Maculopathy caused by intra-arterially administered cisplatin and intravenously administered carmustine.

Eight patients with malignant gliomas were monitored with clinical examinations to study the effects of the combination of intravenous administration of carmustine and infraophthalmic intra-arterial administration of cisplatin on retinal and optic nerve function. Three patients developed a severe macular retinal pigment abnormality in the eye ipsilateral to the intra-arterial infusion. Electrophysiologic studies disclosed no evidence of a generalized disturbance in the photoreceptors, middle retinal layers, or retinal pigment epithelium. In contrast to previous studies involving patients whose visual loss was caused by vaso-occlusive lesions in the retina and optic nerve, our study involved patients with clinically significant maculopathy, that was not vascular in origin and that developed after treatment with carmustine and cisplatin. We suggest that the deficit may result from a localized retinal pigment disturbance in the macula.     

Vital Bleaching Agents and Oral Antiseptic: Effect on Anaerobic Bacteria

This in vitro study compared the antimicrobial effect of several at-home bleaching agents and an oral antiseptic against anaerobic bacteria that are commonly found in the oral cavity. Zones of inhibition produced by Rembrandt Lighten Bleaching Gel, Opalescence, and Peroxyl were measured and compared. All the materials produced zones of inhibition with the five bacteria used in the study.     

Glutamate-induced calcium signaling in astrocytes

Astrocytes respond to the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate with dynamic spatio-temporal changes in intracellular calcium [Ca²⁺]_i. Although they share a common wave-like appearance, the different [Ca²⁺]_i changes--an initial spike, sustained elevation, oscillatory intracellular waves, and regenerative intercellular waves--are actually separate and distinct phenomena. These separate components of the astrocytic Ca²⁺ response appear to be generated by two different signal transduction pathways. The metabotropic response evokes an initial spatial Ca²⁺ spike that can propagate rapidly from cell to cell and appears to involve IP₃. The metabotropic response can also produce oscillatory intracellular waves of various amplitudes and frequencies that propagate within cells and are sustained only in the presence of external Ca²⁺. The ionotropic response, however, evokes a sustained elevation in [Ca²⁺]_i associated with receptor-mediated Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ influx, depolarization, and voltage-dependent Ca²⁺ influx. In addition, the ionotropic response can lead to regenerative intercellular waves that propagate smoothly and nondecrementally from cell to cell, possibly involving Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchange. All these astrocytic [Ca²⁺]_i changes tend to appear wave-like, traveling from region to region as a transient rise in [Ca²⁺]_i. Nevertheless, as our understanding of the cellular events that underlie these [Ca²⁺]_i changes grows, it becomes increasingly clear that glutamate-induced Ca²⁺ signaling is a composite of separate and distinct phenomena, which may be distinguished not based on appearance alone, but rather on their underlying mechanisms. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Feasibility of School-Based Smoking Cessation Programs

ABSTRACT: This study obtained input from Australian student smokers approximately 15 years old, which may be useful in designing school-based smoking cessation programs. The sample was analyzed by previous quitting experience and intentions to quit. The order of preference for assistance options and incentives for quitting was similar across all groups: however, those who previously attempted to quit (previous quitters) and those who intended to quit (intenders) in the future were significantly more likely than non-quitters and non-intenders to find assistance options for quitting acceptable. The potential for saving money emerged as an important variable in convincing all groups of smokers not to smoke, and using personal willpower and cutting down slowly were identified as important in actual attempts to quit. The need for programs to be free and for friends to be supportive also was evident across all groups.     

Establishing a cancer center data bank and biorepository for multidisciplinary research.

The establishment of a biorepository with linkage to clinical and epidemiologic data will provide an invaluable resource for cancer research, including studies of cancer etiology, progression, and prognosis, as well as development of biomarkers for early detection. Developing an infrastructure for a biorepository linked to clinical, pathologic, and epidemiologic data requires significant efforts in strategic planning for efficient means to ascertain, identify, and consent participants, as well as guidelines for blood collection, processing, and storage while maintaining participant privacy rights. In this report, we present an approach to developing a Data Bank and Biorepository at our own institution, with discussion of elements to be considered when establishing such a bank.     

Electrophysiological Signs of Neurocognitive Deficits in Long-Term Leukemia Survivors

The long-term effects of disease and treatment on electrophysiologicalmeasures of neurocognitive function were studied in childrenwho had survived acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) for at least4 years and were currently in remission. We report here changesin cognitive processing time as shown by the latency of theP3 wave of the auditory event-related EEG potential (ERP). P3latency was significantly prolonged in long-term ALL surivors,as well as in patients successfully trreated for solid tumors(ST)outside the CNS who received similar chemotherapy but did notreceive prophylactic treatment to the CNS. P3 latencies werestrongly correlated with measures of school performance andIQ in these individuals. The similarity in P3 latency betweenthe ALL and ST groups suggests that the treatments used on thesepateints produce changes in electrophysiological responses thatare associated with mild, but significant, cognitive deficits.