Effects of chronic administration of alcohol on neural mechanisms of arterial blood pressure regulation]

Metaphor comprehension was studied in schizophrenics as compared to psychiatric and nonpsychiatric controls. Subjects were asked in a two-condition forced-choice response task to detect the metaphor similar or contrary to a proverb with an abstract meaning. Schizophrenic patients were impaired in both conditions. However, the paranoid patients' performances did not differ from psychiatric and nonpsychiatric controls. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the ability of metaphorizing is preserved in some schizophrenic patients.     

A study of the educational and research priorities of registered nurses in rural Australia

This study set out to identify the educational and research priorities of registered nurses practising in rural and remote areas of Australia. It included two groups of participants, one which identified as rural and another which identified as remote. The findings for the rural cohort in the study are presented in this article. Research participants represented a national sample. The Delphi method was used to obtain the most reliable consensus of the nurse participants. In the final phase of the study, 13 high priorities were identified. Study findings highlight perceived needs for clinical nursing research and continuing education for nurses practising in rural Australia.     

Meperidine: therapeutic use and toxicity

Meperidine is a synthetic opioid analgesic frequently prescribed in the emergency department. Meperidine is most often administered intramuscularly or intravenously, due to its poor oral bioavailability, and is metabolized extensively by the liver. Analgesic effects usually last 3-4 hours with parenteral administration, and some adverse effects such as nausea may be reduced when meperidine is combined with antiemetic or antihistaminic medications. Although meperidine is often a preferred analgesic by both patients and physicians in the treatment of disorders such as migraine headaches, its analgesic efficacy has rarely proven superior to alternative parenteral pain medications in controlled trials. In addition, meperidine can precipitate monoamine oxidase inhibitor reactions, and during metabolism it is demethylated to normeperidine, a compound with significant central nervous system (CNS) toxicity. Meperidine should be considered a second line agent in the treatment of pain when opioid analgesics are required.     

Emotional arousal and overeating in restrained eaters.

Tested the effects of 3 mood inductions (neutral, positive, and negative) on food intake in 91 women of varying degrees of dietary restraint. Mood induction was accomplished by exposure to 1 of 3 film segments: a travelogue (neutral affect), a comedy film (positive affect), and a horror film (negative affect). In Ss exposed to the neutral film, food intake decreased with increasing levels of dietary restraint. Among Ss who viewed either the comedy film or the horror film, however, food intake increased with increasing restraint. Although the horror film appeared to be more disinhibiting than the comedy film, this effect may have resulted from a difference in the intensity of the emotions induced rather than from their valence. These results suggest that emotional arousal, regardless of valence, may trigger overeating among restrained eaters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differences in lipoprotein lipid concentration and composition modify the plasma distribution of cyclosporine

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to define the relationship between lipoprotein (LP) lipid concentration and composition and the distribution of cyclosporine (CSA) in human plasma. METHODS: 3H-CSA LP distribution was determined in normolipidemic human plasma that had been separated into different LP and lipoprotein-deficient plasma (LPDP) fractions by either affinity chromatography coupled with ultracentrifugation, density gradient ultracentrifugation or fast protein liquid chromatography. 3H-CSA LP distribution (at a concentration of 1000 ng/ml) was also determined in patient plasma samples with defined dyslipidemias. Furthermore, 3H-CSA LP distribution was determined in patient plasma samples of varying LP lipid concentrations. Following incubation, the plasma samples were separated into their LP and LPDP fractions by sequential phosphotungistic acid precipitation in the dyslipidemia studies and by density gradient ultracentrifugation in the specific lipid profile studies and assayed for CSA by radioactivity. Total plasma and lipoprotein cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and protein (TP) concentrations in each sample were determined by enzymatic assays. RESULTS: When the LP distribution of CSA was determined using three different LP separation techniques, the percent of CSA recovered in the LP-rich fraction was greater than 90% and the LP binding profiles were similar with most of the drug bound to plasma high-density (HDL) and low-density (LDL) lipoproteins. When 3H-CSA was incubated in dyslipidemic human plasma or specific patient plasma of varying LP lipid concentrations the following relationships were observed. As the very low-density (VLDL) and LDL cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations increased, the percent of CSA recovered within the VLDL and LDL fractions increased. The percent of CSA recovered within the HDL fraction significantly decreased as HDL triglyceride concentrations increased. The percent of CSA recovered in the LPDP fraction remained constant except in hypercholesterolemic/hypertriglyceridemic plasma where the percent of CSA recovered decreased. Furthermore, increases in VLDL and HDL TG/TC ratio resulted in a greater percentage of CSA recovered in VLDL but less in HDL. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that changes in the total and plasma LP lipid concentration and composition influence the LP binding of CSA and may explain differences in the pharmacological activity and toxicity of CSA when administered to patients with different lipid profiles.     

On the many faces of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy

Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a maternally inherited disorder, associated with mutations in the mitochondrial DNA, which is notorious for its aspecific presentations. Two pedigrees are described with cases that are atypical for LHON with respect to sex, age of onset, interval between the eyes becoming affected, course of the disease, concomitant disorders, additional test results, final visual acuity, and/or results of mtDNA analysis. Moreover, the pedigrees themselves did not suggest maternal inheritance. We analysed the diagnostic and clinical genetic difficulties related to the atypical aspects of these pedigrees. We conclude that mtDNA analysis is justified in every case of optic nerve atrophy with no clear cause. Identification of one of the three LHON specifically associated mtDNA mutations is essential to confirm the diagnosis.     

Live attenuated SIV vaccines are not effective in a postexposure vaccination model

We examined the immunohistochemical expression of proliferating-cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and p53 proteins in dysplasia and intramucosal carcinoma of the esophagus. Immunohistochemistry was performed with monoclonal antibodies directed against PCNA and p53. We used surgically resected specimens from 29 patients who had a total of 55 lesions of severe dysplasia (n = 16), intraepithelial carcinoma (n = 21), and mucosal carcinoma (n = 18). The mean PCNA index with immunoreactivity for p53 was 48.9 +/- 6.5 in areas of severe dysplasia (n = 7), 58.2 +/- 7.3 in areas of intraepithelial carcinoma (n = 10), and 71.4 +/- 9.3 in the invasive areas of mucosal carcinoma (n = 10). The mean PCNA index without immunoreactivity for p53 was 41.2 +/- 5.5 in areas of severe dysplasia (n = 9), 48.0 +/- 7.4 in areas of intraepithelial carcinoma (n = 11), and 63.7 +/- 9.1 in invasive areas of mucosal carcinoma (n = 8). The PCNA indices of the areas of severe dysplasia with immunoreactivity for p53 were significantly lower than those of intraepithelial carcinoma and mucosal carcinoma with immunoreactivity for p53. Similarly, the PCNA indices of severe dysplasia without immunoreactivity for p53 were significantly lower than those of intraepithelial carcinoma and mucosal carcinoma without immunoreactivity for p53. These results thus suggest that severe dysplasia has a lower proliferative potential than carcinoma and may therefore represent a precancerous lesion.     

Low sodium levels in serum are associated with subsequent febrile seizures

Fever plays an important role in causing disturbances in fluid and electrolyte balance. Hyponatraemia has been thought to enhance the susceptibility to seizures associated with febrile illnesses in childhood. We have studied serum electrolyte levels in children with simple and complicated febrile convulsions. Sodium levels were lower in those children with complicated convulsions in comparison with those having simple convulsions (136.07 +/- 3.06 mmoll-1, mean +/- SD, n = 42, and 137.62 +/- 2.63 mmoll-1, n = 71, respectively; p < 0.01, Student's t-test). The sodium concentrations were lowest in children with repeated seizures (134.20 +/- 2.30 mmoll-1, n = 15) compared with children having simple (p < 0.01, ANOVA, Duncan's test) or other complicated types of febrile convulsions: focal seizures (137.08 +/- 3.82 mmoll-1, n = 12, p < 0.01), seizures lasting longer than 15 minutes (138.00 +/- 2.45 mmoll-1, n = 5, p < 0.05) and children over 5 years (136.70 +/- 2.06 mmoll-1, n = 10, p < 0.05). Serum potassium levels showed no statistically significant differences between the patient groups. Our results show that hyponatraemia may increase the risk for multiple convulsions during the same febrile illness.