Enhanced delivery of peptide-morpholino oligonucleotides with a small molecule to correct splicing defects in the lung.

Pulmonary diseases offer many targets for oligonucleotide therapeutics. However, effective delivery of oligonucleotides to the lung is challenging. For example, splicing mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) affect a significant cohort of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients. These individuals could potentially benefit from treatment with splice switching oligonucleotides (SSOs) that can modulate splicing of CFTR and restore its activity. However, previous studies in cell culture used oligonucleotide transfection methods that cannot be safely translated in vivo. In this report, we demonstrate effective correction of a splicing mutation in the lung of a mouse model using SSOs. Moreover, we also demonstrate effective correction of a CFTR splicing mutation in a pre-clinical CF patient-derived cell model. We utilized a highly effective delivery strategy for oligonucleotides by combining peptide-morpholino (PPMO) SSOs with small molecules termed OECs. PPMOs distribute broadly into the lung and other tissues while OECs potentiate the effects of oligonucleotides by releasing them from endosomal entrapment. The combined PPMO plus OEC approach proved to be effective both in CF patient cells and in vivo in the mouse lung and thus may offer a path to the development of novel therapeutics for splicing mutations in CF and other lung diseases.

Supporting Change in Oncology Nursing Practice in Kuwait.

As countries around the world struggle to provide oncology care and treatment to their populations, nurses, as the largest healthcare workforce, are faced with the challenge of obtaining, maintaining, and developing specialized oncology nursing knowledge and expertise. Strategies that can be deployed at a local level to support nurses with integrating new knowledge into practice are important in meeting and overcoming this challenge. This article describes a theory-based model for implementing oncology nursing best practices in the Middle Eastern country of Kuwait. 
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Using the accreditation journey to achieve global impact: UHN's experience at the Kuwait Cancer Control Center.

On January 1, 2011, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM) - University Health Network (UHN) began a five-year partnership agreement with the Kuwait Ministry of Health's Kuwait Cancer Control Center (KCCC) to enhance cancer care services. Over the course of the partnership, opportunities for improvement were identified by UHN experts in order to accelerate KCCC's development toward subspecialty cancer care. Many of these opportunities involved building a robust infrastructure to support foundational hospital operation processes and procedures. Harnessing UHN's own successes in accreditation, the partnership took advantage of the national accreditation mandate in Kuwait to initiate a quality program and drive clinical improvement at KCCC. This resulted in improved staff engagement, better awareness and alignment of administration with clinical management and a stronger patient safety culture. This article discusses the successes and lessons learned at KCCC that may provide insight to healthcare providers implementing Accreditation Canada International's accreditation framework in other countries and cultures.