Operative treatment of Smith-Goyrand fractures

Optimal treatment of Smith's fracture remains controversial. Conservative management of type III fractures is acceptable, but results are moderate for types I and II.

This study includes 53 patients operated on during the past 10 years; six of type I, 17 of type II and 30 of type III.

The functional end result was good in 32 cases (60.3 per cent) and excellent in nine cases (16.9 per cent).

Functional results of types I, II and III were comparable when the excellent and good groups were added together.

There was no correlation between anatomical result and functional outcome (κ = 0.07), although a good anatomical result usually accompanied a good to excellent functional end result. Operative treatment of Smith's fractures have good functional end results in our hands, regardless of the fracture type.     

Framework for interactive million-neuron simulation.

SUMMARY: Large simulations have become increasingly complex in many fields, tending to incorporate scale-dependent modeling and algorithms and wide-ranging physical influences. This scale of simulation sophistication has not yet been matched in neuroscience. The authors describe a framework aimed at enabling natural interaction with complex simulations: their configuration, initial conditions, monitoring, and analysis. The architecture is built on three cornerstone components: active probes, adaptive data capture, and visual interface. The resulting synthesis will enable interactive exploration of live simulations running on supercomputing platforms.     

The debit balance of present day stress research.

Stress often precedes psychiatric disorders. This holds particularly for the group of mood disorders. A crucial question is whether stress is an epiphenomenon or a decisive factor in the causation of (certain forms of) mood disorder. Certainty about this question can only be obtained when it can be demonstrated that stress phenomena may induce changes in brain functioning similar to the ones supposedly associated with (certain forms of) depression. Since the phenomenology of stress syndromes, as well as their emotional intensity, are highly variable, careful diagnosis is a first requirement. In studies into the significance of stress in the occurrence of depression this degree of finesse has not been achieved. The major shortcomings are discussed. Those should be systematically addressed to provide this type of research with the necessary acuity     

Mandibular atrophy and metabolic bone loss. Mandibular ridge augmentation by combined sandwich-visor osteotomy and resorption related to metabolic bone state. A 5-year follow-up

92 patients, 31 with and 61 without signs of metabolic bone loss, were treated with a combined sandwich-visor osteotomy. A 5-year follow-up showed a significantly higher rate of resorption in patients with radiographic signs of metabolic bone loss. The analysis was based upon lateral cephalometry.     

Serum prolactins in the diagnosis of epilepsy: sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value

Serum prolactin levels rise after generalized tonic-clonic and partial complex seizures, but not after pseudoepileptic seizures. The criteria for a significant elevation in serum prolactin vary with individual investigators. The prevalence of pseudoseizures in the population studied determines the predictive value of serum prolactin determinations. In populations where most patients have epilepsy, a rise in serum prolactin is highly predictive for true epilepsy, but no increase in serum prolactin is not predictive for pseudoseizures.