Fishing lines, time-delayed guideposts, and other tricks used by developing pharyngeal neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans

The 20 neurons that innervate the Caenorhabditis elegans pharynx form a simple nervous system that develops and operates in near complete isolation from the rest of the worm body and, therefore, offers a manageable degree of complexity for developmental genetics studies. This review discusses the progress that has been made in determining the mechanisms by which 4 of the 20 pharyngeal neurons develop, and emphasizes surprising processes that add to the classic growth cone guidance model which is usually thought to explain how most axons establish their trajectories.     

Behavioral treatment of Raynaud's disease

In order to assess the efficacy of a behavioral intervention in the treatment of idiopathic Raynaud's disease, 30 female patients were trained to control their digital skin temperature using autogenic training or a combination of autogenic training and skin temperature feedback either in the laboratory or at home. All trained subjects demonstrated a significant ability to maintain digital skin temperature in the presence of a cold stress challenge and reported significant reductions in both frequency and intensity of vasospastic attacks. The addition of skin temperature feedback to autogenic training did not provide additional clinical benefit.This research was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Research Grant MH-25104 to Richard S. Surwit.     

Recombinant human Clara cell secretory protein in acute lung injury of the rabbit: effect of route of administration.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that intratracheal instillation of Clara cell secretory protein (CC 10) to the lung may afford greater protection than intravenous administration from ventilator-induced lung inflammation. DESIGN: Interventional laboratory study. SETTING: An academic medical research facility in northeastern United States. SUBJECTS: Sedated, lavage-injured juvenile rabbits. INTERVENTIONS: A total of 18 juvenile rabbits were anesthetized, ventilated, injured with saline lavage (Pao2 of <100 mm Hg; respiratory compliance of <0.50 mL.cm H2O.kg and <50% baseline), and randomized to receive intratracheally administered surfactant plus no recombinant human CC 10 (rhCC 10, control), intravenous rhCC 10, or intratracheal rhCC 10. MEASUREMENT AND MAIN RESULTS: Arterial blood chemistry and pulmonary mechanics were monitored; plasma and urine were collected serially. After 4 hrs of ventilation, lungs were lavaged and harvested. Surfactant function was analyzed from bronchoalveolar lavage samples (surfactometry); rhCC 10, interleukin-8, and lung myeloperoxidase concentrations were measured. Pao2, oxygenation index, ventilatory efficiency index, and respiratory compliance were not different across time or group beyond injury. Surfactometry data identified no differences as a function of group or time. Plasma, bronchoalveolar lavage, and lung interleukin-8 concentrations, lung myeloperoxidase concentrations, and inflammatory cell counts in the alveolar and interstitial spaces of intravenous and intratracheal groups were lower than in the control group (p < .05) but not statistically different from each other. Concentrations of rhCC 10 in lung, bronchoalveolar lavage, and plasma were greater in the intratracheal group than in the intravenous group (p<.05). Urine rhCC 10 concentrations were greater for the intravenous group than for the intratracheal group (p<.05) at 1, 3, and 4 hrs after treatment. No group differences in histomorphometry were noted. CONCLUSIONS: Both intravenous and intratracheal rhCC 10 delivery, after surfactant therapy, effectively decrease lung inflammation vs. surfactant alone. While supporting the physiologic profile, intratracheal instillation results in greater, maintained lung and plasma rhCC 10 pools compared with intravenous administration. As such, intratracheal instillation of rhCC 10 may afford more prolonged protection against lung inflammation than intravenous administration.     

Increased serum resistin in adults with prader-willi syndrome is related to obesity and not to insulin resistance

CONTEXT: Determinants of insulin resistance in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) are not completely understood. The discovery of several adipokines with relevant effects on insulin resistance and cardiovascular complications of metabolic syndrome offered new tools of investigation of insulin resistance in PWS. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to measure serum resistin and mRNA in adipose tissue of patients with PWS, those with simple obesity, and healthy controls and correlate resistin levels with anthropometric and biochemical features. DESIGN: Twenty-eight adult PWS patients, 29 obese patients, and 25 healthy controls were studied. Anthropometric variables were measured and fasting serum and plasma were collected for measurement of resistin, adiponectin, leptin, lipid profile, glucose, and insulin. RESULTS: Serum resistin and resistin mRNA expression in adipose tissue was significantly higher in PWS patients, compared with both healthy lean controls and obese patients. Moreover, on regression analysis resistin was significantly correlated with body mass index, whereas no significant association was found between resistin and homeostasis model assessment index. A weak association between resistin and adiponectin was found in the PWS group only. However, on multivariate analysis only the correlation between resistin and body mass index remained significant. CONCLUSIONS: These results support a link between circulating resistin and obesity in humans but do not support a role for resistin in human insulin resistance.     

Treatment of conjunctival epithelial tumors: brachytherapy with ruthenium-106

INTRODUCTION: Treatment of conjunctival epithelial tumors is not standardized because it is difficult to compare large series in this rare disease. Surgical excision is usual, but the recurrence rate has led several authors to propose alternative therapies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: During the past 20 years, brachytherapy using ophthalmic applicators has been developed and the results of different studies have confirmed the usefulness of this therapy. We report a retrospective study of 13 patients presenting with a conjunctival epithelial tumor treated with ruthenium106 applicators and followed up in our department since 1987. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: There was no recurrence during a mean follow-up of 48 months. Complications depended on the size of the area treated and the dose of radiation.     

Sex differences in depression and the method of administering the Beck Depression Inventory

Carried out four experiments in which male and female undergraduates (N = 384) completed the Beck Depression Inventory ( BDI ) under conditions ranging from absolute anonymity to a face-to-face interview. BDI interitem reliability was comparable across the two sexes and across different methods of test administration, and no evidence was found in any of the experiments or in all four combined that depression is more severe or common in females. We also found that for both sexes responses to the BDI did not vary with the sex of the examiner. It is suggested that sex differences in depression have more to do with the population sampled than with the method of administering tests such as the BDI . Indeed, responses to the BDI appear essentially unaffected by the method of administration.     

Chronic pain control by means of an epidural catheter: report of a case with description of the method.

The feasibility of long-term epidural catheterization for control of chronic pain from sacral metastases has been demonstrated. Infection was not a problem and obstruction of the catheter did not occur. The short duration of action of currently available drugs was the major limitation of the technique. The technique described merits further investigation as an alternative to currently available methods.