Experimental stress fractures of the tibia. Biological and mechanical aetiology in rabbits

We have shown that stress fractures can be induced in the tibial diaphysis of an animal model by the repeated application of non-traumatic impulsive loads. The right hind limbs of 31 rabbits were loaded for three to nine weeks and changes in the bone were monitored by radiography and bone scintigraphy. The presence of stress fractures was confirmed histologically in some cases. Most animals sustained a stress fracture within six weeks and there was a positive correspondence between scintigraphic change and radiological evidence. Microscopic damage was evident at the sites of positive bone scans. The progression, location, and time of onset of stress fractures in this animal model were similar to those in clinical reports, making the model a useful one for the study of the aetiology of stress fractures.     

Cholesterol, coronary heart disease, and total mortality in middle-aged and elderly men and women in Tecumseh.

Relationships between serum cholesterol and coronary heart disease (CHD) were investigated in Tecumseh men and women who were 45 to 92 years old and initially free of CHD. Recruitment continued through three cycles of examinations over a period of 10 years, beginning in 1959. Follow-up for mortality ended in 1986 to 1987. Age-adjusted relative risks for CHD death for cholesterol levels of 5.2 to 6.2 mmol/L and greater than 6.2 mmol/L, compared with levels less than 5.2 mmol/L for men aged 45 to 64 years, were 1.2 and 1.7; for older men they were 1.0 and 1.8. Comparable relative risks for CHD death by cholesterol level were .7 and 1.4 for 45- to 64-year-old women and .8 and .7 for older women. Coefficients for cholesterol were significant for fatal CHD in men under and those 65 years and older when age, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, cigarette smoking status, and glucose intolerance were controlled in proportional hazards models. Cholesterol was a significant predictor of fatal CHD plus nonfatal myocardial infarction in middle-aged, but not elderly women. Relative risks for total mortality were lowest for middle-aged men and women with cholesterol levels of 5.2 to 6.2 mmol/L and the difference was significant in men.     

The syndrome of senile gait

Summary Infrared computed stroboscopic photometry was used to quantify the kinematic profiles of walking in 10 elderly patients with symmetrical neurological disturbances of gait and in 19 age-matched neurologically healthy people. Clinical examination of the patients revealed similar profiles of walking even though their diagnoses were vascular dementia (2), normal pressure hydrocephalus (2), Alzheimer dementia with possible normal pressure hydrocephalus (2), mixed Alzheimer and vascular dementia (1), peripheral neuropathy (1), Alzheimer dementia with parkinsonian features (1), and un determined (1). Quantitatively, the patients' gait kinematics deviated greatly from control values, but these deviations were statistically attributable to reductions in stride. We suggest that many gait disturbances in elderly people are similar, regardless of etiology, because the characteristics of these gait disturbances are heavily veiled by nonspecific stride-dependent changes that comprise the syndrome of senile gait.     

Morphine place conditioning is differentially affected by CCKA and CCKB receptor antagonists.

In the present study we have examined the interaction between the selective cholecystokinin (CCK)A and CCKB receptor antagonists, devazepide and L365-260 on morphine conditioned place preference (CPP). Using an unbiased procedure, morphine (1.5 mg/kg) produced a reliable CPP which was observed irrespective of the conditioning compartment type. Pretreatment with devazepide (0.001-0.01 mg/kg s.c.) produced a dose related attenuation of this response. At higher doses (0.1-1 mg/kg) this antagonism became variable and dependent on the training compartment with blockade only observed when conditioning was to the white/rough textured environment. This profile has also been reported for the serotonin (5-HT)3 receptor antagonist ondansetron. The CCKB antagonist L365-260 (0.000001-0.01 mg/kg) failed to antagonize the morphine CPP, if anything a mild potentiation was observed. To study this further we examined the interaction between L365-260 (0.01 mg/kg) and a subthreshold dose of morphine (0.3 mg/kg). At these doses neither drug elicited CPP, however when co-administered a significant CPP was recorded. Finally, L365-260 at 1 mg/kg induced a mild but significant CPP when administered alone. These results suggest a differential role of CCK receptor subtypes on reward-related behaviour and complement previous studies suggesting bimodal effects of CCK systems on mesolimbic dopamine function.     

Neuroticism and the pain-mood relation in rheumatoid arthritis: insights from a prospective daily study.

For 75 consecutive days, 54 Ss with rheumatoid arthritis supplied daily reports of their mood and joint pain. After aggregating daily reports, the relation between chronic mood and chronic pain remained statistically significant when controlling for neuroticism, depression, disease activity, disability, and characteristic responses to increasing pain. Findings of a path analysis suggest that (a) individuals higher in neuroticism experience more chronic distress regardless of their responses to pain, their pain intensity, and depressive symptomatology, and (b) the relation between neuroticism and chronic pain is mediated by the propensity of high-neuroticism individuals to catastrophize their pain. Within-subject analyses that controlled for autocorrelation and linear trends in the time series revealed that 40% of the Ss experienced significantly worse moods on more painful days. Although individuals higher in neuroticism reported more intense pain and more negative mood, their daily mood was less strongly linked to their daily pain.     

Emerging Patterns in Adolescent Drug Use: The Belfast Youth Development Study 2000-2002

This paper reports the findings from the first 2 years of the Belfast Youth Development Study. The Belfast Youth Development Study is a 5-year longitudinal investigation of the onset and development of adolescent drug using behaviours, the findings of the first 2 years from the study in relation to drug use patterns among the young people participating in the research are reported here. The findings show that while the majority of young people have not yet used an illicit substance, the study has seen a substantial increase in the numbers using such substances between year 1 and year 2. Boys still make up the majority of drug users in this period but there has been a substantial increase in the number of girls using illicit drugs and, more generally, an increase in the frequency of use among all those using such substances during this period.     

Non-operative management of retroperitoneal fibrosis

It is generally recognized that in many patients the ureteric obstruction and other manifestations of non-malignant retroperitoneal fibrosis will respond to treatment with corticosteroids. However, most surgeons are reluctant to use steroids as the primary treatment for patients with this condition, mainly because of the risk of mismanagement of malignant retroperitoneal fibrosis. Our experience in the care of 17 patients with non-malignant retroperitoneal fibrosis has led us to believe that an initial non-surgical approach is both safe and preferable.