Comparative genomic hybridization in ganglioneuroblastomas.

The ganglioneuroblastoma are rare lesions with widespread neuronal differentiation that have been classified as intermediate stages between neuroblastoma and ganglioneuroma. To identify overall chromosome aberrations in ganglioneuroblastoma, we performed comparative genomic hybridization. All of the five tumor samples were found to exhibit multiple gains involving different chromosomal regions. Chromosomal gains displayed by chromosomes and chromosome loci were 2p25 approximately pter (60%), 5p15.1 approximately p15.3 (60%), 7 (60%), 13q22 approximately q31 (60%), and 22 (60%), which were detected as minimal common regions in all five tumor samples. Chromosome 22 gain, which had not been reported in neuronal tumors before, and novel site 13q22 approximately q31 may be considered to play an important role in progression and differentiation of ganglioneuroblastoma.     

Risk and protective factors for suicidal behavior in abused African American women

This study examined risk and protective factors that differentiate low-income, abused African American women (N = 200) who attempted suicide from those who had never made a suicide attempt. Results from multivariate analyses revealed that numerous and/or severe negative life events, a history of child maltreatment, high levels of psychological distress and depression, hopelessness about the future, and alcohol and drug problems were factors associated with attempter status. Protective factors associated with nonattempter status included hopefulness, self-efficacy, coping skills, social support, and effectiveness in obtaining material resources. Culturally competent intervention approaches for abused women should target increasing their protective factors and reducing their risk factors to decrease the likelihood that these women engage in suicidal behavior.     

Evaluating a mental health assessment for older people with depressive symptoms in general practice: a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of evidence on the most effective primary care management of older people with minor depression. AIM: To evaluate a follow-up assessment by the community mental health team (CMHT) for older people with depressive symptoms identified by practice nurses at a health check for people over the age of 75 years. DESIGN OF STUDY: A pragmatic randomised controlled trial. SETTING: A single large general practice in Leicestershire. METHOD: Patients receiving a health check administered by a practice nurse and scoring 5 or more on the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS15) were randomised to either follow-up by the CMHT or routine general practitioner (GP) care. The GDS15 score was measured at the subsequent health check 18 months later. RESULTS: Forty-seven patients were randomised to CMHT assessment and 46 to routine GP care. Uptake of the intervention was 72% (n = 34). At the follow-up health check a greater proportion of the control group had improved GDS15 scores (P = 0.08). Following assessment, the CMHT recommended their further involvement in the care of 12 patients and this was authorised by patients' GPs in six cases. CONCLUSIONS: A follow-up mental health assessment by a member of the local CMHT was not effective in improving outcomes for mildly depressed older people. Other than random error possible reasons for this include the length of follow-up and a failure to meet raised expectations among the intervention group. If complex referral procedures do not improve outcomes for this group, then specialist community services should play a more prominent part in the training of practice staff to care for their depressed older patients.     

Sterilitätsbehandlung mit donogener Insemination

Donor inseminations (DI) have been performed for decades. Most of the publications on this topic deal only with problems of tolerance and acceptance of this treatment for sterility. We already reported on them in parts I and II. In the present third and last part, we discuss the indications for DI: male infertility, genetic disorders, and unsuccessful assisted reproduction therapy. Which conditions do affect the success of therapy? Which methods are recommended? Our treatment results verify realistically that in effect DI only produces the desired child in about 50 % of the couples. As a complementary therapy, in vitro fertilization (IVF) with donor spermatozoa offers a real chance for pregnancy even for women whose husbands are infertile and who themselves suffer from impaired fertility such as pathological conditions of the fallopian tube or when simple inseminations have not resulted in pregnancy. After receiving consent from the State Physicians’ Chamber, we treated 19 women by donor IVF in our group practice and fulfilled their desire to bear their own child.     

Serum cholesterol levels and stressor controllability in rats

Whether an organism can control a stressful event is often an important variable determining the impact of the event on physiology and behavior. Numerous behavioral and physiological variables are more adversely affected by uncontrollable stress. The present experiment with rat subjects compared the effect of controllable stress (escape conditioning) or uncontrollable stress (yoked control group) vs. home cage controls on total cholesterol, as well as high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low/very-low density lipoprotein (LDL/VLDL) serum cholesterol. Results indicated that both stressed groups had higher total and LDL/VLDL cholesterol levels than home cage controls. No group differences were observed with HDL cholesterol. The escape and yoked control subjects did not differ from each other in any dependent measure. Results are discussed in terms of the probable mediators of stress-induced cholesterol increases, and the fact that these mediators may be insensitive to stressor controllability.     

Endotoxins prevent murine IgE production,T(H)2 immune responses,and development of airway eosinophilia but not airway hyperreactivity

BACKGROUND: Contact with immunomodulatory factors, such as LPS, in early infancy is associated with decreased allergen sensitization. OBJECTIVE: We sought to study the effects of systemic or airway exposure with LPS on the development of allergen sensitization, eosinophilic airway inflammation, and increased in vivo airway reactivity (AR) in a mouse model. METHODS: BALB/c mice were systemically sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA) plus adjuvant on days 1 and 14 and challenged through the airways with allergen on days 34 to 36. We performed measurement of OVA-specific IgE serum levels, in vitro T(H)2 cytokine production, differential cell counts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids, and assessment of in vivo AR to inhaled methacholine by means of barometric whole-body plethysmography. RESULTS: Systemic LPS administration before OVA sensitization reduced OVA-specific IgE serum levels (426 +/- 76 vs 880 +/- 104 U/mL, P <.01), T(H)2 cytokine production by splenic mononuclear cells (IL-4: 0.08 +/- 0.01 vs 0.17 +/- 0.01 ng/mL; IL-5: 1.98 +/- 0.52 vs 4.11 +/- 0.54 ng/mL; P <.01), and extent of airway eosinophilia (total cell counts: 93 vs 376 x 10(3)/mL; eosinophils: 23% vs 51%; P <.01) compared with that in OVA-sensitized mice. Local LPS administration to sensitized mice before airway allergen challenges particularly induced IFN-gamma production by peribronchial lymph node cells in vitro (1718 +/- 315 vs 483 +/- 103 ng/mL, P <.01) associated with reduced airway eosinophilia compared with that seen in OVA-sensitized mice. Development of increased AR was not affected by systemic or local LPS exposure. Inhibitory effects of LPS on allergen sensitization and eosinophilic airway inflammation were inhibited by administration of anti-IL-12 antibodies before LPS exposure. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that local and systemic application of LPS modulates systemic and local T(H)1/T(H)2 immune responses in a distinct but similarly IL-12-dependent mode.     

In vitro hemocompatibility of self-assembled monolayers displaying various functional groups

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiols with various terminating groups (-OH, -CH3, -COOH) and binary mixtures of these alkanethiols were studied with respect to their hemocompatibility in vitro by means of freshly taken human whole blood. The set of smooth monomolecular films with graded surface characteristics was applied to scrutinize hypotheses on the impact of surface chemical-physical properties on distinct blood activation cascades, i.e. to analyze -OH surface groups vs. complement activation, acidic surface sites vs. contact activation/coagulation and surface hydrophobicity vs. thrombogenicity. Blood and model surfaces were analyzed after incubation for the related hemocompatibility parameters. Our results show that the adhesion of leukocytes is abolished on a -CH3 surface and greatly enhanced on surfaces with -OH groups. The opposite was detected for the adhesion of platelets. A strong correlation between the activation of the complement system and the adhesion of leukocytes with the content of -OH groups could be observed. The contact activation for hydrophilic surfaces was found to scale with the amount of acidic surface sites. However, the coagulation and platelet activation did not simply correlate with any surface property and were therefore concluded to be determined by a superposition of contact activation and platelet adhesion.     

Effects of methamphetamine on duration discrimination

Experiments 1 and 2 address the controversy regarding the reliability of methamphetamine effects on interval timing. A temporal discrimination procedure was used, in which the rats were reinforced for pressing the left or the right levers after short and long signals, respectively. Methamphetamine (0.5 mg/kg sc) severely disrupted operant performance at 20-100 min after injection, which disabled the measurement of drug effects on temporal perception (Experiment 1). The same dose of methamphetamine shifted the psychometric function to the left at 100-180 min after injection, indicating an increase in subjective durations (Experiment 2). Although these results confirm the role of dopamine in interval timing, that a change in the speed of a neural clock mediates the methamphetamine-induced change in temporal perception is still a working hypothesis.