Inhibition of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Replication by Poly(2′-Fluoro-2′-Deoxyuridylic Acid)

Poly(2'-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridylic acid) is known to be an effective inhibitor of the deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase found within the oncornaviruses. This synthetic polynucleotide was found to inhibit the replication of vesicular stomatitis virus in mouse L cells. The polymer was shown to be capable of inhibiting the viral ribonucleic acid (RNA)-dependent RNA polymerase, and it is proposed that this is the mechanism of antiviral activity. The following observations support this viewpoint: (i) the polymer is most active when added after virus adsorption; (ii) the antiviral activity is not species specific; and (iii) the polynucleotide is nontoxic to the host cell. Conventional methodologies designed to increase nucleic acid uptake by cultured cells do not show an increase in antiviral potency.     

Prevalence and incidence of diabetes in HIV-infected minority patients on protease inhibitors

In HIV-infected patients, the use of protease inhibitors (PIs) is associated with a constellation of abdominal obesity; buffalo hump; decreased facial and subcutaneous fat; hyperlipidemia and type-2 diabetes mellitus, a so-called HAART-associated dysmetabolic syndrome. The incidence and prevalence of one of its components, the type-2 diabetes mellitus, among minority population is unknown. In August and September 1999, we reviewed 101 charts of HIV-infected patients who visited an inner-city HIV outpatient clinic. The age, gender, ethnicity, BMI, fasting plasma glucose, random serum glucose, triglycerides, CD4 counts, and the type and duration of antiretroviral drugs were recorded. Three years later (2002), the same patient charts were reviewed for evidence of new-onset diabetes. Ten percent of the subjects were identified as diabetic at baseline. The prevalence of diabetes was 12% among those who were taking PIs, compared to 0% among those who were not taking PIs. The incidence of newly diagnosed diabetes during this three-year period was 7.2%. Diabetes occurred only in the group taking PIs. Diabetic subjects were older than their nondiabetic counterparts. All were African Americans. Our study suggests that PIs increase the likelihood of diabetes developing with increasing age in African Americans infected with HIV.     

New insight into the pathophysiology of severe hypothyroidism in an infant with multiple hepatic hemangiomas

We report on an infant with severe acquired hypothyroidism resulting from both increased activity of type 3 iodothyronine deiodinase and increased production of TSH-like hormone from hepatic hemangiomas. The combination of these two mechanisms in a patient with hepatic hemangiomas has not been reported previously.     

Correlates of therapeutic involvement among adolescents in residential drug treatment

The current study addresses the critical need for research on the therapeutic involvement among adolescent substance users in treatment. Although therapeutic involvement (TI) and the services that clients receive during treatment are among the best predictors of treatment retention and through retention associated with better posttreatment outcomes, there are relatively few empirical studies of therapeutic involvement among adolescents in drug treatment. Using data on N=185 adolescent clients in five adolescent residential drug-treatment programs in New Jersey, factor analyses used maximum likelihood extraction and oblique rotation. Pearson's correlation coefficients and multivariate linear regression were used to explore the utility of using existing measures of TI developed on adult populations to examine the correlates of therapeutic involvement among adolescents. The majority of subjects (85%) were between 16 and 18 years of age, with an average age of 17 years. Seventy-nine percent were male, 20% were Hispanic, 36% were African-American, and 46% were Caucasian. Working alliance, self-esteem, spirituality, deviance, and substance use problem severity were associated with therapeutic involvement and there is evidence that there may be important subgroup differences associated with gender and ethnicity. Further research on the interplay between these factors, therapeutic involvement, and recovery among adolescents can inform the development of strategies to enhance the engagement and retention of adolescents in drug treatment.     

Recurrent neuroblastoma with gastric invasion

The authors present an unusual manifestation of neuroblastoma in a young child: upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to erosion of the tumor into the stomach. Included are reviews of gastrointestinal manifestations of neuroblastoma and gastric tumors in children.