ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The promotion of quality of life (QOL) and healthy development across the person's life span can result in long and meaningful lives. The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between spiritual well-being (SWB), depression, and QOL for adults with paraplegia. DESIGN: A descriptive correlational design was used for this study. METHODS: A purposive sample of 75 participants completed the Ellison's SWB Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, and a QOL scale. FINDINGS: Quality of life was significantly associated with SWB (r = .47, p = .01), and depression (r = -.59, p = .01), 43% of the variance in QOL was explained by age, gender, length of stay, SWB, and depression (F[5,69] = 10.45, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Participants with a strong sense of purpose or meaning in life were more likely to experience a higher QOL. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Rehabilitation nurses can help guide patients to the discovery of what brings purpose and meaning to their lives.
Subject(s)
Depression , Paraplegia , Quality of Life/psychology , Rehabilitation Nursing/methods , Spirituality , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Cross-Sectional Studies , Depression/nursing , Depression/prevention & control , Depression/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Paraplegia/nursing , Paraplegia/psychology , Paraplegia/rehabilitation , Predictive Value of Tests , Young AdultABSTRACT
Human T cell lymphotropic virus-I (HTLV-I) -associated myelopathy is a slowly progressive neurologic disease characterized by inflammatory infiltrates in the central nervous system accompanied by clonal expansion of HTLV-I-reactive CD8+ T-cells. In patients carrying the HLA-A2 allele, the immune response is primarily directed to the Tax11-19 peptide. The frequency, activation state, and TCR usage of HLA-A2/Tax11-19 binding T cells in patients with HTLV-I-associated myelopathy was determined using MHC class I tetrameters loaded with the Tax11-19 peptide. Circulating Tax11-19-reactive T cells were found at very high frequencies, approaching 1:10 circulating CD8+ T cells. T cells binding HLA-A2/Tax11-19 consisted of heterogeneous populations expressing different chemokine receptors and the IL-2R beta-chain but not the IL-2R alpha-chain. Additionally, Tax11-19-reactive CD8+ T cells used one predominant TCR beta-chain for the recognition of the HLA-A2/Tax11-19 complex. These data provide direct evidence for high frequencies of circulating Tax11-19-reactive CD8+ T cells in patients with HTLV-I-associated myelopathy.(Au)
