Season of tumor surgery in relation to deaths among brain tumor patients: does sunlight and month of surgery play a role in brain tumor deaths?

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect at the season of the time of surgery on the survival of brain tumor patients. The population studied consisted of 101 patients (39 males and 62 females), gathered from a geographically large area in northern Finland (from 64°N to 70°N), aged between 20 and 82 years, with a solitary primary brain tumor treated surgically at the Oulu Clinic for Neurosurgery, Oulu University Hospital. The distribution of tumor surgery dates and mean hours of sunshine hours was analyzed by bimonthly periods. When comparing the proportion of deceased patients of all patients operated in each bimonthly period, a significant bimonthly peak in deaths was found in patients operated during the period of February to March (ratio 1.7, 95% CI 1.1–2.3). More than half of the patients who died during the peak period had grade III–IV gliomas. In 40% of the cases, the surgery time of deceased brain tumor patients occurred in the bimonthly period following the four darkest months of the year with the lowest amount of sunshine in northern Finland. The relation of low vitamin D level in the etiology and course of the disease as well as in treatment settings deserves further study.     

Ethnicity,sleep, mood,and illumination in postmenopausal women

Background  

This study examined how ethnic differences in sleep and depression were related to environmental illumination and circadian rhythms.     

Initial rightward orienting bias in clinical tasks: normal subjects and right hemispheric stroke patients with and without neglect

In order to develop the diagnosis of hemi-inattention in patients with right hemispheric cerebrovascular accident (RCVA), the initial starting point of cancellation performance was studied in seven commonly used visual cancellation tasks, an Object Finding task, and a blindfold Tactuo-motor search task. The subject groups consisted of 34 patients with RCVA and 31 healthy subjects. Patients were divided into groups of contralateral neglect and no neglect. One additional case of ipsilesional neglect and one of nonlateralised attentional disorder in relation to early orienting bias, are reported. Patients with contralateral neglect showed a strong tendency to start their cancellation performance on the right. Also, half of the nonneglect patient group demonstrated right bias in initiating their cancellation performance, suggesting the presence of a subclinical hemi-inattention group. Contrary to expectations, also a small proportion of normal subjects were right-biased. Task dependent differences in the assessment of early rightward orienting bias were found.     

Familial dyslexia: neurocognitive and genetic correlation in a large Finnish family

Neuropsychological findings of individuals with dyslexia (n=24) from a large, three-generation Finnish family are presented. We have previously performed whole genome linkage scanning in this family and found that dyslexia in this kindred segregates with a single locus in the pericentromeric area of chromosome 3. Those included in the analyses were carefully evaluated for general cognitive ability, reading and spelling skills, and reading-related neurocognitive skills. The neurocognitive type of dyslexia segregating in this family consisted of deficits in phonological awareness, verbal short-term memory, and rapid naming. Severe dyslexia also seemed to be connected with a general language difficulty and was most common in the eldest generation.     

The rationale for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug therapy for inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors: a Children's Oncology Group study

Background

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) are neoplasms that are highly vascularized, have an intermediate prognosis, and are associated with infiltration, obstruction, local recurrence, and rare metastasis. Resection of large IMTs can lead to substantial morbidity and even mortality. Anecdotal experience suggests that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may eradicate large IMTs or shrink them to a more readily resectable size and configuration. To support the hypothesis that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are antiangiogenic for IMTs by interfering with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling via cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibition, IMT specimens were immunohistochemically examined for expression of COX-2 enzyme and VEGF.

Methods

The diagnosis of IMT was confirmed in all 18 cases comprising the study. Intensity of COX-2 and VEGF staining was graded, and staining uniformity was examined. ALK-1 protein expression, found in up to two thirds of IMTs, was also determined.

Results

COX-2 and VEGF expression were identified in all tissue examined, with staining intensity varying independently. ALK-1 protein expression was identified in 33% of specimens. Its presence was not related to the intensity of COX-2 or VEGF staining.

Conclusions

Our data suggest that the mediators of angiogenesis, VEGF and COX-2, are present and may play an important role in the growth of IMTs.     

Consumption of sweet foods among adolescents in Finland

Abstract The importance of sugar in the etiology of dental caries is well known but only few representative studies at population level have been carried out to analyze nutritional factors related to dentistry. As the main exposure to caries the frequency of the use of sugar-products should be known more exactly than we do. The purpose of this study was to analyze the frequency of consumption of sugar-containing products among Finnish adolescents. A representative sample of 3209 Finnish adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19 was drawn. The data were obtained by mail questionnaire in February and September 1977, and in February and September 1979. The separate sample was drawn in February 1978 to analyze the changes with time during 1977–79. The response rate to all the mailed questionnaires was close to 90%. The sugar-containing foods included in the study were sugar in codec or tea, hot chocolate, pastries and cookies, soft drinks, chewing gums, sweets and pastilles. In addition, the data on the consumption of artificial sweeteners were collected. According to current health behavior dogma, girls behaved better than boys. A clear relationship was observed between a householder's educational and occupational status and the children's sugar consumption. Children from homes of low social status consumed more sugar than the others. The percentage of children frequently consuming sugary products decreased with improved school success. It can be concluded that the use of sugar-containing products is especially frequent among young age groups, particularly among boys from low social background and children with poor school success. Health education should be especially directed towards them.