Education Outcomes of Children Born Late Preterm: A Retrospective Whole-Population Cohort Study

Maternal and Child Health Journal - Early life exposures can have an impact on a child’s developmental trajectory and children born late preterm (34–36 weeks gestational age)...     

Protriptyline in obstructive sleep apnea: a double-blind trial

We evaluated protriptyline, a nonsedating tricyclic antidepressant, as a treatment for obstructive sleep apnea in a double-blind crossover study of five men. After two weeks of treatment, with no change in body weight, daytime somnolence was markedly reduced and nocturnal oxygenation was improved, although apnea duration and frequency were not significantly decreased. Rapid-eye-movement (REM) stage time as a fraction of the total sleep time was reduced during treatment from 0.231 +/- 0.031 to 0.107 +/- 0.013 (mean +/- S.E.M.) (P less than 0.05). REM apnea time as a fraction of total sleep time was reduced from 0.145 +/- 0.022 to 0.054 +/- 0.006 (P less than 0.05). REM reduction during treatment with protriptyline can account for decreased REM apnea time. Similar decreases in REM stage time and REM apnea duration and similar improvement in oxygenation continued after six months of treatment. In addition, body weight, apnea, and arousal frequency were decreased at this time. Although the obstructive sleep apnea was not resolved, it was reduced. Protriptyline can be effective in patients with sleep apnea when the disorder is not life-threatening.     

Errata

The online version of the original article can be found at     

Interpretation of venous occlusion plethysmography using a nonlinear model

Venous occlusion plethysmography (VOP) is a noninvasive technique widely employed for the detection of deep-vein thrombosis. Previous reports that VOP outflow curves are closely fit by a first-order exponential suggest that venous compliance and resistance are nearly constant. Typically, however, the venous compliance function has a sigmoid shape; in addition, the resistance in a collapsing tube must increase. This paradox was resolved by the surprising finding that for realistic nonlinear compliance and resistance these nonlinearities cancel, producing a quasilinear venous outflow that approximates a simple exponential.     

Responses to tones and noise of single cells in dorsal cochlear nucleus of unanesthetized cats.

1. Single-unit responses in the dorsal cochlear nucleus of unanesthetized, decerebrate cats have been divided into two categoreis. These have been differentiated on the basis of responses to best-frequency tones. Type IV units responded to best-frequency tones with excitation from threshold to about 20 or 30 dB above threshold; at higher levels, their response was inhibitory. In a few cases, the excitatory area near threshold was not seen and in a few others, the response became excitatory again at high levels. Type IV units could be divided into two groups based on the length of time that inhibition was maintained in response to long tones. Type IV units are not seen in anesthetized cats. 2. Type II/III units responded to best-frequency tones of all levels with excitation. Nonmonotonic rate versus level functions were seen in type II/III units, but they were of much less drastic character; the discharge rate of nonmonotonic type II/III units was still well above spontaneous rate for tones 50 dB above threshold. Type II/III units defined in this way were found to have, on the average, lower rates of spontaneous activity and higher thresholds than type IV units. 3. Type II/III units responded weakly to broad-band noise in comparison to auditory nerve fibers and many of them did not respond at all to noise. Type IV units, with best frequencies above 0.9 kHz, gave excitatory responses to noise. 4. The inhibitory response areas of type IV units could be divided into two areas: a central inhibitory area in the vicinity of best frequency where on- and off-discharges and afterdischarges were seen; and inhibitory side bands at higher and lower frequencies where simple inhibitory responses were seen. In four units, it was possible to show that the central inhibitory area was converted to an excitatory area after administration of an anesthetic dose of pentobarbital. 5. Most type II/III and type IV units could be excited or inhibited by stimuli in the contralateral ear. Broad-band noise was a more effective contralateral stimulus than tones at the ipsilateral best frequency. 6. On the basis of the properties of type II/III and type IV cells, it is suggested that type II/III responses are recorded from interneurons which provide a large share of the inhibitory imput to type IV cells.