FXIII gene Val34Leu polymorphism in Turkish children with cerebral infarct

A common polymorphism of the FXIIIA gene, which is characterized by a Val --> Leu exchange at amino acid position 34 (FXIII Val34Leu), was studied in this case-control study. The authors sought to determine whether there was an association between this polymorphism and pediatric stroke. The case-control study included 116 patients with cerebral infarct who were younger than 18 years. All were clinically diagnosed, and the infarction was verified with cranial imaging of the brain. The data revealed that the FXIII gene Val34Leu polymorphism was not associated independently with pediatric stroke in the population and that it does not have any effect in PT 20210A carriers. However, although the difference was not significant, the risk of thrombosis decreased 2-fold to the protective side in patients carrying FV1691A. This may be an important clue and needs further study in FV1691A carriers with and without thrombosis.     

Correlation between putative indicators of primary restless legs syndrome severity

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Several methods of assessing disease severity in restless legs syndrome (RLS) have been suggested. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the suggested immobilization test (SIT), the International RLS Study Group rating scale (IRLS), sleep efficiency, and periodic leg movements of sleep index (PLMI). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty primary RLS patients with periodic leg movements of sleep were included in this prospective study. Study procedures were all performed during the same night, beginning with IRLS administration and following with SIT and polysomnography (PSG) evaluations, in that order. SIT was composed of two parameters: SIT mean discomfort score (SIT-MDS) and SIT periodic leg movements of wakefulness index (SIT-PLMW). PSG target measures were PLMI and sleep efficiency. Pearson's correlation was used for analysis at a P<0.01 significance level. RESULTS: PSG-PLMI correlated with IRLS (r=0.462; P=0.003) and with SIT-PLMW (r=0.681; P=0.0004). A correlation was also found between IRLS and SIT-MDS (r=0.447; P=0.004), even though SIT-PLMW and IRLS did not correlate with each other (P=0.286). A negative correlation was found between PSG-PLMI and sleep efficiency (r=-0.435; P=0.005). Neither SIT nor IRLS correlated with sleep efficiency. Only SIT discomfort scores from the second half of SIT correlated with SIT-PLMW (r=0.457, P=0.004), and they had a stronger correlation with IRLS (P=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: This study attempted a much needed comprehensive evaluation of the relationship between various RLS severity indicators. Our findings support a strong role of motor dysfunction on sleep quality in RLS, as well as the potential use of SIT-PLMW as a sensitive indicator of RLS severity.     

Effect of 180 Days of Water Storage on the Transverse Strength of Acetal Resin Denture Base Material

Purpose: Acetal resin has been used as an alternative denture base and clasp material since 1986. The manufacturers claim that acetal resin has superior physical properties when compared to conventional denture base acrylic resins. Limited information is available about transverse strengths of acetal resin. The purpose of this investigation was to compare transverse strengths of pink and white acetal resins to transverse strengths of conventional heat‐polymerized polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) resin in increasing durations of water storage. Materials and Methods: A transverse strength test was performed in accordance with International Standards Organization (ISO) specification No 1567. Twenty 65 × 10 × 2.5 mm³ specimens of each resin were prepared; five specimens of each resin group were subjected to three‐point bending test after 50 hours, 30 days, 60 days, and 180 days of water storage in distilled water at 37°C. Experimental groups’ transverse strengths were compared by three‐way ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range tests. Results: Transverse strength of PMMA denture base material was found to be in accordance with the requirements of ISO specification No 1567. Transverse strengths of white and pink acetal resin could not be calculated in this study, as white and pink acetal resin specimens did not break at the maximum applied force in the three‐point bending test. Flexural strength of acetal resin was found to be within the ISO specification limits. As the water storage time increased, the deflection values of PMMA showed no significant difference (p > 0.05). Both the white and pink acetal resin showed significant increase in deflection as the water storage time was increased from 50 hours to 180 days (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that transverse strength values of PMMA were within the ISO specification limit. Water storage time (50 hours, 30, 60, and 180 days) had no statistically significant effect on the transverse strength and deflection of PMMA. Acetal resin suffered from permanent deformation, but did not break in the three‐point bending test. Acetal resin showed significant increase in deflection as the water storage time was increased from 50 hours to 180 days. All materials tested demonstrated deflection values in compliance with ISO specification No 1567.     

Macular and peripapillary vessel density alterations in a large series of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus without ocular involvement

Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology - The aim of this study was to investigate changes in both macular and peripapillary retinal microcirculation in the subclinical...     

A projection pursuit algorithm to classify individuals using fMRI data: Application to schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is diagnosed based largely upon behavioral symptoms. Currently, no quantitative, biologically based diagnostic technique has yet been developed to identify patients with schizophrenia. Classification of individuals into patient with schizophrenia and healthy control groups based on quantitative biologically based data is of great interest to support and refine psychiatric diagnoses. We applied a novel projection pursuit technique on various components obtained with independent component analysis (ICA) of 70 subjects' fMRI activation maps obtained during an auditory oddball task. The validity of the technique was tested with a leave-one-out method and the detection performance varied between 80% and 90%. The findings suggest that the proposed data reduction algorithm is effective in classifying individuals into schizophrenia and healthy control groups and may eventually prove useful as a diagnostic tool.     

Glomus caroticum tumors: A case report of an operated giant carotid body tumor with a review of our experience in 47 patients

Glomus caroticum tumors, usually used as an alternative term for carotid body tumor, are of neuroectodermal origin and a part of the extra adrenal neuroendocrine system pathologies. These abnormalities are the most frequently detected paraganglioma in the localization of the head and neck. In our report, we present a giant tumor mass on the left side which was operated on successfully with a review of our experience retrospectively. Between the dates of June 1995 and October 2009, 47 patients, all of which had a glomus caroticum tumor, underwent to surgery. Tumor presented a wide variety of size and clinical presentations.     

Surgical treatment of acute arch dissection.

OBJECTIVES: Acute type A arch dissections are rare and no consensus has been reached on their surgical treatment. We studied perioperative risk factors for mortality in arch dissection patients. METHODS: Between October 1995 and October 2001, 108 patients with acute type A dissection were operated on, of whom 16 had acute arch dissections. Their mean age was 58 +/- 9 (44-77). Surgery involved total arch replacement in 4, hemiarch replacement in 10, and intimal tear repair with pledgeted sutures and ascending aortic replacement in 2. RESULTS: One patient who underwent total arch replacement died intraoperatively due to bleeding. Both patients who underwent ascending aortic replacement and primary repair of arch tears died 2 days postoperatively, 1 due to bleeding, and the other due to multiorgan failure. In-hospital mortality was thus 18.75%, or 3 of 16. All 3 had cardiac tamponade preoperatively. The 13 survivors were discharged after a mean hospital stay of 11 +/- 6 days. Mean follow-up was 38 +/- 25 months, from 3 months to 6 years. One patient died due to graft infection 3 months postoperatively, but the remaining 12 remain in good condition. Univariate predictors of in-hospital mortality were the type of surgery (primary intimal tear repair) (p = 0.027) and preoperative cardiac tamponade (p = 0.007). CONCLUSION: Surgical treatment of acute type A-arch dissections can be done with reasonable mortality and mid-term survival comparable with those of other subgroups with acute type A dissection. As with series of arch dissections, our patient population is too small to draw specific conclusions, but our experience leads us to conclude that the sites of intimal tears should be resected in acute type A arch dissection.