family communication of genetic risk process including influential factors, communication strategy, communication occurrence, and outcomes of communication. Healthcare providers need to understand how individuals share genetic risk with their family members so that appropriate support and interventions can be provided to them. This is especially important across countries, including the Philippines, as genetic services and testing move beyond the traditional medical genetics clinic to other medical specialties, a development where we would expect an increase in individuals and family members undergoing genetic evaluation and testing.

Human ; Communication ; Counseling ; Family ; Genetic Counseling ; Risk

Inherited conditions have implications not only for the individual affected but for the entire family. It is in this context that family communication of genetic risk information is important to understand. This paper aims to provide an overview of the construct of family communication of genetic risk and provide implications for healthcare providers. A search of relevant literature was done with electronic databases including PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science. The findings from the literature were organized based on the Family Communication of Genetic Risk (FCGR) conceptual framework which highlights the attributes of the family communication of genetic risk process including influential factors, communication strategy, communication occurrence, and outcomes of communication. Healthcare providers need to understand how individuals share genetic risk with their family members so that appropriate support and interventions can be provided to them. This is especially important across countries, including the Philippines, as genetic services and testing move beyond the traditional medical genetics clinic to other medical specialties, a development where we would expect an increase in individuals and family members undergoing genetic evaluation and testing.
communication ; family ; genetic predisposition to disease ; genetic testing

Oral diseases, such as periodontitis, salivary gland diseases, and oral cancers, significantly challenge health conditions due to their detrimental effects on patient's digestive functions, pronunciation, and esthetic demands. Delayed diagnosis and non-targeted treatment profoundly influence patients' prognosis and quality of life. The exploration of innovative approaches for early detection and precise treatment represents a promising frontier in oral medicine. Exosomes, which are characterized as nanometer-sized extracellular vesicles, are secreted by virtually all types of cells. As the research continues, the complex roles of these intracellular-derived extracellular vesicles in biological processes have gradually unfolded. Exosomes have attracted attention as valuable diagnostic and therapeutic tools for their ability to transfer abundant biological cargos and their intricate involvement in multiple cellular functions. In this review, we provide an overview of the recent applications of exosomes within the field of oral diseases, focusing on inflammation-related bone diseases and oral squamous cell carcinomas. We characterize the exosome alterations and demonstrate their potential applications as biomarkers for early diagnosis, highlighting their roles as indicators in multiple oral diseases. We also summarize the promising applications of exosomes in targeted therapy and proposed future directions for the use of exosomes in clinical treatment.
Humans ; Exosomes ; Quality of Life ; Extracellular Vesicles ; Biomarkers ; Cell Communication ; Mouth Neoplasms

Old signage faced iconography, variable layouts, visual presentations, and contents, as well as degradation issues, undermine the effectiveness of hazard communication in the laboratory. A 2016 project was initiated to standardize all hazard signages at the Laboratory Research Division of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), incorporating standard colors and iconography for better compliance and safety. As part of a broader initiative to enhance biorisk practices within the institute, there are plans for improvement and expansion to non-laboratory areas.

INTRODUCTION: The number of injuries and expenses from unsafe delivery of health care has heeded the call for a greater patient safety advocacy. The development of an effective reporting system contributes towards this cause. The study aimed to explore the perceptions of nurses regarding critical incidents and investigate the factors affecting their decision to report a certain event. METHODS: Focus group discussions including 28 nurses working in the service wards of a tertiary hospital, and the data gathered were analyzed using descriptive qualitative approach. RESULTS: Three key themes emerged from the discussions: (1) perceptions of an incident, (2) attitudes, norms, and culture of incident reporting in the workplace, and (3) perceptions and suggestions for management actions and improving the reporting system. The study showed that various factors tend to interplay in the identification of an incident as well as the consideration to perform the behavior. DISCUSSION The primary practice and education implications focus on changing the workplace culture and proper orientation of the staff, while further research regarding the role of reporting, and appropriate analysis of error reporting among other health care professionals would be recommended.
hospital communication systems ; nursing education ; critical incidents ; patient safety

OBJECTIVE: To preliminarily explore the applicable scenarios of an intraoral camera to assist oral anatomical landmarks recognition, so as to improve the clinical diagnosis and treatment mode, cultivate the concept of caring for patients, strengthen doctor-patient communication, assist experts to teach, and improve the clinical diagnosis and efficacy rate. METHODS: A new type of an intraoral camera was applied in the recognition of oral anatomy landmarks and four application scenarios were developed, namely: (1) clinical diagnosis and treatment scenarios, in which doctors used intraoral camera to conduct a comprehensive examination of patients in the mouth and take videos and photos; (2) doctor-patient communication scenarios, when the doctor told the patient about the treatment plan, the video or photo taken by the intraoral camera was displayed to the patient; (3) expert teaching scenarios, when the expert used an intraoral camera to teach in the patient's mouth, and the young doctor learned oral anatomical signs on the projection screen, with the study of theoretical lessons; (4) difficult case recording scenarios, in the process of clinical diagnosis and treatment, when encountering difficult cases, you could use intraoral camera to record and take photos for young doctors to discuss, and experts to comment and guide. RESULTS: The application of intraoral camera could: (1) improve the clinical diagnosis and treatment mode and raise the clinical diagnosis and efficacy rate; (2) stimulate young doctors' interest in learning, use intraoral camera in assessments, and skillfully combine theoretical knowledge of anatomical landmarks with clinical practice, so as to improve the teaching effect; (3) cultivate, through self or mutual use, the concept of caring for patients and reinforce the importance of gentle operation; (4) strengthen doctor-patient communication. Doctors could communicate with patients more visually, so that the patients could better understand their own situation, and strengthen the patients' trust in the doctors. CONCLUSION Intraoral camera can assist oral clinical diagnosis and treatment, such as the recognition of oral anatomical landmarks. It plays a certain role in promoting the improvement of clinical diagnosis and treatment mode, stimulating learning interest, cultivating the concept of caring for patients, and enhancing doctor-patient communication.
Humans ; Physician-Patient Relations ; Physicians ; Communication ; Mouth ; Learning

Skeletal muscle plays a paramount role in physical activity, metabolism, and energy balance, while its homeostasis is being challenged by multiple unfavorable factors such as injury, aging, or obesity. Exosomes, a subset of extracellular vesicles, are now recognized as essential mediators of intercellular communication, holding great clinical potential in the treatment of skeletal muscle diseases. Herein, we outline the recent research progress in exosomal isolation, characterization, and mechanism of action, and emphatically discuss current advances in exosomes derived from multiple organs and tissues, and engineered exosomes regarding the regulation of physiological and pathological development of skeletal muscle. These remarkable advances expand our understanding of myogenesis and muscle diseases. Meanwhile, the engineered exosome, as an endogenous nanocarrier combined with advanced design methodologies of biomolecules, will help to open up innovative therapeutic perspectives for the treatment of muscle diseases.
Exosomes/physiology* ; Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism* ; Cell Communication ; Homeostasis

BACKGROUND: Imatinib mesylate (IM) resistance is an emerging problem for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Previous studies found that connexin 43 (Cx43) deficiency in the hematopoietic microenvironment (HM) protects minimal residual disease (MRD), but the mechanism remains unknown. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry assays were employed to compare the expression of Cx43 and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) in bone marrow (BM) biopsies of CML patients and healthy donors. A coculture system of K562 cells and several Cx43-modified bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) was established under IM treatment. Proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, and other indicators of K562 cells in different groups were detected to investigate the function and possible mechanism of Cx43. We assessed the Ca 2+ -related pathway by Western blotting. Tumor-bearing models were also established to validate the causal role of Cx43 in reversing IM resistance. RESULTS: Low levels of Cx43 in BMs were observed in CML patients, and Cx43 expression was negatively correlated with HIF-1α. We also observed that K562 cells cocultured with BMSCs transfected with adenovirus-short hairpin RNA of Cx43 (BMSCs-shCx43) had a lower apoptosis rate and that their cell cycle was blocked in G0/G1 phase, while the result was the opposite in the Cx43-overexpression setting. Cx43 mediates gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) through direct contact, and Ca 2+ is the key factor mediating the downstream apoptotic pathway. In animal experiments, mice bearing K562, and BMSCs-Cx43 had the smallest tumor volume and spleen, which was consistent with the in vitro experiments. CONCLUSIONS Cx43 deficiency exists in CML patients, promoting the generation of MRD and inducing drug resistance. Enhancing Cx43 expression and GJIC function in the HM may be a novel strategy to reverse drug resistance and promote IM efficacy.
Animals ; Humans ; Mice ; Apoptosis ; Bone Marrow Cells ; Cell Communication ; Connexin 43/genetics* ; Gap Junctions/metabolism* ; Imatinib Mesylate/therapeutic use* ; K562 Cells ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/pathology* ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells/metabolism* ; Tumor Microenvironment ; Calcium/metabolism*

Neurons migrate from their birthplaces to the destinations, and extending axons navigate to their synaptic targets by sensing various extracellular cues in spatiotemporally controlled manners. These evolutionally conserved guidance cues and their receptors regulate multiple aspects of neural development to establish the highly complex nervous system by mediating both short- and long-range cell-cell communications. Neuronal guidance genes (encoding cues, receptors, or downstream signal transducers) are critical not only for development of the nervous system but also for synaptic maintenance, remodeling, and function in the adult brain. One emerging theme is the combinatorial and complementary functions of relatively limited classes of neuronal guidance genes in multiple processes, including neuronal migration, axonal guidance, synaptogenesis, and circuit formation. Importantly, neuronal guidance genes also regulate cell migration and cell-cell communications outside the nervous system. We are just beginning to understand how cells integrate multiple guidance and adhesion signaling inputs to determine overall cellular/subcellular behavior and how aberrant guidance signaling in various cell types contributes to diverse human diseases, ranging from developmental, neuropsychiatric, and neurodegenerative disorders to cancer metastasis. We review classic studies and recent advances in understanding signaling mechanisms of the guidance genes as well as their roles in human diseases. Furthermore, we discuss the remaining challenges and therapeutic potentials of modulating neuronal guidance pathways in neural repair.
Humans ; Axon Guidance/genetics* ; Neurons ; Axons/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction/genetics* ; Cell Communication