The effect of family status and schizotypy on electrophysiologic measures of attention and semantic processing.

BACKGROUND: Disturbances in both attention and language are central to the phenomenology of the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relative contributions of two factors, family status and schizotypy, on electrophysiologic measures of attention and semantic processing in family members of individuals with schizophrenia. METHODS: Fifteen first-degree relatives of individuals with schizophrenia and 15 comparison subject controls participated in diagnostic evaluations, an assessment of schizotypy, and two event-related potential (ERP) paradigms. The first paradigm was an auditory P300 "oddball" task designed to assess attentional functioning. The second was an N400 sentence paradigm particularly sensitive to language processing. RESULTS: Both relatives and individuals higher in schizotypy, but not their respective comparison groups, showed reductions in P300 amplitude. In the N400 paradigm, individuals higher in schizotypy, but not relatives, showed a reduced N400 effect. There were no differences in latency for either group on either component. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that both family status and schizotypal presentation independently contribute to disturbances in electrophysiologic measures sensitive to attention and language. Whereas higher levels of schizotypy appear to be associated with disturbances in both attention and language processing, family membership appears to place individuals at risk for attentional deficits alone.     

Floating gallbladder: a questionable prelude to torsion: a case report

A 55-year-old woman had recurrent bouts of low substernal and epigastric pain radiating into the interscapular region. A hepatobiliary scan initially showed what was believed to be a dilated common bile duct and nonvisualization of the gallbladder. A delayed image obtained after having the patient move about revealed the presence of a filled gallbladder and normal common bile duct. The combination of recurrent pain with this scintigraphic picture may be representative of a floating gallbladder or an incomplete torsion with spontaneous detorsion. This case is presented to describe the scintigraphic appearance of a mobile gallbladder that may be prone to volvulus and to emphasize the importance of obtaining decubitus or oblique views at the end of a hepatobiliary study in selected cases of unusual findings.     

Pre and postnatal diagnosis of fetus‐in‐fetu

Differentiation of abdominal masses detected on prenatal ultrasound is difficult and requires careful characterization of the mass and precise localization. Differentiation is required in order to distinguish benign from potentially malignant conditions. We describe a case of fetus‐in‐fetu with pre and postnatal imaging.     

A human challenge model for dengue infection reveals a possible protective role for sustained interferon gamma levels during the acute phase of illness

Dengue has recently been defined by the World Health Organization as a major international public health concern. Although several vaccine candidates are in various stages of development, there is no licensed vaccine available to assist in controlling the further spread of this mosquito borne disease. The need for a reliable animal model for dengue disease increases the risk to vaccine developers as they move their vaccine candidates into large-scale phase III testing. In this paper we describe the cellular immune responses observed in a human challenge model for dengue infection; a model that has the potential to provide efficacy data for potential vaccine candidates in a controlled setting. Serum levels of sIL-2Rα and sTNF-RII were increased in volunteers who developed illness. Supernatants from in vitro stimulated PBMC were tested for cytokines associated with a T_H1 or T_H2 T-cell response (IL-2, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-10, IL-5) and only IFN-γ was associated with protection against fever and/or viremia. Interestingly, IFN-γ levels drop to 0 pg/mL for volunteers who develop illness after challenge suggesting that some mechanism of immunosuppression may play a role in dengue illness. The human challenge model provides an opportunity to test potential vaccine candidates for efficacy prior to large-scale phase III testing, and hints at a possible mechanism for immune suppression by dengue.     

Inhibition of Repair of Radiation-induced DNA Damage by Thermal Shock in Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells

Summary

The effect of exposure to elevated temperatures (41–45°C) on the repair of radiation-induced DNA strand breaks was measured in monolayer cultured Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Prior exposure of cells to temperatures between 43 and 45°C resulted in significant decreases in the rate of repair of DNA damage. Exposure to 45°C for 15 min slowed the rate of DNA repair to 0·17 of the control repair rate. The T_o for inactivation of DNA repair was observed to be 34, 13 and 6 min at 43, 44 and 45°C, respectively. Stepdown-heating (45°C for 15 min followed by repair at 41°C) resulted in greater inhibition of DNA repair (0·11 of the control rate) than was observed after acute heating alone. Repair at 41°C was observed to proceed in unheated cells at a faster rate than at 37°C. An Arrhenius analysis of the inactivation kinetics of DNA repair between 43 and 45°C indicated an activation energy of 140 kcal mol^?1 of protein for the inhibition of DNA repair. In general, the results were inconsistent with either a retardation of the DNA repair rate or an increase in unrepaired DNA lesions being responsible for heat-induced radiosensitization.     

Carcinoma of the Breast

A great deal of controversy surrounds the question of the effectiveness of treatment of breast carcinoma, particularly radical surgical procedures in early cases.

The results of simple mastectomy followed by radiotherapy are compared with those of radical surgery in two series of cases, in Edinburgh and at the Mayo Clinic, respectively; despite the many variables involved in such a comparison, the figures are of interest because of their similarity.

Endocrine therapy in metastasizing breast cancer has profoundly altered malignant growth in some cases. Hypophysectomy is gaining favor and appears to be superseding adrenalectomy.