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Background: Currently, breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer affecting women, and the number of newly diagnosed cases continues to increase both in Jordan and globally. Upon receiving a cancer diagnosis, the suffering experienced by patients intensifies as they grapple with the debilitating side effects that hinder their ability to carry out routine activities. Purpose: This study aims to assess the impact of cancer pain on functional status and quality of life (QOL) among Jordanian women with breast cancer. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design and structured interviews were conducted in the Oncology Unit at Al-Bashir Hospital with a sample of 150 eligible Jordanian women with breast cancer who provided data on pain and functional status, and QOL using four Arabic questionnaires (brief pain inventory, functional status SF-12 questionnaire, and quality of life index) to measure pain and functional status and QOL, descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and regression statistical test were utilized to analyze the study data. Results: A Significant positive correlation (r = 0.342) was found between cancer pain and functional status interference, a significant negative correlation (r = -0.134) between quality of life and functional status interference, and a significant negative correlation (r = -0.211) between pain and quality of life. Patients with higher intensity of cancer pain are more likely to experience low functional status and poor QOL. Conclusion: Breast cancer patients experience alterations in their quality of life as a result of cancer-related pain, which has a detrimental impact on their ability to carry out daily activities and disrupts their functional abilities. Healthcare providers must take these alterations into account and effectively handle them. Understanding the relationship between cancer pain and breast cancer can aid nurses in managing symptoms and providing holistic care, ultimately improving the quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pain is a common symptom of many clinical diseases; it adversely affects patients' physical and mental health, reduces their quality of life, and heavily burdens patients and society. Pain treatment is one of the most difficult problems today. There is an urgent need to explore the potential factors involved in the pathogenesis of pain to improve its diagnosis and treatment rate. Piezo1/2, a newly identified mechanosensitive ion channel opens in response to mechanical stimuli and plays a critical role in regulating painrelated diseases. Inhibition or downregulation of Piezo1/2 alleviates diseaseinduced pain. Therefore, in this study, we comprehensively discussed the biology of this gene, focusing on its potential relevance in pain-related diseases, and explored the pharmacological effects of drugs using this gene for the treatment of pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health-related stigma and its internalization among individuals with chronic health conditions contribute to impaired mental and physical health and quality of life. Research on health-related stigma has been siloed, with disease-specific measures that may not capture the experiences of individuals with multiple health conditions and that prevent comparisons across health conditions. The current study aimed to develop and test a transdiagnostic measure of internalized health-related stigma for use among adults with different physical health conditions. Methods: An existing measure of internalized mental health stigma was adapted to assess stigma due to chronic physical health conditions following COSMIN procedures, with input from advisory boards of community members living with a range of stigmatized health conditions (obesity, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, skin diseases, HIV, chronic pain, and cancers) and of health professionals who specialized in these conditions. The new Internalized Health-Related Stigma (I-HEARTS) Scale was tested in an online sample of 300 adults with these health conditions, recruited from ResearchMatch. Additional psychosocial measures of mental health and quality of life were administered, and participants provided information about their health conditions and demographic characteristics. Exploratory factor analysis and tests of reliability and validity were conducted to determine the psychometric properties of the I-HEARTS Scale, and k-means clustering and receiver of characteristic curve analysis were used to determine a clinically meaningful cutoff score indicating high levels of internalized stigma. Results: Factor analysis results yielded a 25-item scale with a 3-factor solution, with subscales of Perceived and Anticipated Stigma, Stereotype Application and Self-Devaluation, and Stigma Resistance. Psychometric properties for internal consistency, inter-item and item-total correlations, and test-retest reliability were strong. Certain demographics (e.g., younger age) and characteristics related to health conditions (e.g., greater symptom severity) were associated with higher levels of internalized stigma. I-HEARTS Scale scores correlated moderately to strongly with related but distinct psychosocial measures, and a cutoff score of 3.40 or higher on the 1–7 rating scale was determined to indicate clinically meaningful levels of internalized stigma. Conclusions: The I-HEARTS Scale is a reliable and valid measure for the assessment of internalized health-related stigma among adults with varied stigmatized chronic health conditions. Study pre-registration: https://osf.io/84c5d/?view_only=87238512f6d6475c87f8f64280a8a15f. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bone metastases are common in patients with progressive cancer and often present in long bones, leading to adverse events such as pathologic fractures. In the acute care setting, physical therapists (PTs) may be the initial providers who identify symptoms associated with fracture risk and communicate concerns to help prevent such adverse events. Case description: A 39-year-old female patient with metastatic breast cancer was admitted to the hospital due to uncontrolled pain. She had a history of bone metastases to the left femur; however, no restrictions or precautions were noted during the initial PT examination. During this initial PT examination, she reported worsening hip pain with weight-bearing activities. Outcomes: With the PT's recognition of red flag symptoms, an MRI was completed, which revealed extensive metastatic disease in her left femur with concern for an imminent fracture; as a result, prophylactic fixation was performed. Her functional abilities improved after surgery and consistent therapeutic intervention, allowing her to achieve a level of independence sufficient to return home safely. Discussion and conclusion: This case demonstrates the successful identification of imminent fracture risk by a PT in a patient with metastatic breast cancer, as well as the therapeutic management that accompanied this process in the acute care setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing interest in the use of cannabidiol (CBD) as a potential therapeutic for alleviating chronic pain in cancer patients. Reliable determination of CBD content tailored to individual patients is essential for effective administration. Additionally, there is a growing need for rapid and portable detection methods for food products containing trace amounts of cannabis-derived compounds. Electrochemical technique offer a promising approach for fast and straightforward analytical identification of compounds like CBD. This study presents the fabrication of electrochemical sensor utilizing Fe2O3 quantum dots (QDs) – Co3O4 nanowires (NWs) as a sensing layer in a modified silver electrode. Chemical and structural analyses including energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirm the excellent decoration of Fe2O3 QDs on the Co3O4 NW surfaces. The Fe2O3 QDs-Co3O4 NWs exhibit electrochemical activity based on cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA), and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) measurements. The sensor demonstrates a sensitivity of 1.21 mA•mM⁻¹•mm⁻¹ with strong linearity over the range of 0.02–0.1 mM (R2 = 0.9991) and a low detection limit of 0.67 µM. The enhanced electrochemical response of the Fe2O3 QDs-Co3O4 NWs sensing layer is attributed to the increased number of active sites resulting from the heterostructure formed by the two semiconductor crystals. A charge-transfer mechanism driven by stochastic processes is proposed to explain the electrochemical sensing behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]