Expression of the human androgen receptor in eukaryotic cells using a recombinant adenovirus vector yields high levels of the soluble, functional receptor protein.

The androgen receptor (AR) and closely related members of the steroid receptor family have proven difficult to obtain in native form in large quantities. In the case of the human AR (hAR), high-level expression in prokaryotic or non-mammalian cells leads to the synthesis of a high proportion of non-binding, insoluble, or degraded forms of the receptor protein. To circumvent these difficulties, we have constructed a recombinant adenovirus that directs the expression of hAR under the control of a potent, constitutive promoter. Infection of eukaryotic cells with this recombinant virus leads to the synthesis of large quantities of the intact AR. In contrast to expression methods designed to direct the full-length AR in bacteria, yeast, and insect cells, AR expressed in mammalian cells using this adenoviral vector accumulates at high levels, retains many properties of the native AR, and is not rapidly proteolyzed. This method will prove useful for large-scale preparations of hAR for use in functional and structural studies.     

Alcohol, firearms, and suicide among youth. Temporal trends in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 1960 to 1983

The death certificates and coroners' reports for all suicides, undetermined causes of death, and questionable accidents were obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of Vital Statistics for 10- to 19-year-old residents of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, from 1960 to 1983. During the 24-year study period, 159 cases of definite suicide and 38 cases of likely suicide were noted. The suicide rate increased markedly among youth during the study period, particularly among white males aged 15 to 19 years, and was not due to changes in classification procedures over time. The suicide rate by firearms increased much faster than the suicide rate by other methods (2.5 vs 1.7-fold). The proportion of suicide victims who had detectable blood alcohol levels rose 3.6-fold from 12.9% in 1968 to 1972 to 46.0% in 1978 to 1983. Suicide victims who used firearms were 4.9 times more likely to have been drinking than were those who used other methods of suicide. The availability of firearms and the increased use of alcohol among youth may have made a significant contribution to the increase in the suicide rate among the young.     

Racial variations in cardiology care among hospitalized older heart failure patients

In this retrospective follow-up study, the authors examined the association between race and the receipt of cardiology care in 1062 Medicare beneficiaries 65 years of age and older who were hospitalized with heart failure. The primary outcome measure was receipt of care from a cardiologist (via admission or consultation). Using logistic regression analyses, crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) of receipt of cardiology care were estimated for nonwhite versus white patients. Two hundred (19%) patients were nonwhites and 483 (46%) patients received care from cardiologists. Proportion of patients receiving cardiology care was lower among nonwhite patients (35% versus 48% among whites; P = 0.001), and nonwhite race was associated with a lower odds of receiving cardiology care (crude OR = 0.57; 95%CI = 0.42-0.79). After adjustment for various patient characteristics and process-of-care variables, the magnitude and precision of the association between nonwhite race and a lower odds of receiving care from a cardiologist remained unchanged (adjusted OR = 0.43; 95% CI = 0.30-0.62). These findings suggest that nonwhite elderly hospitalized heart failure patients are less likely to be cared for by cardiologists.