The role of estrogen in pubertal skeletal physiology: epiphyseal maturation and mineralization of the skeleton

The year 1994 is likely to be remembered by many endocrinologists as the year in which dramatic new light was shed on the role played by estrogen in human skeletal physiology. It was in 1994 that two new syndromes were described, each representing a human model in which estrogen action was lacking. The first case was a female with an aromatase defect and a resultant inability to synthesize estrogen, and the second case was a man with an estrogen receptor gene defect that resulted in a non-functioning estrogen receptor and complete estrogen resistance. By examining the phenotypes of these two individuals, we were able, for the first time, to see what pubertal skeletal changes occur in the absence of estrogen action and directly extrapolate the role of estrogen in skeletal physiology. What has become abundantly clear is that it is estrogen and not androgen that is responsible for pubertal epiphyseal maturation and skeletal mineralization     

Comparing outcomes in renal replacement therapy: how should we correct for case mix?

The need to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical practice to justify expensive therapy in the face of financial constraints in all areas of health care delivery makes it necessary to identify groups of patients who are likely to benefit most from treatment. Various risk stratification methods have been used for analyzing survival probabilities for patients receiving renal replacement therapy. Complicated risk stratification methods produce large numbers of risk groups of small sizes, which makes comparison between individual centers difficult. We compared three simple methods of risk stratification, that divided patients into low-, medium-, and high-risk groups, in a cohort of 1,407 patients who commenced renal replacement therapy in five European countries during a 7-year period. Method 1 considered age (>55 years) and diabetes alone; method 2 used a higher age limit (>70 years) and comorbid illnesses, including those other than diabetes; and method 3 used only the number of comorbidities (none, 1, or > or =2) for stratification. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were constructed for comparison between risk groups and Cox's regression model used to assess strength of relationship with mortality. Although patient survival was significantly different between the low-, medium-, and high-risk groups using all three methods, Cox's regression analysis showed that method 2 provided the greatest discrimination between risk groups. In predicting mortality, method 2 (based on comorbidities and age) showed the highest sensitivity and specificity (84% and 80%, respectively) compared with method 1 (80% and 74%) and method 3 (64% and 82%). Validation of this approach in other populations in a prospective study is required before this method, which takes into account the influences of both age and comorbidity for risk stratification, can be used for comparing survival data and for presenting results of renal replacement therapy.     

Pseudoaneurysm: a complication of faulty technique in femoral arterial puncture

Pseudoaneurysm is a well-documented but rare complication of retrograde femoral arterial puncture. We present six patients in whom pseudoaneurysm complicated this procedure. The pseudoaneurysm arose from the superficial femoral artery in five patients and from the profunda femoris artery in one. An arteriovenous fistula also arose from the superficial femoral artery in one patient. In no patient did the pseudoaneurysm arise from the common femoral artery. Two mechanisms are postulated as to why pseudoaneurysms rarely complicate puncture of the common femoral artery.     

Inflammation associated with neoplastic colonic polyps

Little is known about the significance of inflammation in neoplastic colon polyps: tubular, tubulovillous, and villous polyps/adenomas (TVPs) and hyperplastic/serrated polyps (HSPs). We undertake this study to ascertain the significance of acute and chronic inflammation in neoplastic polyps. Eighty-one consecutive, randomized TVPs and fifty-four randomized HSPs accessioned in the UCHC surgical pathology laboratory were selected for final analysis. The TVPs display increased acute and chronic inflammation compared to normal and adjacent non-dysplastic colonic mucosa. Adenoma size correlates with degree of acute and chronic inflammation. TVPs show increased overall acute and chronic inflammation compared to HSPs of the same size. This difference was statistically highly significant (p<.001). The number of adenomas exhibiting high grade dysplasia was insufficient to evaluate the relationship between polyp inflammation, polyp size, and degree of dysplasia. The HSPs showed significantly lower incidence and severity of acute and chronic inflammation compared to the TVPs. No correlation was seen in the HSP group between polyp size and acute or chronic inflammation. The prevalence of IBD was higher in patients with HSP showing acute inflammation than in the general population, but this statistic may be skewed by the low overall incidence of acute inflammation in the HSP group.     

An interactive voice response (IVR) system for adolescents with alcohol use disorders: a pilot study

In order to understand predictors of relapse among adolescents treated for alcohol use disorders (AUD), it is important to accurately assess the daily circumstances associated with use. This pilot study investigates the feasibility and acceptability of an interactive voice response (IVR) system in adolescents with AOSUD. Twenty-six adolescents 14 to 19 years old, with a mean age of 16.8, who were enrolled into an adolescent treatment program for AUD consented to make phone calls for 14 successive evenings to an IVR system and answer 14 questions pertaining to daily use of alcohol and other drugs. The subjects were compensated for their participation. A satisfaction questionnaire was administered at the end of the study. Participants completed 72% of scheduled recordings, with an average of 10.1 calls per subject. Most participants reported that they answered the questions honestly and accurately and were very much satisfied with the IVR system. The preliminary data presented here suggests that the use of IVR for the purpose of generating daily reports in youth is feasible and acceptable. The utilization of IVR systems should be explored to improve efficacy and attainment of generalizability to heterogeneous adolescent populations and lifestyles including for other psychiatric disorders.     

Teenage pregnancy in type 1 diabetes mellitus

Carmody D, Doyle A, Firth RGR, Byrne MM, Daly S, Mc Auliffe F, Foley M, Coulter‐Smith S, Kinsley BT. Teenage pregnancy in type 1 diabetes mellitus Younger maternal age at delivery has been linked to adverse reproductive outcomes. Pregnancy complicated by type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is also associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Optimising diabetic glycaemic control prior to pregnancy is known to reduce the rate of congenital abnormalities and improve pregnancy outcomes. Teenage pregnancies are not usually planned and little data exist on teenage pregnancy complicated by T1DM. We sought to identify the glycemic control achieved in teenage pregnancy with T1DM and to clarify if there is an associated increase in adverse pregnancy outcomes compared to those seen in older women with T1DM. We compared outcomes in 18 teenagers (TG) with 582 older women with T1DM (CON) from 1995–2007. TG booked to the combined diabetes‐obstetrical service at a median gestational age of 11 weeks (range 6–22) compared to 7 weeks in CON (range 4–40, p < 0.02). Glycaemic was worse in TG compared to CON at 13, 26 and 35 weeks gestation, despite higher insulin doses. First trimester miscarriage rate did not differ between groups. Major congenital anomaly rate was 6.2% (1/16) compared to 3.2% in CON. This preliminary study has demonstrated that pregnant teenage women with T1DM book later to specialised care and have worse glycaemic control in pregnancy compared to older women with T1DM. This group also appear to be more insulin resistant than older women in early pregnancy. Our data would suggest that teenagers with type 1 diabetes mellitus may constitute a high‐risk group for adverse pregnancy outcomes.