Psychometric assessment of first-degree relatives of 62 autistic probands in Utah

The Wechsler Intelligence Scales, Wide Range Achievement Test, and the Shipley-Hartford Test were administered to 122 parents and 153 siblings of 62 autistic probands in Utah. Scores were distributed as expected within the published normative ranges for each scale. Parents' scores correlated with those of their nonautistic children, but neither parents' nor siblings' scores correlated with the IQ level of the autistic probands. These results do not confirm prior reports from England and the United States of a high rate of cognitive and learning problems in the siblings of autistic individuals, nor the aggregation of such problems in the siblings of probands with high or low levels of cognitive function.     

Can dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane accelerate the return to potency after a nerve-sparing robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy? Propensity score-matched analysis

The objective of this study is to determine if the use of dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane (dHACM) allograft wrapped around the NVB during a robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) accelerates the return to potency. 940 patients with preoperative SHIM >20 underwent RARP with some degree of bilateral NS. Of these, 235 patients underwent RARP, with bilateral placement of dHACM graft around the NVBs. They were matched in a 1:3 proportion with a similar group of patients (n = 705) who did not receive the allograft (control group or group 2). Minimum follow-up was 12 months. Postoperative outcomes were analyzed between propensity-matched dHACM graft (group 1) and non-graft groups (group 2). Kaplan–Meier survival curves were compared across techniques using the log-rank test. There were no significant demographic differences between the two groups. Potency was defined as the ability to achieve and maintain satisfactory erections firm enough for sexual intercourse, with or without the use of PDE-5 inhibitors. The mean time to potency was significantly lower in group 1 (2.37 months) versus group 2 (3.94 months) (p < 0.0001). The potency recovery rates were superior for group 1 at all early time points measured except at 12 months. The time to potency was significantly shorter in the dHACM group with full NS, 2.19 ± 1.84 versus 2.78 ± 2.70 mo. in the non-dHACM with full NS (p = 0.029). In the dHACM group with partial NS, the mean time to potency was 3.05 ± 2.32 versus 3.92 ± 3.42 mo. in the non-dHACM with partial NS (p = 0.021). Patients who received the dHACM wrap around the NVB after RARP accelerates the return to potency when compared to a similar control group without the use of the allograft. We also demonstrated that this faster return to potency occurs regardless of the degree of the NS preservation. Younger patients (<55 years of age) had the highest overall advantage if they received the graft. Our results indicate that dHACM placement at the site of the prostatic NVB does not increase the risk of BCR after RARP, neither in the presence of PSM, extra-prostatic disease (≥pT3) nor high Gleason score (Gleason ≥8).     

Naphthalene sulfonate polymers with CD4-blocking and anti-human immunodeficiency virus type 1 activities.

PIC 024-4 and PRO 2000 are naphthalene sulfonate polymers that bind to CD4 with nanomolar affinity and block binding of gp120. Both have activity against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in H9 cells, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and primary monocyte/macrophages, are synergistic with zidovudine, and do not inhibit tetanus toxoid-stimulated T-cell proliferation at anti-human immunodeficiency virus type 1 concentrations.     

Differential scanning calorimetry of blood plasma for clinical diagnosis and monitoring

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) provides a useful method to study the unfractionated plasma proteome. Plasma from healthy individuals yields a reproducible signature thermogram which results from the weighted sum of the thermal denaturation of the most abundant plasma proteins. Further investigation of the thermogram for healthy individuals showed it to be sensitive to ethnicity and gender. DSC analysis of plasma from diseased individuals revealed significant changes in the thermogram which are suggested to result not from changes in the concentration of the major plasma proteins but from interactions of small molecules or peptides with these proteins. Closer examination of the diseased thermograms showed a thermogram characteristic of each disease. For cervical cancer, the DSC method yields a progressively shifted thermogram as the disease advances from pre-invasive conditions to late stage cancer. Our application of the DSC method has provided a potential tool for the early diagnosis, monitoring and screening of cancer patients.     

Self-reported difficulty in climbing up or down stairs in nondisabled elderly

Verghese J, Wang C, Xue X, Holtzer R. Self-reported difficulty in climbing up or down stairs in nondisabled elderly.

Objective

To examine clinical and functional correlates of self-reported difficulty in climbing up or climbing down stairs in older adults.

Design

Cross-sectional survey.

Setting

Community sample.

Participants

Older adults (N=310; mean age, 79.7y; 62% women), without disability or dementia.

Interventions

Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures

Clinical and functional status as well as activity limitations (able to perform activities of daily living [ADLs] with some difficulty).

Results

Of the 310 subjects, 140 reported difficulties in climbing up and 83 in climbing down stairs (59 both). Self-reported difficulty in climbing up stairs was associated with hypertension, arthritis, and depressive symptoms. Difficulty in climbing up stairs was also associated with poor balance and grip strength as well as neurologic gait abnormalities. Subjects with difficulty climbing down stairs had more falls. Both activities were associated with leg claudication, fear of falling, non-neurologic gait abnormalities, and slow gait. Examined individually, self-reported difficulty climbing down stairs captured a wider spectrum of ADL limitations than climbing up stairs. However, combined difficulty in both phases of stair climbing had a stronger association with activity limitations (vs no difficulty; odds ratio, 6.58; 95% confidence interval, 3.35−12.91) than difficulty in any one phase alone.

Conclusions

Self-reported difficulty in climbing up and down stairs revealed commonalities as well as differences in related clinical correlates. Difficulty in both climbing up and down stairs should be separately assessed to better capture clinical and functional status in older adults.