A multicenter clinical trial of gadolite oral suspension as a contrast agent for MRI

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness and safety of Gadolite Oral Suspension as a gastrointestinal (GI) contrast agent for MRI in a phase II and two phase III multicenter clinical trials. Gadolite was administered to 306 patients with known or suspected abdominal and/or pelvic disease. MRI with T1- and T2-weighted sequences was performed before and after ingestion. Efficacy was evaluated by having two masked readers rate the certainty of their MR diagnosis (0 = uncertain, 1 = probable, 2 = definite) on randomly presented pre- and post-Gadolite Oral Suspension enhanced images. Principal investigators also evaluated the images and established the final diagnosis. Vital signs, clinical chemistries, and adverse events were documented. Blood and urine samples were analyzed for gadolinium content to determine whether Gadolite Oral Suspension was absorbed systemically. Certainty in MR diagnosis increased significantly (P < .001) for both blinded readers between pre- and post-Gadolite images (.49–1.18 for reader 1; .46–1.53 for reader 2). Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy also increased for both masked readers. No gadolinium was detected in blood or urine samples. There were no serious adverse events and no apparent drug-related trends in mean vital signs or laboratory values. Gadolite is a highly effective, safe, and well tolerated contrast agent for clinical use with MRI.     

Multiply Recurrent Trichilemmal Carcinoma With Perineural Invasion and Cytokeratin 17 Positivity

BACKGROUND: Trichilemmal carcinoma is an uncommon cutaneous malignancy that is thought to be the malignant counterpart of the trichilemmoma. Despite histologic features such as pronounced cytologic atypia, trichilemmal carcinoma is often described as having a rather benign clinical course. Cases of tumor recurrence after therapy are uncommon, and tumor neurotropism has never been described. OBJECTIVE: A case of multiply recurrent trichilemmal carcinoma with perineural invasion is described. The outer root sheath differentiation of this neoplasm is confirmed with the use of novel antibodies directed toward cytokeratins that are expressed in this area of the hair follicle. METHODS: The trichilemmal carcinoma was excised using the Mohs surgical technique. Tissue obtained during the extirpation of the tumor was subjected to immunohistochemical staining for cytokeratin 15, cytokeratin 17, and c-erb-B2. RESULTS: Tumor neurotropism was noted. The trichilemmal carcinoma demonstrated abundant cytoplasmic staining for cytokeratin 17 and c-erb-B2. CONCLUSIONS: In distinction to previous reports, this case reveals that trichilemmal carcinoma can demonstrate significant biological aggression, as reflected by tumor neurotropism and by failure to respond to multiple surgical excisions. The purported outer root sheath differentiation of this neoplasm is confirmed with the use of novel immunohistochemical staining. This immunohistochemical staining may be useful in differentiating trichilemmal carcinoma from other clear cell neoplasms.     

Neuropathology and Molecular Studies of a Patient with Tourette Syndrome and Huntington Disease

This paper reviews the association of Huntington's Disease (HD) and tic disorder or Tourette Syndrome (TS) We also present the results of a follow-up study of a male with childhood-onset TS and adult-onset HD who died at 45 years of age. The developmental course and results of neuropathologic and molecular studies of this patient are reported. This is the first case of childhood onset of TS with adult onset of HD reported who has come to autopsy. A developmental model for childhood and adult neuropsychiatric disorders is presented.     

A model for assessing information retrieval and application skills of medical students.

PURPOSE: To develop and evaluate a model for assessing information retrieval and application skills, and to compare the performances on the assessment exercises of students who were and were not instructed in these skills. METHOD: The authors developed a set of four examination stations, each with multiple subtasks, and administered the exams to students at two medical schools. Students at one school had intensive instruction in literature searching and filtering skills for information quality (instructed group), and those at the other school had minimal instruction in these areas (uninstructed group). The stations addressed pediatrics content and the skills of searching Medline and the World Wide Web, evaluating research articles, evaluating the accuracy of information from the Web, and using the information to make recommendations to patients. The authors determined the psychometric characteristics of the stations and compared the performances of the two groups of students. RESULTS: Students in the instructed group performed significantly better and with less variability than the uninstructed group on four tasks and no differently on seven tasks. There was no task on which the uninstructed group performed significantly better than the instructed group. CONCLUSION: The prototype stations showed predictable differences across curricula, indicating that they have promise as assessment tools for the essential skills of information retrieval and application.     

Recent trends in early outcome of adult patients after heart transplantation: a single-institution review of 251 transplants using standard donor organs.

Older age, prior transplantation, pulmonary hypertension, and mechanical support are commonly seen in current potential cardiac transplant recipients. Transplants in 436 consecutive adult patients from 1994 to 1999 were reviewed. There were 251 using standard donors in 243 patients (age range 18-69 years). To emphasize recipient risk, 185 patients who received a nonstandard donor were excluded from analysis. The indications for transplant were ischemic heart disease (n = 123, 47%), dilated cardiomyopathy (n = 82, 32%), and others (n=56, 21%). One hundred and forty-nine (57%) recipients were listed as status I; 5 and 6% were supported with an intra-aortic balloon and an assist device, respectively. The 30-d survival and survival to discharge were 94.7 and 92.7%, respectively; 1-year survival was 89.1%. Causes of early death were graft failure (n = 6), infection (n = 4), stroke (n = 4), multiorgan failure (n = 3) and rejection (n = 2). Predictors were balloon pump use alone (OR= 11.4, p =0.002), pulmonary vascular resistance > 4 Wood units (OR = 5.7, p = 0.007), pretransplant creatinine > 2.0 mg/dL (OR = 6.9, p = 0.004) and female donor (OR = 8.3, p = 0.002). Recipient age and previous surgery did not affect short-term survival. Heart transplantation in the current era consistently offers excellent early and 1-year survival for well-selected recipients receiving standard donors. Early mortality tends to reflect graft failure while hospital mortality may be more indicative of recipient selection.     

Methamphetamine dependence increases risk of neuropsychological impairment in HIV infected persons.

Both HIV infection and methamphetamine dependence can be associated with brain dysfunction. Little is known, however, about the cognitive effects of concurrent HIV infection and methamphetamine dependence. The present study included 200 participants in 4 groups: HIV infected/methamphetamine dependent (HIV+/METH+), HIV negative/methamphetamine dependent (HIV-/METH+), HIV infected/methamphetamine nondependent (HIV+/METH-), and HIV negative/methamphetamine nondependent (HIV-/METH-). Study groups were comparable for age, education, and ethnicity, although the HIV-/METH- group had significantly more females. A comprehensive, demographically corrected neuropsychological battery was administered yielding a global performance score and scores for seven neurobehavioral domains. Rates of neuropsychological impairment were determined by cutoff scores derived from performances of a separate control group and validated with larger samples of HIV+ and HIV- participants from an independent cohort. Rates of global neuropsychological impairment were higher in the HIV+/METH+ (58%), HIV-/METH+ (40%) and HIV+/METH- (38%) groups compared to the HIV-/METH- (18%) group. Nonparametric analyses revealed a significant monotonic trend for global cognitive status across groups, with least impairment in the control group and highest prevalence of impairment in the group with concurrent HIV infection and methamphetamine dependence. The results indicate that HIV infection and methamphetamine dependence are each associated with neuropsychological deficits, and suggest that these factors in combination are associated with additive deleterious cognitive effects. This additivity may reflect common pathways to neural injury involving both cytotoxic and apoptotic mechanisms.