Visual contrast sensitivity in Alzheimer’s disease,mild cognitive impairment,and older adults with cognitive complaints

Deficits in contrast sensitivity (CS) have been reported in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the extent of these deficits in prodromal AD stages, including mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or even earlier, has not been investigated. In this study, CS was assessed using frequency doubling technology in older adults with AD (n = 10), amnestic MCI (n = 28), cognitive complaints without performance deficits (CC; n = 20), and healthy controls (HC; n = 29). The association between CS and cognition was also evaluated. Finally, the accuracy of CS measures for classifying MCI versus HC was evaluated. CS deficits were found in AD and MCI, while CC showed intermediate performance between MCI and HC. Upper right visual field CS showed the most significant difference among groups. CS was also associated with cognitive performance. Finally, CS measures accurately classified MCI versus HC. The CS deficits in AD and MCI, and intermediate performance in CC, indicate that these measures are sensitive to early AD-associated changes. Therefore, frequency doubling technology-based measures of CS may have promise as a novel AD biomarker.     

Community pharmacists’ knowledge and perspectives of reporting adverse drug reactions in Australia: a cross-sectional survey

International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy - Background Under-reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) by healthcare professionals is prevalent worldwide. Community pharmacists are the most...     

Three dimensional reconstruction of CT scan images to aid the cardiac surgeon

Minimally invasive techniques and approaches have the potential advantages of less operative stress and healthcare resource utilization but at the "cost" of less operative field of view. Newer imaging techniques utilizing three dimensional reconstruction of computed tomography scan images (3DCT) can aid the cardiac surgeon in visualizing the geometric relationships to plan and execute complex surgical procedures via minimally invasive or standard approaches. Multidetector-row CT scanning and post-processing yield these 3DCT images. We describe representative examples of this imaging technology in planning complex surgical procedures. Vascular structures, pulmonary and atrial venous relationships and cardiac ventricular functional anatomy are all visualized. Utilizing advances in imaging should allow surgeons to rapidly adopt newer technologies and minimally invasive techniques.     

Does closure of the peritoneum during caesarean section influence postoperative morbidity and subsequent bladder adhesion formation?

The charts of 100 patients who underwent a second lower segment caesarean section were reviewed. In 50 patients both the parietal and visceral peritoneum had been closed during the first and second caesarean sections and in the remaining 50 patients, it had been left open. The incidence of adhesions was found to be 28% in the closed group (n=50), compared with only 14% in the open group (n=50). Operative time was prolonged by closing the peritoneum, an average of 52.2 minutes in the closed group compared with 44.1 minutes in the open group, P < 0.05. The incidence of urinary tract infection, endometritis, wound infection and respiratory tract infection in the postoperative period was similar in both groups. We conclude that closure of the peritoneum at caesarean section is unnecessary and may in fact promote adhesion formation and so the simpler technique of leaving it open should be adopted.     

Migraine association and linkage analyses of the human 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT2A) receptor gene

5-Hydroxytryptamine (5HT), commonly known as serotonin, which predominantly serves as an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, has long been implicated in migraine pathophysiology. This study tested an Mspl polymorphism in the human 5HT_2A receptor gene ( HTR2A ) and a closely linked microsatellite marker (D13S126), for linkage and association with common migraine. In the association analyses, no significant differences were found between the migraine and control populations for both the Mspl polymorphism and the D13S126 microsatellite marker. The linkage studies involving three families comprising 36 affected members were analysed using both parametric (FASTLINK) and non-parametric (MFLINK and APM) techniques. Significant close linkage was indicated between the Mspl polymorphism and the D13S126 microsatellite marker at a recombination fraction (θ) of zero (lod score=7.15). Linkage results for the Mspl polymorphism were not very informative in the three families, producing maximum and minimum lod scores of only 0.35 and 0.39 at recombination fractions (θ) of 0.2 and 0.00, respectively. However, linkage analysis between the D13S126 marker and migraine indicated significant non-linkage (lod2) up to a recombination fraction (θ) of 0.028. Results from this study exclude the HTR2A gene, which has been localized to chromosome 13q14-q21, for involvement with common migraine.     

Endemic Autoimmunity: Cold Auto-agglutinins in Melanesia

Sera from two Melanesian populations, one living at sea level and the other at 7000 feet, were examined for the incidence, strength and specificity of cold agglutinins. The cold auto-agglutination incidence ranged from 48 to 90 per cent for the sea-level group to 94 per cent for the highlanders. Titres of the sera ranged from 10 to 640. The specificity of the antibodies was in the main anti-I, although four probable examples of anti-AI, four examples of anti-I^T and two 'non-specific'cold agglutinins were found. Blood group A subjects in both populations had a higher incidence and titre of cold agglutinins than O subjects.
The light chain types of 160 of 200 cold agglutinins tested were both k and λ, 24 were K only and 16 were λ only. Fingerprints of the H chains of six New Guinea cold agglutinins showed some peptide spots missing compared with normal IgM, but more spots were present than in a lymphoma cold agglutinin, suggesting that the cold agglutinins represented a heterogeneous population of antibodies.
No obvious relationship was found between environmental factors and the occurrence of the cold agglutinins.