“Amnesia” for Summer Camps and High School Graduation: Memory Work Increases Reports of Prior Periods of Remembering Less

Claims regarding amnesia for childhood sexual abuse have often been based on studies of adults' responses to questions of the form, “Was there ever a period of time when you remembered less of the abuse than you do now?” In this experiment, 43 adult (mean age = 42) participants rated their current and prior memories of several nontraumatic childhood/adolescent events. Reports of prior periods of less memory were fairly common. Participants then engaged in “reminiscence” or “enhanced” retrieval activities directed toward remembering more about a selected target event. Following retrieval, 35% of the reminiscence condition participants reported prior poor memory for the target event, as did 70% of the enhanced condition. These results highlight the need for appropriate control conditions in retrospective studies of amnesia for childhood trauma.     

Fatal meningoencephalitis due to Bacillus anthracis

Abstract: We report the first case of fatal anthrax meningoencephalitis in Hong Kong over the past 60 years. A 13 year-old boy presented with right lower quadrant pain, diarrhoea and progressive headache. Lumbar puncture yielded gram positive bacilli initially thought to be Bacillus cereus, a contaminant. He was treated with ampicillin and cefotaxime, but died 3 days after hospitalization. The organism isolated from blood and cerebrospinal fluid was later identified as Bacillus anthracis.     

Erythromycin treatment for gastrointestinal dysmotility in preterm infants

To report our clinical experience on the use of oral erythromycin for the treatment of severe gastrointestinal dysmotility in preterm infants.

Methodology:

A case series study of seven preterm infants (six were very low birthweight) with severe intestinal dysmotility in a tertiary neonatal centre.

Results:

All responded favourably without adverse effects and tolerated full enteral feeding within 1–2 weeks of the commencement of the drug.

Conclusions:

As prolonged total parenteral nutrition carries significant risk of complications, this therapy could be considered in selected preterm infants who fail to establish enteral feeding after an extended period, and in whom an anatomically obstructive lesion of the gastrointestinal tract has been excluded. Meanwhile, we would caution against the widespread implementation of this therapeutic approach until formal evaluation by randomized controlled trials have established the exact role of erythromycin, or its analogues, in the treatment of intestinal dysmotility in preterm infants.     

Survival and developmental disability in infants with birth weights of 501 to 800 grams, born between 1979 and 1994

OBJECTIVE: Because the survival rate has increased for extremely low birth weight neonates, many have raised the concern that the rate of developmental disability among survivors will also increase. To address this concern, we analyzed changes over time in survival and major neurosensory impairment in a sample of extremely low birth weight infants born between July 1, 1979, and June 30, 1994. METHODS: The study sample included 513 infants with birth weights of 501 to 800 g who were cared for in either of the two neonatal intensive care units that serve a 17-county region in northwest North Carolina and who were born to mothers residing in that region. At 1 year of age (corrected for gestation), survivors were examined by a pediatrician and were tested using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Major neurosensory impairment was defined as cerebral palsy, a Bayley Mental Developmental Index <68, or blindness. A total of 209/216 (97%) of survivors were examined at 1 year of age. Epoch of birth was defined as follows: epoch 1, July 1, 1979 to June 30, 1984; epoch 2, July 1, 1984 to June 30, 1989; and epoch 3, July 1, 1989 to June 30, 1994. RESULTS: Survival rates for epochs 1, 2, and 3 were, respectively, 24/120 (20%), 63/175 (36%), and 129/218 (59%). In contrast, the proportions with a major neurosensory impairment did not increase over time; rates for successive epochs were 6/24 (25%), 17/61 (28%), and 26/124 (21%). Rates of cerebral palsy were 3/24 (13%), 12/61 (20%), and 9/124 (7%); rates of delayed mental development were 4/24 (17%), 12/61 (20%), and 17/124 (14%); and rates of blindness were 2/24 (8%), 0/62, and 5/124 (4%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis suggests that the increasing survival of extremely low birth weight neonates since the late 1970s has not resulted in an increased rate of major developmental problems identifiable at 1 year of age.     

Beta2 integrin/ICAM-1 adhesion molecule interactions in cutaneous inflammation and tumor promotion

The beta2 integrin (CD 18/CD 11 a, b, c) family of proteins mediate adherence of leukocytes to vascular endothelium and the associated ligand, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1; CD 54), interacts with beta2 integrin proteins to allow transendothelial migration of leukocytes into sites of inflammation. The present study examines the function of these proteins in a murine model of acute cutaneous inflammation induced following topical application of 12-O- tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) to the dorsal epidermis of SENCAR mice and in a model of skin multistage carcinogenesis. At 24 h following topical application of TPA to the dorsal epidermis of mice, dermal leukocytes expressed higher levels of beta2 integrin protein compared with the lower levels of beta2 integrin protein expression by peripheral blood leukocytes. ICAM-1 protein was localized to epidermal keratinocytes and vascular endothelium in TPA-treated skin and to proliferating papilloma cells. Intravenous (i.v.) injection of either 50 microg anti-beta2 integrin antibody alone or in combination with anti-ICAM-1 antibody significantly inhibited both TPA-stimulated neutrophil infiltration into the dermis (P < 0.001) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity (P < 0.03 anti-beta2 integrin antibody; P < 0.01 anti- beta2 integrin + ICAM-1 adhesion molecule antibodies), but had no effect on TPA-induced epidermal hyperplasia. In addition, injection of either anti-ICAM-1 adhesion molecule antibody alone (P < 0.004) or in combination with anti-beta2 integrin antibody (P < 0.001) significantly inhibited TPA-induced production of 7,8-dihydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8- OHdG) immunoreactive proteins by epidermal keratinocytes. Beta2 integrin/ICAM-1 adhesion molecules work in concert to regulate migration, retention and functional activation of leukocytes within the dermis during TPA-induced skin inflammation and within stromal tissue of papillomas that form during multi-stage carcinogenesis. Agents that inhibit these receptor/ligand interactions may be useful in defining the roles of specific cell populations in cutaneous inflammation and multistage carcinogenesis and may also have potential as anti-promoting and anti-progression agents.      

Truncated TrkB mediates the endocytosis and release of BDNF and neurotrophin-4/5 by rat astrocytes and schwann cells in vitro

Binding and cross-linking studies with radiolabeled neurotrophins demonstrate that cultured rat hippocampal astrocytes lack full-length TrkB, but do express high levels of truncated TrkB (tTrkB). In astrocytes and Schwann cells, tTrkB appears to have the novel function of mediating the endocytosis of neurotrophins into an acid-stable, Triton X-100 resistant intracellular pool that is released back into the medium in a temperature-dependent manner. Chloroquine treatment, trichloroacetic acid solubility, and sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis revealed that when incubated with astrocytes or Schwann cells for at least 48 h neither the intracellular nor the released neurotrophins were significantly degraded. The endocytosis and release of neurotrophins may represent a novel mechanism whereby neuroglia can regulate the local concentration of these neurotrophic factors for extended periods of time.     

Type 2 diabetes and low birth weight: the role of paternal inheritance in the association of low birth weight and diabetes

Lower birth weight is associated with an increased occurrence of type 2 diabetes in later life. Whether this relationship is explained by environmental or genetic factors is unknown. We have examined the potential for genetic influences by determining whether parental diabetes is associated with lower birth weight in 1,608 children of known birth weight and gestational age born between 1941 and 1993 in the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona. The previously described relationships of maternal diabetes to increased birth weight and offspring diabetes were observed. In contrast to this we have determined novel relationships between low birth weight and paternal diabetes. The offspring of diabetic fathers were, on average, 78 g lighter than the offspring of nondiabetic fathers. For fathers, lower birth weight in their offspring was associated with an increased risk of later diabetes, i.e., fathers of offspring in the lowest quintile of birth weight, who were not diabetic at the time of birth of their child, had a 1.8-fold increased risk of developing diabetes later in life (95% CI 1.2-2.7; P = 0.004). For children, lower birth weight predicted diabetes in the offspring if paternal but not maternal diabetes was present, but it was not associated with higher plasma glucose if neither parent had diabetes. We conclude that the risk of diabetes associated with low birth weight is strongly related to the development of paternal diabetes, suggesting a genetic link between lower birth weight and later diabetes.     

The effects of retrograde cardioplegia technique on myocardial perfusion and energy metabolism: a magnetic resonance imaging and localized phosphorus 31 spectroscopy study in isolated pig hearts

OBJECTIVE: The present work was designed to study the myocardial perfusion and energy metabolism during retrograde cardioplegia performed with different methods, including deep coronary sinus cardioplegia, coronary sinus orifice cardioplegia, and right atrial cardioplegia. METHODS: Isolated pig hearts were subjected to antegrade cardioplegia, right atrial cardioplegia, deep coronary sinus cardioplegia, and coronary sinus orifice cardioplegia in a random order. Cardioplegic distribution was assessed by T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in 1 group of hearts (n = 8). The flow dynamics of cardioplegia were assessed by T2*-weighted imaging in a second group of hearts (n = 8). RESULTS: T1-weighted images revealed an apparent perfusion defect in the posterior wall of the left ventricle, the posterior portion of the interventricular septum, and the right ventricular free wall during deep coronary sinus cardioplegia. The perfusion defect observed in the first 2 regions with deep coronary sinus cardioplegia resolved with coronary sinus orifice cardioplegia. Right atrial cardioplegia provided the most homogeneous perfusion to all regions of the myocardium relative to the other 2 retrograde cardioplegia modalities. T2*-weighted images showed that the 3 retrograde cardioplegia modalities provided similar cardioplegic flow velocities. Localized phosphorus 31 spectroscopy showed that the levels of adenosine triphosphate and phosphocreatine were significantly lower in the posterior wall (adenosine triphosphate, 42.86% +/- 5.91% of its initial value; phosphocreatine, 11.43% +/- 11.3%) than the anterior wall (adenosine triphosphate, 89.19% +/- 8.83%; phosphocreatine, 59.54% +/- 12.58%) of the left ventricle during 70 minutes of normothermic deep coronary sinus cardioplegia. CONCLUSIONS: Deep coronary sinus cardioplegia results in myocardial ischemia in the posterior wall of the left ventricle and the posterior portion of the interventricular septum, as well as in the right ventricular free wall. Coronary sinus orifice cardioplegia improves cardioplegic distribution in these regions. Relative to deep coronary sinus cardioplegia and coronary sinus orifice cardioplegia, right atrial cardioplegia provides the most homogeneous perfusion.