Priming Deficiency in Male Subjects at Risk for Alcoholism: The N4 During a Lexical Decision Task

Background:  While there is extensive literature on the relationship between the P3 component of event-related potentials (ERPs) and risk for alcoholism, there are few published studies regarding other potentially important ERP components. One important candidate is the N4(00) component in the context of semantic processing, as abnormalities in this component have been reported for adult alcoholics.
Method:  A semantic priming task was administered to nonalcohol dependent male offspring (18 to 25 years) of alcoholic fathers [high risk (HR) n  = 23] and nonalcoholic fathers [low risk (LR) n  = 28] to study whether the 2 groups differ in terms of the N4 component. Subjects were presented with 150 words and 150 nonwords. Among the words, 50 words (primed) were preceded by their antonyms (prime, n  = 50), whereas the remaining 50 words were unprimed. For the analysis, N4 amplitude and latency as well as behavioral measures for the primed and unprimed words were considered.
Results:  A significant interaction effect was observed between semantic condition and group, where HR subjects did not show N4 attenuation for primed stimuli.
Conclusion:  The lack of N4 attenuation to primed stimuli and/or inability to differentiate between primed and unprimed stimuli, without latency and reaction time being affected, suggest deficits in semantic priming, especially in semantic expectancy and/or postlexical semantic processing in HR male offspring. Further, it indicates that it might be an electrophysiological endophenotype that reflects genetic vulnerability to develop alcoholism.     

Lactic acidosis due to metformin in type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease stage 3–5: is it significant?

Purpose

To study the incidence of lactic acidosis due to metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 3–5.

Methods

We estimated plasma lactate in patients of CKD stage 3 and worse who were continuing metformin on their own prior to stopping the drug.

Result

Of 40 patients included, median duration of T2DM was 60 months (interquartile range IQR 24–120). The mean serum creatinine was 309.4?±?159.1 µmol/L and mean eGFR was 27.82?±?12.93 mL/min/1.73 m² with 3 (7.5%), 16 (40%), 11 (27.5%) and 10 (25%) in CKD stages 3a, 3b, 4 and 5, respectively. They were receiving metformin for a median duration of 24 months (IQR 12.5–60), an average dose of 896?±?350 mg per day. The median of plasma lactate was 1.36 mmol/L (IQR 1.11–1.75 mmol/L) with three (7.5%) having levels above normal, two (20%) in CKD stage 5 and one (9.1%) in stage 4.

Conclusion

Metformin can be safely used in CKD stage 3 and with regular measurement of plasma lactate in later stages.

     

Structural brain differences between never-treated patients with schizophrenia, with and without dyskinesia, and normal control subjects: a magnetic resonance imaging study

BACKGROUND: In south India, abnormal movements indistinguishable from tardive dyskinesia have been observed in chronically ill patients with schizophrenia who have never received antipsychotic medication. The present study, using magnetic resonance imaging, examines brain structure in such patients, in those without dyskinesia, and in normal control subjects. METHODS: Chronically ill patients with schizophrenia with and without dyskinesia and controls were identified in villages south of Chennai, India (each group, n = 31). Patients' mental state was assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale for schizophrenia, dyskinesia by the Abnormal Involuntary Movements Scale, and parkinsonism by the Simpson and Angus scale. In patients and controls, magnetic resonance imaging measured the volume of the caudate and lentiform nuclei and the lateral ventricle-hemisphere ratio. RESULTS: The left lentiform nucleus was significantly (11%) larger in patients with dyskinesia compared with controls, and the right lateral ventricle-hemisphere ratio was significantly (33%) larger in patients without dyskinesia compared with controls. In all 3 groups, there were significant positive correlations between age and ventricle-hemisphere ratio. In controls, but not in patients, there were significant negative correlations between age and the volume of the caudate and lentiform nuclei. CONCLUSIONS: Never-treated patients with dyskinesia may have striatal pathologic conditions and may represent a subgroup of patients with schizophrenia; in those without abnormal movements, cortical atrophy is more apparent. The schizophrenic process may interfere with normal age-related anatomical changes in the basal ganglia.     

Duration of untreated psychosis and treatment outcome in schizophrenia patients untreated for many years

OBJECTIVE: The duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) influences treatment outcome in schizophrenia but its relevance in untreated patients, ill for a very long duration, is not known. This study examined outcome and factors related to it after one year of treatment of schizophrenia patients who were ill for many years and not previously treated. METHOD: Among 75 never-treated patients with schizophrenia detected in a community survey in Chennai, India, 49 took treatment and were followed up prospectively for one year. Evaluation at intake and outcome was carried out using standardized methods. RESULTS: A good clinical outcome in 29%, social outcome in 35%, occupational outcome in 51% and global outcome in 31% was observed at the end of one year. Patients with poor global outcome did not significantly differ from those with good outcome on demographic and clinical variables at intake but for the presence of delusions and formal thought disorder. The proportion with good outcome in clinical, work and global measures fell steadily with increasing DUP. This difference was significant for clinical and global outcomes after a DUP of 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between DUP and response to treatment held good even in chronic stages of schizophrenia with longer DUP associated with poorer outcome.     

A comparison of shear bond strength and debonding characteristics of conventional, moisture-insensitive, and self-etching primers in vitro

Bond failure is often attributed to moisture contamination. To overcome this commonly encountered problem, materials have been developed that are hydrophilic and that are believed to offer better bond strength in moisture-contaminated environment. Shear bond strength was compared among three materials: conventional Transbond XT primer (3M Unitek), moisture-insensitive primer (MIP, 3M Unitek), and self-etch primer (Transbond plus, 3M Unitek). Bond strength was tested under laboratory conditions with brackets bonded on both dry enamel and enamel contaminated with natural saliva. Self-etch primer showed maximum bond strength under both dry and wet conditions. Conventional primer was comparable with the former under dry conditions but did not offer clinically adequate bond strength in cases of moisture contamination. Both MIP and self-etch primer showed adequate bond strength superior to that of conventional primer in case of moisture contamination. All primers showed typical debonding characteristics of separation at the bracket-adhesive interface or within the adhesive itself, with the exception of the conventional primer used with moisture-contaminated enamel.     

Developments in polymeric devices for oral insulin delivery

BACKGROUND: Development of improved oral insulin administration is necessary for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, to overcome the problem of daily subcutaneous injections. The vast amount of literature data on oral insulin delivery prompted us to cover this area in a review. OBJECTIVE: Insulin delivery using polymeric devices is discussed, with an ultimate aim of addressing the technological development in this area. METHODS: The development of oral delivery devices for insulin using hydrogels and micro/nanoparticles is discussed with reference to polymers. These efforts must be directed to increase the residence time of insulin near the intestinal absorptive cells. RESULTS/CONCLUSION: The published results on oral insulin delivery devices, particularly on inter-polymer complexes of the grafted copolymers, are discussed in greater depth. The use of absorption enhancers like cyclodextrins, bile salts and surfactants is covered. The state-of-the-art technology and challenges in this area are discussed, with typical examples.     

Laparoscopic right hemicolectomy for goblet-cell carcinoid of the appendix: report of a rare case and literature survey

Tumors of the appendix are rare entities, and the majority of them are discovered accidentally during an investigation for other conditions. Laparoscopic surgery for appendiceal goblet-cell carcinoid (GCC) has only been reported once before. Our patient was incidentally discovered to have an appendiceal tumor and was referred to us for laparoscopy. The tumor involved the body of the appendix and was adherent to the cecum. A laparoscopic hemicolectomy was successfully performed for the patient. Postoperative recovery was uneventful. Histopathology confirmed an appendiceal goblet-cell carcinoid. Immunohistochemistry was negative for the neuroendocrine markers, CK20 and CK7. GCC is a rare tumor of the appendix. Hemicolectomy is indicated in specific situations, such as local involvement or tumor size >2 cm. In our patient, the tumor was adherent to the cecum and tumor size was 5 cm. Therefore, a laparoscopic right hemicolectomy was performed primarily. There are several reports in the literature supporting both the laparoscopic and open approaches. Laparoscopic surgery for appendiceal tumors is safe, feasible, and even may be beneficial.     

Balloon test occlusion and endosurgical parent artery sacrifice for the evaluation and management of complex intracranial aneurysmal disease

The lifetime risk of developing a cerebral aneurysm is about 5%. For some patients, aneurysms can be reasonably managed by conservative measures, including periodic clinical and imaging surveillance. However, the definitive treatment of cerebral aneurysm disease requires securing the aneurysm by surgically excluding it from the cerebrovascular circulation. Most commonly, this can be achieved by either open surgical clipping or embosurgery. Unfortunately, for a minority of patients, these interventions are inadequate because of many aneurysmal factors, such as complex anatomy, giant and wide neck aneurysmal morphology, peripheral small branch origin and skull base location. In situations like these, sacrifice of the parent artery may be preferable, especially when clinical tolerance or image based vascular reserve can be preoperatively demonstrated during temporary occlusion of the vessel. This preoperative procedure, which is known as the Balloon Test Occlusion (BTO), has several variations and technical nuances that can assist the surgeon in predicting which patients may best benefit from parent artery sacrifice (PAS). Together, BTO and PAS are invaluable tools in the management of complicated and atypical cerebral aneurysms. With regard to cerebrovascular aneurysm disease, this review will summarize the development of these procedures, condense the predictability of the numerous BTO variations and provide an overview of the currently available PAS techniques.     

Antioxidant and cytotoxic effect of oxidized lutein in human cervical carcinoma cells (HeLa)

This study investigated the antioxidant and cytotoxic effect of oxidized lutein using human cervical carcinoma cell lines (HeLa). Liposome contained phosphatidylcholine (20 μmol) in Tris–HCl buffer and lutein (200 μmol) was exposed to sunlight for 100 min. Photo-oxidized lutein products were characterized by LC–MS (APCI⁺) and studied for their antioxidant property and apoptosis in terms of cell viability, glutathione and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Photo-oxidized lutein fragmented ions were identified as 523 (M⁺+H⁺-3CH₃), 476 (M⁺+H⁺-6CH₃), 551 (M⁺+H⁺-H₂O) and its isomers as 13-Z lutein, 13′-Z lutein, 13-Z zeaxanthin, all-E zeaxanthin, 9-Z lutein, 9′-Z lutein. Free radical scavenging activity of oxidized lutein was higher by 45.9% (IC₅₀, 3.71 μg) than lutein (IC₅₀, 5.28 μg). Oxidized lutein lowered the lipid peroxidation by 20.7% than lutein. The viability of HeLa cells, glutathione and MDA levels were decreased by 64%, 40% and 18% than lutein. To conclude, oxidized lutein may be highly reactive, since oxidation results in radical ions, which can combine with similar reactive oxidative species that could lead to higher antioxidant effect. This may be true in this study that antioxidant property of oxidized lutein was higher than lutein that correlates with free radical scavenging activity and cytotoxic effects on HeLa cells.     

Premenstrual symptoms across the lifespan in an international sample: data from a mobile application

Archives of Women's Mental Health - Premenstrual symptoms, including physical and mood symptoms, affect a large proportion of women worldwide. Data on premenstrual symptoms across nations and...