Glycolipid markers of astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas

Neutral glycolipids and gangliosides were analyzed in 149 astrocytomas (A), 46 oligodendrogliomas (O), and 21 oligoastrocytomas (OA) to determine if specific glycolipids correlate with histologic diagnosis and grade. Positivity for asialoGM1 (GA1) and negativity for paragloboside by immuno-TLC correlated with histological diagnosis of O and OA, whereas the reverse pattern correlated with A. High levels (over 5 microg hexose per mg dry weight) of CMH generally correlated with an O component, but the association was not as strong as for either GA1 presence or paragloboside absence. Pilocytic astrocytomas and pleomorphic xanthoastrocytomas had high proportions (> 15%) of globoside, low ratios (< 0.5) of GD1a: GD1b, and identifiable ceramide trihexoside (CTH). Three gangliosides of the 1b pathway were progressively lost with increasing grade of A, but a similar correlation with grade was not seen in O or OA. A high proportion of cases expressing sialosylparagloboside (3'LM1; 6'LM1) were grade 4 A. Glycolipids are synthesized by glycosyltransferases that add specific sugars to the nascent oligosaccharide. Correlation of specific glycolipids with histological diagnoses and grades indicate that these tumor types express specific patterns of glycosyltransferases, several of which have been cloned. It is possible that critical genes coding for these enzymes are deleted, overexpressed, or mutated in certain tumor types and grades, thus leading to the patterns of glycolipids that we found to be associated with these tumors.     

Collecting mental health self-evaluations. Effectiveness and cost of three third-party techniques

The effectiveness and cost of three techniques for obtaining client ratings of their own levels of functioning were assessed in a private, outpatient, mental health clinic. Seventy-five clients were asked to rate the adequacy of their own functioning on vocational, family, social, personal, and overall dimensions. Clients were randomly assigned to (a) mail, (b) telephone, or (c) mail followed (if necessary) by telephone administration of the ratings questionnaire. Mail followed if necessary by phone administration was found to be more cost effective than either mail alone or telephone alone.     

Back to basics.

The basic strength of the AMCA family is the wide range of expertise and "can do" attitude of its diverse membership. The AMCA is currently experiencing problems with federal legislation and fiscal stability because we have not fully utilized member strengths to reevaluate the association's direction and set new goals to address change. However, the AMCA Board of Directors and many committee chairpersons met, reevaluated direction and clarified goals, and initiated major changes to meet the challenges facing the association and its members. Members of the AMCA are encouraged to contribute their individual talents to ensure that the association prosper and serve the needs of the mosquito and vector control family.     

Severely injured geriatric patients return to independent living: a study of factors influencing function and independence

Our previous work demonstrated that geriatric trauma patients (age greater than 65 years) consume disproportionate amounts of health care resources. In the past we hypothesized that late mortality is high, long-term outcome is poor, and return to independence is low in a severely injured geriatric population. Of 6,480 trauma admissions over 5 years, geriatric patients (n = 495) with blunt trauma injury (n = 421) and an ISS greater than 16 (n = 105) who survived until discharge (n = 61) underwent long-term follow-up (mean = 2.82 years). We surveyed 20 measures of functional ability; 10 measures of independence; availability and use of rehabilitation resources; employment history; alcohol use; support systems; and nursing home requirements. Of the 105 patients, 7 were subsequently lost to follow-up. Among the remaining 98, 44 (44.9%) died in hospital and 54 (55.1%) were discharged and interviewed. The mean age of the contacted patients was 72.6; their mean ISS was 23.3. Forty eight of 54 (88.9%) were alive at the time of interview, while 6/54 (11.1%) had died. Although only 8/48 patients regained their preinjury level of function, 32/48 (67%) returned to independent living. The 32 independent patients, those with "acceptable" outcome, were compared with an "unacceptable" outcome group composed of the 44 in-hospital deaths, the 6 late deaths, and the 16 dependent patients. Factors associated with poor outcome include a GCS score less than or equal to (p = 0.001), age greater than or equal to 75 (p = 0.004), shock upon admission (p = 0.014), presence of head injury (p = 0.03), and sepsis (p = 0.03).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Virome of Ixodes ricinus,Dermacentor reticulatus,and Haemaphysalis concinna Ticks from Croatia

Tick-borne diseases are a serious threat to both public and veterinary health. In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing to characterize the virome of three tick species implicated in the spread of vector-borne disease throughout Croatia. Ten viruses were identified, including seven potential novel species within the viral families Flaviviridae, Nyamiviridae, Rhabdoviridae, Peribunyaviridae, Phenuiviridae, and Nairoviridae.     

Ovarian cancer in the elderly: an analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program data

With use of a unique data set from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program of the National Cancer Institute for 11,062 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer from 1973 to 1982, this study focuses on the impact of old age on this malignancy. Aspects of ovarian cancer as it pertains especially to elderly women (those 65 years or older) are examined according to age/stage relationships at initial diagnosis and age variations in treatment and survival. Elderly women are more likely than younger women to be in advanced stages of ovarian cancer at initial diagnosis, and they constitute about 42% of this group. In the stage-unknown category, over 50% are 65 years or older. Data suggest that elderly women are treated more conservatively than younger patients. The National Cancer Institute data also illustrate the increased preference to treat this neoplasm with surgical procedures and chemotherapy rather than surgical procedures and radiation. For Stages III and IV disease, 5-year relative survival rates for elderly women are almost one half of the rate observed for women under 65. Although the prognosis of patients with advanced ovarian tumors is poor for all, it is even worse as age progresses.     

Systematic review of the effects of aromatase inhibitors on pain associated with endometriosis

Objective  To assess the effects of aromatase inhibitors in women symptomatic of pain with endometriosis.
Design  A systematic review of published literature.
Material and methods  We conducted a comprehensive literature search to identify all the published observational and randomised studies evaluating the efficacy of aromatase inhibitors on pain associated with endometriosis. A combination of keywords was used to identify the maximum number of relevant citations in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Cochrane Database.
Outcome  Pain relief, lesion size and quality of life.
Results  There were eight studies (137 women) evaluating outcomes of aromatase inhibitors. In case series/reports (seven studies, 40 women), aromatase inhibitors combined with progestogens or oral contraceptive pill or gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues reduced mean pain scores and lesion size and improved quality of life. An RCT (97 women) demonstrated that aromatase inhibitors in combination with GnRH analogues significantly improved pain ( P < 0.0001) compared with GnRH analogues alone together with significant improvement in multidimensional patient scores ( P < 0.0001). There was no significant reduction in spine or hip-bone densities.
Conclusion  Aromatase inhibitors appear to have a promising effect on pain associated with endometriosis, but the strength of this inference is limited due to a dearth of the evidence available.