Mental and physical health of Kosovar Albanians in their place of origin: a post-war 6-year follow-up study

Purpose  

Long-term outcome of traumatic experiences among war-exposed civilians living in their home country has been seldom documented. The present study examined change in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequency and perceived physical and mental health in a cohort of Kosovar Albanians over 6 years (2001–2007).     

Presynaptic Inhibition at Inhibitory Nerve Terminals. A New Synapse in the Crayfish Stretch Receptor

Previous physiological evidence has shown that the receptor neuron of the slowly adapting stretch receptor organ of crayfish receives synapses from three inhibitory axons, while the receptor muscle is innervated by both excitatory and inhibitory axons. Fine structural studies have indicated that after certain preparative procedures synaptic vesicles in the inhibitory terminals on dendrites of the receptor neuron appear small and elongate, while those in the excitatory terminals on the receptor muscle are round and larger. This study describes a new synapse between two inhibitory nerve endings on the receptor neuron. One axon, containing small elongate vesicles, forms a presynaptic chemical contact with another morphologically similar axon that, itself, presumably releases inhibitory transmitter onto the receptor neuron. A second type of presynaptic axo-axonic synapse, analogous to one previously described in another crustacean muscle, was also found between presumed inhibitory and excitatory nerve terminals on the receptor muscle. Thus, the stretch receptor has a relatively complex organization with a morphological basis for two types of presynaptic inhibition: one on excitatory terminals and the other on inhibitory terminals.     

A Method for Detecting Pyrimidine Dimers in the DNA of Bacteria Irradiated with Low Doses of Ultraviolet Light

Cells of Escherichia coli treated with lysozyme and Brij-58 become permeable to proteins, but do not release their DNA. I incubated permeable cells with an endonuclease that produces single-strand breaks in DNA-containing pyrimidine dimers. The enzyme entered the permeable cells, and, if they had been irradiated with ultraviolet light, caused breaks in their DNA. The frequency of breaks was estimated from the sedimentation pattern of the DNA in alkaline sucrose gradients. The procedure is sensitive enough to detect the dimers produced by a dose of 10 erg/mm(2) at 254 nm, or about 50 dimers per E. coli genome. This method exemplifies and extends the use of permeabilized cells for examining biological processes at the molecular level.     

Telephone medicine

While a substantial number of patient contacts with internists occur over the telephone, there is little information about the nature and content of these encounters. The authors surveyed patient-initiated phone calls that resulted in a physician response for seven general internists. Over a six-month period, 1,377 telephone encounters met inclusion criteria. Calls were generally short, 73% lasting 4 minutes or less; mean time per call was 3.4 minutes. The doctor spoke to the patient directly 79% of the time and to a relative in 15% of the calls. The most common reason for phoning the doctor was a symptom or medical complaint (45% of all calls), followed by questions about test results (16%) and medication queries (14%). Over 60% of calls dealt with chronic conditions. Diagnoses encountered over the telephone were similar in frequency to those seen in outpatient clinic visits; however, a notable proportion of calls dealt with topics beyond the scope of traditional internal medicine training programs. A medication response was the reason for 22% of the phone calls. The doctors recommended changes in follow up 12% of the time; these included early visits to the clinic, evaluation in the emergency room, and direct admission to the hospital. An appreciation of the scope of telephone medicine in terms of both medical skills applied and time committed is germane to trainees and practitioners alike.     

Neuroanatomic and Neurochemical Abnormalities in Non-human Primate Infants Exposed to Weekly Doses of Ethanol during Gestation

Ethanol was orally administered once per week to 54 gravid pigtailed macaques ( Macaca nemestrina ) in doses of 0.0, 0.3, 0.6, 1.2, 1.8, 2.5 or 4.1 gm/kg from the 1st week in gestation or in doses of 2.5, 3.3 or 4.1 gm/kg from the 5th week. Mean maternal peak plasma ethanol concentrations (MPPEC's) ranged from 24 ± 6 mg/dl at the 0.3 g/kg dose to 549 ± 71 mg/dl at the 4.1 g/kg dose. Thirty-three live born infants were assessed for abnormalities of physical and behavioral development. Ocular pathology, neuropathologic and neurochemical assessments were done on 31 animals at 6 months postnatal age. Microphthalmia was noted in three of the 26 animals exposed to ethanol. Retinal ganglion cell loss was significantly associated with intra-uterine ethanol exposure. Microphthalmia and retinal ganglion cell loss was observed in both the delayed and full-gestational exposed animals. No structural anomalies were found in the brains via gross inspection or light microscopy. Chemical abnormalities in the striatal nuclei were identified. Striatal dopamine concentrations increased with increasing MPPEC exposure (0–249 mg/dl) among animals exposed weekly to ethanol throughout gestation. Striatal dopamine concentrations decreased with increasing MPPEC exposure (260–540 mg/dl) among animals whose weekly exposure to ethanol was delayed until the 5th week of gestation. The same pattern of association was also noted between MPPEC and ultrastructural alterations in the caudate nucleus. The extent of ultrastructural alterations increased with increasing MPPEC among the fullgestational exposed animals and decreased with increasing MPPEC among the delayed-dose animals.     

Targeted gene replacement at the endogenousAPRT locus in CHO cells

We demonstrate the feasibility of targeted gene replacement at an endogenous, chromosomal gene locus in cultured mammalian cells, employing a two-step strategy similar to an approach routinely used for genetic manipulation in yeast. Utilizing an APRT⁺ recombinant generated by targeted integration of plasmid sequences (including a functional copy of the gpt gene) at the CHO APRT locus, we have been able to select gpt^– pop-out recombinants that have arisen by intrachromosomal recombination between APRT direct repeats at the targeted integration site. Reciprocal exchanges leading to pop-out of integrated plasmid/gpt gene sequences occur at a rate of 6.3×10^–6 per cell generation. Depending on the site of crossover, such pop-out events result in either replacement or restoration of the original APRT target gene sequence.     

Eating disorders and associated mental health comorbidities in female veterans

Eating disorders (EDs) remain understudied among veterans, possibly due to the perception that primarily male population does not suffer from EDs. However, previous research suggests that male and female veterans do experience EDs. The high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and obesity observed among veterans may make this group vulnerable to disordered eating. Retrospective chart review was used to obtain data from 492 female veterans who were presented to a women?s primary care center at a large, urban VA medical center between 2007 and 2009. A total of 2.8% of this sample had been diagnosed with an ED. In bivariate analyses, presence of PTSD and depression were significantly associated with having an ED diagnosis. However, when these two disorders were included in a multivariate model controlling for age, only depression diagnosis and lower age were significantly related to ED status. In sum, the rate of EDs in this sample is comparable to prevalence estimates of EDs in the general population. Current findings underscore the importance of assessing for EDs among VA patients and the need for further research among veterans.     

Decorin treatment of spinal cord injury

The scarring response after a penetrant central nervous system injury results from the interaction between invading leptominingeal/pericyte-derived fibroblasts and endogenous reactive astrocytes about the wound margin. Extracellular matrix and scar-derived axon growth inhibitory mole- cules fill the lesion site providing both a physical and chemical barrier to regenerating axons. Dec orin, a small leucine-rich chondroitin-dermatan sulphate proteoglycan expressed by neurons and astrocytes in the central nervous system, is both anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory and attenu- ates the formation and partial dissolution of established and chronic scars. Here, we discuss the potential of using Decorin to antagonise scarring in the central nervous system.