Adult Liver Transplant Candidate Attitudes Toward Graft Sharing Are Not Obstacles to Split Liver Transplantation

Split liver transplantation (SLT) benefits society by increasing the total number of transplants that can be performed, but it is yet unknown if a decreased post-transplant survival (in comparison to whole liver transplantation) would make participation in SLT less appealing to adult liver transplant candidates. A 20-item questionnaire was administered to 50 adult candidates to assess attitudes toward SLT and organ sharing. The overall attitudes of 60% of participants were classified as utilitarian (maximizing benefit to greatest number of candidates), while 26% were classified as self-preserving (maximizing individual benefit) and 14% were undecided. Ninety percent of participants would be willing to share even if expected survival was less than that of whole liver transplantation, and 69% felt that pediatric candidates should have priority over adult candidates. In conclusion, attitudes toward graft sharing and the possibility of compromised survival benefit are not barriers to SLT for most adult liver transplant candidates.     

Effectiveness of early orthodontic treatment with the Twin-block appliance: a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial. Part 1: Dental and skeletal effects.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of early orthodontic treatment with the Twin-block appliance for the developing Class II Division 1 malocclusion. This multicenter trial was carried out in the United Kingdom. A total of 174 children, aged 8 to 10 years old, with Class II Division 1 malocclusion were randomly allocated to receive treatment with a Twin-block appliance or to an untreated, control group. Data were collected at the start of the study and 15 months later. Results showed that early treatment with Twin-block appliances resulted in reduction of overjet, correction of molar relationships, and reduction in severity of malocclusion. Most of this correction was due to dentoalveolar change, but some was due to favorable skeletal change. Early treatment with the Twin-block appliance is effective in reducing overjet and severity of malocclusion. The small change in the skeletal relationship might not be considered clinically significant.     

The role of the psychiatrist in the team treatment of the adult patient with burns.

Improved survival rates for patients with major burn injuries and the consistent finding of significant long-term psychologic disability among survivors of burn trauma call for a redefinition of the role of the psychiatric consultant in the care of patients with burns. In addition to the traditional functions of diagnosis and treatment of discrete psychiatric disorders in patients with burns, this expanded role includes assisting the patient's normal process of psychologic adaptation after injury, assessing and managing burn pain, and facilitating communication among all members of the burn team. The functions of the psychiatrist are most effectively carried out when the psychiatrist is able to participate on a regular basis in the care of every patient as a member of the burn team.     

A simplified method for detecting cytomegalovirus by polymerase chain reaction from histologic sections of small biopsies.

Using a simplified procedure, we have extracted DNA from unstained paraffin sections of needle biopsies of kidney and liver transplants and identified the presence of CMV using the polymerase chain reaction. This method utilizes oligonucleotide primers for two genes shown to be specific for cytomegalovirus (CMV) as well as an internal control gene (hemoglobin) in a single reaction. Utilizing nested PCR amplification with agarose gel electrophoresis, CMV can be detected without radioisotopes to a level of sensitivity equivalent to one one-hundredth of a cytomegalic virocyte per cm2 of a 3-microM paraffin section. This method is applicable to situations where only scarce paraffin-embedded tissue is available.     

Passive smoking and sudden infant death syndrome: review of the epidemiological evidence

BACKGROUND: This paper provides a systematic, quantitative review of the epidemiological evidence relating parental smoking and sudden infant death. METHODS: Thirty two relevant publications were identified after consideration of 692 articles selected by electronic search of the Embase and Medline databases using keywords and Mesh headings relevant to passive smoking in children. Eleven further articles were identified from reviews and by talking to authors. The search was completed in April 1997 and identified 39 studies. RESULTS: The unadjusted pooled odds ratio for prenatal maternal smoking was 2.77 (95% CI 2.45 to 3.13). After adjustment for a variety of confounders the pooled odds ratio was reduced to 2.08 (95% CI 1.83 to 2.38) and was similar in cohort and case-control studies. Four studies reported on maternal postnatal smoking after controlling for prenatal maternal smoking (pooled odds ratio 1.94 (95% CI 1.55 to 2.43)). Of three studies reporting on the risk of paternal smoking where the mother was a non-smoker, two found significant effects while one found no effect. Dose-response relationships with both prenatal and postnatal maternal smoking were present in most studies which provided data. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal smoking doubles the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. The relationship is almost certainly causal. There is good evidence that postnatal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke from both mother and father are important. Because prenatal smoking is almost invariably associated with postnatal smoking, the role of prenatal smoking per se will be difficult to resolve using epidemiological studies.


     

Job ending among youth and adults with severe mental illness

This study examined job leaving over a 36-month period among 326 persons (74 youth and 252 adults) with severe mental illness who were participating in an urban vocational rehabilitation program. Data from 627 job endings indicated that younger clients displayed job-ending patterns that were different in some aspects from such patterns for nondisabled youth (such as displaying a lower average job tenure) yet similar to job-ending patterns for nonhandicapped youth in other ways (such as displaying a high frequency of job changing). Youth and their adult counterparts with mental illness displayed similar tenure on agency-sponsored placements but significantly different tenure on independent jobs. While adults held their independent jobs for an average of seven months, youth averaged only three months at competitive employment. Youth also were significantly more likely than adults to be fired from both placements and independent jobs. These findings and others are discussed in terms of their implications for development of public policy and service delivery models for providing on-going job support to youth and adults with severe psychiatric disabilities.     

Identifying incident cases of parkinsonism among veterans using a tertiary medical center.

To better understand the impact of incident Parkinson's disease (PD) on the Veteran's Health Administration (VHA) and to develop methods applicable to future epidemiological research, we performed a medical record review study at a tertiary referral VHA medical center. Searching the local data base, we identified 782 veterans with diagnostic codes for PD or secondary parkinsonism (SP) between 1998 and 2000. Based on structured medical record review, a movement disorders specialist confirmed diagnoses for incident parkinsonism cases. Among the 782, 191 incident parkinsonism cases were identified (100 PD, 75 SP, and 16 Parkinson's Plus). Incident PD cases were older at diagnosis (74.5 vs. 70.4 yr; P < 0.05) and more likely to be white (81% vs. 62; P < 0.07) than incident SP cases. Diagnostic codes were insufficient to distinguish between incident PD and SP (positive predictive value, 57% and 39%, respectively), and VHA sources failed to identify 21% of confirmed deaths among the incident PD cohort by November 2004. Although the large number of incident cases identified suggests PD is an important cause of disability among elderly VHA users, observed limitations of VHA sources for identifying incident PD cases and determining their vital status should be considered when designing future studies.     

Specific binding of acidic isoferritins to erythroleukemia K562 cells

An investigation of ferritin binding by human erythroleukemia K562 cells was prompted by recent studies suggesting that acidic isoferritins may act as regulators of granulopoiesis and hemopoiesis. Purified human heart and liver ferritins were labeled with iodine 125 and incubated with K562 cells at 37 degrees C. Specific uptake was calculated from the reduction in labeled ferritin binding in the presence of a 1000-fold excess of unlabeled ferritin. Specific uptake of 125I-labeled heart ferritin increased progressively, reaching a maximum after 2 to 3 hours' incubation, although nonspecific binding was too high to derive an affinity constant. There was no specific binding with 125I-labeled liver ferritin, and K562 cells bound neither 125I-labeled human serum albumin nor free 125I. Uptake of heart ferritin was negligible at 4 degrees C and was sharply reduced in the presence of 10% human plasma or fetal calf serum. There was no apparent relationship between the number of days of subculture and the level of uptake of acidic isoferritins by whole cells. These studies demonstrate a selective binding mechanism for acidic isoferritins on erythroleukemia cells and imply that these isoferritins have additional functions besides the storage of iron.