Prediction of psychosis onset in Alzheimer disease: The role of cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms, and further evidence for psychosis subtypes.

BACKGROUND: Psychotic symptoms in Alzheimer disease (AD+P) identify a heritable phenotype associated with more rapid cognitive decline. The authors have proposed that AD+P is itself a composite of a misidentification and a paranoid subtype with increased cognitive impairment restricted to the misidentification type. Most prior studies of the clinical correlates of AD+P have been limited, however, by the inclusion of prevalent cases. METHODS: Subjects with possible or probable AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) without psychosis at study entry were assessed at the time of initial presentation and then annually. Psychotic symptoms were assessed using the CERAD Behavioral Rating Scale. Survival analyses used Cox proportional hazard models with time-dependent covariates to examine the predictors of psychosis onset. RESULTS: A total of 288 subjects completed at least one follow-up examination. Mean duration of follow-up was 22.1 months. The incidence of psychosis was 0.19 per person-year. Cognitive impairment was associated with onset of psychosis, largely as a result of its association with onset of the misidentification, but not the paranoid, subtype. Including psychotropic medication use in the model revealed an association of antidepressant use with the onset of psychosis. This latter association appeared to arise from an underlying association between depression and the risk of psychosis onset rather than from antidepressant treatment. CONCLUSION: These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the misidentification and the paranoid subtypes each define a more biologically homogeneous group than AD+P as a whole. Further exploration of the relationship between depressive symptoms and psychosis in patients with AD is warranted.     

Ultrasound Examination and Localization of the Sciatic Nerve: A Volunteer Study

Background: Few studies have examined the use of ultrasound for sciatic nerve localization. The authors evaluated the usefulness of low-frequency ultrasound in identifying the sciatic nerve at three locations in the lower extremity and in guiding needle advancement to target before nerve stimulation.

Methods: In this prospective observational study, 15 volunteers underwent sciatic nerve examination using a curved ultrasound probe in the range of 2-5 MHz and a Philips-ATL 5000 unit (ATL Ultrasound, Bothell, WA) in the gluteal, infragluteal, and proximal thigh regions. Thereafter, an insulated block needle was advanced inline with the ultrasound beam to reach the nerve target, which was further confirmed by electrical stimulation. The quality of sciatic nerve images, ease of needle to nerve contact, threshold stimulating current, and resultant motor response were recorded.

Results: The sciatic nerve was successfully identified in the transverse view as a solitary predominantly hyperechoic structure on ultrasound in all of the three regions examined. The target nerve was visualized easily in 87% and localized within two needle attempts in all patients. Nerve stimulation was successful in 100% after two attempts with a threshold current of 0.42 +/- 0.12 (mean +/- SD) eliciting foot plantarflexion or dorsiflexion.     

Penicillium piceum infection: diagnosis and successful treatment in chronic granulomatous disease.

Infections due to Penicillium species other than P.marneffei are rare. We identified a boy with X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (X-CGD) with a pulmonary nodule and adjacent rib osteomyelitis caused by Penicillium piceum. The only sign of infection was an elevated sedimentation rate. P. piceum was isolated by fine needle aspirate and from excised infected tissues. Surgical removal and one year of voriconazole treatment were very well tolerated and led to complete recovery. Microbiological, microscopic and molecular studies support the fungal diagnosis. P. piceum should be considered as a relevant pathogen in immunocompromised patients.     

Investigation of the phenylalanine hydroxylase gene and tardive dyskinesia.

Phenylketonuria (PKU), an inborn error of phenylalanine metabolism, has been shown to be a risk factor for tardive dyskinesia (TD). In male psychiatric patients there was a significant relationship between TD and measures of plasma phenylalanine following ingestion of a standardized phenylalanine dose that was indicative of higher brain availability of phenylalanine in patients with TD. In addition, a medical food formulation consisting of branched chain amino acids, which compete with phenylalanine for transport across the blood-brain barrier, has been demonstrated to be an efficacious treatment for TD. Cumulatively these findings suggested that TD was related to phenylalanine metabolism and thus that sequence variants in the gene for phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH), the rate-limiting enzyme in the catabolism of phenylalanine, could be associated with TD susceptibility. Genetic screening of PAH in a group of 123 psychiatric patients revealed ten sequence polymorphisms and two mutations, but none appeared to be a significant risk factor for TD.     

Women's Evaluations of Their Experience in a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial of Intrapartum Fetal Pulse Oximetry (The FOREMOST Trial)

Abstract: Background: Fetal pulse oximetry improves the assessment of fetal well‐being during labor. The objective of this study was to evaluate women's satisfaction with their experience with this additional technology. Methods: We surveyed women participating in the FOREMOST trial, a randomized controlled trial comparing the addition of fetal pulse oximetry (FPO) to conventional cardiotocograph (CTG) monitoring (intervention group), versus CTG‐only (control group), in the presence of nonreassuring fetal status during labor. Our survey evaluated 3 aspects of women's experience: labor, fetal monitoring, and participation in the research. The survey was administered within a few days of giving birth and repeated 3 months later. Results: No differences were found between the intervention and control groups for women's evaluations of their labor, fetal monitoring, research, or overall experiences when surveyed on both occasions. Within each study group, a small but statistically significant decline occurred in women's scores for their experience of labor and overall experience from the initial survey close to the time of giving birth, to 3 months later. The magnitude of differences in responses over time was similar for the both groups. Women were more satisfied after a spontaneous or assisted vaginal birth than after cesarean section. Length of time the research midwife was present had a significant positive effect on women's ratings of their experience several days after giving birth (p = 0.006), but no effect at 3 months. Conclusions: The addition of fetal pulse oximetry for the assessment of fetal well‐being during labor did not affect childbearing women's perceptions of fetal monitoring or their labor. Women evaluated their experience in the research process positively overall. Small changes occurred in women's perception of their satisfaction over time. (BIRTH 33:2 June 2006)