Assisted circulation to the right ventricle through pulmonary counterpulsation using a biological method

The association between asthma exacerbations and use of antiasthmatics has been studied with a drug dispensing database. Exacerbations were identified through use of oral corticosteroids and the risk was determined for each medication. use of fenoterol and oral xanthines increases the frequency of exacerbations, but a channelling phenomenon is not excluded. This method could be used in the study of treatment combinations or new treatments, facilitating the monitoring of asthmatic populations. A second study collects ambulatory drug use data (POM and OTC drugs) of elderly patients. These data are analysed for the distribution of several variables, such as concomitant use of several medications of the same therapeutic class. As an example, about 15 per cent of NSAIDs users also use aspirin, exposing themselves to increased risk for gastrointestinal effects. These studies illustrate the use of drug dispensing databases in monitoring populations at risk and assessing treatment quality.     

The sequelae of the intraspecific isolation of adult rats (right-handed, left-handed and ambidextrous animals)

We studied the influence of social isolation at the age of 2 months on zoosocial behaviour of mixed-bred male rats with different paw preference. Paw preference was determined in the test of reaching for food in the horizontal tube. The level of aggression but not sociability was found to increase significantly in dextral and ambidextrous late isolants. In sinistrals the increase of sociability but not aggression was observed. Analysis of probabilistic ethological structure of aggressive behaviour showed its validity and revealed the appearance of pathological aggression as a result of isolation in all groups of animals. Being connected with a disfunction of the regulating role of the right brain hemisphere this feature of aggressive behaviour is most pronounced in dextrals and ambidextrals.     

On the recording of sample times and parameter estimation from repeated measures pharmacokinetic data

A pharmacokinetic screen has been advocated for the characterization of the population pharmacokinetics of drugs during Phase 3 clinical trials. A common perception encountered in the collection of such data is that the accuracy of sampling times relative to dose is inadequate. A prospective simulation study was carried out to evaluate the effect of error in the recording of sampling times on the accuracy and precision of population parameter estimates from repeated measures pharmacokinetic data. A two-compartment model with intravenous bolus input(s) (single and multiple doses) was assumed. Random and systematic error in sampling times ranging from 5-50% using profile (block) randomized design were introduced. Sampling times were simulated in EXCEL while concentration data simulation and analysis were done in NONMEM. The effect of error in sampling times was studied at levels of variability ranging from 15-45% for a drug assumed to be dosed at its elimination half-life. One hundred replicate data sets of 100 subjects each were simulated for each case. Although estimates of clearance (CL) and variability in clearance were robust for most of the sampling time errors, there was an increase in bias and imprecision in overall parameter estimation as intersubject variability was increased. If there is interest in parameters other than CL, then the design of prospective population studies should include procedures for minimizing the error in the recording of sample times relative to dosing history.     

A family with a syndrome of ectopia lentis, spontaneous filtering blebs, and craniofacial dysmorphism

Six members of a family presented with a syndrome of mild facial dysmorphism, subluxation of the crystalline lenses, variable degrees of angle closure by iridocorneal adhesions, and patchy areas of iris atrophy. Three nonoperated eyes of two patients had spontaneous filtering blebs that presented as avascular cystic elevations of the superior conjunctiva. Systemic workup of all patients was negative for evidence of diseases known to be associated with dislocated lenses. The pedigree is most compatible with autosomal recessive inheritance with pseudodominance.     

Comparative characteristics of steroidogenesis and its biorhythm in the hyperfunctioning adrenal cortex

The paper summarizes the results od several studies of the daily rhythms of steroid hormones in patients with ACTH-dependent Itsenko-Cushing's disease (CD) and congenital adrenal hyperplasia (late-onset forms) (CAH). Normal daily rhythms of adrenal C21- and C19-steroids and ACTH were observed in 23.5% of CD patients. CAH patients had the marked daily rhythms of adrenal androgens and testosterone which were typical of those of cortisole. The ratios of steroid hormones to its precursors provide evidence for enhanced activities of 17-, 11 beta- and 18-hydroxylases in CD patients and normal enzymatic activities in CAH patients, whereas 21-hydroxylase being an exception.     

Autoradiographic evidence that quinuclidinyl 4-(bromophenyl)-2-thienylglycolate (QBPTG) displays in vivo selectivity for the muscarinic m2 subtype

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of expanding the vital signs to include smoking status. DESIGN: We prospectively conducted exit interviews with patients at a general internal medicine clinic in Madison, Wisconsin, during a 16-month period from 1991 to 1993. METHODS: Patients were surveyed briefly before (N = 870) and after (N = 994) the implementation of a simple institutional change in clinical practice. This change involved training the staff in how to use progress notepaper with a vital sign stamp that included smoking status (current, former, or never) along with the traditional vital signs. Included in the survey were questions about whether the patient smoked, whether the patient was asked that day about smoking status (by a clinician or other staff), and, for smokers, whether they were urged to quit smoking and given specific advice on how to do so. RESULTS: After expansion of the vital signs, patients were much more likely to report inquiries about their smoking status on the day of a clinic visit (an increase from approximately 58% at baseline to 81% at intervention; P < 0.0001). The vital sign intervention was associated with significant increases in the percentage of smokers who reported that their clinician advised them that day to quit smoking (from approximately 49% at baseline to 70% during the intervention; P < 0.01) and in the percentage who reported that their clinician gave them specific advice that day on how to stop smoking (from approximately 24% at baseline to 43% during the intervention; P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Expanding the vital signs to include smoking status was associated with a dramatic increase in the rate of identifying patients who smoke and of intervening to encourage and assist with smoking cessation. This simple, low-cost intervention may effectively prompt clinicians to inquire about use of tobacco and offer recommendations to smokers.     

A study of the biological properties of cholera phages and strains of El-Tor vibrions isolated from the external environment in Donetsk

Choleric phages were identified in 2 out of 44 samples of Donetsk sewage. Biological properties of phages were characterized.