Milk nasendoscopy in the assessment of dysphagia.

The bedside assessment of dysphagia may be difficult, due to the inability to witness the act of swallowing directly. The milk test described in this paper gives a good assessment of swallowing, is cheap and easily portable and allows an instant decision to be made without recourse to special investigations.     

In vivo biological validation and biophysical modeling of the sensitivity and positive accuracy of endocrine peak detection. II. The follicle-stimulating hormone pulse signal

Despite interest in the in vivo control of gonadotropin release, valid assessment of the physiological regulation of the pulsatile secretion of the gonadotropin FSH has been hampered by the uncertain validity and reliability of available FSH peak detection algorithms. Difficulties in identifying FSH peaks accurately are believed to arise in part because of the slow metabolic clearance of this glycoprotein hormone. Here, we have used two complementary strategies to test the validity of FSH pulse detection. First, by means of a computer-assisted mathematical model for simulating episodic hormone secretion, we evaluated the effects of various putative FSH secretory pulse amplitudes and half-lives on the sensitivity and positive accuracy of peak detection. Secondly, we used an in vivo primate animal model, in which presumptively true FSH pulses were evaluated independently by continuous electrophysiological monitoring of mediobasal hypothalamic multiunit activity. These two approaches allowed us to define optimal pulse analysis parameters that yield maximal sensitivity and positive accuracy for detecting FSH peaks in synthetic and biological time series. We found (as predicted intuitively) that increasing half-times of hormone disappearance decrease both the sensitivity and positive accuracy of peak detection for any given peak detection thresholds and hormone secretory amplitudes. However, adequately sampled episodic FSH time series could be analyzed for FSH pulsatility by an appropriately constrained, objective computerized algorithm with reasonable (less than 10-15%) false negative and false positive errors, such that resultant sensitivity and positive accuracy exceed 85-90%. Of interest, computer simulations and the in vivo animal model exhibited similar discriminative capabilities. We conclude that increasing half-times of hormone (e.g. FSH) removal do impair hormone peak detection sensitivity and positive accuracy. Nevertheless, gonadotropin time series can be analyzed for FSH pulsatility in a valid manner with adequately constrained false negative and false positive error rates.     

Anosognosia in mild cognitive impairment: Relationship to activation of cortical midline structures involved in self-appraisal.

Awareness of cognitive dysfunction shown by individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a condition conferring risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD), is variable. Anosognosia, or unawareness of loss of function, is beginning to be recognized as an important clinical symptom of MCI. However, little is known about the brain substrates underlying this symptom. We hypothesized that MCI participants' activation of cortical midline structures (CMS) during self-appraisal would covary with level of insight into cognitive difficulties (indexed by a discrepancy score between patient and informant ratings of cognitive decline in each MCI participant). To address this hypothesis, we first compared 16 MCI participants and 16 age-matched controls, examining brain regions showing conjoint or differential BOLD response during self-appraisal. Second, we used regression to investigate the relationship between awareness of deficit in MCI and BOLD activity during self-appraisal, controlling for extent of memory impairment. Between-group comparisons indicated that MCI participants show subtly attenuated CMS activity during self-appraisal. Regression analysis revealed a highly significant relationship between BOLD response during self-appraisal and self-awareness of deficit in MCI. This finding highlights the level of anosognosia in MCI as an important predictor of response to self-appraisal in cortical midline structures, brain regions vulnerable to changes in early AD.     

Antitumor activity of magainin analogues against human lung cancer cell lines.

Magainin 1 and magainin 2, originally isolated from African clawed frog Xenopus laevis skin, inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi. Synthetic magainin A (MAG A) and magainin G (MAG G) are more potent against bacteria and protozoa. In order to determine the antitumor activity of these analogues, we have tested these two analogues against six small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell lines NCI-H82, NCI-H526, NCI-H678, NCI-H735, NCI-H841, and NCI-H889, which were known to differ by more than 10-fold in their sensitivity to different chemotherapeutic agents, and four normal human fibroblast cell lines. Semiautomated 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assays of the six SCLC cell lines revealed average concentrations producing 50% inhibition (IC50) values of 2.6 microM (range, 0.49-9.30 microM) for cisplatin, 2.5 microM (range, 0.39-6.00 microM) for etoposide, and 138.8 nM (range, 55.0-450.0 nM) for doxorubicin. The average IC50 of MAG A was 8.64 microM (range, 6.23-11.7 microM) and that of MAG G was 8.82 microM (range, 4.44-12.5 microM) against the SCLC cell lines. Despite a 10-fold difference in sensitivity to standard chemotherapeutic agents, the IC50 of MAG A and MAG G differs by less than 3-fold. The average IC50 against four normal human fibroblast cell lines was 21.1 microM (range, 12.7-25.6 microM) for MAG A and 29.2 microM (range, 21.3-34.8 microM) for MAG G. Combined exposure to the IC50 concentration of MAG A or MAG G plus IC50 of etoposide or cisplatin decreased the percentage of surviving SCLC cells to 29.0% (range, 26.1-31.7%). MAG A or MAG G had an additive effect when used with standard chemotherapeutic agents. These data suggest that MAG A and MAG G have in vitro antitumor activity against SCLC cell lines.     

Antitumor xenograft activity with a conjugate of a Vinca derivative and the squamous carcinoma-reactive monoclonal antibody PF1/D

The human squamous carcinoma-reactive murine monoclonal antibody PF1/D was used to derive a conjugate with the Vinca derivative 4-desacetylvinblastine-3-carboxyhydrazide (PF1/D-DAVLBHYD). This immunoconjugate was shown to be largely aggregate free and there was no loss of immunoreactivity postconjugation. When tested in vivo in a 3-day-established human squamous carcinoma nude mouse xenograft model, the PF1/D-DAVLBHYD conjugate eliminated tumor growth with three injections (days 3, 6, and 9) at 2 mg/kg Vinca content. Significant tumor suppression was also observed with 0.5 mg/kg conjugate doses. In contrast, free PF1/D antibody had minimal antitumor activity and no activity was seen with identical doses of a control non-tumor-binding IgG-DAVLBHYD conjugate. Together, these data demonstrate the specificity of the PF1/D-DAVLBHYD antitumor effects.     

FM sonography in diffuse liver disease: prospective assessment and blinded analysis

FM sonography - a signal-processing technique that uses frequency and phase information as well as amplitude data - shows promise in evaluation of patients with diffuse liver disease. In a prospective blinded review of 37 patients with biopsy-proved liver disease and 42 healthy volunteers, FM sonography was clearly superior to traditional amplitude-based (AM) sonography in distinguishing healthy from diseased subjects. Statistically significant differences were seen in accuracy (FM, 98.7%; AM, 84.8%), sensitivity (FM, 97.3%; AM, 70.3%), and negative predictive value (FM, 97.7%; AM, 78.8%). Our data also suggest that current FM sonographic techniques cannot differentiate among histologic findings associated with different hepatic parenchymal abnormalities. It is unclear, therefore, whether FM imaging can reduce the numbers of patients who require biopsy for diagnosis or the frequency of biopsy procedures in patients with known disease.     

Initial two-year results of the Oregon Liver Transplantation Program

During the first 24 months of the Oregon Liver Transplantation Program, which began in October 1988, 94 patients were formally evaluated and 47 adults underwent 54 liver transplantations. Thirty-four percent of patients were veterans. The recipient operation lasted a mean of 7.4 hours (range: 4 to 16 hours). Veno-venous bypass was used routinely at first but selectively later (7 of the last 26 cases), resulting in reduced operating time. Hepatic artery reconstruction was end-to-end anastomosis in 52 cases and iliac conduit in 2. No arterial thrombosis occurred. Biliary reconstruction was choledochocholedochostomy in 83% and choledochojejunostomy in 17%. Biliary complications occurred in 28%. Operative mortality was 2%, and 1-year actual survival was 80%. Patients with hepatitis B fared worse, with four of six dying at a mean of 7.6 months. Overall, the median hospital stay was 30 days. Patients surviving more than 3 months had a mean Karnofsky score of 82%. No significant difference in outcome was noted in patients receiving prophylactic OKT3 monoclonal antibody (used in 45%) versus conventional immunosuppressive therapy. Overall, allograft rejection occurred in 55% of patients. Retransplantation was required in seven patients, three for primary graft nonfunction, two for uncontrolled rejection during induction therapy with OKT3, and two for graft failure secondary to recurrent hepatitis B.