The severity of atopic dermatitis and analysis of the food hypersensitivity reactions

Aim of this study is to evaluate the dependence between the occurrence of food hypersensitivity reactions and the severity of atopic dermatitis. The detailed personal history about the food hypersensitivity reactions was recorded and the severity of atopic dermatitis was evaluated with SCORAD index. The statistical evaluation of the dependence between the occurrence of food hypersensitivity reactions and the severity of atopic dermatitis was performed. Two hundred and eighty-five patients were examined – 90 men and 195 women, average age 26.2 (s.d. = 9.5). The significant dependence between the severity of atopic dermatitis and the occurrence of food hypersensitivity reactions was confirmed; 96% of patients with severe form of atopic dermatitis suffer from food reactions. In evaluating the single foods, the significant dependence was found between the severity of atopic dermatitis and the reactions to nuts, apples, and fishes.     

Insomnia and incident depression: role of objective sleep duration and natural history

Longitudinal studies that have examined the association of insomnia with incident depression using objective sleep measures are very limited. The aim of this study was to examine the predictive role of the severity of insomnia for incident depression in a general population sample using psychometric and polysomnographic data. From a random, general population sample of 1741 individuals of the Penn State Adult Cohort, 1137 adults without depression were followed up with a structured telephone interview after 7.5 years. All subjects completed a full medical evaluation, 1‐night polysomnogram and Multiphasic Minnesota Personality Inventory at baseline. The incidence of depression was 15%. Poor sleep (odds ratio = 1.5, P = 0.001) and insomnia (odds ratio = 1.9, P = 0.031) were significantly associated with incident depression. The odds of incident depression were highest (odds ratio = 2.2, P = 0.019) in insomnia with objective short sleep duration and independent of Multiphasic Minnesota Personality Inventory Ego Strength scores, an index of poor coping resources. The persistence of insomnia and worsening of poor sleep into insomnia significantly increased the odds of incident depression (odds ratios ranged from 1.8 to 6.3), whereas their full remission did not (odds ratio ranged from 1.2 to 1.8). Insomnia with short sleep duration is associated with incident depression independent of poor coping resources, whereas the association of insomnia with normal sleep duration with incident depression was mediated by poor coping resources. Persistence and worsening of poor sleep or insomnia, but not their full remission, are significant predictors of incident depression. These data suggest that there is a significant relationship between the severity of insomnia and incident depression.     

A genome-wide association study of suicide severity scores in bipolar disorder

BackgroundSuicide claims one million lives worldwide annually, making it a serious public health concern. The risk for suicidal behaviour can be partly explained by genetic factors, as suggested by twin and family studies (reviewed in (Zai et al. 2012)). Recently, genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of suicide attempt on large samples of bipolar disorder (BD) patients from multiple sites have identified a number of novel candidate genes. GWASs of suicide behaviour severity, from suicidal ideation to serious suicide attempt, have not been reported for BD.MethodsWe conducted a GWAS of suicide behaviour severity in three independent BD samples:212 small nuclear families with BD probands from Toronto, Canada, 428 BD cases from Toronto, and 483 BD cases from the UK. We carried out imputation with 1000 Genome Project data as reference using IMPUTE2. Quality control and data analysis was conducted using PLINK and R. We conducted the quantitative analyses of suicide behaviour severity in the three samples separately, and derived an overall significance by a meta-analysis using the METAL software.ResultsWe did not find genome-wide significant association of any tested markers in any of the BD samples, but we found a number of suggestive associations, including regions on chromosomes 8 and 10 (p < 1e-5).ConclusionsOur GWAS findings suggest that likely many gene variants of small effects contribute collectively to the risk for suicidal behaviour severity in BD. Larger independent replications are required to strengthen the findings from the GWAS presented here.     

Disagreement between self-reported and clinician-ascertained suicidal ideation and its correlation with depression and anxiety severity in patients with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder

ObjectivesTo study the disagreement between self-reported suicidal ideation (SR-SI) and clinician-ascertained suicidal ideation (CA-SI) and its correlation with depression and anxiety severity in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar disorder (BPD).MethodsRoutine clinical outpatients were diagnosed with the MINI-STEP-BD version. SR-SI was extracted from the 16 Item Quick Inventory of Depression Symptomatology Self-Report (QIDS-SR-16) item 12. CA-SI was extracted from a modified Suicide Assessment module of the MINI. Depression and anxiety severity were measured with the QIDS-SR-16 and Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale. Chi-square, Fisher exact, and bivariate linear logistic regression were used for analyses.ResultsOf 103 patients with MDD, 5.8% endorsed any CA-SI and 22.4% endorsed any SR-SI. Of the 147 patients with BPD, 18.4% endorsed any CA-SI and 35.9% endorsed any SR-SI. The agreement between any SR-SI and any CA-SI was 83.5% for MDD and 83.1% for BPD, with weighted Kappa of 0.30 and 0.43, respectively. QIDS-SR-16 score, female gender, and ≥4 year college education were associated with increased risk for disagreement, 15.44 ± 4.52 versus 18.39 ± 3.49 points (p = 0.0026), 67% versus 46% (p = 0.0783), and 61% versus 29% (p = 0.0096). The disagreement was positively correlated to depression severity in both MDD and BPD with a correlation coefficient R² = 0.40 and 0.79, respectively, but was only positively correlated to anxiety severity in BPD with a R² = 0.46.ConclusionSelf-reported questionnaire was more likely to reveal higher frequency and severity of SI than clinician-ascertained, suggesting that a combination of self-reported and clinical-ascertained suicidal risk assessment with measuring depression and anxiety severity may be necessary for suicide prevention.     

缺血性脑卒中患者发病前服用抗血小板药对疾病严重程度及转归的影响

目的:探讨缺血性脑卒中患者发病前抗血小板药物的应用对患者病情严重程度及疾病转归的影响。方法:98例缺血性脑卒中患者根据发病前是否应用抗血小板药物分为观察组与对照组,入院后均给予吸氧、降颅压、抗血小板等常规治疗,对比两组患者入院时美国国立卫生研究院卒中量表(NIHSS)评分、颅脑卒中面积、治疗1周时颅内出血发生率、症状性颅内出血发生率、死亡率,并于发病第90天时采用改良Rankin量表评估患者预后。结果:两组患者入院时NIHSS评分及颅脑CT卒中面积比较差异均无统计学意义(P>0.05);治疗1周时两组患者颅内出血发生率、症状性颅内出血发生率以及死亡率比较,差异均无统计学意义(P>0.05);发病第90天两组患者预后良好率及预后不良率比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论:缺血性脑卒中患者发病前应用抗血小板药物并未对疾病的严重程度及转归造成明显影响。     

经胸冠状动脉超声血流动力学参数评价冠状动脉狭窄程度

目的 探讨经胸冠状动脉超声(TTE)血流动力学参数评估冠状动脉狭窄程度的价值。方法 回顾性分析56例可疑冠心病患者的影像资料。测量冠状动脉正常组(无狭窄)、轻度狭窄组(狭窄率<50%)、中度狭窄组(狭窄率50%~69%)及重度狭窄组(狭窄率70%~99%)狭窄处TTE舒张期峰值流速(PDV),其远端最慢处流速(PDV_DIS)及流速比值(PDV/PDV_DIS)。并进行统计学分析。结果 TTE显示良好彩色血流的血管分支共113支;以CAG为金标准,其中冠状动脉正常组18支,轻度狭窄组19支,中度狭窄组30支,重度狭窄组46支。轻度狭窄组PDV、PDV/PDV_DIS与冠状动脉正常组差异均无统计学意义(P均>0.05)。中度狭窄组PDV、PDV/PDV_DIS高于冠状动脉正常组(t=5.13、7.11)和轻度狭窄组(t=4.45、6.59),重度狭窄组PDV、PDV/PDV_DIS高于冠状动脉正常组(t=10.63、11.43)、轻度狭窄组(t=10.06、11.04)和中度狭窄组(t=7.07、5.17),差异均有统计学意义(P均<0.05)。PDV、PDV/PDV_DIS与狭窄率呈正相关(r=0.82、0.87,P<0.01)。诊断冠状动脉中、重度狭窄时,PDV阈值分别为40.48、58.52 cm/s,敏感度分别为86.67%、86.96%,特异度分别为86.49%、92.54%;PDV/PDV_DIS阈值分别为1.44、1.98,敏感度分别为90.00%、82.61%,特异度分别为97.30%、89.55%。结论 冠状动脉狭窄率与TTE血流动力学参数有关,PDV及PDV/PDV_DIS可用以评价冠状动脉狭窄程度。     

Relationship between symptoms and health-related quality of life in chronic lung disease

The authors studied the relationship between patient self-reported symptoms and responses to a general measure of health-related quality of life [Short Form 36 (SF-36)] for 102 patients who had chronic lung disease [forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁)<70%]. The primary diagnoses were chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma; the mean age was 62 years, and 46% were women. Based upon Medical Research Council (MRC) symptom scores, the patients’ disease severity was classified as mild (21%), moderate (22%), or severe (57%). The SF-36 scores differed significantly between disease severity groups in domains of health perception, physical functioning, physical role, and energy. The SF-36 physical functioning and Oxygen Cost Diagram scores correlated well (r=0.78). The authors conclude that SF-36 is a useful and valid measure of general health status in patients with chronic lung disorders. Supported in part by educational grants from Glaxo Canada, Inc., and Schering-Phlough Research Institute. This work was completed while Dr. Viramontes was an INCLEN graduate student at McMaster University sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation.     

Patterns and severity of vincristine‐induced peripheral neuropathy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Vincristine, a critical component of combination chemotherapy treatment for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), can lead to vincristine‐induced peripheral neuropathy (VIPN). Longitudinal VIPN assessments were obtained over 12 months from newly diagnosed children with ALL (N = 128) aged 1–18 years who received vincristine at one of four academic children's hospitals. VIPN assessments were obtained using the Total Neuropathy Score‐Pediatric Vincristine (TNS©‐PV), National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE©), Balis© grading scale, and Pediatric Neuropathic Pain Scale©–Five (PNPS©‐5). Of children who provided a full TNS©‐PV score, 85/109 (78%) developed VIPN (TNS©‐PV ≥4). Mean TNS©‐PV, grading scale, and pain scores were low. CTCAE©‐derived grades 3 and 4 sensory and motor VIPN occurred in 1.6%/0%, and 1.9%/0% of subjects, respectively. VIPN did not resolve in months 8–12 despite decreasing dose density. VIPN was worse in older children. Partition cluster analysis revealed 2–3 patient clusters; one cluster (n = 14) experienced severe VIPN. In this population, VIPN occurs more commonly than previous research suggests, persists throughout the first year of treatment, and can be severe.