Food intake of institutionalized women over 80 years of age

Food intake of 30 women over 80 years of age and residing in a long-term care facility was determined for a five-day period using the weighed intake method. Purposes of the study were to examine the contribution to nutrient intake of foods from eight major food groups; to characterize intake by time of day; and to examine the effect of age on nutrient intake. The results indicated that intakes of calcium, thiamin, vitamin A, zinc, and protein were below recommended levels. Analysis of intake by food group revealed that the grain group was the primary source of energy and many nutrients. Percentage consumption of foods in this group was significantly higher than that of vegetables or meat and alternates. Analysis of intake by time of day indicated that more energy was consumed at breakfast than at dinner. Advanced age was negatively correlated with overall dietary adequacy, although the distribution of energy intake from the eight food groups did not change with age. Implications of the results, for these subjects and similar groups of elderly, are discussed.     

Interventions to Increase Multivitamin Use Among Women in the Interconception Period: An IMPLICIT Network Study

Maternal and Child Health Journal - Each year, 3% of infants in the Unites States (US) are born with congenital anomalies, including 3000 with neural tube defects. Multivitamins (MVIs) including...     

Structure and expression of the gene for Pv200, a major blood-stage surface antigen of Plasmodium vivax.

Molecular cloning and structure analysis of the gene encoding the Pv200 protein of the Sal-1 strain of Plasmodium vivax revealed an overall identity of 34–37% when the deduced amino acid sequence was compared with the sequences of various major merozoite surface antigens of Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium yoelii and Plasmodium chabaudi. When the Sal-1 Pv200 sequence was compared with the corresponding sequence from the Belèm strain of P. vivax, it was found that the two merozoite surface antigens were relatively well conserved with an overall amino acid sequence identity of 81%. A region of 23 repeated glutamine residues, found in the sequence of the Belèm isolate was not found, however, in the Sal-1 sequence. Amino-and carboxy-terminal domains of the Pv200 protein were expressed in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Each recombinant protein was shown to react with antibodies in sera from splenectomized Bolivian Saimiri monkeys that had been infected previously with P. vivax, and in human sera from individuals with a history of exposure to vivax malaria. The availability of recombinant DNA-derived Pv200 proteins will now allow a full assessment of their utility in the diagnosis and immunoprophylaxis of the benign tertian malaria associated with P. vivax infection.     

Re‐evaluation of normative electronystagmography data in healthy ageing

Previous work by our group questions the validity of existing electronystagmography ( eng ) reference ranges in the elderly. We aim to establish valid reference ranges for eng in people over 65 on the Nicolet Nystar Plus system. Ninety‐six healthy asymptomatic subjects over 65 underwent eng , including spontaneous and positional nystagmus, saccades, smooth pursuit, optokinetic nystagmus and bithermal calorics; 95% reference ranges with confidence intervals were calculated. The newly determined reference ranges were far wider than those provided by the eng equipment manufacturer for eight out of 11 parameters (all P < 0.001). Vestibular function is known to deteriorate and become more variable with age. The failure to reflect this change in currently used reference ranges may have contributed to the high rates of vestibular disease reported in some series of dizzy elderly patients. Clinical interpretation of eng depends on valid reference ranges.     

Aversive properties of theκ opioid agonist U50,488 in the week-old rat pup

Opioids have been shown to produce analgesia and to be reinforcing during the first week of life in the rat. Opioids also have analgesic actions in both the infant and adult, but can be aversive in the mature animal. We examined the aversive effects of the opioid agonist U50,488 during the first postnatal week in the rat pup in three ways. In the first experiment, U50,488, injected peripherally (1.0–30.0 mg/kg), was paired with an odor and pups were tested 8 h later for positional preference for avoidance of that odor. This task is similar to conditioned preference/aversion tests used with adult animals. Both 3- and 7-day-old pups learned to avoid the odor adulterated side at the two higher doses. When exposed to odors previously associated with U50,488, pups at both ages decreased locomotor activity. In a second experiment, acute treatment with U50,488 increased ultrasonic distress vocalizations (USV) equally at 3 and 7 days of age, increased locomotor activity, and decreased rectal temperature. Neither of the latter two effects was correlated with the increase in USV production. The third experiment showed that conditioned odor cues increased USV 8 h later in 3- and 7-day-old pups at 1.0–10.0 mg/kg without changes in activity or rectal temperature. The results from these studies suggest that U50,488 can produce aversions in the neonatal rat pup as it does in the adult.Supported by U.S.P.H.S. grant DA-06600     

Late solitary metastasis of a renal cancer to the contralateral adrenal gland

We report a case of metachronous metastasis from renal cell carcinoma to the contralateral adrenal gland detected one year after radical nephrectomy. The initial tumor was incidentally discovered in the setting of acute aortic dissection. A large left adrenal tumor was detected on CT follow-up at two years. Retrospectively, a hypervascular lesion was present on the first yearly CT examination. Adrenalectomy was performed. There is no evidence of recurrent disease at 12 months. The patient was also treated with oral steroids. Because of their location and of the particularities of available therapeutic options, and because these metastases can occur late, long-term sonographic and CT follow-up should be performed. The clinical, imaging, therapeutic and prognostic aspects of these lesions will be discussed.     

Positional occlusion of the descending scapular artery in transverse thoraco-brachial syndrome with neurologic symptoms

We report a thoracic outlet syndrome revealed by neurological complications. Angiography of the subclavian artery depicted an isolated positional occlusion of the descending scapular artery. This side branch of the subclavian artery is anatomically located close to and supplies the brachial plexus. Surgical treatment led to improvement of most symptoms and post-operative control angiography was normal. Not previously described, this sign illustrates the objective compression of the brachial plexus. Ischemia is perhaps intricated with compression, a well-known pathophysiological mechanism of neurological complications in this syndrome. This artery feeding the brachial plexus is usually ligated during surgical neurolysis but must be preserved in order to improve recovery of neurological function and prevent surgical failures.     

Sirolimus (rapamycin) potentiates cyclosporine in prevention of acute lung rejection

BACKGROUND: Cyclosporine-based immunosuppressive regimens (INN: ciclosporin) in human lung transplantation continue to result in a high incidence of acute cellular rejection. We investigated the use of sirolimus, a macrolide with structural similarity to tacrolimus, as monotherapy and in combination with cyclosporine in a rodent lung transplant model. METHODS: Orthotopic left lung transplantation was performed in Lewis recipients from Brown-Norway donor rats with syngeneic Lewis-to-Lewis controls. Open biopsies were performed on postoperative day 7, and the severity of acute lung rejection was graded by a pathologist blinded to the protocol. RESULTS: All recipients survived despite the amount of acute rejection seen on examination of the biopsy tissue. Lewis-to-Lewis isografts demonstrated near normal pulmonary architecture. Allogeneic recipients receiving high-dose cyclosporine (25 mg/kg) monotherapy showed mild to moderate acute rejection with some perivascular focal interstitial infiltrates. Recipients receiving low-dose cyclosporine (5 mg/kg) monotherapy or low- or high-dose sirolimus (0.5 or 2.0 mg/kg, respectively) monotherapy demonstrated massive cellular infiltration leading to necrosis and infarction and could not be graded. However, the addition of low-dose sirolimus (0.5 mg/kg) to low-dose cyclosporine (5 mg/kg) demonstrated a significant potentiating immunosuppressive effect, and the addition of high-dose sirolimus (2.0 mg/kg) to low-dose cyclosporine (5.0 mg/kg) demonstrated an even greater effect, with rejection scores better than those obtained with high-dose cyclosporine monotherapy and similar to those obtained with isografts. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that low-dose sirolimus has a cyclosporine-sparing effect and that a higher dose of sirolimus in combination with cyclosporine strongly protects lung allografts from acute cellular rejection. These results suggest that sirolimus may be indicated as an adjunct to current cyclosporine-based immunosuppressive regimens in clinical lung transplantation.