Carboxyhemoglobin levels in neonatal immune hemolytic jaundice treated with intravenous gammaglobulin

Prior to 1940 the population of Sweden was one of the most homogeneous in Europe, with only 0.5% foreign born. Fifty years later, in 1990, the proportion of immigrants was around 15%. In order to describe and analyze consumption of dental care in different refugee groups in Sweden, data registered by the Department of Immigration and the National Social Insurance Board, on a random sample of 2489 refugees arriving in Sweden 1975-85, were merged. Information on nationality, date of arrival in Sweden, date of granting of permanent resident status and statistics on consumption of dental care were retrieved. During the period studied a total of 50,521 refugees arrived in Sweden. The average interval between arrival in Sweden and the first dental visit was 4.5 yr (95% < 1: 4.2-4.7). The total treatment time during the first course of treatment was 165.5 min (95% < 1: 148.7-182.3). Consumption of dental care did not decrease with an increased number of treatments. Only 38% of the refugees had visited a dentist at all in Sweden. With increasing number of years in Sweden the number of courses of dental treatment increased, but 41% of the refugees who had visited the dentist in Sweden had done so only once. This study shows a low utilization of dental services among refugees in Sweden in general. Refugees with dental visits in Sweden, in particular, had a high dental consumption.     

Carboxyhemoglobin levels in primary and secondary cigar and pipe smokers

This study of 130 subjects was performed to obtain more data about the smoking habits and levels of carboxyhemoglobin in various types of pipe and cigar smokers. These smokers may be divided by history into primary or secondary smokers and also into current inhalers and noninhalers. Prior studies of carboxyhemoglobin levels have yielded conflicting results, presumably due to differences in current habits of inhalation, which were often not taken into account. Cigarette, primary pipe, and secondary pipe inhalers had similar carboxyhemoglobin levels that were significantly higher than nonsmokers (5.6, 5.0, 5.4, and 1.0 percent, respectively). Cigar inhalers had markedly elevated concentrations of carboxyhemoglobin (13.8 and 11.8 percent in primary and secondary inhalers, respectively). Most secondary cigar and pipe smokers inhaled, whereas most primary smokers did not. Intentional inhalation, rather than past smoking history, is the most important factor in determining the carboxyhemoglobin level for each type of smoke.     

Arginine vasopressin levels in nursing home residents with nighttime urinary incontinence

OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship between diurnal urine volume and plasma arginine vasopressin levels (AVP) in nursing home residents with nighttime urinary incontinence and a comparison group of frail but nondemented, continent geriatric board and care residents. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: Four nursing homes and two board and care facilities. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-two nursing home residents and 27 board and care residents. MEASUREMENTS: Daytime (7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.) and nighttime (7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.) urine volumes of incontinent nursing home residents were measured over 3 days and 3 nights by reweighing preweighed adults diapers and toileting inserts emptied by research staff for the comparison group. AVP levels were drawn in the early morning (5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.) before subjects arose and in the evening after an hour of lying in bed (8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.), and plasma levels were determined by radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: Half of the nursing home residents and 82% of the comparison group had night/total urine volume ratios > or = 50%. Forty-nine percent of the total of 89 subjects had undetectable morning AVP levels, 61% had undetectable evening AVP levels, and 42% had undetectable AVP levels in both morning and evening. There were no significant differences in AVP levels between those with night/total urine volume ratios > or = 50% and < 50% in either the nursing home or comparison groups though the small number of comparison group subjects with ratios < 50% may have limited our statistical power to detect differences. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that a substantial proportion of both nursing home residents with nighttime incontinence and frail geriatric patients with a reversal of the normal diurnal pattern of urine excretion have an accompanying deficiency in AVP production and/or secretion. More detailed physiologic studies are needed to understand better the pathophysiology of geriatric nocturia and nighttime incontinence and the role that AVP deficiency may play in these conditions. Until such studies are carried out, we do not recommend the routine use of exogenous AVP for geriatric patients with unexplained nocturnal polyuria.     

Carboxyhemoglobin trend in Chicago blood donors, 1970-1974

An 18% reduction in the carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO) saturation in nonsmoking Chicago blood donors occurred between 1970 and 1974, indicating that current donors are being exposed to a lower average carbon monoxide (CO) concentration than had been experienced by 1970 donors. In contrast to the situation in 1970, when it was discovered that 74% of the nonsmokers in Chicago were being exposed to CO in excess of the amount permitted by the federal air quality standards, in 1974 only 41% of the nonsmokers were being overexposed. The observed reduction in HbCO correlates well with both the ambient CO levels recorded at the air monitoring stations and the reduction in CO emission from automobiles. If the current trend continues, Chicago should reach compliance with air quality standards for CO by 1985. The measurement of HbCO in a representative urban population is an accurate index of actual CO exposure and supplements the air pollution data provided by air monitoring stations.     

Copying and reproducing pictures in relation to subjects' operative levels.

Past Piagetian memory research has established that Ss' operative levels influence their recall of operatively derived stimuli. To determine the locus of operative influence, children from Grades 1–5 with immature, transitional, or mature concepts of verticality were asked to copy and/or to reproduce verticality stimuli. Stimuli were either operatively advanced (a vertical tree on a hillside) or primitive (a tipped tree). Memory was tested immediately (Exp I, 96 Ss), 1 wk (Exp II, 168 Ss), or 5 mo (Exp III, 46 Ss) after the initial viewing. In each study there was a significant relationship between operative level and performance on the operatively advanced stimulus only. For the tipped stimulus, more distortion was evident in memory than in copy drawings. Contrary to predictions, however, there was no difference between distortion in copy and memory drawings for the straight stimulus regardless of Ss' operative levels. Results suggest that progressive distortion increases over time but that regressive distortion occurs before the stimulus is removed from sight. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Circulating levels of nitric oxide in fertile women in relation to the menstrual cycle

Impalement occurs when a portion of the body is penetrated by a rigid object. These injuries incorporate aspects of both blunt and penetrating type injuries in that the object or the body at time of impact is traveling at relatively low velocity and the energy is dissipated over a short distance. Impalement injuries have been described for most body cavities. Evaluation of these injuries can be uniquely challenging. We present a case of impalement of the neck from an object previously unreported in the literature, a golf club shaft.     

Distribution of IgE and IgG antibody levels against house dust mites in schoolchildren, and their relation with asthma

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a viral-induced demyelinating disease, is becoming relatively common, while many diagnostic and pathogenetic aspects remain to be clarified. A study was therefore undertaken in 64 AIDS patients suffering from various neurological disorders, including PML (12 subjects), with the specific objective of searching for JC virus (JCV) DNA by nested PCR (n-PCR) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and urine collected from all patients. CSF examination, CD4 and CD8 counts, neurological examinations, and neuroradiological investigations were undertaken. JCV DNA was detected in 92% of CSF specimens in 75% of the PBMCs and urine samples from the PML patients, whereas among the non-PML patients JCV DNA was not detected in any CSF samples, but was found in 10% of PBMCs and in 39% of the urine specimens. BKV and JCV DNA viruria was observed simultaneously in 6% of the AIDS patients without PML. The routine CSF tests including IgG oligoclonal bands, the Link, and Tourtellotte IgG indexes, did not show a typical pattern in PML cases. The data obtained clearly indicate that the detection of JCV DNA in CSF constitutes an efficient marker for PML diagnosis. The simultaneous presence of JCV DNA in the CSF, PBMCs, and urine samples from the PML patients, who did not differ from controls with regard to their immunosuppressive status, suggests that JCV could be carried into the central nervous system (CNS) by infected PBMCs.     

Determination of glucose levels using dried filter paper blood spots: new perspective in home monitoring

We present a method for the determination of blood glucose using dried filter paper blood spots. To validate this method, we compared our results using filter paper and simultaneously collected venous blood. We demonstrated that there is a linear relationship between the filter paper glucose levels and those determined in whole blood (r = 0.98). There was no significant difference between the results of the two methods (p > 0.05). This method is a cheap alternative which may improve the control of diabetes mellitus, and may also be very useful in the diagnosis of postprandial hypoglycemia and other special situations.     

Neurometabolic and behavioural effects of haloperidol in relation to drug levels in serum and brain

A method has been developed for the quantitative determination of haloperidol in brain and other tissues. Such determinations have been made after acute and chronic administration of haloperidol to Sprague-Dawley rats. Different regions of the brain including the striatum, the limbic forebrain and the cerebellum have been analyzed separately. The haloperidol effects on Dopa formation have been studied in the same tissue samples. The stimulation of prolactin secretion via blockade of hypothalamic dopaminergic mechanisms and behavioural effects of the drug have been evaluated in parallel experiments. The elimination of haloperidol from brain tissue is a multiphasic process. The fourth phase of elimination is the slowest with a half life of 4 days. No strict correlation was found between serum and brain concentrations of haloperidol. Both after acute and chronic administration there exists apparently a saturating dose above which the brain concentration of the drug increases very little. The dose seems to coincide with that beyond which little increase in Dopa formation is observed. A pharmacokinetic analysis suggests an element of saturable binding or transfer of haloperidol to brain tissue. This mechanism is not preferentially localized to areas of brain rich in dopaminergic synapses. A good correlation was found between the haloperidol concentration in the brain on the one hand and its effects on behaviour, on serum prolactin values and on Dopa formation on the other.     

Serum levels of eosinophil cationic protein and eosinophil protein x in pollen atopic patients with stable asthma and its relation with bronchial hyperresponsiveness

Eosinophils are important effector cells in allergic inflammation described in allergic rhinitis (AR) and allergic bronchial asthma (BA). During the pollen season serum levels of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and eosinophil X protein/eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EPX/EDN) are increased in BA. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the serum levels of ECP and EPC in pollen atopic patients with AR and BA during the winter. 92 patients were studied. They were divided into three groups: I 29 patients with AR, II 51 patients with BA and III 12 healthy subjects. Allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma were diagnosed by routine clinical tests: clinical history, skin tests, total IgE and specific IgE. In addition ECP and EPX were determined in serum. All patients were asymptomatic, stable and without medical treatment. Methacholine challenge test (MCT) was performed in all patients. MCT were positive in 4 patients of group I and 45 patients of group II. ECP levels (ug/l) were: 21 (I), 24 (II) and 7 (III). EPX levels (ug/l) were 35 (I), 45 (II) and 21 (III). Statistical differences (p < 0.01) were observed both in ECP and EPX levels in patients with MCT positive in relation to patients with MCT negative, and in allergic patients (I and II) in comparison with the healthy subjects (III) (p < 0.01). ECP and EPX serum levels are increased in patients with a positive MCT in the winter, out of the pollen season, when patients are asymptomatic, stable and without treatment. This fact suggests that eosinophils play an important role in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma.     

Care of persons with AIDS in the nursing home

BACKGROUND: AIDS is becoming a chronic illness for some patients whose significant accumulated functional impairments may limit community-based care. Nursing homes can provide an appropriate level of care, although reported experience caring for persons with AIDS in this setting is limited. METHODS: A retrospective case-series review was conducted in a 242-bed community teaching nursing home to describe the initial 26-month experience in providing care for patients with AIDS requiring nursing home admission. RESULTS: A total of 42 admissions by 32 patients with AIDS (mean age = 33.5 years, 81% male) involved a shorter length of stay (mean 63.1 days) and higher numbers of medications (mean = 11.2), facility charges (mean $11,971/admission, $189/day), and greater clinical management complexity than usual nursing home patients. Thirteen patients were discharged, seven for rehospitalization and six into community settings, although ultimately 29 of the 32 patients died in the facility. CONCLUSIONS: AIDS care in the nursing home presents significant, distinct challenges in complex management and terminal care prioritization.     

Long-term ventilation at home in adults with neurological diseases

Protein kinase C (PKC) is now known to play an important physiological role in essentially all cell types. This review will focus on what is known about the kinase in contractile differentiated smooth muscle. Current knowledge on the molecular structure of PKC isoforms will be discussed as they relate to mechanisms of translocation and targeting of the kinase within smooth muscle cells. Studies performed on PKC-dependent signalling pathways in differentiated smooth muscle cells will be discussed with emphasis on studies form our laboratory, especially discussing thin filament linked pathways. Thick filament linked PKC-dependent pathways will be described in more detail elsewhere in this monograph.     

Serum lipid changes during contraceptive administration in obese women: relation to serum insulin levels

Previous reports agree that estrogen and estrogen-containing contraceptives increase serum triglyceride levels of normal women, but disagree on their effect on serum cholesterol levels. Since obesity is often accompanied by hyperinsulinemia and since hyperinsulinemia may participate in production of hypertriglyceridemia, we investigated the effect of oral contraceptives on the serum lipids of obese women. Serum triglycerides and cholesterol were measured before and after 3 months administration of the contraceptives. The mean triglyceride level increased 23% in the obese and 21% in the normal women. The mean cholesterol level increased 6% (P less than 0.05) in the obese and did not change in the normal women. The increase in cholesterol occurred mostly in those with initial levels less than 225 mg/100 ml; in those with initial levels above 250 mg/100 ml the level usually decreased with treatment. The serum lipid changes were not related to the serum insulin levels.