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Preliminary observation with dronabinol in patients with intractable pruritus secondary to cholestatic liver disease
Pruritus due to cholestatic liver disease can be particularly difficult to manage and frequently is intractable to a variety of medical therapies. The aim of our study is to evaluate the efficacy of ?-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (?-9-THC) for intractable cholestatic related pruritus (ICRP) that has failed conventional (and unconventional) remedies. Three patients were evaluated for plasmapheresis because of ICRP. All 3 patients
Guy W Neff; Christopher B OĺBrien; K. Rajender Reddy; Nora V Bergasa; Arie Regev; Enrique Molina; Rafael Amaro; Miguel J Rodriguez; VeEtta Chase; Lennox Jeffers; Eugene Schiff
Intractable ascites as a manifestation of Wolman's disease: report of two sibs.
Wolman disease (WD) is a rare, inherited, rapidly fatal condition presenting in early infancy. The disease manifests in the first month of life with failure to thrive, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal distension, hepatosplenomegaly and bilateral adrenal calcification and is nearly always fatal before the age of 1 year. Barring a case report of isolated fetal ascites, there is no report of intractable ascites as the presentation of WD till date. We report two siblings with WD who both had intractable ascites and required therapeutic paracentesis, albumin infusion, and diuretics to control tense ascites. Although rare, WD should be considered in the differential diagnosis of infantile ascites. PMID:23007684
Kathuria, Rachana; Poddar, Ujjal; Ghosh, Jayanta; Yachha, Surender Kumar; Gnanapriya, V; Pandey, Rakesh; Kaur, Anupriya; Phadke, Subha; Srivastava, Anshu
Intractable hiccups--an early feature of Addison's disease.
Hiccups has not been previously reported as a manifestation of Addison's disease. We report two cases where persistent hiccups was an early feature of Addison's disease. Steroid replacement cured the symptoms in both patients with no recurrence.
Hardo, P. G.
Albumin liver dialysis as pregnancy-saving procedure in cholestatic liver disease and intractable pruritus.
Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 3 (PFIC3) is a rare cholestatic liver disease. Such liver disease can get worse by female hormone disorder. Albumin dialysis or Molecular Adsorbent Recirculating System (MARS) has been reported to reverse severe cholestasis-linked pruritus. Here, we report the first use of MARS during a spontaneous pregnancy and its successful outcome in a patient with PFIC3 and intractable pruritus. Albumin dialysis could be considered as a pregnancy-saving procedure in pregnant women with severe cholestasis and refractory pruritus. PMID:19030215
Lemoine, Maud; Revaux, Aurelie; Francoz, Claire; Ducarme, Guillaume; Brechignac, Sabine; Jacquemin, Emmanuel; Uzan, Michele; Ganne-Carrie, Nathalie
Duodenal adenocarcinoma might be the cause of intractable nausea and vomiting in patient with coeliac disease
Coeliac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disorder which leads to chronic inflammation of the gut. Untreated CD is associated with upper gastrointestinal malignancies, Small-bowel lymphoma and adenocarcinoma are recognized complications of untreated coeliac disease (CD). We report the case of a 43-year-old male suffering from CD who was treated with a gluten-free diet one year, presenting with complaints of intractable nausea and vomiting. After several studies, He underwent push enteroscopy, which identified one large mass lesion in the third part of duodenum. However, histopathological examination showed adenocarcinoma. Subsequently, a duodenal segment resection was performed. After surgery, the patient recovered well and left our hospital in good condition. Clinicians should take into small bowel adenocarcinoma is rare but associated with CD particularly in CD patients with worrying symptoms such as nausea and vomiting unresponsiveness to treatment and these patients should be screened for long term complications like malignancy.
Rajabalinia, Hassan; Dabiri, Reza; Shahbazi, Shahin; Ghobakhlou, Mehdi; Bahreiny, Rasoul; Molaei, Mahsa; Nejad, Mohammad Rostami
Case report: a case of intractable Meniere's disease treated with autogenic training
Background Psychological stress plays an important role in the onset and course of Meniere's disease. Surgical therapy and intratympanic gentamicin treatment are options for cases that are intractable to conventional medical therapy. Psychotherapy, however, including autogenic training (AT), which can be used for general relaxation, is not widely accepted. This paper describes the successful administration of AT in a subject suffering from intractable Meniere's disease. Case presentation A 51-year-old male patient has suffered from fluctuating right sensorineural hearing loss with vertigo since 1994. In May 2002, he was first admitted to our hospital due to a severe vertigo attack accompanied by right sensorineural hearing loss. Spontaneous nystagmus toward the right side was observed. Since April 2004, he has experienced vertigo spells with right-sided tinnitus a few times per month that are intractable to conventional medical therapy. After four months, tympanic tube insertion was preformed in the right tympanic membrane. Intratympanic injection of dexamethasone was ineffective. He refused Meniett therapy and intratympanic gentamicin injection. In addition to his vertigo spells, he suffered from insomnia, tinnitus, and anxiety. Tranquilizers such as benzodiazepines and antidepressants such as serotonin selective re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) failed to stop the vertigo and only slightly improved his insomnia. In December 2006, the patient began psychological counseling with a psychotherapist. After brief psychological counseling along with cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), he began AT. He diligently and regularly continued his AT training in his home according to a written timetable. His insomnia, tinnitus, and vertigo spells disappeared within a few weeks after only four psychotherapy sessions. In order to master the six standard formulas of AT, he underwent two more sessions. Thereafter, he underwent follow-up for 9 months with no additional treatment. He is now free from drugs, including tranquilizers, and has continued AT. No additional treatment was performed. When we examined him six and nine months later for follow-up, he was free of vertigo and insomnia. Conclusion AT together with CBT can be a viable and palatable treatment option for Meniere's disease patients who are not responsive to other therapies.
Goto, Fumiyuki; Nakai, Kimiko; Kunihiro, Takanobu; Ogawa, Kaoru
[Disaster medical network for the patients with intractable disease-experiences of two large earthquakes].
Anti-disaster measures along with disaster medicine aims at reducing loss of property and life and facilitating grief work of the suffered people. In contrast the care system for patients with intractable disease has the same aim. According to the experiences of two large earthquakes including Chuetsu (2004) and Chuetsu-oki earthquake (2007), earthquake-resistant buildings are necessary for maintaining hospital function as well as reviving community after occurrence of large earthquake. A list of patients living with ventilator and their individual care plan designed for disaster need to be prepared to transport each patient to the hospital at appropriate timing, when electricity and visiting nurse care system are damaged. Satellite telephone is very useful for communicating with such patients and medical teams because telephone connection is limited to only the specific calling number just after occurrence of earthquake. PMID:20030235
Nakajima, Takashi
High-dose short-term chlorambucil for intractable sympathetic ophthalmia and Beh?et's disease.
We treated five patients with intractable sympathetic ophthalmia and six patients with severe Behšet's disease by high-dose, short-term chlorambucil therapy. We used a total dose ranging from 306 mg to 4.2 g and a duration of therapy no longer than 36 weeks and in most cases less than 24 weeks. After termination of therapy all 11 patients had a sustained remission of their eye disease. Unless subretinal neovascularisation was present, all had a final visual acuity of 20/50 or better. Malignancy has not developed in any of our cases, with a follow-up ranging from 6 months to 12 years (mean, 4.5 years). Although 30- and 40-year follow-ups and larger numbers of patients may be necessary fully to realise the risks of chlorambucil, we believe that our high-dose, short-term regimen (Behšet's disease: average duration, 23 weeks; average total dose 2.2 g; sympathetic ophthalmia: average duration, 11 weeks; total average dose, 0.9 g) may be safer than previously reported chlorambucil regimens of one to two years or longer. In addition we fulfilled our aim of discontinuing all concomitant systemic corticosteroids within a relatively short time (usually six to eight weeks).
Tessler, H H; Jennings, T
New Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Method: Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Plus Thymus Transplantation for Intractable Diseases
Although allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) has become a valuable strategy for some intractable diseases, a number of problems remain to be resolved. We have developed a new HSCT method, HSCT + thymus transplantation (TT) from the same donor, which induces elevated T cell function with mild graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in comparison to conventional HSCT alone and HSCT + donor lymphocyte infusion (HSCT + DLI). This new method is effective in the treatment of several intractable diseases and conditions, such as autoimmune diseases in aging, advanced malignant tumors, exposure to supralethal irradiation, multiple organ transplantation from different donors, and type 2 diabetes mellitus, for which conventional methods are ineffective. Our findings suggest that allo-HSCT + TT is preferable to conventional allo-HSCT alone or allo-HSCT + DLI. This method may become a valuable next-generation HSCT technique.
Hosaka, Naoki
Social Support Associated with Quality of Life in Home Care Patients with Intractable Neurological Disease in Japan
The aim of the present study was to investigate what kinds of social supports contribute to the higher quality of life (QOL) of home care patients with intractable neurological disease. We investigated the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) and social supports to 74 patients with intractable neurological disease in a city of the Aichi prefecture, Japan. Association between WHOQOL and social supports was examined using multiple logistic regression analyses adjusting activities of daily living (ADL). High WHOQOL scores were associated with ôattending patient gatherings held by the public health center,ö ôhaving someone who will listen empathically to anxieties or troubles,ö and ADL. Physical health was associated with ADL, while psychological well-being was related to ôhaving a hobby,ö ôhaving someone who will listen,ö and ôhaving a hospital for admission in emergencies.ö Patients not having someone who will listen were more likely to participate in the gatherings. The present findings suggest that having someone who will provide emotional support is important for home care patients with neurological diseases. Patient gatherings held by the public health center were expected to provide patients with emotional support.
Nishida, Tomoko; Ando, Eriko; Sakakibara, Hisataka
Successful management of intractable chylothorax in Gorham-Stout disease by awake thoracoscopic surgery.
Gorham-Stout is an extremely rare disease, which is characterized by proliferation of vascular and lymphatic bone structures. A 15-year-old male patient was the diagnosis of Gorham-Stout disease of the cervical spine with chylothorax. Awake thoracoscopic ablation was performed using bronchoscopic tools and awake thoracoscopic debridement of the thoracoscopic cavities and chemical pleurodesis with OK-432 were repeated. The amount of drained liquid was controlled. There was no recurrence of pleural effusion. PMID:22865280
Noda, Masafumi; Endo, Chiaki; Hoshikawa, Yasushi; Ishibashi, Naoya; Suzuki, Takaya; Okada, Yoshinori; Kondo, Takashi
A 44 year-old lady with chronic renal disease and intractable ulcers: a case report
Calciphylaxis is a rare but potentially fatal condition occurring in patients with end stage renal disease on dialysis. Due to interplay of various factors, disturbances occur in the metabolism of calcium and phosphate leading to calcification within the vessel walls. The net result is tissue ischemia and necrosis. Clinically this presents as painful non-healing skin ulcers, which contribute to significant morbidity and mortality due to septic progression of the lesion. In this case report, we highlight the rapidly progressive nature of this disease, its etiopathogenesis and the role of early diagnosis in preventing life-threatening complications.
Pujar, Thejeswi; Spinello, Irene M
Intractable diplopia: A clinical perspective
Eight patients with intractable diplopia are presented. A classification of intractable diplopia is proposed, as well as a possible unifying view of its pathogenesis. Currently available treatment modalities are reviewed.
William D. Gruzensky; Earl A. Palmer
Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt for the treatment of intractable ascites in a patient with polycystic liver disease.
Though polycystic liver disease (PCLD) has historically been considered a contraindication to TIPS, we present a case where technically successful shunt creation was achieved without the need for modification of the standard TIPS procedure, as was required in a previous report. PMID:10821902
Bahramipour, P F; Festa, S; Biswal, R; Wachsberg, R H
Intractable diarrhoea associated with secondary amyloidosis in rheumatoid arthritis
OBJECTIVEŚTo examine the clinical characteristics of intractable diarrhoea associated with secondary amyloidosis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).?METHODSŚOf 179áRA patients with biopsy confirmed secondary amyloidosis, 24ácases (23áwomen and one man) with intractable diarrhoea lasting for more than one month were retrospectively evaluated.?RESULTSŚThe mean (SD) duration of diarrhoea was 87á(64) days. Prodromal symptoms of gastrointestinal dysfunction (ná=á21) and impaired peristalsis (ná=á16) were observed. Laboratory data showed hypoproteinaemia (4.7á(0.85) g/dl) caused by malabsorption or protein loss and high values of C reactive protein (17.0á(9.3) mg/dl). Recurrence of intractable diarrhoea (ná=á4) and transition from intractable diarrhoea to other gastrointestinal problems of amyloidosis (ischaemic colitis (ná=á2) and intestinal pseudo-obstruction (ná=á4)) were observed. In 19ápatients (25áepisodes) the duration of intravenous hyperalimentation at remission (18áepisodes) was 68á(52) days. Corticosteroid pulse therapy was administered to 10ápatients (11átimes) and the time elapsed from the end of corticosteroid pulse therapy to the end of diarrhoea was 18á(14) days. One and five year survival rates after the onset of intractable diarrhoea were 73.4% and 38.9% .áSeven of 13ápatients (54%) had died as a result of infectious diseases.?CONCLUSIONŚIntractable diarrhoea associated with secondary amyloidosis in RA is a serious clinical entity and the prognosis is poor. Although it is assumed that intravenous hyperalimentation treatment and corticosteroid pulse therapy are favourable regimens for intractable diarrhoea, the patients should be monitored for possible infectious complications.??
Okuda, Y.; Takasugi, K.; Oyama, T.; Oyama, H.; Nanba, S.; Miyamoto, T.
Kidney Disease Statistics for the United States
... Disease Statistics for the United States Kidney Disease Statistics for the United States On this page: The ... The Growing Burden of Kidney Disease Kidney disease statistics for the United States convey the burden of ...
Management of intractable spontaneous epistaxis
Background: Epistaxis is a common otolaryngology emergency and is often controlled with first-line interventions such as cautery, hemostatic agents, or anterior nasal packing. A subset of patients will continue to bleed and require more aggressive therapy. Methods: Intractable spontaneous epistaxis was traditionally managed with posterior nasal packing and prolonged hospital admission. In an effort to reduce patient morbidity and shorten hospital stay, surgical and endovascular techniques have gained popularity. A literature review was conducted. Results: Transnasal endoscopic sphenopalatine artery ligation and arterial embolization provide excellent control rates but the decision to choose one over the other can be challenging. The role of transnasal endoscopic anterior ethmoid artery ligation is unclear but may be considered in certain cases when bleeding localizes to the ethmoid region. Conclusion: This article will focus on the management of intractable spontaneous epistaxis and discuss the role of endoscopic arterial ligation and embolization as it pertains to this challenging clinical scenario.
Rudmik, Luke
Cryoanalgesia for intractable perineal pain.
Cryoanalgesia, the local application of extreme cold to nerves to produce analgesia, has been used to treat patients with intractable perineal pain. The cryoprobe was inserted percutaneously through the sacral hiatus into the sacral canal to produce anaesthesia of the lower sacral nerve roots. Forty patients received a total of 70 treatments: 31 patients (78%) were helped by the procedure and the median duration of improvement was 30 days. The treatment was more successful in relieving symptoms in patients suffering from pelvic cancer and coccydynia. The best results were obtained in those patients who received numerous freeze applications or prolonged freezing. Images Figure 1.
Evans, P J; Lloyd, J W; Jack, T M
Oral bismuth for chronic intractable diarrheal conditions?
Objective Bismuth has antidiarrheal, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties. We report our single-center experience with oral colloidal bismuth subcitrate (CBS) treatment for patients with chronic intractable diarrhea. Method We interrogated our web-based Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical and Research database to ascertain clinical details on all patients in our tertiary hospital gastroenterology service treated with CBS between 2000 and 2010. Treatment responses were based on prospective scoring of daily number of liquid stools. Responses were recorded prior to commencement of CBS and at follow-up visits over 12 months. Results Thirty-one patients, mean age 47 years (range 17ľ79 years) and a mean duration of diarrhea of 22 weeks (range 6ľ104 weeks), were prescribed CBS at doses ranging from 120 mg to 480 mg/day for ?1 month. Of these, 23 patients (74%) had an initial clinical response and 12 (39%) who continued with this treatment had a sustained clinical response at 1 year. Twelve patients with pouchitis and four patients with indeterminate colitis had initial responses of 92% and 75%, respectively, and sustained responses of 50% and 75%, respectively. Ulcerative colitis patients (n = 5) responded poorly with respect to both initial and sustained responses. Three patients with microscopic colitis showed encouraging initial response of 100% but did not have any sustained benefit. Three of four patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (dIBS) had an initial response and two (50%) had good sustained responses. There were no serious adverse events. One patient stopped therapy because of nausea. Conclusion This is the largest report of oral bismuth treatment in chronic intractable diarrhea. CBS is cheap and appears to have the potential to be effective for ameliorating diarrheal symptoms in indeterminate colitis, pouchitis, and dIBS. An appropriately powered, blinded, randomized, controlled study appears warranted to establish the position of oral bismuth in routine practice.
Thazhath, Sony S; Haque, Mazhar; Florin, Timothy H
[Surgical treatment for intractable epilepsy].
Epilepsy surgery can be divided into two categories, resective and disconnective procedures. The former includes lesionectomy, corticectomy, and lobectomy. The latter comprises MST (multiple subpial transection), corpus callosotomy, and hemispherotomy. In this presentation, the preoperative diagnosis and surgical outcomes of temporal lobectomy and MST will be illustrated. Temporal lobe epilepsy is one of the most common seizures in adult intractable epilepsy. Noninvasive preoperative evaluation, including analysis of seizure semiology, repetitive scalp EEG, and MR imaging, can definitely localize the seizure focus, without depending on invasive monitoring, in 70% of the cases. Seizure outcome after temporal lobectomy is generally satisfactory, with 70% seizure-free and > 90% significantly improved. However, verbal amnesia is an unavoidable sequela when the focus is on the speech-dominant side and preoperative MRI reveals little or no hippocampal atrophy. MST is an epoch-making surgical technique by which surgical treatment of eloquent cortex has become possible. In cases with neocortical epilepsy treated by MST alone or combined with corticectomy, 80% showed significant improvement, that is compatible with reported outcomes of corticectomy. MST can be also applied to treatments of extensive epileptic foci, Rasmussen's encephalitis, or Landau-Kleffner syndrome. PMID:12235806
Shimizu, H
A Team Approach to the Management of Intractable Leg Ulcers
Objectives: The management of intractable leg ulcers requires a team approach which includes vascular surgeons and plastic surgeons. We retrospectively reviewed the results of the management of intractable leg ulcers by plastic surgeons. Patients and Methods: A total of 73 patients with intractable leg ulcers, (79 limbs) were treated at the Department of Plastic Surgery at our institution. Skin perfusion pressure (SPP) around the ulcer on the limb was measured before and after arterial reconstructive procedures. Local ulcer management involved intra-wound continuous negative pressure and irrigation therapy or negative pressure wound therapy. We examined the rates of wound healing and associated prognostic factors. Results: There were 21 limbs without ischemia (non-peripheral arterial disease [Non-PAD] group) and 58 limbs with ischemia (PAD group). The healing rates were 66% in the PAD group and 81% in the Non-PAD group, but the difference between the groups was not significant. A total of 41 limbs in the PAD group underwent revascularization, which involved bypass surgery in 18 limbs and endovascular therapy in 23 limbs. The salvage rate of the revascularized limbs was 83% at 1 year. The primary patency rates at 1 year were 87% for bypass surgery and 58% for endovascular therapy. The healing rate of the revascularized limbs was 66%, and the presence of concomitant hemodialysis, infected ulcers, and limbs without improved SPP were shown to be poor prognostic factors. Limbs treated with bypass surgery had a better healing rate than limbs treated with endovascular therapy, but the difference was not significant. Conclusion: Good ulcer-healing rates were achieved by effective revascularization and aggressive local management. These results suggest that a team approach is useful for the management of intractable leg ulcers. (English translation of Jpn J Vasc Surg 2011; 20: 913-920)
Kiyokawa, Kensuke; Akaiwa, Keiichi; Ishida, Masaru; Furuyama, Tadashi; Onohara, Toshihiro
The intractable cigarette 'filter problem'
Background When lung cancer fears emerged in the 1950s, cigarette companies initiated a shift in cigarette design from unfiltered to filtered cigarettes. Both the ineffectiveness of cigarette filters and the tobacco industry's misleading marketing of the benefits of filtered cigarettes have been well documented. However, during the 1950s and 1960s, American cigarette companies spent millions of dollars to solve what the industry identified as the Ĺfilter problemĺ. These extensive filter research and development efforts suggest a phase of genuine optimism among cigarette designers that cigarette filters could be engineered to mitigate the health hazards of smoking. Objective This paper explores the early history of cigarette filter research and development in order to elucidate why and when seemingly sincere filter engineering efforts devolved into manipulations in cigarette design to sustain cigarette marketing and mitigate consumers' concerns about the health consequences of smoking. Methods Relevant word and phrase searches were conducted in the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library online database, Google Patents, and media and medical databases including ProQuest, JSTOR, Medline and PubMed. Results 13 tobacco industry documents were identified that track prominent developments involved in what the industry referred to as the Ĺfilter problemĺ. These reveal a period of intense focus on the Ĺfilter problemĺ that persisted from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, featuring collaborations between cigarette producers and large American chemical and textile companies to develop effective filters. In addition, the documents reveal how cigarette filter researchers' growing scientific knowledge of smoke chemistry led to increasing recognition that filters were unlikely to offer significant health protection. One of the primary concerns of cigarette producers was to design cigarette filters that could be economically incorporated into the massive scale of cigarette production. The synthetic plastic cellulose acetate became the fundamental cigarette filter material. By the mid-1960s, the meaning of the phrase Ĺfilter problemĺ changed, such that the effort to develop effective filters became a campaign to market cigarette designs that would sustain the myth of cigarette filter efficacy. Conclusions This study indicates that cigarette designers at Philip Morris, British-American Tobacco, Lorillard and other companies believed for a time that they might be able to reduce some of the most dangerous substances in mainstream smoke through advanced engineering of filter tips. In their attempts to accomplish this, they developed the now ubiquitous cellulose acetate cigarette filter. By the mid-1960s cigarette designers realised that the intractability of the Ĺfilter problemĺ derived from a simple fact: that which is harmful in mainstream smoke and that which provides the smoker with Ĺsatisfactionĺ are essentially one and the same. Only in the wake of this realisation did the agenda of cigarette designers appear to transition away from mitigating the health hazards of smoking and towards the perpetuation of the notion that cigarette filters are effective in reducing these hazards. Filters became a marketing tool, designed to keep and recruit smokers as consumers of these hazardous products.
Sequencing Intractable DNA to Close Microbial Genomes
Advancement in high throughput DNA sequencing technologies has supported a rapid proliferation of microbial genome sequencing projects, providing the genetic blueprint for for in-depth studies. Oftentimes, difficult to sequence regions in microbial genomes are ruled intractable resulting in a growing number of genomes with sequence gaps deposited in databases. A procedure was developed to sequence such difficult regions in the non-contiguous finished Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ND132 genome (6 intractable gaps) and the Desulfovibrio africanus genome (1 intractable gap). The polynucleotides surrounding each gap formed GC rich secondary structures making the regions refractory to amplification and sequencing. Strand-displacing DNA polymerases used in concert with a novel ramped PCR extension cycle supported amplification and closure of all gap regions in both genomes. These developed procedures support accurate gene annotation, and provide a step-wise method that reduces the effort required for genome finishing.
Hurt, Jr., Richard Ashley [ORNL; Brown, Steven D [ORNL; Podar, Mircea [ORNL; Palumbo, Anthony Vito [ORNL; Elias, Dwayne A [ORNL
Intractable diarrhoea of infancy and latent otomastoiditis.
In 16 infants with intractable diarrhoea, latent otomastoiditis was found in 9 (3 at necropsy and 6 at myringotomy-antrotomy). In 5 of the 6 operated group, surgery was followed by a striking cessation of the diarrhoea and with weight gain. It is concluded that (1) latent otomastoiditis may be a perpetuating factor in intractable diarrhoea; (2) myringotomy-antrotomy should be considered if other forms of treatment have failed, and especially if there is leucocytosis; (3) mastoiditis with diffuse osteitis seems to be associated with a poor prognosis.
Salazar de Sousa, J; da Silva, A; da Costa Ribeiro, V
Intractable Diplopia After Strabismus Surgery in Adults
Results: Medical records of 424 adult patients under- going strabismus surgery were studied. Of these pa- tients, 143 (34%) experienced diplopia when tested pre- operatively with prisms to simulate the desired surgical outcome. Only 40 patients (9%) had temporary diplo- pia after surgery, which resolved in all cases by 6 weeks postoperatively. Three patients (0.8%) developed per- sistent intractable diplopia.
Burton J. Kushner
Surgical management of intractable interstitial cystitis
Interstitial cystitis represents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Most patients can be managed conservatively, but a small number of patients do not respond to conservative therapy and for them surgical treatment is indicated. This article reviews the historical and currently used surgical modalities. Enterocystoplasty is the surgical treatment of choice for intractable interstitial cystitis. The results of enterocystoplasty are satisfactory
G. Zhang; D. Kappor; A. Sidi
Intractable Ascites following Surgery for Gastric Carcinoma
Over the past 11 years, I have experienced a few patients with intractable ascites after extended radical surgery for gastric carcinomas, which accounted for 1.0% (4 of 394) of all gastric carcinomas resected in our institute. These 4 patients underwent total or subtotal gastrectomy with extended lymphadenectomy, including the lymph nodes of the hepatoduodenal ligament. Histopathologic examination of an intraoperative
Kazuhide Kumagai
Treatment of Intractable Hiccups With an Oral Agent Monotherapy of Baclofen -A Case Report-
Hiccups are an involuntarily powerful spasm of the diaphragm, followed by a sudden inspiration with a closure of the glottis. Hiccups that are caused by gastric distention, spicy foods and neural dysfunction can resolve themselves without any treatment. Some hiccups are associated with certain diseases or they occur postsurgically, and life-restricting intractable hiccups should be treated. The cause of hiccups should be quickly determined so as to administer the proper treatment. Hiccups often remit spontaneously within a short period of time, but they may also occur without remission for a prolonged period in some cases. We report here on a 36-year-old man who suffered with intractable hiccups for 5 years. We administered a single oral dose of baclofen, and then the hiccups disappeared. We conclude that a single dose of baclofen is a good treatment for intractable hiccups.
Lee, Ju Hwan; Kim, Tai Yo; Lee, Hyun Wook; Choi, Yu Sun; Moon, Seo Young
Sacral nerve stimulation for intractable constipation
ObjectiveTraditional surgical procedures for intractable idiopathic constipation are associated with a variable outcome and substantial morbidity. The symptomatic response, physiological effect and effect on quality of life of sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) were evaluated in patients with constipation (slow transit and normal transit with impaired evacuation).MethodsIn a prospective study at five European sites patients who failed conservative treatment underwent 21
Michael A Kamm; Thomas C Dudding; Jarno Melenhorst; Michael Jarrett; Zengri Wang; Steen Buntzen; Claes Johansson; S°ren Laurberg; Harald Rosen; Carolynne J Vaizey; Klaus Matzel; Cor Baeten
Corpus callosotomy with gamma knife radiosurgery for a case of intractable generalised epilepsy.
Gamma knife radiosurgery is a minimally invasive procedure which can be used for patients with intractable epilepsies as an alternative for surgical corpus callosotomy. We report a 13-year-old boy with intractable epilepsy who underwent radiosurgical callosotomy. The patient demonstrated significant clinical improvement after gamma knife radiosurgery and was free of seizures 10 months after the procedure. However, He developed four short focal seizures with clonic movements during the 20 months post radiosurgery. Corpus callosotomy decreased epileptiform discharges in both hemispheres, indicating a role for the callosal neurons to facilitate an asymmetric epileptogenic susceptible state within the two hemispheres such that bisynchronous and bisymmetrical epileptiform discharges develop. Our result demonstrates that this novel therapeutic approach is a safe and effective option for the treatment of intractable generalised epilepsies. PMID:21628134
Bodaghabadi, Mohammad; Bitaraf, Mohammad Ali; Aran, Shima; Alikhani, Mazdak; Ashrafian, Hossein; Zahiri, Alireza; Alahverdi, Mahmud
Long-term follow-up of bilateral hypothalamic stimulation for intractable cluster headache
Summary We provide a detailed case history of the first patient to receive bilateral hypothalamic stimulation to control severe bilateral chronic intractable cluster headaches initially occurring mostly on the left. These attacks were accompanied by life-threatening hypertensive crises and a grave deterioration in the patient's psychological state. Destructive surgery to the left trigeminal was absolutely contraindicated. Electrode implantation and continuous
M. Leone; A. Franzini; G. Broggi; A. May; G. Bussone
Penn State: Plant Disease Fact Sheets
NSDL National Science Digital Library
This selection of online fact sheets concerned with plant diseases was compiled by Professor Gary W. Moorman, a Professor of Plant Pathology at Penn State. The concise fact sheets address "common diseases of plants frequently grown in greenhouses, interiorscapes, and in outdoor landscapes and nurseries in the northeastern U.S." The sheets are organized under categories for Woody Ornamental, and Floral and Foliage Plants, as well as a General Information category. Factsheets address such diseases as Bacterial Leaf Scorch, Pythium Root Rot, Botrytis Blight, Rhizoctonia, and more. There are sheets for a wide variety of plants and trees including Iris, Tulip, Maple, and Oak, to name a few.
What Predicts Enduring Intractability in Children Who Appear Medically Intractable In The First Two Years After Diagnosis?
SUMMARY Purpose In a population-based retrospective cohort of children with newly-diagnosed epilepsy, to determine (1) what proportion meet criteria for early medical intractability, and (2) predictors of enduring intractability. Methods Children with newly-diagnosed epilepsy between 1980ľ2009 while resident in Olmsted County, MN, and followed >36 months were stratified into groups, based on both early medical intractability (ôapparentö medical intractability in the first 2 years) and enduring intractability (persisting intractability at final follow-up or having undergone surgery for intractable epilepsy), and variables predicting these outcomes were evaluated. Key Findings Three hundred and eighty one children were included, representing 81% of our cohort with newly diagnosed epilepsy. Seventy five (19.7%) had early medical intractability, and predictors of this outcome on multivariable analysis were neuroimaging abnormality (p=0.0004), abnormal neurological examination at diagnosis (p=0.015) and mode of onset [association was significant for focal vs generalized onset (p<0.0001) but not unknown vs generalized onset (p=0.065)]. After a median follow-up of 11.7 years, 49% remained intractable, 8% had rare seizures (?q6 months), and the remainder were seizure-free. The only factor predicting for enduring intractability on multivariable analysis was neuroimaging abnormality (p=0.0006). Significance While a significant minority of children with early medical intractability ultimately achieved seizure control without surgery, those with an abnormal imaging study did poorly. For this subgroup, early surgical intervention is strongly advised to limit co-morbidities of ongoing, intractable seizures. Conversely, a cautious approach is suggested for those with normal imaging, as most will remit with time.
Wirrell, Elaine C.; Wong-Kisiel, Lily C.-L.; Mandrekar, Jay; Nickels, Katherine C.
Insulinoma Presenting as Medically Intractable Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
We describe a female insulinoma patient who presented with recurrent attacks of abnormal behavior, confusion, and seizure. Her interictal EEG showed epileptiform discharges on the left temporal area, therefore she was initially misdiagnosed as temporal lobe epilepsy. In the video-EEG monitoring, hypoglycemic state was detected during the seizure attack, so the right diagnosis was made after the endocrinologic investigations. After surgical removal of the tumor, the patient became seizure-free, and no abnormality was found in the follow-up EEG after six months. Since insulinoma shares some common clinical and EEG features with complex partial seizure of temporal lobe origin, insulioma should be included in the differential diagnosis for medically intractable temporal lobe epilepsy.
Park, So-Hee; Kim, Dong Wook
Rethinking Intractable Conflict: The Perspective of Dynamical Systems
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Intractable conflicts are demoralizing. Beyond destabilizing the families, communities, or international regions in which they occur, they tend to perpetuate the very conditions of misery and hate that contributed to them in the first place. Although the common factors and processes associated with intractable conflicts have been identifiedů
Vallacher, Robin R.; Coleman, Peter T.; Nowak, Andrzej; Bui-Wrzosinska, Lan
Oral Azithromycin for Treatment of Intractable Rosacea
Rosacea is a common chronic cutaneous disorder that primarily occurs on the convex surfaces of the central face and is often characterized by exacerbations and remissions. A case of a 52-yr-old woman visited our clinic in February 2008 complaining typical features of rosacea including multiple pinhead to rice-sized erythematous papules. We applied various conventional treatments including topical benzoyl peroxide and metronidazole as well as oral metronidazole, isotretinoin, and doxycycline. The lesions were not controlled but were rather aggravated by complications from these treatments. Therefore, we prescribed oral azithromycin, which has anti-inflammatory effects and reduces reactive oxygen species. Ten weeks after the administration of oral azithromycin, 500 mg per day for 2 weeks, the lesions had mostly disappeared and no specific side effects related to the azithromycin were noted. Oral azithromycin dosing 500 mg/day for 2 weeks is effective for treatment of intractable rosacea.
Kim, Jae-Hong; Oh, Yoon Seok
Microcatheter Embolization of Intractable Idiopathic Epistaxis
Purpose: To assess the efficacy and safety of microcatheter embolization in the treatment of intractable idiopathic epistaxis. Methods: Thirty-seven patients underwent microcatheter embolization in 1991-1998. We evaluated retrospectively the technical and clinical outcome, the number of complications, the duration of embolization in each case, and the number of blood transfusions needed. All embolizations were done with biplane digital subtraction angiography (DSA) equipment. The procedure was carried out under local anesthesia using transfemoral catheterization, except in one case where the translumbar route was used. Tracker 18 or 10 microcatheters were advanced as far as possible to the distal branches of the sphenopalatine artery. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles were used for embolization in most cases, while platinum coils or a combination of these two materials were occasionally used. The primary outcome was always assessed immediately by angiography. Follow-up data were obtained from patient records, by interviewing patients on the telephone or by postal questionnaires when necessary. The mean follow-up time was 21 months. Results: The embolization was technically successful in all 37 cases. A curative outcome was achieved in 33 cases (89%). The mean duration of the procedure was 110 min. Four patients (8%) had mild transient complications, but no severe or persistent complications were encountered. Twenty-three patients needed a blood transfusion. Slight rebleeding occurred in three patients during the follow-up; all responded to conservative treatment. One patient suffered two episodes of rebleeding within 2 months after primary embolization. Re-embolizations successfully stopped the bleeding. Conclusion: Embolization is the primary invasive modality for treating intractable idiopathic epistaxis. It proved both safe and effective over a relatively long follow-up.
Leppaenen, Martti; Seppaenen, Seppo [Department of Radiology, Tampere University Hospital, P.O. Box 2000, FIN-33521 Tampere (Finland); Laranne, Jussi [Department of Otolaryngology, Tampere University Hospital, P.O. Box 2000, FIN-33521 Tampere (Finland); Kuoppala, Katriina [Department of Neurology, Seinaejoki Central Hospital, Hanneksenrinne 7, FIN-60220 Seinaejoki (Finland)
Cell mechanics and human disease states
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
This presentation will provide summary of our very recent studies exploring the effects of biochemical factors, influenced by foreign organisms or in vivo processes, on intracellular structural reorganization, single-cell mechanical response and motility of a population of cells in the context of two human diseases: malaria induced by Plasmodium falciparum merozoites that invade red blood cells, and gastrointestinal cancer metastasis involving epithelial cells. In both cases, particular attention will be devoted to systematic changes induced in specific molecular species in response to controlled alterations in disease state. The role of critical proteins in influencing the mechanical response of human red bloods during the intra-erythrocytic development of P. falciparum merozoites has also been assessed quantitatively using specific protein knock-out experiments by recourse to gene inactivation methods. Single-cell mechanical response characterization entails such tools as optical tweezers and mechanical plate stretchers whereas cell motility assays and cell-population biorheology characterization involves microfluidic channels. The experimental studies are accompanied by three-dimensional computational simulations at the continuum and mesoscopic scales of cell deformation. An outcome of such combined experimental and computational biophysical studies is the realization of how chemical factors influence single-cell mechanical response, cytoadherence, the biorheology of a large population of cells through microchannels representative of in vivo conditions, and the onset and progression of disease states.
Suresh, Subra
Intractable pain--the present position.
The broad changes that have occurred in the treatment of intractable pain are considered. There is a new understanding of the anatomy and physiology of pain pathways and pain appreciation. Thus gate control theory, the spinal laminae, and the descending inhibitory pain pathway through the raphe nuclei are discussed in relation to the recent discovery of the opioid (enkephalin) systems. Out of this arises the stimulation methods of pain relief--transcutaneous neural stimulation, periaqueductal stimulation, and acupuncture. These are valuable in patients with a normal expectation of life. For patients with a shortened expectation of life other methods, especially destructive ones, are valuable (though in all types of chronic pain drug therapy is still the most used method). Basic changes in techniques and the equipment used to bring this about are detailed broadly. In particular, the use of the image intensifier X-ray machine and the stimulation and destruction available from the modern lesion generator when used in combination provide accuracy and safety. Techniques and methods are constantly altering and examples of this are given. All this costs money in time, personnel, and equipment; the costings of the Liverpool Centre for Pain Relief are given. Finally, the Pain Relief Foundation is in being in Liverpool in the grounds of Walton Hospital. This has been made possible by a large 'seed' donation by the Wolfson Foundation. Images Fig. 1 Fig. 2
Lipton, S.
Vagus nerve stimulation for intractable epilepsy in tuberous sclerosis complex
ObjectivesThe aim of the study described here was to characterize the efficacy and safety of vagus nerve stimulation in a population of patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) and intractable epilepsy.
Philippe Major; Elizabeth A. Thiele
Epigenome Mapping in Normal and Disease States
Epigenomes are comprised, in part, of all genome-wide chromatin modifications including DNA methylation and histone modifications. Unlike the genome, epigenomes are dynamic during development and differentiation in order to establish and maintain cell type-specific gene expression states that underlie cellular identity and function. Chromatin modifications are particularly labile, providing a mechanism for organisms to respond and adapt to environmental cues. Results from studies in animal models clearly demonstrate that epigenomic variability leads to phenotypic variability including susceptibility to disease that is not recognized at the DNA sequence level. Thus, capturing epigenomic information is invaluable for comprehensively understanding development, differentiation, and disease. Herein, we provide a brief overview of epigenetic processes, how they are relevant to human health, and review studies utilizing technologies that enable epigenome mapping. We conclude by describing feasible applications of epigenome mapping, focusing on epigenome-wide association studies (eGWAS), which have the potential to revolutionize current studies of human diseases and will likely promote the discovery of novel diagnostic, preventative, and treatment strategies.
Maunakea, Alika K.; Chepelev, Iouri; Zhao, Keji
Intractable itch relieved by 4-phenylbutyrate therapy in patients with progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 1
Background Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 1 (PFIC1), an inherited liver disease caused by mutations in ATP8B1, progresses to severe cholestasis with a sustained intractable itch. Currently, no effective therapy has been established for PFIC1. Decreased function of the bile salt export pump (BSEP) in hepatocytes is suggested to be responsible for the severe cholestasis observed in PFIC1. We found a previously unidentified pharmacological effect of 4-phenylbutyrate (4PB) that increases the expression and function of BSEP. Here, we tested 4PB therapy in three patients with PFIC1. Methods The therapeutic potency of 4PB in these patients was tested by oral administration of this drug with gradually increasing dosage (200, 350, and 500ámg/kg/day) for 6ámonths. Biochemical, histological, and clinical data were collected. Results 4PB therapy had no beneficial effect on the patientsĺ liver functions, as assessed by biochemical and histological analyses, despite an increase in hepatic BSEP expression. However, therapy with 4PB at a dosage of 350 or 500ámg/kg/day significantly relieved the intractable itch. Serum levels of potential pruritogens in cholestasis were much higher than the reference ranges during the 4PB therapy. Conclusions 4PB therapy may be a new medication for patients with intractable cholestatic pruritus and may improve quality of life for patients and their families.
Intractable epilepsy secondary to cyclosporine toxicity in children undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic bone marrow transplantation.
The long-term evolution to intractable epilepsy in children treated with cyclosporine administered for graft-versus-host-disease after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was evaluated. In a group of 185 children treated with cyclosporine after bone marrow transplantation, 15 (8%) presented with acute seizures that were generalized in 7 and focal in 7 and had absence status in 1. Electroencephalography (EEG) and neuroimaging showed predominant abnormalities in the occipital regions. One patient died shortly after the seizure; in seven cases, seizures remitted, whereas relapses were observed in seven others. After the first year, seizures persisted chronically in four cases and evolved to intractable epilepsy. Focal temporal epilepsy was diagnosed in three cases, whereas in the fourth case, a multifocal epilepsy was observed. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detected mesial temporal sclerosis in all of these cases. The risk factors associated with evolution to epilepsy included lower age at transplantation (3-5 years), more than one relapsing seizure in the first year after transplantation, and longer treatment with cyclosporine. Not only can cyclosporine cause acute central nervous system toxicity, it can also determine intractable epilepsy associated with mesial temporal sclerosis. PMID:17005102
Gaggero, Roberto; Haupt, Riccardo; Paola Fondelli, Maria; De Vescovi, Raffaella; Marino, Alessia; Lanino, Edoardo; Dallorso, Sandro; Faraci, Maura
Mapping of cognitive functions in chronic intractable epilepsy: Role of fMRI
Background: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a non-invasive technique with high spatial resolution and blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) contrast, has been applied to localize and map cognitive functions in the clinical condition of chronic intractable epilepsy. Purpose: fMRI was used to map the language and memory network in patients of chronic intractable epilepsy pre- and post-surgery. Materials and Methods: After obtaining approval from the institutional ethics committee, six patients with intractable epilepsy with an equal number of age-matched controls were recruited in the study. A 1.5 T MR scanner with 12-channel head coil, integrated with audio-visual fMRI accessories was used. Echo planar imaging sequence was used for BOLD studies. There were two sessions in TLE (pre- and post-surgery). Results: In TLE patients, BOLD activation increased post-surgery in comparison of pre-surgery in inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), middle frontal gyrus (MFG), and superior temporal gyrus (STG), during semantic lexical, judgment, comprehension, and semantic memory tasks. Conclusion: Functional MRI is useful to study the basic concepts related to language and memory lateralization in TLE and guide surgeons for preservation of important brain areas during ATLR. This will help in understanding future directions for the diagnosis and treatment of such disease.
Chaudhary, Kapil; Kumaran, S Senthil; Chandra, Sarat P; Wadhawan, Ashima Nehra; Tripathi, Manjari
Guideline update for the performance of fusion procedures for degenerative disease of the lumbar spine. Part 7: Lumbar fusion for intractable low-back pain without stenosis or spondylolisthesis.
Establishing an appropriate treatment strategy for patients presenting with low-back pain, in the absence of stenosis or spondylolisthesis, remains a controversial subject. Inherent to this situation is often an inability to adequately identify the source of low-back pain to justify various treatment recommendations, such as lumbar fusion. The current evidence does not identify a single best treatment alternative for these patients. Based on a number of prospective, randomized trials, comparable outcomes, for patients presenting with 1- or 2-level degenerative disc disease, have been demonstrated following either lumbar fusion or a comprehensive rehabilitation program with a cognitive element. Limited access to such comprehensive rehabilitative programs may prove problematic when pursuing this alternative. For patients whose pain is refractory to conservative care, lumbar fusion is recommended. Limitations of these studies preclude the ability to present the most robust recommendation in support of lumbar fusion. A number of lesser-quality studies, primarily case series, also support the use of lumbar fusion in this patient population. PMID:24980584
Eck, Jason C; Sharan, Alok; Ghogawala, Zoher; Resnick, Daniel K; Watters, William C; Mummaneni, Praveen V; Dailey, Andrew T; Choudhri, Tanvir F; Groff, Michael W; Wang, Jeffrey C; Dhall, Sanjay S; Kaiser, Michael G
Patients with Fabry disease on dialysis in the United States
Patients with Fabry disease on dialysis in the United States.BackgroundFabry disease results from an X-linked deficiency of lysosomal alpha-galactosidase A and is a rare cause of end-stage renal disease. Little is known about the characteristics of patients with Fabry disease that initiate dialysis in the United States, although data from Europe suggests these individuals have a poor survival.MethodsUsing the United
Ravi Thadhani; Myles Wolf; Michael L. West; Marcello Tonelli; Robin Ruthazer; Gregory M. Pastores; Gregorio T. Obrador
Corpus callosotomy in the treatment of secondary generalizing intractable epilepsy
Summary Over the past 5 years 9 patients underwent partial or complete corpus callosotomy for treatment of medically intractable epileptic seizures. A beneficial effect of the procedure was observed in 8 patients. Criteria for performance of the procedure included CT evidence of unilateral cerebral damage and non-localized epileptic foci in that hemisphere with secondary spread to the uninvolved side. The
Z. H. Rappaport; P. Lerman
Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Control of Intractable Seizures in Childhood
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is gaining increasing popularity and credibility as a treatment option for children with intractable epilepsy. VNS offers several advantages over extant treatments. Its efficacy is maintained during prolonged stimulation, and seizure control actually improves with time. There is no associated cognitive impairment and no adverse drug interactions. Unlike cerebral surgery, VNS is a potentially reversible form
Arun Paul Amar; Michael L. Levy; J. Gordon McComb; Michael L. J. Apuzzo
Intractable hiccup and nausea with periaqueductal lesions in neuromyelitis optica
Intractable hiccup and nausea (IHN) was found in eight of 47 cases of relapsing neuromyelitis optica (NMO) (17%) but in none of 130 cases of multiple sclerosis (MS). IHN resolved with methylprednisolone. In six cases, MRI detected linear medullary lesions involving the pericanal region, the area postrema, and the nucleus tractus solitarius. Like long and centrally located myelitis, a linear
T. Misu; K. Fujihara; I. Nakashima; S. Sato; Y. Itoyama
Hydrophilic treatment of porous PTFE for intractable glaucoma implant devices
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Intractable glaucoma results from hindrances in the eyeball aqueous humor pathways that increase the intraocular pressure above normal physiological levels (over 20 mmHg). In this study porous PTFE membranes were made hydrophilic with a photochemical method that use ethyl alcohol and water for the chemical solution.
Murahara, Masataka M.; Sato, Yuji; Fernandez, Viviana; Fantes, Francisco; Nose, Izuru; Lee, William E.; Milne, Peter J.; Parel, Jean-Marie A.
Response of Intractable Post Herpetic Neuralgia to Intrathecal Baclofen
An intractable case of Post-herpetic Neuralgia (PHN) in which all other treat- ment options were exhausted was suc- cessfully treated with intrathecal baclofen infusion with a complex continuous deliv- ery mode. A 72-year old man presented to the pain clinic with a 4-year history of left lower extremity PHN. He had seen multiple experts in the field, failed numerous pharmacological
Amr Hosny; Thomas Simopoulos; Beth Collins
A Case of Intractable Psychogenic Essential Palatal Tremor
Essential palatal tremor (EPT) is a rare disorder which shows rhythmic involuntary movement of the muscles of soft palate, especially tensor veli palatini muscle. EPT is classified by two subtypes, which is primary and secondary EPT. Secondary EPT includes psychogenic type. We describe a case of intractable psychogenic EPT.
Chung, Eun Joo; Jung, Hyun; Kim, Sang Jin
[Management of intractable cancer pain: from intrathecal morphine to cell allograft].
The durable effectiveness of intrathecal morphine administration is well established for the management of intractable cancer pain, after failure of systemic opioids, secondary to the persistence of non-reversible undesirable side effects. Many patients are referred to late in the disease course. This conservative method to control pain of malignant origin must not be reserved for last resort treatment for terminal patients. Intra-cerebro-ventricular morphine administration is a very effective and generally safe method for controlling intractable cancer pain. Because of the chronic implantation of an intra-ventricular catheter this method is somewhat invasive. Its indications remain a simple and effective alternative when the topography of nociceptive pain is diffuse or cephalic. In clinical practice, intrathecal and/or intra-cerebro-ventricular administration of opioids is limited by cost, the need for specialized maintenance and mechanical malfunctions if implantable drug delivery systems, or by the risk of bacterial contamination and ambulatory constraints when repeated daily injections via an intrathecal access port are used. To answer these limitations, cell therapy using intrathecal chromaffin cell allograft is a promising approach for the management of cancer pain refractory to traditional drug therapy and pain lesion surgery. The basic rationale and preclinical studies on experimental pain models have enabled starting prospective clinical trials. Prior to transplantation, handling and preparation of the chromaffin tissue is critical for allograft viability. The initial results of clinical trials with human chromaffin cell grafts from intractable cancer pain have reported long-lasting pain relief, in correlation with met-enkephalin release into the CSF. Convincing evidence will require controlled studies. The limitations of this innovative cell therapy and especially the lack of human adrenal gland availability point to the need for new sources of cells. Perspectives include xenogenic or engineered cell lines. PMID:11084478
Lazorthes, Y; Sallerin, B; Verdie, J C; Sol, J C; Duplan, H; Tkaczuk, J; Tafani, M; Bastide, R; Bes, J C
Theory of diseases of steady-state proportional control systems.
In many diseases of a semi-stationary nature (chronical diseases) the level of the regulated variable of the diseased system either is too high (a hyper-state disease) or too low (a hypo-state disease). In this paper the steady-state behavior of proportional control systems is, hence, analysed with regard to a longterm pathological change of each single variable or parameter. Each pathological change has its own pattern of changes of the system variables, which also depends upon the system class (left- or right-regulating). Both the block diagram and the regulation characteristic, when used together, allow one to easily derive the pathological behaviour of the system in the steady-state. PMID:6871282
Verveen, A A
Moyamoya disease in the United States
The epidemiology and radiological features of Moyamoya disease (MMD) in the US were investigated. This study encompassed 98 cases; 26 were newly collected from eight US institutions and 72 were previously reported in the US literature. The patients ranged in age from 6 months to 67 years with age peaks in the first, third and fourth decades. MMD was seen
Yuji Numaguchi; Carlos F Gonzalez; Patricia C Davis; Ahmad Monajati; Ehsan Afshani; Jack Chang; Curtis L Sutton; Roland R Lee; Dean K Shibata
[Effect of topiramate for patients with intractable epilepsy].
The effects of topiramate (TPM) were evaluated in 51 patients with intractable epilepsy. Callosotomy and hemispherotomy were performed in 16 patients and one patient before the administration of TPM, respectively. The 50% responder rate (50%RR) was recorded in 39% of the total patient population and in 58% of patients with symptomatic location-related epilepsy (SLE). TPM was most effective for frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE), and the 50%RR was recorded in 88% of those patients. TPM (50%RR) was more effective in secondary generalized seizures (in 75%) and complex partial seizures (in 67%) in comparison to that of tonic-clonic seizures (in 44%) and drop attacks (in 29%). Seventy-one percent of the patients with atypical absence seizures increased seizure frequency. The 50%RR was recorded in 22% of the patients who underwent epilepsy surgery, and 29% of those patients also showed seizure aggravation due to TPM. These results suggest the efficacy of TPM for intractable epilepsy. PMID:22844761
Matsuo, Mitsuhiro; Matsuzaka, Tetsuo
Video--EEG monitoring in intractable attacks of uncertain etiology.
Video-EEG monitoring was done in 26 patients with paroxysmal intractable attacks of uncertain etiology to determine the nature and cause. Two broad categories were identified: Those with prominent motor activity and those with attacks of collapse/limpness. Events were recorded in 16 patients of which 11 showed no abnormality on the simultaneously recorded EEG, thus helping to confirm their diagnosis of pseudoseizures. PMID:9282559
Bhatia, M; Jain, S; Maheshwari, M C
Transcatheter embolization of pelvic vessels for control of intractable hemorrhage
Transcatheter embolization for intractable hemorrhage from pelvic organs was performed in 46 patients. Advantages are discussed regarding different embolic materials, particle size, and embolization directed at branch vessels versus divisional arteries. An optimal approach for managing hemorrhage of different etiologies is developed, taking advantage of (a) selective embolization techniques, (b) pharmacologic manipulation of blood flow, and (c) the ability of embolic material to allow restitution of flow and/or continued collateral perfusion via the precapillary plexus.
Lang, E.K.
Clinical experiences with topiramate in children with intractable epilepsy
At a tertial referral epilepsy centre 39 children were consecutively enrolled in an open add-on study with topiramate (TPM). All children had intractable epilepsy; the mean seizure frequency was 36 per month, and 31 children were treated with polypharmacy. All but five children were mentally retarded. The initial dose of TPM was 1ľ5 mg\\/kg daily, slowly titrated with 1ľ3 mg\\/kg
Peter Uldall; Jette M Ruchholt
Nuclear magnetic resonance of iron and copper disease states
The tissue levels of paramagnetic ions are an important factor in the determination of TÔü values as observed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging. The increased levels of iron present in human disease states such as hemochromatosis lead to decreased TÔü values. The mean liver TÔü of three patients with iron storage disease was determined to be 130 msec, significantly
V. M. Runge; J. A. Clanton; F. W. Smith; J. Hutchison; J. Mallard; C. L. Partain; A. E. Jr. James
Probiotics and Prebiotics: Role in Clinical Disease States
Parents of pediatric patients are seeking alternatives to conventional therapy in the prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal disease states because of therapeutic failures caused by the increased incidence of antibiotic resistance. One such alternative is the use of probiotics and prebiotics to stimulate health-promoting indigenous flora to affect pathogen colonization and expression of disease. Probiotics are live flora given in
Chien-Chang Chen; W. Allan Walker
Surveillance of outbreaks of waterborne disease is jointly conducted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Atlanta, Ga., and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Cincinnati, Ohio. Waterborne outbreaks are reported to the CDC and EPA by state and local health departments ...
State-space size considerations for disease-progression models.
Markov models of disease progression are widely used to model transitions in patients' health state over time. Usually, patients' health status may be classified according to a set of ordered health states. Modelers lump together similar health states into a finite and usually small, number of health states that form the basis of a Markov chain disease-progression model. This increases the number of observations used to estimate each parameter in the transition probability matrix. However, lumping together observably distinct health states also obscures distinctions among them and may reduce the predictive power of the model. Moreover, as we demonstrate, precision in estimating the model parameters does not necessarily improve as the number of states in the model declines. This paper explores the tradeoff between lumping error introduced by grouping distinct health states and sampling error that arises when there are insufficient patient data to precisely estimate the transition probability matrix. PMID:23609629
Regnier, Eva D; Shechter, Steven M
Presidential stroke: United States presidents and cerebrovascular disease.
In the United States, more individuals suffer disability from stroke than from any other disease, and as many as 11 of the 43 presidents have been affected. In this article, the authors review the cases of the United States presidents who have had strokes, some of which have occurred while the president was in office, having a direct effect on the country. PMID:16946692
Jones, Jeffrey M; Jones, Joni L
Neglected parasitic infections in the United States: Chagas disease.
Chagas disease, which is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, can lead to severe cardiac and gastrointestinal disease. Most persons acquire this infection through contact with vector bugs carrying T. cruzi in endemic areas of Latin America. Infection can also be acquired by congenital, transfusion, transplantation, and foodborne transmission. Although an estimated 300,000 persons with Chagas disease live in the United States, little is known about the burden of chagasic heart disease. It is not known how often congenital or vector-borne transmission of T. cruzi occurs in the United States, although it is known that infected mothers and infected vector bugs are found in this country. Better diagnostic tests and treatment drugs are needed to improve patient care, and research is needed to define transmission risks and develop strategies to prevent new infections and reduce the burden of disease. PMID:24808250
Montgomery, Susan P; Starr, Michelle C; Cantey, Paul T; Edwards, Morven S; Meymandi, Sheba K
Neglected Parasitic Infections in the United States: Chagas Disease
Chagas disease, which is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, can lead to severe cardiac and gastrointestinal disease. Most persons acquire this infection through contact with vector bugs carrying T. cruzi in endemic areas of Latin America. Infection can also be acquired by congenital, transfusion, transplantation, and foodborne transmission. Although an estimated 300,000 persons with Chagas disease live in the United States, little is known about the burden of chagasic heart disease. It is not known how often congenital or vector-borne transmission of T. cruzi occurs in the United States, although it is known that infected mothers and infected vector bugs are found in this country. Better diagnostic tests and treatment drugs are needed to improve patient care, and research is needed to define transmission risks and develop strategies to prevent new infections and reduce the burden of disease.
Montgomery, Susan P.; Starr, Michelle C.; Cantey, Paul T.; Edwards, Morven S.; Meymandi, Sheba K.
Trypanosoma cruzi and Chagas' Disease in the United States
Summary: Chagas' disease is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and causes potentially life-threatening disease of the heart and gastrointestinal tract. The southern half of the United States contains enzootic cycles of T. cruzi, involving 11 recognized triatomine vector species. The greatest vector diversity and density occur in the western United States, where woodrats are the most common reservoir; other rodents, raccoons, skunks, and coyotes are also infected with T. cruzi. In the eastern United States, the prevalence of T. cruzi is highest in raccoons, opossums, armadillos, and skunks. A total of 7 autochthonous vector-borne human infections have been reported in Texas, California, Tennessee, and Louisiana; many others are thought to go unrecognized. Nevertheless, most T. cruzi-infected individuals in the United States are immigrants from areas of endemicity in Latin America. Seven transfusion-associated and 6 organ donor-derived T. cruzi infections have been documented in the United States and Canada. As improved control of vector- and blood-borne T. cruzi transmission decreases the burden in countries where the disease is historically endemic and imported Chagas' disease is increasingly recognized outside Latin America, the United States can play an important role in addressing the altered epidemiology of Chagas' disease in the 21st century.
Bern, Caryn; Kjos, Sonia; Yabsley, Michael J.; Montgomery, Susan P.
[Insular psammomatous meningioma presenting intractable complex partial seizures].
We describe a 30-year-old female with intractable symptomatic epilepsy caused by an insular calcified mass, which was histologically proved as psammomatous meningioma. Seizures were described as consciousness impairment, motionless stare and automatism. After total removal of the tumor with a neuronavigation system and motor evoked potential (MEP) monitoring, seizures completely disappeared without neurological deficit. We emphasize that insular meningioma presents complex partial seizures which mimic medial temporal lobe epilepsy and seizures are controlled by total resection of the tumor. PMID:22915702
Imoto, Hirochika; Fujii, Masami; Maruta, Yuichi; Sadahiro, Hirokazu; Ideguchi, Makoto; Ishihara, Hideyuki; Nomura, Sadahiro; Suzuki, Michiyasu
Nuclear magnetic resonance of iron and copper disease states
The tissue levels of paramagnetic ions are an important factor in the determination of T/sub 1/ values as observed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging. The increased levels of iron present in human disease states such as hemochromatosis lead to decreased T/sub 1/ values. The mean liver T/sub 1/ of three patients with iron storage disease was determined to be 130 msec, significantly different from the value of 154 msec, the mean for 14 normal controls. Whether NMR will be able to detect the increased copper levels in liver and brain in Wilson disease remains for further clinical trials to evaluate. NMR imaging, however, does serve as a noninvasive method for the diagnosis of states of iron overload and as a technique to follow progression of disease or response to medical therapy.
Runge, V.M. (Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN); Clanton, J.A.; Smith, F.W.; Hutchison, J.; Mallard, J.; Partain, C.L.; James, A.E. Jr.
A rare case intractable diarrhea secondary to Clostridium difficile and cytomegalovirus coinfection
Patient: Male, 63 Final Diagnosis: Cytomegalo virus (CMV) infection Symptoms: Diarrhea Medication:Ś Clinical Procedure:Ś Specialty: Infectious Diseases Objective: Unusual clinical course Background: Coinfection with cytomegalovirus in a patient with Clostridium difficile persistent diarrhea and colitis can lead to a delay in diagnosis and treatment. Case Report: A 63-year-old man with squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip, status post surgical resection and currently on chemoradiation presented with intractable diarrhea and abdominal pain. Initial workup showed Clostridium difficile diarrhea with pancolitis. Diarrhea persisted despite being on antibiotics and bacteriological cure for C. difficile. Further noninvasive work up revealed associated cytomegalovirus infection, and patient had a dramatic response to ganciclovir without any relapse. Conclusions: Physicians should be cognizant about other causes of diarrhea and colitis in immunocompromised patient when treatment for primary diagnosis fails to resolve their symptoms.
John, Santhosh Gheevarghese; Dominguez, Cristian; Chandiramani, Vijay; Vemulappalli, Tejo
Cortical dysplasia with prominent Rosenthal fiber formation in a case of intractable pediatric epilepsy.
We report a case of a 5-year-old boy with intractable epilepsy who underwent therapeutic corticectomy. Histopathologic findings within the resection specimen included severe cortical dysplasia associated with abundant subpial and intraparenchymal Rosenthal fibers in a large right frontal lesion that merged into the basal ganglia. Rosenthal fiber proliferation may represent a reactive process, are frequent in pilocytic astrocytomas, and are a defining feature of Alexander disease. There was no evidence of neoplasm or leukodystrophy in this case. Genetic analysis of the specimen showed a few previously reported polymorphisms but no mutation in the GFAP gene. This case is unique among several hundred cortical resection specimens that we have studied, including numerous cases of severe cortical dysplasia. PMID:19427021
Khanlou, NÚgar; Mathern, Gary W; Mitchell, Wendy G; Salamon, Noriko; Pope, Whitney B; Yong, William H; Vinters, Harry V
Intractable chronic constipation in children: Outcome after anorectal myectomy.
Background: Many children with constipation fail to respond with conventional medical therapy. Surgery can produce a good result in dysfunction of the colon secondary to aganglionosis. However, its role in treating idiopathic constipation is more controversial. Patients and Methods: A consecutive series of 44 patients with chronic idiopathic intractable constipation were included in this study. All children were investigated by barium enema and anorectal manometry. Due to inadequate response to medical therapy, all of these patients were selected for internal sphincter myomectomy. Patients were followed-up from 3 to 12 months. Results: Short-term (3 months) and long-term (6 months) follow-up was available for all patients. The histology examinations showed normal ganglion cells in 32, hypoganglionosis in eight and aganglionosis in four patients. In short-term, regular bowel habits, without the need for laxatives or low dose drugs were recorded in 35 patients (79.5%). Overall there was an improvement in 68.2% of the children after 6 months follow-up. There was not any correlation between histopathological findings, duration of symptoms, age and sex of operation and response to myectomy. Conclusion: anorectal myectomy is an effective procedure in patients with intractable idiopathic constipation. It relieves symptoms in 68.2% of patients with chronic refractory constipation. PMID:24841016
Mousavi, Seyed Abdollah; Karami, Hasan; Rajabpoor, Ahmad Ali
[Repeated syncope episodes caused by intractable hiccups; a case report].
A 66-year-old man visited our hospital with a chief complaint of a sore throat. On examination, the pharyngeal and laryngeal mucosa was reddish and localized mucosal erosion was present on the left side. Based on an initial diagnosis of acute pharyngitis caused by bacteriological infection or mycotic infection, treatment with antibacterial and antimycotic agents was initiated. However, the patient's sore throat gradually worsened and he developed intractable hiccups. Intravenous steroids were given for the treatment of the severe sore throat, and this symptom was gradually alleviated. However, the intractable hiccups persisted. In addition, the patient began to have convulsive syncope episodes and was subsequently admitted to our hospital. Further examination revealed that the syncope episodes were linked to the hiccups. To treat the hiccups, baclofen and Chinese medicine were prescribed, and the convulsive syncope episodes disappeared immediately. The patient's hiccups also improved and disappeared six days thereafter. Based on this clinical evidence, we concluded that the hiccups were caused by pharyngitis, resulting in the stimulation of the glossopharyngeal nerve, while the convulsive syncope episodes were a type of situational syncope related to hiccups. PMID:24313063
Sueyoshi, Shintaro; Shin, Buichiro; Nakashima, Tadashi
Increased population of oligodendroglia-like cells in pediatric intractable epilepsy.
Pediatric focal epilepsies often involve more extratemporal regions than adult epilepsies. This study aims to investigate the population of oligodendroglia-like cells (OLCs) in the pediatric focal epilepsy patients requiring surgery. We hypothesize that OLCs are one of the factors that extend the pediatric epileptic network in intractable epilepsy. Thirty (18 female) patients (1.8-16.9 years old with a mean of 9.7 years), who underwent resective surgery for the intractable epilepsy from 2010 to 2012 were retrospectively studied. Seizure types consisted of epileptic spasms in nine patients, partial seizures in 17 patients and partial seizure with secondary generalization in four patients. Eight autopsy cases without neurological disease served as controls. The neuropathology examination utilized the H&E/LFB stain and immunohistochemical staining for NeuN, GFAP and Olig2 as a marker of OLCs. OLCs were counted in three sites: (a) gray matter, (b) junction of gray/white matter, and (c) white matter. We also examined the correlation between the density of OLC among the three sites and the clinical features. Fifteen (50%) patients underwent multiple lobe resections, consisting of both temporal and extratemporal lobe resections in 12 patients and extratemporal lobe resections in 3 patients. The other 15 (50%) patients underwent single lobe resection including 3 (10%) patients with temporal lobectomy sparing hippocampus. Pathological diagnosis of epilepsy patients was as follows: 14 (47%) patients=focal cortical dysplasia (type I, 4; II, 9; III, 1); 6 (20%)=oligodendrogliosis; 6 (20%)=astrocytic gliosis; 2 (7%)=hyaline protoplasmic astrocytopathy and 2 (7%)=tuberous sclerosis complex. The numbers of OLCs at all three sites in epilepsy group were significantly higher than those of control group (p<0.001). In the epilepsy group, there was a significant difference among the number of OLCs at gray matter, junction of gray and white matter, and white matter (p<0.001). The number of OLCs significantly increased from gray matter and junction of gray/white matter to white matter. In the control group, there was no difference among the number of OLCs at three sites. There was no significant difference in the numbers of OLCs between focal cortical dysplasia types I and II. The significantly increased OLCs, especially in the white matter may contribute to the extensive epileptic network in children with intractable focal epilepsy. PMID:24631559
Sakuma, Satoru; Halliday, William C; Nomura, Ruka; Ochi, Ayako; Otsubo, Hiroshi
For a two-year period, the states of Colorado, Vermont and Washington tested the effectiveness of seven surveillance methods for identifying waterborne disease outbreaks. Six of the methods were termed active and utilized procedures soliciting reports of illness. The seventh meth...
Predictors of premature discontinuation of treatment in multiple disease states
Background: Premature discontinuation of treatment impacts outcomes of clinical practice. The traditional perception has been patient discontinuation is mainly driven by unwanted side effects. Systematic analysis of data from clinical trials across several disease states was performed to identify predictors of premature discontinuation during clinical interventions. Methods: A post hoc analysis was conducted on 22 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials for treatment of fibromyalgia, diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. Analyses were conducted on pooled data within each disease state. Results: Lack of early therapeutic response was a significant predictor of patient discontinuation in each disease state. Visit-wise changes in therapeutic response and severity of adverse events were also significant risk factors, with change in therapeutic response having a higher significance level in three disease states. Patients who discontinued due to adverse events had similar therapeutic responses as patients completing treatment. Conclusion: Contrary to the conventional belief that premature treatment discontinuation is primarily related to adverse events, our findings suggest lack of therapeutic response also plays a significant role in patient attrition. This research highlights the importance of systematic monitoring of therapeutic response in clinical practice as a measure to prevent patientsĺ discontinuation from pharmacological treatments.
Nantz, Eric; Liu-Seifert, Hong; Skljarevski, Vladimir
Diseases of Forest and Shade Trees of the United States,
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
The volume brings together the information available on the pathology of the more important forest and shade trees of the United States. While it deals largely with the multitude of tree species indigenous to the country, it also annotates the diseases of...
G. H. Hepting
Resting state brain networks and their implications in neurodegenerative disease
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Neurons are the basic units of the brain, and form network by connecting via synapses. So far, there have been limited ways to measure the brain networks. Recently, various imaging modalities are widely used for this purpose. In this paper, brain network mapping using resting state fMRI will be introduced with several applications including neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration and Parkinson's disease. The resting functional connectivity using intrinsic functional connectivity in mouse is useful since we can take advantage of perturbation or stimulation of certain nodes of the network. The study of brain connectivity will open a new era in understanding of brain and diseases thus will be an essential foundation for future research.
Sohn, William S.; Yoo, Kwangsun; Kim, Jinho; Jeong, Yong
Open study of pranlukast add-on therapy in intractable partial epilepsy.
Innovative treatments of epileptic seizures are needed to improve the outcome of epilepsy. We studied the effect of pranlukast on seizure outcome in patients with intractable partial epilepsy. An open study was conducted to evaluate the clinical efficacy of 24-week pranlukast add-on therapy in 50 patients with intractable partial seizures. Serum concentrations of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 were determined using Biotrak Activity Assay System. Cytokines in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were measured by the BioPlex (BioRad) system and soluble TNF receptor1 (sTNFR1) in CSF was measured by the ELISA. Surface markers of lymphocytes in CSF were examined by cell-sorter. Seizure-free rate (SFR) was 13.6%, responder rate (RR) was 47.7%, and aggravation rate (AR) was 18.2% at the 13-24 week period after starting pranlukast. In patients with increased serum MMP-9 before pranlukast therapy (baseline), comparison of paired serum levels showed a significant decrease after pranlukast therapy. Baseline CSF levels of IL-1? and IL-6 were elevated in patients compared with disease controls. Of four patients with paired data, three (including a responder to pranlukast) showed decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1?, IL-6, and TNF?), and four showed decreased sTNFR1, after pranlukast treatment, and only a responder had markedly decreased frequency of CD8+ T cells in CSF. Pranlukast reduces seizure frequencies probably by pleiotropic effects including normalization of MMP-9 in sera, reduced leakage of pro-inflammatory cytokines into CNS, and inhibition of extravasation of leucocytes from brain capillaries. Further investigations by double-blind control study and animal models are warranted. PMID:22571867
Takahashi, Yukitoshi; Imai, Katsumi; Ikeda, Hitoshi; Kubota, Yuko; Yamazaki, Etsuko; Susa, Fuminobu
Therapeutic efficacy of the Qing Dai in patients with intractable ulcerative colitis
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that may become intractable when treated with conventional medications such as aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, and azathioprine. The herbal medicine Qing Dai has traditionally been used in Chinese medicine to treat UC patients, but there is a lack of published data on the efficacy of Qing Dai in UC treatment. We report several cases of patients with intractable UC who take Qing Dai in a retrospective observational study. Furthermore, we explore the mechanisms of action of Qing Dai. Nine patients with active UC who received conventional medications but wished to receive Qing Dai as an alternative medication were included in our analysis. The UC severity level was determined based on the clinical activity index (CAI). Additionally, 5 of the 9 patients were endoscopically evaluated according to the Matts grading system. Each patient received 2 g/d of Qing Dai orally and continued taking other medications for UC as prescribed. Electron spin resonance was applied to explore the mechanisms of action of Qing Dai. After 4 mo of treatment with Qing Dai, the CAI score decreased from 8.3 ▒ 2.4 to 2.4 ▒ 3.4 (mean ▒ SD; P < 0.001). Similarly, the endoscopic Matts grade decreased from 3.4 ▒ 0.5 to 2.2 ▒ 0.8 (P = 0.02). Six of 7 patients who were on prednisolone upon enrollment in the study were able to discontinue this corticosteroid. Electron spin resonance revealed that Qing Dai possesses strong hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. Qing Dai showed significant clinical and endoscopic efficacy in patients who failed to respond to conventional medications. Scavenging of hydroxyl radicals appears to be a potential mechanism through which Qing Dai acts, but the significance of the scavenging ability of Qing Dai with respect to the anti-inflammatory effect in UC patients warrants further investigation.
Suzuki, Hideo; Kaneko, Tsuyoshi; Mizokami, Yuji; Narasaka, Toshiaki; Endo, Shinji; Matsui, Hirofumi; Yanaka, Akinori; Hirayama, Aki; Hyodo, Ichinosuke
Lamotrigine for intractable migraine-like headaches in Sturge-Weber syndrome.
We herein report that naratriptan remarkably improved intractable migraine-like headaches in a patient with Sturge-Weber syndrome (SWS) despite his past history of cerebral infarction. In addition, lamotrigine had a prophylactic effect on his visual aura and headaches. An 18-year-old male patient with SWS had intractable migraine-like headaches every several months from the age of 3years. His migraine-like headaches were characterized by pulsating attacks preceded by left homonymous hemianopsia, which persisted after headache disappearance. In addition, after 14years of age, the pulsating headaches were preceded by photophobia without homonymous hemianopsia and occurred almost daily. Headache pains were not improved by acetaminophen or loxoprofen sodium hydrate. Furthermore, various prophylactic drugs were ineffective. After obtaining informed consent, naratriptan was administered. The pain severity was reduced and the duration of headache with homonymous hemianopsia was shortened from several days to several hours. Interestingly, naratriptan also shortened the duration of homonymous hemianopsia to several hours. We confirmed that his headache attacks were not epileptic seizures by ictal electroencephalography. However, 25mg/day of lamotrigine had a prophylactic effect on the frequency of headache. Moreover, lamotrigine led to complete remission of his headache without homonymous hemianopsia. Lamotrigine may have an advantage in terms of reducing the risk of cerebrovascular disease caused by migraine-like headaches and the use of triptans. The most effective management for migraine-like headaches in patients with SWS has not been established. Lamotrigine is a potentially effective option for patients with SWS with migraine-like headaches. PMID:23877022
Nomura, Shohei; Shimakawa, Shuichi; Fukui, Miho; Tanabe, Takuya; Tamai, Hiroshi
Therapeutic efficacy of the Qing Dai in patients with intractable ulcerative colitis.
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that may become intractable when treated with conventional medications such as aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, and azathioprine. The herbal medicine Qing Dai has traditionally been used in Chinese medicine to treat UC patients, but there is a lack of published data on the efficacy of Qing Dai in UC treatment. We report several cases of patients with intractable UC who take Qing Dai in a retrospective observational study. Furthermore, we explore the mechanisms of action of Qing Dai. Nine patients with active UC who received conventional medications but wished to receive Qing Dai as an alternative medication were included in our analysis. The UC severity level was determined based on the clinical activity index (CAI). Additionally, 5 of the 9 patients were endoscopically evaluated according to the Matts grading system. Each patient received 2 g/d of Qing Dai orally and continued taking other medications for UC as prescribed. Electron spin resonance was applied to explore the mechanisms of action of Qing Dai. After 4 mo of treatment with Qing Dai, the CAI score decreased from 8.3 ▒ 2.4 to 2.4 ▒ 3.4 (mean ▒ SD; P < 0.001). Similarly, the endoscopic Matts grade decreased from 3.4 ▒ 0.5 to 2.2 ▒ 0.8 (P = 0.02). Six of 7 patients who were on prednisolone upon enrollment in the study were able to discontinue this corticosteroid. Electron spin resonance revealed that Qing Dai possesses strong hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. Qing Dai showed significant clinical and endoscopic efficacy in patients who failed to respond to conventional medications. Scavenging of hydroxyl radicals appears to be a potential mechanism through which Qing Dai acts, but the significance of the scavenging ability of Qing Dai with respect to the anti-inflammatory effect in UC patients warrants further investigation. PMID:23674882
Suzuki, Hideo; Kaneko, Tsuyoshi; Mizokami, Yuji; Narasaka, Toshiaki; Endo, Shinji; Matsui, Hirofumi; Yanaka, Akinori; Hirayama, Aki; Hyodo, Ichinosuke
Laryngotracheal Closure and Cricopharyngeal Myotomy for Intractable Aspiration and Dysphagia Secondary to Cerebrovascular Accident
Objective: To investigate the clinical value, technique, indications and contraindications of laryngotracheal closure (LTC) and cricopharyngeal myotomy (CPM) for intractable aspiration and dysphagia secondary to a cerebrovascular accident (CVA). Materials and Methods: Patients (n = 45) with intractable aspiration and dysphagia secondary to a CVA were treated with LTC and CPM. The LTC was performed by suturing the double cords,
Shen-Hong Qu; Min Li; Jian-Ping Liang; Zheng-Zhong Su; Shi-Qiang Chen; Xiao-Guang He
Psychological Dynamics of Intractable Ethnonational Conflicts: The IsraeliľPalestinian Case
In this article, the authors use the IsraeliľPalestinian conflict as an example of ostensibly intractable ethnonational conflict and examine the psychological dynamics that contribute to its intractability. They review the unique characteristics of this conflict and the clash of narratives. They argue that some ethnonational conflicts have characteristics that increase their resistance to change and that societies in such conflicts
Nadim N. Rouhana; Daniel Bar-Tal
Quality of Life Perception in Patients With Intractable Epilepsy or Pseudoseizures
Objectives: To contrast and compare self-reported qual- ity of life in patients with intractable epilepsy and pseu- doseizures and to examine the relationship between self- reports and objective measures of cognitive functioning in both of these groups. Design: Case series using profile analysis and analysis of covariance. Setting: University epilepsy surgery program. Participants: Forty-three patients with intractable com- plex partial
Joshua I. Breier; Hiroshi Yamauchi; Bonnie L. Brookshire; Yasuhiro Nagahama; Yukinori Katsumi; Jules Constantinou; L. James Willmore; Junji Konishi; Jun Kimura; Kathleen L. Fuchs; James Wheless; Azreena B. Thomas; Hans A. Carpay; Willem F. M. Arts; Ada T. Geerts; Hans Stroink; Oebele F. Brouwer; A. C. Boudewyn Peters; Cees A. van Donselaar; William P. Goldman; Jack D. Baty; Virginia D. Buckles; Shirley Sahrmann; John C. Morris
Commissural Myelotomy in the Treatment of Intractable Visceral Pain: Technique and Outcomes
Background: Commissural myelotomy can be valuable for patients with intractable pain associated with malignancy in the abdominal or pelvic region. Methods: Between December 1992 and June 2009, 11 patients underwent commissural myelotomy at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for the treatment of intractable lower extremity, thoracic, pelvic or sacral pain associated with unresectable tumors. The various surgical
Ashwin Viswanathan; Allen W. Burton; Andy Rekito; Ian E. McCutcheon
West nile virus and other arboviral diseases - United States, 2013.
Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are transmitted to humans primarily through the bites of infected mosquitoes and ticks. West Nile virus (WNV) is the leading cause of domestically acquired arboviral disease in the United States. However, several other arboviruses also cause sporadic cases and seasonal outbreaks of neuroinvasive disease (i.e., meningitis, encephalitis, and acute flaccid paralysis). This report summarizes surveillance data reported to CDC in 2013 for WNV and other nationally notifiable arboviruses, excluding dengue. Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia reported 2,469 cases of WNV disease. Of these, 1,267 (51%) were classified as WNV neuroinvasive disease, for a national incidence of 0.40 per 100,000 population. After WNV, the next most commonly reported cause of arboviral disease was La Crosse virus (LACV) (85 cases), followed by Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV), Powassan virus (POWV), and eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) (eight). WNV and other arboviruses continue to cause serious illness in substantial numbers of persons annually. Maintaining surveillance remains important to help direct and promote prevention activities. PMID:24941331
Lindsey, Nicole P; Lehman, Jennifer A; Staples, J Erin; Fischer, Marc
An Acute Postoperative Intractable Hyperventilation after an Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy
This report describes a rare case of postoperative hyperventilation attack after an endoscopic third ventriculostomy in a 46-year-old woman. About 60 min after the termination of the operation, an intractable hyperventilation started with respiratory rate of 65 breaths/min and EtCO2, 16.3 mm Hg. Sedation with benzodiazepine, thiopental sodium, fentanyl, and propofol/remifentanil infusion was tried under a rebreathing mask at a 4 L/min of oxygen. With aggressive sedative challenges, ventilation pattern was gradually returned to normal during the 22 hrs of time after the surgery. A central neurogenic hyperventilation was suspected due to the stimulating central respiratory center by cold acidic irrigation solution during the neuroendoscopic procedure.
Lee, Hae Mi; Shin, Kyung Bae; Kim, Seong Ho
Intractable chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy treated successfully with ciclosporin
Background: Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is a heterogeneous disorder and both clinical course and response to treatment vary widely. Because of the propensity for relapse, CIDP requires maintenance therapy after the initial response to treatment. There is no consensus regarding this in the published literature. Present report: A patient with CIDP was treated with oral prednisolone and cyclophosphamide pulse therapy but required repeated plasma exchange and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). Treatment with ciclosporin freed the patient from repeated IVIg administration. Therapeutic responses in 14 subsequent cases including three patients who showed improvement with ciclosporin are also presented along with an algorithm of the authors' suggested protocol for treatment. Conclusion: Ciclosporin should be considered for patients with intractable CIDP who require repeated IVIg.
Odaka, M; Tatsumoto, M; Susuki, K; Hirata, K; Yuki, N
Resting state functional connectivity of the striatum in Parkinson's disease
Classical accounts of the pathophysiology of Parkinsonĺs disease have emphasized degeneration of dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurons with consequent dysfunction of corticoľstriatalľthalamic loops. In contrast, post-mortem studies indicate that pathological changes in Parkinsonĺs disease (Lewy neurites and Lewy bodies) first appear primarily in the lower brainstem with subsequent progression to more rostral parts of the neuraxis. The nigrostriatal and histological perspectives are not incompatible, but they do emphasize different anatomical structures. To address the question of which brain structures are functionally most affected by Parkinsonĺs disease, we performed a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study focused on striatal functional connectivity. We contrasted 13 patients with advanced Parkinsonĺs disease versus 19 age-matched control subjects, using methodology incorporating scrupulous attention to minimizing the effects of head motion during scanning. The principal finding in the Parkinsonĺs disease group was markedly lower striatal correlations with thalamus, midbrain, pons and cerebellum. This result reinforces the importance of the brainstem in the pathophysiology of Parkinsonĺs disease. Focally altered functional connectivity also was observed in sensori-motor and visual areas of the cerebral cortex, as well the supramarginal gyrus. Striatal functional connectivity with the brainstem was graded (posterior putamen > anterior putamen > caudate), in both patients with Parkinsonĺs disease and control subjects, in a manner that corresponds to well-documented gradient of striatal dopaminergic function loss in Parkinsonĺs disease. We hypothesize that this gradient provides a clue to the pathogenesis of Parkinsonĺs disease.
Hacker, Carl D.; Perlmutter, Joel S.; Criswell, Susan R.; Ances, Beau M.
Identity and psychological ownership in chronic illness and disease state
Psychological ownership is rarely considered in health discourse related to chronic illness or disease state. Construction of identity is an important consideration within this framework. This autoethnographic study explores psychological ownership and identity related to prostate cancer and chronic illness. Conclusions about the nature of psychological ownership and identity were gathered from the relevant literature and personal experience. Themes include the patientľhealthcare professional relationship and that psychological ownership is personal and grounded in an individual's sense of identity, control and perceived capacity to control illness or disease. Personal reflection through autoethnography guides discussion of psychological ownership and identity.
Karnilowicz, W
Redox state, cell death and autoimmune diseases: a gender perspective.
Autoimmune disorders, redox balance and gender differences are closely connected. In fact, activation, proliferation and death of cells of different histotype, including blood and vascular cells, are under control of oxidative balance and are key players in autoimmune disease pathogenesis and progression. However, cells from male and female appear characterized by a huge series of differences in terms of reactive oxygen species production and oxidative stress susceptibility. In this review, we briefly summarize the possible implications of the redox state in the onset and progression of autoimmune diseases in a gender perspective. PMID:18599384
Ortona, Elena; Margutti, Paola; Matarrese, Paola; Franconi, Flavia; Malorni, Walter
New York State Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias. Final Report and Recommendations.
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
Partial Contents: What is Alzheimer's Disease (What is Dementia, The course of Alzheimer's Disease); Overview of Dementia In NYS (Alzheimer's Disease: Increasingly a Disease Affecting Families, Research and Information Services in New York State); Lead Ag...
Montana State University-Bozeman: Insects, Disease, and History
NSDL National Science Digital Library
As carriers of many serious diseases throughout time, insects have certainly played a significant role in shaping world history. Edited by Drs. Gary Miller and Robert Peterson, this website from Montana State University devotes itself to understanding the impact of insect-borne diseases on world history. The site contains several feature articles including: The Role of Insects as Biological Weapons; Historical Natural History: Insects and the Civil War; and Yellow Fever and the Strategy of the Mexican-American War. The website also contains A Primer to Medical Entomology, suggested readings, and a brief section on Disease, Epidemics, and Historical Periods. Related links and a glossary -- including terms such as anaphylaxis, anthropophilic, delusory parasitosis, and Hymenoptera -- are included as well.
Optimization of mechanical ventilator settings for pulmonary disease states.
The selection of mechanical ventilator settings that ensure adequate oxygenation and carbon dioxide clearance while minimizing the risk of ventilator-associated lung injury (VALI) is a significant challenge for intensive-care clinicians. Current guidelines are largely based on previous experience combined with recommendations from a limited number of in vivo studies whose data are typically more applicable to populations than to individuals suffering from particular diseases of the lung. By combining validated computational models of pulmonary pathophysiology with global optimization algorithms, we generate in silico experiments to examine current practice and uncover optimal combinations of ventilator settings for individual patient and disease states. Formulating the problem as a multiobjective, multivariable constrained optimization problem, we compute settings of tidal volume, ventilation rate, inspiratory/expiratory ratio, positive end-expiratory pressure and inspired fraction of oxygen that optimally manage the tradeoffs between ensuring adequate oxygenation and carbon dioxide clearance and minimizing the risk of VALI for different pulmonary disease scenarios. PMID:23322759
Das, Anup; Menon, Prathyush P; Hardman, Jonathan G; Bates, Declan G
Liver dysfunction in steady state sickle cell disease.
The liver is one of the organs involved in the multiorgan failure that occurs in sickle cell disease, the pathophysiology of liver disease in this condition is complex because of the interrelated multifactorial causes. Liver dysfunction was assessed in both paediatric and adult sickle cell disease patients in the steady state. The transaminases and alkaline phosphatase were analysed by automation while coagulation studies were done manually. The mean (range) of Alanine transaminase (ALT), Aspartate transaminase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were 23.0 (2-77) IU, 48.5 (15-120) IU, 227.5 (37-1200) IU respectively. ALT and AST levels were less than 100 IU in over 95% of the patients. The gender or age of the patients did not significantly affect the level of these three enzymes. There was close association between the liver size and elevation of the liver enzymes except for alkaline phosphatase (ALT=.017, AST=.009, ALP=.056). Twenty-five percent of the patients had normal enzymes while 13% had derangement of the three enzymes, 19%, 50% and 74% had abnormal ALT, AST and ALP respectively. Only 22% and 5% had deranged PT and APTT respectively. In conclusion minimal elevation of the tramsaminases which is not gender or age dependent were observed in steady state sickle cell disease, higher levels of alkaline phosphatase may be due to associated vasoocclussive crises involving the bones rather than a pathology of the liver. PMID:16432491
Kotila, Taiwo; Adedapo, Kayode; Adedapo, Aduragbenro; Oluwasola, Olayiwola; Fakunle, Eyitayo; Brown, Biobele
Emergence of hantaviral disease in the southwestern United States.
Hantaviruses are parasites of small mammals, predominantly peridomestic and commensal rodents. They have a worldwide distribution. Hantavirus-related illness occurs in rural areas where humans come into contact with rodents. In most cases human infection is manifested by one of a variety of acute illnesses involving hemorrhagic fever and renal disease. In May 1993, a cluster of patients with an acute pulmonary disease with high mortality was noted in the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. Serologic and genetic studies indicated that the etiologic agent was a novel hantavirus. The uncertainty engendered by the emergence of a new disease with high mortality forced a rapid response by state and federal agencies and by the University of New Mexico Medical Center, Albuquerque, where most patients from this region were referred. Considerable progress has been made in identifying infected cases on clinical and laboratory grounds and in ensuring that appropriate supportive care is made available to patients as soon as they are suspected of having hantaviral infection. Cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome--both new and retrospectively diagnosed--are still being recognized throughout the western United States. Many important questions remain unanswered. Images
Hjelle, B; Jenison, S; Mertz, G; Koster, F; Foucar, K
Percutaneous vertebral augmentation in metastatic disease: state of the art.
Improvements in diagnosis and treatment have prolonged cancer survival, with a consequent increase in the incidence of spinal metastases and vertebral compression fractures with associated axial pain, progressive radiculomyelopathy, and mechanical instability. Pain relief in malignant vertebral compression fractures is key to achieving a better quality of life in patients under palliative care. The gold standard for pain relief is nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and opioids. Nonresponsive cases are then treated with radiotherapy, which may require 2-4 weeks to take effect and in most cases does not provide complete pain relief. Percutaneous vertebroplasty and percutaneous kyphoplasty can in particular give relief in patients with vertebral body compression fractures that do not cause neurological deficits but severely compromise quality of life because of intractable pain. PMID:21465731
Tancioni, Flavio; Lorenzetti, Martin A; Navarria, Pierina; Pessina, Federico; Draghi, Riccardo; Pedrazzoli, Paolo; Scorsetti, Marta; Alloisio, Marco; Santoro, Armando; Rodriguez y Baena, Riccardo
Electric impedance microflow cytometry for characterization of cell disease states.
The electrical properties of biological cells have connections to their pathological states. Here we present an electric impedance microflow cytometry (EIMC) platform for the characterization of disease states of single cells. This platform entails a microfluidic device for a label-free and non-invasive cell-counting assay through electric impedance sensing. We identified a dimensionless offset parameter ? obtained as a linear combination of a normalized phase shift and a normalized magnitude shift in electric impedance to differentiate cells on the basis of their pathological states. This paper discusses a representative case study on red blood cells (RBCs) invaded by the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Invasion by P. falciparum induces physical and biochemical changes on the host cells throughout a 48-h multi-stage life cycle within the RBC. As a consequence, it also induces progressive changes in electrical properties of the host cells. We demonstrate that the EIMC system in combination with data analysis involving the new offset parameter allows differentiation of P. falciparum infected RBCs from uninfected RBCs as well as among different P. falciparum intraerythrocytic asexual stages including the ring stage. The representative results provided here also point to the potential of the proposed experimental and analysis platform as a valuable tool for non-invasive diagnostics of a wide variety of disease states and for cell separation. PMID:23925122
Du, E; Ha, Sungjae; Diez-Silva, Monica; Dao, Ming; Suresh, Subra; Chandrakasan, Anantha P
Management of Helicobacter pylori -Related Diseases in the Baltic States.
Helicobacter pylori infection has been recognized as the main trigger of stomach-related diseases. The huge variation in H. pylori infection patterns across the globe requires targeted research and close monitoring of this infection in different regions. The Baltic countries have witnessed enormous changes in socioeconomic conditions in the last years. Evolution of H. pylori infection and related diseases has been a key interest of gastroenterology centers in the Baltic States over the last two decades, translating into up-to-date scientific data that are valuable locally and on the European level. The East-West gradient in the prevalence of H. pylori infection is still evident in the Baltic countries, but the gap is becoming smaller, and similar trends are expected for the coming years. Clarithromycin-based triple therapy remains the first-line treatment of H. pylori in the region; however, careful monitoring of resistance rates in the future remains highly relevant, though routine resistance testing is not available in all the countries. A high prevalence of gastric cancer is still notable in the Baltic States; nevertheless, a steady decline in gastric cancer incidence in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia is present and expected to be continuing during the coming decades. Currently, H. pylori-related diseases still constitute a substantial part of gastroenterologists' workload in the region. This paper reviews epidemiological, diagnostic, treatment as well as basic research trends on H. pylori infection and related diseases in the Baltic States during the last two decades. ę 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel. PMID:24732196
Kupcinskas, Juozas; Leja, Marcis
Subjective states associated with retrieval failures in Parkinson's disease.
Instances in which we cannot retrieve information immediately but know that the information might be retrieved later are subjective states that accompany retrieval failure. These are expressed in feeling-of-knowing (FOK) and Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) experiences. In Experiment 1, participants with Parkinson's disease (PD) and older adult controls were given general questions and asked to report when they experienced a TOT state and to give related information about the missing word. The PD group experienced similar levels of TOTs but provided less correct peripheral information related to the target when in a TOT state. In Experiment 2, participants were given a Semantic (general knowledge questions) and an Episodic (word pairs) FOK task. PD patients failed to accurately predict their future memory performance (FOK) in response to both episodic and semantic cues. Results are interpreted in the context of recent frameworks of memory and metacognition. PMID:23727890
Souchay, Celine; Smith, Sarah Jane
Seasonality and Coronary Heart Disease Deaths in United States Firefighters
United States firefighters have a high on-duty fatality rate and coronary heart disease is the leading cause. Seasonality affects the incidence of cardiovascular events in the general population, but its effects on firefighters are unknown. We statistically examined the seasonal and annual variation of all on-duty coronary heart disease deaths among US firefighters between 1994 and 2004 using the chi-square distribution and Poisson regression model of the monthly fatality counts. We also examined the effect of ambient temperature (apparent as well as wind chill temperature) on coronary heart disease fatalities during the study span using a time-stratified, case-crossover study design. When grouped by season, we observed the distribution of the 449 coronary heart disease fatalities to show a relative peak in winter (32%) and relative nadir in spring (21%). This pattern was significantly different (p=0.005) from the expected distribution under the null hypothesis where season has no effect. The pattern persisted in additional analyses, stratifying the deaths by the type of duty in which the firefighters were engaged at the time of their deaths. In the Poisson regression model of the monthly fatality counts, the overall goodness-of-fit between the actual and predicted case counts was excellent ( ?42 = 16.63; p = 0.002). Two distinct peaks were detected, one in January-February and the other in August-September. Overall, temperature was not associated with increased risk of on-duty death. After allowing for different effects of temperature in mild/hot versus cold periods, a 1░C increase was not protective in cold weather, nor did it increase the risk of death in warmer weather. The findings of this study reveal statistical evidence for excess coronary heart disease deaths among firefighters during winter; however, the temporal pattern coronary heart disease deaths was not linked to temperature variation. We also found the seasonal pattern to be independent of duty-related risks.
Mbanu, Ibeawuchi; Wellenius, Gregory A.; Mittleman, Murray A.; Peeples, Lynne; Stallings, Leonard A.; Kales, Stefanos N.
Endovascular Treatment of Traumatic Pseudoaneurysm Presenting as Intractable Epistaxis
Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of individual endovascular management for the treatment of different traumatic pseudoaneurysms presenting as intractable epistaxis. Materials and Methods For 14 consecutive patients with traumatic pseudoaneurysm presenting as refractory epistaxes, 15 endovascular procedures were performed. Digital subtraction angiography revealed that the pseudoaneurysms originated from the internal maxillary artery in eight patients; and all were treated with occlusion of the feeding artery. In six cases, they originated from the internal carotid artery (ICA); out of which, two were managed with detachable balloons, two with covered stents, one by means of cavity embolization, and the remaining one with parent artery occlusion. All of these cases were followed up clinically from six to 18 months, with a mean follow up time of ten months; moreover, three cases were also followed with angiography. Results Complete cessation of bleeding was achieved in all the 15 instances (100%) immediately after the endovascular therapies. Of the six patients who suffered from ICA pseudoaneurysms, one presented with a permanent stroke and one had an episode of rebleeding requiring intervention. Conclusion In patients presenting with a history of craniocerebral trauma, traumatic pseudoaneurysm must be considered as a differential diagnosis. Individual endovascular treatment is a relatively safe, plausible, and reliable means of managing traumatic pseudoaneurysms.
Zhang, Chang wei; You, Chao; Mao, Bo yong; Wang, Chao hua; He, Min; Sun, Hong
Responsive neurostimulation for the treatment of medically intractable epilepsy.
With an annual incidence of 50/100,000 people, nearly 1% of the population suffers from epilepsy. Treatment with antiepileptic medication fails to achieve seizure remission in 20-30% of patients. One treatment option for refractory epilepsy patients who would not otherwise be surgical candidates is electrical stimulation of the brain, which is a rapidly evolving and reversible adjunctive therapy. Therapeutic stimulation can involve direct stimulation of the brain nuclei or indirect stimulation of peripheral nerves. There are three stimulation modalities that have class I evidence supporting their uses: vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), stimulation of the anterior nuclei of the thalamus (ANT), and, the most recently developed, responsive neurostimulation (RNS). While the other treatment modalities outlined deliver stimulation regardless of neuronal activity, the RNS administers stimulation only if triggered by seizure activity. The lower doses of stimulation provided by such responsive devices can not only reduce power consumption, but also prevent adverse reactions caused by continuous stimulation, which include the possibility of habituation to long-term stimulation. RNS, as an investigational treatment for medically refractory epilepsy, is currently under review by the FDA. Eventually systems may be developed to enable activation by neurochemical triggers or to wirelessly transmit any information gathered. We review the mechanisms, the current status, the target options, and the prospects of RNS for the treatment of medically intractable epilepsy. PMID:23735806
Liu, Chong; Wen, Xiong-Wei; Ge, Yan; Chen, Ning; Hu, Wen-Han; Zhang, Tan; Zhang, Jian-Guo; Meng, Fan-Gang
Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging in Parkinson's disease.
Neuroimaging advances over the past several decades have provided increased understanding of the structural and functional brain changes that occur with Parkinson's disease (PD). Examination of resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) provides a noninvasive method that focuses on low-frequency spontaneous fluctuations in the blood-oxygenation-level-dependent signal that occurs when an individual is at rest. Several analysis methods have been developed and used to explore how PD affects resting state activity and functional connectivity, and the purpose of this review is to highlight the critical advances made thus far. Some discrepancies in the rs-fMRI and PD literature exist, and we make recommendations for consideration in future studies. The rs-fMRI technique holds promise for investigating brain changes associated with the motor and nonmotor symptoms of PD, and for revealing important variations across large-scale networks of the brain in PD. PMID:24744021
Prodoehl, Janey; Burciu, Roxana G; Vaillancourt, David E
Use of an Oral Elemental Diet in Infants with Severe Intractable Diarrhea
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Evaluated was the use of an oral elemental diet consisting of crystalline amino acids, glucose, electrolytes, and vitamins to control severe intractable diarrhea in 27 infants (1-day to 9-months of age). (DB)
Sherman, Joseph O.; And Others
Characteristics and safety assessment of intractable proteins in genetically modified crops.
Genetically modified (GM) crops may contain newly expressed proteins that are described as "intractable". Safety assessment of these proteins may require some adaptations to the current assessment procedures. Intractable proteins are defined here as those proteins with properties that make it extremely difficult or impossible with current methods to express in heterologous systems; isolate, purify, or concentrate; quantify (due to low levels); demonstrate biological activity; or prove equivalency with plant proteins. Five classes of intractable proteins are discussed here: (1) membrane proteins, (2) signaling proteins, (3) transcription factors, (4) N-glycosylated proteins, and (5) resistance proteins (R-proteins, plant pathogen recognition proteins that activate innate immune responses). While the basic tiered weight-of-evidence approach for assessing the safety of GM crops proposed by the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) in 2008 is applicable to intractable proteins, new or modified methods may be required. For example, the first two steps in Tier I (hazard identification) analysis, gathering of applicable history of safe use (HOSU) information and bioinformatics analysis, do not require protein isolation. The extremely low level of expression of most intractable proteins should be taken into account while assessing safety of the intractable protein in GM crops. If Tier II (hazard characterization) analyses requiring animal feeding are judged to be necessary, alternatives to feeding high doses of pure protein may be needed. These alternatives are discussed here. PMID:24662477
Bushey, Dean F; Bannon, Gary A; Delaney, Bryan F; Graser, Gerson; Hefford, Mary; Jiang, Xiaoxu; Lee, Thomas C; Madduri, Krishna M; Pariza, Michael; Privalle, Laura S; Ranjan, Rakesh; Saab-Rincon, Gloria; Schafer, Barry W; Thelen, Jay J; Zhang, John X Q; Harper, Marc S
Radical Surgical Excision and Use of Lateral Thoracic Flap for Intractable Axillary Hidradenitis Suppurativa
Current treatments for hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) include prolonged courses of antibiotics, retinoids, immunosuppressants, and biologics. Severe cases that are resistant to prolonged medical treatment pose a therapeutic challenge. We propose radical excision and lateral thoracic flap reconstruction as a treatment option for such cases. In our experience with two patients, good aesthetic and functional outcomes were achieved, with a high level of patient satisfaction. The availability of suitable flap coverage allows for wide resection of all of the hair-bearing skin, leading to a low incidence of residual disease and subsequent recurrence. Following excision of the affected tissue, the ideal reconstructive method in the axilla provides suitable coverage without unacceptable donor site morbidity and also avoids axillary contractures. A long lateral thoracic flap with delay has excellent coverage with minimal donor tissue sacrifice. With a suitable flap coverage option, the management paradigm of intractable HS should shift from prolonged medical treatment to allow decisive radical excision, which will improve the quality of life for patients.
Teo, Wan-Lin; Ong, Yee-Siang
Efficacy of total lymphoid irradiation in intractable rheumatoid arthritis. A double-blind, randomized trial
Twenty-six patients participated in a randomized, double-blind study of the efficacy of total lymphoid irradiation in the treatment of intractable rheumatoid arthritis. All 26 patients, for whom therapy with gold compounds and penicillamine had failed, would ordinarily have been considered candidates for cytotoxic or antimetabolite drug therapy. Thirteen patients randomly assigned to receive full-dose total lymphoid irradiation (2000 rad) and 11 patients assigned to receive control low-dose total lymphoid irradiation (200 rad) completed radiotherapy. Alleviation of joint disease activity was significantly greater in the high-dose group as judged by morning stiffness, joint tenderness, and functional assessment (global composite score) at 3 and 6 months after radiotherapy. The high-dose group had a marked reduction in both T-lymphocyte function and numbers, but this finding was not observed in the low-dose group. Complications seen in the high-dose but not low-dose group included transient neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, pericarditis, and pleurisy.
Strober, S.; Tanay, A.; Field, E.; Hoppe, R.T.; Calin, A.; Engleman, E.G.; Kotzin, B.; Brown, B.W.; Kaplan, H.S.
Risk of Importing Zoonotic Diseases through Wildlife Trade, United States
The United States is the worldĺs largest wildlife importer, and imported wild animals represent a potential source of zoonotic pathogens. Using data on mammals imported during 2000ľ2005, we assessed their potential to host 27 selected risk zoonoses and created a risk assessment that could inform policy making for wildlife importation and zoonotic disease surveillance. A total of 246,772 mammals in 190 genera (68 families) were imported. The most widespread agents of risk zoonoses were rabies virus (in 78 genera of mammals), Bacillus anthracis (57), Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (48), Echinococcus spp. (41), and Leptospira spp. (35). Genera capable of harboring the greatest number of risk zoonoses were Canis and Felis (14 each), Rattus (13), Equus (11), and Macaca and Lepus (10 each). These findings demonstrate the myriad opportunities for zoonotic pathogens to be imported and suggest that, to ensure public safety, immediate proactive changes are needed at multiple levels.
Schloegel, Lisa M.; Daszak, Peter
Risk of importing zoonotic diseases through wildlife trade, United States.
The United States is the world's largest wildlife importer, and imported wild animals represent a potential source of zoonotic pathogens. Using data on mammals imported during 2000-2005, we assessed their potential to host 27 selected risk zoonoses and created a risk assessment that could inform policy making for wildlife importation and zoonotic disease surveillance. A total of 246,772 mammals in 190 genera (68 families) were imported. The most widespread agents of risk zoonoses were rabies virus (in 78 genera of mammals), Bacillus anthracis (57), Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (48), Echinococcus spp. (41), and Leptospira spp. (35). Genera capable of harboring the greatest number of risk zoonoses were Canis and Felis (14 each), Rattus (13), Equus (11), and Macaca and Lepus (10 each). These findings demonstrate the myriad opportunities for zoonotic pathogens to be imported and suggest that, to ensure public safety, immediate proactive changes are needed at multiple levels. PMID:19891857
Pavlin, Boris I; Schloegel, Lisa M; Daszak, Peter
The amyloid state and its association with protein misfolding diseases.
The phenomenon of protein aggregation and amyloid formation has become the subject of rapidly increasing research activities across a wide range of scientific disciplines. Such activities have been stimulated by the association of amyloid deposition with a range of debilitating medical disorders, from Alzheimer's disease to type II diabetes, many of which are major threats to human health and welfare in the modern world. It has become clear, however, that the ability to form the amyloid state is more general than previously imagined, and that its study can provide unique insights into the nature of the functional forms of peptides and proteins, as well as understanding the means by which protein homeostasis can be maintained and protein metastasis avoided. PMID:24854788
Knowles, Tuomas P J; Vendruscolo, Michele; Dobson, Christopher M
Mortality from Major Cardiovascular Diseases: United States, 2007.
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
Mortality from major cardiovascular diseases (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10) I00I78) includes deaths from Diseases of heart (ICD10 codes I00I09, I11, I13, I20I51); Essential hypertension and hypertensive renal disease (I...
A. M. Minino R. J. Klein
Nutrient intake of children with intractable epilepsy compared with healthy children.
Growth retardation is common among children with epilepsy, and poor dietary intake may be one of the causes. The goal of this cross-sectional study was to compare the nutrient intake of children 1 to 8 years of age with intractable epilepsy to healthy children of the same age from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001 to 2002 (N=1,718) and with the Dietary Reference Intakes. Children with intractable epilepsy were divided into two age groups: 1.0 to 3.9 and 4.0 to 8.9 years, to correspond with the Dietary Reference Intakes. Forty-three children with intractable epilepsy, mean age=4.7+/-2.2 years, had significantly lower intakes (P<0.05) of total energy; protein; carbohydrate; fat; dietary fiber; vitamins A, E, B-6, and B-12; riboflavin; niacin; folate; calcium; phosphorus; magnesium; zinc; copper; and selenium compared with healthy children. Thirty percent or more of the children with intractable epilepsy in both age groups had intakes below the Recommended Dietary Allowance or Adequate Intake for vitamins D, E, and K; folate; calcium; linoleic acid; and alpha-linolenic acid. Health care professionals caring for children with intractable epilepsy should be aware of this pattern of decreased nutrient intake and educate families to provide an adequate diet and/or consider vitamin/mineral supplementation. PMID:17524723
Volpe, Stella L; Schall, Joan I; Gallagher, Paul R; Stallings, Virginia A; Bergqvist, A G Christina
Intractable prurigo nodularis successfully treated with combination therapy with a newly developed excimer laser and topical steroids.
Prurigo nodularis (PN) is an eruption of lichenified or excoriated nodules related to intractable pruritus. A few reports have shown that a 308-nm excimer lamp/laser (EL) is effective for intractable PN. Herein, we report on two cases of intractable prurigo nodularis successfully treated with a new EL equipped with a filter to cut wavelengths shorter than 297 nm. Because this newly developed EL yields a therapeutic effect with low cumulative dosages of UV and a lower risk of DNA damage, it can be a new treatment option for intractable PN. PMID:24945654
Nakashima, Chisa; Tanizaki, Hideaki; Otsuka, Atsushi; Miyachi, Yoshiki; Kabashima, Kenji
Epidemiology and Estimated Population Burden of Selected Autoimmune Diseases in the United States
Autoimmune diseases cause significant and chronic morbidity and disability. The actual number of persons in the United States that are affected by autoimmune diseases and the resultant magnitude of their impact on the public's health are limited to a few specific diseases. In order to understand the clinical, public health and economic importance of these diseases it is necessary to
Denise L. Jacobson; Stephen J. Gange; Noel R. Rose; Neil M. H. Graham
Mortality from Alzheimer's Disease in the United States: Data for 2000 and 2010
... Data Brief Number 116, March 2013 Mortality From Alzheimer's Disease in the United States: Data for 2000 ... dementia, National Vital Statistics System, death rate, aging Alzheimer's disease mortality increased compared with selected major causes ...
Intractable end-of-life suffering and the ethics of palliative sedation.
Palliative sedation (sedation to unconsciousness) as an option of last resort for intractable end-of-life distress has been the subject of ongoing discussion and debate as well as policy formulation. A particularly contentious issue has been whether some dying patients experience a form of intractable suffering not marked by physical symptoms that can reasonably be characterized as "existential" in nature and therefore not an acceptable indication for palliative sedation. Such is the position recently taken by the American Medical Association. In this essay we argue that such a stance reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of human suffering, particularly at the end of life, and may deprive some dying patients of an effective means of relieving their intractable terminal distress. PMID:20088855
Cassell, Eric J; Rich, Ben A
United States medical students' knowledge of Alzheimer disease
Purpose: A knowledge gap exists between general physicians and specialists in diagnosing and managing Alzheimer disease (AD). This gap is concerning due to the estimated rise in prevalence of AD and cost to the health care system. Medical school is a viable avenue to decrease the gap, educating future physicians before they specialize. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge level of students in their first and final years of medical school. Methods: Fourteen participating United States medical schools used e-mail student rosters to distribute an online survey of a quantitative cross-sectional assessment of knowledge about AD; 343 students participated. Knowledge was measured using the 12-item University of Alabama at Birmingham AD Knowledge Test for Health Professionals. General linear models were used to examine the effect of demographic variables and previous experience with AD on knowledge scores. Results: Only 2.5% of first year and 68.0% of final year students correctly scored ten or more items on the knowledge scale. Personal experience with AD predicted higher knowledge scores in final year students (P= 0.027). Conclusion: Knowledge deficiencies were common in final year medical students. Future studies to identify and evaluate the efficacy of AD education programs in medical schools are warranted. Identifying and disseminating effective programs may help close the knowledge gap.
Nagle, Brian J.; Usita, Paula M.; Edland, Steven D.
Pharmacoperones for Correcting Disease States Involving Protein Misfolding.
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
This application relates to methods of identifying pharmacoperone agents that can restore function to a misfolded protein, such as a misfolded protein that causes disease. Also disclosed are methods of using such pharmacoperone agents to treat a disease o...
P. M. Conn
Clinical Features of Moyamoya Disease in the United States
Background and PurposeŚWe report the clinical features and longitudinal outcome of the largest cohort of patients with moyamoya disease described from a single institution in the western hemisphere. Moyamoya disease in Asia usually presents with ischemic stroke in children and intracranial hemorrhage in adults. MethodsŚOur study population included all patients with moyamoya disease evaluated at a university hospital in Houston,
David Chiu; Peter Shedden; Patti Bratina; James C. Grotta
Intractable diarrhoea caused by cytomegalovirus enterocolitis in an immunocompetent term neonate.
Symptomatic cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection mainly affects preterm and immunocompromised infants and usually manifest as rash, pneumonia, hepatospleenomegaly or encephalitis. To our knowledge intractable diarrhoea at two weeks of age caused by postnatally acquired CMV in immunocompetent term neonate is not reported. An unusual case of postnatally acquired CMV enterocolitis manifesting as protracted diarrhoea in an immunocompetent baby in neonatal period is reported. We conclude that CMV should be considered in the differential diagnosis of intractable diarrhoea in neonatal period and treatment with intravenous ganciclovir for CMV enterocolitis is not only indicated but is therapeutic. PMID:23780993
Gupta, Amit Kumar; Maria, Arti; Goyal, Deepak; Verma, Arushi
Intractable epilepsy due to angiocentric glioma: A case report and minireview
The aim of this case report and minireview was to investigate the diagnosis of and therapeutic approaches for angiocentric glioma (AG) and to summarize the clinical manifestations and the pathological and imaging characteristics of the disease. Intraoperative cortical electroencephalogram (ECoG) monitoring was performed to locate the epileptic foci in a child with AG who presented with intractable epilepsy, prior to the total resection of the tumor being performed under the microscope. The clinical features, imaging characteristics, intraoperative conditions, surgical methods and pathological results were analyzed and compared with the literature. The review revealed that to date, the clinical features of the 52 reported cases of AG (including this case) have been mainly characterized by epilepsy. High T2-weighted image (WI) and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) signals may be detected with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning of the cranium; however, no enhancement signals are detected by enhanced scanning. The prognosis following surgical resection is favorable. The lesions in the present case demonstrated clear boundaries with a central cystic affection accompanied by an arachnoid cyst on the left temporal pole. Pathological examination revealed that the lesion was positive for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), S-100 protein, vimentin, epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), cluster of differentiation 99 (CD99) and D2-40. The Ki-67/MIBk-1 labeling index was ~1%. In conclusion, AG exhibits characteristic features in imaging; however, its diagnosis depends on histopathological examination. The prognosis of total surgical resection is good and intraoperative ECoG may be used to assist positioning.
State of progress in treating cystic fibrosis respiratory disease.
Since the discovery of the gene associated with cystic fibrosis (CF), there has been tremendous progress in the care of patients with this disease. New therapies have entered the market and are part of the standard treatment of patients with CF, and have been associated with marked improvement in survival. Now there are even more promising therapies directed at different components of the pathophysiology of this disease. In this review, our current knowledge of the pathophysiology of lung disease in patients with CF is described, along with the current treatment of CF lung disease, and the therapies in development that offer great promise to our patients. PMID:22883684
Flume, Patrick A; Van Devanter, Donald R
Phenytoin (Dilantin) and acupuncture therapy in the treatment of intractable oral and facial pain.
Phenytoin is an anti-convulsant and anti-arrhythmic medication. Manufactured by various pharmaceutical companies with various brand names, phenytoin (PHT) is also known as Dilantain, Hydantoin or Phenytek in the United States; Dilantain or Remytoine in Canada; Epamin, Hidantoina in Mexico; and Fenidatoin or Fenitron or other names elsewhere in the world. Phenytoin (PHT) is especially useful for patients suffering from intractable oral and facial pain especially those who exhibit anger, stress, depression and irrational emotions commonly seen in the patients with oral and facial pain. When used properly, Phenytoin is also an effective anxiolysis drug in addition to its theraputic effects on pain and can be used alone or, even better, if combined with other compatible sedatives. Phenytoin is particularly valuable when combined with acupuncture for patients with trigeminal neuralgia, glossopharyneal neuralgia, Bell's palsy, and some other facial paralysis and pain. It also has an advantage of keeping the patient relatively lucid after treatment. Either PHT or acupuncture alone can benefit patients but the success of treatment outcome may be limited. We found by combining both acupuncture and PHT with Selective Drug Uptake Enhancement by stimulating middle finger at the first segment of ventral (palmar) and lateral surfaces, as well as prescribing PHT with the dosage predetermined for each patient by Bi-Digital O-Ring Test (BDORT), the treatment outcome was much better resulted with less recurrence and intensity of pain during episodes of attack. Patients with Bell's palsy were most benefited by acupuncture therapy that could completely get rid of the illness. PMID:21830351
Lu, Dominic P; Lu, Winston I; Lu, Gabriel P
Projections of Alzheimer's disease in the United States and the public health impact of delaying disease onset.
OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to project the future prevalence and incidence of Alzheimer's disease in the United States and the potential impact of interventions to delay disease onset. METHODS: The numbers of individuals in the United States with Alzheimer's disease and the numbers of newly diagnosed cases that can be expected over the next 50 years were estimated from a model that used age-specific incidence rates summarized from several epidemiological studies, US mortality rates, and US Bureau of the Census projections. RESULTS: in 1997, the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in the United States was 2.32 million (range: 1.09 to 4.58 million); of these individuals, 68% were female. It is projected that the prevalence will nearly quadruple in the next 50 years, by which time approximately 1 in 45 Americans will be afflicted with the disease. Currently, the annual number of new incident cases in 360,000. If interventions could delay onset of the disease by 2 years, after 50 years there would be nearly 2 million fewer cases than projected; if onset could be delayed by 1 year, there would be nearly 800,000 fewer prevalent cases. CONCLUSIONS: As the US population ages, Alzheimer's disease will become an enormous public health problem. interventions that could delay disease onset even modestly would have a major public health impact.
Brookmeyer, R; Gray, S; Kawas, C
Changes in EEG measurements in intractable epilepsy patients with neurofeedback training
To assess the effects of neurofeedback on brain electrophysiology and to determine how biofeedback works, power spectral density (PSD) and approximate entropy (ApEn) analyses are applied to the EEGs of six patients with intractable epilepsy who received neurofeedback training. After sessions of treatment, the EEG sensorimotor rhythm to theta PSD ratio calculated from the C4 electrode site becomes larger than
Longlian Zhao; Wenqing Wu; Zuoqing Liang; Guangshu Hu
Intractable Postpartum Hemorrhage Resulting from Uterine Artery Pseudoaneurysm: Superselective Arteriographic Embolization via the Collateral Route
We present a patient with intractable postpartum hemorrhage resulting from uterine artery pseudoaneurysm despite bilateral hypogastric artery ligation who was successfully treated by an endovascular approach via the collateral route. Although there is a good argument for postponing surgery until transcatheter embolization has been attempted, this case shows that embolization can still be successful even if the iliac vessels have been ligated.
Doenmez, Halil, E-mail: email@example.com; Oztuerk, M. Halil; Guergen, Fatma; Soylu, Serra O.; Hekimoglu, Baki [S.B. Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Egitim ve Arastirma Hastanesi, Department of Radiology (Turkey)
Recasting Intractable Policy Issues: The Wider Implications of The Netherlands Civil Aviation Controversy
The explosive growth of civil aviation is among the most difficult issues in transportation policy, and nowhere are the fundamental economic and environmental challenges it poses more apparent than in airport expansion. Conventional policy analyses have ineffectively handled these problems, characterized by uncertainty, complexity, and polarization. Increasingly, policy analysts and public managers depend on stakeholder involvement to recast intractable issues
Michel J. G. van Eeten
Usefulness of magnetic motor evoked potentials in the surgical treatment of hemiplegic patients with intractable epilepsy
Five hemiplegic patients with intractable epilepsy were studied with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) before and after various surgical treatments. These patients had unilateral widespread cerebral lesions acquired at various times, including congenital, infantile and childhood injury. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) of the abductor pollicis brevis (APB) muscles were simultaneously recorded on both sides following TMS of the motor cortex in
Electrophysiological effects and clinical results of direct brain stimulation for intractable epilepsy
Objective: Epilepsy can be considered as a result of the imbalance of the excitatory and inhibitory processes. Therefore, the artificial enhancement of the activity of brain inhibitory mechanisms might lead to a beneficial therapeutic effect for intractable epilepsy patients. Material and methods: Studies of the inhibitory effects of electrical stimulation of the head of the caudate nucleus (HCN), cerebellar dentate
Sozari A Chkhenkeli; Miron Őramka; George S Lortkipanidze; Tamaz N Rakviashvili; Eteri Sh Bregvadze; George E Magalashvili; Tamar Sh Gagoshidze; Irina S Chkhenkeli
The perceived characteristics of irresolvable, resolvable and resolved intimate conflicts : Is there evidence of intractability?
Purpose ľ The paper seeks to investigate the characteristics of irresolvable interpersonal conflicts by comparing irresolvable conflicts to resolvable and resolved conflicts on each of Coleman's common social psychological factors associated with intractable conflicts. Design\\/methodology\\/approach ľ Undergraduate students were randomly assigned to complete questionnaires about an irresolvable conflict, a resolvable conflict, or a resolved conflict. Participants reported on conflicts in
Courtney Waite Miller; Michael E. Roloff
Vagus nerve stimulation for treatment of medically intractable seizures. Evaluation of long-term outcome
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) constitutes an adjunctive, modern management of medically intractable seizures, especially when surgery is inadvisable. Objective: To evaluate the long-term results as regards efficacy, safety and tolerability of VNS in epileptic subjects, with focal and\\/or generalised seizures, refractory to old and new AEDs, without indication for resective surgery. Patients: 51 epileptic subjects (30 males, 21 females), aged
Paolo Tanganelli; Sergio Ferrero; Patrizio Colotto; Giovanni Regesta
An Analysis of Intractable Nightmares in a Two-Year Old Boy.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
This paper discusses a case study of therapeutic intervention with a 2-year-old boy. The child's major presenting symptom is intractable insomnia caused by nightmares, but his problems are linked to general patterns resulting from early paternal loss. The report analyzes the first 30 sessions of treatment. Discussion focuses on the unusualů
Feinberg, Daniel
Peritoneovenous shunt for intractable ascites due to hepatic lymphorrhea after hepatectomy.
A peritoneovenous shunt has become one of the most efficient procedures for intractable ascites due to liver cirrhosis. A case of intractable ascites due to hepatic lymphorrhea after hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma that was successfully treated by the placement of a peritoneovenous shunt is presented. A 72-year-old Japanese man underwent partial resection of the liver for hepatocellular carcinoma associated with hepatitis C viral infection. After hepatectomy, a considerable amount of ascites ranging from 800-4600 mL per day persisted despite conservative therapy, including numerous infusions of albumin and plasma protein fraction and administration of diuretics. Since the patient's general condition deteriorated, based on the diagnosis of intractable hepatic lymphorrhea, a subcutaneous peritoneovenous shunt was inserted. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful and the ascites decreased rapidly, with serum total protein and albumin levels and hepatic function improving accordingly. For intractable ascites due to hepatic lymphorrhea after hepatectomy, we recommend the placement of a peritoneovenous shunt as a procedure that can provide immediate effectiveness without increased surgical risk. PMID:21286221
Inoue, Yoshihiro; Hayashi, Michihiro; Hirokawa, Fumitoshi; Takeshita, Atsushi; Tanigawa, Nobuhiko
Developing Agency through Peacebuilding in the Midst of Intractable Conflict: The Case of Israel and Palestine
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
This paper discusses the presence of "peacebuilding islands" within civil society as potential agents of transformation in the midst of intractable conflict. Focusing on the particular case of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the argument stems from a deconstruction of the legacy of national myopia perpetuated through social and politicalů
Plonski, Sharri
Sacral Nerve Stimulation for Treatment of Intractable Pain Associated with Cauda Equina Syndrome
Sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) is an effective treatment for bladder and bowel dysfunction, and also has a role in the treatment of chronic pelvic pain. We report two cases of intractable pain associated with cauda equina syndrome (CES) that were treated successfully by SNS. The first patient suffered from intractable pelvic pain with urinary incontinence and fecal incontinence after surgery for a herniated lumbar disc. The second patient underwent surgery for treatment of a burst fracture and developed intractable pelvic area pain, right leg pain, excessive urinary frequency, urinary incontinence, voiding difficulty and constipation one year after surgery. A SNS trial was performed on both patients. Both patients' pain was significantly improved and urinary symptoms were much relieved. Neuromodulation of the sacral nerves is an effective treatment for idiopathic urinary frequency, urgency, and urge incontinence. Sacral neuromodulation has also been used to control various forms of pelvic pain. Although the mechanism of action of neuromodulation remains unexplained, numerous clinical success reports suggest that it is a therapy with efficacy and durability. From the results of our research, we believe that SNS can be a safe and effective option for the treatment of intractable pelvic pain with incomplete CES.
Kim, Jong-Hoon; Hong, Joo-Chul; Kim, Min-Su
Management of intractable epistaxis in patients who received radiation therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
To report clinical manifestations, bleeding point localization, and outcomes of management in 16 patients with 16 instances of intractable epistaxis after radiation therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Retrospective chart review of 16 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (mean age 52.06 ▒ 14.37 years) with 16 instances of intractable epistaxis during the past 5 years, whose diagnosis was confirmed by angiography (n = 10) or MRI/CT imaging studies and clinical manifestations (n = 6). The mean radiation dose to the affected carotid artery was 101.37 ▒ 34.85 Gy. Bleeding points were detected in the internal carotid artery (n = 8) or external carotid artery (n = 8). Detachable balloons were used in one affected artery for vascular occlusion; six were treated using an absorbable gelatin sponge (n = 4) or microcoils (diameter 1 mm) (n = 2). Endovascular embolization was successful in seven radiation carotid blowout syndromes with cessation of hemorrhage. One patient underwent external carotid artery ligation and one patient recovered without treatment. The clinical follow-up was 3 months. Therapeutic endovascular embolization of intractable epistaxis is both efficient and safe. It should be considered as the primary treatment modality in intractable epistaxis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. PMID:23846664
He, Cheng-Cheng; Si, Yong-Feng; Xie, Yu-An; Yu, Lei
Using and Refining Simplifications: Explanation-Based Learning of Plans in Intractable Domains
This paper describes an explanation-based apş proach lo learning plans despite a computationall y intractable domain theory. In this approach, the system learns an initial plan using limited inferş ence. In order to detect plans in which the limited inference causes a faulty plan the system monitors goal achievement in plan execution. When a plan unexpectedly fails to achieve a
Steve A. Chien
Intracoronary Autologous CD34+ Stem Cell Therapy for Intractable Angina
Background\\/Objectives: A large number of patients with coronary artery disease experience angina that is not suitable for revascularization and is refractory to conventional medical therapy. Laboratory and preclinical studies have provided evidence for the safety and potential efficacy of autologous CD34+ stem cell therapies as treatment for angina. Clinical studies investigating intramyocardial transplantation of autologous CD34+ stem cells by catheter
Shihong Wang; Junyu Cui; Wei Peng; Min Lu
Calcified cysticercotic lesions and intractable epilepsy: a cross sectional study of 512 patients
Background Neurocysticercosis is a major cause of epilepsy in developing countries and is endemic in Brazil. To test the hypothesis that the aetiological profile of patients with intractable epilepsy in Brazil includes neurocysticercosis, we conducted a cross sectional study investigating the aetiology of intractable epilepsy. Methods A total of 512 patients evaluated at the outpatient clinic for intractable epilepsy at the RibeirŃo Preto School of Medicine were included in the survey. Medical intractability was determined on the basis of seizure incidence and severity, and response to appropriate epilepsy management. Neuroimaging included brain CT with non?contrasted and contrasted phases and high resolution MRI. Patients were divided into neurocysticercosis and non?neurocysticercosis groups according to previous diagnostic criteria. Results The most common epileptogenic lesions were mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS; 56.0%), malformations of cortical development (12.1%), and brain tumours (9.9%). Neuroimaging was normal in 8.7% of patients. Calcifications were found in 27% of patients and were significantly more common in patients with MTS than in those without MTS (p<0.001). Isolated neurocysticercosis was found in only eight patients (1.56%). Conclusions These data suggest that neurocysticercosis is an uncommon cause of intractable epilepsy, even in an endemic region such as Brazil, and that it may only represent a coexistent pathology. However, an analysis of our findings reveals that neurocysticercosis was more common in patients with MTS. This finding could suggest either that there is a cause?effect relationship between MTS and neurocysticercosis, or that MTS and neurocysticercosis co?vary with a missing variable, such as socio?economic status.
Velasco, T R; Zanello, P A; Dalmagro, C L; Araujo, D; Santos, A C; Bianchin, M M; Alexandre, V; Walz, R; Assirati, J A; Carlotti, C G; Takayanagui, O M; Sakamoto, A C; Leite, J P
State-of-the-art disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs.
Significant advances have occurred in the symptomatic management of osteoarthritis over the past several decades. However, the development of so called disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs is in a more formative stage. Although increased knowledge of osteoarthritis pathophysiologic pathways provides more rational opportunity for targeting specific elements of the degenerative process, limitations in our ability to measure disease progression/regression hamper assessment. Development of more sophisticated plain radiographic techniques and the use of additional technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging and gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage provide potential for more reproducible approaches. Noninvasive biomarkers that reflect structural change are the subject of intense investigation. Studies describing disease-modification effects provide optimism that disease prevention, retardation, and reversal are attainable. PMID:15760576
Moskowitz, Roland W; Hooper, Michele
Imaging of lumbar degenerative disk disease: history and current state
One of the most common indications for performing magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the lumbar spine is the symptom complex\\u000a thought to originate as a result of degenerative disk disease. MR imaging, which has emerged as perhaps the modality of choice\\u000a for imaging degenerative disk disease, can readily demonstrate disk pathology, degenerative endplate changes, facet and ligamentous\\u000a hypertrophic changes, and
Todd M. Emch; Michael T. Modic
What do we need to know about disease ecology to prevent Lyme disease in the northeastern United States?
Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in the United States, with the majority of cases occurring in the Northeast. It has now been three decades since the etiological agent of the disease in North America, the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, and its primary North American vectors, the ticks Ixodes scapularis Say and I. pacificus Cooley & Kohls, were identified. Great strides have been made in our understanding of the ecology of the vectors and disease agent, and this knowledge has been used to design a wide range of prevention and control strategies. However, despite these advances, the number of Lyme disease cases have steadily increased. In this article, we assess potential reasons for the continued lack of success in prevention and control of Lyme disease in the northeastern United States, and identify conceptual areas where additional knowledge could be used to improve Lyme disease prevention and control strategies. Some of these areas include: 1) identifying critical host infestation rates required to maintain enzootic transmission of B. burgdorferi, 2) understanding how habitat diversity and forest fragmentation impacts acarological risk of exposure to B. burgdorferi and the ability of interventions to reduce risk, 3) quantifying the epidemiological outcomes of interventions focusing on ticks or vertebrate reservoirs, and 4) refining knowledge of how human behavior influences Lyme disease risk and identifying barriers to the adoption of personal protective measures and environmental tick management. PMID:22308766
Eisen, Rebecca J; Piesman, Joseph; Zielinski-Gutierrez, Emily; Eisen, Lars
[Breastfeeding and infectious diseases: state of the art].
Despite the well-known nutritive, psychological, immunological and economical benefits of breast-feeding, some contraindications exist, such as some mother infectious diseases transmitted through the breastfeeding itself. The risk of transmitting an infectious agent through breast milk seems to be relatively low, except for some virus diseases (CMV HIV), for some invasive bacteria forms (Salmonella typhimurium and Brucella) and for the presence of abscesses and mastitis. In some mother infectious disease, a correct hygiene allows the continuation of breastfeeding without risks for the infant, whereas in other cases it is recommended to breastfeed for the role of defence carried out from specific antibodies contained in the breast milk. Therefore, the decision of interrupting the breastfeeding may be done only after comparing risks and benefits, considering current knowledge on transmission of infectious pathologies. PMID:20940673
Zuppa, A A; Antichi, E; Fracchiolla, A; Carducci, C; Catenazzi, P; Romagnoli, C
Association of heart block with uncommon disease States.
A variety of diseases, other than the common Lev-LenŔgre disease, are associated with cardiac conduction system abnormalities. These include acute processes, such as acute rheumatic fever, and other disorders, such as sarcoidosis, connective tissue disorders, neoplasms, and bacterial endocarditis with cardiac abscess formation. The purpose of the study is to raise awareness of these rare conditions. We present 10 adult patients (4 males and 6 females) with a mean age of 47 years (range: 19-69), with various rare diseases associated with heart block, who needed temporary or permanent pacemaker therapy in the past two decades. These conditions included acute rheumatic carditis, Wegener granulomatosis, cardiac involvement of metastatic breast cancer, bacterial endocarditis, sarcoidosis, S/P chest radiotherapy, and quadriplegia with syringomyelia postspinal cord injury, and adult congenital heart block. We conclude that patients with these disorders should be followed periodically, to allow for early detection and treatment of cardiac conduction disturbances, with pacemaker therapy. PMID:24436606
Yahalom, Malka; Roguin, Nathan; Antonelli, Dante; Suleiman, Khaled; Turgeman, Yoav
Mechanisms of dopamine transporter regulation in normal and disease states.
The dopamine (DA) transporter (DAT) controls the spatial and temporal dynamics of DA neurotransmission by driving reuptake of extracellular transmitter into presynaptic neurons. Many diseases such as depression, bipolar disorder, Parkinson's disease (PD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are associated with abnormal DA levels, implicating DAT as a factor in their etiology. Medications used to treat these disorders and many addictive drugs target DAT and enhance dopaminergic signaling by suppressing transmitter reuptake. We now understand that the transport and binding properties of DAT are regulated by complex and overlapping mechanisms that provide neurons with the ability to modulate DA clearance in response to physiological demands. These processes are controlled by endogenous signaling pathways and affected by exogenous transporter ligands, demonstrating their importance for normal neurotransmission, drug abuse, and disease treatments. Increasing evidence supports the disruption of these mechanisms in DA disorders, implicating dysregulation of transport in disease etiologies and suggesting these processes as potential points for therapeutic manipulation of DA availability. PMID:23968642
Vaughan, Roxanne A; Foster, James D
Pathogenesis, Therapy, and Significance in Systemic Disease States
\\\\s=b\\\\Pruritus is a cutaneous sensation sharing neural receptors and pathways with pain but is characterized by its own precipi- tants, potentiators, and range of severity. Among patients with generalized pruritus, the prevalence of systemic disease has been reported as 10% to 50%, with renal, hepatic, hematopoietic, or endocrine causes most commonly identified. Malignant neo- plasms, neurologic disorders, certain drugs, or
Barbara A. Gilchrest
Electrodiagnostic evidence of subclinical disease states in drug abusers.
One hundred drug abusers, free of clinical signs or symptoms of disease, were examined by electrodiagnostic techniques. Sensory conduction of median, ulnar and sural nerves was evaluated in terms of latency, velocity and amplitude of evoked potential. Motor nerve latencies and conduction velocities of median, ulnar and personeal nerves were determined. Definite changes in the evoked sensory potentials of median and sural nerves of subjects using heroin or LSD were demonstrated. The sensory amplitude changes were suggestive of axonal degreneration because of normal duration. Maximum motor conduction velocity was abnormal in one patient who admitted using a variety of drugs; five heroin and two barbiturate users showed dispersed motor responses suggesting small fiber involvement. No abnormality could be shown in marjuana smokers. Signifcance of these findings is explained, emphasizing important potential for recognition of subclinical abnormalities and the opportunity for disease prevention. PMID:1259544
DiBenedetto, M
Norovirus and Foodborne Disease, United States, 1991-2000
Efforts to prevent foodborne illness target bacterial pathogens, yet noroviruses (NoV) are suspected to be the most common cause of gastroenteritis. New molecular assays allow for better estimation of the role of NoV in food- borne illness. We analyzed 8,271 foodborne outbreaks reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1991 to 2000 and additional data from 6
Marc-Alain Widdowson; Alana Sulka; Sandra N. Bulens; R. Suzanne Beard; Sandra S. Chaves; Roberta Hammond; Ellen D. P. Salehi; Ellen Swanson; Jessica Totaro; Ray Woron; Paul S. Mead; Joseph S. Bresee; Stephan S. Monroe; Roger I. Glass
Therapeutic neovascularization for coronary disease: current state and future prospects
Despite advances in surgical and percutaneous revascularization techniques, nearly one-third of patients with ischemic coronary\\u000a artery disease are not candidates for revascularization due to suboptimal anatomy or receive suboptimal revascularization\\u000a from these standard procedures. Neovascularization of the myocardium is not only a physiologic response to ischemia, but also\\u000a potentially the target of new therapeutic strategies. Induced angiogenesis via protein, gene,
Antonio D. Lassaletta; Louis M. Chu; Frank W. Sellke
Nutrition and oral infectious diseases: state of the science.
Immunological competence and nutritional status are two of the most important determinants of morbidity and mortality. Oral diseases, particularly inflammatory periodontal lesions, are caused by viruses and specific periodontopathic bacteria. Paradoxically, the production of cytokines and oxidant molecules, which are supposed to be part of a highly effective mechanism for combating the periodontal pathogens, may damage the host. Malnutrition consistently impairs innate and adaptive defenses of the host, including phagocytic function, cell-mediated immunity, complement system, secretory antibody, and cytokine production and function. In protein-energy malnutrition, there are marked changes in the oral microbial ecology resulting in a preponderance of pathogenic anaerobic organisms, increased propensity of bacteria to bind to oral mucosal cells, attenuation of acute phase protein response, and dysfunction of the cytokine system. Cellular depletion of antioxidant nutrients promotes immunosuppression, accelerated replication rate of ribonucleic acid viruses, and increased disease progression. Therefore, malnutrition can intensify the severity of oral infections and may lead to their evolution into life-threatening diseases. PMID:12060962
Enwonwu, Cyril O; Phillips, Reshma S; Falkler, William A
Ultrasound-guided Pulsed Radiofrequency Lesioning of the Phrenic Nerve in a Patient with Intractable Hiccup
Persistent and intractable hiccups (with respective durations of more than 48 hours and 1 month) can result in depression, fatigue, impaired sleep, dehydration, weight loss, malnutrition, and aspiration syndromes. The conventional treatments for hiccups are either non-pharmacological, pharmacological or a nerve block treatment. Pulsed radiofrequency lesioning (PRFL) has been proposed for the modulation of the excited nervous system pathway of pain as a safe and nondestructive treatment method. As placement of the electrode in close proximity to the targeted nerve is very important for the success of PRFL, ultrasound appears to be well suited for this technique. A 74-year-old man suffering from intractable hiccups that had developed after a coronary artery bypass graft and had continued for 7 years was referred to our pain clinic. He had not been treated with conventional methods or medications. We performed PRFL of the phrenic nerve guided by ultrasound and the hiccups disappeared.
Kang, Keum Nae; Park, In Kyung; Suh, Jeong Hun; Leem, Jeong Gill
Mini-open rotator cuff repair does not result in intractable stiffness.
We conducted a study to determine whether intractable postoperative stiffness or deltoid damage results from primary arthroscopic anterior acromioplasty and mini-open repair of full-thickness tears of the superior rotator cuff. Eighty-three repairs (80 patients) were available for follow-up at a mean (range) of 57.2 (12-98) months. Range of motion at presentation and motion in contralateral shoulder at final follow-up were used for comparison. Significant improvements were seen in active forward elevation, passive forward elevation, and active external rotation at 90░ abduction. Final motion in the operative and contralateral shoulders was similar. American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons shoulder index improved significantly (P<.0001) from 50.0 before surgery to 88.3 after surgery. Although 1 patient had a symptomatic retear that required revision surgery, there were no cases of intractable stiffness, and there were no cases of deltoid damage. PMID:22268017
Doppelt, Jason D; Neviaser, Robert J
Resting-state functional connectivity as a marker of disease progression in Parkinson's disease: A longitudinal MEG study?
The assessment of resting-state functional connectivity has become an important tool in studying brain disease mechanisms. Here we use magnetoencephalography to longitudinally evaluate functional connectivity changes in relation to clinical measures of disease progression in Parkinson's disease (PD). Using a source-space based approach with detailed anatomical mapping, functional connectivity was assessed for temporal, prefrontal and high order sensory association areas known to show neuropathological changes in early clinical disease stages. At baseline, early stage, untreated PD patients (ná=á12) had lower parahippocampal and temporal delta band connectivity and higher temporal alpha1 band connectivity compared to controls. Longitudinal analyses over a 4-year period in a larger patient group (ná=á43) revealed decreases in alpha1 and alpha2 band connectivity for multiple seed regions that were associated with motor or cognitive deterioration. In the earliest clinical stages of PD, delta and alpha1 band resting-state functional connectivity is altered in temporal cortical regions. With disease progression, a reversal of the initial changes in alpha1 and additional decreases in alpha2 band connectivity evolving in a more widespread cortical pattern. These changes in functional connectivity appear to reflect clinically relevant phenomena and therefore hold promise as a marker of disease progression, with potential predictive value for clinical outcome.
Olde Dubbelink, Kim T.E.; Stoffers, Diederick; Deijen, Jan Berend; Twisk, Jos W.R.; Stam, Cornelis J.; Hillebrand, Arjan; Berendse, Henk W.
Successful treatment for intractable chylous ascites in a child using a peritoneovenous shunt
Intractable post-operative chylous ascites had been managed successfully using a peritoneovenous shunt (PVshunt). A 4-year-old girl with neuroblastoma originated from the right adrenal gland was admitted to our hospital. Following the preoperative chemotherapy, tumor resection, and lymph node dissection of the abdominal paraaortic region were carried out. Post-operative radiation therapy 9.6 gray to the tumor bed and to the paraaortic
Hiroshi Matsufuji; Takeki Nishio; Ryota Hosoya
Local anaesthetic thoracoscopy for intractable pneumothorax in a high-risk patient
The management of high-operative-risk patients with a pneumothorax is complicated. The case of a 79-year old man with an intractable secondary pneumothorax, who had taken oral steroids to control asthma, is presented. Since the patient could not tolerate general anaesthesia because of poor cardiac function, thoracoscopic surgery was performed under local anaesthesia. A successful lung fistula closure was achieved and the continuous air leakage disappeared immediately after the surgery.
Yutaka, Yojiro; Katakura, Hiromichi; Kaneda, Shohei; Yamanaka, Akira
Neuraxial infusion in patients with chronic intractable cancer and noncancer pain
Ever since the application in 1980 of morphine for spinal analgesia in patients with refractory cancer pain, spinal infusion\\u000a therapy has become one of the cornerstones for the management of chronic, medically intractable pain. Initially, spinal infusion\\u000a therapy was indicated only for patients with cancer pain that could not be adequately controlled with systemic narcotics.\\u000a However, over the past decade,
Richard K. Osenbach; Susan Harvey
Black-on-clear piggyback technique for a black occlusive intraocular device in intractable diplopia.
Black occlusive intraocular devices have been used successfully for intractable binocular diplopia. We describe a novel technique of implanting both a black occlusive device and a clear poly(methyl methacrylate) intraocular lens (IOL) in the capsular bag during phacoemulsification surgery. If the need should arise at a later date, this approach will allow safer and easier explantation of the black occlusive device, avoiding the need for IOL exchange. PMID:22088851
Byard, Stephen D; Lee, Richard M H; Lam, Fook Chang; Simpson, Andrew R H; Liu, Christopher S C
Percutaneous Cyanoacrylate Glue Injection into the Renal Pseudoaneurysm to Control Intractable Hematuria After Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy
We report a case of a 43-year-old man who developed intractable hematuria after percutaneous nephrolithotomy. Angiography detected a pseudoaneurysm arising from the lower polar artery; however, embolization could not be performed because of unfavorable vascular anatomy. A percutaneous thrombin injection under ultrasound guidance initially controlled the bleeding, but hematuria subsequently recurred as a result of recanalization of the aneurysm. The case was successfully managed with ultrasound- and fluoroscopic-guided direct injection of cyanoacrylate glue into the pseudoaneurysm.
Lal, Anupam, E-mail: email@example.com; Kumar, Ajay; Prakash, Mahesh; Singhal, Manphool [Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Department of Radiodiagnosis and Imaging (India); Agarwal, Mayank Mohan; Sarkar, Debansu [Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Department of Urology (India); Khandelwal, Niranjan [Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Department of Radiodiagnosis and Imaging (India)
Prevalence of Heart Disease, United States, 2005. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 56, No. 56, February 16, 2007.
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
The MMWR weekly contains data on specific diseases as reported by state and territorial health departments and reports on infectious and chronic diseases, environmental hazards, natural or human-generated disasters, occupational diseases and injuries, and...
Problem/Condition: Since 1971, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists have maintained a collaborative surveillance system for collecting and periodically reporting da...
Usefulness of short term video-EEG monitoring in children with frequent intractable episodes.
A prospective study was done to evaluate the role of short-term Video EEG (VEEG) recording in assessing the nature of clinical behaviour and in classification of seizures in children with frequent intractable seizure episodes. Forty five children upto 12 years of age with frequent intractable seizure episodes (> or =3/week) were included in the study. VEEG was done on an outpatient basis until an event was recorded or for a minimum period of 6 hours. The events were detected in 78% of cases. The seizures were classified in all children with recorded events and seizure classification was changed in 22%. Anti-epileptic drugs could be stopped or reduced in 11%. Short term VEEG monitoring was useful in characterising events and in classification of seizures in children with frequent, intractable seizure episodes. Use of this investigation as a screening procedure for diagnosis in children with frequent episodes is stressed, thereby reducing the cost associated with prolonged VEEG recordings and disability associated with misdiagnosis of epilepsy. PMID:10751810
Srikumar, G; Bhatia, M; Jain, S; Maheshwari, M C
Low-grade glial neoplasms and intractable partial epilepsy: efficacy of surgical treatment.
We performed a retrospective study of 51 consecutive patients who underwent operation for intractable partial epilepsy related to low-grade intracerebral neoplasms between 1984 and 1990. All patients had medically refractory partial seizures and a mass lesion identified on neuroimaging studies. Lesionectomy was performed on 17 patients, and 34 had lesion resection and corticectomy. Mean postoperative follow-up was 4.4 years (range 2-8 years). Sixty-six percent of patients were seizure-free, and 88% experienced a significant reduction in seizure frequency. In 16 patients (31%), antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) were successfully discontinued. Twenty-five of 31 (81%) eligible patients obtained a driver's license after successful operation. Patients with complete tumor resection and no interictal epileptiform activity on postoperative EEG studies had the best operative outcome. Epilepsy surgery can result in long-term improvement in seizure control and quality of life (QOL) in selected patients with intractable tumor-related epilepsy. Our results should be useful to clinicians considering treatment options for patients with intractable seizures related to low-grade intracerebral neoplasms. PMID:7988500
Britton, J W; Cascino, G D; Sharbrough, F W; Kelly, P J
The burden of disease and injury in the United States 1996
BACKGROUND: Burden of disease studies have been implemented in many countries using the Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY) to assess major health problems. Important objectives of the study were to quantify intra-country differentials in health outcomes and to place the United States situation in the international context. METHODS: We applied methods developed for the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) to data
Catherine M Michaud; Matthew T McKenna; Stephen Begg; Niels Tomijima; Meghna Majmudar; Maria T Bulzacchelli; Shahul Ebrahim; Majid Ezzati; Joshua A Salomon; Jessica Gaber Kreiser; Mollie Hogan; Christopher JL Murray
The adrenal gland: common disease states and suspected new applications.
The adrenal gland, while small in size, provides a major punch to human metabolism. The interplay between the adrenal cortex hormones aldosterone and cortisol provides needed regulation to human metabolism. Aldosterone regulates the body sodium content affecting blood pressure thru fluid-volume regulation by the kidney. Cortisol, also from the adrenal cortex, contributes to regulation of glucose and protein metabolism. Diseases like addison's disease and Cushing's syndrome that affect the normal levels of these hormones can lead to serious pathologies that need to be detected thru clinical laboratory testing. The inner core of the adrenal gland, called the medulla, houses the catecholamine epinephrine, a fast acting neuropeptide hormone that can influence body action and energy levels quickly. The pheochromocytomas pathology of the adrenal medulla adversely affects the medulla hormones and needs to be recognized by clinical laboratory testing. The overview of the adrenal gland and its potential pathologies needs to be looked at anew in relation to post-traumatic stress disorder to find any linkage that may aid in the treatment and cure of our affected military soldiers. This interrelationship between cortisol and epinephrine in PTSD should be closely evaluated to determine if the suspected linkages are significant. PMID:23772480
Gorman, Linda S
Effects of landscape fragmentation and climate on Lyme disease incidence in the northeastern United States.
Lyme disease is the most frequently reported vector borne illness in the United States, and incidences are increasing steadily year after year. This study explores the influence of landscape (e.g., land use pattern and landscape fragmentation) and climatic factors (e.g., temperature and precipitation) at a regional scale on Lyme disease incidence. The study area includes thirteen states in the Northeastern United States. Lyme disease incidence at county level for the period of 2002-2006 was linked with several key landscape and climatic variables in a negative binomial regression model. Results show that Lyme disease incidence has a relatively clear connection with regional landscape fragmentation and temperature. For example, more fragmentation between forests and residential areas results in higher local Lyme disease incidence. This study also indicates that, for the same landscape, some landscape variables derived at a particular scale show a clearer connection to Lyme disease than do others. In general, the study sheds more light on connections between Lyme disease incidence and climate and landscape patterns at the regional scale. Integrating findings of this regional study with studies at a local scale will further refine understanding of the pattern of Lyme disease as well as increase our ability to predict, prevent, and respond to disease. PMID:24419663
Tran, Phoebe Minh; Waller, Lance
Quality of Life after Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Intractable Epilepsy: Is Seizure Control the Only Contributing Factor?
We assessed the impact of vagus nerve stimulation on a cohort of patients with intractable epilepsy. A 1-year prospective trial of vagus nerve stimulation for intractable epilepsy was done in 26 patients. Seizure frequency, anti-epileptic drugs, and quality of life were assessed using QOLIE-89, ELDQOL, and a Likert scale of impact of treatment. Seizures were reduced by more than 50%
Richard S. McLachlan; Mark Sadler; Neelan Pillay; Alan Guberman; Michael Jones; Samuel Wiebe; Jack Schneiderman
Altered Resting State Brain Networks in Parkinson's Disease
Parkinsonĺs disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra leading to dysfunctional cortico-striato-thalamic-cortical loops. In addition to the characteristic motor symptoms, PD patients often show cognitive impairments, affective changes and other non-motor symptoms, suggesting system-wide effects on brain function. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and graph-theory based analysis methods to investigate altered whole-brain intrinsic functional connectivity in PD patients (n?=?37) compared to healthy controls (n?=?20). Global network properties indicated less efficient processing in PD. Analysis of brain network modules pointed to increased connectivity within the sensorimotor network, but decreased interaction of the visual network with other brain modules. We found lower connectivity mainly between the cuneus and the ventral caudate, medial orbitofrontal cortex and the temporal lobe. To identify regions of altered connectivity, we mapped the degree of intrinsic functional connectivity both on ROI- and on voxel-level across the brain. Compared to healthy controls, PD patients showed lower connectedness in the medial and middle orbitofrontal cortex. The degree of connectivity was also decreased in the occipital lobe (cuneus and calcarine), but increased in the superior parietal cortex, posterior cingulate gyrus, supramarginal gyrus and supplementary motor area. Our results on global network and module properties indicated that PD manifests as a disconnection syndrome. This was most apparent in the visual network module. The higher connectedness within the sensorimotor module in PD patients may be related to compensation mechanism in order to overcome the functional deficit of the striato-cortical motor loops or to loss of mutual inhibition between brain networks. Abnormal connectivity in the visual network may be related to adaptation and compensation processes as a consequence of altered motor function. Our analysis approach proved sensitive for detecting disease-related localized effects as well as changes in network functions on intermediate and global scale.
Gottlich, Martin; Munte, Thomas F.; Heldmann, Marcus; Kasten, Meike; Hagenah, Johann; Kramer, Ulrike M.
Nonalcoholic Wernicke's Encephalopathy Associated with Unintentional Weight Loss, Cholecystectomy, and Intractable Vomiting: The Role of Dual Thiamine and Corticosteroid Therapy
A 23-year-old male with one month of intractable vomiting, subsequent cholecystitis status post cholecystectomy, and overall 40-pound weight loss over the last few months presented with altered mental status and seizures. MRI showed signal abnormalities involving the hypothalamus, periaqueductal gray matter, 4th ventricle, and bilateral thalami, indicative of Wernicke's encephalopathy. The patient was started on empiric IV thiamine and methylprednisolone; thiamine levels were subsequently found to be low. Infectious disease workup was negative. Within a few days of this therapy, the patient's neurological status steadily improved with increased responsiveness and communication. Repeat MRI 7 days after admission showed significant resolution of the signal abnormalities. Over the next several weeks the patient became fully conversational, cognitively intact, and increasingly ambulatory. Nonalcoholic Wernicke's encephalopathy is rare; there have been reports relating it separately to vomiting and invasive surgery. In this case report, we associate it with both recurrent vomiting and minimally invasive cholecystectomy. We also discuss combinatorial therapy of thiamine and corticosteroids, which is poorly defined in the literature. Though there is no consensus-based optimal treatment of Wernicke's encephalopathy, this adds to the discussion of using dual therapy and supports that the use of empiric corticosteroids does not harm the patient.
Donadee, Chenell; Gomez, Leslie; Zaretskaya, Marina
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders in State Mental Hospitals: Data from a Nationwide Survey.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Reports data from nationwide survey of state mental hospitals, providing exploratory look at patients with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders currently residing in state hospitals. Describes admissions trends, reasons for admission, and sources of referral. Discusses civil commitment of nursing home patients with dementing illnesses andů
Moak, Gary S.; Fisher, William H.
Viability of Neocortical Function Shown in Behavioral Activation State PET Studies in Alzheimer Disease
Summary: Twenty subjects with mildly to moderately severe Alzheimer disease (AD) and 14 normal elderly control subjects were studied using [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose and positron emission tomography (PET) to investigate regional cerebral glucose metabolism during both a resting state and a behavioral activation state, utilizing a reading memory task (RMT). The RMT produced significant global metabolic activation of 15 ▒ 15% in
Ranjan Duara; Warren W. Barker; Jen Chang; Fumihito Yoshii; David A. Loewenstein; Shlomo Pascal
The thalamostriatal system in normal and diseased states
Because of our limited knowledge of the functional role of the thalamostriatal system, this massive network is often ignored in models of the pathophysiology of brain disorders of basal ganglia origin, such as Parkinsonĺs disease (PD). However, over the past decade, significant advances have led to a deeper understanding of the anatomical, electrophysiological, behavioral and pathological aspects of the thalamostriatal system. The cloning of the vesicular glutamate transporters 1 and 2 (vGluT1 and vGluT2) has provided powerful tools to differentiate thalamostriatal from corticostriatal glutamatergic terminals, allowing us to carry out comparative studies of the synaptology and plasticity of these two systems in normal and pathological conditions. Findings from these studies have led to the recognition of two thalamostriatal systems, based on their differential origin from the caudal intralaminar nuclear group, the center median/parafascicular (CM/Pf) complex, or other thalamic nuclei. The recent use of optogenetic methods supports this model of the organization of the thalamostriatal systems, showing differences in functionality and glutamate receptor localization at thalamostriatal synapses from Pf and other thalamic nuclei. At the functional level, evidence largely gathered from thalamic recordings in awake monkeys strongly suggests that the thalamostriatal system from the CM/Pf is involved in regulating alertness and switching behaviors. Importantly, there is evidence that the caudal intralaminar nuclei and their axonal projections to the striatum partly degenerate in PD and that CM/Pf deep brain stimulation (DBS) may be therapeutically useful in several movement disorders.
Smith, Yoland; Galvan, Adriana; Ellender, Tommas J.; Doig, Natalie; Villalba, Rosa M.; Huerta-Ocampo, Icnelia; Wichmann, Thomas; Bolam, J. Paul
ER Calcium and Alzheimer's Disease: In a State of Flux
NSDL National Science Digital Library
The calcium ion (Ca2+) plays fundamental roles in orchestrating dynamic changes in the function and structure of nerve cell circuits in the brain. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER), an organelle that actively removes Ca2+ from the cytoplasm, can release stored Ca2+ through ER membrane receptor channels responsive either to the lipid messenger inositol trisphosphate(IP3) or to cytosolic Ca2+. Emerging findings suggest that perturbed ER Ca2+ homeostasis contributes to the dysfunction and degeneration of neurons that occurs in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Presenilin-1 (PS1) is an integral membrane protein in the ER; mutations in PS1 that cause early-onset inherited AD increase the pool of ER Ca2+ available for release and also enhance Ca2+ release through ER IP3- and ryanodine-sensitive channels. By enhancing Ca2+ flux across the ER membrane, PS1 mutations may exaggerate Ca2+ signaling in synaptic terminals and thereby render them vulnerable to dysfunction and degeneration in the settings of aging and amyloid accumulation in AD.
Mark P. Mattson (Baltimore;National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program REV)
Arginine de novo and nitric oxide production in disease states
Arginine is derived from dietary protein intake, body protein breakdown, or endogenous de novo arginine production. The latter may be linked to the availability of citrulline, which is the immediate precursor of arginine and limiting factor for de novo arginine production. Arginine metabolism is highly compartmentalized due to the expression of the enzymes involved in arginine metabolism in various organs. A small fraction of arginine enters the NO synthase (NOS) pathway. Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) is an essential and rate-limiting cofactor for the production of NO. Depletion of BH4 in oxidative-stressed endothelial cells can result in so-called NOS3 ôuncoupling,ö resulting in production of superoxide instead of NO. Moreover, distribution of arginine between intracellular transporters and arginine-converting enzymes, as well as between the arginine-converting and arginine-synthesizing enzymes, determines the metabolic fate of arginine. Alternatively, NO can be derived from conversion of nitrite. Reduced arginine availability stemming from reduced de novo production and elevated arginase activity have been reported in various conditions of acute and chronic stress, which are often characterized by increased NOS2 and reduced NOS3 activity. Cardiovascular and pulmonary disorders such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, ischemic heart disease, and hypertension are characterized by NOS3 uncoupling. Therapeutic applications to influence (de novo) arginine and NO metabolism aim at increasing substrate availability or at influencing the metabolic fate of specific pathways related to NO bioavailability and prevention of NOS3 uncoupling. These include supplementation of arginine or citrulline, provision of NO donors including inhaled NO and nitrite (sources), NOS3 modulating agents, or the targeting of endogenous NOS inhibitors like asymmetric dimethylarginine.
Luiking, Yvette C.; Ten Have, Gabriella A. M.; Wolfe, Robert R.
A Qualitative Study of State-level Zoonotic disease surveillance in New England
Summary Zoonotic diseases are infectious diseases transmittable between animals and humans and outbreaks of these diseases in animals can signify that humans are also infected (or vice-versa). Thus, communication between animal and human health agencies is critical for surveillance. Understanding how these agencies conduct surveillance and share information is important for development of successful automated zoonotic monitoring systems. Individual interviews were conducted with 13 professionals who perform animal or human zoonotic disease surveillance in one of the New England states. Questions centered on existing surveillance methods, collaborations between animal and human health agencies, and technological and data needs. The results showed that agencies routinely communicate over suspected zoonotic disease cases yet there are barriers preventing automated electronic linking of health data of animals and humans. These include technological barriers and barriers due sensitivity and confidentiality of information. Addressing these will facilitate development of electronic systems for integrating animal and human zoonotic disease surveillance data.
Scotch, Matthew; Mattocks, Kristin; Rabinowitz, Peter; Brandt, Cynthia
Geographic differences in mortality of young children with sickle cell disease in the United States.
OBJECTIVES: Because geographic differences in health care have been found for many diseases, including those affecting children, there are probably geographic differences in the health care of young children with sickle cell disease. Consequently, survival of young children with sickle cell disease might differ among geographic areas. This study's objective was to identify areas in the United States where young children with sickle cell disease are at especially high and low risk of dying. METHODS: Using U.S. death certificate data from 1968 through 1992, the authors calculated the mortality rates of 1- through 4-year-old black children with sickle cell disease for states, counties, and cities. Deaths from trauma, congenital anomalies, and perinatal conditions were excluded. RESULTS: From 1968 through 1980 and from 1981 through 1992, 1- through 4-year-old black children with sickle cell disease in Florida had a markedly higher risk of dying, and those in Pennsylvania had a markedly lower risk of dying, than the average 1- through 4-year-old black child with the disease in the United States. From 1981 through 1992, 1- through 4-year-old black children with sickle cell disease in Maryland had the lowest mortality rate in the nation. During the same time period, 1- through 4-year-old black children with sickle cell disease in five counties in Florida were at especially high risk, while in Baltimore no young black children with the disease died. These geographic differences in mortality of black children with sickle cell disease greatly exceeded geographic differences in mortality of black children without the disease. CONCLUSIONS: Marked differences exist across the United States in mortality of young black children with sickle cell disease. To improve survival for children with the disease in high mortality areas, evaluations should be made of the accessibility and quality of medical care, and of parents' health care seeking behavior and compliance with antibiotic prophylaxis. In addition, efforts should be made to understand and duplicate the success of treatment programs in low mortality areas.
Davis, H; Gergen, P J; Moore, R M
Estimates of disease effects on soybean yields in the United States 2003 to 2005.
Research must focus on management of diseases that cause extensive losses, especially when funds for research are limited. Knowledge of the losses caused by various soybean diseases is essential when prioritizing research budgets. The objective of this project was to compile estimates of soybean yields suppressed due to diseases for each soybean-producing state in the US from 2003 to 2005. The goal was to provide this information to help funding agencies and scientists prioritize research objectives and budgets. Yield suppression due to individual diseases varied among regions in the US, and the total of soybean yields suppressed due to diseases in the US varied among years. Soybean cyst nematode suppressed US soybean yield more during 2003 to 2005 than any other disease. Phytophthora root and stem rot, sudden death syndrome, and seedling diseases ranked in the top four on the list of diseases that suppressed soybean yield during these years. This is the first report of soybean yield suppression due to Asian soybean rust in the United States. PMID:19259444
Wrather, J Allen; Koenning, Steve R
Estimates of Disease Effects on Soybean Yields in the United States 2003 to 2005
Research must focus on management of diseases that cause extensive losses, especially when funds for research are limited. Knowledge of the losses caused by various soybean diseases is essential when prioritizing research budgets. The objective of this project was to compile estimates of soybean yields suppressed due to diseases for each soybean-producing state in the US from 2003 to 2005. The goal was to provide this information to help funding agencies and scientists prioritize research objectives and budgets. Yield suppression due to individual diseases varied among regions in the US, and the total of soybean yields suppressed due to diseases in the US varied among years. Soybean cyst nematode suppressed US soybean yield more during 2003 to 2005 than any other disease. Phytophthora root and stem rot, sudden death syndrome, and seedling diseases ranked in the top four on the list of diseases that suppressed soybean yield during these years. This is the first report of soybean yield suppression due to Asian soybean rust in the United States.
Wrather, J. Allen; Koenning, Steve R.
[Gastrointestinal diseases and bone].
Bone mineral density is decreased in inflammatory bowel diseases, which are intractable inflammation in the digestive tract. The causes of decreased bone mineral density are multifactorial including steroid use, insufficiency of nutritional intake, malabsorption in the gastrointestinal tract and activation of mucosal immune system. Insufficient levels of vitamins D and K are reported in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases and are also suggested to be involved in acceleration of intestinal inflammation. PMID:23354092
Iijima, Hideki; Tsujii, Masahiko; Takehara, Tetsuo
Chemotactic and mitogenic stimuli of neuronal apoptosis in patients with medically intractable temporal lobe epilepsy
To identify the upstream signals of neuronal apoptosis in patients with medically intractable temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), we evaluated by immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy brain tissues of 13 TLE patients and 5 control patients regarding expression of chemokines and cell-cycle proteins. The chemokine RANTES (CCR5) and other CC-chemokines and apoptotic markers (caspase-3, -8, -9) were expressed in lateral temporal cortical and hippocampal neurons of TLE patients, but not in neurons of control cases. The chemokine RANTES is usually found in cytoplasmic and extracellular locations. However, in TLE neurons, RANTES was displayed in an unusual location, the neuronal nuclei. In addition, the cell-cycle regulatory transcription factor E2F1 was found in an abnormal location in neuronal cytoplasm. The pro-inflammatory enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 and cytokine interleukin-1? were expressed both in neurons of patients suffering from temporal lobe epilepsy and from cerebral trauma. The vessels showed fibrin leakage, perivascular macrophages and expression of IL-6 on endothelial cells. In conclusion, the cytoplasmic effects of E2F1 and nuclear effects of RANTES might have novel roles in neuronal apoptosis of TLE neurons and indicate a need to develop new medical and/or surgical neuroprotective strategies against apoptotic signaling by these molecules. Both RANTES and E2F1 signaling are upstream from caspase activation, thus the antagonists of RANTES and/or E2F1 blockade might be neuroprotective for patients with medically intractable temporal lobe epilepsy. The results have implications for the development of new medical and surgical therapies based on inhibition of chemotactic and mitogenic stimuli of neuronal apoptosis in patients with medically intractable temporal lobe epilepsy.
Fiala, Milan; Avagyan, Hripsime; Merino, Jose Joaquin; Bernas, Michael; Valdivia, Juan; Espinosa-Jeffrey, Araceli; Witte, Marlys; Weinand, Martin
Long-Term Effectiveness and Safety of Endoscopic Vidian Neurectomy for the Treatment of Intractable Rhinitis
Objectives Vidian neurectomy could be considered the treatment of choice for intractable rhinitis, because it is the only method that can permanently block the pathophysiological mechanism of rhinitis. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of vidian neurectomy on nasal symptoms and tear production, and to assess for possible complications. Methods Six patients with intractable rhinitis who underwent endoscopic transnasal vidian neurectomy were enrolled. The degree of symptom improvement and complications were assessed through retrospective review of medical records prior to, and 1 year following surgery, and telephone survey after 6.9▒2.1 years. Schirmer's test was performed before surgery, and these values were compared to postoperative results at 1 day, 1 month, and 2 months. Results Changes in the visual analogue scale were significant in nasal obstruction (8.5▒2.5 to 3.0▒2.0, P<0.05) and rhinorrhea (9.0▒2.2 to 2.0▒1.6, P<0.05). Improvements persisted for up to 7 years after the primary surgery. Patients complained of mild dry eyes for 1 month after vidian neurectomy. However, five out of six reported marked improvement of xerophthalmia after 2 months. Aside from mild crusting of the nasal cavity and mild postoperative pain, there were no major complications. During the entire follow-up period, no patient needed additional treatment, such as antihistamines or corticosteroids. Conclusion Vidian neurectomy is effective in alleviating nasal symptoms in patients with intractable rhinitis refractory to other treatments. This effect is sustained for at least 7 years with minimal postoperative complications.
Kim, Young Hyo; Shin, Seung-Ho
Blood cytokine, chemokine and gene expression in cholestasis patients with intractable pruritus treated with a molecular adsorbent recirculating system: A case series
BACKGROUND: The molecular adsorbent recirculating system (MARS) is an albumin-dialysis modality that has been investigated predominantly in patients with acute and acute-on-chronic liver failure. OBJECTIVES: To report the clinical efficacy and safety of MARS therapy for intractable pruritus in cholestasis patients with stable chronic liver disease, characterizing the impact of MARS on cytokine levels and on the transcriptome in the blood compartment. METHODS: MARS therapy was performed on three patients with cholestatic liver disease using 8 h runs for two consecutive days. The expression levels of 65 cytokines/chemokines and 24,000 genes were profiled by Luminex (Luminex Corporation, USA) and microarray, respectively. RESULTS: A quality-of-life assessment demonstrated a marked improvement during therapy, which was sustained in two of three patients. No bleeding or infectious complications were observed. Bile acid levels were markedly reduced following MARS (mean [▒ SD] pretreatment 478.9▒112.2 ?mol/L versus post-treatment 89.7▒68.8 ?mol/L). Concordant decreases in cytokine/chemokine levels were noted for interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12 (p40), RANTES, tranforming growth factor-alpha, tumour necrosis factor-alpha and thrombopoietin following MARS. On microarray profiling, biologically relevant concordant changes among all patients were evident for 20 different genes (10 upregulated and 10 downregulated). The upregulation of several potentially immune suppressive/regulatory genes (eg, early growth response 3 [EGR-3], ephrin-A2 [EFNA2] and serum amyloid A1 [SAA1]), concurrent with downregulation of genes involved in innate immunity (eg, toll-like receptor 4 interactor with leucine-rich repeats [TRIL]) and inflammation (eg, ephrin receptor B1 [EPHB1]), was observed. CONCLUSIONS: This investigative approach offers new insights into intractable pruritus and suggests future therapeutic targets. The clinical benefit of MARS in cholestasis patients with intractable pruritus may not exclusively result from filtration of pruritogens, but also from systemic changes in cytokine/chemokine levels and changes in gene expression of blood cells.
Lisboa, Luiz F; Asthana, Sonal; Kremer, Andreas E; Swain, Mark; Bagshaw, Sean M; Gibney, Noel; Karvellas, Constantine J
SAS macro program for non-homogeneous Markov process in modeling multi-state disease progression
Writing a computer program for modeling multi-state disease process for cancer or chronic disease is often an arduous and time-consuming task. We have developed a SAS macro program for estimating the transition parameters in such models using SAS IML. The program is very flexible and enables the user to specify homogeneous and non-homogeneous (i.e. Weibull distribution, logľlogistic, etc.) Markov models,
Wu Hui-min; Yen Ming-fang; Tony Hsiu-hsi Chen
75 FR 19915 - Changes in Disease Status of the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina with Regard to Certain...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...RIN 0579-AD12 Changes in Disease Status of the Brazilian State...and effectively to an animal disease outbreak and limit the spread of the disease should an outbreak occur...State of Santa Catarina has a common land border with...
Automatic assessment of the motor state of the Parkinson's disease patient--a case study
This paper presents a novel methodology in which the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) data processed with a rule-based decision algorithm is used to predict the state of the Parkinson's Disease patients. The research was carried out to investigate whether the advancement of the Parkinson's Disease can be automatically assessed. For this purpose, past and current UPDRS data from 47 subjects were examined. The results show that, among other classifiers, the rough set-based decision algorithm turned out to be most suitable for such automatic assessment. Virtual slides The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1563339375633634.
Blood lead and chronic kidney disease in the general United States population: Results from NHANES III
Blood lead and chronic kidney disease in the general United States population: Results from NHANES III.BackgroundHigh lead exposure is associated with hypertension and renal dysfunction but the effect of low-level environmental exposure is not as well studied.MethodsWe examined the association between blood lead and renal function among a representative sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized United States population with and without
Paul Muntner; Jiang He; Suma Vupputuri; Josef Coresh; Vecihi Batuman
HIV-associated nephropathy and end-stage renal disease in children in the United States
Single-center studies have reported that HIV-associated nephropathy (HIVAN) can occur in children and may have a clinical course and prognosis similar to that of adults. However, the prevalence and survival has not been reported for a national sample of children with HIVAN and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on dialysis in the United States. We utilized the United States Renal Data
Tejinder S. Ahuja; Kevin C. Abbott; Laura Pack; Yong-Fang Kuo
Perceived Benefits and Challenges of Coordinated Approaches to Chronic Disease Prevention in State Health Departments
Introduction Chronic disease prevention efforts have historically been funded categorically according to disease or risk factor. Federal agencies are now progressively starting to fund combined programs to address common risk. The purpose of this study was to inform transitions to coordinated chronic disease prevention by learning views on perceived benefits and challenges of a coordinated approach to funding. Methods A national survey on evidence-based public health was conducted from March through May 2013 among state health department employees working in chronic disease prevention (N = 865). Participants were asked to rank the top 3 benefits and top 3 challenges in coordinating chronic disease approaches from provided lists and could provide additional responses. Descriptive analyses, ?2 tests, and analysis of variance were conducted. Results The most common perceived benefits of coordinated approaches to chronic disease prevention were improved health outcomes, common risk factors better addressed, and reduced duplication of program efforts. The most common perceived challenges were funding restrictions, such as disease-specific performance measures; competing priorities; lack of communication across programs; funding might be reduced; agency not structured for program coordination; and loss of disease-specific partner support. Rankings of benefits and challenges were similar across states and participant roles; the perceived challenges ôlack of communication across programsö (P = .02) and ôfunding might be reducedö differed by program area (P < .001). Conclusion Findings can be used by funding agencies and state health departments for planning, training, and technical assistance. The information on perceived challenges demonstrates the need to improve communication across programs, enhance organizational support for coordinated approaches, and create benefits for organizational partners.
Sequeira, Sonia; Best, Leslie; Jones, Ellen; Baker, Elizabeth A.; Brownson, Ross C.
No deterioration in epilepsy and motor function in children with medically intractable epilepsy ineligible for surgery.
The aim of this study was to examine whether severity of epilepsy, motor functioning, and epilepsy-related restrictions change in children with medically intractable epilepsy who are ineligible for epilepsy surgery. The study was a prospective, longitudinal, 2-year follow-up of 28 children (14 females, 14 males). Their median age was 6 years 1 month (range 7mo-15y 4mo). Seizure types were: complex partial seizures (n=16), secondary generalized seizures (n=7), simple partial seizures (n=2), and mixed seizures (n=3). Severity of seizures, motor impairments, motor development, activities of daily life, and epilepsy-related restrictions were rated at baseline and 6, 12, and 24 months thereafter. Seizure severity did not change significantly, nor did muscle strength, range of motion, or muscle tone. Motor retardation was ubiquitous but did not increase in 20 children without spasticity. Motor function of eight children with spasticity improved (Gross Motor Function Measure: baseline 70.5 [SD 35.5]; 24 months later 81.6 [SD 29.6], p < 0.05) but remained below reference values in four children. In the entire group, functional skills increased and caregiver assistance lessened. Restrictions did not change significantly. We conclude that during a 2-year follow-up period, in children with medically intractable epilepsy who do not have surgical intervention, seizure severity does not deteriorate, motor impairments do not increase, motor development does not deflect negatively, and activities of daily living and restrictions do not worsen. PMID:17355479
van Empelen, Ron; Helders, Paul J M; van Rijen, Peter C; Jennekens-Schinkel, Aag; van Nieuwenhuizen, Onno
Increased striatal serotonin synthesis following cortical resection in children with intractable epilepsy
Summary Background and purpose Serotonin is a major regulator of structural brain plasticity, which may occur following cortical resection in humans. In this study we used positron emission tomography (PET) with alpha[11C]methyl-L-tryptophan (AMT) to evaluate serotonergic alterations in subcortical structures following cortical resection in children with intractable epilepsy. Methods AMT uptake in the thalamus and lentiform nucleus was evaluated postoperatively (1ľ89 months following resection) in 19 children (mean age: 8.7 years) with a previous cortical resection due to intractable epilepsy. Ten children with partial epilepsy but without resection and seven normal children served as controls. Results There was an increased AMT uptake in the lentiform nucleus ipsilateral to the resection as compared to the contralateral side (mean asymmetry: 4.2 ▒ 3.0%), and the asymmetries were significantly higher than those measured in the control groups (p ? 0.001). Post-resection asymmetry indices in the lentiform nucleus correlated inversely with postoperative time (r = ?0.67; p = 0.002), but not with age (p = 0.29) or the extent of resection (p = 0.77). In contrast, thalamic AMT uptake asymmetries were not different among the three groups (p = 0.63). Conclusions Cortical resection results in a sustained increase of AMT uptake in the lentiform nucleus, suggesting increased serotonin synthesis. Serotonergic activation in the deafferented striatum may play a role in the functional reorganization of cortico-striatal projections in humans.
Chugani, Harry T.; Juhasz, Csaba; Chugani, Diane C.; Lawrenson, Lesley; Muzik, Otto; Chakraborty, Pulak K.; Sood, Sandeep
Executive functioning in children with intractable frontal lobe or temporal lobe epilepsy.
The aim of the present study was to shed light on the executive functioning deficits that might differentiate children with frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) from children with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Participants included 19 youth with intractable FLE and 47 youth with intractable TLE. Participants completed the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), verbal fluency, Trail Making Test (Trails A and B), Digit Span Forward (DSF), and Digit Span Backward (DSB). When compared to the normative sample, the FLE group performed significantly worse on DSF, DSB, Trails B, and the WCST. Similarly, the TLE group performed significantly worse on DSF and DSB compared to the normative sample. Youth with FLE had significantly greater difficulty on the WCST compared to the TLE group. Overall, the results indicated that youth with FLE had significantly greater difficulty with concept formation compared to children with TLE. No differences between groups emerged on tasks assessing attention, working memory, mental flexibility, or rapid word retrieval. Both groups performed significantly below the normative sample levels on attention and working memory tasks. As a whole, it appears that some, although not all, executive dysfunction is specific to FLE. PMID:23246148
Longo, Carmelinda A; Kerr, Elizabeth N; Smith, Mary Lou
Chronic Granulomatous Herpes Encephalitis in a Child with Clinically Intractable Epilepsy
Most patients with herpes simplex virus Type I encephalitis experience an acute, monophasic illness. Chronic encephalitis is much less common, and few late relapses are associated with intractable seizure disorders. A 10-year-old boy was admitted to our institution for intractable epilepsy as part of an evaluation for epilepsy surgery. His history was significant for herpes meningitis at age 4 months. At that time, he presented to an outside hospital with fever for three days, with acyclovir treatment beginning on day 4 of his 40-day hospital course. He later developed infantile spasms and ultimately a mixed seizure disorder. Video electroencephalogram showed a Lennox-Gastaut-type pattern with frequent right frontotemporal spikes. Imaging studies showed an abnormality in the right frontal operculum. Based on these findings, he underwent a right frontal lobectomy. Neuropathology demonstrated chronic granulomatous inflammation with focal necrosis and mineralizations. Scattered lymphocytes, microglial nodules and nonnecrotizing granulomas were present with multinucleated giant cells. Immunohistochemistry for herpes simplex virus showed focal immunoreactivity. After undergoing acyclovir therapy, he returned to baseline with decreased seizure frequency. This rare form of herpes encephalitis has only been reported in children, but the initial presentation of meningitis and the approximate 10-year-time interval in this case are unusual.
Hackney, James R.; Harrison, D. Keith; Rozzelle, Curtis; Kankirawatana, Suthida; Kankirawatana, Pongkiat; Palmer, Cheryl Ann
Prevalence of SCN1A mutations in children with suspected Dravet syndrome and intractable childhood epilepsy.
Mutations of the gene encoding the ?1 subunit of neuronal sodium channel, SCN1A, are reported to cause Dravet syndrome (DS). The prevalence of mutations reported in such studies (mainly in clinically confirmed DS) seems high enough to make genetic diagnosis feasible. In fact, commercially operating genetic diagnostic laboratories offering genetic analyses of SCN1A are available. Still, the exact prevalence of mutations of SCN1A remains elusive. Fukuoka University has been serving as a genetic diagnostic laboratory for DS for the last 10 years. In this study, we determined the prevalence of SCN1A mutations (SCN1A, SCN2A, SCN1B and SCN2B) in 448 patients with suspected DS and intractable childhood epilepsy. A total of 192 SCN1A mutations were identified in 188 of 448 patients (42.0%). The frequencies of SCN1A mutations in suspected severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI), its borderline phenotype (SMEB) and intractable epilepsy were 56.2%, 41.9% and 28.9% respectively. In addition, four SCN2A mutations were identified in 4 of 325 patients. No mutations of SCN1B and SCN2B were identified. These results are potentially helpful for the diagnosis of DS at early stage. PMID:23195492
Wang, Ji-wen; Shi, Xiu-yu; Kurahashi, Hirokazu; Hwang, Su-Kyeong; Ishii, Atsushi; Higurashi, Norimichi; Kaneko, Sunao; Hirose, Shinichi
Surveillance for Waterborne Disease Outbreaks and Other Health Events Associated with Recreational Water -United States, 2007-2008
Background: Since 1978, CDC, EPA, and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists have collaborated on the Waterborne Disease and Outbreak Surveillance System (WBDOSS) to capture data on waterborne disease outbreaks associated with recreational water. WBDOSS is the prima...
Maternal, Perinatal, and Postneonatal Outcomes in Women With Chronic Heart Disease in Washington State
Objective To explore the association between the presence of maternal heart disease and maternal, perinatal, and infant outcomes. Methods We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study using Washington State birth certificates linked with hospital discharge records of mothers noted to have maternal congenital heart disease, ischemic heart disease, heart failure or pulmonary hypertension. Women who gave birth between 1987 and 2009 (n=2,171) were compared to a sample of mothers without these conditions (n=21,710). We described characteristics of pregnant women with heart disease over time. Logistic regression estimated the association between reported chronic maternal heart disease and small for gestational age (SGA) birth, as well as perinatal, post-neonatal and maternal death. Results The proportion of births to women with reported heart disease increased 224% between the 1987-1994 and 2002-2009 calendar periods. Chronic maternal heart disease was associated with increased risk of SGA birth (62 additional SGA infants per 1,000 births, 95% CI 46-78, p <0.001), perinatal death (14 additional deaths per 1,000 births, 95% CI 8-20, p <0.001), postneonatal death (five additional deaths per 1,000 births, 95% CI 2-9, p<0.001) and maternal death (five additional deaths per 1,000 births, 95% CI 2-9, p<0.001). Conclusion The presence of chronic maternal heart disease is associated with elevated risk for poor maternal, perinatal, and postneonatal outcomes.
Leary, Peter J; Leary, Sarah ES; Stout, Karen K; Schwartz, Stephen M; Easterling, Thomas R
PROBLEM/CONDITION: Since 1971, CDC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) have maintained a collaborative surveillance system for the occurrences and causes of waterborne-disease outbreaks (WBDOs).This surv...
The report examines geographic variation in the onset of the decline of ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality in white males aged 35-74 during the period 1968-78. Using a quadratic regression model, State Economic Areas (SEAs) were classified as experiencing onset of the decline...
Prothrombotic state and signs of endothelial lesion in plasma of patients with inflammatory bowel disease
Recent investigations suggest that microthrombi formation in bowel capillaries could be a determinant factor in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) pathogenesis. To evaluate the implication of the hemostatic system during these thrombotic events, we analyzed plasmatic values of prothrombotic state markers, physiologic inhibitors of coagulation, and endothelial lesion markers in 112 IBD patients. We found an increase in thrombin-antithrombin complexes and
Joan Carles Souto; Elisabet MartÝnez; MartÝ Roca; JOSIE MATEO; Joan Pujol; Dolors Gonzßlez; Jordi Fontcuberta
Potential novel risk factors for autochthonous and sylvatic transmission of human Chagas disease in the United States
Chagas disease is an emerging vector-borne disease in the United States that causes progressive dilated cardiomyopathy in a third of infected humans. While transmission studies have been performed in Latin America, little is known about the source of infection in locally acquired cases in the United States. This letter describes the underlying factors possibly leading to an increased risk of disease transmission among high-risk groups in the United States.
Potential novel risk factors for autochthonous and sylvatic transmission of human Chagas disease in the United States.
Chagas disease is an emerging vector-borne disease in the United States that causes progressive dilated cardiomyopathy in a third of infected humans. While transmission studies have been performed in Latin America, little is known about the source of infection in locally acquired cases in the United States. This letter describes the underlying factors possibly leading to an increased risk of disease transmission among high-risk groups in the United States. PMID:24996479
Garcia, Melissa N; Hotez, Peter J; Murray, Kristy O
Efficacy of Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Brain-Tumor Associated Intractable Epilepsy and the Importance of Tumor Stability
Object Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a viable option for patients with medically intractable epilepsy. However, there are no studies examining its effect on individuals with brain tumor associated intractable epilepsy. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of VNS in patients with brain tumor associated medically intractable epilepsy. Methods Epilepsy surgery databases at two separate epilepsy centers were reviewed to identify patients in whom a VNS was placed for tumor-related intractable epilepsy between January 1999 and December 2011. Pre-operative and post-operative seizure frequency and type as well as antiepileptic drug (AED) regimens and degree of tumor progression were evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed using odds ratio and T tests to examine efficacy. Results Sixteen patients were included in the study. Eight patients (50%) had an improved outcome (Engel I, II, or III) with an average follow-up of 39.6 months. The mean reduction in seizure frequency was 41.7% (p = .002). There was no significant change in AED regimens. Seizure frequency decreased by 10.9% in patients with progressing tumors and 65.6% in patients with stable tumors (p = .008). Conclusion VNS therapy in individuals with brain tumor associated medically intractable epilepsy was shown to be comparably effective in regards to seizure reduction and response rates to the general population of VNS therapy patients. Outcomes were better in patients with stable as opposed to progressing tumors. Our findings support the recommendation of VNS therapy in patients with brain tumor associated intractable epilepsy, especially in cases where imminent tumor progression is not expected. VNS may not be indicated in more malignant tumors.
Patel, Kunal S.; Moussazadeh, Nelson; Doyle, Werner K.; Labar, Douglas R.; Schwartz, Theodore H.
Beh?et's disease: new insight into the relationship between procoagulant state, endothelial activation/damage and disease activity
Background Behšet disease (BD) is associated with a prothrombotic state of unknown origin that may lead to life-threatening events. Calibrated Automated Thrombogram (CAT) and Rotational Thromboelastometry (ROTEM) are two global haemostasis assays that may reveal new insights into the physiopathological mechanisms of the disease and its procoagulant condition. Methods 23 BD patients who had no signs or symptoms of current thrombosis and 33 age- and sex-matched controls were included in the study. We performed ROTEM and CAT tests and assessed erythrocyte count, platelet count, platelet contribution to clot formation and plasma levels of tissue-type plasminogen activator, plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1), fibrinogen, C-reactive protein (CRP), thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT), D-dimer and E-selectin (ES). Results Both ROTEM and CAT tests showed a hypercoagulable state in the BD patients. Plasma levels of PAI-1, fibrinogen, TAT, CRP and ES were significantly increased in this group compared to controls. The disease activity (DA) was significantly correlated with levels of ES and the maximum clot firmness, and this last one, in turn, correlated with rising levels of ES, PAI-1, CRP and fibrinogen. CAT parameters did not correlate with DA or ES. Conclusions Both ROTEM and CAT tests reveal that patients with BD have a procoagulant state even in the absence of thrombosis. ROTEM test indicates that increased levels of fibrinogen and PAI-1 may be involved in the prothrombotic state of this pathology, while platelets do not significantly contribute. Moreover, CAT assay demonstrate that plasma from BD patients is able to generate more thrombin than controls in response to the same stimulus and that this effect is independent of the DA and the endothelial impairment suggesting the involvement of another factor in the hypercoagulable state observed in BD patients. This study also shows that endothelium activation/damage may be a contributing factor in both the procoagulant and clinical conditions of BD, as shown by the direct correlation between ES levels, ROTEM parameters and DA.
Ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency ablation of the genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve for treatment of intractable orchalgia
Chronic orchalgia is a frustrating clinical problem for both the patient and the physician. We present a 17-year-old boy with a bilateral idiopathic chronic intractable orchalgia with failed conservative treatment. For 2 years, he suffered from severe attacks of scrotal pain that affected his daily activities and caused frequent absence from school. Ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency ablation (PRF) of the genital branches of the genitofemoral nerve performed after local anesthetic nerve block confirmed the diagnosis and yielded 6 weeks of symptom relief. Seven-month follow-up revealed complete satisfactory analgesia. The use of PRF is an effective and non-invasive approach to treat intractable chronic orchalgia.
Terkawi, Abdullah Sulieman; Romdhane, Kamel
The Disease Burden Attributable to Smoking in the State Of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil in 2000
INTRODUCTION Smoking is one of the main risk factors for morbidity and mortality. An estimated 59 million (4.4%) disability-adjusted life years were lost due to smoking throughout the world in 2000. OBJECTIVE To estimate the disease burden attributable to smoking in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the year 2000. METHODS Based on estimates of smoking prevalence and relative death risks, the smoking-attributable fraction was calculated for each selected cause, by age and gender. The disease burden attributable to smoking was estimated by multiplying the fractions by the corresponding disability-adjusted life years. RESULTS In the State of Rio de Janeiro, 7% of all disability-adjusted life years were due to smoking. For individuals 30 or more years old, the fraction increased to 10.6% (13.6% in males and 7.5% in females). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and tracheal, bronchial, and lung cancer accounted for 32.2%, 15.7%, 13.2%, and 11.1% of the estimated total DALYs, respectively, amounting to 72.2% of the smoking-attributable disease burden. DISCUSSION Limitations related to parameter estimates were not unique to this study, and therefore should not compromise the comparability of our results. Outcomes were similar to those obtained in other countries, despite methodological differences. CONCLUSION Smoking is an important risk factor and places a significant disease burden on Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, showing a pattern similar to that observed in high income countries.
Oliveira, Andreia Ferreira; Valente, Joaquim Goncalves; Leite, Iuri Costa
The burden of disease and injury in the United States 1996
Background Burden of disease studies have been implemented in many countries using the Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY) to assess major health problems. Important objectives of the study were to quantify intra-country differentials in health outcomes and to place the United States situation in the international context. Methods We applied methods developed for the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) to data specific to the United States to compute Disability-Adjusted Life Years. Estimates are provided by age and gender for the general population of the United States and for each of the four official race groups: White; Black; American Indian or Alaskan Native; and Asian or Pacific Islander. Several adjustments of GBD methods were made: the inclusion of race; a revised list of causes; and a revised algorithm to allocate cardiovascular disease garbage codes to ischaemic heart disease. We compared the results of this analysis to international estimates published by the World Health Organization for developed and developing regions of the world. Results In the mid-1990s the leading sources of premature death and disability in the United States, as measured by DALYs, were: cardiovascular conditions, breast and lung cancers, depression, osteoarthritis, diabetes mellitus, and alcohol use and abuse. In addition, motor vehicle-related injuries and the HIV epidemic exacted a substantial toll on the health status of the US population, particularly among racial minorities. The major sources of death and disability in these latter populations were more similar to patterns of burden in developing rather than developed countries. Conclusion Estimating DALYs specifically for the United States provides a comprehensive assessment of health problems for this country compared to what is available using mortality data alone.
Michaud, Catherine M; McKenna, Matthew T; Begg, Stephen; Tomijima, Niels; Majmudar, Meghna; Bulzacchelli, Maria T; Ebrahim, Shahul; Ezzati, Majid; Salomon, Joshua A; Gaber Kreiser, Jessica; Hogan, Mollie; Murray, Christopher JL
Pseudohypoparathyroidism type Ia manifesting as intractable epilepsy in a 23-year-old female
Pseudohypoparathyroidism is a rare disorder of calcium metabolism that involves target organ resistance to the action of the parathyroid hormone. As a result, calcium levels may become dangerously low, sometimes leading to seizures and other symptoms. We present a case of a 23-year-old Somalian female on antiepileptic therapy presenting with intractable epilepsy. She was subsequently found to have pseudohypoparathyroidism type Ia. She had multiple reasons accounting for loss of seizure control, including worsening hypocalcemia from resistance to the parathyroid hormone; vitamin D deficiency, which could have resulted from lack of exposure to direct sunlight and her antiepileptic medication; and extensive calcium deposition in the brain due to pseudohypoparathyroidism. The patient was stabilized with intravenous therapy and oral calcium, vitamin D, and calcitriol. Her antiepileptic therapy was changed to a medication that did not interfere with vitamin D metabolism or contribute to worsening hypocalcemia.
Raghavan, Pooja; Katz, Charles M
Melanosomal sequestration of cytotoxic drugs contributes to the intractability of malignant melanomas
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Multidrug resistance mechanisms underlying the intractability of malignant melanomas remain largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that the development of multidrug resistance in melanomas involves subcellular sequestration of intracellular cytotoxic drugs such as cis-diaminedichloroplatinum II (cisplatin; CDDP). CDDP is initially sequestered in subcellular organelles such as melanosomes, which significantly reduces its nuclear localization when compared with nonmelanoma/KB-3-1 epidermoid carcinoma cells. The melanosomal accumulation of CDDP remarkably modulates melanogenesis through a pronounced increase in tyrosinase activity. The altered melanogenesis manifested an 8-fold increase in both intracellular pigmentation and extracellular transport of melanosomes containing CDDP. Thus, our experiments provide evidence that melanosomes contribute to the refractory properties of melanoma cells by sequestering cytotoxic drugs and increasing melanosome-mediated drug export. Preventing melanosomal sequestration of cytotoxic drugs by inhibiting the functions of melanosomes may have great potential as an approach to improving the chemosensitivity of melanoma cells. cancer | melanosomes | skin | tumor therapy | multidrug resistance
Chen, Kevin G.; Valencia, Julio C.; Lai, Barry; Zhang, Guofeng; Paterson, Jill K.; Rouzaud, Franšois; Berens, Werner; Wincovitch, Stephen M.; Garfield, Susan H.; Leapman, Richard D.; Hearing, Vincent J.; Gottesman, Michael M.
Correlation of ictal EEG and SPECT studies in patients of intractable epilepsy with normal MRI.
Identification of the epileptic focus is the most important requirement for a successful surgical outcome in intractable epilepsy. Patients with normal MRI on high-resolution imaging pose a significant challenge in this regard. We tried to identify the epileptic focus using interictal / ictal SPECT and ictal EEG patterns in 14 patients with normal MRI. Rhythmic ictal onset activity helped to identify a single focus in 10 patients (71.43%). Inter ictal SPECT detected a focus corresponding to ictal EEG in 6 out of 10 patients (60%) in whom the test was performed. Ictal SPECT done in 5 patients correctly identified the focus in all patients (100%). Our data indicate that it is possible to obtain localization in patients with normal MRI using a combination of ictal EEG patterns and an ictal SPECT study. PMID:12577092
Thomas, R; Bhatia, M; Bal, C S; Gaikwad, S; Singh, V P; Jain, S
Use of endoscopic transthoracic sympathicotomy in intractable postherpetic neuralgia of the chest.
Although there are various treatments for postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), none produces definitive effects. We report a case of 72-year-old woman who developed intractable PHN of the chest in which treatment with endoscopic transthoracic sympathicotomy (ETS) produced long-term effective results. When hyperesthesia of the sympathetic nerve participates in PHN, the blocking of sympathetic excitation seems to be effective for PHN suppression. The method using a single resectoscope is safe, accurate, yields excellent results cosmetically, and generates minimal invasion and very little postoperative pain. Although ETS is not always effective for all cases of PHN, it could be a useful method of treating patients with PHN that is resistant to conventional therapies. PMID:12171855
Matsumoto, Isao; Oda, Makoto; Shintani, Hiromoto
Seizure remission in adults with long-standing intractable epilepsy: An extended follow-up
Summary Recent studies have provided much needed data on the probability of seizure remission among adults with chronic intractable epilepsy treated medically. Here we provide an extended follow-up to our earlier study in order to provide a more comprehensive picture of long-term prognosis in this patient population during medical treatment. The prevalence cohort was followed for two outcomesŚcomplete seizure remission for ?12 months and subsequent seizure relapse among those attaining a seizure remission. The study outcomes were estimated using KaplanľMeier analysis. We found that the probability of attaining a ?12 months of complete seizure freedom to be approximately 3ľ4% per year through 8 years of follow-up. By year 5 since the start of seizure remission, the cumulative probability of seizure relapse was 81%, although only half of the patients with seizure relapse went on to experience their previous seizure frequency
Choi, Hyunmi; Heiman, Gary A.; Munger Clary, Heidi; Etienne, Mill; Resor, Stanley R.; Hauser, W. Allen
Fluoroscopy and Sonographic Guided Injection of Obliquus Capitis Inferior Muscle in an Intractable Occipital Neuralgia
Occipital neuralgia is a form of headache that involves the posterior occiput in the greater or lesser occipital nerve distribution. Pain can be severe and persistent with conservative treatment. We present a case of intractable occipital neuralgia that conventional therapeutic modalities failed to ameliorate. We speculate that, in this case, the cause of headache could be the greater occipital nerve entrapment by the obliquus capitis inferior muscle. After steroid and local anesthetic injection into obliquus capitis inferior muscles under fluoroscopic and sonographic guidance, the visual analogue scale was decreased from 9-10/10 to 1-2/10 for 2-3 weeks. The patient eventually got both greater occipital neurectomy and partial resection of obliquus capitis inferior muscles due to the short term effect of the injection. The successful steroid and local anesthetic injection for this occipital neuralgia shows that the refractory headache was caused by entrapment of greater occipital nerves by obliquus capitis inferior muscles.
Kim, Ok Sun; Jeong, Seung Min; Ro, Ji Young; Kim, Duck Kyoung; Koh, Young Cho; Ko, Young Sin; Lim, So Dug; Kim, Hae Kyoung
[Hemostatic treatment for intractable traumatic hemorrhage using fibrinogen concentrates and recombinant activated factor VII].
A male patient in his thirties presented to the emergency room of our hospital after a traffic injury. He was in hemorrhagic shock and was diagnosed with a pelvic bone fracture by computed tomography. Despite a massive transfusion of red cells, platelets, and fresh frozen plasma, the bleeding was determined to be continuous because his blood pressure remained unstable and his platelet count and coagulation parameters did not improve. Because ordinary replacement therapy was ineffective, the patient was infused with fibrinogen concentrates and recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa), although these are off-label indications in Japan. He recovered from the hemorrhagic shock immediately after the infusion. Although there have been several reports on the management of intractable hemorrhage secondary to severe trauma using rFVIIa, we have experienced few such cases. This patient was rescued by hemostatic treatment with fibrinogen concentrates and rFVIIa. PMID:24598191
Fujii, Teruhisa; Saito, Seiji
Towards Patient-Specific Modeling of Coronary Hemodynamics in Healthy and Diseased State
A model describing the primary relations between the cardiac muscle and coronary circulation might be useful for interpreting coronary hemodynamics in case multiple types of coronary circulatory disease are present. The main contribution of the present study is the coupling of a microstructure-based heart contraction model with a 1D wave propagation model. The 1D representation of the vessels enables patient-specific modeling of the arteries and/or can serve as boundary conditions for detailed 3D models, while the heart model enables the simulation of cardiac disease, with physiology-based parameter changes. Here, the different components of the model are explained and the ability of the model to describe coronary hemodynamics in health and disease is evaluated. Two disease types are modeled: coronary epicardial stenoses and left ventricular hypertrophy with an aortic valve stenosis. In all simulations (healthy and diseased), the dynamics of pressure and flow qualitatively agreed with observations described in literature. We conclude that the model adequately can predict coronary hemodynamics in both normal and diseased state based on patient-specific clinical data.
van der Horst, Arjen; Boogaard, Frits L.; van't Veer, Marcel; Rutten, Marcel C. M.; Pijls, Nico H. J.; van de Vosse, Frans N.
Impact of heart disease and quality of care on minority populations in the United States.
Heart disease is a leading cause of death across all populations in the United States. In 1985, the Secretary's Task Force on Black and Minority Health recognized the existence of widespread health disparities for heart disease and related risk factors among minorities in America. Inequalities in heart health and healthcare continue to exist. This review compares measures of heart disease and healthcare for white, African-American, Asian/Pacific Islander, American-Indian/Alaska-Native and Hispanic/Latino populations. Lack of healthcare data for minorities continues to be a barrier to understanding the nature and extent of heart disease and related risk factors for these groups. In combination with programs that address preventive measures to reduce risk factors for heart disease, the integration of quality improvement measures has developed as an important strategy for reducing cardiovascular health disparities. Improved data collection and reporting, enhanced use of information technology, and promotion of cultural competency hold potential for improving the quality of cardiac care and reducing health disease for all Americans.
Graham, Garth N.; Guendelman, Mayadallia; Leong, Benjamin S.; Hogan, Sara; Dennison, Adrienne
Sedation for intractable distress in the dying--a survey of experts.
Terminal sedation is a phrase that has appeared in the palliative care literature in the last few years. There has not been a clear definition proposed for this term, nor has there been any agreement on the frequency with which the technique is used. A postal survey of 61 selected palliative care experts (59 physicians, two nurses) was carried out to examine their response to a proposed definition for 'terminal sedation', to estimate the frequency of this practice and the reasons for its use, to identify the drugs and dosages used, to determine the outcome, and to explore the decision-making process. Opinions on physician-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia were also sought. Eighty-seven per cent of the experts responded from eight countries, although predominantly from Canada and the United Kingdom. Forty per cent agreed unequivocally with the proposed definition, while 4% disagreed completely. Eighty-nine per cent agreed that 'terminal sedation' is sometimes necessary and 77% reported using it in the last 12 months--over half of these for up to four patients. Reasons for using this method included various physical and psychological symptoms. The most common drugs used were midazolam and methotrimeprazine. Decision making usually involved the patient or family, and varied with respect to the ease with which the decision was made. The use of sedation was perceived to be successful in 90 out of 100 patients recalled. Ninety per cent of respondents did not support legalization of euthanasia. In conclusion, sedating agents are used by palliative care experts as tools for the management of symptoms. The term 'terminal sedation' should be abandoned and replaced with the phrase 'sedation for intractable distress in the dying'. Further research into the management of intractable symptoms and suffering is warranted. PMID:9743824
Chater, S; Viola, R; Paterson, J; Jarvis, V
Long-Term Outcomes of Hemispheric Disconnection in Pediatric Patients with Intractable Epilepsy
Background and Purpose Hemispherectomy reportedly produces remarkable results in terms of seizure outcome and quality of life for medically intractable hemispheric epilepsy in children. We reviewed the neuroradiologic findings, pathologic findings, epilepsy characteristics, and clinical long-term outcomes in pediatric patients following a hemispheric disconnection. Methods We retrospectively studied 12 children (8 males) who underwent a hemispherectomy at Asan Medical Center between 1997 and 2005. Clinical, EEG, neuroradiological, and surgical data were collected. Long-term outcomes for seizure, motor functions, and cognitive functions were evaluated at a mean follow-up of 12.7 years (range, 7.6-16.2 years) after surgery. Results The mean age at epilepsy onset was 3.0 years (range, 0-7.6 years). The following epilepsy syndromes were identified in our cohort: focal symptomatic epilepsy (n=8), West syndrome (n=3), and Rasmussen's syndrome (n=1). Postoperative histopathology of our study patients revealed malformation of cortical development (n=7), encephalomalacia as a sequela of infarction or trauma (n=3), Sturge-Weber syndrome (n=1), and Rasmussen's encephalitis (n=1). The mean age at surgery was 6.5 years (range, 0.8-12.3 years). Anatomical or functional hemispherectomy was performed in 8 patients, and hemispherotomy was performed in 4 patients. Eight of our 12 children (66.7%) were seizure-free, but 3 patients with perioperative complications showed persistent seizure. Although all patients had preoperative hemiparesis and developmental delay, none had additional motor or cognitive deficits after surgery, and most achieved independent walking and improvement in daily activities. Conclusions The long-term clinical outcomes of hemispherectomy in children with intractable hemispheric epilepsy are good when careful patient selection and skilled surgical approaches are applied.
Lee, Yun-Jeong; Kim, Eun-Hee; Yum, Mi-Sun; Lee, Jung Kyo; Hong, Seokho
The effect of lymphatico-venous anastomosis for an intractable ulcer at the lower leg in a marked obese patient.
Secondary lymphedema occurs after trauma, cancer surgery, or obesity, and wounds in lymphedema can easily become intractable. We report positive results using lymphatico-venous anastomosis (LVA) to treat a post-traumatic lymph fistula and an intractable ulcer in a severely obese patient. A 41-year-old male (BMI 51.8), one year prior, had a traffic injury, and had an 18-cm contusion in his right leg. Six months later, lymph leakage in a 14 cm?Î?8 cm region and a 5 cm?Î?3 cm skin ulcer occurred in the center of the wound. We made a diagnosis of lymphedema resulting from obesity, accompanied with lymphorrhea and intractable ulcer. He was unable to reach his legs owing to obesity, making complex physical therapy impossible. We performed LVA under local anesthesia. The lymphorrhea healed 2 weeks after the operation and had not recurred 3 months after the operation. The leg lymphedema improved after the surgery without the compression therapy. In cases of intractable ulcers, suspected of being caused by lymphostasis, treatments indicated for lymphedema, for example LVA, may possibly allow satisfactory wound healing. ę 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microsurgery 34:64-67, 2014. PMID:24038321
Mihara, Makoto; Hara, Hisako; Todokoro, Takeshi; Seki, Yukio; Iida, Takuya; Koshima, Isao; Murai, Noriyuki
Historic Evolution of Open Cingulectomy and Stereotactic Cingulotomy in the Management of Medically Intractable Psychiatric Disorders, Pain and Drug Addiction
Stereotactic cingulotomy constitutes a psychosurgical procedure nowadays advocated in the treatment of medically intractable obsessive-compulsive disorder, chronic pain and drug addiction. From its theoretical conception to the first cingulectomies performed and modern stereotactic-guided cingulotomies, various target localization methods, different surgical techniques, and numerous lesioning devices have been utilized. In the current article, the authors performed a literature review related to
Alexandros G. Brotis; Eftychia Z. Kapsalaki; Konstantinos Paterakis; Joseph R. Smith; Kostas N. Fountas
Fully human anti-interleukin-8 monoclonal antibodies: potential therapeutics for the treatment of inflammatory disease states
Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a potent chemo- tactic cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of a number of inflammatory disease states. Agents that block the binding of IL-8 to its receptor have been shown to block inflammation in animal models of disease. This suggests that drugs specifically target- ing IL-8 may prove efficacious in treating multiple human diseases. To this end, we
Xiao-Dong Yang; Jose R. F. Corvalan; Ping Wang; Catherine M.-N. Roy; C. Geoffrey Davis
Sexuality education policies and sexually transmitted disease rates in the United States of America.
The aim of the study was to test for relationships between state-level sex educational policies and sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates. We analysed US case reports of gonorrhoea and chlamydial infection for 2001-2005 against state policies for abstinence coverage in sexuality education, using the proportion of the population per state who identified as black (aged 15-24 years) as a covariate. We also tested for effects on 15-19 year olds versus 35-39 year olds and tuberculosis rates (the latter to ensure findings applied only to STD). States with no mandates for abstinence had the lowest mean rates of infection among the overall population and among adolescents. States with mandates emphasizing abstinence had the highest rates; states with mandates to cover (but not emphasize) abstinence fell in between. Rates in some states covering abstinence changed faster than in others, as reflected in sharper declines (gonorrhoea) or slower increases (chlamydial infection). These effects were not shown for tuberculosis or 35-39 year olds. Having no abstinence education policy has no apparent effect on STD rates for adolescents. For states with elevated rates, policies mandating coverage may be useful, although policies emphasizing abstinence show no benefit. PMID:20378905
Hogben, M; Chesson, H; Aral, S O
Resting-state fMRI as a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease?
Previous work indicates that resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is sensitive to functional brain changes related to Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology across the clinical spectrum. Cross-sectional studies have found functional connectivity differences in the brain's default mode network in aging, mild cognitive impairment, and AD. In addition, two recent longitudinal studies have shown that functional connectivity changes track AD progression. This earlier work suggests that resting-state fMRI may be a promising biomarker for AD. However, some key issues still need to be addressed before resting-state fMRI can be successfully applied clinically. In a previous issue of Alzheimer's Research & Therapy, Vemuri and colleagues discuss the use of resting-state fMRI in the study of AD. In this commentary, I will highlight and expand upon some of their main conclusions. PMID:22423634
Damoiseaux, Jessica S
Chronic Kidney Disease in United States Hispanics: A Growing Public Health Problem
Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in the United States. The incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in Hispanics is higher than non-Hispanic Whites and Hispanics with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at increased risk for kidney failure. Likely contributing factors to this burden of disease include diabetes and metabolic syndrome, both are common among Hispanics. Access to health care, quality of care, and barriers due to language, health literacy and acculturation may also play a role. Despite the importance of this public health problem, only limited data exist about Hispanics with CKD. We review the epidemiology of CKD in US Hispanics, identify the factors that may be responsible for this growing health problem, and suggest gaps in our understanding which are suitable for future investigation.
Lora, Claudia M.; Daviglus, Martha L.; Kusek, John W.; Porter, Anna; Ricardo, Ana C.; Go, Alan S.; Lash, James P.
Predictive Factors for Intractability to Endoscopic Hemostasis in the Treatment of Bleeding Gastroduodenal Peptic Ulcers in Japanese Patients
Background/Aims Despite improvements in endoscopic hemostasis and pharmacological therapies, upper gastrointestinal (UGI) ulcers repeatedly bleed in 10% to 20% of patients, and those without early endoscopic reintervention or definitive surgery might be at a high risk for mortality. This study aimed to identify the risk factors for intractability to initial endoscopic hemostasis. Methods We analyzed intractability among 428 patients who underwent emergency endoscopy for bleeding UGI ulcers within 24 hours of arrival at the hospital. Results Durable hemostasis was achieved in 354 patients by using initial endoscopic procedures. Sixty-nine patients with Forrest types Ia, Ib, IIa, and IIb at the second-look endoscopy were considered intractable to the initial endoscopic hemostasis. Multivariate analysis indicated that age ?70 years (odds ratio [OR], 2.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07 to 4.03), shock on admission (OR, 5.26; 95% CI, 2.43 to 11.6), hemoglobin <8.0 mg/dL (OR, 2.80; 95% CI, 1.39 to 5.91), serum albumin <3.3 g/dL (OR, 2.23; 95% CI, 1.07 to 4.89), exposed vessels with a diameter of ?2 mm on the bottom of ulcers (OR, 4.38; 95% CI, 1.25 to 7.01), and Forrest type Ia and Ib (OR, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.33 to 3.00) predicted intractable endoscopic hemostasis. Conclusions Various factors contribute to intractable endoscopic hemostasis. Careful observation after endoscopic hemostasis is important for patients at a high risk for incomplete hemostasis.
Mizuno, Mari; Masui, Ryuta; Kondo, Yoshihiro; Yamaguchi, Yoshiharu; Yanamoto, Kenichiro; Noda, Hisatsugu; Okaniwa, Noriko; Sasaki, Makoto; Kasugai, Kunio
Identification of predictive biomarkers of disease state in transition dairy cows.
In dairy cows, periparturient disease states, such as metritis, mastitis, and laminitis, are leading to increasingly significant economic losses for the dairy industry. Treatments for these pathologies are often expensive, ineffective, or not cost-efficient, leading to production losses, high veterinary bills, or early culling of the cows. Early diagnosis or detection of these conditions before they manifest themselves could lower their incidence, level of morbidity, and the associated economic losses. In an effort to identify predictive biomarkers for postpartum or periparturient disease states in dairy cows, we undertook a cross-sectional and longitudinal metabolomics study to look at plasma metabolite levels of dairy cows during the transition period, before and after becoming ill with postpartum diseases. Specifically we employed a targeted quantitative metabolomics approach that uses direct flow injection mass spectrometry to track the metabolite changes in 120 different plasma metabolites. Blood plasma samples were collected from 12 dairy cows at 4 time points during the transition period (-4 and -1wk before and 1 and 4wk after parturition). Out of the 12 cows studied, 6 developed multiple periparturient disorders in the postcalving period, whereas the other 6 remained healthy during the entire experimental period. Multivariate data analysis (principal component analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis) revealed a clear separation between healthy controls and diseased cows at all 4 time points. This analysis allowed us to identify several metabolites most responsible for separating the 2 groups, especially before parturition and the start of any postpartum disease. Three metabolites, carnitine, propionyl carnitine, and lysophosphatidylcholine acyl C14:0, were significantly elevated in diseased cows as compared with healthy controls as early as 4wk before parturition, whereas 2 metabolites, phosphatidylcholine acyl-alkyl C42:4 and phosphatidylcholine diacyl C42:6, could be used to discriminate healthy controls from diseased cows 1wk before parturition. A 3-metabolite plasma biomarker profile was developed that could predict which cows would develop periparturient diseases, up to 4wk before clinical symptoms appearing, with a sensitivity of 87% and a specificity of 85%. This is the first report showing that periparturient diseases can be predicted in dairy cattle before their development using a multimetabolite biomarker model. Further research is warranted to validate these potential predictive biomarkers. PMID:24630653
Hailemariam, D; Mandal, R; Saleem, F; Dunn, S M; Wishart, D S; Ametaj, B N
Disease properties, geography, and mitigation strategies in a simulation spread of rinderpest across the United States.
For the past decade, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has been working toward eradicating rinderpest through vaccination and intense surveillance by 2012. Because of the potential severity of a rinderpest epidemic, it is prudent to prepare for an unexpected outbreak in animal populations. There is no immunity to the disease among the livestock or wildlife in the United States (US). If rinderpest were to emerge in the US, the loss in livestock could be devastating. We predict the potential spread of rinderpest using a two-stage model for the spread of a multi-host infectious disease among agricultural animals in the US. The model incorporates large-scale interactions among US counties and the small-scale dynamics of disease spread within a county. The model epidemic was seeded in 16 locations and there was a strong dependence of the overall epidemic size on the starting location. The epidemics were classified according to overall size into small epidemics of 100 to 300 animals (failed epidemics), epidemics infecting 3,000 to 30,000 animals (medium epidemics), and the large epidemics infecting around one million beef cattle. The size of the rinderpest epidemics were directly related to the origin of the disease and whether or not the disease moved into certain key counties in high-livestock-density areas of the US. The epidemic size also depended upon response time and effectiveness of movement controls. PMID:21435236
Manore, Carrie; McMahon, Benjamin; Fair, Jeanne; Hyman, James M; Brown, Mac; Labute, Montiago
Disease properties, geography, and mitigation strategies in a simulation spread of rinderpest across the United States
For the past decade, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has been working toward eradicating rinderpest through vaccination and intense surveillance by 2012. Because of the potential severity of a rinderpest epidemic, it is prudent to prepare for an unexpected outbreak in animal populations. There is no immunity to the disease among the livestock or wildlife in the United States (US). If rinderpest were to emerge in the US, the loss in livestock could be devastating. We predict the potential spread of rinderpest using a two-stage model for the spread of a multi-host infectious disease among agricultural animals in the US. The model incorporates large-scale interactions among US counties and the small-scale dynamics of disease spread within a county. The model epidemic was seeded in 16 locations and there was a strong dependence of the overall epidemic size on the starting location. The epidemics were classified according to overall size into small epidemics of 100 to 300 animals (failed epidemics), epidemics infecting 3 000 to 30 000 animals (medium epidemics), and the large epidemics infecting around one million beef cattle. The size of the rinderpest epidemics were directly related to the origin of the disease and whether or not the disease moved into certain key counties in high-livestock-density areas of the US. The epidemic size also depended upon response time and effectiveness of movement controls.
Characterization of Distinct Tombusviruses that Cause Diseases of Lettuce and Tomato in the Western United States.
A soilborne disease of lettuce, associated with necrosis and dieback, has been found with increasing frequency in California and Arizona over the last 10 years. An isometric virus, serologically related to Tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV), was consistently isolated from lettuce plants with these disease symptoms. Back-inoculation to healthy lettuce plants and subsequent reisolation of the virus from symptomatic lettuce leaves suggested that this virus was the causal agent of this disease. A tombusvirus was also associated with a necrosis disease of greenhouse-grown tomatoes in Colorado and New Mexico. Complementary DNA representing the 3' end of viral genomic RNAs recovered from diseased lettuce and tomato plants had identical nucleotide sequences. However, these sequences were divergent (12.2 to 17.1%) from sequences of the previously described strains of TBSV, Petunia asteroid mosaic virus (PAMV), Artichoke mottled crinkle virus, and Carnation Italian ringspot virus. Additional tombusvirus isolates were recovered from diseased lettuce and tomato plants and these were most closely related to the TBSV-cherry strain (synonymous with PAMV) and to Cucumber necrosis virus based on comparison of 3'-end sequences (0.1 to 0.6% and 4.8 to 5.1% divergence, respectively). Western blot analysis revealed that the new tombusvirus isolated from diseased lettuce and tomato plants in the western United States is serologically distinct from previously described tombusvirus species and strains. Based on genomic and serological properties, we propose to classify this virus as a new tombusvirus species and name it Lettuce necrotic stunt virus. PMID:18944038
Obermeier, C; Sears, J L; Liu, H Y; Schlueter, K O; Ryder, E J; Duffus, J E; Koike, S T; Wisler, G C
Addition of Multimodal Therapy to Standard Management of Steady State Sickle Cell Disease
Most people on folic acid to boost erythropoiesis and prophylactic antimicrobials, the standard management of steady state sickle cell disease (SCD), have unacceptable numbers of crises. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of adding multimodal therapy with potassium thiocyanate and omega-3 fatty acids to the standard management of steady state SCD. Pre- and post-treatment numbers of crises and other disease indices were compared in 16 HbSS individuals on folic acid and paludrine after 12 months of adding eicosapentaenoic acid 15?mg/kg/day, docosahexaenoic acid 10?mg/kg/day, and potassium thiocyanate 1-2?mL/day, each milliliter of which contained 250?mg of thiocyanate and 100 micrograms of iodine to prevent hypothyroidism: a possible side-effect due to competitive inhibition of the transport of iodide into the thyroid gland by thiocyanate. Median number of crises reduced from 3/yr to 1/yr (P < 0.0001). There was no evidence of impaired thyroid function. Plasma level of tri-iodothyronine improved (P < 0.0001). Steady state full blood count and bilirubin level did not change significantly. The findings suggest that addition of potassium thiocyanate and eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids to standard management of steady state SCD reduces the number of crises. This observation needs to be evaluated in larger studies.
Ikefuna, Anthony; Duru, Augustine; Chukwu, Barth; Madu, Anazoeze; Nwagha, Theresa; Ocheni, Sunday; Ibegbulam, Obike; Emodi, Ifeoma; Anike, Uche; Nonyelu, Charles; Anigbo, Chukwudi; Agu, Kingsley; Ajuba, Ifeoma; Chukwura, Awele; Ugwu, Ogechukwu; Ololo, Uche
Geographic variation in the onset of decline of ischemic heart disease mortality in the United States.
This report examines geographic variation in the onset of the decline of ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality in white males aged 35-74 during the period 1968-78. Using a quadratic regression model, State Economic Areas (SEAs) were classified as experiencing onset of the decline in 1968 or earlier, 1969-72, or 1973 or later. In the United States as a whole, approximately one-third of SEAs experienced a late onset of the decline (after 1968). Metropolitan SEAs were in advance of non-metropolitan, and the Northeast and Pacific states showed earlier onset than the South and midsections of the country. The acceleration of the national decline after 1972 appears to be due to declines in areas in which rates had been increasing or in plateau until that time. Evidence about geographic variation in the onset of decline may provide clues about social and environmental factors responsible for the decline.
Wing, S; Hayes, C; Heiss, G; John, E; Knowles, M; Riggan, W; Tyroler, H A
Using administrative medical claims data to supplement state disease registry systems for reporting zoonotic infections
Objective To determine what, if any, opportunity exists in using administrative medical claims data for supplemental reporting to the state infectious disease registry system. Materials and methods Cases of five tick-borne (Lyme disease (LD), babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), tularemia) and two mosquito-borne diseases (West Nile virus, La Crosse viral encephalitis) reported to the Tennessee Department of Health during 2000ľ2009 were selected for study. Similarly, medically diagnosed cases from a Tennessee-based managed care organization (MCO) claims data warehouse were extracted for the same time period. MCO and Tennessee Department of Health incidence rates were compared using a complete randomized block design within a general linear mixed model to measure potential supplemental reporting opportunity. Results MCO LD incidence was 7.7 times higher (p<0.001) than that reported to the state, possibly indicating significant under-reporting (?196 unreported cases per year). MCO data also suggest about 33 cases of RMSF go unreported each year in Tennessee (p<0.001). Three cases of babesiosis were discovered using claims data, a significant finding as this disease was only recently confirmed in Tennessee. Discussion Data sharing between MCOs and health departments for vaccine information already exists (eg, the Vaccine Safety Datalink Rapid Cycle Analysis project). There may be a significant opportunity in Tennessee to supplement the current passive infectious disease reporting system with administrative claims data, particularly for LD and RMSF. Conclusions There are limitations with administrative claims data, but health plans may help bridge data gaps and support the federal administration's vision of combining public and private data into one source.
Coulter, Steven; Conner, William
Effects of noise on a computational model for disease states of mood disorders
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Nonlinear dynamics are currently proposed to explain the progressive course of recurrent mood disorders starting with isolated episodes and ending with accelerated irregular (``chaotic") mood fluctuations. Such a low-dimensional disease model is attractive because of its principal accordance with biological disease models, i.e. the kindling and biological rhythms model. However, most natural systems are nonlinear and noisy and several studies in the neuro- and physical sciences have demonstrated interesting cooperative behaviors arising from interacting random and deterministic dynamics. Here, we consider the effects of noise on a recent neurodynamical model for the timecourse of affective disorders (Huber et al.: Biological Psychiatry 1999;46:256-262). We describe noise effects on temporal patterns and mean episode frequencies of various in computo disease states. Our simulations demonstrate that noise can cause unstructured randomness or can maximize periodic order. The frequency of episode occurence can increase with noise but it can also remain unaffected or even can decrease. We show further that noise can make visible bifurcations before they would normally occur under deterministic conditions and we quantify this behavior with a recently developed statistical method. All these effects depend critically on both, the dynamic state and the noise intensity. Implications for neurobiology and course of mood disorders are discussed.
Tobias Huber, Martin; Krieg, JŘrgen-Christian; Braun, Hans Albert; Moss, Frank
Hodgkin's disease: successful dissemination of high technology treatment throughout the United States.
In the 1950s and 1960s, concepts of the curability of Hodgkin's disease were changing due to a better understanding of the natural history of the disease and major technical innovations for evaluating the extent of disease and treating it with radiation therapy. The Patterns of Care Study in the United States of national practice and of selected referral centres has been analysed to determine the extent of the adoption or dissemination of our concepts of best current management into the United States practice as a whole. A favourable overall level of compliance has been noted, while the National Cancer Institute-funded Cancer Centers and Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) facilities show the best process compliance. University facilities, large practices and full-time practitioners consistently outperform their counterparts in community practices, small practices and part-time practices. Despite these generalizations, we have observed poorly performing facilities in all strata of practice that require that the quality be assessed on an individual facility basis. PMID:3842321
Hanks, G E
[Seroprevalence of Chagas disease infection in the State of PiauÝ, 2002].
To evaluate the epidemiological situation of Chagas disease infection in the State of PiauÝ, Brazil, and its relationships with age, gender, blood transfusion and spontaneous abortion, a serological survey was performed. A random sample of 36,399 inhabitants of rural zones was examined between August and December 2002. Chagas disease infection was defined by the indirect immunofluorescence test, with identification of anti-Trypanosoma cruzi antibodies in blood samples collected on filter paper. The total seroprevalence was 1.9%, ranging from 0.1% in children less than five years old to 6.6% in adults over 79 years old. The seroprevalence was significantly higher in women (2.1%), illiterates (4.1%), individuals receiving blood (3.3%) and women with a history of spontaneous abortion (5.4%). Comparison with the national serological survey (1975-1980) showed that there had been a significant reduction in the seroprevalence of Chagas disease infection in the State of PiauÝ (4.0% to 1.9%), which was indicative of the efficacy of the vector control measures implemented between 1975 and 2002. PMID:17308697
Borges-Pereira, JosÚ; de Castro, JosÚ Adail Fonseca; da Silva, Arlete Gonšalves; Zauza, PatrÝcia Lago; Bulh§es, Tiago Pires; Gonšalves, Maria Elizabete; de Almeida, Ernani Saraiva; do Amparo Salmito, Maria; Pereira, Lucia Regina Montebello; Alves Filho, Francisco Itamar; Correia-Lima, Fernando G; Coura, JosÚ Rodrigues
Screening for Common Occupational Health Diseases Among Long Distance Professional Drivers in Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria
Background: Long term exposure to hazards at the work place is injurious to health and usually leads to diseased conditions. The objective of this study was to determine the occupational health problems associated with driving among the professional drivers in Sagamu, Ogun state, Nigeria. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study. Total sample of all the consenting professional drivers in the five interstate motor parks, including the cement factory [WAPCO] in the local government area, were recruited into the study. An interviewer administered structured questionnaire was administered by trained health workers and respondents were screen for common occupational health problems. Results: A total of 400 professional drivers were interviewed, all [100%] of them were males with age range from 21 to 59 yrs and nearly half [42%] were non indigenes. Only half, 208 [52%] of them were married with majority, 232 [58.0%] working for about 12 hrs daily and 46% of them had been working for 5 yrs or more. Most, 382 [95.5%] had been educated on HIV/AIDS before and 313 [78.3%] of them had multiple sexual partners. Only 241 [60.3%] used condom at the last sexual act and 55 [13.5%] had ever been tested for HIV/AIDS. Common occupational health diseases were renal tubular acidosis (RTA) 52 [13%] in the last one year and most of them currently have myalgia 352 [88.0%], upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) 20 [5.0%], sexually transmitted diseases (STD) 15 [3.8%], short sightedness 41 [10.3%], and Hypertension 90 [22.5%]. Conclusions: The study shows that common occupational diseases among long distance professional drivers in Western Nigeria were myalgia, upper respiratory tract infection, hypertension, short sightedness, sexually transmitted diseases, and RTA. Prevention and control of these common diseases among the drivers will lead to reduction of road traffic accidents in Western Nigeria and other low income countries.
Amoran, Olorunfemi Emmanuel; Salako, Albert Adekunle; Jeminusi, Olubunmi
The burden of disease due to tuberculosis in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil*, **
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the burden of disease due to tuberculosis in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, in 2009. METHODS: This was an epidemiological study with an ecological design. Data on tuberculosis incidence and mortality were collected from specific Brazilian National Ministry of Health databases. The burden of disease due to tuberculosis was based on the calculation of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The DALYs were estimated by adding the years of life lost (YLLs) and years lived with disability (YLDs). Absolute values were transformed into rates per 100,000 population. The rates were calculated by gender, age group, and health care macroregion. RESULTS: The burden of disease due to tuberculosis was 5,644.27 DALYs (92.25 DALYs/100,000 population), YLLs and YLDs respectively accounting for 78.77% and 21.23% of that total. The highest rates were found in males in the 30-44 and 45-59 year age brackets, although that was not true in every health care macroregion. Overall, the highest estimated burden was in the Planalto Norte macroregion (179.56 DALYs/100,000 population), followed by the Nordeste macroregion (167.07 DALYs/100,000 population). CONCLUSIONS: In the majority of the health care macroregions of Santa Catarina, the burden of disease due to tuberculosis was concentrated in adult males, the level of that concentration varying among the various macroregions.
Ferrer, Glenio Cesar Nunes; da Silva, Rosemeri Maurici; Ferrer, Kelian Tenfen; Traebert, Jefferson
Feral swine brucellosis in the United States and prospective genomic techniques for disease epidemiology.
Brucellosis is a common infection of feral swine throughout the United States. With the recent expansion of feral swine populations across the country, this disease poses an increasing threat to agriculture and hunters. The standard approach to Brucella surveillance in feral swine has been serological testing, which gives an indication of past exposure and is a rapid method of determining populations where Brucella is present. More in-depth analyses require bacterial isolation to determine the Brucella species and biovar involved. Ultimately, for a comprehensive understanding of Brucella epizootiology in feral swine, incorporation of genotyping assays has become essential. Fortunately, the past decade has given rise to an array of genetic tools for assessing Brucella transmission and dispersal. This review aims to synthesize what is known about brucellosis in feral swine and will cover prospective genomic techniques that may be utilized to develop more complete understanding of the disease and its transmission history. PMID:23548760
Leiser, Owen P; Corn, Joseph L; Schmit, Brandon S; Keim, Paul S; Foster, Jeffrey T
Enhanced proinflammatory state and autoimmune activation: a breakthrough to understanding chronic diseases.
Insight is provided herein into the novel mechanisms of cardiometabolic risk. Previous reports, including the epidemiological work of the Turkish Adult Risk Factor study, indicated that proinflammatory state and oxidative stress are crucial for evaluating cardiometabolic risk. Autoimmune pathways in the course of oxidative stress are major determinants of cardiorenal and metabolic risk. The latter encompasses metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Along with platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase, creatinine, thyroid stimulating hormone, acylation-stimulating protein, asymmetric dimethylarginine, and serum lipoprotein[Lp](a) are triggers of systemic low-grade inflammation and enhanced autoimmune reactions. Related studies are analyzed in the current review. Lp(a) plays a crucial role by taking part in the immune activation, thereby accelerating the course of diabetes, CKD, and other chronic disorders. Populations prone to impaired glucose tolerance, and particularly peri- and postmenopausal women, are at high risk of developing related vascular complications. PMID:23565630
Onat, Altan; Can, GŘnay
Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in intractable childhood epilepsy: open-label study and review of the literature.
Our aim was to investigate the long term effectiveness of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) against intractable childhood epilepsy in the era of new antiepileptics and to determine the predictors of a favorable response in a prospective open-label add-on study. Of thirty-seven 9.9+/-0.9-year-old patients (11 with partial seizures, 26 with generalized seizures of whom 9 had West syndrome and 17 Lennox-Gastaut syndrome) followed for 15+/-3 months, 43% had a >50% decrease in seizures (including 15% seizure free, 229+/-58 compared with 104+/-3 seizures/month, P=0.035: generalized 246+/-318 to 117+/-200, P=0.025, partial 191+/-437 to 72+/-179, P>0.05; power=0.2). Males were more likely to respond than females (P=0.011, odds ratio=9.3). Review of the literature revealed nine other articles reporting efficacy of IVIG against epileptic seizures. Only one other used statistical methods and, unlike ours, showed only a trend toward seizure frequency reduction without achieving statistical significance, presumably because it was underpowered. These results indicate large-scale controlled studies of IVIG in epilepsy are still needed. PMID:20004620
Mikati, Mohamad A; Kurdi, Rana; El-Khoury, Ziad; Rahi, Amal; Raad, Wissam
Surgical Outcomes after Total Colectomy with Ileorectal Anastomosis in Patients with Medically Intractable Slow Transit Constipation
Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate outcomes of a total colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis in patients with slow transit constipation. Methods A retrospective review of 37 consecutive patients with slow transit constipation who underwent a total colectomy between 1994 and 2008 was undertaken. Preoperative and postoperative Wexner's constipation scores were collected and used to evaluate the outcomes after surgical treatment. Also patients' postoperative satisfaction scores were collected using a 4-point scale. Results The 37 patients consisted of 31 women and 6 men, with a median age of 41 years (range, 17 to 71 years). Pre- and post-operative Wexner's scores were collected from 33 patients (89.1%), and the mean preoperative Wexner's score was 19.3 (range, 11 to 24), which decreased to an average post-operative score of 2.3 (range, 0 to 8). Neither intraoperative complications nor postoperative mortalities were noted. Five patients (13.5%) had early postoperative complications, and the most common complication was postoperative ileus (10.8%). Seven patients (18.9%) had late postoperative complications, and postoperative ileus (10.8%) was also the most common. Twenty seven of 33 patients were satisfied with their surgical outcome (81.8%). Conclusion A total colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis might be an effective surgical procedure with acceptable morbidity to treat medically intractable slow transit constipation.
Sohn, Guiyun; Kim, Chan Wook; Kwak, Jae Young; Jang, Tae Young; Kim, Kyung Ho; Yang, Song Soo; Yoon, Yong Sik; Lim, Seok-Byung; Kim, Jin Cheon
Network analysis reveals patterns of antiepileptic drug use in children with medically intractable epilepsy.
Network analysis is an emerging tool for the study of complex systems. Antiepileptic drug (AED) polytherapy in children with medically intractable epilepsy may be considered a complex system, given the heterogeneity of drug combinations that are frequently modified according to clinical indications. The current article presents a concise review of network theory and its application to the characterization of AED use in children with refractory epilepsy. Current and previous AEDs prescribed to 27 children with refractory, localization-related epilepsy were recorded, and network theory was applied to identify patterns of drug administration. Of the fifteen unique AEDs prescribed, levetiracetam possessed the highest betweenness centrality within the network. Furthermore, first generation AEDs were often discontinued, while lacosamide and topiramate were most likely to be initiated. We also identified three subnetworks of AEDs that were commonly coadministered. We conclude that network analysis is an effective method to characterize the complexity of AED administration patterns in children with epilepsy with many promising future applications. PMID:23648276
Ibrahim, George M; Rutka, James T; Snead, O Carter
Comparison of the psychometric characteristics of three quality of life measures in intractable epilepsy.
Understanding how epilepsy affects an individual's quality of life (QOL) requires reliable and valid QOL measures. Analyses of reliability and validity rarely examine measures obtained in the same sample, making comparisons among measures difficult. We report analyses of internal consistency reliability, face, content, construct and criterion validity for the Epilepsy Surgery Inventory-55 (ESI-55, a measure based on the SF-36 Health Survey), the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) and the Washington Psychosocial Seizure Inventory (WPSI) administered concurrently in the same sample of intractable epilepsy patients. Results generally support the validity of all three measures in assessing the aspects of QOL they were designed to address. The ESI-55 and SIP assess a broad, multi-dimensional construct of QOL in epilepsy, compared with the more specific focus of the WPSI on psychological and social adjustment. Judged by objective psychometric criteria, the ESI-55 and SIP are preferred over the WPSI in studies of the broad impact of epilepsy on quality of life. PMID:7780378
Langfitt, J T
Combining stereo-electroencephalography and subdural electrodes in the diagnosis and treatment of medically intractable epilepsy.
Stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG) has advantages for exploring deeper epileptic foci. Nevertheless, SEEG can only sample isolated cortical areas and its spatial limitation, with the inability to record contiguous cortical regions, may cause difficulties in interpretation. In light of these limitations, the authors describe the hybrid technique of SEEG and subdural strip electrode placement. The hybrid technique was used for a presurgical evaluation in four patients with intractable epilepsy. Initially, the depth electrodes were inserted with a robotic stereotactic system. Thereafter, a skin incision and a small craniectomy were performed at the entry point of the strip electrode trajectory. The dura was opened and, under live fluoroscopic guidance, strip electrodes were slid into the subdural space. In these patients, the additional subdural strip electrodes provided (1) information regarding the precise description of seizure spread in the cortical surface adjacent to the subdural space, (2) identification of epileptogenic zones located near the crown, (3) more precise definition of functional cortex and (4) a better delineation of the interface between epileptogenic zones and functional cortex. This hybrid technique provides additional data compared to either technique alone, offering superior understanding of the dynamics of the epileptic activity and its interaction with functional cortical areas. PMID:24650680
Enatsu, Rei; Bulacio, Juan; Najm, Imad; Wyllie, Elaine; So, Norman K; Nair, Dileep R; Foldvary-Schaefer, Nancy; Bingaman, William; Gonzalez-Martinez, Jorge
Alitretinoin - its use in intractable hand eczema and other potential indications
Chronic hand eczema is a significant cause of morbidity. A number of treatments are traditionally used, and often useful, but in spite of this a sizeable group of patients develop chronic recalcitrant hand eczema. Retinoids are known to influence keratinization and inflammation, and acitretin has shown some effect in the treatment of chronic hand eczema. Alitretinoin (9-cis-retinoic acid) is a panagonist retinoid binding to all six known retinoid receptors (RAR-?, -?, -? and RXR-?, -?, -?). Several studies have been carried out with this new drug, and it has been shown to be effective in 28% to 89% of patients with previously intractable hand eczema. In addition, alitretinoin appears to have some potential in the treatment of AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma. Attempts to use the drug in secondary prophylaxis has shown some promise in former tobacco smokers, whereas no effect was seen in patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Currently, the primary therapeutic potential of alitretinoin appears to be the treatment of chronic recalcitrant hand eczema, which also forms a large and hitherto neglected group of patients.
Petersen, Bibi; Jemec, Gregor BE
Ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency ablation of the genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve for treatment of intractable orchalgia.
Chronic orchalgia is a frustrating clinical problem for both the patient and the physician. We present a 17-year-old boy with a bilateral idiopathic chronic intractable orchalgia with failed conservative treatment. For 2 years, he suffered from severe attacks of scrotal pain that affected his daily activities and caused frequent absence from school. Ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency ablation (PRF) of the genital branches of the genitofemoral nerve performed after local anesthetic nerve block confirmed the diagnosis and yielded 6 weeks of symptom relief. Seven-month follow-up revealed complete satisfactory analgesia. The use of PRF is an effective and non-invasive approach to treat intractable chronic orchalgia. PMID:24843352
Terkawi, Abdullah Sulieman; Romdhane, Kamel
The use of ketogenic diet in special situations: expanding use in intractable epilepsy and other neurologic disorders
The ketogenic diet has been widely used and proved to be effective for intractable epilepsy. Although the mechanisms underlying its anti-epileptic effects remain to be proven, there are increasing experimental evidences for its neuroprotective effects along with many researches about expanding use of the diet in other neurologic disorders. The first success was reported in glucose transporter type 1 deficiency syndrome, in which the diet served as an alternative metabolic source. Many neurologic disorders share some of the common pathologic mechanisms such as mitochondrial dysfunction, altered neurotransmitter function and synaptic transmission, or abnormal regulation of reactive oxygen species, and the role of the ketogenic diet has been postulated in these mechanisms. In this article, we introduce an overview about the expanding use and emerging trials of the ketogenic diet in various neurologic disorders excluding intractable epilepsy and provide explanations of the mechanisms in that usage.
Can male vaccination reduce the burden of human papillomavirus-related disease in the United States?
Human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cervical cancer, as well as a number of other diseases in both men and women. Both sexes play a role in transmission of the disease, but the cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccination differs between them. It is necessary to determine the best allocation of limited resources between these two populations to produce the most effective strategy for reducing the burden from HPV-related disease. This literature review intends to elucidate the economic and social considerations that will lead to maximum utilization of vaccination programs, which in turn will reduce the burden of HPV-related disease. Current outreach in the United States is based on vaccination against HPV as a means for combating cervical cancer in women. If we are to include males, however, new marketing strategies must focus on educating patients about the full range of the vaccine's benefits. Men who have sex with men (MSM) are also unprotected against HPV in the current system. Social considerations alone may not be enough, however, as economic prediction models suggest that the associated costs outweigh the benefits in most circumstances. Taking this into account, our review also considers alternate methods of maximizing prevention of HPV-associated disease. The most prudent programs will include physician involvement in patient education and the implementation of structured vaccination and screening programs. Unfortunately, many countries do not have the necessary resources to undertake national vaccination programs. HPV testing and cytology screening for women and MSM may be the most financially reasonable option for many countries. PMID:22691099
Low, Garren M I; Attiga, Yasser S; Garg, Gaurav; Schlegal, Richard; Gallicano, G Ian
Autophagocytosis of the apical membrane in microvillus inclusion disease
Backgrounds: Microvillus inclusion disease (MID) is a disorder with the clinical signs of intractable diarrhoea in the newborn and infancy. The typical pathological features of the disease are well known whereas the pathophysiology is still unclear.Aim: This study was performed to define possible alterations of the cytoskeleton and exocytic as well as endocytic pathways within enterocytes in MID.Patients: Four patients
K Reinshagen; H Y Naim; K-P Zimmer
Does the U.S. health care sector suffer from Baumol's cost disease? Evidence from the 50 states.
This study examines if health care costs in the United States are affected by Baumol's cost disease. It relies on an empirical test proposed by Hartwig (2008) and extended by Colombier (2010) and uses a panel data set of 50 states over the 1980-2009 period. The results suggest that health care costs grow more rapidly when economy-wide wage increases exceed productivity gains. The findings are fairly robust with respect to time- and state-fixed effects, individual state time trends, and two-stage least square estimation. Consequently, this study suggests that the U.S. health care sector suffers from Baumol's cost disease. PMID:23348051
Bates, Laurie J; Santerre, Rexford E
Evaluation of Alzheimers Disease Using an Independent Component Analysis of an Individuals Resting-State Functional MRI.
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
A clinically valuable method is provided for evaluating the onset or progression of Alzheimer's disease using a non-invasive biomarker obtained from an independent component analysis (ICA) of an individual's resting state functional MRI. The method is rel...
M. D. Greicius V. Menon A. L. Reiss
[Interhemispheric disconnection syndrome following total callosotomy associated to anterior commissurotomy for the treatment of intractable epilepsy: a case report].
The authors provide a brief review of the indication criteria of callosotomy for the treatment of medically intractable seizures. They report a surgical case with the classical picture of disconnection (split brain) syndrome, following a two-staged complete callosotomy plus anterior commissurotomy. The disconnection syndrome was more severe on the first 5 days post-operatively, improving quickly after the 11th day; there was almost complete functional recovery and a great reduction in seizure frequency. PMID:2264794
Cendes, F; Ragazzo, P C; da Costa, V; Martins, L F
Multimodal Stepped Care Approach Involving Topical Analgesics for Severe Intractable Neuropathic Pain in CRPS Type 1: A Case Report
A multimodal stepped care approach has been successfully applied to a patient with complex regional pain syndrome type 1 and severe intractable pain, not responding to regular neuropathic pain medication. The choice to administer drugs in creams was made because of the intolerable adverse effects to oral medication. With this method, peak-dose adverse effects did not occur. The multimodal stepped care approach resulted in considerable and clinically relevant decrease in pain after every step, using topical amitriptyline, ketamine, and dimethylsulphoxide.
Kopsky, David J.; Keppel Hesselink, Jan M.
Default Mode Network and Extrastriate Visual Resting State Network in Patients with Parkinsonĺs Disease Dementia
Aims: Using fMRI, we evaluated the default mode network (DMN) and the extrastriate visual resting state network (ESV-RSN) in 14 patients with Parkinsonĺs disease dementia (PDD) as compared with 18 patients with Parkinsonĺs disease (PD) without dementia and 18 healthy controls (HC). Methods: We analyzed the seed-based functional connectivity of both resting state data and deactivations during a visual complex
I. Rektorova; L. Krajcovicova; R. Marecek; M. Mikl
Effect of latitude on the rate of change in incidence of Lyme disease in the United States
Background Tick-borne illnesses represent an important class of emerging zoonoses, with climate change projected to increase the geographic range within which tick-borne zoonoses might become endemic. We evaluated the impact of latitude on the rate of change in the incidence of Lyme disease in the United States, using publicly available data. Methods We estimated state-level year-on-year incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for Lyme disease for the period 1993 to 2007 using Poisson regression methods. We evaluated between-state heterogeneity in IRRs using a random-effects meta-analytic approach. We identified state-level characteristics associated with increasing incidence using random-effects meta-regression. Results The incidence of Lyme disease in the US increased by about 80% between 1993 and 2007 (IRR per year 1.049, 95% CI [confidence interval] 1.048 to 1.050). There was marked between-state heterogeneity in the average incidence of Lyme disease, ranging from 0.008 per 100á000 person-years in Colorado to 75 per 100á000 in Connecticut, and significant between-state heterogeneity in temporal trends (p < 0.001). In multivariable meta-regression models, increasing incidence showed a linear association with state latitude and population density. These 2 factors explained 27% of the between-state variation in IRRs. No independent association was identified for other state-level characteristics. Interpretation Lyme disease incidence increased in the US as a whole during the study period, but the changes were not uniform. Marked increases were identified in northern-most states, whereas southern states experienced stable or declining rates of Lyme disease.
Tuite, Ashleigh R.; Greer, Amy L.
P-glycoprotein alters blood-brain barrier penetration of antiepileptic drugs in rats with medically intractable epilepsy
P-glycoprotein is one of the earliest known multidrug transporters and plays an important role in resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. In this study, we detected levels of P-glycoprotein and its mRNA expression in a rat brain model of medically intractable epilepsy established by amygdala kindling and drug selection. We investigated whether inhibition of P-glycoprotein affects the concentration of antiepileptic drugs in cortical extracellular fluid. We found that levels of P-glycoprotein and its mRNA expression were upregulated in epileptic cerebral tissue compared with cerebral tissue from normal rats. The concentrations of two antiepileptic drugs, carbamazepine and phenytoin, were very low in the cortical extracellular fluid of rats with medically intractable epilepsy, and were restored after blockade of P-glycoprotein by verapamil. These results show that increased P-glycoprotein levels alter the ability of carbamazepine and phenytoin to penetrate the bloodľbrain barrier and reduce the concentrations of these agents in extracellular cortical fluid. High P-glycoprotein levels may be involved in resistance to antiepileptic drugs in medically intractable epilepsy.
Ma, Aimei; Wang, Cuicui; Chen, Yinghui; Yuan, Weien
Intractable episodic bradycardia resulting from progressive lead traction in an epileptic child with a vagus nerve stimulator: a delayed complication.
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is used as palliation for adult and pediatric patients with intractable epilepsy who are not candidates for curative resection. Although the treatment is generally safe, complications can occur intraoperatively, perioperatively, and in a delayed time frame. In the literature, there are 2 reports of pediatric patients with implanted VNS units who had refractory bradycardia that resolved after the stimulation was turned off. The authors report the case of a 13-year-old boy with a history of vagus nerve stimulator placement at 2 years of age, who developed intractable episodic bradycardia that persisted despite the cessation of VNS and whose imaging results suggested vagus nerve tethering by the leads. He was subsequently taken to the operating room for exploration, where it was confirmed that the stimulator lead was exerting traction on the vagus nerve, which was displaced from the carotid sheath. After the vagus nerve was untethered and the leads were replaced, the bradycardia eventually resolved with continual effective VNS therapy. When placing a VNS unit in a very young child, accommodations must be made for years of expected growth. Delayed intractable bradycardia can result from a vagus nerve under traction by tethered stimulator leads. PMID:22462703
Clark, Aaron J; Kuperman, Rachel A; Auguste, Kurtis I; Sun, Peter P
Spatial Clustering by Disease Severity among Reported Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Cases in the United States, 2001-2005
Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) occurs throughout much of the United States, ranging in clini- cal severity from moderate to fatal infection. Yet, little is known about possible differences among severity levels across geographic locations. To identify significant spatial clusters of severe and non-severe disease, RMSF cases reported to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were geocoded by county
Jennifer Zipser Adjemian; John Krebs; Eric Mandel; Jennifer McQuiston
Economic evaluation of galantamine in the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease in the United States
Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is estimated to affect up to 11% of those aged?65 years in the United States, and the number of patients with AD is predicted to increase over the next few decades as the population ages. The substantial social and economic burden associated with AD is well established, with the cost of management increasing as the disease
Kristen Migliaccio-Walle; Denis Getsios; J. Jaime Caro; Khajak J Ishak; Judith A O'Brien; George Papadopoulos
An entomoepidemiological investigation of Chagas disease in the state of Cearß, Northeast Region of Brazil.
The seroprevalence of Chagas disease in humans and the presence of triatomines were investigated in a rural locality in the State of Cearß, Brazil, an historically endemic region. Approximately 80% of the surveyed residents agreed to undergo serological tests. Intradomestic and peridomestic environments were searched for triatomines in both the dry and rainy seasons. The prevalence rate of Chagas disease was 1.2% and the majority of individuals confirmed with the disease over 50 years of age. A total of 761 specimens of triatomines were captured, most of which were from colonies composed of nymphs and adult bugs, and the majority of specimens were obtained in the dry season. Triatoma brasiliensis was the predominant species. Analysis using light microscopy revealed that 28.6% of the insects were Trypanosoma cruzi positive. Results suggest that peridomestic man-made structures, such as animal shelters, improper storage of timber and uninhabited dwellings contribute to the high rate of triatomine infestation in the area. PMID:24896053
Coutinho, Carolina Fausto de Souza; Souza-Santos, Reinaldo; Teixeira, Natalia Faria Daflon; Georg, Ingebourg; Gomes, TaÝs Ferreira; Boia, Marcio Neves; Reis, Neilane Bertoni Dos; Maia, Alexander de Oliveira; Lima, Marli Maria
Trends in Meningococcal Disease in the United States Military, 1971-2010
Meningococci have historically caused extensive illness among members of the United States military. Three successive meningococcal vaccine types were used from 1971 through 2010; overall disease incidence dropped by >90% during this period. During 2006ľ2010, disease incidence of 0.38 (cases per 100,000 person-years) among members of the US military was not significantly different from the incidence of 0.26 among the age-matched US general population. Of the 26 cases in the US military, 5 were fatal, 15 were vaccine failures (e.g., illness in a person who had been vaccinated), and 9 were caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup Y. Incidences among 17- to 19-year-old basic trainees and among US Marines were significantly higher than among comparison military populations (p<0.05). No apparent change in epidemiology of meningococcal disease was observed after replacement of quadrivalent polysaccharide vaccine with conjugate vaccine in 2007. The data demonstrate that vaccination with meningococcal vaccine is effective.
Faix, Dennis J.; Hansen, Christian J.; Blair, Patrick J.
Trends in meningococcal disease in the United States military, 1971-2010.
Meningococci have historically caused extensive illness among members of the United States military. Three successive meningococcal vaccine types were used from 1971 through 2010; overall disease incidence dropped by >90% during this period. During 2006-2010, disease incidence of 0.38 (cases per 100,000 person-years) among members of the US military was not significantly different from the incidence of 0.26 among the age-matched US general population. Of the 26 cases in the US military, 5 were fatal, 15 were vaccine failures (e.g., illness in a person who had been vaccinated), and 9 were caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup Y. Incidences among 17- to 19-year-old basic trainees and among US Marines were significantly higher than among comparison military populations (p<0.05). No apparent change in epidemiology of meningococcal disease was observed after replacement of quadrivalent polysaccharide vaccine with conjugate vaccine in 2007. The data demonstrate that vaccination with meningococcal vaccine is effective. PMID:22932005
Broderick, Michael P; Faix, Dennis J; Hansen, Christian J; Blair, Patrick J
Loss of Intra- and Inter-Network Resting State Functional Connections with Alzheimer's Disease Progression
Alzheimerĺs disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. Much is known concerning AD pathophysiology but our understanding of the disease at the systems level remains incomplete. Previous AD research has used resting state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fcMRI) to assess the integrity of functional networks within the brain. Most studies have focused on the default-mode network (DMN), a primary locus of AD pathology. However, other brain regions are inevitably affected with disease progression. We studied rs-fcMRI in five functionally defined brain networks within a large cohort of human participants of either gender (n=510) that ranged in AD severity from unaffected (clinical dementia rating, CDR 0) to very mild (CDR 0.5) to mild AD (CDR 1). We observed loss of correlations within not only the DMN but other networks at CDR 0.5. Within the salience network (SAL), increases were seen between CDR 0 and CDR 0.5. However, at CDR 1, all networks, including SAL, exhibited reduced correlations. Specific networks were preferentially affected at certain CDR stages. In addition, cross-network relations were consistently lost with increasing AD severity. Our results demonstrate that AD is associated with widespread loss of both intra- and inter-network correlations. These results provide insight into AD pathophysiology and reinforce an integrative view of the brainĺs functional organization.
Brier, Mathew; Thomas, Jewell B.; Snyder, Abraham Z.; Benzinger, Tammie L.; Zhang, Dongyang; Raichle, Marcus E.; Holtzman, David M.; Morris, John C.; Ances, Beau M.
Predictors and Course of Medically Intractable Epilepsy in Young Children Presenting Before 36 Months of Age: A Retrospective, Population-Based Study
Purpose To determine the prevalence and identify predictors of medical intractability in children presenting with epilepsy prior to 36 months of age, and to assess the impact of medical intractability on long-term mortality and intellectual function. Methods Children with newly-diagnosed epilepsy prior to 36 months between 1980ľ2009 while resident in Olmsted County, MN were identified. Medical records were reviewed to collect epilepsy specific variables and long-term outcome data. Medically intractable epilepsy was defined as either (1) seizures greater than every 6 months at final follow-up and failure of two or more antiepileptic drugs for lack of efficacy, or (2) having undergone epilepsy surgery after failure of two or more antiepileptic drugs. Key Findings One hundred and twenty seven children with new-onset epilepsy were identified and followed for a median of 78 months. Medically intractable seizures occurred in 35%, and significant predictors on multivariate analysis were age ?12 months at diagnosis (odds ratio [OR] 6.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.00, 22.84, p=0.002), developmental delay at initial diagnosis of epilepsy (OR 20.03, 95% CI 3.49, 114.83, p=0.0008 ), neuroimaging abnormality (OR 6.48, 95% CI 1.96, 21.40, p=0.002) and focal slowing on initial EEG (OR 5.33, 95% CI 1.14, 24.88, p=0.03). Medical intractability occurred early in the course in most children, being seen in 61% by one year, and 93% by five years after initial diagnosis. Mortality was higher (20% vs 0%, p<0.001) and intellectual outcome poorer (p<0.001) if epilepsy was medically intractable. Significance One third of children presenting with epilepsy before 36 months will be medically intractable and significant predictors are identified. Medically intractable epilepsy is associated with increased mortality risk and significant intellectual disability.
Wirrell, Elaine; Wong-Kisiel, Lily; Mandrekar, Jay; Nickels, Katherine
Surveillance for waterborne disease outbreaks--United States, 1991-1992.
Problem/Condition: Since 1971, CDC and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have maintained a collaborative surveillance program for collection and periodic reporting of data on the occurrence and causes of waterborne disease outbreaks. Reporting Period Covered: January 1991 through December 1992. Description of System: The surveillance system includes data about outbreaks associated with water intended for drinking and also about those associated with recreational water. State and local public health departments are the agencies with primary responsibility for the detection and investigation of outbreaks. State and territorial health departments report these outbreaks to CDC on a standard form. Results: For the 2-year period 1991-1992, 17 states and territories reported 34 outbreaks associated with water intended for drinking. The outbreaks caused an estimated 17,464 persons to become ill. A protozoal parasite (Giardia lamblia or Cryptosporidium) was identified as the etiologic agent for seven of the 11 outbreaks for which an agent was determined. Five (71%) of the outbreaks caused by protozoa were associated with a surface-influenced groundwater source. One outbreak of cryptosporidiosis was associated with filtered and chlorinated surface water. Shigella sonnei and hepatitis A virus were implicated in one outbreak each; both were linked to consumption of contaminated well water. Two outbreaks due to acute chemical poisoning were reported; one had an associated fatality. No etiology was established for 23 (68%) of the 34 outbreaks, including the largest one reported during this period, in which an estimated 9,847 persons using a filtered surface water supply developed gastroenteritis. Most (76%) of the 34 outbreaks were associated with a well water source. Twenty-one states reported 39 outbreaks associated with recreational water, in which an estimated 1,825 persons became ill. The most frequently reported illness was hot tub- or whirlpool-associated Pseudomonas dermatitis (12 outbreaks). Of 11 outbreaks of swimming-associated gastroenteritis, six were caused by Giardia or Cryptosporidium, including three outbreaks associated with chlorinated, filtered pool water. The first reported outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection associated with recreational exposure occurred during this period. Primary amebic meningoencephalitis, caused by Naegleria fowleri infection, resulted in six deaths. Interpretation: The number of waterborne disease outbreaks reported per year has not changed substantially in the past 5 years. However, etiologic agents only recently associated with waterborne disease, such as E. coli O157:H7 and Cryptosporidium, are being reported more frequently and from new settings. Water quality data for outbreaks during the period 1991-1992 indicate that available water disinfection technology is not always in place or used reliably.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS) PMID:8232179
Moore, A C; Herwaldt, B L; Craun, G F; Calderon, R L; Highsmith, A K; Juranek, D D
Alzheimer disease in the United States (2010-2050) estimated using the 2010 census
Objectives: To provide updated estimates of Alzheimer disease (AD) dementia prevalence in the United States from 2010 through 2050. Methods: Probabilities of AD dementia incidence were calculated from a longitudinal, population-based study including substantial numbers of both black and white participants. Incidence probabilities for single year of age, race, and level of education were calculated using weighted logistic regression and AD dementia diagnosis from 2,577 detailed clinical evaluations of 1,913 people obtained from stratified random samples of previously disease-free individuals in a population of 10,800. These were combined with US mortality, education, and new US Census Bureau estimates of current and future population to estimate current and future numbers of people with AD dementia in the United States. Results: We estimated that in 2010, there were 4.7 million individuals aged 65 years or older with AD dementia (95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.0ľ5.5). Of these, 0.7 million (95% CI = 0.4ľ0.9) were between 65 and 74 years, 2.3 million were between 75 and 84 years (95% CI = 1.7ľ2.9), and 1.8 million were 85 years or older (95% CI = 1.4ľ2.2). The total number of people with AD dementia in 2050 is projected to be 13.8 million, with 7.0 million aged 85 years or older. Conclusion: The number of people in the United States with AD dementia will increase dramatically in the next 40 years unless preventive measures are developed.
Weuve, Jennifer; Scherr, Paul A.; Evans, Denis A.
Evaluation and tracking of Alzheimer's disease severity using resting-state magnetoencephalography.
We have conducted multicenter clinical studies in which brain function was evaluated with brief, resting-state magnetoencephalography (MEG) scans. A study cohort of 117 AD patients and 123 elderly cognitively normal volunteers was recruited from community neurology clinics in Denver, Colorado and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Each subject was evaluated through neurological examination, medical history, and a modest battery of standard neuropsychological tests. Brain function was measured by a one-minute, resting-state, eyes-open MEG scan. Cross-sectional analysis of MEG scans revealed global changes in the distribution of relative spectral power (centroid frequency of healthy subjects = 8.24 ▒ 0.2 Hz and AD patients = 6.78 ▒ 0.25 Hz) indicative of generalized slowing of brain signaling. Functional connectivity patterns were measured using the synchronous neural interactions (SNI) test, which showed a global increase in the strength of functional connectivity (cO2 value of healthy subjects = 0.059 ▒ 0.0007 versus AD patients = 0.066 ▒ 0.001) associated with AD. The largest magnitude disease-associated changes were localized to sensors near posterior and lateral cortical regions. Part of the cohort (31 AD and 46 cognitively normal) was evaluated in an identical fashion approximately 10 months after the first assessments. Follow-up scans revealed multiple MEG scan features that correlated significantly with changes in neuropsychological test scores. Linear combinations of these MEG scan features generated an accurate multivariate model of disease progression over 10 months. Our results demonstrate the utility of brief resting-state tests based on MEG. The non-invasive, rapid and convenient nature of these scans offers a new tool for translational AD research and early phase development of novel treatments for AD. PMID:21971464
Verdoorn, Todd A; McCarten, J Riley; Arciniegas, David B; Golden, Richard; Moldauer, Leslie; Georgopoulos, Apostolos; Lewis, Scott; Cassano, Michael; Hemmy, Laura; Orr, William; Rojas, Donald C
Quantifying the burden of disease and perceived health state in patients with hereditary angioedema in Sweden.
Hereditary angioedema (HAE) due to C1 inhibitor deficiency is a rare disease characterized by attacks of edema, known to impact quality of life (QoL). This study investigates the burden of HAE in Swedish patients, both children and adults. We used a retrospective registry study of Swedish patients with HAE, captured by the Sweha-Reg census. Data were collected using a paper-based survey. Patients completed EuroQoL 5 Dimensions 5 Levels (EQ5D-5L) questionnaires for both the attack-free state (EQ5D today), and the last HAE attack (EQ5D attack). Questions related to patient's age and sex and other variables, such as attack location and severity, were included to better understand the burden of HAE. EQ5D-5L values were estimated for the two HAE disease states. Patient-reported sick leave was also analyzed. A total of 103 responses were analyzed from 139 surveys (74% response rate). One hundred one reported an EQ5D today score (mean, 0.825) and 78 reported an EQ5D attack score (mean, 0.512) with significant differences between the two states (p < 0.0001). This difference was observed for both mild (p < 0.05), moderate (p < 0.0001), and severe attacks (p < 0.0001). Attack frequency had a negative effect on EQ5D today. Patients with >30 attacks a year had a significantly lower EQ5D today score than those with less frequent attacks. Of 74 participants, 33 (44.6%) had been absent from work or school during the latest attack and, of those with a severe attack, 81% had been absent. HAE has a significant impact on QoL both during and between attacks and on absenteeism during attacks. PMID:24411585
Nordenfelt, Patrik; Dawson, Simon; Wahlgren, Carl-Fredrik; Lindfors, Anders; Mallbris, Lotus; Bj÷rkander, Janne
Identification of resting and active state EEG features of Alzheimer's disease using discrete wavelet transform.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with deficits in a number of cognitive processes and executive functions. Moreover, abnormalities in the electroencephalogram (EEG) power spectrum develop with the progression of AD. These features have been traditionally characterized with montage recordings and conventional spectral analysis during resting eyes-closed and resting eyes-open (EO) conditions. In this study, we introduce a single lead dry electrode EEG device which was employed on AD and control subjects during resting and activated battery of cognitive and sensory tasks such as Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) and auditory stimulations. EEG signals were recorded over the left prefrontal cortex (Fp1) from each subject. EEG signals were decomposed into sub-bands approximately corresponding to the major brain frequency bands using several different discrete wavelet transforms and developed statistical features for each band. Decision tree algorithms along with univariate and multivariate statistical analysis were used to identify the most predictive features across resting and active states, separately and collectively. During resting state recordings, we found that the AD patients exhibited elevated D4 (~4-8 Hz) mean power in EO state as their most distinctive feature. During the active states, however, the majority of AD patients exhibited larger minimum D3 (~8-12 Hz) values during auditory stimulation (18 Hz) combined with increased kurtosis of D5 (~2-4 Hz) during PASAT with 2 s interval. When analyzed using EEG recording data across all tasks, the most predictive AD patient features were a combination of the first two feature sets. However, the dominant discriminating feature for the majority of AD patients were still the same features as the active state analysis. The results from this small sample size pilot study indicate that although EEG recordings during resting conditions are able to differentiate AD from control subjects, EEG activity recorded during active engagement in cognitive and auditory tasks provide important distinct features, some of which may be among the most predictive discriminating features. PMID:23536113
Ghorbanian, Parham; Devilbiss, David M; Verma, Ajay; Bernstein, Allan; Hess, Terry; Simon, Adam J; Ashrafiuon, Hashem
NAFLD may be a common underlying liver disease in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States
The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the United States is increasing, but the clinical characteristics of American patients with HCC have not been well described. The aims of this study were to determine the etiology of liver disease and short-term outcome among HCC patients presenting to a single center in the United States. One hundred five consecutive patients with
Jorge A. Marrero; Robert J. Fontana; Grace L. Su; Hari S. Conjeevaram; Dawn M. Emick; Anna S. Lok
Intractable secretory diarrhea in a Japanese boy with mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I deficiency.
The etiology of secretory diarrhea in early life is often unclear. We report a Japanese boy who survived until 3 years of age, despite intractable diarrhea commencing soon after birth. The fecal sodium content was strikingly high (109 mmol/L [normal range, 27-35 mmol/L]) and the osmotic gap was decreased (15 mOsm/kg), consistent with the findings of congenital sodium diarrhea. We examined the mitochondrial respiratory chain function by blue native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (BN-PAGE) in-gel enzyme staining, BN-PAGE western blotting, respiratory chain enzyme activity assay, and immunohistochemistry. Liver respiratory chain complex (Co) I activity was undetectable, while other respiratory chain complex activities were increased (Co II, 138%; Co III, 153%; Co IV, 126% versus respective control activities). Liver BN-PAGE in-gel enzyme staining and western blotting showed an extremely weak complex I band, while immunohistochemistry showed extremely weak staining for the 30-kDa subunit of complex I, but normal staining for the 70-kDa subunit of complex II. The patient was, therefore, diagnosed with complex I deficiency. The overall complex I activity of the jejunum was substantially decreased (63% of the control activity). The immunohistochemistry displayed apparently decreased staining of the 30-kDa complex I subunit, together with a slightly enhanced staining of the 70-kDa complex II subunit in intestinal epithelial cells. These data imply that intestinal epithelial cells are also complex I-deficient in this patient. Complex I deficiency is a novel cause of secretory diarrhea and may act via disrupting the supply of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) needed for the maintenance of ion gradients across membranes. PMID:18560889
Murayama, Kei; Nagasaka, Hironori; Tsuruoka, Tomoko; Omata, Yuko; Horie, Hiroshi; Tregoning, Simone; Thorburn, David R; Takayanagi, Masaki; Ohtake, Akira
Effect of Pulsed Radiofrequency Neuromodulation on Clinical Improvements in the Patients of Chronic Intractable Shoulder Pain
Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate effect of pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) neuromodulation of suprascpaular nerve (SSN) in patients with chronic shoulder pain due to adhesive capsulitis and/or rotator cuff tear. Methods The study included 11 patients suffering from chronic shoulder pain for at least 6 months who were diagnosed with adhesive capsulitis (n=4), rotator cuff tear (n=5), or adhesive capsulitis+rotator cuff tear (n=2) using shoulder magnetic resonance imaging or extremity ultrasonography. After a favorable response to a diagnostic suprascapular nerve block twice a week (pain improvement >50%), PRF neuromodulation was performed. Shoulder pain and quality of life were assessed using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS) before the diagnostic block and every month after PRF neuromodulation over a 9-month period. Results The mean VAS score of 11 patients before PRF was 6.4▒1.49, and the scores at 6-month and 9 month follow-up were 1.0▒0.73 and 1.5▒1.23, respectively. A significant pain reduction (p<0.001) was observed. The mean OSS score of 11 patients before PRF was 22.7▒8.1, and the scores at 6-month and 9 month follow-up were 41.5▒6.65 and 41.0▒6.67, respectively. A significant OSS improvement (p<0.001) was observed. Conclusion PRF neuromodulation of the suprascapular nerve is an effective treatment for chronic shoulder pain, and the effect was sustained over a relatively long period in patients with medically intractable shoulder pain.
Jang, Ji Su; Kang, Suk Hyung; Yang, Jin Seo; Lee, Jae Jun; Hwang, Sung Mi
An allogeneic cultured dermal substitute suitable for treating intractable skin ulcers and large skin defects prior to autologous skin grafting: three case reports.
Intractable skin ulcers that arise as secondary lesions from disease and full-thickness skin defects that result from skin tumor excision often need autologous skin grafting to close the wound. We developed an allogeneic cultured dermal substitute (CDS) to shorten the time needed to prepare a wound bed suitable for autologous skin grafting. The CDS was prepared by plating normal human fibroblasts on a spongy matrix consisting of hyaluronic acid and atelo-collagen. The allogeneic CDS was then placed on the rinsed wound surface. This procedure was repeated twice a week for up to five weeks, until the wounds were closed by autologous skin grafting. In all three cases, after CDS treatment for two to five weeks, the wound conditions became suitable for skin grafting; these conditions had not been improved by conventional topical treatments, including topical basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). Healthy granulation tissue developed rapidly, concomitant with wound size reduction. The present results indicate that CDS is an excellent biological wound dressing for improving wound conditions so that they are suitable for subsequent autologous skin grafting as well as for shortening the treatment duration for skin ulcers and full-thickness skin defects. PMID:16361714
Hasegawa, Toshio; Suga, Yasushi; Mizoguchi, Masayuki; Muramatsu, Shigenori; Mizuno, Yuki; Ogawa, Hideoki; Kubo, Kentaro; Kuroyanagi, Yoshimitsu
Exome sequencing identifies a de novo SCN2A mutation in a patient with intractable seizures, severe intellectual disability, optic atrophy, muscular hypotonia, and brain abnormalities.
Epilepsy is a phenotypically and genetically highly heterogeneous disorder with >200 genes linked to inherited forms of the disease. To identify the underlying genetic cause in a patient with intractable seizures, optic atrophy, severe intellectual disability (ID), brain abnormalities, and muscular hypotonia, we performed exome sequencing in a 5-year-old girl and her unaffected parents. In the patient, we detected a novel, de novo missense mutation in the SCN2A (c.5645G>T; p.R1882L) gene encoding the ?II -subunit of the voltage-gated sodium channel Nav 1.2. A literature review revealed 33 different SCN2A mutations in 14 families with benign forms of epilepsy and in 21 cases with severe phenotypes. Although almost all benign mutations were inherited, the majority of severe mutations occurred de novo. Of interest, de novo SCN2A mutations have also been reported in five patients without seizures but with ID (ná=á3) and/or autism (ná=á3). In the present study, we successfully used exome sequencing to detect a de novo mutation in a genetically heterogeneous disorder with epilepsy and ID. Using this approach, we expand the phenotypic spectrum of SCN2A mutations. Our own and literature data indicate that SCN2A-linked severe phenotypes are more likely to be caused by de novo mutations. A PowerPoint slide summarizing this article is available for download in the Supporting Information section here. PMID:24579881
Baasch, Anna-Lena; HŘning, Irina; Gilissen, Christian; Klepper, Joerg; Veltman, Joris A; Gillessen-Kaesbach, Gabriele; Hoischen, Alexander; Lohmann, Katja
Pediatric Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in the United States in the Era of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines
Summary: Invasive infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae continue to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially in children under 5 years of age. In the United States, 90% of invasive pneumococcal infections in children are caused by 13 serotypes of S. pneumoniae. The licensure (in 2000) and subsequent widespread use of a heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) have had a significant impact on decreasing the incidence of serious invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in all age groups, especially in children under 2 years of age. However, the emergence of replacement non-PCV7 serotypes, especially serotype 19A, has resulted in an increase in the incidence of serious and invasive infections. In 2010, a 13-valent PCV was licensed in the United States. However, the impact that this vaccine will have on IPD remains to be seen. The objectives of this review are to discuss the epidemiology of serious and invasive pneumococcal infections in the United States in the PCV era and to review some of the pneumococcal vaccines that are in development.
Cellular infiltration and cytokine expression correlate with fistulizing state in Crohn's disease.
The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of infiltration of different cell subpopulations (tissue dendritic macrophages, T-helper cells, cytotoxic T lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, and B cells) and the expression of the cytokines interleukin-12 (IL-12) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-?) in inflamed and noninflamed resected tissues from Crohn's disease (CD) and non-CD patients. Twenty-one resected full-thickness intestinal tissue specimens representing 13 subjects (8 CD and 5 non-CD patients) were included in this study. Sections of 20 ?m in thickness were cut and then stained using immunohistochemistry. The sections were analyzed using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Patterns of staining for inflamed CD and noninflamed CD tissues versus non-CD tissues demonstrated significant differences in the macrophage and T-helper subpopulations. Surprisingly, the T-helper subset was decreased significantly in the inflamed CD sections compared to the noninflamed CD and non-CD sections. The staining patterns also suggested differences in the expression of both IL-12 and TNF-? between the groups, with cytokine overexpression directly relating to the fistulizing state in CD patients. Cytokine expression is upregulated in chronic CD patients; therefore, the degree of inflammation and tissue damage in CD is dependent on the expression of specific cytokines within the tissue. Differentiation of cell subpopulations may be important for establishing a direct relationship with each state of CD (inflammatory, stricturing, and fistulizing states). PMID:21752952
Naser, Saleh A; Romero, Claudia; Urbina, Princess; Naser, Najih; Valentine, John
Cellular Infiltration and Cytokine Expression Correlate with Fistulizing State in Crohn's Disease ?
The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of infiltration of different cell subpopulations (tissue dendritic macrophages, T-helper cells, cytotoxic T lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, and B cells) and the expression of the cytokines interleukin-12 (IL-12) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-?) in inflamed and noninflamed resected tissues from Crohn's disease (CD) and non-CD patients. Twenty-one resected full-thickness intestinal tissue specimens representing 13 subjects (8 CD and 5 non-CD patients) were included in this study. Sections of 20 ?m in thickness were cut and then stained using immunohistochemistry. The sections were analyzed using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Patterns of staining for inflamed CD and noninflamed CD tissues versus non-CD tissues demonstrated significant differences in the macrophage and T-helper subpopulations. Surprisingly, the T-helper subset was decreased significantly in the inflamed CD sections compared to the noninflamed CD and non-CD sections. The staining patterns also suggested differences in the expression of both IL-12 and TNF-? between the groups, with cytokine overexpression directly relating to the fistulizing state in CD patients. Cytokine expression is upregulated in chronic CD patients; therefore, the degree of inflammation and tissue damage in CD is dependent on the expression of specific cytokines within the tissue. Differentiation of cell subpopulations may be important for establishing a direct relationship with each state of CD (inflammatory, stricturing, and fistulizing states).
Naser, Saleh A.; Romero, Claudia; Urbina, Princess; Naser, Najih; Valentine, John
Hemodynamic Energy Dissipation in the Cardiovascular System: Generalized Theoretical Analysis on Disease States
Background We present a fundamental theoretical framework for analysis of energy dissipation in any component of the circulatory system and formulate the full energy budget for both venous and arterial circulations. New indices allowing disease-specific subject-to-subject comparisons and disease-to-disease hemodynamic evaluation (quantifying the hemodynamic severity of one vascular disease type to the other) are presented based on this formalism. Methods and Results Dimensional analysis of energy dissipation rate with respect to the human circulation shows that the rate of energy dissipation is inversely proportional to the square of the patient body surface area and directly proportional to the cube of cardiac output. This result verified the established formulae for energy loss in aortic stenosis that was solely derived through empirical clinical experience. Three new indices are introduced to evaluate more complex disease states: (1) circulation energy dissipation index (CEDI), (2) aortic valve energy dissipation index (AV-EDI), and (3) total cavopulmonary connection energy dissipation index (TCPCEDI). CEDI is based on the full energy budget of the circulation and is the proper measure of the work performed by the ventricle relative to the net energy spent in overcoming frictional forces. It is shown to be 4.01 ▒ 0.16 for healthy individuals and above 7.0 for patients with severe aortic stenosis. Application of CEDI index on single-ventricle venous physiology reveals that the surgically created Fontan circulation, which is indeed palliative, progressively degrades in hemodynamic efficiency with growth (p <0.001), with the net dissipation in a typical Fontan patient (Body surface area = 1.0 m2) being equivalent to that of an average case of severe aortic stenosis. AV-EDI is shown to be the proper index to gauge the hemodynamic severity of stenosed aortic valves as it accurately reflects energy loss. It is about 0.28 ▒ 0.12 for healthy human valves. Moderate aortic stenosis has an AV-EDI one order of magnitude higher while clinically severe aortic stenosis cases always had magnitudes above 3.0. TCPC-EDI represents the efficiency of the TCPC connection and is shown to be negatively correlated to the size of a typical ôbottle-neckö region (pulmonary artery) in the surgical TCPC pathway (p <0.05). Conclusions Energy dissipation in the human circulation has been analyzed theoretically to derive the proper scaling (indexing) factor. CEDI, AV-EDI, and TCPC-EDI are proper measures of the dissipative characteristics of the circulatory system, aortic valve, and the Fontan connection, respectively.
Dasi, Lakshmi P.; Pekkan, Kerem; de Zelicourt, Diane; Sundareswaran, Kartik S.; Krishnankutty, Resmi; Delnido, Pedro J.; Yoganathan, Ajit P.
Epidemiology of foodborne disease outbreaks caused by Clostridium perfringens, United States, 1998-2010.
Clostridium perfringens is estimated to be the second most common bacterial cause of foodborne illness in the United States, causing one million illnesses each year. Local, state, and territorial health departments voluntarily report C. perfringens outbreaks to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System. Our analysis included outbreaks confirmed by laboratory evidence during 1998-2010. A food item was implicated if C. perfringens was isolated from food or based on epidemiologic evidence. Implicated foods were classified into one of 17 standard food commodities when possible. From 1998 to 2010, 289 confirmed outbreaks of C. perfringens illness were reported with 15,208 illnesses, 83 hospitalizations, and eight deaths. The number of outbreaks reported each year ranged from 16 to 31 with no apparent trend over time. The annual number of outbreak-associated illnesses ranged from 359 to 2,173, and the median outbreak size was 24 illnesses. Outbreaks occurred year round, with the largest number in November and December. Restaurants (43%) were the most common setting of food preparation. Other settings included catering facility (19%), private home (16%), prison or jail (11%), and other (10%). Among the 144 (50%) outbreaks attributed to a single food commodity, beef was the most common commodity (66 outbreaks, 46%), followed by poultry (43 outbreaks, 30%), and pork (23 outbreaks, 16%). Meat and poultry outbreaks accounted for 92% of outbreaks with an identified single food commodity. Outbreaks caused by C. perfringens occur regularly, are often large, and can cause substantial morbidity yet are preventable if contamination of raw meat and poultry products is prevented at the farm or slaughterhouse or, after contamination, if these products are properly handled and prepared, particularly in restaurants and catering facilities. PMID:23379281
Grass, Julian E; Gould, L Hannah; Mahon, Barbara E
Mortality impact of thoracic aortic disease in S?o Paulo state from 1998 to 2007
Background The epidemiological characteristics of thoracic aortic diseases (TAD) in the State of SŃo Paulo and in Brazil, as well as their impact on the survival of these patients have yet to be analyzed. Objectives To evaluate the mortality impact of TAD and characterize it epidemiologically. Methods Retrospective analysis of data from the public health system for the TAD registry codes of hospitalizations, procedures and deaths, from the International Code of Diseases (ICD-10), registered at the Ministry of Health of SŃo Paulo State from January 1998 to December 2007. Results They were 9.465 TAD deaths, 5.500 men (58.1%) and 3.965 women (41.9%); 6.721 dissections (71%) and 2.744. aneurysms. In 86.3% of cases the diagnosis was attained during autopsy. There were 6.109 hospitalizations, of which 67.9% were males; 21.2% of them died (69% men), with similar proportions of dissection and aneurysm between sexes, respectively 54% and 46%, but with different mortality. Men with TAD die more often than women (OR = 1.5). The age distribution for deaths and hospitalizations was similar with predominance in the 6th decade. They were 3.572 surgeries (58% of hospitalizations) with 20.3% mortality (patients kept in clinical treatment showed 22.6% mortality; p = 0.047). The number of hospitalizations, surgeries, deaths of in-patients and general deaths by TAD were progressively greater than the increase in population over time. Conclusions Specific actions for the early identification of these patients, as well as the viability of their care should be implemented to reduce the apparent progressive mortality from TAD seen among our population.
Dias, Ricardo Ribeiro; Mejia, Omar Asdrubal Vilca; Fernandes, Fabio; Ramires, Felix Jose Alvarez; Mady, Charles; Stolf, Noedir Antonio Groppo; Jatene, Fabio Biscegli
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Use Among Persons With Chronic Kidney Disease in the United States
PURPOSE Because avoidance of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is recommended for most individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD), we sought to characterize patterns of NSAID use among persons with CKD in the United States. METHODS A total of 12,065 adult (aged 20 years or older) participants in the cross-sectional National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999ľ2004) responded to a questionnaire regarding their use of over-the-counter and prescription NSAIDs. NSAIDs (excluding aspirin and acetaminophen) were defined by self-report. CKD was categorized as no CKD, mild CKD (stages 1 and 2; urinary albumin-creatinine ratio of ?30 mg/g) and moderate to severe CKD (stages 3 and 4; estimated glomerular filtration rate of 15ľ59 mL/min/1.73 m2). Adjusted prevalence was calculated using multivariable logistic regression with appropriate population-based weighting. RESULTS Current use (nearly every day for 30 days or longer) of any NSAID was reported by 2.5%, 2.5%, and 5.0% of the US population with no, mild, and moderate to severe CKD, respectively; nearly all of the NSAIDs used were available over-the-counter. Among those with moderate to severe CKD who were currently using NSAIDs, 10.2% had a current NSAID prescription and 66.1% had used NSAIDs for 1 year or longer. Among those with CKD, disease awareness was not associated with reduced current NSAID use: (3.8% vs 3.9%, aware vs unaware; P=.979). CONCLUSIONS Physicians and other health care clinicians should be aware of use of NSAIDs among those with CKD in the United States and evaluate NSAID use in their CKD patients.
Plantinga, Laura; Grubbs, Vanessa; Sarkar, Urmimala; Hsu, Chi-yuan; Hedgeman, Elizabeth; Robinson, Bruce; Saran, Rajiv; Geiss, Linda; Burrows, Nilka Rios; Eberhardt, Mark; Powe, Neil
[Association between air pollution and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in Itabira, Minas Gerais State, Brazil].
The city of Itabira, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, is located in the Espinhašo Mountain Range, an area that features large-scale mechanized iron ore pit mines. The current study evaluates the acute effects of inhalable particulate matter (PM10) in terms of emergency room visits due to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in Itabira. Generalized additive Poisson regression models were adopted, controlling for temperature, humidity, and both short and long-term seasonality. Increases of 10mg/m(3) in PM10 were associated with increases in respiratory emergency room visits of 4% (95%CI: 2.2-5.8), at lags 0 and 1 for children and adolescents younger than 13 years of age, and of 12% (95%CI: 8.5-15.5) on the three subsequent days for adolescents (13 to 19 years of age). For cardiovascular diseases, the effect was acute (4%; 95%CI: 0.8-8.5) and mainly for the 45 to 64 age group. These results show that PM10 generated by open pit mining can lead to health problems in the exposed population. PMID:18038038
Braga, AlfÚsio LuÝs Ferreira; Pereira, Luiz Alberto Amador; Procˇpio, Marly; AndrÚ, Paulo Afonso de; Saldiva, Paulo Hilßrio do Nascimento
Occupational class and ischemic heart disease mortality in the United States and 11 European countries.
OBJECTIVES: Twelve countries were compared with respect to occupational class differences in ischemic heart disease mortality in order to identify factors that are associated with smaller or larger mortality differences. METHODS: Data on mortality by occupational class among men aged 30 to 64 years were obtained from national longitudinal or cross-sectional studies for the 1980s. A common occupational class scheme was applied to most countries. Potential effects of the main data problems were evaluated quantitatively. RESULTS: A north-south contrast existed within Europe. In England and Wales, Ireland, and Nordic countries, manual classes had higher mortality rates than nonmanual classes. In France, Switzerland, and Mediterranean countries, manual classes had mortality rates as low as, or lower than, those among nonmanual classes. Compared with Northern Europe, mortality differences in the United States were smaller (among men aged 30-44 years) or about as large (among men aged 45-64 years). CONCLUSIONS: The results underline the highly variable nature of socioeconomic inequalities in ischemic heart disease mortality. These inequalities appear to be highly sensitive to social gradients in behavioral risk factors. These risk factor gradients are determined by cultural as well as socioeconomic developments.
Kunst, A E; Groenhof, F; Andersen, O; Borgan, J K; Costa, G; Desplanques, G; Filakti, H; Giraldes, M do R; Faggiano, F; Harding, S; Junker, C; Martikainen, P; Minder, C; Nolan, B; Pagnanelli, F; Regidor, E; Vagero, D; Valkonen, T; Mackenbach, J P
Bacterial Infection in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in 2000: a State-of-the-Art Review
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. The precise role of bacterial infection in the course and pathogenesis of COPD has been a source of controversy for decades. Chronic bacterial colonization of the lower airways contributes to airway inflammation; more research is needed to test the hypothesis that this bacterial colonization accelerates the progressive decline in lung function seen in COPD (the vicious circle hypothesis). The course of COPD is characterized by intermittent exacerbations of the disease. Studies of samples obtained by bronchoscopy with the protected specimen brush, analysis of the human immune response with appropriate immunoassays, and antibiotic trials reveal that approximately half of exacerbations are caused by bacteria. Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae are the most common causes of exacerbations, while Chlamydia pneumoniae causes a small proportion. The role of Haemophilus parainfluenzae and gram-negative bacilli remains to be established. Recent progress in studies of the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis of infection in the human respiratory tract and in vaccine development guided by such studies promises to lead to novel ways to treat and prevent bacterial infections in COPD.
Sethi, Sanjay; Murphy, Timothy F.
Impact of the Metabolic Syndrome on Mortality From Coronary Heart Disease, Cardiovascular Disease, and All Causes in United States Adults
BackgroundŚMortality resulting from coronary heart disease (CHD), cardiovascular disease (CVD), and all causes in persons with diabetes and pre-existing CVD is high; however, these risks compared with those with metabolic syndrome (MetS) are unclear. We examined the impact of MetS on CHD, CVD, and overall mortality among US adults. Methods and ResultsŚIn a prospective cohort study, 6255 subjects 30 to
Shaista Malik; Nathan D. Wong; Stanley S. Franklin; Tripthi V. Kamath; Gilbert J. L'Italien; Jose R. Pio; G. Rhys Williams
Infectious disease surveillance in the United States and the United Kingdom: from public goods to the challenges of new technologies.
Infectious diseases are a long-standing and continuing threat to health and welfare, with their containment dependent on national disease surveillance and response capacities. This article discusses infectious disease surveillance in the United States and the United Kingdom, examining historical national traditions for identifying and controlling infectious disease risks and how globalization and technical advances have influenced the evolution of their respective approaches. The two systems developed in different but parallel ways. In the United States, surveillance remained quite localized at the state level until the early twentieth century and still retains many of those features. The U.K. approach became centralized from the latter part of the nineteenth century and has principally remained so. In both cases, disease surveillance was traditionally conceived as a public good, where national or local authorities held sovereign rights and power to protect public health. With the increasing globalized nature of infectious disease, such notions shifted toward surveillance as a global public good, with countries responding in turn by creating new global health governance arrangements and regulations. However, the limitations of current surveillance systems and the strong hold of national interests place into question the provision of surveillance as a global public good. These issues are further highlighted with the introduction of new surveillance technologies, which offer opportunities for improved disease detection and identification but also create potential tensions between individual rights, corporate profit, equitable access to technology, and national and global public goods. PMID:21498799
Barnett, Tony; Sorenson, Corinna
10-minute delayed recall from the modified mini-mental state test predicts Alzheimer's disease pathology.
We compared the sensitivity and specificity of two delayed recall scores from the Modified Mini-Mental State (3MS) test with consensus clinical diagnosis to differentiate cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) versus non-AD pathologies. At a memory disorders clinic, 117 cognitively impaired patients were administered a baseline 3MS test and received a contemporaneous consensus clinical diagnosis. Their brains were examined after death about 5 years later. Using logistic regression with forward selection to predict pathologically defined AD versus non-AD, 10-min delayed recall entered first (p = 0.001), followed by clinical diagnosis (p = 0.02); 1-min delayed recall did not enter. 10-min delayed recall scores ?4 (score range = 0-9) were 87% sensitive and 47% specific in predicting AD pathology; consensus clinical diagnosis was 82% sensitive and 45% specific. For the 57 patients whose initial Mini-Mental State Examination scores were ?19 (the median), 3MS 10-min delayed recall scores ?4 showed some loss of sensitivity (80%) but a substantial gain in specificity (77%). In conclusion, 10-min delayed recall score on the brief 3MS test distinguished between AD versus non-AD pathology about 5 years before death at least as well as consensus clinical diagnosis that requires much more comprehensive information and complex deliberation. PMID:24240637
Lyness, Scott A; Lee, Ae Young; Zarow, Chris; Teng, Evelyn L; Chui, Helena C
Resting-state fMRI changes in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment.
Regional functional connectivity (FC) of 39 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), 23 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 43 healthy elderly controls was studied using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). After a mean follow-up of 2.8 ▒ 1.9 years, 7 MCI patients converted to AD, while 14 patients remained cognitively stable. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were analyzed using independent component analysis (ICA), followed by a "dual-regression" technique to create and compare subject-specific maps of each independent spatiotemporal component, correcting for age, sex, and gray matter atrophy. AD patients displayed lower FC within the default-mode network (DMN) in the precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex compared with controls, independent of cortical atrophy. Regional FC values of MCI patients were numerically in between AD patients and controls, but only the difference between AD and stable MCI patients was statistically significant. Correlation with cognitive dysfunction demonstrated the clinical relevance of FC changes within the DMN. In conclusion, clinically relevant decreased FC within the DMN was observed in AD. PMID:21862179
Binnewijzend, Maja A A; Schoonheim, Menno M; Sanz-Arigita, Ernesto; Wink, Alle Meije; van der Flier, Wiesje M; Tolboom, Nelleke; Adriaanse, Sofie M; Damoiseaux, Jessica S; Scheltens, Philip; van Berckel, Bart N M; Barkhof, Frederik
Potential utility of resting-state magnetoencephalography as a biomarker of CNS abnormality in HIV disease.
There is a lack of a neuroimaging biomarker for HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder. We report magnetoencephalography (MEG) data from patients with HIV disease and risk-group appropriate controls that were collected to determine the MEG frequency profile during the resting state, and the stability of the profile over 24 weeks. 17 individuals (10 HIV+, 7 HIV-) completed detailed neurobehavioral evaluations and 10min of resting-state MEG acquisition with a 306-channel whole-head system. The entire evaluation and MEG measurement were repeated 24 weeks later. Relative MEG power in the delta (0-4Hz), theta (4-7Hz), alpha (8-12Hz), beta (12-30Hz) and low gamma (30-50Hz) bands was computed for 8 predefined sensor groups. The median stability of resting-state relative power over 24 weeks of follow-up was .80 with eyes closed, and .72 with eyes open. The relative gamma power in the right occipital (t(15)=1.99, p<.06, r=-.46) and right frontal (t(15)=2.15, p<.05, r=-.48) regions was associated with serostatus. The effect of age on delta power was greater in the seropositive subjects (r(2)=.51) than in the seronegative subjects (r(2)=.11). Individuals with high theta-to-gamma ratios tended to have lower cognitive test performance, regardless of serostatus. The stability of the wide-band MEG frequency profiles over 24 weeks supports the utility of MEG as a biomarker. The links between the MEG profile, serostatus, and cognition suggest further research on its potential in HAND is needed. PMID:22414786
Becker, James T; Fabrizio, Melissa; Sudre, Gustavo; Haridis, Anna; Ambrose, Timothy; Aizenstein, Howard J; Eddy, William; Lopez, Oscar L; Wolk, David A; Parkkonen, Lauri; Bagic, Anto
Patterns of care for patients with chronic kidney disease in the United States: dying for improvement.
The burden of chronic kidney disease can be assessed by multiple criteria that underscore the need for improved detection, treatment, and outcome monitoring. Several process measures for the care of advanced CKD patients are examined herein. Twenty seven and 11% of patients with CKD in National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) III had BP <140/90 and 130/85, respectively. In addition to inadequate prescription of antihypertensive drugs, another confounder is poor diagnostic recognition of CKD. Recent surveys of incident Medicare-eligible ESRD patients observed severe anemia in a preponderance of patients; mean and median hematocrit values were 27.7% +/- 5.9 and 27.8%, respectively. Only 23 to 28% of these patients were prescribed epoetin alfa. Clinical practice guidelines recommend that <10% of maintenance hemodialysis patients should be chronically dialyzed using percutaneous catheters. A recent national survey of vascular access types among incident American hemodialysis patients found that 30%, 41%, and 29% were dialyzing through a catheter, prosthetic graft, and autologous fistula, respectively. Tunneled catheters are associated with a 39% annual increased risk of death. Based on pharmacokinetic assumptions about the minimum amount of solute clearance by hemodialysis needed for patient survival in ESRD, a GFR of 10.5 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) is needed. The mean GFR of incident ESRD patients in the United States was 9.5 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) in 2000. In addition to the wide international variability in modality treatment selection, geographic variability exists within the United States; <7 to >15% of the prevalent patients are treated by peritoneal dialysis across the country. Despite survival and quality-of-life benefits with transplantation, most eligible recipients in the United States have not been placed on a transplant waiting list 6 mo after beginning dialysis. Last, <40% of incident ESRD patients in the United States have received the recommended frequency of mammography, PAP examinations, or prostate-specific antigen (PSA) or HbA1c measurements. These deficiencies in care for patients with advanced CKD likely adversely influence the survival of US ESRD patients. Contemporary outcome information supports this contention. CKD patients referred to a nephrologist for the first time within 90 d of the start of dialysis have an approximately 40% to 60% increased risk of death during their first year of renal replacement therapy (RRT). Thirty-five percent of CKD patients are seen within 90 d of receiving RRT. In addition, if fewer than five nephrology visits occur, death risks are increased by 15%. These findings confirm the urgent need for improvement in healthcare delivery for CKD patient in the United States. PMID:12819307
Owen, William F
Electronic surveillance of disease states: a preliminary study in electronic detection of respiratory diseases in a primary care setting.
The present project is a step by step description of the creation of a computerized surveillance system using historical information derived from automated expert system acquisition. Since historical information is in many cases not sufficient for establishing an individual's medical diagnosis, the accuracy of surveillance is measured against the "gold standard" diagnosis provided by a panel of physicians. It was possible to survey within acceptable limits of accuracy in the conditions of the project. The results reveal a high level of sensitivity by computer surveillance as well as an accurate ability of electronic tracking of disease incidence over a period of time. However, further investigation into the accuracy of electronic surveillance and selection of symptoms used to define a disease should be studied. The feasibility of employing electronic historical medical information to survey disease has potential in providing real-time epidemiological data.
Hung, J.; Posey, J.; Freedman, R.; Thorton, T.
Successful control of intractable nausea and vomiting requiring combined ondansetron and haloperidol in a patient with advanced cancer.
Chemically induced nausea and vomiting is a common symptom of advanced cancer effected through stimulation of dopamine (D2) or serotonin (5-HT3) receptors located in the chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ). These may be blocked by therapeutic doses of haloperidol and ondansetron, respectively. This case, reporting on a single patient acting as her own control, establishes that combined blockade of these receptors is sometimes required to relieve intractable nausea and vomiting. It also demonstrates the value of clinical review, audit of care, and quality assurance in the palliative care setting. PMID:7513334
Cole, R M; Robinson, F; Harvey, L; Trethowan, K; Murdoch, V
Intradural approach to selective stimulation in the spinal cord for treatment of intractable pain: design principles and wireless protocol
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
We introduce an intradural approach to spinal cord stimulation for the relief of intractable pain, and describe the biophysical rationale that underlies its design and performance requirements. The proposed device relies on wireless, inductive coupling between a pial surface implant and its epidural controller, and we present the results of benchtop experiments that demonstrate the ability to transmit and receive a frequency-modulated 1.6 MHz carrier signal between micro-coil antennae scaled to the ~ 1 cm dimensions of the implant, at power levels of about 5 mW. Plans for materials selection, microfabrication, and other aspects of future development are presented and discussed.
Howard, M. A.; Utz, M.; Brennan, T. J.; Dalm, B. D.; Viljoen, S.; Jeffery, N. D.; Gillies, G. T.
The effect of ketamine as an additive in epidural block on the intractable herpetic neuralgia: a case report
Ketamine has been shown to have analgesic effect by blocking N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, thus preventing and reducing central sensitization caused by peripheral nociceptive stimulation. However, due to lack of knowledge about its safety and toxicity in the central nervous system, either epidural or intrathecal injection of ketamine still remains controversial. Here, we describe a case report of satisfactory pain relief after the addition of ketamine in epidural injection in a patient with severe herpes zoster pain that was refractory to conventional medication, intravenous opioids and continuous epidural block. This case indicates the viability of epidural ketamine injection in patients with intractable herpetic neuralgia.
Lee, Jin Young; Kim, Kyung Mi; Oh, Min Seok; Lee, Ji Eun
Recent advancements in stem cell and gene therapies for neurological disorders and intractable epilepsy
The potential applications of stem cell therapies for treating neurological disorders are enormous. Many laboratories are focusing on stem cell treatments for CNS diseases, including spinal cord injury, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and epilepsy. Among the many stem cell types under testing for neurological treatments, the most common are fetal and
Janice R. Naegele; Xu Maisano; Jia Yang; Sara Royston; Efrain Ribeiro
Landscape, demographic, entomological, and climatic associations with human disease incidence of West Nile virus in the state of Iowa, USA
Background West Nile virus (WNV) emerged as a threat to public and veterinary health in the Midwest United States in 2001 and continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality annually. To investigate biotic and abiotic factors associated with disease incidence, cases of reported human disease caused by West Nile virus (WNV) in the state of Iowa were aggregated by census block groups in Iowa for the years 2002ľ2006. Spatially explicit data on landscape, demographic, and climatic conditions were collated and analyzed by census block groups. Statistical tests of differences between means and distributions of landscape, demographic, and climatic variables for census block groups with and without WNV disease incidence were carried out. Entomological data from Iowa were considered at the state level to add context to the potential ecological events taking place. Results Numerous statistically significant differences were shown in the means and distributions of various landscape and demographic variables for census block groups with and without WNV disease incidence. Census block groups with WNV disease incidence had significantly lower population densities than those without. Landscape variables showing differences included stream density, road density, land cover compositions, presence of irrigation, and presence of animal feeding operations. Statistically significant differences in the annual means of precipitations, dew point, and minimum temperature for both the year of WNV disease incidence and the prior year, were detected in at least one year of the analysis for each parameter. However, the differences were not consistent between years. Conclusion The analysis of human WNV disease incidence by census block groups in Iowa demonstrated unique landscape, demographic, and climatic associations. Our results indicate that multiple ecological WNV transmission dynamics are most likely taking place in Iowa. In 2003 and 2006, drier conditions were associated with WNV disease incidence. In a significant novel finding, rural agricultural settings were shown to be strongly associated with human WNV disease incidence in Iowa.
DeGroote, John P; Sugumaran, Ramanathan; Brend, Sarah M; Tucker, Brad J; Bartholomay, Lyric C
Prothrombotic state and impaired fibrinolysis in bullous pemphigoid, the most frequent autoimmune blistering disease
Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a potentially life-threatening autoimmune blistering disease that is burdened with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. In BP, there is an interplay between inflammation and coagulation both locally, which contributes to skin damage, and systemically, which leads to a prothrombotic state. Fibrinolysis is an important defence mechanism against thrombosis, but has only been studied locally in BP and no systemic data are available. The aim of this observational study was to evaluate systemic fibrinolysis and coagulation activation in patients with BP. We measured parameters of fibrinolysis and coagulation by immunoenzymatic methods in plasma from 20 patients with BP in an active phase and during remission after corticosteroid treatment. The controls were 20 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. Plasma levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) antigen, PAI-1 activity and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) antigen were significantly higher in the BP patients with active disease than in healthy controls (P = 0Ě0001 for all), as were the plasma levels of the fibrin fragment d-dimer and prothrombin fragment F1+2 (P = 0Ě0001 for both). During remission after treatment, levels of PAI-1 antigen and PAI-1 activity decreased significantly (P = 0Ě008 and P = 0Ě006, respectively), and there was also a significant decrease in plasma levels of d-dimer (P = 0Ě0001) and F1+2 (P = 0Ě0001). Fibrinolysis is inhibited in patients with active BP, due mainly to an increase in plasma levels of PAI-1. Corticosteroids not only induce the regression of BP lesions, but also reduce the inhibition of fibrinolysis, which may contribute to decreasing thrombotic risk.
Marzano, A V; Tedeschi, A; Polloni, I; Crosti, C; Cugno, M
Alcoholic Liver Disease-Related Mortality in the United States: 1980-2003
OBJECTIVES Data on temporal changes in alcoholic liver disease (ALD)-related mortality in the United States are lacking. This longitudinal assessment is important, given the divergent data on trends in worldwide ALD-related mortality, concerns for underestimation of mortality attributed to ALD in previous investigations, and shifting attention to hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related mortality. METHODS We analyzed mortality data compiled in the multiple cause-of-death public-use data file from the National Vital Statistics System from 1980 to 2003 using categorization by both International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9 and ICD-10 systems. The main outcome measure was age- and sex-adjusted death rates attributable to ALD, HCV, or both (ALD/HCV) listed as immediate or underlying cause of death. RESULTS A total of 287,365 deaths were observed over the 24-year period. Age- and sex- adjusted incidence rates of ALD-related deaths decreased from 6.9/100,000 persons in 1980 to 4.4/100,000 persons by 2003. After introduction of HCV diagnostic testing, HCV-related liver mortality increased to 2.9/100,000 persons by 2003. Death rates for subjects with concomitant ALD/HCV rose to 0.2/100,000 persons by 1999 and then remained unchanged through 2003. Age-specific mortality related to ALD was highest in the ages of 45ľ64 years. Between 1980 and 2003, the age- and sex-adjusted ALD-related mortality (per 100,000 persons) decreased from 6.3 to 4.5 among Caucasians, 11.6 to 4.1 among African Americans, and 8.0 to 3.7 among the ôotherö race group. CONCLUSIONS Despite a decline in ALD-related mortality, the proportion of alcohol-related liver deaths is still considerably large and comparable in scope to that of HCV.
Paula, Helga; Asrani, Sumeet K.; Boetticher, Nicholas C.; Pedersen, Rachel; Shah, Vijay H.; Kim, W. Ray
The Alzheimer's disease ?-secretase enzyme, BACE1
The pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease is highly complex. While several pathologies characterize this disease, amyloid plaques, composed of the ?-amyloid peptide are hallmark neuropathological lesions in Alzheimer's disease brain. Indeed, a wealth of evidence suggests that ?-amyloid is central to the pathophysiology of AD and is likely to play an early role in this intractable neurodegenerative disorder. The BACE1 enzyme is essential for the generation of ?-amyloid. BACE1 knockout mice do not produce ?-amyloid and are free from Alzheimer's associated pathologies including neuronal loss and certain memory deficits. The fact that BACE1 initiates the formation of ?-amyloid, and the observation that BACE1 levels are elevated in this disease provide direct and compelling reasons to develop therapies directed at BACE1 inhibition thus reducing ?-amyloid and its associated toxicities. However, new data indicates that complete abolishment of BACE1 may be associated with specific behavioral and physiological alterations. Recently a number of non-APP BACE1 substrates have been identified. It is plausible that failure to process certain BACE1 substrates may underlie some of the reported abnormalities in the BACE1-deficient mice. Here we review BACE1 biology, covering aspects ranging from the initial identification and characterization of this enzyme to recent data detailing the apparent dysregulation of BACE1 in Alzheimer's disease. We pay special attention to the putative function of BACE1 during healthy conditions and discuss in detail the relationship that exists between key risk factors for AD, such as vascular disease (and downstream cellular consequences), and the pathogenic alterations in BACE1 that are observed in the diseased state.
Cole, Sarah L; Vassar, Robert
The impact of movements and animal density on continental scale cattle disease outbreaks in the United States.
Globalization has increased the potential for the introduction and spread of novel pathogens over large spatial scales necessitating continental-scale disease models to guide emergency preparedness. Livestock disease spread models, such as those for the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) epidemic in the United Kingdom, represent some of the best case studies of large-scale disease spread. However, generalization of these models to explore disease outcomes in other systems, such as the United States's cattle industry, has been hampered by differences in system size and complexity and the absence of suitable livestock movement data. Here, a unique database of US cattle shipments allows estimation of synthetic movement networks that inform a near-continental scale disease model of a potential FMD-like (i.e., rapidly spreading) epidemic in US cattle. The largest epidemics may affect over one-third of the US and 120,000 cattle premises, but cattle movement restrictions from infected counties, as opposed to national movement moratoriums, are found to effectively contain outbreaks. Slow detection or weak compliance may necessitate more severe state-level bans for similar control. Such results highlight the role of large-scale disease models in emergency preparedness, particularly for systems lacking comprehensive movement and outbreak data, and the need to rapidly implement multi-scale contingency plans during a potential US outbreak. PMID:24670977
Buhnerkempe, Michael G; Tildesley, Michael J; Lindstr÷m, Tom; Grear, Daniel A; Portacci, Katie; Miller, Ryan S; Lombard, Jason E; Werkman, Marleen; Keeling, Matt J; Wennergren, Uno; Webb, Colleen T
The Impact of Movements and Animal Density on Continental Scale Cattle Disease Outbreaks in the United States
Globalization has increased the potential for the introduction and spread of novel pathogens over large spatial scales necessitating continental-scale disease models to guide emergency preparedness. Livestock disease spread models, such as those for the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) epidemic in the United Kingdom, represent some of the best case studies of large-scale disease spread. However, generalization of these models to explore disease outcomes in other systems, such as the United Statesĺs cattle industry, has been hampered by differences in system size and complexity and the absence of suitable livestock movement data. Here, a unique database of US cattle shipments allows estimation of synthetic movement networks that inform a near-continental scale disease model of a potential FMD-like (i.e., rapidly spreading) epidemic in US cattle. The largest epidemics may affect over one-third of the US and 120,000 cattle premises, but cattle movement restrictions from infected counties, as opposed to national movement moratoriums, are found to effectively contain outbreaks. Slow detection or weak compliance may necessitate more severe state-level bans for similar control. Such results highlight the role of large-scale disease models in emergency preparedness, particularly for systems lacking comprehensive movement and outbreak data, and the need to rapidly implement multi-scale contingency plans during a potential US outbreak.
Buhnerkempe, Michael G.; Tildesley, Michael J.; Lindstrom, Tom; Grear, Daniel A.; Portacci, Katie; Miller, Ryan S.; Lombard, Jason E.; Werkman, Marleen; Keeling, Matt J.; Wennergren, Uno; Webb, Colleen T.
Autoimmune disease and hair loss.
Once systemic disease is in remission, it is prudent to recognize the importance of alopecia in the patient's overall sense of well-being and quality-of-life clinical outcome. Scarring alopecia (scalp discoid lupus erythematosus) can be the presenting manifestation of lupus in more than half of affected individuals. Diffuse nonscarring alopecia in lupus is usually responsive to treatment of the systemic disease. Severe, often intractable burning pruritus of the scalp is a frequent complaint in dermatomyositis. Lichen planopilaris may mimic other autoimmune forms of scarring alopecia. Alopecia can also be caused by medications used to treat systemic autoimmune disease and fibromyalgia. PMID:23159178
Moghadam-Kia, Siamak; Franks, Andrew G
Prevalence of Anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease in the United States
Anemia is one of the many complications of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the current prevalence of anemia in CKD patients in the United States is not known. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in 2007ľ2008 and 2009ľ2010 were used to determine the prevalence of anemia in subjects with CKD. The analysis was limited to adults aged >18 who participated in both the interview and exam components of the survey. Three outcomes were assessed: the prevalence of CKD, the prevalence of anemia in subjects with CKD, and the self-reported treatment of anemia. CKD was classified into 5 stages based on the glomerular filtration rate and evidence of kidney damage, in accordance with the guidelines of the National Kidney Foundation. Anemia was defined as serum hemoglobin levels ?12 g/dL in women and ?13 g/dL in men. We found that an estimated 14.0% of the US adult population had CKD in 2007ľ2010. Anemia was twice as prevalent in people with CKD (15.4%) as in the general population (7.6%). The prevalence of anemia increased with stage of CKD, from 8.4% at stage 1 to 53.4% at stage 5. A total of 22.8% of CKD patients with anemia reported being treated for anemia within the previous 3 monthsľ14.6% of patients at CKD stages 1ľ2 and 26.4% of patients at stages 3ľ4. These results update our knowledge of the prevalence and treatment of anemia in CKD in the United States.
Stauffer, Melissa E.; Fan, Tao
Selective changes of resting-state networks in individuals at risk for Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that prominently affects cerebral connectivity. Assessing the functional connectivity at rest, recent functional MRI (fMRI) studies reported on the existence of resting-state networks (RSNs). RSNs are characterized by spatially coherent, spontaneous fluctuations in the blood oxygen level-dependent signal and are made up of regional patterns commonly involved in functions such as sensory, attention, or default mode processing. In AD, the default mode network (DMN) is affected by reduced functional connectivity and atrophy. In this work, we analyzed functional and structural MRI data from healthy elderly (n = 16) and patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) (n = 24), a syndrome of high risk for developing AD. Two questions were addressed: (i) Are any RSNs altered in aMCI? (ii) Do changes in functional connectivity relate to possible structural changes? Independent component analysis of resting-state fMRI data identified eight spatially consistent RSNs. Only selected areas of the DMN and the executive attention network demonstrated reduced network-related activity in the patient group. Voxel-based morphometry revealed atrophy in both medial temporal lobes (MTL) of the patients. The functional connectivity between both hippocampi in the MTLs and the posterior cingulate of the DMN was present in healthy controls but absent in patients. We conclude that in individuals at risk for AD, a specific subset of RSNs is altered, likely representing effects of ongoing early neurodegeneration. We interpret our finding as a proof of principle, demonstrating that functional brain disorders can be characterized by functional-disconnectivity profiles of RSNs.
Sorg, Christian; Riedl, Valentin; Muhlau, Mark; Calhoun, Vince D.; Eichele, Tom; Laer, Leonhard; Drzezga, Alexander; Forstl, Hans; Kurz, Alexander; Zimmer, Claus; Wohlschlager, Afra M.
[Court-ordered access to treatment of rare genetic diseases: Fabry Disease in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil].
Court-ordered access to high-cost drugs for rare genetic diseases, such as Fabry Disease (alpha-galactosidase-A deficiency), is a growing phenomenon as yet lacking systematic study. An observational, cross-sectional and retrospective study was conducted to characterize the lawsuits related to access to treatment for Fabry Disease by Enzyme Replacement Therapy in the State of Rio Grande do Sul prior to 2007. The study identified 13 lawsuits and 17 plaintiffs, 11 requesting alfa and 6 betagalsidase. The State of RS, the Federal Government, and 5 municipalities figured as defendants, in the form of joinder of parties or otherwise. There were 13 requests for interlocutory relief of which 12 were granted, and 2 sentences were handed down, both favorable. "Risk of death" was alleged by doctors in 4 prescriptions and by lawyers in the 13 lawsuits. The data suggest the lack of discussions combining aspects of medical efficacy and safety, cost-effectiveness, economic impact, and legal and constitutional arguments, which requires a specific policy for rare genetic diseases to standardize access to treatment. PMID:23099758
Sartori Junior, Dailor; Leivas, Paulo Gilberto Cogo; Souza, M˘nica Vinhas de; Krug, Bßrbara Corrŕa; Balbinotto, Giacomo; Schwartz, Ida Vanessa Doederlein
[Three successful cases of continuous dexmedetomidine infusion for the treatment of intractable delirium associated with cancer pain].
We report three cases of successful treatment of intractable delirium associated with cancer pain with continuous dexmedetomidine (DEX) infusion. Case 1 : An 83-year-old man receiving oral oxycodone for lung cancer pain developed delirium. He was resistant to haloperidol infusion, oral quetiapine, and opioid rotation. DEX infusion was administered at 0.4 microg kg-1 hr-1, and his delirium resolved. Case 2: A 50-year-old woman with cervical cancer of the uterus suffered from sepsis but could not take oral oxycodone. After continuous morphine infusion, she developed delirium. She was resistant to haloperidol infusion or injections of oxycodone for opioid rotation, but DEX infusion at 0.4 microg kg-1hr-1 led to disappearance of delirium symptoms. Case 3: A 71-year-old woman with advanced renal cancer was treated with epidural analgesia to alleviate cancer pain. She subsequently developed delirium but was resistant to haloperidol or chlorpromazine infusion. DEX infusion at 0.3 microg kg-1 hr-1 led to disappearance of delirium symptoms and orientation recovery. DEX infusion may be effective for the treatment of intractable delirium associated with cancer pain. PMID:24498781
Komasawa, Nobuyasu; Kimura, Yoshie; Hato, Akio; Ikegaki, Junichi
Effectiveness and safety of non-intravenous high-dose phenobarbital therapy for intractable epilepsy during childhood.
High-dose phenobarbital (PB) therapy is effective for refractory status epilepticus. We reviewed medical records of patients with intractable partial epilepsies on whom performed non-intravenous high-dose PB therapy. Thirteen patients received PB rectally or orally at a dosage of 20-30mg/kg/day initially, and the PB dosage was gradually reduced to a maintenance dosage of 5-10mg/kg/day orally. We evaluated the effectiveness and safety of this procedure after 14days at the maintenance dosage level. Twelve patients had partial seizures and one had secondary generalized seizures. In six of 13 patients (46%), seizure frequencies decreased more than 50%, and two of 13 patients (15%) became seizure free. In five of seven patients who were treated by continuous midazolam infusion therapy, we were able to discontinue the midazolam therapy. Adverse effects were found in seven of 13 patients. We were able to continue high-dose PB therapy in six patients because their adverse effects were transient and improved after a decrease in PB concentration, but we discontinued this therapy in the patient who developed Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Respiratory depression and hypotension were not found in our study. We conclude that high-dose PB therapy is effective and may be considered as an additional treatment for intractable partial epilepsy in childhood. PMID:20724088
Kikuchi, Kenjiro; Hamano, Shin-Ichiro; Oritsu, Tomotaka; Koichihara, Reiko; Tanaka, Manabu; Minamitani, Motoyuki; Ida, Hiroyuki
Closed-lip schizencephaly around the central sulcus with intractable epilepsy treated by peri-lesional focus resection.
A 24-year-old man presented with closed-lip schizencephaly around the right central sulcus manifesting as an 11-year history of intractable epilepsy. Mild motor paresis in the left extremities and mental retardation were observed. Tonic posture with bilateral facial tonic contraction was asymmetrical, predominantly in the left extremities. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated closed-lip schizencephaly around the right central sulcus. The epileptogenic zone was determined in the supplementary motor area, and premotor and primary sensorimotor cortices using invasive recordings. As the thickened cortex was considered functional, corticectomy of the supplementary motor area and premotor area was performed, preserving the primary sensorimotor area. Histological examination revealed marked cortico-subcortical gliosis, particularly in the medial part of the resection. Asymmetrical tonic postural seizure disappeared completely after surgery. Medically intractable epilepsy with schizencephaly represents a considerable challenge in epilepsy surgery. Partial corticectomy adjacent to the thickened cortex was effective for seizure control in a patient with closed-lip schizencephaly around the central sulcus. PMID:18037809
Nishibayashi, Hiroki; Miki, Junichiro; Uematsu, Yuji; Itakura, Toru
Central-part laryngectomy is a useful and less invasive surgical procedure for resolution of intractable aspiration.
A novel narrow-field laryngectomy procedure known as central-part laryngectomy (CPL) for less invasive laryngeal diversion in patients with intractable aspiration is introduced. We conducted retrospective case reviews of 15 patients who underwent CPL. In this procedure, an area of the glottis including the mid-part of the thyroid cartilage and cricoid cartilage is removed to separate the digestive tract from the air way. The lateral part of the thyroid cartilage, the entire hypopharyngeal mucosa and epiglottis are preserved. The superior laryngeal vessels and nerve are not invaded. All fifteen patients were relieved of aspiration without major complications. In good accordance with cutting of the cricopharyngeal muscles and removal of the cricoid cartilage, postoperative videofluoroscopy demonstrated smooth passages of barium. Ten of 12 patients who had hoped to resume oral food intake became able to do so after CPL and two others also achieved partial oral deglutition. CPL is a useful procedure for treatment of intractable aspiration and offers considerable advantages over other laryngotracheal diversion procedures from the view point of oral food intake. PMID:24136476
Kawamoto, Ai; Katori, Yukio; Honkura, Yohei; Kakuta, Risako; Higashi, Kenjiro; Ogura, Masaki; Miyazaki, Makiko; Arakawa, Kazuya; Kashima, Kazutaka; Asada, Yukinori; Matsuura, Kazuto
von Willebrand disease in the United States: A Perspective from Wisconsin
Von Willebrand disease (VWD) is a common bleeding disorder with prevalence in the United States of 0.01% to 1% and a prevalence in the region around Milwaukee, Wisconsin of at least 0.025%. Care of local patients with VWD primarily occurs through our comprehensive treatment center, although some patients are managed solely by their primary care physician or community hematologist. Type 1 VWD is the most common subtype, with more females carrying this diagnosis than males. Diagnosis and treatment in general follows guidelines outlined by the National Institutes of Health. An ongoing study, the Zimmerman Program for the Molecular and Clinical Biology of VWD, is currently enrolling patients with all VWD subtypes across the US in order to better delineate the extent of VWD and correlate bleeding symptoms with laboratory findings and VWF (von Willebrand factor) sequence variations. Results so far have shown that VWF gene polymorphisms are common, particularly in African Americans, and may affect laboratory assays of VWF function.
Flood, Veronica H; Gill, Joan Cox; Friedman, Kenneth D; Bellissimo, Daniel B; Haberichter, Sandra L; Montgomery, Robert R
Complexity analysis of resting-state MEG activity in early-stage Parkinson's disease patients.
The aim of the present study was to analyze resting-state brain activity in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), a degenerative disorder of the nervous system. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) signals were recorded with a 151-channel whole-head radial gradiometer MEG system in 18 early-stage untreated PD patients and 20 age-matched control subjects. Artifact-free epochs of 4 s (1250 samples) were analyzed with Lempel-Ziv complexity (LZC), applying two- and three-symbol sequence conversion methods. The results showed that MEG signals from PD patients are less complex than control subjects' recordings. We found significant group differences (p-values <0.01) for the 10 major cortical areas analyzed (e.g., bilateral frontal, central, temporal, parietal, and occipital regions). In addition, using receiver-operating characteristic curves with a leave-one-out cross-validation procedure, a classification accuracy of 81.58% was obtained. In order to investigate the best combination of LZC results for classification purposes, a forward stepwise linear discriminant analysis with leave-one out cross-validation was employed. LZC results (three-symbol sequence conversion) from right parietal and temporal brain regions were automatically selected by the model. With this procedure, an accuracy of 84.21% (77.78% sensitivity, 90.0% specificity) was achieved. Our findings demonstrate the usefulness of LZC to detect an abnormal type of dynamics associated with PD. PMID:21969108
Gˇmez, Carlos; Olde Dubbelink, Kim T E; Stam, Cornelis J; Abßsolo, Daniel; Berendse, Henk W; Hornero, Roberto
Magnetic resonance perfusion imaging of resting-state cerebral blood flow in preclinical Huntington's disease
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain could be a powerful tool for discovering early biomarkers in clinically presymptomatic carriers of the Huntington's disease gene mutation (preHD). The aim of this study was to investigate the sensitivity of resting-state perfusion MRI in preHD and to identify neural changes, which could serve as biomarkers for future clinical trials. Differences in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in 18 preHD and 18 controls were assessed with a novel MRI method based on perfusion images obtained with continuous arterial spin labeling. High-resolution structural data were collected to test for changes of brain volume. Compared with controls, preHD individuals showed decreased rCBF in medial and lateral prefrontal regions and increased rCBF in the precuneus. PreHD near to symptom onset additionally showed decreased rCBF in the putamen and increased rCBF in the hippocampus. Network analyses revealed an abnormal lateral prefrontal pattern in preHD far and near to motor onset. These data suggest early changes of frontostriatal baseline perfusion in preHD independent of substantial reductions of gray matter volume. This study also shows the feasibility of detecting neural changes in preHD with a robust MRI technique that would be suitable for longitudinal multisite application.
Wolf, Robert C; Gron, Georg; Sambataro, Fabio; Vasic, Nenad; Wolf, Nadine D; Thomann, Philipp A; Saft, Carsten; Landwehrmeyer, G Bernhard; Orth, Michael
The Mitochondrial Proteome: A Dynamic Functional Program in Tissues and Disease States
The nuclear DNA transcriptional programming of the mitochondria proteome varies dramatically between tissues depending on its functional requirements. This programming generally regulates all of the proteins associated with a metabolic or biosynthetic pathway associated with a given function, essentially regulating the maximum rate of the pathway while keeping the enzymes at the same molar ratio. This may permit the same regulatory mechanisms to function at low and high flux capacity situations. This alteration in total protein content results in rather dramatic changes in the mitochondria proteome between tissues. A tissues mitochondria proteome also changes with disease state, in Type 1 diabetes the liver mitochondrial proteome shifts to support ATP production, urea synthesis and fatty acid oxidation. Acute flux regulation is modulated by numerous post-translational events that also are highly variable between tissues. The most studied post-translational modification is protein phosphorylation which is found all of the Complexes of oxidative phosphorylation and most of the major metabolic pathways. The functional significance of these modifications is currently a major area of research along with the kinase and phosphatase regulatory network. This near ubiquitous presence of protein phosphorylations, and other post-translational events, in the matrix suggest that not all post-translational events have functional significance. Screening methods are being introduced to detect the active or dynamic post-translational sites to focus attention on sites that might provide insight into regulatory mechanisms.
Balaban, Robert S.
Phylogenetic analysis of Newcastle disease viruses isolated from waterfowl in the Upper Midwest Region of the United States
BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to characterize Newcastle disease virus (NDV) isolates obtained from waterfowl from the Upper Midwest region of the United States. A total of 43 NDVs were isolated by inoculation of cloacal samples in embryonated chicken eggs. These isolates were obtained from 24 mallards, seven American green-winged teals, six northern pintails, four blue-winged teals, and two wood
Naresh Jindal; Yogesh Chander; Ashok K Chockalingam; Martha de Abin; Patrick T Redig; Sagar M Goyal
Surveillance for Waterborne Disease Outbreaks and Other Health Events Associated with Recreational Water -United States, 2007-2008*
Problem/Condition: Since 1978, CDC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists have collaborated on the Waterborne Disease and Outbreak Surveillance System (WBDOSS) for collecting and reporting data on occurrences and causes...
Prevalence of Celiac Disease in At-Risk and Not-At-Risk Groups in the United States
Background: Celiac disease (CD) is an immune- mediated enteropathic condition triggered in geneti- cally susceptible individuals by the ingestion of gluten. Although common in Europe, CD is thought to be rare in the United States, where there are no large epidemio- logic studies of its prevalence. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of CD in at-risk
Alessio Fasano; Irene Berti; Tania Gerarduzzi; Richard B. Colletti; Sandro Drago; Yoram Elitsur; Peter H. R. Green; Stefano Guandalini; Ivor D. Hill; Michelle Pietzak; Alessandro Ventura; Mary Thorpe; Debbie Kryszak; Fabiola Fornaroli; Steven S. Wasserman; Joseph A. Murray; Karoly Horvath
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the United States: A pathological description of a disease caused by a new agent
An outbreak of an acute respiratory disease in the southwestern United States has led to the recognition of a new hantaviral illness. This report describes a unique spectrum of antemortem and postmortem pathological findings seen in a case series of nine surviving patients and 13 who died. Clinical, laboratory, and autopsy findings were derived from a consecutive series of individuals
Kurt B Nolte; Richard M Feddersen; Kathy Foucar; Sherif R Zaki; Frederick T Koster; Dean Madar; Toby L Merlin; Patricia J McFeeley; Edith T Umland; Ross E Zumwalt
A novel cognitive-neurophysiological state biomarker in premanifest Huntington's disease validated on longitudinal data
In several neurodegenerative diseases, like Huntington's disease (HD), treatments are still lacking. To determine whether a treatment is effective, sensitive disease progression biomarkers are especially needed for the premanifest phase, since this allows the evaluation of neuroprotective treatments preventing, or delaying disease manifestation. On the basis of a longitudinal study we present a biomarker that was derived by integrating behavioural and neurophysiological data reflecting cognitive processes of action control. The measure identified is sensitive enough to track disease progression over a period of only 6 month. Changes tracked were predictive for a number of clinically relevant parameters and the sensitivity of the measure was higher than that of currently used parameters to track prodromal disease progression. The study provides a biomarker, which could change practice of progression diagnostics in a major basal ganglia disease and which may help to evaluate potential neuroprotective treatments in future clinical trials.
Beste, Christian; Stock, Ann-Kathrin; Ness, Vanessa; Hoffmann, Rainer; Lukas, Carsten; Saft, Carsten
Valproate-induced liver failure in one of two siblings with alpers disease
Alpers disease is a neurodegenerative disorder of childhood characterized by early developmental delay, intractable seizures, and death in childhood. Neuropathologic changes are most severe in the gray matter and consist of diffuse neuronal loss, spongiform changes, and astrocytosis. We report 2 siblings with Alpers disease who were discordant for exposure to valproate (VPA). Both had developmental delay, and a progressive
Michael J. Schwabe; William B. Dobyns; Barbara Burke; Dawna L. Armstrong
National surveillance of dialysis-associated diseases in the United States, 1989.
To determine trends in a variety of dialysis-associated diseases and practices, the Centers for Disease Control surveyed 1,867 chronic hemodialysis centers in the United States in 1989 in conjunction with the annual facility survey performed by the Health Care Financing Administration. The response rate to a mailed questionnaire was 92%. These 1,726 centers represented 122,734 patients and 32,486 staff members. The following results were found. 1) During the last 14 years, the incidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection decreased from 3.0 to 0.1% among patients, and from 2.6 to 0.1% among staff members. Over the same time, the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity declined from 7.8 to 1.4% among patients and from 0.9 to 0.3% among staff members. Hepatitis B vaccine was given by 92% of the centers. By the end of 1989, 19% of susceptible patients and 55% of susceptible staff members had received all three doses of hepatitis B vaccine. From 1982 to 1989, as a result of receiving vaccine, the prevalence of antibody to HBsAg (anti-HBs) increased from 12 to 19% among patients and from 18 to 54% among staff. The incidence of non-A, non-B hepatitis in 1989 was reported to be 0.7% among patients and 0.1% among staff members. 2) Twenty-two percent of the centers reported pyrogenic reactions in the absence of septicemia among their patients, and 51% reported septicemia. 3) The reported incidence of dialysis dementia among hemodialysis patients was 0.2%, with a case fatality rate of 23%. 4) In 1989, 68% of centers reported that they reused disposable dialyzers; these centers treated 73% of the dialysis patient population. Among centers that reused disposable dialyzers, the average number of reuses ranged from 1 to 50 (mean, 12) and the maximum number of times a disposable dialyzer was ever reused ranged from 3 to 150 (mean, 28). Chemical germicides used for reprocessing dialyzers included formaldehyde, Renalin (a peracetic acid-hydrogen peroxide-based germicide), and glutaraldehyde-based germicides. Reuse of disposable dialyzers was not associated with any increased risk of acquiring HBV infection among either patients or staff. However, pyrogenic reactions occurring in clusters were reported more frequently in centers that reused conventional dialyzer membranes compared with centers that did not. This increased risk was associated only with centers that used Renalin or glutaraldehyde for reprocessing (not formaldehyde) and occurred with both automated and manual reprocessing systems.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS) PMID:1830208
Alter, M J; Favero, M S; Moyer, L A; Bland, L A
Likelihood of introducing selected exotic diseases to domestic swine in the continental United States of America through uncooked swill.
To help policy makers determine the need for current regulations (which require cooking of swill prior to feeding to swine), an assessment of the likelihood of exposing domestic swine in the continental United States of America (USA) to selected foreign animal disease agents by feeding uncooked swill was carried out. The hazard was assumed to originate from contraband food items entering the USA and subsequently being discarded in household waste. Such food waste may be collected by licensed waste feeders and fed to swine. This study showed that, of the four diseases studied, the probability of exposure was highest for the classical swine fever (hog cholera) virus. The median annual likelihood of one or more contaminated loads of swill being fed to swine in the continental USA was estimated as follows: classical swine fever virus: 0.063, foot and mouth disease virus: 0.043, swine vesicular disease virus: 0.005, African swine fever virus: 0.005. PMID:9329117
Corso, B
[Air pollution and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases: a time series study in CubatŃo, SŃo Paulo State, Brazil].
This study evaluated the association between air pollution and hospital admissions due to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in CubatŃo, SŃo Paulo State, Brazil. Generalized additive Poisson regression models were used to model daily concentrations of particulate matter (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone (O3) and daily hospital admissions counts. Explanatory variables were temperature, relative humidity, day of the week, and holidays. For each increment of 10Ág/m│ in PM10, we found an excess of 4.25 % (95%CI: 2.82; 71), 5.74% (95%CI: 3.80; 7.71), and 2.29% (95%CI: 0.86; 3.73) in admissions due to respiratory diseases for all ages, respiratory diseases in children under 5 years old, and cardiovascular diseases in adults over 39 years of age, respectively. For SO2, the increase was 3.51% (IC95%: 1.24; 5.83) for cardiovascular diseases in adults more than 39 years. For O3, the increase was 2.85% (IC95%: 0.77; 4.98) for cardiovascular diseases in adults more than 39 years of age and 3.91% (IC95%: 1.37; 6.51) for respiratory diseases in children under 5 years old. Air pollution has serious impacts on health in CubatŃo, thus emphasizing the need for air quality control policies. PMID:24068231
Nardocci, Adelaide Cassia; Freitas, Clarice Umbelino de; Ponce de Leon, Antonio Carlos Monteiro; Junger, Washington Leite; Gouveia, Nelson da Cruz
An Assessment of Non-Communicable Diseases, Diabetes, and Related Risk Factors in the Federated States of Micronesia, State of Kosrae: A Systems Perspective
Non-communicable diseases (NCD) have been identified as a health emergency in the US-affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI).1 This assessment, funded by the National Institutes of Health, was conducted in the Federated States of Micronesia, State of Kosrae and describes the burdens due to NCDs, including diabetes, and assesses the system of service capacity and current activities for service delivery, data collection and reporting as well as identifying the issues that need to be addressed. There has been a 13.9% decline in the population between 2000 and 2010. Findings reveal that the risk factors of poor diet, lack of physical activity, and lifestyle behaviors lead to overweight and obesity and subsequent NCD that are a significant factor in the morbidity and mortality of the population. Leading causes of death were due to nutrition and metabolic diseases followed by diseases of the circulatory system. Data from selected community programs show that the prevalence of overweight and obese participants ranged between 82% and 95% and the rate of reported diabetes ranged from 13% to 14%. Other findings show significant gaps in the system of administrative, clinical, data, and support services to address these NCD. There is no functional data system that is able to identify, register, or track patients with diabetes. Priority administrative and clinical issues were identified that need to be addressed to begin to mitigate the burdens of NCDs among the residents of Kosrae State.
Tolenoa, Nena; Taulung, Livinson; Mongkeya, Maria; Lippwe, Kipier; Aitaoto, Nia
Million hearts: prevalence of leading cardiovascular disease risk factors--United States, 2005-2012.
Each year, approximately 1.5 million U.S. adults have a heart attack or stroke, resulting in approximately 30 deaths every hour and, for nonfatal events, often leading to long-term disability. Overall, an estimated 14 million survivors of heart attacks and strokes are living in the United States. In 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with nonprofit and private organizations, launched Million Hearts (http://www.millionhearts.hhs.gov), an initiative focused on implementing clinical and community-level evidence-based strategies to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and prevent a total of 1 million heart attacks and strokes during the 5-year period 2012-2016. From 2005-2006 to the period with the most current data, analysis of the Million Hearts four "ABCS" clinical measures (for aspirin, blood pressure, cholesterol, and smoking) showed 1) no statistically significant change in the prevalence of aspirin use for secondary prevention (53.8% in 2009-2010), 2) an increase to 51.9% in the prevalence of blood pressure control (in 2011-2012), 3) an increase to 42.8% in the prevalence of cholesterol management (in 2011-2012), and 4) no statistically significant change in the prevalence of smoking assessment and treatment (22.2% in 2009-2010). In addition, analysis of two community-level indicators found 1) a decrease in current tobacco product smoking (including cigarette, cigar, or pipe use) prevalence to 25.1% in 2011-2012 and 2) minimal change in mean daily sodium intake (3,594 mg/day in 2009-2010). Although trends in some measures are encouraging, further reductions of CVD risk factors will be needed to meet Million Hearts goals by 2017. PMID:24871251
Ritchey, Matthew D; Wall, Hilary K; Gillespie, Cathleen; George, Mary G; Jamal, Ahmed
Combined vitrectomy and intravitreal injection versus combined laser and injection for treatment of intractable diffuse diabetic macular edema
Background The purpose of this study was to compare the safety and efficacy of combined vitrectomy, intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide (IVTA), and bevacizumab injection with that of IVTA and bevacizumab injection and subsequent macular grid laser photocoagulation for the treatment of intractable diffuse diabetic macular edema. Methods This randomized controlled clinical trial was performed at Benha University Hospital, Benha, Egypt, and included 34 eyes from 34 diabetic patients diagnosed with intractable diffuse diabetic macular edema without vitreomacular traction. The patients were divided into two groups. In group 1, pars plana vitrectomy with removal of the posterior hyaloid was performed, and at the end of the procedure, IVTA 0.1 mL (40 mg/mL) and bevacizumab 1.25 mg were injected. In group 2, macular grid laser photocoagulation was performed 2 weeks after the same intravitreal injection combination as used in group 1. The main outcome measures were best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central foveal thickness, which were measured using optical coherence tomography at 3, 6, and 12 months. Results Changes in BCVA and central foveal thickness at 3, 6, and 12 months from baseline were highly statistically significant (P < 0.01). Mean BCVA was better in group 1 at 3 months, nearly equal at 6 months, and less at 12 months. Mean central foveal thickness was more improved in group 1 than in group 2 at 3 months, and was better in group 2 at subsequent measurement points. The major adverse events were development of cataract (more common in group 1) and elevation of intraocular pressure (more common in group 2). Conclusion The combined therapy described here could represent a solution for the treatment of intractable diabetic macular edema, and could have a favorable long-term outcome. Combined treatment of IVTA and bevacizumab plus grid laser resulted in a more favorable reduction in central foveal thickness and improvement in BCVA at 12 months than vitrectomy combined with the same injections. This small study favors the safer, cheaper, and more available line of treatment.
Saeed, Ahmed M
Quantitative Network Measures as Biomarkers for Classifying Prostate Cancer Disease States: A Systems Approach to Diagnostic Biomarkers
Identifying diagnostic biomarkers based on genomic features for an accurate disease classification is a problem of great importance for both, basic medical research and clinical practice. In this paper, we introduce quantitative network measures as structural biomarkers and investigate their ability for classifying disease states inferred from gene expression data from prostate cancer. We demonstrate the utility of our approach by using eigenvalue and entropy-based graph invariants and compare the results with a conventional biomarker analysis of the underlying gene expression data.
Dehmer, Matthias; Mueller, Laurin A. J.; Emmert-Streib, Frank
[Investigation of the clinical course and treatment of prion disease patients in the akinetic mutism state in Japan].
Twelve cases (one Gerstmann-Strńussler-Scheinker syndrome (P102L; definite), one genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) (V180I; definite) and ten sporadic CJD (7 MM1-type definite, 3 probable)), who reached the akinetic mutism state, were investigated with regard to their clinical course and treatment. They were hospitalized for a total of 3,968 days in the akinetic mutism state. In the nine definite cases, the median period from the akinetic mutism state to death was 22 months (average: 27.0 ▒ 23.3 months, range: 3-80 months) and median total disease duration was 27 months (average: 34.2 ▒ 30.1 months, range: 5-102 months). In the seven definite sporadic CJD cases, the median period from akinetic mutism to death was 21 months (average: 17.0 ▒ 9.6 months, range 3-28 months), and median total disease duration was 24 months (average: 20.6 ▒ 10.0 months, range: 5-31 months). Nasal-tube feeding was performed in all cases. Symptomatic treatments such as parenteral nutrition and antibiotic drugs were administered for complications such as respitory and urinary tract infections and digestive symptoms. Patients received rehabilitation and hot spring therapy regularly until death. Gastrostomy and/or tracheotomy was not performed in any case, the patients were not intubated nor was mechanical ventilation (including non-invasive positive pressure ventilation) applied. Vasoactive drugs were not administered. Clonazepam was administered for myoclonus in four patients but not in another three when myoclonus appeared. It is unclear whether the treatment influenced the duration of myoclonus. Our observations indicate that the extended survival period among Japanese prion disease patients is likely due to the management procedures implemented for prion disease in Japan, which are usually continued after the patients reach the akinetic mutism state. We speculate that nasal-tube feeding is the crucial factor that results in the prolonged disease duration of prion disease patients in the akinetic mutism state. PMID:22688110
Iwasaki, Yasushi; Mori, Keiko; Ito, Masumi
Cat scratch disease in the United States: an analysis of three national databases.
OBJECTIVES. Current knowledge of the epidemiology of cat scratch disease is based primarily on information from case series. We used three national databases to obtain more representative data to determine the incidence and demographics of cat scratch disease. METHODS. Records coded with the diagnosis of cat scratch disease from two hospital discharge databases and an ambulatory care database were analyzed. Costs of diagnostic tests and hospitalization were obtained from a sample of providers and published data. RESULTS. The incidence of patients discharged from hospitals with a diagnosis of cat scratch disease was between 0.77 and 0.86 per 100,000 population per year. Fifty-five percent of the case patients were 18 years of age or younger. Males accounted for 60% of cases. Incidence varied by season; approximately 60% of case patients were discharged in the months September through January. The estimated incidence of disease in ambulatory patients was 9.3 per 100,000 population per year. On the basis of these rates, we estimated the annual health care cost of the disease to be more than $12 million. CONCLUSIONS. The rates and seasonality of cat scratch disease found in this study were consistent with previous reports. Adults represented a higher percentage of the total than reported in previous case series, suggesting that the disease may affect more adults than previously recognized.
Jackson, L A; Perkins, B A; Wenger, J D
Comorbid occurrence of laryngeal or pulmonary disease with esophagitis in United States military veterans
BACKGROUND & AIMS: It has been speculated that gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) represents a risk factor for the occurrence of extraesophageal complications. The aim of this study was to compare the comorbid occurrence of sinus, laryngeal, and pulmonary diseases in case subjects with and control subjects without reflux esophagitis. METHODS: The case population consisted of all patients with erosive esophagitis
HB el-Serag; A Sonnenberg
A case of successful management with splenectomy of intractable ascites due to congenital dyserythropoietic anemia type II-induced cirrhosis
The congenital dyserythropoietic anemias comprise a group of rare hereditary disorders of erythropoiesis, characterized by ineffective erythropoiesis as the predominant mechanism of anemia and by characteristic morphological aberrations of the majority of erythroblasts in the bone marrow. Congenital dyserythropoietic anemia type II is the most frequent type. All types of congenital dyserythropoietic anemias distinctly share a high incidence of iron loading. Iron accumulation occurs even in untransfused patients and can result in heart failure and liver cirrhosis. We have reported about a patient who presented with liver cirrhosis and intractable ascites caused by congenital dyserythropoietic anemia type II. Her clinical course was further complicated by the development of autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Splenectomy was eventually performed which achieved complete resolution of ascites, increase of hemoglobin concentration and abrogation of transfusion requirements.
Vassiliadis, Themistoklis; Garipidou, Vassilia; Perifanis, Vassilios; Tziomalos, Konstantinos; Giouleme, Olga; Patsiaoura, Kalliopi; Avramidis, Michalis; Nikolaidis, Nikolaos; Vakalopoulou, Sofia; Tsitouridis, Ioannis; Antoniadis, Antonios; Semertzidis, Panagiotis; Kioumi, Anna; Premetis, Evangelos; Eugenidis, Nikolaos
The Long-Term Safety and Efficacy of Intrathecal Therapy Using Sufentanil in Chronic Intractable Non-Malignant Pain
This report describes the long term safety and efficacy of intrathecal therapy using Sufentanil for the management of chronic intractable neuropathic pain in 12 chronic pain patients. Standardized psychological screening was used to determine treatment suitability. Evaluation data included the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Wong-Baker Faces Scale, Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), Disability of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH), McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire, and complications (granulomas, toxicity, withdrawal, or deaths). SPSS version 18 was used for data analysis. Pre- and post- treatment BPI measures and pain scale scores showed a statistically significant difference. There were no complications directly related to drug toxicity, nor drug withdrawals, granulomas, or deaths. Intrathecal therapy with Sufentanil therapy offers a good treatment alternative for those cases that have failed both surgery and standard pain treatment. Strict patient selection based on psychological screening, control of co-morbidities, a proper pain management may contribute to successful outcome.
Monsivais, Diane Burn
The long-term safety and efficacy of intrathecal therapy using sufentanil in chronic intractable non-malignant pain.
This report describes the long term safety and efficacy of intrathecal therapy using Sufentanil for the management of chronic intractable neuropathic pain in 12 chronic pain patients. Standardized psychological screening was used to determine treatment suitability. Evaluation data included the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Wong-Baker Faces Scale, Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), Disability of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH), McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire, and complications (granulomas, toxicity, withdrawal, or deaths). SPSS version 18 was used for data analysis. Pre- and post- treatment BPI measures and pain scale scores showed a statistically significant difference. There were no complications directly related to drug toxicity, nor drug withdrawals, granulomas, or deaths. Intrathecal therapy with Sufentanil therapy offers a good treatment alternative for those cases that have failed both surgery and standard pain treatment. Strict patient selection based on psychological screening, control of co-morbidities, a proper pain management may contribute to successful outcome. PMID:25031819
Monsivais, Jose Jesus; Monsivais, Diane Burn
Spinal cord stimulation for intractable chronic upper abdominal pain: a case report of the first patient in New Zealand.
We present the first patient in New Zealand to undergo Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) for intractable upper abdominal pain. The patient was a 53-year-old man with a 20-year history of debilitating upper abdominal pain associated with chronic pancreatitis secondary to pancreatic divisum. Prior to the SCS, he was prescribed 680 mg of morphine sulphate equi-analgesia a day. Despite the intense analgesia, he still suffered monthly attacks of upper abdominal pain requiring hospitalisation. Nine months after implanting a Spinal Cord Stimulator, the monthly attacks ceased, his background pain was effectively controlled and the need for opioids decreased to 510 mg of morphine sulphate equi-analgesia a day. PMID:23321890
Al-Mahrouqi, Haitham; Munro, Zea; Acland, Richard H; MacFarlane, Martin R
Levetiracetam in children, adolescents and young adults with intractable epilepsy: efficacy, tolerability and effect on electroencephalogram--a pilot study.
Levetiracetam has been authorized for use in Israel as an add-on therapy for intractable epilepsy since May 2006. The aim of the present study was to document its effectiveness for this indication in children, adolescents, and young adults. The medical files of 78 patients aged 0.5-39 years (mean, 14.2 years) treated at our center for intractable epilepsy were reviewed. All received levetiracetam as add-on therapy following a failure to respond to at least 3 anti-epileptic drugs. Fifty-two patients (67%) had partial epilepsy and the remainder had primary generalized epilepsy. The epilepsy was symptomatic in 57%, cryptogenic in 27%, and idiopathic in 15%. Average age at first seizure was 4.1 years. In 45% of patients, the number of seizures was reduced by half with levetiracetam treatment; 11.5% of the cohort achieved complete remission. There was a statistically significant correlation between clinical seizure control and improvement in the electroencephalography findings (pá=á0.0012). The drug was well tolerated, with a retention rate of 69% after one year. The most common adverse effects were irritability and impulsiveness, in 26.9% of patients. Severe behavioral side effects (psychosis, confusion) were experienced by 6.4%. In conclusion, levetiracetam is an effective and tolerable add-on agent for use in most epileptic children, adolescents, and young adults who fail to respond to at least 3 antiepileptic drugs and should be the treatment of choice in this setting. Despite the relatively high rate of behavioral side effects in this study, the retention rate at one year was high. PMID:23159714
Goldberg-Stern, Hadassa; Feldman, Lior; Eidlitz-Markus, Tal; Kramer, Uri; Perez, Shira; Pollak, Lea; Phatal-Valevski, Aviva
Intractable duodenal ulcer caused by transmural migration of gossypiboma into the duodenum - a case report and literature review
Background Gossypiboma is a term used to describe a mass that forms around a cotton sponge or abdominal compress accidentally left in a patient during surgery. Transmural migration of an intra-abdominal gossypiboma has been reported to occur in the digestive tract, bladder, vagina and diaphragm. Open surgery is the most common approach in the treatment of gossypiboma. However, gossypibomas can be extracted by endoscopy while migrating into the digestive tract. We report a case of intractable duodenal ulcer caused by transmural migration of gossypiboma successfully treated by duodenorrhaphy. A systemic literature review is provided and a scheme of the therapeutic approach is proposed. Case presentation A 61-year-old Han Chinese man presented with intermittent epigastric pain for the last 10ámonths. He had undergone laparoscopic cholecystectomy conversion to open cholecystectomy for acute gangrenous cholecystitis 10ámonths ago at another hospital. Transmural migration of gossypiboma into the duodenum was found. Endoscopic intervention failed to remove the entire gauze, and duodenal ulcer caused by the gauze persisted. Surgical intervention was performed and the gauze was removed successfully. The penetrated ulcer was repaired with duodenorrhaphy. The postoperative period was uneventful. We systematically reviewed the literature on transmural migration of gossypiboma into duodenum and present an overview of published cases. Our PubMed search yielded seven reports of transmural migration of retained surgical sponge into the duodenum. Surgical interventions were necessary in two patients. Conclusion Transmural migration of gossypiboma into the duodenum is a rare surgical complication. The treatment strategies include endoscopic extraction and surgical intervention. Prompt surgical intervention should be considered for emergent conditions such as active bleeding, gastrointestinal obstruction, or intra-abdominal sepsis. For non-emergent conditions, surgical intervention could be considered for intractable cases in which endoscopic extraction failed.
Intractable gelastic seizures during infancy: ictal positron emission tomography (PET) demonstrating epileptiform activity within the hypothalamic hamartoma.
Gelastic seizures comprise a very rare form of epilepsy. They present with recurrent bursts of laughter voices without mirth and are most commonly associated with the evolution of a hypothalamic hamartoma. The purpose of this article is to describe the second reported ictal fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography study in a unique case of an infant with intractable gelastic seizures since the neonatal period associated with a hypothalamic hamartoma. The patient presented at 4 months old with recurrent, almost persistent, gelastic seizures consisting of laughter bouts without mirth. The seizures were noticeable at the first week of life and increased in frequency to last up to 12 hours, namely status gelasticus. These gelastic fits were accompanied with focal motor seizures, including unilateral right-eye blinking and mouth twitching. Developmental mile-stones were intact for age. Magnetic resonance imaging of the cortex demonstrated a large hypothalamic hamartoma within the third ventricle, hampering cerebrovascular fluid drainage of the lateral ventricles. An electroencephalography was nondiagnostic. Ictal fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography demonstrated a large circumscribed hypermetabolic region within the location of the hypothalamic hamartoma, representing localized intense epileptiform activity. The infant became instantly free of all seizure types given minute doses of oral benzodiazepine (clonazepam) and remains completely controlled after 12 months. Her overall development remains intact. This ictal fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography is the second reported study verifying that the main source of the epileptic activity inducing gelastic seizures originates from the hypothalamic hamartoma itself; therefore, a complementary fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography study should be considered in any patient presenting with intractable gelastic seizures, especially in those associated with hypothalamic hamartoma, in order to localize the region of epileptiform activity amenable to surgical resection if intensive drug therapy fails. PMID:18160558
Shahar, Eli; Goldsher, Dorit; Genizi, Jacob; Ravid, Sarit; Keidar, Zohar
Off-label use of recombinant activated factor VII in intractable haemorrhage after cardiovascular surgery: an observational study of practices in 23 French cardiac centres (2005ľ7)
Objectives: The study aimed to describe French off-label use of rFVIIa for intractable bleeding in major cardiovascular surgery. Methods: Retrospective observational analysis of data from 2005 to October 2007 (no formal guidelines were available) was employed. The collect request form was elaborated by a multidisciplinary committee. Results: Data on 109 patients ľ 37 mechanical cardiac assist devices ľ were collected,
Marie Hacquard; Marion Durand; Thomas Lecompte; StÚphanie Boini; Serge Brianšon; Jean-Pierre Carteaux
X-Linked Lissencephaly With Abnormal Genitalia as a Tangential Migration Disorder Causing Intractable Epilepsy: Proposal for a New Term, ôInterneuronopathyö
X-linked lissencephaly with abnormal genitalia is the first human disorder in which deficient tangential migration in the brain has been demonstrated. Male patients with X-linked lissencephaly with abnormal genitalia show intractable seizures, especially clonic convulsions or myoclonus from the first day of life, but neither infantile spasms nor hypsarrhythmia on electroencephalograms so far. Brain magnetic resonance imaging shows anterior pachygyria
Mitsuhiro Kato; William B. Dobyns
Veterans and Risk of Heart Disease in the United States: A Cohort with 20 Years of Follow Up
Background: The aim of the current study was twofold: To investigate the effect of veteran status on risk of developing heart disease over a period of 20 years in the United States and to test if socio-economic characteristics, chronic conditions, health behaviors, body mass index (BMI) and depressive symptoms explain the association between veteran status and risk of heart disease. Methods: Data came from the Health and Retirement Study, a 20 year national cohort from 1992 to 2012. The study enrolled a representative sample of Americans over the age of 50. We included 8,375 individuals who were older than 50 years at entry, did not have heart disease at baseline and provided data on heart disease over the next 20 years. Veteran status was considered to be the independent variable. Self-reported data on physician diagnosis of heart disease, which was measured on a biannual basis, was the outcome. Baseline socio-economic data (i.e. age, gender, race, marital status and education), chronic conditions (diabetes and hypertension), health behaviors (i.e. drinking, smoking, and exercise), BMI and depressive symptoms (modified Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale) were entered into logistic regressions. Logistic regression was used for data analysis. Results: Veterans were at higher risk of having a new onset of heart disease (unadjusted relative risk [RR] = 1.996, 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.694-2.351), compared with non-veterans. Logistic regression confirmed the association between veteran status and heart disease (adjusted RR = 1.483, 95% CI = 1.176-1.871) after controlling for all covariates. Conclusions: Veterans may be at higher risk for heart disease over time and this link may be independent of baseline socio-economic characteristics, chronic medical conditions, health behaviors, BMI and depressive symptoms. Veterans may require more rigorous cardiovascular prevention programs.
Assari, Shervin
Impact of metabolic syndrome on the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality in the United States and in Japan.
The United States has a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality than Japan, but it is unknown how much of the difference in MS accounts for the mortality difference. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of MS on the excess CVD mortality in the United States compared with that in Japan. Data from the United States Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III; n = 12,561) and the Japanese National Integrated Project for Prospective Observation of Noncommunicable Disease and Its Trends in Aged (NIPPON DATA; n = 7,453) were analyzed. MS was defined as ?3 of 5 risk factors (obesity, high blood pressure, decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, elevated glycosylated hemoglobin, and elevated triglycerides). The results show that after a median of 13.8 years of follow-up in the United States, 1,683 patients died from CVD (11.75 per 1,000 person-years), and after a median of 15 years of follow-up in Japan, 369 patients died from CVD (3.56 per 1,000 person-years). The age-adjusted prevalence of MS was 26.7% in the United States and 19.3% in Japan. Of 5 MS factors, obesity, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, and glycosylated hemoglobin in the United States, and high blood pressure and elevated glycosylated hemoglobin in Japan were significant risk factors for CVD mortality. Estimates of 13.3% and 44% of the excess CVD mortality for the United States could be explained by the higher prevalence of MS and MS plus baseline CVD history than in Japan. In conclusion, the present study is the first to quantitatively demonstrate that MS and MS plus baseline CVD history may significantly contribute to the explanation of excess CVD mortality in the United States compared with Japan. PMID:24169008
Liu, Longjian; Miura, Katsuyuki; Fujiyoshi, Akira; Kadota, Aya; Miyagawa, Naoko; Nakamura, Yasuyuki; Ohkubo, Takayoshi; Okayama, Akira; Okamura, Tomonori; Ueshima, Hirotsugu
A climate-based model predicts the spatial distribution of the Lyme disease vector Ixodes scapularis in the United States.
An understanding of the spatial distribution of the black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis, is a fundamental component in assessing human risk for Lyme disease in much of the United States. Although a county-level vector distribution map exists for the United States, its accuracy is limited by arbitrary categories of its reported presence. It is unknown whether reported positive areas can support established populations and whether negative areas are suitable for established populations. The steadily increasing range of I. scapularis in the United States suggests that all suitable habitats are not currently occupied. Therefore, we developed a spatially predictive logistic model for I. scapularis in the 48 conterminous states to improve the previous vector distribution map. We used ground-observed environmental data to predict the probability of established I. scapularis populations. The autologistic analysis showed that maximum, minimum, and mean temperatures as well as vapor pressure significantly contribute to population maintenance with an accuracy of 95% (p < 0.0001). A cutoff probability for habitat suitability was assessed by sensitivity analysis and was used to reclassify the previous distribution map. The spatially modeled relationship between I. scapularis presence and large-scale environmental data provides a robust suitability model that reveals essential environmental determinants of habitat suitability, predicts emerging areas of Lyme disease risk, and generates the future pattern of I. scapularis across the United States.
Brownstein, John S; Holford, Theodore R; Fish, Durland
The impact of motor and non motor symptoms on health state values in newly diagnosed idiopathic Parkinsonĺs disease
The aim of the study was to estimate health state utility values in newly diagnosed idiopathic Parkinsonĺs disease (PD) for\\u000a use in the assessment of health-related quality-of-life (HRQL), and in the estimation of quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs).\\u000a Data from 162 patients enrolled in a community-based incidence study of PD were used to estimate health state utility values.\\u000a Self-report data from the
James Shearer; Colin Green; Carl E. Counsell; John P. Zajicek
Socioeconomic determinants of health: community marginalisation and the diffusion of disease and disorder in the United States.
This article describes the cascading diffusion of "inner city problems" of disease and disorder in the United States--from the huge marginalised inner city communities of the largest municipalities, first along national travel routes to smaller cities, and then from central cities into surrounding more affluent suburbs-following the pattern of the daily journey to work. Public policies and economic practices which increase marginalisation act to damage the "weak ties" of the community social networks which bind central city neighbourhoods into functioning units. Spreading disease and disorder can be interpreted as indices of the resulting social disintegration, which is driven by policy. This "failure of containment" in the United States should serve as a warning for cities in Europe against reducing the municipal and other services that they provide to "unpopular" subpopulations. PMID:9158474
Wallace, R; Wallace, D
Finding Homes for Orphan Cytochrome P450s: CYP4V2 and CYP4F22 in Disease States
Genetic analyses have identified a wide spectrum of mutations in the CYP4V2 gene from patients suffering from Biettiĺs crystalline corneoretinal dystrophy, and mutations in the CYP4F22 gene have been linked to lamellar ichthyosis. These strong geneľdisease associations will be better understood if we can elucidate the substrate specificity of the heretofore ôorphanö P450s and unravel the biochemical pathways that go awry in disease states. The complex biotransformations that underlie eicosanoid signaling, however, pose great challenges for the enzymologist seeking to assign specific metabolic roles to these members of the CYP4 family. Inductive reasoning and modeling are crucial tools for designing the experiments that will define disease progression in terms of CYP function.
Kelly, Edward J.; Nakano, Mariko; Rohatgi, Priyanka; Yarov-Yarovoy, Vladimir; Rettie, Allan E.
Screening for Early Alzheimer's Disease: Is There Still a Role for the Mini-Mental State Examination?
Background: The objective of this study was to compare the performance of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) total score as well as item scores in separating 4 groups of elderly (55-85 years of age) subjectsŚnormal controls, subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), subjects with mild Alzheimer's disease, and sub- jects with depression. Method: The MMSE scores of 86 subjects (25
Aaron D. Benson; Melissa J. Slavin; Thanh-Thu Tran; Jeffrey R. Petrella; P. Murali Doraiswamy
Levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) among children with steady-state sickle cell disease
BACKGROUND: The search for sickle cell disease (SCD) prognosis biomarkers is a challenge. These markers identification can help to establish further therapy, later severe clinical complications and with patients follow-up. We attempted to study a possible involvement of levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in steady-state children with SCD, once that this lipid marker has been correlated with anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative,
Magda O Seixas; Larissa C Rocha; Mauricio B Carvalho; Joelma F Menezes; Isa M Lyra; Valma ML Nascimento; Ricardo D Couto; ┴jax M Atta; Mitermayer G Reis; Marilda S Goncalves
Recurrence of legionnaires disease at a hotel in the United States Virgin Islands over a 20-year period.
We investigated 3 cases of legionnaires disease (LD) that developed in travelers who stayed at a hotel in the United States Virgin Islands where cases of LD occurred in 1981-1982 and in 1998. The temperature of the potable water at the hotel was in a range that could optimally support the growth of Legionella species, and the potable water was colonized with Legionella pneumophila in 1981-1982 and in 2002-2003. PMID:15791524
Cowgill, Karen D; Lucas, Claressa E; Benson, Robert F; Chamany, Shadi; Brown, Ellen W; Fields, Barry S; Feikin, Daniel R
Integrated Mapping of Neglected Tropical Diseases: Epidemiological Findings and Control Implications for Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal State, Southern Sudan
Background: There are few detailed data on the geographic distribution of most neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in post- conflict Southern Sudan. To guide intervention by the recently established national programme for integrated NTD control, we conducted an integrated prevalence survey for schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infection, lymphatic filariasis (LF), and loiasis in Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal State. Our aim was to establish
Hugh J. W. Sturrock; Diana Picon; Anthony Sabasio; David Oguttu; Emily Robinson; Mounir Lado; John Rumunu; Simon Brooker; Jan H. Kolaczinski
Predicting, treating and preventing postoperative recurrence of Crohn's disease: The state of the field
The majority of patients diagnosed with Crohnĺs disease eventually require surgical intervention. Unfortunately, postsurgical remission tends to be short lived; a significant number of patients experience clinical relapse and many require additional operations. The pathogenesis of this postoperative recurrence is poorly understood and, currently, there are no reliable tools to predict when and in whom the disease will recur. Furthermore, the postoperative prophylaxis profiles of available Crohnĺs disease therapeutic agents such as 5-aminosalicylates, immunomodulators, steroids and probiotics have been disappointing. Recently, the combination of antibiotics and azathioprine in selected high-risk patients has demonstrated some potential for benefit. The goal of the present article is to provide a coherent summary of previous and new research to guide clinicians in managing the challenging and complex problem of postoperative Crohnĺs disease recurrence.
Borowiec, Anna M; Fedorak, Richard N
Hodgkin's Disease Incidence in the United States by Age, Sex, Geographic Region and Rye Histologic Subtype.
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
Hodgkin's disease (HD) incidence in whites is described by age, sex, Rye histologic subtype and time period for ten US locations, using recently available data with Rye histologic diagnoses for most cases. Some distinctive features of incidence in young p...
S. L. Glaser
Preventing Alzheimer's Disease and Cognitive Decline. NIH State-of-the-Science Conference.
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
In addition to investigating the causes and potential treatments for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, researchers are focused on finding ways to prevent cognitive decline. Many preventive measures for cognitive decline and for preventing Alzheimer...
Emergency Duties and Deaths from Heart Disease among Firefighters in the United States
Results Deaths from coronary heart disease were associated with suppressing a fire (32.1% of all such deaths), responding to an alarm (13.4%), returning from an alarm (17.4%), engaging in physical training (12.5%), responding to nonfire emergencies (9.4%), and performing nonemergency duties (15.4%). As compared with the odds of death from coronary heart disease during nonemergency duties, the odds were 12.1
Stefanos N. Kales; Elpidoforos S. Soteriades; Costas A. Christophi; David C. Christiani
Mortality from Diseases of the Circulatory System in Radiologic Technologists in the United States
Although increased mortality from diseases of the circulatory system has been observed in patients treated with radiotherapy, the effects of chronic low-dose radiation exposure are not clear. Among 90,284 US radiologic technologists who responded to a mailed questionnaire during 1983-1989, the authors evaluated mortality from circulatory system diseases through 1997 in relation to job history and work procedures as surrogates
Michael Hauptmann; Aparna K. Mohan; Michele M. Doody; Martha S. Linet; Kiyohiko Mabuchi
[Prevention of cardiovascular diseases--the most recent recommendations from the United States].
The origins of cardiovascular diseases reside in the childhood. The prevention of these diseases should therefore also start at an early age. The US recommendation for promoting children's cardiac health encourages to pay attention to living habits - non-smoking, healthy eating and adequate physical exercise. The recommendation also proposes the measurement of lipids from all children at the age of about 10 years. This has provoked discussion for and against - what would be the benefits and drawbacks of general screening. PMID:24822327
Pahkala, Katja; Niinikoski, Harri; Raitakari, Olli
Mortality from sexually transmitted diseases in reproductive-aged women: United States, 1999-2010.
Objectives. I estimated the sexually transmitted disease-related mortality among US reproductive-aged women from 1999 to 2010. Methods. I estimated mortality from National Center for Health Statistics' Multiple Cause of Death data. I defined reproductive age as 15 to 44 years. For diseases partially caused by sexual transmission, I estimated the proportion attributable to sexual transmission from the literature. To calculate mortality rates, I estimated number of deaths from each disease and Census Bureau population for reproductive-aged women for 1999 to 2010. Results. From 1999 to 2010, the cumulative sexually transmitted disease-related mortality rate decreased by 49%, from 5.3 to 2.7 deaths per 100?000. The primary contributors were HIV and human papilloma virus infections. Mortality from sexually transmitted HIV infection decreased by 62%, from 3.4 to 1.3 deaths per 100?000. Mortality from human papilloma virus-associated gynecologic cancers decreased by 19%, from 1.6 deaths per 100?000 in 1999 to 1.3 deaths per 100?000 in 2010. Conclusions. Screening and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases may reduce mortality. Research is needed to determine whether sexually transmitted disease-related morbidity among reproductive-aged women has decreased over the past decade. PMID:24922169
McElligott, Kara A
... well as the northern midwestern states. What Is Lyme Disease? Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia ... swollen joint, or facial paralysis. Can I Prevent Lyme Disease? There's no surefire way to avoid getting Lyme ...
Spatial and temporal analysis of stem bleeding disease in coconut palm in the state of Sergipe, Brazil.
Stem bleeding disease (resinosis) of coconut palm is caused by Thielaviopsis paradoxa and is very important in the state of Sergipe, Brazil. Understanding the epidemiological behavior of the disease is essential for establishing more efficient control strategies. Thus, we characterized the temporal progression and spatial distribution of stem bleeding in a commercial orchard under conditions of natural infection in the area of Neopolis, Sergipe. Three plots with 729 plants each were selected and evaluated every two months for stem bleeding incidence. In the temporal analysis, the monomolecular model gave the best fit to data on disease incidence, as it accurately showed the temporal dynamics of the disease during the experiment period. The spatial pattern of stem bleeding varied over time, with initial infections presenting random pattern and then evolving to aggregate pattern during evaluations. This indicates that the disease may have originated from the pathogen survival structures, followed by auto infections caused by dissemination from plant to plant, either by humans, by contact between roots, or by the vector Rhynchophorus palmarum. PMID:24270840
Carvalho, Rejane R da Costa e; Souza, Paulo E de; Warwick, Dulce R N; Pozza, Edson A; Filho, JosÚ L S de Carvalho
An Asian Origin of Virulent Aeromonas hydrophila Responsible for Disease Epidemics in United States-Farmed Catfish
ABSTRACT Since 2009, catfish farming in the southeastern United States has been severely impacted by a highly virulent and clonal population of Aeromonas hydrophila causing motile Aeromonas septicemia (MAS) in catfish. The possible origin of this newly emerged highly virulent A.áhydrophila strain is unknown. In this study, we show using whole-genome sequencing and comparative genomics that A.áhydrophila isolates from diseased grass carp in China and catfish in the United States have highly similar genomes. Our phylogenomic analyses suggest that U.S. catfish isolates emerged from A.áhydrophila populations of Asian origin. Furthermore, we identified an A.áhydrophila strain isolated in 2004 from a diseased catfish in Mississippi, prior to the onset of the major epidemic outbreaks in Alabama starting in 2009, with genomic characteristics that are intermediate between those of the Asian and Alabama fish isolates. Investigation of A.áhydrophila strain virulence demonstrated that the isolate from the U.S. catfish epidemic is significantly more virulent to both channel catfish and grass carp than is the Chinese carp isolate. This study implicates the importation of fish or fishery products into the United States as the source of highly virulent A.áhydrophila that has caused severe epidemic outbreaks in United States-farmed catfish and further demonstrates the potential for invasive animal species to disseminate bacterial pathogens worldwide.
Hossain, Mohammad J.; Sun, Dawei; McGarey, Donald J.; Wrenn, Shannon; Alexander, Laura M.; Martino, Maria Elena; Xing, Ye; Terhune, Jeffery S.
Factors that influence state policies for caregivers of patients with chronic kidney disease and how to impact them.
When individuals with chronic kidney disease require ongoing assistance with activities of daily living and disease management, the consistent care provided by family caregivers often averts the need for institutional placement These caregivers may experience physical and mental burden when supports are not in place to provide occasional help and relief In some states, public programs have been developed to provide assistance to family caregivers, such as respite care, caregiver training, and tax credits. However, policies among the states are not consistent. This study identified factors that have influenced the development of family caregiver-friendly policies and programs in two study states, Connecticut and New Jersey. The case study method used in this research utilized data from informant interviews, document review, and observation of select meetings and hearings to identify 11 factors or themes that impacted public policy development benefiting family caregivers. Two primary factors, state fiscal environment/philosophy and advocacy, were found to be critical to the policymaking process. Based on these findings, specific measures are described that nephrology nurses can take to help influence adoption of policies benefiting caregivers. In addition, information to help caregivers access available programs through agencies, organizations, and informational Web sites is identified. PMID:22032000
Schrauf, Christine M
Intractable vomiting and hiccups as the presenting symptom of neuromyelitis optica
Vomiting and hiccups can be due to peripheral or central causes. Neurological diseases causing vomiting and hiccups are due to lesions of medulla involving area postrema and nucleus tractus solitarius. Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is one such disease which involves these structures. However refractory vomiting and hiccups as the presenting symptom of NMO is unusual. Here we report a patient with NMO in whom refractory vomiting and hiccups were the sole manifestation of the first attack. Diagnosis can be missed at this stage leading to delay in treatment and further complications. This case demonstrates the importance of considering NMO in any patient presenting with refractory vomiting and hiccups and with local and metabolic causes ruled out and linear medullary lesion on magnetic resonance imaging may indicate the diagnosis even when the classical clinical criteria are not met. Anti NMO antibody testing should be done and if positive appropriate treatment should be initiated to prevent further neurological damage.
Kulkarni, Girish Baburao; Kallollimath, Pradeep; Subasree, R.; Veerendrakumar, M.
Reflections on the Current Status of the National Sickle Cell Disease Program in the United States
Some clouds of concern now appear on the horizon for the national sickle cell disease program. There is flagging general attention by the black population and a dilution of interest in and visibility of the sickle cell problem brought about by political maneuvering to bring the program under the legislative umbrella of many other genetic diseases (which occur predominantly in Caucasians). In addition, the federal program has recently phased-out six comprehensive sickle cell centers and imposed budgetary cutbacks in the remaining centers. The victims of this disease, the black population in general, and the researchers and investigators who seek ways to bring this disease under control need reassurance from the current national administration that the sickle cell program will not be permitted to die a slow death from financial attrition, attenuation of interest, and skillful neglect leading to the phasing-out of another ôminority project.ö The national sickle cell program, in the relatively short span of six years, has made significant and notable progress not only in research endeavor but also in improved patient care and community-wide education. In this context, certainly, the positive aspects of the national sickle cell disease program continue to far outweigh any negative ones.1
Scott, Roland B.
Emergency cesarean delivery in a parturient who had an intractable paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia -A case report-
Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is a common arrhythmia in the parturient and can occur with or without an underlying organic heart disease. A woman of 35 weeks' gestation, who had a paroxysmal SVT that was resistant to antiarrhythmic drugs and electric cardioversion, required emergency Cesarean delivery. The Cesarean delivery was performed under spinal anesthesia and a healthy baby was delivered uneventfully. SVT spontaneously converted to normal sinus rhythm right after delivery of the baby.
Chang, Eun-Jung; Han, Jin; Cho, Hun
Lyme disease: a proposed ecological index to assess areas of risk in the northeastern United States.
BACKGROUND: Recent public awareness has resulted in a demand for information about ways to reduce the risk of acquiring Lyme disease. METHODS: Twenty-two school properties and recreational areas within a Lyme disease endemic area of central Monmouth County, New Jersey were evaluated for risk of transmission using an ecological index on the suitability, amount, and access to Ixodes dammini habitat by target human populations and the abundance of infected adult ticks. RESULTS: The characterization of tick habitat accurately predicted the elimination of 11 sites from concern. Of the remaining 11 sites, six were classified high risk and five as moderate risk. On-site tick surveys identified infected I. dammini adults at only four sites (three risk; one moderate risk). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the use of selected ecological parameters provides a cost-effective method to rapidly identify areas at risk for Lyme disease transmission.
Schulze, T L; Taylor, R C; Taylor, G C; Bosler, E M
Protein Sets Define Disease States and Predict In Vivo Effects of Drug Treatment*
Gaining understanding of common complex diseases and their treatments are the main drivers for life sciences. As we show here, comprehensive protein set analyses offer new opportunities to decipher functional molecular networks of diseases and assess the efficacy and side-effects of treatments in vivo. Using mass spectrometry, we quantitatively detected several thousands of proteins and observed significant changes in protein pathways that were (dys-) regulated in diet-induced obesity mice. Analysis of the expression and post-translational modifications of proteins in various peripheral metabolic target tissues including adipose, heart, and liver tissue generated functional insights in the regulation of cell and tissue homeostasis during high-fat diet feeding and medication with two antidiabetic compounds. Protein set analyses singled out pathways for functional characterization, and indicated, for example, early-on potential cardiovascular complication of the diabetes drug rosiglitazone. In vivo protein set detection can provide new avenues for monitoring complex disease processes, and for evaluating preclinical drug candidates.
Meierhofer, David; Weidner, Christopher; Hartmann, Ludger; Mayr, Johannes A.; Han, Chung-Ting; Schroeder, Frank C.; Sauer, Sascha
Prevalence of Respiratory Disease in a Flax Mill in the United States*
Studies were made on 161 flax-mill workers at work by means of a questionnaire similar to that developed by the Medical Research Council and by means of simple pulmonary function tests. Air samples were obtained at various working sites. In this group of workers the effect of cigarette smoking as a factor in the production of chronic non-specific respiratory disease far outweighed the occupational exposures to dust or the effect of age in the males. There were insufficient diseased females for statistical analysis.
Ferris, B. G.; Anderson, Donald O.; Burgess, W. A.
Human prion diseases are classified into 3 categories according to etiologies: idiopathic of unknown cause, acquired of infectious origin, and genetic by PRNP mutation. The surveillance committee have analyzed 2,494 cases and identified 1,402 as prion diseases. Most of them are idiopathic, namely sporadic CJD (77%) with less genetic and acquired prion diseases (17% and 5%, respectively). The number of patients identified by the surveillance committee in these years is about 120 which are less than the number of annual death of prion disease. The difference might be due to partly the fact our surveillance need the consent from patients' family and is not complete. The mean age at onset of prion disease is late 60s while the range is fairly wide. Brain MRIs and increase of CSF 14-3-3 and tau protein levels are very characteristic. Classical sporadic CJD could show completely normal T1WI with patchy high signals in the cerebral cortex and basal ganglia on DWI. In Japan, classical sporadic CJD (MM1) is most popular but there are some rare atypical subtypes. Among them, MM2-thalamic CJD is hardest to diagnose because it shows no high intensity signals on DWI, in addition to frequent absence of CSF and EEG characteristics. In this case, CBF decrease in the thalamus on SPECT is very helpful. Genetic prion diseases in Japan are quite distinct from those in Europe. V180I and M232R mutations are unique to Japan and show sporadic CJD phenotype. Dura graft-associated CJD (dCJD) are composed of 67% of classical sporadic CJD phenotype and 33% of atypical phenotype showing slower progression with amyloid plaques. Trace-back experiments suggested the PrP(sc) of the atypical dCJD was likely to be modified from infection of abnormal VV2 protein. Although there are some atypical forms of prion diseases as mentioned above, almost all prion cases could be diagnosed with EEG, MRI, genetic test, CSF test and SPECT. We also have some incidents in which brain surgery was done before the diagnosis of prion disease and many other patients were operated using the same operating instruments before their sterilization against prion disease had been done. The explanation of possibility of prion disease infection to the patients and their follow-up was started by the incident committee. It is very important for all the nations to cooperate with each other in order to overcome this intractable disease. PMID:21921445
Mizusawa, Hidehiro
Chronic kidney disease, hypovitaminosis D, and mortality in the United States
Low serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25OHD) predicts a higher cardiovascular risk in the general population. Because patients with chronic kidney disease are more likely to have low serum 25OHD, we determined the relationship between hypovitaminosis D and death in this group. Analysis was done using a cohort composed of 3011 patients from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Rajnish Mehrotra; Dulcie A Kermah; Isidro B Salusky; Myles S Wolf; Ravi I Thadhani; Yi-Wen Chiu; David Martins; Sharon G Adler; Keith C Norris
A New Animal Model for Studying Lyme Disease Spirochetes in a Mammalian Host-adapted State
There is now substantial evidence that Borrelia burgdorferi , the Lyme disease spirochete, undergoes major alterations in antigenic composition as it cycles between its arthropod and mammalian hosts. In this report, we cultivated B. burgdor- feri 297 within dialysis membrane chambers implanted into the peritoneal cavities of rats to induce antigenic changes similar to those which occur during mammalian infection.
Darrin R. Akins; Kenneth W. Bourell; Melissa J. Caimano; Michael V. Norgard; Justin D. Radolf
PROBLEM/CONDITION: Since 1971, CDC and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have maintained a collaborative surveillance system for collecting and periodically reporting data relating to occurrences and causes of waterborne-disease outbreaks (WBDOs). REPORTING PERIOD CO...
Chronic liver disease mortality in the United States, 1990-1998
In 1998, chronic liver disease (CLD) was the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S. Alcohol and hepatitis C are thought to be important etiologies. However, traditional methods for calculating CLD mortality rates from death certificates may underestimate hepatitis C- related CLD mortality. We studied patterns of CLD deaths reported from 1990 through 1998, using an expanded definition that
Sirenda Vong; Beth P. Bell
National Surveillance of Dialysis Associated Diseases in the United States, 1995
In December 2001, all U.S. chronic hemodialysis (HD) centers were surveyed regarding selected patient care practices and dialysis-associated diseases. The results were compared with similar surveys conducted in previous years. During 1997- 2001, the percentage of patients vaccinated against hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection increased from 47% to 60% and the percentage of staff vaccinated increased from 87% to 89%.
Jerome I. Tokars; Elaine R. Miller; Matthew J. Arduino
Substantial geographic variation of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality within the U.S. has been recognized for decades. nalyses reported here address the question of whether relative geographic inequality has increased or decreased during the period of rapidly declining CVD m...
Geographic Variation in Declining Ischemic Heart Disease Mortality in the United States, 1968-1978.
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
Despite the well-known geographic pattern for ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality, studies of the decline in IHD have not provided a comprehensive examination of its spatial component. In the study, the authors computed and mapped mean rates and percen...
W. B. Davis C. G. Hayes M. Knowles W. B. Riggan J. van Bruggen
State of the Art and Challenges of Postharvest Disease Management in Apples
Despite modern storage facilities, losses from 5 to 25% of apples are still being recorded in storage room. Fungal pathogens such as Botrytis cinerea, Penicillium expansum and Gloeosporides group are mainly responsible of important economical losses even if physiological disorders (bitter pit, water core and storage scald) cannot be neglected. Post-harvest disease control is a complex problem which cannot be
M. Jijakli; P. Lepoivre
Colonoscopic Surveillance in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: State of the Art Reduction of Biopsies
Longstanding colitis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with an increased risk for intraepithelial neoplasia (IN). White light endoscopy (WLE) with 40ľ50 random biopsies has been promoted for surveillance but may miss a significant proportion of lesions. In addition, the yield of random biopsies to detect IN is low, and random biopsies are expensive, labor-intensive and distract from scrutinizing
Martin Goetz
Connections between single-cell biomechanics and human disease states: gastrointestinal cancer and malaria
We investigate connections between single-cell mechanical properties and subcellular structural reorganization from biochemical factors in the context of two distinctly different human diseases: gastrointestinal tumor and malaria. Although the cell lineages and the biochemical links to pathogenesis are vastly different in these two cases, we compare and contrast chemomechanical pathways whereby intracellular structural rearrangements lead to global changes in mechanical
S. Suresh; J. Spatz; J. P. Mills; A. Micoulet; M. Dao; C. T. Lim; M. Beil; T. Seufferlein
9 CFR 53.2 - Determination of existence of disease; agreements with States.
Economic Impacts of Potential Foot and Mouth Disease Agro-terrorism in the United States: A Computable General Equilibrium Analysis
The foot and mouth disease (FMD) virus has high agro-terrorism potential because it is contagious, can be easily transmitted via inanimate objects and can be spread by wind. An outbreak of FMD in developed countries results in massive slaughtering of animals (for disease control) and disruptions in meat supply chains and trade, with potentially large economic losses. Although the United States has been FMD-free since 1929, the potential of FMD as a deliberate terrorist weapon calls for estimates of the physical and economic damage that could result from an outbreak. This paper estimates the economic impacts of three alternative scenarios of potential FMD attacks using a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the US economy. The three scenarios range from a small outbreak successfully contained within a state to a large multi-state attack resulting in slaughtering of 30 percent of the national livestock. Overall, the value of total output losses in our simulations range between $37 billion (0.15% of 2006 baseline economic output) and $228 billion (0.92%). Major impacts stem from the supply constraint on livestock due to massive animal slaughtering. As expected, the economic losses are heavily concentrated in agriculture and food manufacturing sectors, with losses ranging from $23 billion to $61 billion in the two industries.
Oladosu, Gbadebo A [ORNL] [ORNL; Rose, Adam [University of Southern California, Los Angeles] [University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Bumsoo, Lee [University of Illinois] [University of Illinois
[Occurrence of enteroparasitosis in carriers of mental disease assisted at SŃo Marcello nursing home in Aracaju, Sergipe State].
The interhuman transmission, low level of personal hygiene, coprophagic habits, among others, may contribute to the dissemination of enteroparasitosis in individuals with mental diseases. The object of this paper was to verify the occurrence of enteroparasitosis in individuals with mental diseases assisted at SŃo Marcello Nursing Home in Aracaju, Sergipe State, in the period between February and May at 2006, and track epidemiological aspects of the transmission. So, coproparasitologic exams were performed, and samples were manipulated by Hoffmann, Pons or Janner (1932) technique. The epidemiological data was obtained from questionnaires applied to the legal responsible for each individual. There were 62.22% of patients infected by at least one parasite. Inadequacies regarding sanitation, habitation and habits of personal hygiene were also observed. This study stressed the importance of a constant monitoring of parasitisms and the continuous observance of the conditions that favor their transmission. PMID:20640265
Souza, Paula Andreza de Carvalho; Faro, Cynthia Cristina Pagliari de; Pinheiro, Malone Santos; Rezende Neto, JosÚ Melquiades de; Brito, Ana Maria Guedes de
An Unusual Cause of Anaemia of Chronic Disease: Lisinopril-Induced Chronic Inflammatory State
We report the case of a patient with severe systemic symptoms (weight loss, malaise, and anorexia), eosinophilic oesophagitis, and raised inflammatory markers coinciding with the use of lisinopril. The onset of symptoms occurred after the administration of lisinopril and resolved shortly after cessation of the medication. Despite thorough investigation, no other cause of the systemic inflammation and anaemia of chronic disease was found. ôDrug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptomsö (DRESSs) syndrome describes a potentially serious multiorgan inflammatory response to certain classes of drugs; this includes the use of ACE inhibitors. Although this patient did not meet strict criteria for DRESSs, the subacute inflammatory syndrome with eosinophilic organ infiltration bears similar features. ACE inhibitors should be considered in the differential diagnosis in patients with nonspecific systemic inflammation and anaemia of chronic disease where no other cause is found.
Eyre, Toby; Van-Hamel-Parsons, Victoria; Wang, Lai Mun; Hughes, Kathryn A.; Littlewood, Timothy J.
In the last decade, the care of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) has undergone important advances with better understanding of disease pathophysiology and improvement in standards of care, especially among paediatric patients. Although many new drugs are currently being investigated and are at different stages of development, the pace of drug discovery and utilization has been slow and suboptimal. Hydroxycarbamide (hydroxyurea) has been investigated and utilized for at least two decades. Hydroxycarbamideĺs efficacy has been demonstrated, albeit with different levels of evidence, in paediatric and adult populations, and yet clinician and patient acceptance and use have been far from ideal. In this review we discuss the current usage of hydroxycarbamide and its possible future indications in SCD, as well as the use of new compounds that have very different mechanisms of action, which may prove safe and efficacious when used alone or in combination in patients with SCD.
Hankins, Jane; Aygun, Banu
Self-management of rheumatic diseases: state of the art and future perspectives
Self-management interventions are patient-centred and designed to foster active participation of patients in order to promote well-being and to manage symptoms. Over the past two decades, the role of self-management in chronic diseases has gained momentum. Self-management programmes are now acknowledged as a key element of quality care. New modes of delivery allow greater access to information and are tailored
Maura D Iversen; Alison Hammond; Neil Betteridge
Population Prevalence of Diagnosed Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases in the United States
Rationale:ááAlthough health surveys are routinely used to estimate the population incidence and prevalence of many chronic and acute conditions\\u000a in the U.S. population, they have infrequently been used for ôrareö conditions such as primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID).\\u000a Accurate prevalence measures are needed to separate the truly rare condition from those that primary care doctors are likely\\u000a to see in their
J. M. Boyle; R. H. Buckley
End-Stage Renal Disease in the USA: Data from the United States Renal Data System
Treated end-stage renal disease continues to increase at an alarming rate in the US. There has been an exponential growth in the incidence rate between 1982 and 1991 at the rate of 8.76% per year. Approximately 218,042 patients received treatment for ESRD in 1991, of which 49,909 were new patients. Although the increase in the incidence rate is seen for
Lawrence Y. Agodoa; Camille A. Jones; Philip J. Held
A cross-species analysis method to analyze animal models' similarity to human's disease state
Background Animal models are indispensable tools in studying the cause of human diseases and searching for the treatments. The scientific value of an animal model depends on the accurate mimicry of human diseases. The primary goal of the current study was to develop a cross-species method by using the animal models' expression data to evaluate the similarity to human diseases' and assess drug molecules' efficiency in drug research. Therefore, we hoped to reveal that it is feasible and useful to compare gene expression profiles across species in the studies of pathology, toxicology, drug repositioning, and drug action mechanism. Results We developed a cross-species analysis method to analyze animal models' similarity to human diseases and effectiveness in drug research by utilizing the existing animal gene expression data in the public database, and mined some meaningful information to help drug research, such as potential drug candidates, possible drug repositioning, side effects and analysis in pharmacology. New animal models could be evaluated by our method before they are used in drug discovery. We applied the method to several cases of known animal model expression profiles and obtained some useful information to help drug research. We found that trichostatin A and some other HDACs could have very similar response across cell lines and species at gene expression level. Mouse hypoxia model could accurately mimic the human hypoxia, while mouse diabetes drug model might have some limitation. The transgenic mouse of Alzheimer was a useful model and we deeply analyzed the biological mechanisms of some drugs in this case. In addition, all the cases could provide some ideas for drug discovery and drug repositioning. Conclusions We developed a new cross-species gene expression module comparison method to use animal models' expression data to analyse the effectiveness of animal models in drug research. Moreover, through data integration, our method could be applied for drug research, such as potential drug candidates, possible drug repositioning, side effects and information about pharmacology.
Chronic low-perfusion state in children with moyamoya disease following revascularization
The distribution pattern of cerebral blood flow (CBF) was evaluated in 13 children with moyamoya disease after revascularization. Combined surgery involving encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis and encephalomyosynangiosis was performed in 21 hemispheres. CBF was assessed by dynamic imaging using N-isopropyl-p[123I]iodoamphetamine-single photon emission CT (IMP-SPECT) at 46 months on average after revascularization. None of the patients suffered recurrent ischemic attacks after the bilateral combined
Hiromi Sato; Noriko Sato; Norihiko Tamaki; Satoshi Matsumoto
The Relationship between Depressive Symptoms, Disease State, and Cognition in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Cognitive impairment (CI) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may present a serious barrier to a patientĺs wellbeing and significantly decrease quality of life. Although reports of CI in ALS without frank dementia are becoming quite common, questions remain regarding the specific cognitive domains affected, as well as how other psychological and medical factors may impact cognitive functioning in these patients. Additionally, the influence of depressive symptoms on disease processes is not known. We aimed to address these questions by completing extensive neuropsychological tests with 22 patients with ALS and 17 healthy volunteers. A subgroup of these patients also completed questionnaires to measure depressive and vegetative symptoms. We tested for overall cognitive differences between groups, the influence of physical (e.g., bulbar and limb), vegetative (e.g., fatigue), and depressive symptoms on cognitive performance, and the relationship between depressive symptoms and disease severity in ALS. Overall, patients performed more poorly than healthy controls (HCs), most notably on tests of executive functioning and learning and memory. Results suggest that true cognitive performance differences exist between patients with ALS and HCs, as these differences were not changed by the presence of vegetative or depressive symptoms. There was no effect of limb or bulbar symptoms on cognitive functioning. Also, patients were not any more depressed than HCs, however increased depressive scores correlated with faster disease progression and decreased limb function. Collectively, it is suggested that translational advances in psychological intervention for those with CI and depression become emphasized in future research.
Jelsone-Swain, Laura; Persad, Carol; Votruba, Kristen L.; Weisenbach, Sara L.; Johnson, Timothy; Gruis, Kirsten L.; Welsh, Robert C.
Regulation of Translocator Protein 18 kDa (TSPO) Expression in Health and Disease States
Translocator protein (TSPO) is an 18-kDa high affinity cholesterol- and drug-binding protein found primarily in the outer mitochondrial membrane. Although TSPO is found in many tissue types, it is expressed at the highest levels under normal conditions in tissues that synthesize steroids. TSPO has been associated with cholesterol import into mitochondria, a key function in steroidogenesis, and directly or indirectly with multiple other cellular functions including apoptosis, cell proliferation, differentiation, anion transport, porphyrin transport, heme synthesis, and regulation of mitochondrial function. Aberrant expression of TSPO has been linked to multiple diseases, including cancer, brain injury, neurodegeneration, and ischemia reperfusion injury. There has been an effort during the last decade to understand the mechanisms regulating tissue- and disease-specific TSPO expression and to identify pharmacological means to control its expression. This review focuses on the current knowledge regarding the chemicals, hormones, and molecular mechanisms regulating Tspo gene expression under physiological conditions in a tissue- and disease-specific manner. The results described here provide evidence that the PKC?-ERK1/2-AP1/Stat3 signal transduction pathway is the primary regulator of Tspo gene expression in normal and pathological tissues expressing high levels of TSPO.
Batarseh, Amani; Papadopoulos, Vassilios
Epidemiology of Group B Streptococcal Disease in the United States: Shifting Paradigms
Since its emergence 25 years ago, group B streptococcus has become recognized as a cause of serious illness in newborns, pregnant women, and adults with chronic medical conditions. Heavy colonization of the genital tract with group B streptococcus also increases the risk that a woman will deliver a preterm low-birthweight infant. Early-onset infections (occurring at <7 days of age) are associated with much lower fatality than when they were first described, and their incidence is finally decreasing as the use of preventive antibiotics during childbirth increases among women at risk. New serotypes of group B streptococcus have emerged as important pathogens in adults and newborns. Clinical and laboratory practicesŚin obstetrics, pediatrics, and clinical microbiologyŚhave an impact on disease and/or its prevention, and protocols established at the institutional level appear to be critical tools for the reduction of perinatal disease due to group B streptococcus. Since intrapartum antibiotics will prevent at best only a portion of the full burden of group B streptococcal disease, critical developments in vaccine evaluation, including study of polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccines, offer the potential for enhanced prevention in the relatively near future.
Schuchat, Anne
Infectious diseases causing diffuse alveolar hemorrhage in immunocompetent patients: a state-of-the-art review.
Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) represents a syndrome that can complicate many clinical conditions and may be life-threatening, requiring prompt treatment. It is recognized by the signs of acute- or subacute-onset cough, hemoptysis, diffuse radiographic pulmonary infiltrates, anemia, and hypoxemic respiratory distress. DAH is characterized by the accumulation of intra-alveolar red blood cells originating most frequently from the alveolar capillaries. It must be distinguished from localized pulmonary hemorrhage, which is most commonly due to chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis, tumor, or localized infection. Hemoptysis, the major sign of DAH, may develop suddenly or over a period of days to weeks; this sign may also be initially absent, in which case diagnostic suspicion is established after sequential bronchoalveolar lavage reveals worsening red blood cell counts. The causes of DAH can be divided into infectious and noninfectious, the latter of which may affect immunocompetent or immunodeficient patients. Pulmonary infections are rarely reported in association with DAH, but they should be considered in the diagnostic workup because of the obvious therapeutic implications. In immunocompromised patients, the main infectious diseases that cause DAH are cytomegalovirus, adenovirus, invasive aspergillosis, Mycoplasma, Legionella, and Strongyloides. In immunocompetent patients, the infectious diseases that most frequently cause DAH are influenza A (H1N1), dengue, leptospirosis, malaria, and Staphylococcus aureus infection. Based on a search of the PubMed and Scopus databases, we review the infectious diseases that may cause DAH in immunocompetent patients. PMID:23128913
von Ranke, Felipe Mussi; Zanetti, Glßucia; Hochhegger, Bruno; Marchiori, Edson
Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases at Reference and High-Specialty Hospitals in the State of Guanajuato, Mexico
Background. In general, primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDs) are underdiagnosed in most countries. The objective of this study was to describe the frequency and clinical spectrum of PID in the most important tertiary hospitals in our region. Methods. An observational, cross-sectional, with retrospective chart, review study was conducted. A total of 26 patients were included and grouped according to the updated classification of PIDs. Results. PIDs spectra were as follows: predominantly antibody deficiency diseases were the most common category (65.38%), followed by other well-defined immunodeficiency syndromes (11.55%), congenital defects of phagocyte number and/or function (7.69%), complement deficiencies (3.85%), combined T- and B-cell immunodeficiencies (3.85%), and defects in innate immunity (3.85%). The mean time elapsed from the onset of symptoms to the reference and diagnosis by a tertiary hospital was of 4.65 ▒ 6.95 years. Conclusions. Predominant antibody deficiency disease was the most common group of PIDs, agreeing with international reports. Awareness of underdiagnosis by physicians is crucial for a prompt diagnosis and treatment, which in turn should improve the quality of life among patients with PIDs.
Guani-Guerra, Eduardo; Garcia-Ramirez, Ulises Noel; Jimenez-Romero, Ana Isabel; Velazquez-Avalos, Jose Manuel; Gallardo-Martinez, Gabriela; Mendoza-Espinoza, Francisco-Javier
Screening for Early Alzheimer's Disease: Is There Still a Role for the Mini-Mental State Examination?
Background: The objective of this study was to compare the performance of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) total score as well as item scores in separating 4 groups of elderly (55ľ85 years of age) subjectsŚnormal controls, subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), subjects with mild Alzheimer's disease, and subjects with depression. Method: The MMSE scores of 86 subjects (25 normal elderly controls, 26 subjects with MCI, 10 subjects with mild Alzheimer's disease, and 25 subjects with depression) were analyzed. Statistically significant differences between groups in both overall MMSE score and individual item scores were documented. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed to yield further data. Results: The overall MMSE scores of the mild Alzheimer's disease group were significantly below those of subjects in the control, MCI, and depression groups (p < .001). The overall MMSE scores of MCI subjects were significantly lower than those of control subjects (p = .005) but not different from those of subjects with depression. Furthermore, individual item responses were not significantly different between MCI subjects and controls. The delayed recall item scores were statistically lower in the mild Alzheimer's disease group versus the other 3 groups but did not separate the control, MCI, and depression groups from each other. Conclusion: The MMSE effectively separates those with mild Alzheimer's disease from the other 3 groups and MCI from normal aging, but it is relatively ineffective in separating normal elderly individuals from those with depression and individuals with MCI from those with depression. Measures other than the MMSE may need to be implemented to evaluate mental status to more effectively separate MCI from depression and depression from normal aging.
Benson, Aaron D.; Slavin, Melissa J.; Tran, Thanh-Thu; Petrella, Jeffrey R.; Doraiswamy, P. Murali
[Relief of intractable post-herpetic neuralgia with gasserian ganglion block using methyl prednisolone acetate and with TENS].
A 58 year old man had been suffering from intractable left ophthalmic post herpetic neuralgia (PHN) for 7 years. He has also been treated for polyarteritis nodosa for 10 years. For pain relief, he was treated initially with frequent (4 times a day) stellate ganglion block (SGB) and peripheral ophthalmic nerve block for a month without relief. Then supraorbital nerve block with neurolytics, TENS and acupuncture were done with a slight relief of his pain. Recently his pain became worse even with imipramine 75 mg and carbamazepine 100 mg a day which relieved effectively the patient from the pain for the last 3 years. The pain was so severe to disturb his usual daily activity. Gasserian ganglion block with methyl prednisolone acetate 10 mg was done. After the block, his ADL improved markedly. Three months after the block, he had no spontaneous pain and slight pain with light touch on the injured skin did not annoy him. Several days before the block, electric stimulation to control his pain was tested. Stimulation with the electricity (4.5 mA, 10 cycle and 400 microseconds) brought him complete relief from the pain during the stimulation. Trigeminal SEP showed no response to the stimulation of injured skin. PMID:2246814
Yamashiro, H; Hara, K; Gotoh, Y
Chronic intractable epilepsy associated with a tumor located in the central region: functional mapping data and postoperative outcome.
Out of 57 patients operated for intractable epilepsy of the central region, 8 harbored an indolent glioma (7 dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumors, 1 ganglioglioma). Mapping of the sensorimotor area with depth electrodes implanted for stereoelectroencephalographic exploration demonstrated no or abnormal motor responses after low-frequency stimulation, and variable sensory responses to high-frequency stimulation, suggesting reorganization of the sensorimotor cortex representation around the tumor and absence of functional tissue within the neoplastic volume. After lesionectomy (3 cases) or corticectomy including the tumor (5 cases), 6 (75%) patients were seizure-free (class I of Engel) at the time to follow-up. No permanent motor or sensory deficit was observed in 6 cases. In 2, a mild facial (in 1) and arm (in 1) deficit persisted. It is concluded that the resection of intrinsic low-grade tumors associated with long-standing epilepsy and located in the central region can be associated with excellent seizure outcome and no or minimal postoperative deficit because of functional reorganization of the sensorimotor cortex. PMID:9711760
Devaux, B; Chassoux, F; LandrÚ, E; Turak, B; Daumas-Duport, C; Chagot, D; Gagnepain, J P; Chodkiewicz, J P
Working memory and intelligence are associated with victoria symptom validity test hard item performance in patients with intractable epilepsy.
Loring et al. (Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology, 2005:27;610ľ617) observed relationships between VSVT hard item performance and IQ and memory indices in epilepsy surgical candidates, with a potential confound of low FSIQ on VSVT performance. The present study replicated the Loring et al. study in a larger sample and extended their findings by examining the relationships among VSVT performance, FSIQ, and working memory. A total of 404 patients with medically intractable epilepsy completed a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. Differences in WAIS-III and WMS-III performance were examined as a function of VSVT hard score categories as determined by Grote et al. (2000)--that is, valid, > 20/24; questionable, 18ľ20; or invalid, < 18. Quantile regression models were constructed to compare the strength of the relationship between FSIQ and VSVT at various points of the FSIQ distribution. Linear regression analyses examined working memory as a potential mediator between FSIQ and VSVT performance. The invalid group performed more poorly than the valid and questionable groups on multiple measures of intelligence and memory. The strength of the relationship between FSIQ and VSVT hard item performance decreased as FSIQ increased, and working memory mediated this relationship. Results suggest VSVT hard item scores may be impacted by working memory difficulties and/or low intellectual functioning. PMID:23331934
Keary, Therese A; Frazier, Thomas W; Belzile, Catherine J; Chapin, Jessica S; Naugle, Richard I; Najm, Imad M; Busch, Robyn M
A novel SCN1A mutation in a cytoplasmic loop in intractable juvenile myoclonic epilepsy without febrile seizures.
Generalised (genetic) epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+) is a familial epilepsy syndrome with various phenotypes. The majority of individuals with GEFS+ have generalised seizure types, in addition to febrile seizures (FS) or febrile seizures plus (FS+), defined as either continued FS after 6 years of age or afebrile seizures following FS. A 27-year-old man with no history of FS/FS+ experienced intractable generalised convulsive seizures. The patient's father had a history of similar seizures during puberty and the patient's siblings had only FS. No individual in the family had both generalised seizures and FS/FS+, although GEFS+ might be considered to be present in the family. Analysis of SCN1A, a sodium channel gene, revealed a novel mutation (c.3250A>T [S1084C]) in the cytoplasmic loop 2 of SCN1A in both the patient and his father. Most previously reported SCN1A mutations in GEFS+ patients are located in the conserved homologous domains of SCN1A, whereas mutations in the cytoplasmic loops are very rare. SCN1A gene analysis is not commonly performed in subjects with generalised seizures without FS. SCN1A mutation may be a clinically-useful genetic marker in order to distinguish GEFS+ patients from those with classic idiopathic generalised epilepsy, even if they present an atypical clinical picture. PMID:24842605
Jingami, Naoto; Matsumoto, Riki; Ito, Hirotaka; Ishii, Atsushi; Ihara, Yukiko; Hirose, Shinichi; Ikeda, Akio; Takahashi, Ryosuke
Management of polycystic liver disease.
Polycystic liver disease (PCLD) is characterized by multiple cysts throughout the liver. Patients may develop chronic intractable symptoms that may be debilitating. Others may develop medical complications that necessitate intervention. There is a variety of nonsurgical and surgical treatment options for symptomatic or complicated PCLD, which range from cyst aspiration and fenestration to liver transplantation. Studies have described variable efficacy and morbidity. Currently, there are no guidelines for the management of PCLD patients and the optimal intervention is controversial. This article reviews the pathogenesis, classification and spectrum of treatment options for PCLD. PMID:15565206
Cheung, Justin; Scudamore, Charles H; Yoshida, Eric M
Surveillance for Foodborne-Disease Outbreaks: United States, 1998-2002. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 55, No. SS-10, November 10, 2006.
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
The Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System reviews data on FBDOs, defined as the occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illness resulting from the ingestion of a common food. State and local public health departments have primary responsibil...
C. Braden J. Painter M. Lynch R. Woodruff
Fever and phenotype: transgenerational effect of disease on desert locust phase state
Natural enemy attack can cause transgenerational shifts in phenotype such that offspring are less vulnerable to future attack. Desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) show density- dependent variation in their resistance to pathogens, such that they are less vulnerable to pathogens when in the high-density gregarious phase state (when they would probably be more exposed to pathogens) than when in the solitarious
Sam L. Elliot; Simon Blanford; Charlotte M. Horton; Matthew B. Thomas
Similarity Between the STS and New York State Databases for Valvular Heart Disease
octor Hannon and his colleagues are to be congrat- ulated for developing risk models for valvular car- diac surgery to further advance the New York State Cardiac Surgery Reporting System (1). For a number of years they have issued reports for risk adjusted mortality for coronary artery bypass surgery and the development of the valvular risk models will now allow
Frederick L. Grover; Fred H. Edwards
Cardiovascular Disease and Risk in Primary Care Settings in the United States
Primary care site may play an important role in cardiovascular disease prevalence; however, the distribution of risk factors and outcomes across care sites is not known. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 21,778 adult participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (99-08) using multivariable logistic regression to assess the relationship between site of usual care and disease prevalence. We examine patientsĺ self-reported history of several chronic conditions (Hypertension, Diabetes, and Hypercholesterolemia), awareness of chronic conditions, and associated cardiovascular events (Angina, CHD, CVD, MI, and Stroke). After adjustment for demographic and healthcare utilization characteristics, there were no significant differences in the prevalence of diabetes or hypercholesterolemia between patients receiving usual care at private doctorsĺ offices, hospital outpatient clinics, community-based clinics, and emergency rooms(ER). However, participants without a usual source of care and those receiving usual care at an ER have significantly lower awareness of their chronic conditions than participants at other sites. The odds of having a history of each of the adverse cardiovascular events ranged between 2.21 and 4.18 times higher for people receiving usual care at ERĺs relative to private doctorsĺ offices. In conclusion, participants who report utilizing ERĺs as their usual site of care are disproportionately more likely to have a history of poor cardiovascular outcomes and are more likely to be unaware of having hypertension or hypercholesterolemia. As health care reform takes place and millions more begin seeking care, it is imperative to ensure access to longitudinal care sites designed for continuous disease management.
Ndumele, Chima D.; Baer, Heather J.; Shaykevich, Shimon; Lipsitz, Stuart; Hicks, LeRoi S.
Chronic Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Disease Burden and Cost in the United States
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a leading cause of cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver transplantation. A better understanding of HCV disease progression and the associated cost can help the medical community manage HCV and develop treatment strategies in light of the emergence of several potent anti-HCV therapies. A system dynamic model with 36 cohorts was used to provide maximum flexibility and improved forecasting. New infections incidence of 16,020 (95% confidence interval, 13,510-19,510) was estimated in 2010. HCV viremic prevalence peaked in 1994 at 3.3 (2.8-4.0) million, but it is expected to decline by two-thirds by 2030. The prevalence of more advanced liver disease, however, is expected to increase, as well as the total cost associated with chronic HCV infection. Today, the total cost is estimated at $6.5 ($4.3-$8.4) billion and it will peak in 2024 at $9.1 ($6.4-$13.3) billion. The lifetime cost of an individual infected with HCV in 2011 was estimated at $64,490. However, this cost is significantly higher among individuals with a longer life expectancy. Conclusion This analysis demonstrates that US HCV prevalence is in decline due to a lower incidence of infections. However, the prevalence of advanced liver disease will continue to increase as well as the corresponding healthcare costs. Lifetime healthcare costs for an HCV-infected person are significantly higher than for noninfected persons. In addition, it is possible to substantially reduce HCV infection through active management.
Razavi, Homie; ElKhoury, Antoine C; Elbasha, Elamin; Estes, Chris; Pasini, Ken; Poynard, Thierry; Kumar, Ritesh
Penile traction therapy and Peyronie's disease: a state of art review of the current literature
In recent years, penile traction therapy (PTT) has gained considerable interest as a novel nonsurgical treatment option for men with Peyronieĺs disease (PD) and short penises. The current published literature suggests that selected cases of PD may benefit from a conservative approach with PTT, resulting in increased penile length and reduction of penile deformity. It appears to be safe and well tolerated but requires a great deal of patient compliance and determination. This article reviews the current literature pertaining to the use of PTT in men with PD, short penises and in the setting of pre- and postprosthesis corporal fibrosis.
Brock, Gerald
Current patterns of acute respiratory disease in the United States Navy and Marine Corps.
During 1974 there was an apparent decrease in the reported amount of acute respiratory illness in the Navy and Marine Corps. Streptococcal infections continued to be controlled by the selective use of prophylactic benzathine penicillin in recruit training centers. Influenza immunization limited the impact of that illness, and serogroup C polysaccharide vaccine reduced the amount of meningococcal disease among recruits. Although some of the data are contradictory there are indications that fully potent live adenovirus vaccines lessen the frequency and severity of respiratory illness in recruit populations. Continued epidemiologic study will be required to fill the gaps in our knowledge.
Hoeffler, D. F.
[Clinico-radiographic evaluation of the state of the spine in stomach and duodenal diseases].
Data are given on the condition of the thoracic spine of 465 patients with certain gastric and duodenal diseases. Degenerative-dystrophic lesions (spondylosis deformans and intervertebral osteochondrosis) of the thoracic spine together with osteoarthritis deformans of the costovertebral and costotransverse articulations lead to neurodystrophy of the gastric and duodenal mucosa through chronic stimulation by osteophytes of the thoracic sympathetic ganglia. Disorders of gastric and duodenal motor activity are also important. The attendant reflux gastritis is stipulated by reflux of the intestinal contents into the gastric lumen. Condition of the stomach and duodenum can be improved by relieving changes in the spine. PMID:2716242
Dmitriev, A E; Arapov, N A
Relief of intractable cancer pain by human chromaffin cell transplants: experience at two medical centers.
In addition to its possible role as a replacement source in CNS degenerative diseases, neural transplantation may be used to augment the normal production of neuroactive substances. Our laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago has shown, in both acute and chronic pain models, that transplantation of adrenal medullary tissue or isolated chromaffin cells into CNS pain modulatory regions can reduce pain sensitivity in rodents. Chromaffin cells were chosen as the donor source since they produce high levels of both opioid peptides and catecholamines, substances which reduce pain sensitivity when injected locally into the spinal subarachnoid space. The analgesia produced by these transplants probably results from the release of both opioid peptides and catecholamines since it can be blocked or attenuated by both opiate and adrenergic antagonists. Studies indicate that even over long periods there is no apparent development of tolerance. Promising results have been obtained in preliminary clinical studies using allografts of adrenal medulla to relieve cancer pain. This clinical review encompasses results at two Medical Centers-University of Illinois at Chicago and University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France-in assessing efficacy of subarachnoid adrenal medullary transplantation for alleviating cancer pain. Our clinical and autopsy data strongly support our previous laboratory studies, i.e., that chromaffin cell transplants into the subarachnoid space represent a promising new approach to the alleviation of chronic pain. It is suggested that further clinical studies are now warranted. PMID:9090640
Pappas, G D; Lazorthes, Y; BŔs, J C; Tafani, M; Winnie, A P
Chromatin stretch enhancer states drive cell-specific gene regulation and harbor human disease risk variants
Chromatin-based functional genomic analyses and genomewide association studies (GWASs) together implicate enhancers as critical elements influencing gene expression and risk for common diseases. Here, we performed systematic chromatin and transcriptome profiling in human pancreatic islets. Integrated analysis of islet data with those from nine cell types identified specific and significant enrichment of type 2 diabetes and related quantitative trait GWAS variants in islet enhancers. Our integrated chromatin maps reveal that most enhancers are short (median = 0.8 kb). Each cell type also contains a substantial number of more extended (?3 kb) enhancers. Interestingly, these stretch enhancers are often tissue-specific and overlap locus control regions, suggesting that they are important chromatin regulatory beacons. Indeed, we show that (i) tissue specificity of enhancers and nearby gene expression increase with enhancer length; (ii) neighborhoods containing stretch enhancers are enriched for important cell typeľspecific genes; and (iii) GWAS variants associated with traits relevant to a particular cell type are more enriched in stretch enhancers compared with short enhancers. Reporter constructs containing stretch enhancer sequences exhibited tissue-specific activity in cell culture experiments and in transgenic mice. These results suggest that stretch enhancers are critical chromatin elements for coordinating cell typeľspecific regulatory programs and that sequence variation in stretch enhancers affects risk of major common human diseases.
Parker, Stephen C. J.; Stitzel, Michael L.; Taylor, D. Leland; Orozco, Jose Miguel; Erdos, Michael R.; Akiyama, Jennifer A.; van Bueren, Kelly Lammerts; Chines, Peter S.; Narisu, Narisu; Black, Brian L.; Visel, Axel; Pennacchio, Len A.; Collins, Francis S.; Becker, Jesse; Benjamin, Betty; Blakesley, Robert; Bouffard, Gerry; Brooks, Shelise; Coleman, Holly; Dekhtyar, Mila; Gregory, Michael; Guan, Xiaobin; Gupta, Jyoti; Han, Joel; Hargrove, April; Johnson, Taccara; Legaspi, Richelle; Lovett, Sean; Maduro, Quino; Masiello, Cathy; Maskeri, Baishali; McDowell, Jenny; Montemayor, Casandra; Mullikin, James; Park, Morgan; Riebow, Nancy; Schandler, Karen; Schmidt, Brian; Sison, Christina; Stantripop, Mal; Thomas, James; Thomas, Pam; Vemulapalli, Meg; Young, Alice
Discrete wavelet transform EEG features of Alzheimer'S disease in activated states.
In this study, electroencephalogram (EEG) signals obtained by a single-electrode device from 24 subjects - 10 with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 14 age-matched Controls (CN) - were analyzed using Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT). The focus of the study is to determine the discriminating EEG features of AD patients while subjected to cognitive and auditory tasks, since AD is characterized by progressive impairments in cognition and memory. At each recording block, DWT extracts EEG features corresponding to major brain frequency bands. T-test and Kruskal-Wallis methods were used to determine the statistically significant features of EEG signals from AD patients compared to Controls. A decision tree algorithm was then used to identify the dominant features for AD patients. It was determined that the mean value of the low-? (1 - 2 Hz) frequency band during the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test with 2.0 (s) interval and the mean value of the ? frequency band (12 - 30 Hz) during 6 Hz auditory stimulation have higher mean values in AD patients than Controls. Due to artifacts, the less reliable low-? features were removed and it was determined that the mean value of ? frequency band during 6 Hz auditory stimulation followed by the standard deviation of ? (4 - 8 Hz) frequency band of one card learning cognitive task are higher for AD patients compared to Controls and thus the most dominant discriminating features of the disease. PMID:23366540
Ghorbanian, P; Devilbiss, D M; Simon, A J; Bernstein, A; Hess, T; Ashrafiuon, H
Emerging Roles for Retinoids in Regeneration and Differentiation in Normal and Disease States
The vitamin A (retinol) metabolite, all-trans retinoic acid (RA), is a signaling molecule that plays key roles in the development of the body plan and induces the differentiation of many types of cells. In this review the physiological and pathophysiological roles of retinoids (retinol and related metabolites) in mature animals are discussed. Both in the developing embryo and in the adult, RA signaling via combinatorial Hox gene expression is important for cell positional memory. The genes that require RA for the maturation/differentiation of T cells are only beginning to be catalogued, but it is clear that retinoids play a major role in expression of key genes in the immune system. An exciting, recent publication in regeneration research shows that ALDH1a2 (RALDH2), which is the rate-limiting enzyme in the production of RA from retinaldehyde, is highly induced shortly after amputation in the regenerating heart, adult fin, and larval fin in zebrafish. Thus, local generation of RA presumably plays a key role in fin formation during both embryogenesis and in fin regeneration. HIV transgenic mice and human patients with HIV-associated kidney disease exhibit a profound reduction in the level of RAR? protein in the glomeruli, and HIV transgenic mice show reduced retinol dehydrogenase levels, concomitant with a greater than 3-fold reduction in endogenous RA levels in the glomeruli. Levels of endogenous retinoids (those synthesized from retinol within cells) are altered in many different diseases in the lung, kidney, and central nervous system, contributing to pathophysiology.
Gudas, Lorraine J.
Serum bile acid profiling reflects enterohepatic detoxification state and intestinal barrier function in inflammatory bowel disease
AIM: To determine free and conjugated serum bile acid (BA) levels in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) subgroups with defined clinical manifestations. METHODS: Comprehensive serum BA profiling was performed in 358 IBD patients and 310 healthy controls by liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Serum levels of hyodeoxycholic acid, the CYP3A4-mediated detoxification product of the secondary BA lithocholic acid (LCA), was increased significantly in Crohnĺs disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), while most other serum BA species were decreased significantly. Total BA, total BA conjugate, and total BA glycoconjugate levels were decreased only in CD, whereas total unconjugated BA levels were decreased only in UC. In UC patients with hepatobiliary manifestations, the conjugated primary BAs glycocholic acid, taurocho