Inpatient mortality of hip fracture patients in the Veterans Health Administration.

Hip fractures among elderly people frequently result in permanent disabilities, nursing home placement, and death. The bulk of hip fracture research focuses on elderly women. Within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the majority of patients are men. There are no published national reports on hip fractures with large male samples, or on related inpatient mortality among veterans. This retrospective study of 13,546 veterans with hip fracture discharges from 1998-2002 found unadjusted mortality rates are higher in the VHA, compared with the general population. VHA patients tend to be older men in poor health who stay in the hospital longer Increased knowledge about the risks and outcomes associated with hip fractures in men could lead to improved primary and secondary injury-prevention programs. Rehabilitation nurses in acute care can be catalysts in proactively incorporating protective devices, screening for osteoporosis, and initiating lifestyle changes in their plans of care to optimize outcomes for hip fracture patients.     

Prevalence of primary late-onset focal dystonia in the Belgrade population.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to estimate the prevalence of different subtypes of idiopathic focal dystonia in the population of Belgrade (Serbia), Yugoslavia. On December 31, 2001, the crude prevalence of all studied types of dystonia (focal, segmental, and multifocal) in Belgrade was 13.6 per 100,000 population (11.8 per 100,000 for men and 15.2 per 100,000 for women). Type-specific prevalence for focal dystonia was 11.2 per 100,000. The prevalence for cervical dystonia, blepharospasm, writer's cramp and laryngeal dystonia were 5.9 per 100,000, 1.9 per 100,000, 1.9 per 100,000, and 1.1 per 100,000, respectively.     

Protective effect of interferon-α on the DNA- and RNA-degrading pathway in anti-Fas-antibody induced apoptosis

Aim: Fas membrane-associated polypeptide antigen is a receptor molecule responsible for apoptosis-mediated signals. In animal models of acute viral hepatitis, apoptosis of hepatocytes is mediated by Fas-death receptors; therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of interferon (IFN)-alpha on apoptotic markers and nuclease activity against different coding and non-coding single and double stranded RNAs during Fas-induced liver apoptosis. Methods: An in vivo experiment was performed with simultaneous administration of anti-Fas (CD95) antibodies and IFN-alpha, and an in vitro experiment was performed in hepatocyte cultures treated with anti-Fas antibodies and IFN-alpha. Results: Detection of apoptosis using Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide, Bcl-2 and Bax expression in hepatocyte cultures confirmed the appearance of early apoptotic events and progression toward late apoptosis after anti-Fas antibody treatment. IFN-alpha had a tendency to retard the apoptosis process in Fas-induced apoptosis by increasing the number of viable cells and decreasing the number of cells in late apoptosis, by increasing the percentage of Bcl-2 positive cells, by decreasing the percentage of Bax positive cells, and by decreasing the nuclease activity compared to the anti-Fas antibody treated group. Total DNA and RNA concentration was much reduced in the Fas group and DNA fragmentation assay provided evidence for increased DNA degradation. Enhanced nuclease activity against DNA, rRNA, poly(A), poly(C), poly(U), poly(I:C), and poly(A:U) was manifested in the anti-Fas antibody treated group, except for the inhibitory-bound alkaline RNase. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that the RNA-degrading pathway in Fas-induced apoptosis can accelerate the liberation of the latent enzyme from the inhibitor complex. IFN-alpha prevented enormous, Fas-ligand induced degradation of all the substrates used in this experimental study, most probably due to similarities in the signal transduction pathways. Investigations of death receptor-induced apoptosis may lead to novel treatment combinations for patients with acute or chronic liver diseases.     

Construction and characterization of Listeria monocytogenes mutants with in-frame deletions in the response regulator genes identified in the genome sequence

Two-component systems are widely distributed in prokaryotes where they control gene expression in response to diverse stimuli. To study the role of the sixteen putative two-component systems of Listeria monocytogenes systematically, in frame deletions were introduced into 15 out of the 16 response regulator genes and the resulting mutants were characterized. With one exception the deletion of the individual response regulator genes has only minor effects on in vitro and in vivo growth of the bacteria. The mutant carrying a deletion in the ortholog of the Bacillus subtilis response regulator gene degU showed a clearly reduced virulence in mice, indicating that DegU is involved in the regulation of virulence-associated genes.     

Influence of neonatal short-term reduction in brainstem alpha2A-adrenergic receptors on receptor ontogenesis, acoustic startle reflex, and prepulse inhibition in rats

Neonatal treatments can disrupt prepulse inhibition (PPI) of startle response later in life. Alpha2A-adrenergic receptors (alpha2A-ARs) regulate the release of brain neurotransmitters that may influence PPI. The authors examined the effects of short-term reduction in the neonatal brainstem alpha2A-ARs on subsequent development of this receptor system and acoustic startle reflex in rats. Administration of antisense oligodeoxynucleotide complementary to the alpha2A-ARs on Days 2-4 of life reduced receptor expression in the brainstem by Day 5. The treatment increased alpha2-AR numbers in the cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala at 40 days of age, and in cortex and hypothalamus at 90 days of age. Transient increases in hippocampal and amygdalar alpha2-ARs were accompanied by attenuation of acoustic startle response and impairment of PPI.     

A 2-year, randomized, comparative, placebo-controlled study on the effects of raloxifene on lipoprotein(a) and homocysteine

OBJECTIVES: Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) and homocysteine (Hcy) are independent cardiovascular risk factors, which have been shown to be lowered by hormone replacement therapy (HRT). In this 2-year study, the long-term effects of raloxifene (Rlx) in two doses, on Lp(a) and Hcy, were studied and compared with the effects of continuously combined hormone replacement therapy (ccHRT). METHODS: In a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 2-year study, 95 healthy, non-hysterectomized, early postmenopausal women, received daily either oral Rlx 60 mg (N=24) or 150 mg (N=23), ccHRT (conjugated equine estrogens 0.625 mg plus medroxyprogesterone acetate 2.5 mg; N=24) or placebo (N=24). Fasting serum Lp(a) and plasma Hcy concentrations were measured at baseline and at 6, 12 and 24 months. RESULTS: The mean individual changes compared to baseline after 24 months were for Lp(a): Rlx 60: - 5%, Rlx 150: -7%, ccHRT: -34%, placebo: +1% and for Hcy: Rlx 60: -3%, Rlx 150: -4%, ccHRT: -4%, placebo: +6%. ANCOVA was significant for Lp(a) under ccHRT versus placebo (P=0.001) and for Lp(a) under ccHRT versus each of the two Rlx groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term treatment with Rlx was not as effective as ccHRT in lowering Lp(a). Although not significant and without an obvious dose-related response, the Hcy values showed the same trend for each treatment arm, which is in line with data reported earlier.     

Compound 48/80 and substance P induced release of histamine and serotonin from rat peritoneal mast cells

The effect of substance P and compound 48/80 on histamine and serotonin release from not isolated and isolated mast cells have been compared in experimentsin vitro. The response of not isolated and isolated mast cells were virtually identical. The release of both amines, in response to 48/80 and substance P, was dose-dependent. The percentage of histamine released by 48/80 was significantly higher than the percentage of serotonin, the difference being higher at lower concentrations of compound 48/80 after 15 min of incubation. Substance P also showed a tendency to higher efficiency for histamine than for serotonin release. In contrast to 48/80, the dose-response curves for histamine and serotonin release were parallel. These results support the view that the ratio between histamine and serotonin release depends on the liberator used. They also showed that this ratio can depend on the concentration of the agent inducing secretion. The results indicate that substance P as well as 48/80 act rather selectively as histamine liberators and that there is some difference in releasing properties of 48/80 and substance P.