Mental health and psychosocial functioning in adolescents with congenital heart disease. A comparison between adolescents born with severe heart defect and atrial septal defect

Twenty-six adolescents, aged 13–18 years, with severe congenital heart disease were matched for sex, age and living area with 26 adolescents with repaired atrial septal defect and regarded as physically fit. These two groups were compared according to somatic condition, psychopathology, psychosocial functioning and chronic family difficulties. A higher rate of psychiatric problems in the complex group, an association between psychosocial functioning and physical capacity, as well as an association between psychosocial functioning and chronic family difficulties were observed. These findings suggest that physical capacity is of crucial importance for mental health and functioning of adolescents with congenital heart disease. The association with chronic family difficulties also suggests that a comprehensive biopsychosocial approach is necessary in the treatment and rehabilitation of these patients.     

Auxology and response to growth hormone treatment of patients with intrauterine growth retardation or Silver-Russell syndrome: analysis of data from the Kabi Pharmacia International Growth Study

Using the database from the Kabi Pharmacia International Growth Study, 105 patients with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) (82 males, 23 females) and 45 with Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS) (32 males, 13 females) with persistent postnatal growth failure were studied. Patients with IUGR had a birth length and birth weight more than 2 SD below the mean for gestational age. Their height deficit at the start of GH treatment was -3.0 SDS at a median chronological age of 8.7 years and a median bone age of 7.0 years. Mean paternal and maternal heights were 166 and 153 cm, respectively. The median dose of GH was 0.5 IU/kg/week, given at a median frequency of five injections/week. The median height SDS for chronological age after 1, 2 and 3 years of GH treatment were -2.5, -2.1 and -1.9, respectively. In the 45 patients with SRS, median chronological age and median bone age at the start of treatment were 6.7 and 3.2 years, respectively, and mean paternal and maternal heights were 167.5 and 160 cm, respectively. The median dose of GH was 0.7 IU/kg/week, given at a median frequency of six injections/week. The median height SDS for chronological age at the start of treatment and after 1, 2 and 3 years were -3.5, -2.9, -2.8 and -2.2, respectively. Although the criteria used by physicians when diagnosing SRS were not controlled or verified in this study, it appears that patients with SRS can be differentiated from those with IUGR with persistent growth failure by their reduced bone age for chronological age at the start of treatment, and by the fact that patients with SRS tended to be born to parents of normal height. GH treatment in both groups induced catch-up growth, though long-term follow-up studies will be required to assess the effects of treatment on final height.     

GP5 ectodomain epitope of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, strain Lelystad virus

Sera from pigs infected with the European porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), strain Lelystad virus (LV), were screened by indirect ELISA for antibodies that bound to a series of overlapping synthetic peptides covering amino acids (AA) 19-60 of the primary envelope glycoprotein (GP)5. Antibodies were detected that bound to an epitope(s) located in an ectodomain segment composed of AA 38-54. The antibodies strongly cross-reacted with peptides specific for the North American PRRSV VR2332. Antibodies with the same specificity were present in sera of pigs infected in the US with a European-like PRRSV. Competitive ELISA using overlapping 8-10-AA-long peptides confirmed that the epitope recognized by the antibodies from LV-infected pigs is located in the same segment as the neutralization epitopes previously identified for PRRSV VR2332 and the closely related arterivirus, lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus (LDV). No antibodies were detected that bound to synthetic peptides representing further upstream GP5 segments that have been reported to carry neutralization or non-neutralization epitopes of some PRRSV isolates.     

Secular trends in neonatal macrosomia in Berlin: influences of potential determinants

To investigate the trend in the prevalence of neonatal macrosomia and to evaluate the influences of potential determinants, key features of 206 308 hospital deliveries (97% of all) in Berlin in the years 1993-99, collected by the Berlin Medical Board, were analysed using SPSS 10.0. After exclusion of multiple births and preterm infants, there was a significant increase over 7 years (P < 0.01) in the prevalence of birthweights >or= 4000 g, maternal age >or= 30 years, height of >or= 165 cm, prepregnancy BMI (body mass index) >or= 26 kg/m2 and pregnancy weight gain> 16 kg, but no substantial trend in the prevalence of recognised diabetes or maternal smoking. The adjusted model (OR [95% CI]) for delivering a newborn >or= 4000 g was statistically significant for post-term delivery (2.56 [2.39, 2.75]), women aged >or= 30 years (1.06 [1.02-1.11]), >or= 165 cm tall (1.94 [1.87,2.01]), multiparae (1.98 [1.91, 2.05]), not smoking in pregnancy (2.03 [1.93, 2.14]), prepregnancy BMI >or= 26 compared with < 20 (4.01 [3.77, 4.26]), pregnancy weight gain >or= 16 kg compared with < 10 kg (3.37.[3.22, 3.53]) and for recognised diabetes (1.85.[1.69, 2.04]). It is speculated that this increase in the prevalence of neonatal macrosomia may contribute to the secular trend of overweight and obesity under affluent living conditions.     

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus: origin hypothesis

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome is a serious swine disease that appeared suddenly in the midwestern United States and central Europe approximately 14 years ago; the disease has now spread worldwide. In North America and Europe, the syndrome is caused by two genotypes of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), an arterivirus whose genomes diverge by approximately 40%. My hypothesis, which explains the origin and evolution of the two distinct PRRSV genotypes, is that a mutant of a closely related arterivirus of mice (lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus) infected wild boars in central Europe. These wild boars functioned as intermediate hosts and spread the virus to North Carolina in imported, infected European wild boars in 1912; the virus then evolved independently on the two continents in the prevalent wild hog populations for approximately 70 years until independently entering the domestic pig population.     

An ORF-2a protein is not present at a significant level in virions of the arterivirus lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus

MRNA2 of the arteriviruses lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus (LDV) and equine arteritis virus (EAV) encodes two proteins that are read in different frames, an about 26 kDa minor envelope glycoprotein and an about 8 kDa protein that lacks N-glycosylation sites and a signal peptide, but possesses a central hydrophobic segment. Recent studies have shown that both proteins of EAV are translated from mRNA 2 in EAV infected BHK cells, that the 8 kDa protein is membrane associated and that small amounts of it are recovered in purified virions (Snijder, E.J., van Tol, H., Pederson, K.W., Raamsman, M.J.B., de Vries, A.A.F., 1999. Identification of a novel structural protein of arteriviruses. J. Virol. 73, 6335-6345). The authors concluded that the 8 kDa protein is another arterivirus envelope protein and designated it E protein. However, we have not detected a significant level of an 8 kDa protein in LDV virions and thus conclude that it is not a structural virion component.