A simulation training of family management for parents of children with epilepsy: a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that is more likely to be diagnosed in children. The main treatment involves long-term use of anti-epileptic drugs and above all, home care is of great importance. As there has not been a widely accepted home care protocols, simulating a home care environment is necessary for caregivers to develop skills of proper home care. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a simulation training of family management style (STOFMS) for parents of children with epilepsy in China. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted on 463 children with epilepsy and their families. They were recruited from March 2020 to November 2022 and randomly assigned to the STOFMS group or the conventional group in a 1:1 ratio. Scores of family management measures, 8-item of Morisky Medication Adherence and epilepsy clinical symptom of both groups were collected at three points of time: within 24 h after admission (T0), 3 months after discharge (T1), and 6 months after discharge (T2). Changes due to intervention were compared across groups by repeated-measures ANOVA. The study report followed the CONSORT 2010 checklist. RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences between the two groups at T2. A considerable increase over the baseline was observed in the total management level score and subscale scores in the STOFMS group at T1, compared with essentially no change in the control group. In terms of medication adherence, the STOFMS group performance improved greatly at T1 and T2 compared with the control group. The same result was also found in clinical efficacy at T2 (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: STOFMS is an effective intervention to improve family management level, treatment adherence and clinical efficacy for children with epilepsy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The registration number is ChiCTR2200065128. Registered at 18 October 2022, http://www.medresman.org.cn.

Circ_0044516 Regulates miR-136/MAT2A Pathway to Facilitate Lung Cancer Development.

Circular RNA (circRNA) is a type of noncoding RNA that can interact with miRNAs to regulate gene expression. However, little is known concerning circRNA, which is crucial in the pathogenesis of lung cancer. To date, limited studies have explored the role of circ_0044516 in lung cancer progression. Recently, we observed that circ_0044516 expression levels were obviously elevated in lung cancer tissues and cells. A549 and SPCA1 cells were transfected with circ_0044516 siRNA. We observed that knockdown of circ_0044516 dramatically repressed cell proliferation, increased cell apoptosis, and repressed the cell cycle. Moreover, A549 and SPCA1 cell migration and invasion abilities were greatly repressed by circ_0044516 siRNA. Due to accumulating evidence demonstrating the vital role of cancer stem cells, their mechanism of involvement has drawn increasing attention in tumor progression and metastasis research. We also found that cancer stem cell properties were restrained by silencing circ_0044516 in A549 and SPC-A1 cells. Moreover, in vivo xenograft experiments showed that circ_0044516 downregulation reduced tumor growth. Mechanistically, in lung cancer and using bioinformatics, we demonstrated that circ_0044516 sponges miR-136 targeting MAT2A. Furthermore, rescue assays were carried out to identify that circ_0044516 modulates cell proliferation, invasion, and stemness by regulating miR-136 and MAT2A in lung cancer. In summary, our study revealed that the circ_0044516/miR-136/MAT2A axis is involved in lung cancer progression. Our findings may provide novel targets for diagnosis and therapeutic intervention in lung cancer patients.