Behavioral conditioning of endotoxin-induced plasma iron alterations

The cascade of physiologic mechanisms in response to infection, the acute-phase response, is recognized as playing a major role in host defence. One such response is the hypoferremia that is consistently reported to occur during bacterial infection. This study aimed to determine whether the alterations in plasma iron were conditionable using the conditioned taste aversion (CTA) paradigm. The regime involved the pairing of a novel-tasting saccharin solution with bacterial endotoxin. Seven days after the initial pairing of these stimuli (the test day), the saccharin solution was represented. Animals exposed to this condition displayed a significant reduction in the level of plasma iron. Animals treated with an intraperitoneal dose of 400 μg/Kg lipopolysaccharide (LPS) displayed lower conditioned iron levels than rats infused with 100 μg/Kg LPS; however, this difference was not significant. These results showed that in addition to other acute-phase responses (fever and anorexia), plasma iron alterations are able to be manipulated through behavioral manipulations.     

Bicycle Helmet Wearing in Children: A Seven-Year, Observational Study in Broward County, Florida

We evaluated the effectiveness of statewide bicycle legislation using direct observation of the number of elementary and middle school children riding bicycles with and without helmets to or from school over a 7-year period. The percentage of children wearing helmets increased dramatically over the past 7 years (to a high of 81%) due to the passage of state law that required helmet usage. Rates for elementary school children were consistently higher than rates of middle school children. Numerous children still do not wear helmets, particularly older children. Further interventions are needed to promote helmet wearing.     

Case report 720

A man presented with a mass in the left first metacarpal bone. Later, his chest radiograph showed extensive, bilateral, rounded opacities in both lungs with enlarged hilar lymph nodes, and he developed expanding lesions in the left radius, ulna, and metacarpal bones. The pulmonary lesions were treated with radiotherapy and cytotoxic agents, and the tumor mass in the first metacarpal was debulked. All biopsies showed similar features of a mixed tumor (pleomorphic adenoma) with metastatic or embolic pulmonary involvement; ultrastructural and immunocytochemical investigations supported this unique diagnosis. The patient remains well 15 years after the initial diagnosis. It is possible that the myoepithelial elements in this case had been displaced intraosseously during development. We are not aware of a similar case in the literature.     

An Approach to Emergency Department Photography

In the emergency department, photography requires an expedient, portable, adaptable, and relatively simple camera system to take advantage of fleeting opportunities for recording visually educational material. These prerequisites are different from those for traditional medical photography, for which relatively plentiful time and advanced equipment are routinely available. Medical photography departments provide an invaluable service, but are rarely convenient for immediate or spontaneous emergency. department photographs. Although no single system or technique is optimal in all these areas, the authors find certain components and approaches work well. They review photographic equipment, paying attention to speed, ease of use, and quality of output. They also review simple techniques such as film choice, lighting, close-up photography, standardization, copy work, and radiographs. Attention to these details can help the inexperienced photographer obtain a system and begin to enjoy the rewards of effective photography in the emergency department.     

Myocardial sestamibi single-photon emission tomography: Variations in reference values with gender, age and rest versus stress?

Reference data files support the evaluation of myocardial perfusion single-photon emission tomography (SPET). The aim of this study was to create a large reference data base for technetium-99m sestamibi SPET, age and gender matched to the general patient population. One hundred and twenty-eight healthy volunteers (76 males and 52 females) with a likelihood of coronary artery disease of less than 5% underwent rest and maximal exercise^99mTc-sestamibi SPET with a 2-day protocol and 180° elliptical rotation. The normalized activity values of^99mTc-sestamibi in the inferior wall differed significantly between men and women. Age variations were found for men in the anterior wall. Normalized activity values in all four walls were strikingly similar during rest and stress. Our results suggest that the use of reference files in^99mTc-sestamibi SPET requires a gender- and, for males, possibly an age-matched reference population. Different reference files at rest and during stress might not be necessary.     

Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Reduces Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Pulmonary Vascular Leak

Previous studies have suggested that corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) has immunoregulatory effects in addition to its neuroendocrine role. We examined the ability of CRF to inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced pulmonary vascular leak in vivo. Female BALB/C mice were treated with either normal saline (NS) or CRF prior to injection with LPS. Pulmonary vascular leak was inhibited by CRF as assessed by measurement of lung wet-to-dry ratios. The stress-induced increase in serum corticosterone levels in mice injected with LPS alone was not further increased by treatment with CRF. This indicates that the effect of CRF was not mediated centrally by stimulation of endogenous steroid release. Histologic examination of the lungs revealed that leukocyte infiltration was significantly depressed in CRF-treated mice thus confirming the protective effect of CRF. In addition, a modest prolongation of survival was demonstrated in CRF-treated mice following challenge with LPS (p=.08). These data indicate the potential utility of CRF as a modulator of pulmonary vascular leak.     

Motives of Childhood Firesetters: Firesetting Characteristics and Psychological Correlates

The present study evaluated curiosity and anger as motives among childhood firesetters. Parents of 133 firesetters (ages 6-13) completed the Fire Incident Analysis (FIA) to permit classification of the children as high and low on each of these two primary motives and to document details of the child's most serious incident within the past 12 months. The children were compared on measures of child dysfunction and firesetting history. An effect of Curiosity was found on measures of psychopathology, firesetting risk, and fire involvement, whereas an effect of Anger was found on measures of firesetting risk and the behavioral correlates of individual incidents. The results clarify the role of child motive in understanding firesetting involvement.     

Opioid binding in DYT1 primary torsion dystonia: an 11C-diprenorphine PET study.

The opioid transmitters enkephalin and dynorphin are known to regulate pallidal output and consequently cortical excitability. Indeed, abnormal basal ganglia opioid transmission has been reported in several involuntary movement disorders, including levodopa-induced dyskinesias in Parkinson's disease (PD), tardive dyskinesias/dystonia, Huntington's disease, and Tourette's syndrome. Moreover, a previous 11C-diprenorphine PET study investigating levodopa-induced dyskinesias found reduced opioid receptor availability in PD with but not without dyskinesias. We wished to investigate if a similar alteration in basal ganglia opioid binding was present in DYT1 primary torsion dystonia (PTD). Regional cerebral 11C-diprenorphine binding was investigated in 7 manifesting carriers of the DYT1 gene and 15 age-matched normal controls using a region-of-interest (ROI) approach and statistical parametric mapping (SPM). No difference in regional mean 11C-diprenorphine binding was found between DYT1-PTD and controls, and no correlation between the severity of dystonia and opioid binding was seen. We conclude that aberrant opioid transmission is unlikely to be present in DYT1-PTD and altered opioid transmission is not a common mechanism underlying all disorders of involuntary movement.     

Executive function impairments in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: do they differ between school and home environments?

OBJECTIVE: The primary purpose of this study was to compare parent and teacher reports of executive function (EF), as measured by the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), on a sample of children who had been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). If differences were found, the secondary purpose was to explore these differences by determining which of the 8 BRIEF scales, each representing a different EF, would best predict symptoms of ADHD by the 2 proxy reporters. METHOD: We performed a secondary data analysis on the assessment information pertaining to 240 children, aged 5 to 15 years, accessing services at an urban Toronto psychiatric program specializing in ADHD. We compared parent and teacher ratings and applied logistical binary regressions to predict the probability of a child's meeting the criteria for clinically significant inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity on the ADHD Rating Scale-IV. RESULTS: As expected, teachers reported more variety and severity of EF impairments than did parents. In addition, teachers used inhibition, organization of materials, and planning and organizing as predictors of ADHD symptoms, whereas parents relied predominantly on inhibition, working memory, and planning and organizing as the risk factors. CONCLUSION: Consistent with the current theory, EF impairments, particularly in inhibition, appear to underlie the behavioural manifestation of ADHD. However, parents and teachers do not always agree when reporting EF impairments at home and in school. Thus information from both types of informants is essential for understanding and treating children with this disorder.