PLoS medicine
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Alexander Tsai and colleagues highlight the complex relationship between poverty and HIV stigma in sub-Saharan Africa, and discuss possible ways to break the cycle. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary.
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Jeff Sloan and colleagues describe the development of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Quality of Life (PROQOL) instrument, which captures and stores patient-recorded outcomes in the medical record for patients with diabetes. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary.
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Endometrial cancer incidence is continuing to rise in the wake of the current ageing and obesity epidemics. Much of the risk for endometrial cancer development is influenced by the environment and lifestyle. Accumulating evidence suggests that the epigenome serves as the interface between the genome and the environment and that hypermethylation of stem cell polycomb group target genes is an epigenetic hallmark of cancer. The objective of this study was to determine the functional role of epigenetic factors in endometrial cancer development. ⋯ HAND2 methylation is a common and crucial molecular alteration in endometrial cancer that could potentially be employed as a biomarker for early detection of endometrial cancer and as a predictor of treatment response. The true clinical utility of HAND2 DNA methylation, however, requires further validation in prospective studies. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary.
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Reflecting on new research by Cécile Viboud and colleagues, Steven Riley describes how understanding complex influenza dynamics can aid the design of influenza programs in China. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary.