Central nervous system structure and function in Sturge-Weber syndrome: evidence of neurologic and radiologic progression

Sturge-Weber syndrome is characterized by the presence of a port-wine nevus, epilepsy, stroke-like episodes, headache, and developmental delay. We studied 20 cases to test the hypothesis that decreased cerebral blood flow alters neurologic function by affecting cellular glucose metabolism. Group A consisted of 10 patients with a mean age of 1.75 years and early seizure onset (6.8 months), whereas group B was composed of older patients (mean age, 15.3 years) with later onset of seizures (3.7 years). Neurologic disease was more severe in group A, but group B had more widespread structural brain defects - shown on computed tomographic scans and magnetic resonance imaging - and metabolic brain defects shown on hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime and [18F] fluorodeoxyglucose single photon emission computed tomographic scans. Six group A cases had hypoperfusion at baseline and five of nine had worsening of perfusion and glucose metabolism 1 year later. A total of 119 stroke-like episodes occurred in six group A cases and eight group B cases; there were 65% fewer strokes in children treated with aspirin. The data suggest that progressive hypoperfusion and glucose hypometabolism are associated with neurologic deterioration in Sturge-Weber syndrome. Longitudinal studies are needed to better define the natural history of disease and to evaluate the safety and efficacy of aspirin therapy.     

Beta-lactamase inhibitors: agents to overcome bacterial resistance

Parental illness can have a profound impact on family relationships and children's behaviour. The amount and nature of communication between parents and children about the illness can play an important role, both positively and negatively, in mediating the outcomes. When children have a disability, families can be reluctant to communicate with them about family difficulties. They are often concerned about the impact that parental unavailability may have on their child's life. This paper reports on three families in which the mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and one child in the family had a disability. The extent and specific characteristics of their communication about the maternal illness with their children, behavioural changes in the children, explanations of communication strategies and attributions of behavioural changes are described. Family coping strategies are examined with reference to Lazarus's process model of stress and coping and the use of either problem-focused or emotion-focused strategies. Implications for possible clinical interventions are proposed. In particular it is suggested that families be offered consultation about: what children might understand; ways in which to communicate effectively; and strategies for coping with the long-term implications of serious parental illness.     

Dicationic furans inhibit development of Cryptosporidium parvum in HSD/ICR suckling Swiss mice

The efficacy of dicationic diarylfurans was evaluated against Cryptosporidium parvum by a suckling murine model. Candidate drugs were solubilized or suspended in deionized water and administered orally at a constant dose rate on days 0-5 (treatment day 0) to suckling ICR Swiss mice experimentally inoculated with oocysts of C. parvum. Efficacy was based on numbers of oocysts recovered from the intestinal tracts of mice subjected to necropsy examination on day 6. Numerous candidate furans significantly reduced the numbers of oocysts recovered from treated mice compared with control mice. Compounds 1, 2, 4, and 9 demonstrated superior efficacies (10% of controls or better) against C. parvum. Compounds 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 17, 18, and 19 also significantly reduced the numbers of oocysts recovered from treated mice but demonstrated efficacies ranging from 17 to 65% of controls. Compound 4 was particularly efficacious against C. parvum at a dosage as low as 8.5 mg/kg of body weight. Compound 4 is identified as a lead compound for additional studies in other animal models.     

What decides: high mortality in paediatric acute renal failure?

Forty paediatric cases of A.R.F. (Acute Renal Failure) of various aetiology were included in the study. 60% of patients were less than 4 years of age with male predominance. 80% cases reported to us very late with oligoanuria of more than 24 hours (2-7 days). Diarrhoea, vomiting and fever were other dominant symptoms. Maximum cases were severely anaemic (87.5%) with mean Hb 7.73 +/- 1.9 gm%. 40% cases were of underweight while only one case (2.5%) was of over weight, inspite of volume excess in 40% cases. All 24 cases, who were estimated for serum albumin, found to have marked hypoalbuminemia. Mortality was found to be as high as 65% inspite of effective peritoneal dialysis in all cases. High mortality seems to be due to profound anuria of many days (because of marked delay in reaching the hospital), fever and malnutrition besides other factors as aetiology.     

Dietary patterns associated with a low-fat diet in the national health examination follow-up study: identification of potential confounders for epidemiologic analyses

To identify systematically the nutrient and food group intakes associated with a low-fat diet, the authors used the detailed dietary information collected from 10,306 individuals aged 32-86 years in the 1982-1984 National Health Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. Intakes of vitamin C and percentages of calories from carbohydrates, dietary fiber, poultry, low-fat dairy products, fruits, vegetables, cereals, and whole grains were markedly higher, while intakes of protein, total fat, saturated fat, oleic and linoleic acids, cholesterol, sodium, all red meats, high-fat dairy products, eggs, nuts, white bread, fried potatoes, desserts, fats, and oils were much lower in the quartile with the lowest percentage of calories from fat. These dietary patterns associated with a low-fat diet were essentially constant across strata of age, sex, race, and socioeconomic status. This study suggests that individuals on a low-fat diet substitute certain carbohydrate-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables for fat. Given these associations between low-fat diets and other dietary factors independently associated with certain cancers, these dietary factors should be considered potential confounders in studies of dietary fat and these cancers.     

Effect of ectoparasite removal procedures on recapture of Microtus californicus

We tested the null hypothesis that anesthetizing meadow voles (Microtus californicus) and brushing them vigorously for ectoparasites would have no effect on the later recapture of these voles. Voles were trapped from 6 December 1993 to 10 January 1994 at Faye Slough Wildlife Area near Eureka, Humboldt County, California (USA). Alternate trapped voles were anesthetized with ethyl ether and brushed vigorously for ectoparasites. There was no significant difference in the frequency of recapture nor in the time to first recapture between those voles anesthetized and brushed, compared to control animals.