Biomedical subjects

Jeroen de Jong

Publications and source records attributed to Jeroen de Jong.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Diagnostic value of OCT3/4 for pre-invasive and invasive testicular germ cell tumours.

Human testicular germ cell tumours of adolescents and adults (TGCTs), the seminomatous and non-seminomatous germ cell tumours, show morphological and biological similarities to normal embryonic development, presumably determined by their supposed cell of origin, the primordial germ cell/gonocyte. Based on this knowledge, OCT3/4, also known as POU5F1, was recently defined as a diagnostic marker for these tumour types. In the adult testis, positive immunohistochemistry for OCT3/4 is an absolute indicator for the presence of the TGCT precursor carcinoma in situ/intratubular germ cell neoplasia undifferentiated (CIS/ITGCNU), seminoma, and/or embryonal carcinoma. Several studies have confirmed this observation, using the same polyclonal antibody. The present study demonstrates the usefulness of OCT3/4 immunohistochemistry in a diagnostic setting of a consecutively collected series of more than 200 testicular tumours and over 80 testicular biopsies. Moreover, it is shown that a monoclonal antibody directed against OCT3/4 is as informative as the polyclonal antibody, both in immunohistochemistry and in western blot analysis. The antibodies are robust and applicable with different methods of pretreatment and storage of tissue. This allows routine application of this diagnostic marker.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Lowering fear-avoidance and enhancing function through exposure in vivo. A multiple baseline study across six patients with back pain.

This study investigated the effects of an exposure in vivo treatment for chronic pain patients with high levels of fear and avoidance. The fear-avoidance model offers an enticing explanation of why some back pain patients develop persistent disability, stressing the role of catastrophic interpretations; largely fueled by beliefs and expectations that activity will cause injury and will worsen the pain problem. Recently, an exposure in vivo treatment was developed that aims to enhance function by directly addressing these fears and expectations. The purpose of this study was to describe the short-term, consequent effect of an exposure in vivo treatment. The study employed a multiple baseline design with six patients who were selected based on their high levels of fear and avoidance. The results demonstrated clear decreases in rated fear and avoidance beliefs while function increased substantially. These improvements were observed even though rated pain intensity actually decreased somewhat. Thus, the results replicate and extend the findings of previous studies to a new setting, with other therapists and a new research design. These results, together with the initial studies, provide a basis for pursuing and further developing the exposure technique and to test it in group designs with larger samples.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The treatment of fear of movement/(re)injury in chronic low back pain: further evidence on the effectiveness of exposure in vivo.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Several cognitive-behavioral factors contribute to the persistence of pain disability in patients with chronic back pain. Fear-avoidance beliefs and fear of movement/(re)injury in particular have been shown to be strong predictors of physical performance and pain disability. Patients reporting substantial pain-related fear might benefit from exposure in vivo to a set of individually tailored, fear-eliciting, and hierarchically ordered physical movements rather than more general graded activity. PATIENTS AND INTERVENTIONS: Six consecutive patients with chronic low back pain who reported substantial fear of movement/(re)injury were included in the study. After a no-treatment baseline measurement period, the patients were randomly assigned to one of two interventions. In the first intervention, patients received exposure in vivo first, followed by graded activity. In the second intervention, the sequence of treatment modules was reversed. Before each treatment module, treatment credibility was assessed. Daily measures of pain-related fear, pain catastrophizing, and pain intensity were completed using visual analog scales. In addition, standardized measures of pain disability, pain-related fear, and pain vigilance were taken before and after each treatment module and at the 1-year follow-up. To obtain more objective data on actual activity levels, an ambulatory activity monitor was carried by the patients during 1 week before and after each treatment module. RESULTS: Time series analysis of the daily measures showed that improvements in pain-related fear and pain catastrophizing occurred only during the exposure in vivo and not during the graded activity, irrespective of the treatment order. Analysis of the pretreatment to post-treatment differences also revealed that decreases in pain-related fear also concurred with decreases in pain disability and pain vigilance and an increase in physical activity levels. All improvements remained at the 1-year follow-up.

Activities of Daily Living↗