Increased Fibrinolytic Potential after Diet Intervention in Healthy Coronary High-risk Individuals

ABSTRACT Twenty healthy individuals (15 men and 5 women) with initial fasting serum triglycerides ≥1.80 mmol/l and euglobulin clot lysis time after venous occlusion ≥60 min (upper normal limit 45 min) were tested for fibrinolytic response to venous occlusion and intravenous injection of desmopressin (DDAVP), serum lipids, serum glucose and relative body weight before and after a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 12 months' diet intervention. In order to be defined as a good diet responder, at least 20% reduction of the initial serum triglyceride concentration was required. At the end of the study, half of the participants (7 men and 3 women) met the criteria of good diet responders. All of these showed an improved fibrinolytic response to DDAVP injection, and 7 out of 10 had a normalized fibrinolytic response to venous occlusion. We conclude that, through dietary measures with substantial reduction of hypertriglyceridaemia, it is possible to improve and even normalize the fibrinolytic potential.     

Effects of a Specialized Prenatal Adolescent Program on Maternal and Infant Outcomes

The effects of a specialized prenatal educational program on perinatal outcomes in an urban adolescent maternity term population were examined. Fifty pregnant adolescents attended the program and 50 nonattenders served as controls. All subjects delivered at the same large metropolitan hospital. The data supported the hypotheses predicting that those adolescents exposed to the educational program and their infants would demonstrate fewer perinatal complications than those not exposed to the program. When analyzed by age, attenders and their infants in both groups (13 to 15 and 16 to 18 years of age) had fewer complications than nonattenders. Attenders also demonstrated lower frequencies of several obstetric and postnatal complications than did nonattenders. This study underscores the positive effects a specialized education program can have on adolescent perinatal outcomes.     

Women who miscarry: The effectiveness and clinical utility of the Kessler 10 questionnaire in screening for ongoing psychological distress

Background:  Early pregnancy loss has been linked to enduring psychological morbidity.
Aims:  This study aimed to investigate the utility of the Kessler 10 (K10) questionnaire as a brief screening instrument to identify women at risk for the development of psychiatric diagnoses three months post-miscarriage.
Method:  Participants were 117 consecutive women presenting at a public hospital emergency department and receiving a diagnosis of miscarriage.
Main outcome measures:  K10 screen for psychological distress and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders to determine psychiatric diagnoses.
Results:  A majority of women (81.2%) experienced elevated levels of distress initially, 24.8% in the very high range. They were not at increased risk of psychiatric diagnoses at three months compared with the general population; however, they were significantly more likely to report subsyndromal symptoms at this time compared with the general population. The baseline K10 score was the only significant predictor of distress at follow-up ( r  =   0.45, P  <   0.001). The receiver operating characteristic curve shows that a cut-off of 14 on the K10 has suitable sensitivity (97%) and specificity (82%) for predicting ongoing psychological distress in women who miscarry.
Conclusions:  The K10 is effective in identifying women at risk for ensuring psychological symptoms following miscarriage.