Sleep-disordered breathing,psychiatric distress,and quality of life impairment in sexual assault survivors

Using American Academy of Sleep Medicine research criteria, sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) was assessed in a pilot study of 187 sexual assault survivors with posttraumatic stress symptoms. Nightmares, sleep quality, distress, and quality of life were also assessed along with historical accounts of prior treatments for sleep complaints. Presumptive SDB diagnoses were established for 168 patients. Twenty-one of 168 underwent sleep testing, and all met objective SDB diagnostic criteria. There were no clinically meaningful differences in age, body-mass index, sleep quality, distress, or quality of life measures between 21 confirmed SDB cases and 147 suspected cases not tested. Compared with 19 women without SDB, 168 women with diagnosed or suspected SDB reported significantly worse nightmares, sleep quality, anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress, and impaired quality of life. Despite suffering from sleep problems for an average of 20 years, which had not responded to repeated use of psychotropic medications or psychotherapy, few of these women had been referred to sleep specialists. SDB appears widespread among sexual assault survivors seeking help for nightmares. Research is needed to clarify the associations among SDB, distress, and physical and mental health impairment in trauma patients.     

Hashimoto's thyroiditis and Sjögren syndrome. Association or autoimmune multiple syndrome?

A case of Hashimoto's thyroiditis associated with incomplete Sj?gren's syndrome is revised. Both immune disorders are together not just as a casual event, but literature says that common mechanisms could have something to be. Previous publications express that autoimmune thyroid dysfunction is frequently associated with primary Sj?gren's syndrome and should be sought clinically and by laboratory test in all these patients.     

Antigene and antiproliferative effects of a c-myc-targeting phosphorothioate triple helix-forming oligonucleotide in human leukemia cells

The c-myc gene is frequently deregulated and overexpressed in human cancers, and strategies designed to inhibit c-myc expression in cancer cells may have considerable therapeutic value. The purpose of the present work was to characterize the antigene and antiproliferative activity of a triple helix-forming oligonucleotide (TFO) targeted to a homopurine-homopyrimidine sequence in the P2 promoter of the c-myc gene. The TFO was synthesized with phosphorothioate (PS) internucleotide linkages to confer resistance to intra- and extracellular nucleases. This property is required of oligonucleotides designed for in vivo testing and therapeutic applications. The PS-TFO was found to form triplex DNA with affinity and specificity comparable with that of the corresponding phosphodiester TFO, as shown by gel mobility shift and footprinting assays. Fluorescence microscopy and polyacrylamide gel analysis showed that the fluorescein-labeled PS-TFO accumulated in nuclei of CEM leukemia cells and remained intact for at least 72 h. Incubation of CEM cells with PS-TFO reduced c-myc RNA and protein levels. A single exposure of leukemia cells to the PS-TFO was sufficient to induce dose-dependent growth inhibitory effects. Growth inhibition correlated with accumulation of cells in S phase and with induction of cell death by apoptosis. The PS-TFO was also effective in other leukemia and lymphoma cell lines. Control oligonucleotides had minimal effects in all assays. These data indicate that the c-myc-targeted PS-TFO is an effective antigene and antiproliferative agent, with potential for testing in vivo as a novel approach to cancer therapy.     

Chances of reversibility in early sensory deprivation of the Homo vulnerabilis: A 5-year (and ongoing) prospective study

Background: This prospective study evaluated the effectiveness of a rehabilitation program in vulnerable children with language deficits.

Aims/Objectives: Evaluating reversibility of a sensory understimulation.

Material/Methods: Two groups of five students, each, (sensory and not sensory deprived) were evaluated at ages 5 and 11. Both groups were taught the compulsory national educational program. The sensory deprived group also had a 5-year rehabilitation program. After that time, their language and vocabulary were reevaluated.

Results: Both groups became able to read, write and perform mathematical operations. Both groups took the compulsory elementary school national performance test and all of them performed above the national average. Despite these good performances the differences between both groups regarding language persisted.

Conclusions: Deficits in children with early sensory deprivation are improved with rehabilitation programs. In order to achieve better restoration, intervention should be done earlier than at 5 years of age. Even if some deficits are not fully reversible, the improvement is significant and allows social inclusion and the possibility of breaking their circle of vulnerability.

Significance: Documenting the importance of early rehabilitation in sensory deficits.     

Angiotensin converting enzyme in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in pulmonary sarcoidosis.

Alveolar angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and serum ACE were measured simultaneously in 16 patients with histologically confirmed sarcoidosis and in 16 control subjects. Although alveolar ACE was abnormally elevated in all 15 cases of active sarcoidosis, serum ACE was not. No correlations were found between radiographic staging of pulmonary sarcoidosis and the levels of these enzymes. There was a clear correlation, however, between the levels of alveolar ACE and counts made on bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. This correlation was closer than that existing between serum ACE and bronchoalveolar lavaged lymphocytes. It is suggested that alveolar ACE is an additional biological marker of pulmonary sarcoidosis which is possibly more sensitive than serum ACE.