Influences of Subject Self-Selection on the EEG Alpha-Hypnotizability Correlation

To determine the effect of subject self-selection on the alpha-hypnotizability correlation, the correlations between volunteer and invited subject groups were compared. For 8 volunteers the correlation between baseline eyes-closed occipital alpha and the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility score was r=.72; for 12 invited subjects, that correlation was r=-.02. The significant difference in these correlations gives support to a previously published paper which hypothesized, on the basis of a literature review, that sampling modifications generated by subject self-selection were responsible for the occurrence of significant alpha-hypnotizability correlations.     

Home chaos: sociodemographic, parenting, interactional, and child correlates.

We conducted 2 studies to (a) establish the usefulness of the construct of home chaos, (b) investigate its correlates, and (c) determine the validity of the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (CHAOS) used to measure the construct in each study. Study 1 relied on a sample of European American preschoolers and their mothers and Study 2 on a sample of African American school-age children and their caregivers. Home chaos was associated with less effective parental discipline; elevated behavior problems, limited attentional focusing, and reduced ability to understand and respond to social cues in children; and reduced accuracy and efficiency in a cooperative parent-child interactional task, after controlling for potential confounds. It is concluded that (a) home chaos is not a proxy for adverse social or psychological circumstances but a useful construct in its own right; (b) home chaos is associated with multiple detrimental correlates in parents and children; and (c) the CHAOS scale provides an adequate and economical measure of home confusion and disorganization that should prove useful in clinical research with diverse populations.     

Molecular cloning, expression and in situ hybridization of rat brain glutamic acid decarboxylase messenger RNA

A cDNA library was generated in the expression vector lambda GT11 from rat brain poly(A)+ RNAs and screened with a GAD antiserum. Two clones reacted positively. One of them was shown to express a GAD activity which was specifically trapped on anti-GAD immunogel and was inhibited by gamma-acetylenic-GABA. Blot hybridization analysis of RNAs from rat brain revealed a single 4 kilobases band. Preliminary in situ hybridizations showed numerous cells labelled by the GAD probe such as the Purkinje and stellate cells in the cerebellar cortex and the cells of the reticular thalamic nucleus.     

Pneumococcus observatory data in the Rhône-Alps region. Results from 1996

Throughout 1996, 22 hospital-based laboratories in the Rh?ne-Alpes region of France collected pneumococcal strains and used a standardized protocol to record the following data; patient age and sex; type of specimen; and determination of susceptibility to at least the following antibiotics: oxacillin 1 microgram and 5 micrograms, erythromycin (Ery), tetracycline (Tet), chloramphenicol (Chl), rifampin (Rmp), and loracarbef. For penicillin-nonsusceptible strains (PNSSs), which were identified based on results with oxacillin, MICs for penicillin G, amoxicillin (Amx), and cefotaxime (Ctx) were determined using the E Test, at the study site and agar dilution at the coordinating center. Of the 1153 strains, 65.5% were from adults and 31.8% from children; patient age was unknown in 2.7% of cases. PNSPs (MIC > 0.06 mg/l) contributed 32.9% of strains (I: 23.3%; R: 9.6%) and were more common in children (41.1%) than in adults (28.1%). The frequency of PNSSs varied across specimen types: 27.9% in blood cultures (305 strains), 15.6% in cerebrospinal fluid (32), 38.7% in protected bronchopulmonary specimens (31), 31.5% in unprotected bronchopulmonary specimens (434), 50.8% in acute otitis media (118), and 34.4% in other specimens (221). Among PNSSs, nonsusceptibility (I + R) to other antibiotics was variable: Ery, 62.1%; Tet, 41.5%; Chl, 40.4%; Rmp, 1.1%. Corresponding figures for the overall strain population were Ery, 33.3%; Tet, 22.7%; Chl, 22.8%; Rmp, 0.9%. In addition, 56.5% of PNSSs exhibited multiple drug resistance. Resistance to amoxicillin (MIC > 2 mg/l) was demonstrated for only 5 strains. No strains were resistant to loracarbef or cefotaxime. Serotypes of the 379 PNSSs were as follows: 23F, 26.6%; 14 (25.6%); 9V (18.2%), 6 (8.7%), 15 (5%), 19 (4.5%).     

Contribution of magnetic resonance imaging in sclerotic combined degeneration of the spinal cord due to vitamin B12 deficiency

Subacute combined degeneration (SCD) of the spinal cord is known to present histopathologically degenerative lesions in the spinal cord, but few studies on the neuroradiological findings have so far been reported. We present the interest of initial and follow-up MR findings in three cases of SCD. In the three cases, a causal event precipitated the onset of neurological symptoms: general anesthesia for the first and the third one and folic acid treatment for the second one. Clinical evolution was favorable after specific treatment with nearly total recovery. The initial MR study disclosed lesions predominantly involving the posterior columns of the spinal cord: high intensity on T2 weighted image was seen in the initial MR study and disappeared three months after treatment in correlation with good recovery, but with a delay. The recognition of this MR pattern suggests that MRI may be used in conjunction with clinical assessment to confirm the diagnosis and to monitor the efficacity of treatment in SCD.     

Dysfunctional regulation of alphaCaMKII and syntaxin 1B transcription after induction of LTP in the aged rat

Syntaxin 1B and alphaCaMKII are two genes that are upregulated after the induction of LTP and appear to underlie different mechanisms of synaptic plasticity. alphaCaMKII is directly implicated in strengthening the synapses that have been modified, whereas syntaxin 1B has been implicated in a mechanism for the propagation of synaptic plasticity within neural circuits. In these experiments we have investigated whether the regulation of these genes is altered after the induction of LTP in aged rats. We found, three hours after the induction of LTP in the dentate gyrus, that aged rats could be subgrouped into those in which LTP was maintained and those in which LTP had decayed back to basal levels. Both genes were upregulated in young adult rats, whereas there was a differential pattern of LTP-induced expression in the aged rats. Dendritic alphaCaMKII was upregulated in aged rats only when LTP was maintained. In contrast, regulation of syntaxin 1B and alphaCaMKII was absent in the granule cell bodies of the aged rats regardless of whether LTP was maintained or not. These results suggest that molecular mechanisms implicated in two aspects of hippocampal synaptic plasticity malfunction during normal ageing and therefore may have some contributory role in the decline in memory function routinely observed in ageing.     

O2-sensing after carotid chemodenervation: hypoxic ventilatory responsiveness and upregulation of tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA in brainstem catecholaminergic cells

Ventilatory responses to acute and long-term hypoxia are classically triggered by carotid chemoreceptors. The chemosensory inputs are carried within the carotid sinus nerve to the nucleus tractus solitarius and the brainstem respiratory centres. To investigate whether hypoxia acts directly on brainstem neurons or secondarily via carotid body inputs, we tested the ventilatory responses to acute and long-term hypoxia in rats with bilaterally transected carotid sinus nerves and in sham-operated rats. Because brainstem catecholaminergic neurons are part of the chemoreflex pathway, the ventilatory response to hypoxia was studied in association with the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). TH mRNA levels were assessed in the brainstem by in situ hybridization and hypoxic ventilatory responses were measured in vivo by plethysmography. After long-term hypoxia, TH mRNA levels in the nucleus tractus solitarius and ventrolateral medulla increased similarly in chemodenervated and sham-operated rats. Ventilatory acclimatization to hypoxia developed in chemodenervated rats, but to a lesser extent than in sham-operated rats. Ventilatory response to acute hypoxia, which was initially low in chemodenervated rats, was fully restored within 21 days in long-term hypoxic rats, as well as in normoxic animals which do not overexpress TH. Therefore, activation of brainstem catecholaminergic neurons and ventilatory adjustments to hypoxia occurred independently of carotid chemosensory inputs. O2-sensing mechanisms unmasked by carotid chemodenervation triggered two ventilatory adjustments: (i) a partial acclimatization to long-term hypoxia associated with TH upregulation; (ii) a complete restoration of acute hypoxic responsivity independent of TH upregulation.     

A randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trial of lipid-lowering strategies in patients with renal insufficiency: diet modification with or without fenofibrate

BACKGROUND: Renal insufficiency is characterized by lipoprotein abnormalities including elevated triglyceride levels. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The safety and efficacy of micronized fenofibrate as a treatment for dyslipidemia in patients with progressive renal insufficiency was evaluated in a randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind study comparing fenofibrate and dietary modification to dietary modification alone. Patients were evaluated following a 3-month pre-randomization period of dietary counseling. Twenty-eight patients with moderate renal insufficiency and triglyceride levels 2.3 mmol/l or LDL/HDL ratio 5 were randomized to placebo (n = 12) or fenofibrate (n = 16) therapy. Treatment and dietary counseling continued for 6 months. RESULTS: Ten of 16 patients (63%) treated with fenofibrate achieved a 30% reduction in triglyceride levels or LDL/HDL ratio reduction < 5 compared to 2 of 17% in the placebo group (p = 0.015). Triglyceride levels were significantly reduced in the fenofibrate group (-31%) versus placebo (+1.3%, p = 0.003). In compliant patients (n = 25) there was also a significantly greater increase in HDL cholesterol levels in the fenofibrate group (+19.9%) compared to placebo (-4.7%, p = 0.001). Changes in measured creatinine clearance were not significantly different between the groups and there were no serious adverse effects of treatment. CONCLUSION: Fenofibrate therapy combined with dietary modification effectively reduced triglyceride levels in renal insufficiency patients without serious adverse effects.     

Respiratory syncytial virus genotypes and disease severity among children in hospital

OBJECTIVES: To determine the spectrum of N and G genotypes of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causing respiratory tract infection and whether particular genotypes are associated with severity of infection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs) were obtained from 114 infants with acute respiratory tract infection due to RSV over two seasons. Viral mRNA was extracted from NPAs or cultured virus, reverse transcribed, and the cDNA amplified by the polymerase chain reaction using primers directed to parts of the N and G gene respectively. Amplicons were separately digested with four different restriction endonucleases for each gene. The fragments were separated by agarose gel, electrophoresis, and the electrophoretic patterns used to assign the various genotypes. Disease severity was assessed as very mild (upper respiratory tract signs only), mild (coryza and signs of lower respiratory tract infection), moderate (requiring nasogastric or intravenous fluids), and severe (requiring oxygen or ventilation). RESULTS: Five of the six known N genotypes were detected, but NP4 and NP2 were found most frequently. There was no association between N genotype and disease severity. Six G (SHL) genotypes were detected. Significantly (p = 0.04) more of the infants infected with the SHL2 genotype had severe or moderate disease. CONCLUSIONS: During the seasonal peaks of RSV respiratory tract infection at least 10 different RSV genotypes cocirculated. While there is no association between N genotypes and disease severity, infection with the SHL2 G genotype appears to result in moderate to severe disease.