The influence of pentoxifylline on motility and viability of spermatozoa from normozoospermic semen samples

In order to evaluate the effects of pentoxifylline on sperm motility and longevity, a controlled in-vitro study was conducted on normozoospermic donor semen samples using the Cellsoft automated system for sperm motility analysis. After incubation and selection, pentoxifylline was found to improve the recovery of spermatozoa and to increase their velocity. In the subgroup of progressively motile spermatozoa, curvilinear velocity was also enhanced. It is concluded that pentoxifylline has an effect on the vigour, but not on the pattern, of sperm motion. Pentoxifylline did not improve the motility characteristics of senescent spermatozoa in normozoospermic sperm samples. Sperm survival, as shown by supra-vital staining, and motility longevity both decreased with time after pentoxifylline treatment.     

Ruptured petrous carotid aneurysm presenting with otorrhagia and epistaxis.

Aneurysm formation and rupture within the petrous internal carotid artery (ICA) is an extremely rare occurrence with approximately 10 such cases in the literature. Etiologies of petrous ICA aneurysms include atherosclerosis, closed head trauma, iatrogenic injury during mastoid surgery, chronic middle ear infections, and congenital causes. Therapeutic options include carotid artery ligation, aneurysm resection with or without reconstruction, and radiographically controlled vessel occlusion. The case of a patient who presented with otorrhagia, epistaxis, and transient focal neurologic signs due to a ruptured petrous ICA aneurysm is presented. The incidence, etiology, and anatomy of these aneurysms is reviewed, and the various tests for determining adequacy of collateral cerebral blood flow are described. Factors that affect the selection of surgical versus radiologic control of these lesions are also discussed.     

SF 36 health survey questionnaire: II. Responsiveness to changes in health status in four common clinical conditions.

OBJECTIVE--To assess the responsiveness of the SF 36 health survey questionnaire to changes in health status over time for four common clinical conditions. DESIGN--Postal questionnaires at baseline and after one year's follow up, with two reminders at two week intervals if necessary. SETTING--Clinics and four training general practices in Grampian region in the north east of Scotland. PATIENTS--More than 1,700 patients aged 16 to 86 years with one of four conditions: low back pain, menorrhagia, suspected peptic ulcer, and varicose veins; and a random sample of 900 members of the local general population for comparison. MAIN MEASURES--A transition question measuring change in health and the eight scales of the SF 36 health survey questionnaire; standardised response means (mean change in score for a scale divided by the standard deviation of the change in scores) used to quantify the instrument's responsiveness to changes in perceived health status, and comparison of patient scores at baseline and follow up with those of the general population. RESULTS--The response rate exceeded 75% in a patient population. Changes across the SF 36 questionnaire were associated with self reported changes in health, as measured by the transition question. The questionnaire showed significant improvements in health status for all four clinical conditions, whether in referred or non-referred patients. For patients with suspected peptic ulcer and varicose veins the SF 36 profiles at one year approximate to the general population. CONCLUSIONS--These results provide the first evidence of the responsiveness of the SF 36 questionnaire to changes in perceived health status in a patient population in the United Kingdom.     

Work site health promotion research: to what extent can we generalize the results and what is needed to translate research to practice?

Information on external validity of work site health promotion research is essential to translate research findings to practice. The authors provide a literature review of work site health behavior interventions. Using the RE-AIM framework, they summarize characteristics and results of these studies to document reporting of intervention reach, adoption, implementation, and maintenance. The authors reviewed a total of 24 publications from 11 leading health behavior journals. They found that participation rates among eligible employees were reported in 87.5% of studies; only 25% of studies reported on intervention adoption. Data on characteristics of participants versus nonparticipants were reported in fewer than 10% of studies. Implementation data were reported in 12.5% of the studies. Only 8% of studies reported any type of maintenance data. Stronger emphasis is needed on representativeness of employees, work site settings studied, and longer term results. Examples of how this can be done are provided.     

The Adolescent Outcome of Hyperactive Children Diagnosed By Research Criteria—III. Mother–Child Interactions, Family Conflicts and Maternal Psychopathology

The present study reports the results of a prospective, 8-year follow-up study of 100 hyperactive and 60 normal children followed from childhood into adolescence. Ratings of child behavior problems and family conflicts as well as direct observations of mother-child interactions were taken in childhood and again at adolescent follow-up. At outcome, hyperactives continued to have more conduct and learning problems and to be more hyperactive, inattentive, and impulsive than controls. Hyperactives were also rated by their mothers as having more numerous and intense family conflicts than the normal controls, although the adolescents in both groups did not differ in their own ratings of these conflicts. Observations of mother-adolescent interactions at outcome found the hyperactive dyads displaying more negative and controlling behaviors and less positive and facilitating behaviors towards each other than in the normal dyads. These interaction patterns were significantly related to similar patterns in mother-child interactions observed 8 years earlier. Mothers of hyperactives also reported more personal psychological distress than normal mothers at outcome. Further analyses of subgroups of hyperactives at outcome, formed on the presence or absence of ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), indicated that the presence of ODD accounted for most of the differences between hyperactives and normals on the interaction measures, ratings of home conflicts, and ratings of maternal psychological distress. Results suggest that the development and maintenance of ODD into adolescence in hyperactive children is strongly associated with aggression and negative parent-child interactions in childhood.     

Factors affecting conjugative transfer of plasmid pWG613, determining gentamicin resistance, in Staphylococcus aureus

Factors that are known to influence plasmid transfer in bacterial populations were studied for the conjugative plasmid pWG613, which determined gentamicin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus. The transfer frequency was largely unaffected over a wide range of temperature (18-42 degrees C); pH also had little effect on the transfer frequency in the range 5.0-8.5. High cell density and log phase cultures were required for optimal plasmid transfer, as were donor:recipient ratios of 0.003-3.3.     

Complications associated with maxillary nerve block anaesthesia via the greater palatine canal

This paper documents the type, frequency and duration of complications associated with regional anaesthesia of the maxillary nerve via the greater palatine canal in a series of 101 patients treated in the Oral Surgery Department, United Dental Hospital of Sydney.     

Medical indications for splenectomy

The spleen, whether anatomically and physiologically normal or diseased, may significantly worsen the clinical picture in a variety of medical disorders. However, splenectomy should be undertaken only after a careful balancing of the short- and long-term risks and potential benefits to the patient, which are discussed in the following review.     

Psychological treatment of phobic anxiety associated with adjuvant chemotherapy

A 50-year-old patient with breast cancer was about to withdraw from her adjuvant chemotherapy regimen because of a long-standing phobia about being injected, which had been compounded by anxieties that were associated with the severe side-effects of adjuvant chemotherapy. She experienced a conditioned nausea response to hospital and medical situations. A psychological programme that incorporated relaxation training, systematic desensitization by way of the patient's visual imagination and videotape modelling, allowed her to complete the course of chemotherapy and to feel less anxious in hospital and medical settings.