‘Mad, sad and bad’ to ‘Dad’:care-experienced men’s experiences of fatherhood

The transition to fatherhood can have a significant impact upon men’s emotional health and well-being. As experiences of abuse and neglect in childhood also correlate with increased rates of depression, self-harm and suicide in adulthood, it is likely that the mental health of fathers who spent time in care as children due to maltreatment will be more severely affected by the move to fatherhood. Although research into the experiences of fathers has multiplied in recent years, there remain lacunae and the experiences of many, for example single parents and those who are disabled or have care experience, remain unexplored. This article fills this gap for one such group by exploring the lived experiences of five fathers with care experience whose children remain in their care. They were interviewed about their situation and feelings and the emerging data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Three superordinate themes emerged: ‘Going back to move forward’, ‘Reliving the past’ and ‘Breaking the cycle’, and these encapsulated eight more subordinate themes. Participants described fatherhood as a chance to relive their childhood and feel accepted as part of a family, which enhanced their sense of self from ‘Mad, sad and bad’ to ‘Dad’. The implications for policy and practice for supporting care-experienced fathers are discussed along with directions for future research.</p

Can DCE-MRI explain the heterogeneity in radiopeptide uptake imaged by SPECT in a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor model?

Although efficient delivery and distribution of treatment agents over the whole tumor is essential for successful tumor treatment, the distribution of most of these agents cannot be visualized. However, with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), both delivery and uptake of radiolabeled peptides can be visualized in a neuroendocrine tumor model overexpressing somatostatin receptors. A heterogeneous peptide uptake is often observed in these tumors. We hypothesized that peptide distribution in the tumor is spatially related to tumor perfusion, vessel density and permeability, as imaged and quantified by DCE-MRI in a neuroendocrine tumor model. Four subcutaneous CA20948 tumor-bearing Lewis rats were injected with the somatostatin-analog 111In-DTPA-Octreotide (50 MBq). SPECT-CT and MRI scans were acquired and MRI was spatially registered to SPECT-CT. DCE-MRI was analyzed using semi-quantitative and quantitative methods. Correlation between SPECT and DCE-MRI was investigated with 1) Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient; 2) SPECT uptake values grouped into deciles with corresponding median DCE-MRI parametric values and vice versa; and 3) linear regression analysis for median parameter values in combined datasets. In all tumors, areas with low peptide uptake correlated with low perfusion/density/ /permeability for all DCE-MRI-derived parameters. Combining all datasets, highest linear regression was found between peptide uptake and semi-quantitative parameters (R2>0.7). The average correlation coefficient between SPECT and DCE-MRI-derived parameters ranged from 0.52-0.56 (p<0.05) for parameters primarily associated with exchange between blood and extracellular extravascular space. For these parameters a linear relation with peptide uptake was observed. In conclusion, the ‘exchange-related’ DCE-MRI-derived parameters seemed to predict peptide uptake better than the ‘contrast amount- related’ parameters. Consequently, fast and efficient diffusion through the vessel wall into tissue is an important factor for peptide delivery. DCE-MRI helps to elucidate the relation between vascular characteristics, peptide delivery and treatment efficacy, and may form a basis to predict targeting efficiency.Imaging Science and TechnologyApplied Science

Strongyloidiasis: Really a Zoonosis?

More than 600 million people are estimated to be infected with the nematode Strongyloides stercoralis, which is often overlooked during routine parasitological diagnostics. Some of the young worms mature to infective larvae within the host, enabling this parasite to establish long-lived, self-sustaining infections. While most of these infections are mild, they can self-enhance, resulting in complicated strongyloidisas, which if not treated in time, is normally lethal. While it is undisputed that dogs are susceptible to experimental infection with human-derived S. stercoralis, it has long been debated if Strongyloides sp. naturally found in dogs are human infective S. stercoralis or belong to a different species, S. canis. Based on recent studies, I argue that dogs naturally carry S. stercoralis, in addition to at least one other species, for which we have no indication that it infects people. I argue that for all practical purposes of S. stercoralis treatment and prevention, dogs should be seriously considered as possible sources for human S. stercoralis. However, from a rigorous scientific point of view, we must admit that currently we have no idea about the relative importance of zoonotic transmission compared with human to human transmission