Challenges in accessing multidisciplinary pain treatment facilities in Canada

PURPOSE: The objective of this survey was to examine the services offered by multidisciplinary pain treatment facilities (MPTFs) across Canada and to compare access to care at these MPTFs. METHODS: A MPTF was defined as a clinic that advertised specialized multidisciplinary services for the diagnosis and management of patients with chronic pain, having a minimum of three different health care disciplines (including at least one medical speciality) available and integrated within the facility. The search method included approaching all hospital and rehabilitation centre administrators in Canada, the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board or similar body in each province. Designated investigators were responsible for confirming and supplementing MPTFs from the preliminary list for each province. Administrative leads at each eligible MPTF were asked to complete a detailed questionnaire regarding their MPTF infrastructure, clinical, research, teaching and administrative activities. RESULTS: Completed survey forms were received from 102 MPTFs (response rate 85%) with 80% concentrated in major cities, and none in Prince Edward Island and the Territories. The MPTFs offer a wide variety of treatments including non-pharmacological modalities such as interventional, physical and psychological therapy. The median wait time for a first appointment in public MPTFs is six months, which is approximately 12 times longer than non-public MPTFs. Eighteen pain fellowship programs exist in Canadian MPTFs and 64% engage in some form of research activities CONCLUSION: Canadian MPTFs are unable to meet clinical demands of patients suffering from chronic pain, both in terms of regional accessibility and reasonable wait time for patients' first appointment.     

改良颈腮腺入路切除咽旁间隙高位良性肿瘤

目的 探讨改良颈腮腺入路在高位咽旁间隙良性肿瘤手术中的应用疗效。 方法 7例咽旁间隙良性肿瘤患者,术前影像学检查提示为高位、肿瘤巨大、哑铃型且边界欠清,采用改良颈腮腺入路术式,解剖辨认面神经总干及颞面干后,于外耳道软骨前方、腮腺的后缘以及颞面干的上方间隙向深部分离至肿瘤上极,剥离子分离并下压肿瘤与下方常规颈部自下而上肿瘤游离会师后,从颌下区取出肿瘤。腮腺浅叶不切除,面神经分支不做过多解剖。 结果 所有患者均一次性完整切除肿瘤;术后病理示多形性腺瘤6例,神经鞘瘤1例;术中出血均少于300 mL;1例患者出现术后同侧眼睑轻度闭合障碍,两周后完全正常;所有患者面容美学保存理想。 结论 对于高位咽旁间隙良性肿瘤采用改良颈腮腺入路术式,不仅可以安全完整地切除肿瘤,同时由于减少了面神经及腮腺浅叶的处置,术后相关神经并发症及腮腺区凹陷性改变的发生率下降。     

二硫代氨基甲酸吡咯烷诱导人肝癌细胞凋亡的铜离子依赖性机制

目的：测定二硫代氨基甲酸吡咯烷（PDTC）处理对人肝癌细胞Hep3B凋亡的诱导作用及Cu^2 对这种作用的影响。方法：运用细胞增殖力、膜损伤、DNA片断化、细胞周期DNA含量测定分析PDTC对人肝癌细胞株Hep3B细胞的增殖抑制及凋亡诱导作用及Cu^2 在其中发挥的作用。结果：PDTC处理后，细胞增殖能力显著下降。乳酸脱氢酶（LDH）分析显示细胞膜并没有被破坏，DNA凝胶电泳及细胞周期DNA含量测定发现明显的凋亡特征性DNA片断及亚G1峰，显示细胞增殖能力的降低源于细胞凋亡的发生。低浓度Cu^2 显著加强了PDTC的细胞增殖抑制及凋亡诱导作用，而Cu^2 络合剂Bathocuproine disulfonate(BCS)显著抑制PDTC的两种作用。结论：PDTC铜离子依赖性地抑制人肝癌细胞增殖并诱导细胞凋亡。     

波尔山羊重复超排效果的研究

对 2 0只波尔山羊实施两次超排处理。其结果如下 :1.第 1次超排处理时 2 0只供体羊全部发情并进行采卵 ,超排有效率为 10 0 % ;平均排卵数为 2 0 .2 5枚 /只 ,平均采集胚胎数 19.2 5枚 /只 ,平均采集可用胚胎数为 17.3枚 /只 ;第 2次超排处理时有 3只羊推迟发情 ,超排有效率为 85 % ;平均排卵数 19.2 9枚 /只 ,平均采集胚胎数 18.5 3枚 /只 ,平均采集可用胚胎数 17.35枚 /只 ;2 .两次超排所获得的平均可用胚胎数差异不显著(p >0 .0 5 )。     

Minactivin expression in human monocyte and macrophage populations

Adherent monolayer cultures of human blood monocytes, peritoneal macrophages, bone marrow macrophages, and colonic mucosa macrophages were examined for their ability to produce and secrete minactivin, a specific inactivator of urokinase-type plasminogen activator. All except colonic mucosa macrophages produced and secreted appreciable amounts of minactivin, but only blood monocytes were stimulated by muramyl dipeptide (adjuvant peptide) to increase production. The minactivin from each of these populations could be shown to preferentially inhibit urokinase-type plasminogen activator and not trypsin, plasmin, or "tissue"-type plasminogen activator (HPA66). A plasminogen-activating enzyme present in monocyte cultures appeared unaffected by the presence of minactivin and could be shown to be regulated independently by dexamethasone.     

Use of multiple T cell-directed intact ricin immunotoxins for autologous bone marrow transplantation

The monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) T101, G3.7, 35.1, and TA-1 were conjugated to intact ricin using a thioether linkage. These MoAb detect, respectively, the CD5[gp67], CD7[p41], CD2[p50], and [gp95, 170] determinants that are found in the vast majority of cases of T cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (T-ALL). The resulting immunotoxins (ITs) and an equimolar mixture of these ITs were evaluated as potential purgative reagents for autologous transplantation in T-ALL. Leukemic cell lines were used to compare the kinetics of protein synthesis inactivation mediated by each IT. The cells were treated with IT in the presence of lactose in order to block the native binding of ricin. The observed rates of protein synthesis inactivation correlated with target antigen expression detected by fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis. Of the four ITs, T101-ricin (T101-R) exhibited the fastest rate of inactivation, followed in order by G3.7-ricin, TA-1-ricin, and 35.1-ricin. At concentrations greater than 300 ng/mL, a cocktail containing an equimolar amount of all four ITs (referred to as the four- IT cocktail) exhibited kinetics that were as fast or faster than those of T101-R. The long-term cytotoxic effects of individual ITs and the four-IT cocktail were evaluated using a sensitive clonogenic assay. Each IT was specifically cytotoxic and inhibited 1 to 4 logs of clonogenic leukemic cells at doses (300 to 600 ng/mL) that can be used clinically. The four-IT cocktail was highly cytotoxic; a concentration of 300 ng/mL inhibited greater than 4 logs of leukemic cells while sparing the majority of committed (CFU-GM, CFU-E) and pluripotent (CFU- GEMM) hematopoietic stem cells. The determination of both short-term kinetics of protein synthesis inactivation and longer-term inhibition of clonogenic growth allowed new insight into cell killing by IT. Our results suggest that ITs continue to act on clonogenic target cells for a period of three to five days. Interestingly, the four-IT cocktail was not as potent against clonogenic leukemic cells as T101-R alone, although it exhibited kinetics of protein synthesis inhibition that were as fast as those of T101-R alone. This finding suggests that internalized ITs may differ in the length of time they remain active within the cell. Our results also demonstrate the importance of using several different assays to evaluate IT reagents.     

Evidence That Hyperglycemia After Recovery From Hypoglycemia Worsens Endothelial Function and Increases Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Healthy Control Subjects and Subjects With Type 1 Diabetes

Currently there is debate on whether hypoglycemia is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis, but little attention has been paid to the effects of recovery from hypoglycemia. In normal control individuals and in people with type 1 diabetes, recovery from a 2-h induced hypoglycemia was obtained by reaching normoglycemia or hyperglycemia for another 2 h and then maintaining normal glycemia for the following 6 h. Hyperglycemia after hypoglycemia was also repeated with the concomitant infusion of vitamin C. Recovery with normoglycemia is accompanied by a significant improvement in endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and inflammation, which are affected by hypoglycemia; however, a period of hyperglycemia after hypoglycemia worsens all of these parameters, an effect that persists even after the additional 6 h of normoglycemia. This effect is partially counterbalanced when hyperglycemia after hypoglycemia is accompanied by the simultaneous infusion of vitamin C, suggesting that when hyperglycemia follows hypoglycemia, an ischemia–reperfusion-like effect is produced. This study shows that the way in which recovery from hypoglycemia takes place in people with type 1 diabetes could play an important role in favoring the appearance of endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and inflammation, widely recognized cardiovascular risk factors.Recent evidence suggests that hypoglycemia may play an important role in the vascular complications of diabetes (1). Hypoglycemia causes oxidative stress (2), inflammation (3), and endothelial dysfunction (4). Oxidative stress is considered the key player in the pathogenesis of diabetes complications (5). During hyperglycemia, oxidative stress is produced at the mitochondrial level (5), similarly as in hypoglycemia (2). Therefore, oxidative stress might be considered the common factor linking hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and the vascular complications of diabetes. Consistent with this hypothesis is the evidence that hyperglycemia (6) and hypoglycemia both produce endothelial dysfunction and inflammation through the generation of oxidative stress (4,7). Endothelial dysfunction and inflammation are well-recognized pathogenic factors for vascular disease, particularly in diabetes (8).There is, however, evidence that free radical production rises, not only during hypoglycemia but particularly during glucose reperfusion after hypoglycemia (9). In both mice and cultured neurons, hypoglycemia, followed by different concentrations of glucose reperfusion, has been linked to a degree of superoxide production and neuronal death that increased proportionally with glucose concentrations during the reperfusion period (9).Until now, little attention has been given to studying the effects of recovery from hypoglycemia. The aim of this study was to evaluate these effects and, in particular, to determine if the level of glycemia reached during recovery could have a different impact, in vivo, on oxidative stress generation, inflammation, and endothelial function.     

中心静脉压联合全心舒张末容积指数指导感染性休克患者容量治疗的效果

目的 评价中心静脉压(CVP)联合全心舒张末容积指数(GEDVI)指导感染性休克患者容量治疗的效果.方法 感染性休克患者23例,性别不煨,年龄18～64岁,休克时间＜6h,急性生理和慢性健康状况评分13～31分,采用随机数字表法,将其随机分为2组:CVP指导容量治疗组(Ⅰ组,n=12)和CVP联合GEDVI指导容量治疗组(Ⅱ组,n=11).2组均静脉输注生理盐水和6％羟乙基淀粉200/0.5,晶体液和胶体液的比例为1∶(0.5 ～ 1.0),输注速率800～ 1600 ml/h,容量治疗过程中Ⅰ组维持CVP8～ 12mmHg;Ⅱ组维持CVP＞8 mm Hg和GEDVI 600 ～ 750 ml/m2.分别于容量治疗前及容量治疗开始后6h时采集动脉及中心静脉的血样,测定血乳酸浓度和中心静脉血氧饱和度(ScvO2),计算乳酸和ScvO2的变化率.结果 与Ⅰ组比较,Ⅱ组乳酸变化率升高(P＜0.05),ScvO2变化率差异无统计学意义(P＞0.05).结论 与CVP指导容量治疗比较,CVP联合GEDVI指导感染性休克患者容量治疗时可增加组织灌注,其效果较好.