ADAMs: focus on the protease domain

HYPOTHESIS: Absent or reduced expression of schwannomin/merlin is associated with tumorigenesis of sporadic schwannomas. BACKGROUND: The neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) gene frequently is mutated in sporadic vestibular schwannomas. The protein product of the NF2 gene is called schwannomin or merlin. Little is known about the mutated forms of schwannomin/merlin present in schwannomas. METHODS: To investigate further the role of schwannomin/merlin in schwannoma tumorigenesis, immunoblotting experiments were performed. Antischwannomin/merlin-specific antibody that recognizes amino terminus of the protein was used to determine the expression levels of schwannomin/merlin in 16 sporadic vestibular schwannomas, 1 NF2-related vestibular schwannoma, and 5 spinal schwannomas. RESULTS: The antibody detects a protein of approximately 66 kDa in the Triton X-100-insoluble fraction of tumors. The expression of schwannomin/merlin was severely reduced, <35% of control, in 11 (50%) of 22 sporadic schwannomas and in 1 NF2-related vestibular schwannoma. The intensity of 66-kDa schwannomin/merlin band was moderately reduced, from 35-60%, in 7 (32%) of 22 schwannomas compared to the expression levels found in the human brain. Truncated forms of schwannomin/merlin were identified in three tumors with moderately reduced schwannomin/merlin. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide new evidence that inactivation of schwannomin/merlin is an important factor in tumorigenesis of sporadic schwannomas.     

Fraud investigations: the heat is on

A medication error that killed a newborn and resulted in criminal charges against three Denver nurses didn't have to happen. Use this step-by-step account of what went wrong to discover system flaws that may threaten your patients.     

Hypothermia: impact on the trauma victim

When bacterial cells are shifted to higher temperatures their degree of DNA supercoiling changes. Topoisomerases are involved in bacterial adaptation to environmental changes requiring rapid shifts in gene expression. This role in heat shock has been elucidated by genetic studies on the Escherichia coli topA gene and its sigma 32-dependent promoter, P1. Other studies have shown that certain gyrA mutants have increased thermoresistance.     

Update on overactive bladder: pharmacologic approaches on the horizon

Limitations exist with regard to the array of available agents for the pharmacologic therapy of overactive bladder, including issues of efficacy and tolerability. It is clear that the ideal agent for this condition has not been identified. However, several new pharmacologic treatments, including some with novel approaches to drug delivery, have emerged in clinical development over the past few years. These agents include a variety of anticholinergics and others. In initial studies, some of the agents appear to compare favorably with existing therapies. Whether these promising results will hold up when subjected to large-scale, well-controlled clinical trials is unclear.     

Caring for the elderly: a crisis on the horizon

As baby boomers age, the proportion of elderly people will increase. Growing numbers of senior citizens coupled with shrinking budgets may force society to find alternatives to nursing homes, predicts a Des Moines geriatrician.     

Go the distance: Thoughts on termination.

Item presents the introductory remarks opening the 13th Annual Spring Meeting of the American Psychological Association's Division of Psychoanalysis (Division 39). It is noted that the topic of the event is on the end phase of psychoanalysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Placental implantation on the amniotic sheet: effect on pregnancy outcome

PURPOSE: To assess pregnancy outcome in patients with amniotic sheets and to determine whether outcome is affected by placental implantation on the amniotic sheet. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sonograms obtained during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters were reviewed in 157 patients with amniotic sheets to confirm the presence of an amniotic sheet and to determine the relationship of the placenta to the amniotic sheet. The cesarean section rate, gestational age at birth, birth weight, birth weight percentile, and Apgar score 1 minute after birth were recorded in patients in whom the postnatal follow-up data were available. Data were compared with overall data obtained at the authors' institution during the same period. RESULTS: The placenta appeared implanted on the amniotic sheet in 41 (26.1%) of the 157 patients. In the 120 patients with amniotic sheets and follow-up data, the cesarean section rate was 32.5% compared with 21.5% overall. The mean gestational age at birth was slightly lower than that overall (38.2 vs 39.0 weeks, P < .001), but the birth weight percentile was similar (48.6% vs 50.0%, P = .58). No statistically significant differences were found in postnatal follow-up data between pregnancies with placental implantation on and in those without implantation on the amniotic sheet. CONCLUSION: Pregnancy outcome is similar in patients with and in those without placental implantation on the amniotic sheet.     

Tales From the Couch: Writers on Therapy: Book review.

Review of book: Jason Shinder (Ed.) Tales From the Couch: Writers on Therapy. New York: Morrow, 2000, xv + 220 pp. Reviewed by Jeffrey Berman. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

HLA-G: on the track of immunological functions

Acebutolol (AC) is a chiral beta-adrenergic blocking drug, possessing intrinsic sympathomimetic activity (ISA), and is useful clinically as the racemate in treating hypertension. Utilizing a stereospecific high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) assay, the enantiomeric disposition of AC and its major metabolite diacetolol (DC) are reported after intravenous administration of single 5, 15, 30, and 50 mg kg-1 doses of racemate to male Sprague-Dawley rats. The mean area under the plasma concentration versus time curve (AUC) values display a linear relationship with respect to the administered dose. No statistical differences are observed in apparent volume of distribution (Vd), terminal elimination half-life (t1/2), total body clearance (Clt), or renal clearance (Clr) with respect to dose administered. Generally, R-S ratios for AUC following AC administration are statistically different from unity (p < 0.05). However, for the 50 mg kg-1 doses the R-S ratio for AUC is not statistically different from one. For DC, the plasma disposition is nonstereoselective in plasma. The amount of R-DC recovered in urine, however, was greater than that of the antipode (R:S = 1.92 +/- 0.29). This study suggests that the enantiomeric disposition of intravenous AC is linear within the investigated range of 5-50 mg kg-1 racemate in rats.     

WEBMAP: radiation hybrid mapping on the WWW

SUMMARY: A Java interface to radiation hybrid (RH) mapping software is described which enables users to build and interactively refine RH maps over the web. AVAILABILITY: The Java applets described here are available on the internet at http://www.oxmol.com/biolib/webmap/.     

Sex on the wards: Conundra for clinicians

Should psychiatric inpatients be allowed to engage in sexual activities? Do clinicians have a right to prevent them from doing so? If so, when may sexual interaction be restricted? What sorts of clinical issues and problems are posed for nursing staff, and how should psychiatrists and administrators respond to these? These and related questions have received little attention from either medical or legal scholars, in sharp contrast to the extensive analysis devoted to other issues affecting the lives of psychiatric inpatients, and in especially sharp contrast to our culture's inundation with media messages about sex. This article summarizes the modest body of scholarship concerning sexual interactions among hospitalized patients, the clinical and administrative questions faced by psychiatrists who work with inpatients, and the potential medicolegal problems that inpatients' sexual activities can create. It concludes with a conceptual framework that clinicians can use to devise solutions to the problems arising from inpatients' sexuality.