Effect of treatment with zinc gluconate or zinc acetate on experimental and natural colds.

Two clinical trials were conducted, one involving 273 subjects with experimental rhinovirus colds and the other involving 281 subjects with natural colds. Symptomatic volunteers were randomized to receive oral lozenges containing zinc gluconate (13.3 mg), zinc acetate (5 or 11.5 mg), or placebo. The median duration of illness in zinc gluconate recipients was 2.5 days, contrasted with 3.5 days in the placebo recipients (P=.035), in the experimental colds study. Zinc gluconate had no effect on symptom severity and zinc acetate had no effect on either duration or severity. Neither formulation had an effect on the duration or severity of natural cold symptoms. Evaluation of blinding, taste, and adverse events revealed no significant differences among the 4 treatment arms. Zinc compounds appear to have little utility for common-cold treatment.     

Termination of phototransduction requires binding of the NINAC myosin III and the PDZ protein INAD.

Many of the proteins that are critical for Drosophila phototransduction assemble into a signaling complex, signalplex, through association with the PDZ-domain protein INAD. Some of these proteins depend on INAD for proper subcellular localization to the phototransducing organelle, the rhabdomere, making it difficult to assess any physiological function of this signaling complex independent of localization. Here we demonstrated that INAD bound directly to the NINAC myosin III, yet the subcellular localization of NINAC was normal in inaD mutants. Nevertheless, the INAD binding site was sufficient to target a heterologous protein to the rhabdomeres. Disruption of the NINAC/INAD interaction delayed termination of the photoreceptor response. Thus one role of this signaling complex is in rapid deactivation of the photoresponse.     

Neuropsychological deficits associated with Alzheimer's disease in the very-old: discrepancies in raw vs. standardized scores.

The profiles of neuropsychological deficits associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Young-Old (M age and 70) and Very-Old (M age > 80) patients were compared, along with possible modifying effects of apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype on these profiles. A comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests was administered to the two AD patient groups (Young-Old: n = 33; Very-Old: n = 48) and their respective age-matched normal control (NC) groups who remained free of dementia on follow-up examinations over a 1 to 10 year period (Young-Old: n = 43; Very-Old: n = 36). AD and NC groups did not differ in education levels or gender distributions. Young-Old AD and Very-Old AD groups were comparable in education, gender, dementia severity, and disease duration. Results showed that both AD groups achieved comparable raw scores on all the neuropsychological measures. However, when scores were standardized on the basis of performance of their respective NC groups (i.e., age-corrected z scores), Very-Old AD patients significantly outperformed Young-Old AD patients on tests of executive functions, visuospatial skills, and delayed memory. Furthermore, the relationship between age and memory and executive function deficits in AD was modified by APOE genotype. These data suggest that the profile of neuropsychological deficits associated with AD in the Very-Old lacks the disproportionate saliency of episodic memory and executive function deficits typical of the Young-Old.     

Posttreatment occlusal variability among angle Class I nonextraction patients

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that variability among posttreatment Angle Class I, nonextraction patients is not related to patient and treatment factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred thirty-eight subjects were randomly selected from the archives of the Department of Orthodontics, St Louis University. Patient factors evaluated included age, sex, mandibular plane angle, and ANB angle; treatment factors included active treatment time and supervising orthodontist. Objective Grading System (OGS) scores for six of the criteria (excluding interproximal contacts and root angulations) and the anterior Bolton ratio were measured on the posttreatment study casts. RESULTS: The partial mean overall OGS score was 24.9 +/- 8.0. Occlusal contact was the most important component contributing to the overall score, followed by alignment. Variation in the OGS scores was explained by sex, pretreatment mandibular plane and ANB angles, the posttreatment anterior Bolton ratio, and treatment duration. The partial overall OGS scores increased by approximately one point for every 4 degrees increase in the mandibular plane angle and nearly one point for every 3 additional months of treatment. Approximately 16% and 15% of the variation in alignment and buccolingual inclination, respectively, was due to the treating orthodontist. CONCLUSIONS: Posttreatment occlusal variability among Class I nonextraction patients can be partially explained by patient- and treatment-related factors.     

Comparing narrative and multiple-choice formats in online communication skill assessment

Objectives We compared multiple‐choice and open‐ended responses collected from a web‐based tool designated ‘Case for Change’, which had been developed for assessing and teaching medical students in the skills involved in integrating sexual risk assessment and behaviour change discussions into patient‐centred primary care visits. Methods A total of 111 Year 3 students completed the web‐based tool. A series of videos from one patient encounter illustrated how a clinician uses patient‐centred communication and health behaviour change skills while caring for a patient presenting with a urinary tract infection. Each video clip was followed by a request for students to respond in two ways to the question: ‘What would you do next?’ Firstly, students typed their statements of what they would say to the patient. Secondly, students selected from a multiple‐choice list the statements that most closely resembled their free text entries. These two modes of students’ answers were analysed and compared. Results When articulating what they would say to the patient in a narrative format, students frequently used doctor‐centred approaches that focused on premature diagnostic questioning or neglected to elicit patient perspectives. Despite the instruction to select a matching statement from the multiple‐choice list, students tended to choose the most exemplary patient‐centred statement, which was contrary to the doctor‐centred approaches reflected in their narrative responses. Conclusions Open‐ended questions facilitate in‐depth understanding of students’ educational needs, although the scoring of narrative responses is time‐consuming. Multiple‐choice questions allow efficient scoring and individualised feedback associated with question items but do not fully elicit students’ thought processes.     

Multiple-dose cimetidine administration does not influence the single-dose pharmacokinetics of quinapril and its active metabolite (CI-928)

The potential effect of cimetidine on the pharmacokinetic profiles of quinapril and its active metabolite CI-928 was evaluated in eight healthy volunteers. Each subject received a single 40-mg quinapril dose on days 1 and 12 and cimetidine 300 mg four times daily on days 8 through 13. Serial blood and urine samples were collected for assay of quinapril and CI-928 concentrations. No statistically significant differences were observed in quinapril or CI-928 Cmax, tmax, AUC(0-infinity), beta, or percent of dose excreted in urine values for quinapril administered alone and in combination with cimetidine. Therefore, multiple-dose cimetidine administration does not influence the single-dose pharmacokinetics of quinapril and its active metabolite, CI-928, in healthy volunteers.     

Mortality study of workers compensated for asbestosis in Poland, 1970-1997

The aim of the study was to assess the risk of asbestos-related malignancies among persons with diagnosed asbestosis. The study covered a cohort composed of 907 men and 490 women afflicted by asbestosis, diagnosed is 1970-1997. The follow-up of the cohort continued until 31 December 1999. In all, 421 deaths were registered and causes of death were retrieved for 93.3% of the deceased. A significantly increased mortality was observed both in the male 1300 deaths; SMR = 127; 95%CI: 113-142) and female (121 deaths, SMR = 150; 95%CI: 124-179) cohorts. The elevated number of deaths in the male and female cohorts were noted mainly due to respiratory diseases (men: 42 deaths; SMR = 344; 95%CI: 248-465; women: 20 deaths, SMR = 789; 95%CI: 482-1219) malignant neoplasms (men: 91 deaths, SMR = 146; 95%CI: 118-179; women: 34 deaths, SMR = 159; 95%CI: 110-222), including lung cancer (men: 39 deaths, SMR = 168; 95% CI: 119-230; women: 13 deaths, SMR = 621; 95%CI: 331-1062) and pleural mesothelioma (men: 3 deaths, SMR = 2680; 95%CI: 553-7832; women: 3 deaths, SMR = 7207; 95%CI: 1031-14612). Taking into account a cumulative dose of fibers, it was found that a significantly increased mortality from lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma applied to persons exposed to a dose above 25 f-y/ml. The results indicate that persons with asbestosis are at higher risk of developing malignant neoplasms, especially lung cancer and mesothelioma.     

Sialotorrhea: A manifestation of first-branchial-cleft anomaly?

A 16-year-old-girl had a six-month history of sialotorrhea. Lipiodol sialography of the right parotid revealed overflow of Lipiodol into the right external acoustic meatus. Surgical exploration that left the facial nerve intact disclosed a branchiogenic anomaly confirmed at histologic examination—a lesion that extended parallel to the external acoustic meatus—and aplasia of the pars tympanica of the right petrosal bone. It is concluded that the branchiogenic anomaly is a first-branchial-cleft anomaly (type I according to Work); the aplasia of the pars tympanica ossis temporalis remains unexplained. The sialotorrhea probably resulted from an infection of the branchiogenic cyst.