The longevity-associated BPIFB4 gene supports cardiac function and vascularization in ageing cardiomyopathy.

AIMS: The ageing heart naturally incurs a progressive decline in function and perfusion that available treatments cannot halt. However, some exceptional individuals maintain good health until the very late stage of their life due to favourable gene-environment interaction. We have previously shown that carriers of a longevity-associated variant (LAV) of the BPIFB4 gene enjoy prolonged health spans and lesser cardiovascular complications. Moreover, supplementation of LAV-BPIFB4 via an adeno-associated viral vector improves cardiovascular performance in limb ischaemia, atherosclerosis, and diabetes models. Here, we asked whether the LAV-BPIFB4 gene could address the unmet therapeutic need to delay the heart's spontaneous ageing. METHODS AND RESULTS: Immunohistological studies showed a remarkable reduction in vessel coverage by pericytes in failing hearts explanted from elderly patients. This defect was attenuated in patients carrying the homozygous LAV-BPIFB4 genotype. Moreover, pericytes isolated from older hearts showed low levels of BPIFB4, depressed pro-angiogenic activity, and loss of ribosome biogenesis. LAV-BPIFB4 supplementation restored pericyte function and pericyte-endothelial cell interactions through a mechanism involving the nucleolar protein nucleolin. Conversely, BPIFB4 silencing in normal pericytes mimed the heart failure pericytes. Finally, gene therapy with LAV-BPIFB4 prevented cardiac deterioration in middle-aged mice and rescued cardiac function and myocardial perfusion in older mice by improving microvasculature density and pericyte coverage. CONCLUSIONS: We report the success of the LAV-BPIFB4 gene/protein in improving homeostatic processes in the heart's ageing. These findings open to using LAV-BPIFB4 to reverse the decline of heart performance in older people.

Ostomy-related problems and their impact on quality of life of Saudi ostomate patients: A mixed-methods study.

AIM AND OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to explore the health-related quality of life outcomes and ostomy-related obstacles among patients with ostomy in Saudi Arabia. BACKGROUND: Negative effects on quality of life for patients following ostomy creation are a globally important health concern. Paucity of understanding factors that influenced quality of care after ostomy surgery hinders the ability of healthcare providers to offer appropriate care to improve patient's quality of care. METHODS: This mixed-methods study was undertaken through survey (COHQOL-Q Arabic version) for collecting the quantitative data (n = 421) and semi-structured interview for collecting qualitative data (n = 12). This study employed STROBE and GRAMMS checklists. RESULTS: Multiple health-related quality of life challenges was indicated by Saudi patients with intestinal stomas. Ostomy surgery interferes with religious practice in Muslim people, particularly obtaining Hajj worship and fasting for Ramadan. The overall QOL mean score was moderate level (M = 7.57) for ostomy patients in Saudi Arabia. The highest domain mean score was the social well-being (M = 7.84) and the lowest in the physical well-being (M = 7.18). Reshaping of religious practices, apprehension and adaptation to living with a stoma were the most common themes that participants discussed related to ostomy issues they experienced following ostomy surgery. CONCLUSION: The study findings reported a greater understanding of challenges that patients with stoma experience in Saudi Arabia. The process of the adaptation and the change of their lifestyle also affects patient's quality of life. The healthcare providers can use the study results to create a supportive intervention strategy that needed for maximise QOL for people with stoma. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This study identifies issues associated with stoma creation among Saudi people and can help in planning and providing the required nursing care which may support in the reduction of predictable problems. Recommendations for future studies related to nursing professional practice are indicated.

Health-related quality of life among patients with an ostomy regarding sex, disease diagnosis, health care provider, and ostomy type: a descriptive cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Ostomy surgery can negatively affect quality of life; however, the lived experiences of individuals with ostomies in Saudi Arabia are not well understood. PURPOSE: To examine how sex, ostomy type, disease diagnosis, and health care provider shape health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in individuals with ostomies in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted based on self-reported data of a convenience sample of 421 patients (239 male, 182 female) with ostomies (206 temporary, 211 permanent, 4 unknown) from 5 hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected using the City of Hope-Quality of Life-Ostomy Questionnaire (Arabic version) and analyzed by univariate and multiple regression analyses to identify predictors of physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and overall HRQOL. RESULTS: HRQOL scores correlated significantly with ostomy type (temporary vs permanent), sex, and health care provider. There were no significant differences in HRQOL scores by disease diagnosis (cancer vs non-cancer). CONCLUSION: Several potential predictors of HRQOL among patients with ostomies in Saudi Arabia were identified, which may assist in developing intervention strategies to improve patients' HRQOL. Additional studies are needed to understand the specific barriers in each group.

City of Hope-Quality of Life Questionnaire-Arabic Version: assessment of reliability and validity.

BACKGROUND: Arabic is spoken as a native language by more than 400 million people worldwide. However, there is no specific Arabic language instrument to measure stoma-related quality of life. PURPOSE: This study was designed to assess the validity and reliability of the City of Hope-quality of life-Ostomy Questionnaire (COH-QOL-OQ) Arabic version. METHODS: A cross­sectional design was used. Intra-class correlation coefficients were calculated to measure reliability, and Pearson's correlations of an item with its own scale and other scales were scored to evaluate convergent and discriminant validity. Content validity was reviewed by a panel of 5 experts. RESULTS: There were 421 participants with colostomy, ileostomy, or urostomy (239 [56.8%] male and 182 [43.2%] female). All COH-QOL-OQ subscales for the Arabic version demonstrated a high level of internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.71-0.87). The initial administration of the confirmatory factor analysis model showed inadequate goodness-of-fit indices (χ² /df = 3.902, NFI = .845, CFI = .880, RMSEA = 0.083). However, after removing item 2 in the social dimension, the final administration of the confirmatory factor analysis model showed significant goodness-of-fit indices (χ² /df = 2.663, NFI = .900, CFI = .935, RMSEA = 0.063). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the COH-QOL-OQ Arabic version is a valid and reliable tool to measure quality of life among patients with an ostomy in Saudi Arabia.

Confidence, skills and barriers to ostomy patient care by nursing staff in Saudi Arabia.

AIM: This study examined the confidence level and perceived barriers to providing ostomy care among staff nurses in Saudi Arabia. BACKGROUND: Patients with ostomies experience increased comfort and satisfaction when nurses are confident in their knowledge and skills. DESIGN: A descriptive, cross-sectional design was used to conduct the research. The study included a convenience sample of 214 staff nurses from five hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The researchers used a survey questionnaire to gauge participants' confidence in their knowledge and skills, as well as identify any perceived barriers to ostomy care. RESULT: Overall, 95.1% of participants worked in adult care and 82.2% worked in surgical areas. There were significant relationships between the nurses' confidence in their ostomy care knowledge and skills and their years of nursing experience and having received ostomy care training in nursing school (p < .05); however, the nurses' level of education had no correlation (p > .05). CONCLUSION: While the majority of nurses were confident in their ability to care for patients with ostomies, they were concerned about causing stoma problems. This suggests that improving the quality of ostomy care provided by nurses may result in fewer negative outcomes for patients with ostomies.

Quality of life among ostomy patients: A narrative literature review.

AIM AND OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify and summarise factors related to ostomy patients' experiences and how these impact the perceived quality of life for those patients. BACKGROUND: Ostomy formation is a common therapeutic technique used to treat different colorectal diseases such as colorectal cancer. Although surgical intervention and ostomy formation may prolong a patient's life, it may cause many problems in their daily lifestyle and affect their quality of life. The surgical creation of an ostomy has a significant impacts on a patient's quality of life from multiple perspectives, including physical, psychological, social and spiritual aspects. DESIGN: A narrative literature review, using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guideline). METHODS: This review analysis of search filters was conducted in the following databases: PubMed (MEDLINE), CINAHL, Embase, ProQuest, Science Direct, Scopus, and PsycINFO. A validation data set of 283 research articles between January 2000 and December 2019 were used to identify the impact of stoma surgery on patients' quality of life. RESULT: Thirty-seven studies were identified as suitable for inclusion in this literature review. The results of the review indicate that quality of life (QoL) in patients who have an ostomy is influenced by many modifiable factors. Exercise, preoperative stoma site identification, family support, maintenance of social networks, education, spirituality and financial stability are all potentially modifiable factors that can improve the QOL for ostomy patients. CONCLUSION: This review has identified multiple challenges that ostomy patients experience, which were clustered according to physical, psychological, social and spiritual challenges. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This study identifies issues associated with stoma creation and can help in planning and providing the required nursing care which may assist in the reduction of predictable challenges. Recommendations for future research related to nursing practice are stated.