Smoking restrictions and hospitalization for acute coronary events in Germany

Aims  

To study the effects of smoking restrictions in Germany on coronary syndromes and their associated costs.     

Clinical features and X‐inactivation in females heterozygous for creatine transporter defect

van de Kamp JM, Mancini GMS, Pouwels PJW, Betsalel OT, van Dooren SJM, de Koning I, Steenweg ME, Jakobs C, van der Knaap MS, Salomons GS. Clinical features and X‐inactivation in females heterozygous for creatine transporter defect. The creatine transporter defect is an X‐linked cause of mental retardation. We investigated the clinical features and pattern of X‐inactivation in a Dutch cohort of eight female heterozygotes. We show that symptoms of the creatine transporter defect (mental retardation, learning difficulties, and constipation) can be present in female heterozygotes. We further show that the diagnosis in females is not straightforward: (i) The creatine/creatinine ratio in urine was elevated only in three of eight females. (ii) Although as a group the females had a significantly decreased cerebral creatine concentration, individual females had creatine concentrations overlapping with normal controls. (iii) Skewed X‐inactivation was found in the cultured fibroblasts, in favour of either the mutated or the wild‐type allele, leading to either deficient or normal results in the creatine uptake studies in fibroblasts. Thus, screening by these tests is unreliable for the diagnosis. In addition, we found no consistent skewing of the X‐inactivation in peripheral tissues indicating that there is no selection against the creatine transporter defect. We conclude that testing for creatine transporter defect should be considered in females with (mild) mental retardation. Screening by DNA analysis of the SLC6A8 gene is recommended.     

Characterisation of microvessel blood velocity and segment length in the brain using multi-diffusion-time diffusion-weighted MRI

Multi-diffusion-time diffusion-weighted MRI can probe tissue microstructure, but the method has not been widely applied to the microvasculature. At long diffusion-times, blood flow in capillaries is in the diffusive regime, and signal attenuation is dependent on blood velocity (v) and capillary segment length (l). It is described by the pseudo-diffusion coefficient (D*=vl/6) of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM). At shorter diffusion-times, blood flow is in the ballistic regime, and signal attenuation depends on v, and not l. In theory, l could be estimated using D* and v. In this study, we compare the accuracy and repeatability of three approaches to estimating v, and therefore l: the IVIM ballistic model, the velocity autocorrelation model, and the ballistic approximation to the velocity autocorrelation model. Twenty-nine rat datasets from two strains were acquired at 7 T, with b-values between 0 and 1000 smm⁻² and diffusion times between 11.6 and 50 ms. Five rats were scanned twice to assess scan-rescan repeatability. Measurements of l were validated using corrosion casting and micro-CT imaging. The ballistic approximation of the velocity autocorrelation model had lowest bias relative to corrosion cast estimates of l, and had highest repeatability.     

Use of I-131 labeled, murine Fab against a high molecular weight antigen of human melanoma: preliminary experience

High molecular weight antigen (HMWA) is a tumor-associated proteoglycan of human malignant melanoma. I-131 labeled Fab fragments of these specific antibodies were used for preliminary feasibility studies for radioimmunodetection and therapy of human subjects who had inoperable metastatic melanoma. Ten patients received tracer doses of 5-13 mCi (185-481 MBq) of I-131 (anti-HMWA) Fab. All patients (8/8) who had melanoma lesions greater than 1 cm by correlative diagnostic methods had one or more lesions that had localization to tumor of the radiolabeled Fab. In all, 17 of 23 (74%) documented metastases were seen. There were no false positives in this series. Two patients who had avid uptake received potentially radiotherapeutic doses of 142 mCi (5,254 MBq) (one patient) and 181 mCi (6,697 MBq) and 193 (7,141 MBq) (total: 374 mCi or 13,838 MBq) (one patient). For both of these patients, whole body imaging studies showed that the localization of the high dose I-131 Fab was predominantly in tumor. The patient who received the larger dose showed a greater than 50% reduction in the size of pelvic and pericaval nodes, with stabilization of disease at the smaller nodal size for a period of three months. On whole body images, the anti-Fab HMWA appears to be more tumor selective than Fab preparations that target the p97 antigen for melanoma, and there is less uptake in liver.     

Length of the menstrual cycle after discontinuation of oral contraceptives

Objective To investigate whether the first cycle after stopping oral contraceptive (OC) intake had a normal duration.

Methods A retrospective study was performed in 680 women, 300 non-OC users and 380 women discontinuing OC intake. The length of one or two menstrual cycles was recorded.

Results In the non-user group, the median duration of both the first and second cycle was 29 days (range 18–97 and 20–56 days, respectively). In the OC user group the median duration from withdrawal bleeding until next menstruation was 30 (15–82) days. The second cycle lasted 29 (17–122) days. The duration of the first post-treatment cycle was not significantly different from the next cycle or the cycle length in non-users. When the subjects were divided into different age categories, a significantly longer first post–treatment cycle was observed in the group aged 18–24 years, but a shorter first post-treatment cycle in the group aged 25–29 years. No differences were seen in the higher age groups. The ethinyl estradiol dose of the OC preparation did not influence the results.

Conclusions The first cycle after OC discontinuation had a normal duration.     

Nationwide shifts in the double burden of overweight and underweight in Vietnamese adults in 2000 and 2005: two national nutrition surveys

Background  

In developing countries, overweight prevalence is increasing while underweight prevalence is still high. This situation is known as the double nutrition burden. Both underweight and overweight are related to increased risk of chronic non-communicable diseases, reduced well-being and quality of life. This study aims to compare the prevalence of overweight and underweight among Vietnamese adults in 2000 and 2005.     

Activation of Group II Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors Inhibits the Discriminative Stimulus Effects of Alcohol via Selective Activity Within the Amygdala

Metabotropic glutamate receptor subtypes (mGlu2/3) regulate a variety of alcohol-associated behaviors, including alcohol reinforcement, and relapse-like behavior. To date, the role of mGlu2/3 receptors in modulating the discriminative stimulus effects of alcohol has not been examined. Given that the discriminative stimulus effects of drugs are determinants of abuse liability and can influence drug seeking, we examined the contributions of mGlu2/3 receptors in modulating the discriminative stimulus effects of alcohol. In male Long-Evans rats trained to discriminate between alcohol (1 g/kg, IG) and water, the mGlu2/3 agonist {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"LY379268","term_id":"1257807854","term_text":"LY379268"}}LY379268 (0.3–10 mg/kg) did not produce alcohol-like stimulus effects. However, pretreatment with {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"LY379268","term_id":"1257807854","term_text":"LY379268"}}LY379268 (1 and 3 mg/kg; in combination with alcohol) inhibited the stimulus effects of alcohol (1 g/kg). Systemic {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"LY379268","term_id":"1257807854","term_text":"LY379268"}}LY379268 (3 mg/kg, i.p.) was associated with increases in neuronal activity within the amygdala, but not the nucleus accumbens, as assessed by c-Fos immunoreactivity. Intra-amygdala activation of mGlu2/3 receptors by {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"LY379268","term_id":"1257807854","term_text":"LY379268"}}LY379268 (6 μg) inhibited the discriminative stimulus effects of alcohol, without altering response rate. In contrast, intra-accumbens {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"LY379268","term_id":"1257807854","term_text":"LY379268"}}LY379268 (3 μg) profoundly reduced response rate; however, at lower {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"LY379268","term_id":"1257807854","term_text":"LY379268"}}LY379268 doses (0.3, 1 μg), the discriminative stimulus effects of alcohol and response rate were not altered. These data suggest that amygdala mGlu2/3 receptors have a functional role in modulating the discriminative stimulus properties of alcohol and demonstrate differential motor sensitivity to activation of mGlu2/3 receptors in the amygdala and the accumbens. Understanding the neuronal mechanisms that underlie the discriminative stimulus effects of alcohol may prove to be important for future development of pharmacotherapies for treating alcoholism.