Normative implications of the relationship between reading vocabulary and Boston Naming Test performance.

The 60-item Boston Naming Test (BNT) was published in 1983 with norms described as provisional. One recent finding (Thompson & Heaton, 1989) suggests that verbal intelligence, and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WA1S)-Revised Vocabulary subtest, in particular, is strongly correlated with BNT performance, and that education is moderately so. High false-positive rates for naming deficit may conceivably result from the application of the published norms with subjects of lower verbal abilities or limited educational backgrounds. To further explore the relationship of naming to other verbal abilities, analyses were undertaken of the correlations between Level 7-9 Gates-MacGinite Reading Vocabulary Test (G-MRVT) and BNT data from 97 schizophrenic, bipolar, and normal subjects. Reading vocabulary is strongly correlated with BNT performance, and the nature of this relationship is essentially the same across the three diagnostic groups. Application of the published norms would have resulted in a high false-positive rate for naming deficit in all groups among subjects with reading vocabularies equivalent to twelfth grade or less. As a word-recognition based reading exercise, the G-MRVT is likely to provide a brain-compromise-resistant index against which the adequacy of naming performances can be assessed. Accordingly, G-MRVT based BNT performance expectation guidelines are presented for use as a complement to the published norms. Other implications are discussed.     

Shorter Telomere Length in Peripheral Blood Cells Associated With Migraine in Women

(Headache 2010;50:965‐972) Objective.— To evaluate relative telomere length of female migraine patients. Background.— Migraine is a debilitating disorder affecting 6‐28% of the population. Studies on the mechanisms of migraine have demonstrated genetic causes but the pathophysiology and subcellular effects of the disease remain poorly understood. Shortened telomere length is associated with age‐related or chronic diseases, and induced stresses. Migraine attacks may impart significant stress on cellular function, thus this study investigates a correlation between shortening of telomeres and migraine. Methods.— Relative telomere length was measured using a previously described quantitative polymerase chain reaction method. A regression analysis was performed to assess differences in mean relative telomere length between migraine patients and healthy controls. Results.— The leukocyte telomeres of a cohort of 142 Caucasian female migraine subjects aged 18‐77 years and 143 matched 17‐77‐year‐old healthy control Caucasian women were examined. A significantly shorter relative telomere length was observed in the migraine group compared with the control group after adjusting for age and body mass index (P = .001). In addition, age of onset was observed to associate with the loss of relative telomere length, especially at early age of onset (<17 years old). No association was observed between relative telomere length and the severity and frequency of migraine attacks and the duration of migraine. Conclusion.— Telomeres are shorter in migraine patients and there is more variation in telomere length in migraine patients.     

Minoxidil for control of acute blood pressure elevation in chronically hypertensive children

Twenty-three episodes of acute elevation of BP related to renal disease in 13 chronically hypertensive children 2 to 18 years of age were treated with a single oral dose of minoxidil. All except one patient were receiving a diuretic and all but one a beta-blocking agent at the time of minoxidil treatment. The goal of lowering BP to or below the 95th percentile for age within four hours of minoxidil administration was achieved in 14 of 23 treatment episodes. The goal was achieved in nine of 11 (82%) when the dose of minoxidil was greater than or equal to 0.2 mg/kg and in five of 12 (42%) when the dose was less than 0.2 mg/kg (P less than .05). In patients treated with greater than or equal to 0.2 mg/kg of minoxidil, mean systolic and diastolic BP decreased significantly from pretreatment values within one hour. In patients receiving less than 0.2 mg/kg, mean systolic BP was never significantly reduced and mean diastolic BP did not change significantly for two hours. Adverse effects were minimal. The results indicate that minoxidil in a dose of 0.2 mg/kg in combination with a diuretic and beta-blocking agent will lower BP to safe levels in most patients with severe hypertension related to renal disease within four hours with minimal side effects.     

Hydramnios: ultrasound diagnosis and its impact on perinatal management and pregnancy outcome

Ultrasonographic technique allows for noninvasive quantification of amniotic fluid volume in pregnancy. A series of 12 pregnancies with ultrasonographically confirmed hydramnios is presented in detail. Following the diagnosis of hydramnios an intensive system-by-system evaluation of the fetal structures was performed. Developmental defects known to be associated with the production of hydramnios were detected in 83% of these pregnancies. Anomalies detected included abdominal wall defects, abnormalities of the central nervous system, pleural effusions, obstructions of the fetal gastrointestinal tract, and others. The early definition of hydramnios and the subsequent discovery of anomalies associated with increased amniotic fluid volume may lead to alteration in prenatal care, in intrapartum management, and in postdelivery resuscitative measures in these complicated pregnancies. In this series, despite early diagnosis of hydramnios and associated fetal developmental anomalies, complications of the pregnancies directly resultant from hydramnios resulted in a high perinatal mortality rate.     

A typical migraine susceptibility region localizes to chromosome 1q31

Migraine (with and without aura) is a prevalent neurovascular disease that shows strong familial aggregation, although the number of genes involved and the mode of inheritance is not clear. Some insight into the disease has been gained from genetic studies into a rare and very severe migraine subtype known as familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM). In this study, we took a family-based linkage and association approach to investigate the FHM susceptibility region on chromosome 1q31 for involvement in typical migraine susceptibility in affected Australian pedigrees. Initial multipoint ALLEGRO analysis provided strong evidence for linkage of Chr1q31 markers to typical migraine in a large multigenerational pedigree. The 1-LOD* unit support interval for suggestive linkage spanned approximately 18 cM with a maximum allele sharing LOD* score of 3.36 obtained for marker D1S2782 (P=0.00004). Subsequent analysis of an independent sample of 82 affected pedigrees added support to the initial findings with a maximum LOD* of 1.24 (P=0.008). Utilising the independent sample of 82 pedigrees, we also performed a family-based association test. Results of this analysis indicated distortion of allele transmission at marker D1S249 [global χ² ₍₅₎ of 15.00, P=0.010] in these pedigrees. These positive linkage and association results will need further confirmation by independent researchers. However, overall they provide good evidence for the existence of a typical migraine locus near these markers on Chr1q31, and reinforce the idea that an FHM gene in this genomic region may also contribute to susceptibility to the more common forms of migraine. Electronic Publication     

Currarino triad: Characteristic appearances on magnetic resonance imaging and plain radiography

The Currarino triad is a complex anomaly consisting of an anorectal malformation, a sacral bone defect and a presacral mass. It was first described in 1981 and since then, approximately 250 cases have been reported. Radiology has an important part to play in the diagnosis of this entity, as the imaging features are characteristic. We report a case of Currarino triad in an infant who presented with intractable constipation and discuss relevant MRI and plain radiography findings.