A group intervention to reduce smoking in individuals with psychiatric disorder: brief report of a pilot study

Objectives: To evaluate a group intervention to help individuals with psychiatric disorder stop smoking.
Method: A waitlist-treatment crossover design. Outcome measures included smoking cessation, motivation to stop, the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), urinary cotinine and psychiatric symptoms on the General Health Questionnaire.
Results: 38 subjects participated, of whom 19 completed the waitlist and intervention phases. There were no significant differences between subjects and dropouts. During the waitlist period there were no significant changes in tobacco use. At the end of the intervention, almost a quarter had stopped smoking, ( z = -2.24, p =0.02). Subjects also showed significant improvements on state of change, FTND score and urinary cotinine levels. These improvements were maintained at three-month follow-up (n=10). Psychiatric morbidity showed no change.
Conclusions: It is possible to reduce smoking in individuals with psychiatric disorder.
Implications: Larger randomised controlled trials are indicated to determine the relative contributions of nicotine replacement, bupropion and group interventions to smoking cessation in this population.     

Role of substance P in several models of bladder inflammation

Substance P (SP) is a peptide found in the sensory nervous system which has multiple biologic effects including stimulation of muscle contraction, pain nociception, immune cell functions, plasma extravasation and a constellation of inflammatory effects. Here we investigate the role of SP in several animals models of bladder inflammation. Using the female Lewis rat, inflammation was induced using either xylene, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (polyIC). Inflammation occurred rapidly (4 h) and was maintained in each model for at least 7 days. Each of these protocols decreased the bladder content of immunoreactive SP by approximately 50%, suggesting enhanced release. There was no change in the urinary frequency of these animals over 3 weeks, suggesting that urinary frequency changes are not mediated by acute inflammation. We also found that the SP receptor (NK₁) antagonist, (?)CP96345, was unable to block the inflammation produced by polyIC, suggesting that SP is not an obligatory mediator of immune cell stimulation in this model.     

Thoracoscopic Retrieval of Foreign Bodies After Penetrating Chest Trauma

Video-assisted thoracic surgery or thoracoscopy has proved to be valuable in many settings in thoracic surgery. The use of video-assisted thoracic surgery in trauma has been limited, especially with respect to penetrating trauma. We report the use of thoracoscopy to remove intrathoracic fragments of glass and avert the need for a thoracotomy.     

Health status measurement in Parkinson's disease: validity of the PDQ-39 and Nottingham Health Profile.

We assessed the feasibility and psychometric properties of two commonly used health status questionnaires in Parkinson's disease (PD): the generic Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) and the disease-specific 39-item Parkinson's disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39), from a cross-sectional postal survey of PD patients (N = 81), using traditional and Rasch measurement methodologies. Overall response rate was 88%. Both questionnaires were found feasible, although the NHP performed less well. The PDQ-39 had fewer floor effects and was better able to separate respondents into distinct groups than the NHP, whereas the latter exhibited less ambiguous dimensionality and better targeting of respondents with non-extreme scores. Reliability and validity indices were similar, and potential differential item functioning by age and gender groups was found for both questionnaires. PDQ-39 response alternatives indicated ambiguity. With few exceptions, questionnaire scales were unable to meet recommended standards fully. While preliminary, this study illustrates the need for thorough evaluation of outcome measures and has implications beyond the questionnaires used here. Although promising, both questionnaires warrant further developmental work and stronger support of measurement validity before they could be considered fully suitable for valid use in PD, in particular in earlier stages of the disease.     

Type II sodium channels in spinal cord astrocytes in situ: Immunocytochemical observations

The expression of sodium channel α-subunit isoforms in astrocytes in adult rat spinal cord and optic nerve was examined utilizing immunocytochemical methods with antibodies generated against conserved and subtype-specific sequences of the sodium channel. In adult rat spinal cord, astrocytes within the dorsal and ventral funiculi were immunolabelled with antibody SP20, which recognizes a conserved sequence within sodium channel types I, II, and III. In addition, astrocytes within these spinal cord white matter tracts were immunostained with antibody SP11-II, which recognizes sodium channel type II. Antibodies SP11-I and SP32-III, which are directed against subtype-specific sequences in sodium channel types I and III, respectively, did not label astrocytes in the dorsal and ventral funiculi of the spinal cord. In optic nerves, astrocytes were immunostained with antibody SP20. However, no detectable labelling of cells within the optic nerve was observed with antibodies SP11-I, SP11-II, and SP32-III. These observations demonstrate that sodium channel II is expressed by astrocytes in spinal cord white matter. Moreover, these data suggest that regional factors regulate the level of sodium channel isoform expression in astrocytes.     

A critical period for functional vestibular development in zebrafish.

We have determined a critical period for vestibular development in zebrafish by using a bioreactor designed by NASA to simulate microgravity for cells in culture. A critical period is defined as the briefest period of time during development when stimulus deprivation results in long lasting or permanent sensory deficits. Zebrafish eggs were collected within 3 hours of being laid and fertilized. In experiment 1, eggs were placed in the bioreactor at 3, 24, 30, 36, 48, or 72 hours postfertilization (hPF) and maintained in the bioreactor until 96 hPF. In experiment 2, eggs were placed in the bioreactor immediately after they were collected and maintained in the bioreactor until 24, 36, 48, 60, 66, 72, or 96 hPF. Beginning at 96 hPF, all larvae had their vestibulo-ocular reflexes (VOR) evaluated once each day for 5 days. Only larvae that hatched from eggs that were placed in the bioreactor before 30 hPF in experiment 1 or removed from the bioreactor later than 66 hPF in experiment 2 had VOR deficits that persisted for at least 5 days. These data suggest a critical period for vestibular development in the zebrafish that begins before 30 hPF and ends after 66 hPF. To confirm this, zebrafish eggs were placed in the bioreactor at 24 hPF and removed at 72 hPF. VORs were evaluated in these larvae once each day for 5 days beginning at 96 hPF. These larvae had VOR deficits that persisted for at least 5 days. In addition, larvae that had been maintained in the bioreactor from 24 to 66 hPF or from 30 to 72 hPF, had only temporary VOR deficits. In a final experiment, zebrafish eggs were placed in the bioreactor at 3 hPF and removed at 96 hPF but the bioreactor was turned off from 24 hPF to 72 hPF. These larvae had normal VORs when they were removed from the bioreactor at 96 hPF. Taken as a whole, these data support the idea that there is a critical period for functional maturation of the zebrafish vestibular system. The developmental period identified includes the timeframe during which the vestibular primary afferent neurons are born, innervate their central and peripheral targets, and remodel their central projections.     

Cardia: study design, recruitment, and some characteristics of the examined subjects

In 1984, a prospective cohort study, Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) was initiated to investigate life-style and other factors that influence, favorably and unfavorably, the evolution of coronary heart disease risk factors during young adulthood. After a year of planning and protocol development, 5,116 black and white women and men, age 18-30 years, were recruited and examined in four urban areas: Birmingham, Alabama; Chicago, Illinois; Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Oakland, California. The initial examination included carefully standardized measurements of major risk factors as well as assessments of psychosocial, dietary, and exercise-related characteristics that might influence them, or that might be independent risk factors. This report presents the recruitment and examination methods as well as the mean levels of blood pressure, total plasma cholesterol, height, weight and body mass index, and the prevalence of cigarette smoking by age, sex, race and educational level. Compared to recent national samples, smoking is less prevalent in CARDIA participants, and weight tends to be greater. Cholesterol levels are representative and somewhat lower blood pressures in CARDIA are probably, at least in part, due to differences in measurement methods. Especially noteworthy among several differences in risk factor levels by demographic subgroup, were a higher body mass index among black than white women and much higher prevalence of cigarette smoking among persons with no more than a high school education than among those with more education.