Lifetime diagnoses in patients with somatoform disorders: Which came first?

Thirty inpatients with somatoform disorders were examined with the structured clinical interview SCID for psychiatric lifetime diagnosis. In the present diagnoses, we found a concordance of 63% for somatoform and affective disorders and the lifetime comorbidity of both disorders was 87%. Additionally, patients with somatoform disorders frequently had a history of other psychiatric disorders (for example, anxiety disorders, 40%). For 73% of patients with somatoform disorders and a history of affective disorders, the onset of the somatoform disorder was prior to the onset of another psychiatric disorder. The time interval between the onsets of somatoform disorders and affective disorders was greater than 1 year for most patients; for 46% of the patients with a history of both disorders, the time interval between the two disorders was more than 5 years. The course of illness for somatoform and affective disorders was quite different; while affective disorders tended to episodic periods with interim remissions, the somatoform disorders usually showed long, chronic courses (mean duration of the current somatoform disorder was 11.9 years). Finally, the Symptom Check List SCL-90R demonstrated good discrimination between patients with affective and anxiety disorders. However, the SCL-90R failed to discriminate patients with somatoform disorders from affective- and anxiety-disordered subjects. Therefore, the development of other psychometric scales is necessary for the evaluation of patients with somatoform disorders.     

Hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal function in two infants with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome

We report on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal function in 2 male infants with the Smith-Lemli-Opitz (SLO or RSH) syndrome. Both infants had abnormal external genitalia. Basal and LHRH stimulated plasma gonadotropins were normal for age (1 month). Plasma testosterone, androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate were normal for age and sex. Some forms of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (17,20-desmolase deficiency, 17α-hydroxylase deficiency, and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase deficiency) were ruled out by hormonal studies. The endocrinological findings indicate a normal hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal function and a normal adrenal steroid biosynthesis in these 2 patients. A partial androgen receptor defect causing the genital malformations seems possible in one patient. Whether 5α-reductase deficiency is the cause of the male pseudohermaphroditism in SLO syndrome remains the subject of future studies. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Phenotype of endomyocardial biopsy-derived T-lymphocyte cultures and chronic rejection after heart transplantation

Chronic rejection (CR) is a major problem in long-term survival in heart transplantation. We analysed whether the occurrence of CR correlates with the incidence of acute rejections (AR) or with characteristics of endomyocardial biopsy-derived cell cultures. CR was diagnosed by annual angiography and defined as all coronary vascular changes. One year after transplantation 24 of the 63 patients had CR (38%). The incidence of AR in CR + and CR — patients was comparable. The patients in both groups had similar individual median percentages of EMB-yielding cell cultures. During the first year the CR — patients had more cultures in which at least 60% of the cells were CD4 + T cells (50% vs 37%, P = 0.05), due to a stronger CD4 predominance in the first 6 months. In the second year the CD4 predominance in the patients diagnosed as CR + after 1 year tended to be higher (P = 0.08). The patients had comparable percentages of cultures predominated by CD8 + T cells, γδ T cells or NK cells, irrespective of the time interval. These results might indicate that CD4 + T lymphocytes play a dual role in the aetiology of CR.     

Über die Einwirkung von Säuredämpfen in westfälischen Metallbeizereien,Akkumulatoren- und Säurefabriken auf die Zähne der Arbeiter

Ohne ZusammenfassungDie einzelnen Befunde wurden auf Schwert-Karte DIN A 5 Nr. 24 988 festgelegt.Am Schlusse der Arbeit crlaube ich mir, dem Herrn Reichsarbeitsminister für die Bereitstellung der erforderlichen Mittel ergebenst zu danken.     

Anti-phospholipid and anti-DNA antibodies are not associated with the elevated release of circulatory fetal DNA in pregnancies affected by preeclampsia.

OBJECTIVES: We have previously shown that the levels of circulatory fetal DNA are elevated in preeclampsia and that these increases correspond to disease severity. Several reports have indicated that increased levels of antiphospholipid (anti-PL) and anti-DNA antibodies may be associated with preeclampsia, in particular with the severe forms of the disorder. Since the release of cell-free DNA by the placenta is attributed to some form of cell death or damage and as anti-PL and anti-double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) antibodies have been proposed to lead to placental damage, we have studied the relationship between these parameters in preeclampsia. METHODS: Circulating fetal DNA levels in samples taken from pregnant women with mild (n = 12) or severe (n = 12) preeclampsia and from normal pregnant controls (n = 35) were quantified using a Taqman real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay. The Anti-PL antibodies (IgG and IgM) were assayed by anticardiolipin ELISA and by commercial anti-beta2-Glycoprotein I (GPI) ELISA kits. Anti-dsDNA antibodies (IgG and IgM) were analyzed by a commercially available anti-dsDNA ELISA kit. RESULTS: No correlation could be drawn with the quantity of circulatory fetal DNA in the samples analyzed and corresponding anti-PL or anti-dsDNA antibody levels. Furthermore, no significant difference existed between the levels of these antibodies in the two study groups and the control cohort. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the mechanism leading to the increased release of cell-free circulatory DNA from the placenta does not involve trophoblast damage mediated by these agents. Our analysis also questions the reported involvement of anti-PL and anti-DNA antibodies in preeclampsia.     

Whole-Blood Assay to Measure Oxidative Burst and Degranulation of Neutrophils for Monitoring Trauma Patients

AbstractBackground and Purpose: Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) protect the host from invading microorganisms, but excessive PMN activation after trauma causes tissue injury. Rapid monitoring of PMN function is critical for the assessment of the inflammatory state of trauma patients. Here, the authors adapted two simple and rapid methods to measure oxidative burst and degranulation of human PMNs in whole blood to avoid potential interference of cell isolation procedures with the assessment of PMN function.Material and Methods: Heparinized blood was drawn from healthy volunteers or trauma patients, preincubated at 37 °C for 5 min, and stimulated with N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP). Four assays for oxidative burst were tested: (1) cytochrome C; (2) homovanillic acid (HVA); (3) Amplex^® Red; and (4) flow cytometry with dihydrorhodamine 123 (DHR). PMN degranulation was assessed with flow cytometry using antibodies to: (1) CD11b/Mac-1 (CD18); (2) CD63; and (3) CD66b (CD67).Results: With the exception of the DHR method, all methods to measure oxidative burst were found to be unsuitable in whole blood due to interference of plasma proteins and hemoglobin with the fluorimetric or photometric readouts. By contrast, all degranulation methods were suitable for whole-blood studies. However, for the assessment of formyl peptide-induced degranulation, anti-antibodies to CD11b/Mac-1 and CD66b were up to five times more sensitive than antibodies to CD63. Thus, the degranulation and DHR methods were optimized for increased sensitivity, speed, and specificity and their usefulness to measure PMN function in trauma patients was tested.Conclusion: The whole-blood methods based on flow cytometry with DHR, anti-CD11b/Mac-1, and anti- CD66b are rapid, simple, and reliable techniques to assess PMN function for trauma research.     

Incidence and Management of Chyle Leaks Following Pancreatic Resection: A High Volume Single-Center Institutional Experience

Background   No data on incidence, management, or natural history of chyle leaks following pancreatic resection have been published. We sought to identify possible risk factors associated with chyle leaks following pancreatic resection, as well as determine the natural history of this rare complication. Methods   Between 1993 and 2008, 3,532 patients underwent pancreatic resection at a single institution. Data on demographics, operative details, primary tumor status, and chyle leak were collected. To identify risk factors associated with chyle leak, a matched 3:1 paired analysis was performed. Results   Of 3,532 patients undergoing pancreatic resection, 47 (1.3%) developed a chyle leak (n = 34, contained chyle leak versus n = 13, diffuse chylous ascites). Chyle leak was identified at median 5 days following surgery. Median drain triglyceride levels were 592 ng/dl. After matching on tumor size, disease etiology, and resection type, the number of lymph nodes harvested and history of concomitant vascular resection predicted higher risk of chyle leak (both P < 0.05). Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) was required in more patients with chylous ascites (92.3%) than those with chyle leaks (44.1%) (P = 0.003). The median time to resolution was shorter for contained chyle leaks (13 days) versus chylous ascites (36 days) (P < 0.001). Patients with chylous ascites tended to have shorter overall survival (3-year, 18.8%) versus patients with no chyle leak (3-year, 46.9%) (P = 0.12). In contrast, patients with a contained chyle leak had a similar survival as patients with no chyle leak (3-year, 53.4% versus 46.9%, respectively) (P = 0.32). Conclusion   Chyle leak was a rare (1.3%) complication following pancreatic resection that was associated with number of lymph nodes harvested and concomitant vascular resection. In general, chyle leaks were successfully managed with TPN with no adverse impact on outcome. Patients with chylous ascites, however, had a more protracted clinical course and tended to have a worse long-term survival. Presented at the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, 49th Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, May 18th, 2008 Support: Dr. Pawlik is supported by Grant Number 1KL2RR025006-01 from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of NCRR or NIH.     

RF refocused echoes of J-coupled spin systems: effects on RARE-based spectroscopic imaging.

A numerical simulation tool was developed to calculate the echo amplitudes of J-coupled resonances within a series of radiofrequency (RF) refocused echoes. The signal modulation due to J-coupling in rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement (RARE) is suppressed only when the inverse of the pulse interval (tau) is large compared to both the chemical shift (CS) difference (Deltadelta) of the coupled spins and the coupling constant. In contrast, the echo amplitudes in ultrafast low-flip-angle RARE (U-FLARE) oscillate around a quasi-steady-state value that is greater than zero (neglecting relaxation and diffusion) even when Deltadelta > 1/tau. The flip-angle distribution over the measured slice caused by the use of Gaussian-shape slice-selective refocusing pulses further reduces the echo oscillations. When the pulse interval falls short of the fast pulse rate regime, spectroscopic U-FLARE provides an improved spatial impulse response in the phase-encoding (PE) direction compared to spectroscopic RARE.