Self-Concept and Satisfaction With Physical Appearance in Youth With and Without Oral Clefts

This study investigated relationships between child/parent dissatisfaction with child facial appearance and the self-concept/social competence of 8- to 15-year-old children with (N = 34) and without (N = 34) oral clefts. Children in both groups had normative psychosocial adjustment, but also reported moderate dissatisfaction with facial appearance. Cleft group parents were more likely to agree with their child's dissatisfaction. When cleft group parents were more dissatisfied with child facial appearance, their children reported better quality of life. Results suggest that parents of children with clefts reporting greater dissatisfaction may respond in positive ways that enhance quality of life.     

Methamphetamine dependence increases risk of neuropsychological impairment in HIV infected persons.

Both HIV infection and methamphetamine dependence can be associated with brain dysfunction. Little is known, however, about the cognitive effects of concurrent HIV infection and methamphetamine dependence. The present study included 200 participants in 4 groups: HIV infected/methamphetamine dependent (HIV+/METH+), HIV negative/methamphetamine dependent (HIV-/METH+), HIV infected/methamphetamine nondependent (HIV+/METH-), and HIV negative/methamphetamine nondependent (HIV-/METH-). Study groups were comparable for age, education, and ethnicity, although the HIV-/METH- group had significantly more females. A comprehensive, demographically corrected neuropsychological battery was administered yielding a global performance score and scores for seven neurobehavioral domains. Rates of neuropsychological impairment were determined by cutoff scores derived from performances of a separate control group and validated with larger samples of HIV+ and HIV- participants from an independent cohort. Rates of global neuropsychological impairment were higher in the HIV+/METH+ (58%), HIV-/METH+ (40%) and HIV+/METH- (38%) groups compared to the HIV-/METH- (18%) group. Nonparametric analyses revealed a significant monotonic trend for global cognitive status across groups, with least impairment in the control group and highest prevalence of impairment in the group with concurrent HIV infection and methamphetamine dependence. The results indicate that HIV infection and methamphetamine dependence are each associated with neuropsychological deficits, and suggest that these factors in combination are associated with additive deleterious cognitive effects. This additivity may reflect common pathways to neural injury involving both cytotoxic and apoptotic mechanisms.     

Role of endothelin in the exercise intolerance of chronic heart failure

In conclusion, plasma levels of the endothelialderived vasoconstrictor endothelin-1 (but not those of other neurohormonal vasoconstrictor factors), measured during exercise correlated closely with objective variables of exercise capacity in patients with heart failure. These findings suggest that endothelin-1 may contribute to exercise intolerance in patients with heart failure, perhaps by limiting the ability of the peripheral vasculature to dilate during exercise.     

Severity of disability and duration of disease in rheumatoid arthritis.

A longitudinal sample of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from Santa Clara County, CA was analyzed. Severity was measured with the Disability Index from the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ). First, 6 cohorts were created of women and men with 0 to 10, > 10 to 20, and > 20 years of duration of illness in 1981. Experiences of the 6 cohorts were studied from 1981 to 1989. For both sexes, and both samples which alternately included and excluded the deceased, persons with > 20 years of duration experienced faster deterioration than those with < 20 years. Second, multiple regression models were estimated which treated the Disability Index as the dependent variable. In the regression models, the Disability Index worsened more quickly for women than men, for persons with few rather than many years of education, and for older than younger persons. Regression models which excluded an intercept term suggested a unique "S" shaped curve that described the Disability Index and duration relation.     

Role of mast cells in experimental anti-glomerular basement membrane glomerulonephritis

Recently, divergent reports on the role of mast cells (MC) in different glomerular diseases have brought our attention to their role in an accelerated model of anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) glomerulonephritis (GN). Genetically MC-deficient Kit(W)/Kit(W-v) mice, MC-reconstituted Kit(W)/Kit(W-v) mice and Kit+/+ control mice were subjected to anti-GBM GN. Kit(+/+) mice developed moderate proteinuria and glomerular damage following the induction of anti-GBM nephritis. In contrast, proteinuria and glomerular damage were dramatically increased in MC-deficient Kit(W)/Kit(W-v) mice. MC-reconstituted Kit(W)/Kit(W-v) mice showed proteinuria and glomerular damage comparable to Kit+/+ mice. A significant increase in infiltrating T cells and macrophages was detected in MC-deficient Kit(W)/Kit(W-v) mice as compared to Kit+/+ control mice and MC-reconstituted Kit(W)/Kit(W-v) mice. Accordingly, we observed an increase of TGF-beta1 mRNA in kidneys from Kit(W)/Kit(W-v) mice. Interestingly, we did not detect MC in the kidney using either Giemsa staining or RT-real-time PCR, but MC were found in the regional lymph nodes. Finally, mortality of Kit(W)/Kit(W-v) mice was significantly increased after the induction of anti-GBM GN due to uremia. Our report provides the first direct evidence that MC are protective in anti-GBM GN, possibly by modulating the influx of effector T cells and macrophages to inflammatory sites in the kidney.     

Turning behaviour induced by injection of muscimol or picrotoxin into the substantia nigra demonstrates dual GABA components.

Injection of the GABA agonist muscimol into rat caudal substantia nigra caused contralateral turning, whereas injection into the rostral substantia nigra caused ipsilateral turning. The GABA antagonist picrotoxin had the opposite effect. These findings support the hypothesis that GABA has dual actions in the substantia nigra. Ipsilateral turning induced by injection of muscimol into rostral nigra was abolished by haloperidol pretreatment, indicating the involvement of dopaminergic mechanisms. Haloperidol pre-treatment did not prevent turning induced by muscimol injected into the caudal nigra, supporting the existence of a non-dopaminergic nigral output system.     

Pathogenic role of P-selectin in experimental cerebral malaria: importance of the endothelial compartment

P-selectin is a leukocyte adhesion receptor expressed on the surface of activated platelets and endothelial cells. Its role in the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria was explored in a murine model of cerebral malaria. Infection of mice with Plasmodium berghei ANKA led to P-selectin up-regulation in brain vessels of cerebral malaria-susceptible mice but not of cerebral malaria-resistant mice. Treatment of susceptible mice with anti-mouse P-selectin mAb failed to prevent the development of the neurological syndrome. However, P-selectin-deficient mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA had a cumulative incidence of cerebral malaria which was significantly reduced compared to wild-type animals (4.5% versus 80%, respectively), despite identical levels of parasitemia, platelet and leukocyte accumulation. To determine whether P-selectin on platelets and/or endothelium was responsible for the microvascular pathology, cerebral malaria was assessed in chimeric mice deficient in platelet or endothelial P-selectin, which were generated by bone marrow transplantation. Mice deficient only in endothelial P-selectin did not show any sign of cerebral malaria (vascular plugging, hemorrhages, or edema), while mice lacking only platelet P-selectin showed signs of cerebral malaria similar to that seen in wild-type mice. These results indicate that endothelial P-selectin plays an important role in the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria.     

Effect of errors in baseline optical properties on accuracy of transabdominal near-infrared spectroscopy in fetal sheep brain during hypoxic stress

A continuous-wave (cw) near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) instrument has been developed to noninvasively quantify fetal cerebral blood oxygen saturation (StO2). A linear Green's function formulism was used to analytically solve the photon diffusion equation and extract the time-varying fetal tissue oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin concentrations from the NIR measurements. Here we explored the accuracy with which this instrument can be expected to perform over a range of fetal hypoxic states. We investigated the dependence of this accuracy on the accuracy of the reference optical properties chosen based on the literature. The fetal oxygenation of a pregnant ewe model was altered via maternal aortic occlusion. The NIR cw instrument was placed on the maternal abdomen directly above the fetal head, continuously acquiring diffuse optical measurements. Blood was sampled periodically from the fetus to obtain fetal arterial saturation (SaO2) measurements from blood gas analysis. The NIR StO2 values were compared with the fetal SaO2 measurements. Variations in the NIR results due to uncertainty in the reference optical properties were relatively small within the fetal SaO2 range of 30 to 80%. Under hypoxic conditions, however, the variability of the NIR StO2 calculations with changes in the assumed reference properties became more significant.     

Expression of keratin K2e in cutaneous and oral lesions: association with keratinocyte activation,proliferation, and keratinization

The cytoskeleton in keratinocytes is a complex of highly homologous structural proteins derived from two families of type I and type II polypeptides. Keratin K2e is a type II polypeptide that is expressed in epidermis late in differentiation. Here we report the influence of keratinocyte activation, proliferation, and keratinization on K2e expression in samples of cutaneous and oral lesions. The normal expression of K2e in the upper spinous and granular layers of interfollicular epidermis is increased in keloid scars but showed distinct down-regulation in psoriasis and hypertrophic scars where keratinocytes are known to undergo activation. Unlike normal and psoriatic skin, K2e expression in hypertrophic and keloid scars began in the deepest suprabasal layer. In cutaneous basal and squamous cell carcinomas, K2e was absent in most tumor islands but the overlying epidermis showed strong expression. No significant K2e expression in nonkeratinized or keratinized oral epithelia, including buccal mucosa, lateral border of tongue and gingiva was detected. In oral lichen planus K2e expression was undetectable, but in benign keratoses of lingual mucosa induction of K2e along with K1 and K10 was observed. In mild-to-moderate oral dysplasia with orthokeratinization, K2e was highly expressed compared with parakeratinized areas but in severe dysplasia as well as in oral squamous cell carcinoma, K2e expression was undetectable. Taken together, the data suggest that K2e expression in skin is sensitive to keratinocyte activation but its up-regulation in oral lesions is a reflection of the degree of orthokeratinization.