Psychiatric disorders in the first-degree relatives of probands with bulimia nervosa

Data from a family study of psychiatric disorders showed higher rates of major affective disorders, eating disorders, and alcoholism in first-degree relatives of 40 bulimic probands than in first-degree relatives of 24 control subjects. More importantly, the data showed higher rates of major affective disorders in relatives of bulimic probands who themselves had no history of major affective disorders than in relatives of control subjects. This significant finding indicates a familial relationship between bulimia nervosa and major affective disorders, which suggests the possibility of a common diathesis.     

Insults to the body civil: Mistreatment of elderly in two Plains Indian tribes

The mistreatment of elderly is subject to various social constructions. On two geographically distinct Plains Indian Reservations which we call Lone Mountain and Abundant Lands, the abuse or neglect of elderly is construed as a health problem which is a dysfunction of the community as a whole. Both physical abuse and neglect are more common on the Lone Mountain Reservation, occurring in association with other indicators of community disorganization such as unemployment and substance abuse. On the Abundant Lands Reservation physical abuse was categorically denied and what neglect existed appeared to be a function of role strain, geographic dispersal, climate and terrain. We attribute differences in the prevalence of mistreatment of elders to variations in economic opportunities for younger residents. Examining the historical and present contexts of intergenerational relationships on the reservations, we discuss the implications of this study for social exchange theory and policy applications.This research was supported by the Gerontological Society of America AppliedThis research was supported by the Gerontological Society of America AppliedThis research was supported by the Gerontological Society of America AppliedThis research was supported by the Gerontological Society of America AppliedThis research was supported by the Gerontological Society of America AppliedThis research was supported by the Gerontological Society of America Applied     

PaO2 increases with coughing in patients with chronic lung disease

We considered if the cyanosis frequently observed during a cough attack in patients with chronic lung disease was due to worsening hypoxemia. To investigate the effects of cough on PaO2, we measured arterial blood gases before and after a voluntary coughing period of 45 sec, in 11 patients with Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) and 14 patients with Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD). All patients significantly increased (p less than 0.05) their PaO2 (COPD: from 49 +/- 2 to 60 +/- 2 mmHg; ILD from 44 +/- 2 to 51 +/- 3 mmHg, mean +/- SD) and decreased their PaCO2. We conclude that stable patients with COPD and ILD increase their PaO2 with coughing most likely due to hyperventilation. The cyanosis observed could be due to peripheral circulatory effects of coughing.     

Natural history of experimental pulmonary atelectasis in dogs with closed chest

In order to establish an animal model of pulmonary vasoconstriction we followed the time course of intrapulmonary shunt (Qs/Qt) in a canine model of lobar atelectasis with closed chest. Ten mongrel dogs were studied. Bronchial occlusion of the right lower lobe (RLL) was performed by inflating the balloon of a Foley catheter placed through a rigid bronchoscopy. Analysis of variance was used for statistical analysis. (15 minutes) After occlusion Qs/Qt reached its maximum increasing from 8.2 +/- 3.6 to 29.7 +/- 11.7% (p less than 0.05) and PaO2 decreased from 357 +/- 49 to 100 +/- 43 mm Hg (p less than 0.05). Afterwards, there was a progressive decline of Qs/QT accompanied by an also progressive increase in PaO2. At the end of the experiment (3 hrs post atelectasis) Qs/Qt was 11.2 +/- 4.9 and PaO2 251 +/- 124 mm Hg (p less than 0.05). Pulmonary vascular resistance increased post atelectasis from 439 +/- 168 to 598 +/- 256 d.s.cm-5 (p less than 0.05). Complete atelectasis of the RLL was confirmed postmortem. As the changes in Qs/Qt and PaO2 did not parallel the change in cardiac output we conclude that the mechanism of decrease in Qs/Qt was hypoxic vasoconstriction.     

Memory encoding and retrieval in the aging brain.

Decline in episodic memory, the encoding and retrieval of autobiographical events, is a hallmark of normal cognitive aging. Although the primary causes of this decline remain elusive, event-related brain potential (ERP) studies have contributed to an understanding of age-related episodic memory failure. These data reveal that, although the retrieval-based episodic memory (EM) effect does not differ dramatically between young and older adults, the acquisition-related data suggest a decline in episodic encoding (i.e., semantic elaboration) with increasing age. We conclude that, at the current state of knowledge, encoding deficiencies are more important than retrieval deficits in understanding the causes of episodic memory decline in the older adult.     

Bacterial hydrogen peroxide contributes to cerebral hyperemia during early stages of experimental pneumococcal meningitis.

Alterations of blood flow contribute to major clinical complications in invasive infections such as sepsis and bacterial meningitis. As a unique feature streptococci -- in particular, Streptococcus pneumoniae, the most frequent pathogen in bacterial meningitis -- release hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) because of the absence of functional catalase. In a 6 h rat model of experimental meningitis, we studied the impact of bacterial H(2)O(2) production on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and intracranial pressure (ICP). Compared to wild-type D39 pneumococci, the increase of rCBF was diminished in meningitis induced by the H(2)O(2) defective SpxB(-) mutant (maximum increase, 135% +/- 17% versus 217% +/- 23% of the individual baseline; P<0.01) or after treatment of D39-induced meningitis with H(2)O(2)-degrading catalase or with tetraethylammonium (TEA), a blocker of calcium-sensitive potassium channels, which mediate H(2)O(2)-induced vasodilation. Catalase did not significantly reduce the remaining rCBF increase caused by SpxB(-), supporting the predominant role of bacterial H(2)O(2). We conclude that in addition to host-sided mediators, bacterial-derived H(2)O(2) acts as a potent vasodilator, which accounts for a certain proportion of the early cerebral hyperperfusion in pneumococcal meningitis.