Primary glioblastomas and anaplastic astrocytoma in a glioma family.

A 72-year-old man presented with a short duration of symptoms relating to a right fronto-parietal glioblastoma and a family history of children with brain tumours. Analysis of the patient's family tree revealed that out of seven children, he had a living son with anaplastic astrocytoma, a daughter who had died with a glioblastoma, and a son who had died with a histologically undiagnosed intrinsic brain tumour. One niece was also thought to have died from a brain tumour. All of the other affected family members had onset in their third or fourth decades. Tissue was only available from two of the affected individuals, precluding familial genetic analysis at this stage. There is no clinical evidence to support a diagnosis of a multiple cancer or neurocutaneous syndrome in this family. In view of what is known about the genetics of familial glioma, it is interesting to note the clinical evidence of both 'primary' glioblastoma and anaplastic astrocytoma in the same kindred.     

对乙酰氨基酚引起的急性肝衰竭：一项美国多中心前瞻性研究结果

严重的对乙酰氨基酚肝毒性常常会引起急性肝衰竭（ALF），作者在美国的22所三级护理中心调查了由对乙酰氨基酚引起的肝衰竭的发生率、危险因素和预后，用超过6年的时间收集到662例完全符合ALF（包括肝源性凝血症和肝性脑病）标准的患者资料，详细分析后发现：其中有275例（45％）是由对乙酰氨基酚引起的。调查发现，对乙酰氨基酚相关性ALF的年度百分比由1998年的28％上升至2003年的51％。对乙酰氨基酚的中位摄入量为24g（相当于48个高含量的片剂）。在上述275例中，误服过量者有131例（48％），有意服用者（即有自杀倾向者）有122例（44％），还有22例（8％）为不明意图。在误服组中38％同时服用了两种或多种对乙酰氨基酚制剂，63％患者服用了含有镇静剂的复合制剂。据报道，81％患者因为急性或慢性疼痛误服了对乙酰氨基酚和（或）其他镇痛剂。总体上，有178例研究对象（65％）存活，74例（27％）未经肝移植而死亡，23例（8％）进行了肝移植，其中71％的患者仅存活了3周。未接受移植的存活率和肝移植存活率在误服组和有意服用组差别不明显。     

Video-assisted thoracic surgery utilizing local anesthesia and sedation.

OBJECTIVE: Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is usually performed with general anesthesia and double-lumen endotracheal intubation, but minor procedures have been carried out with patients spontaneously breathing and with epidural or regional analgesia. We have broadened our indications for VATS utilizing purely local anesthesia and sedation. METHODS: The medical records of all patients undergoing VATS under local anesthesia and sedation at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center between 7/1/02 and 6/1/06 were reviewed. All procedures were performed in the operating room with patients in full lateral position; no patient had endotracheal intubation or epidural or nerve block analgesia. RESULTS: One hundred and fifteen patients, ranging in age from 21 to 88 years and in size from 40 to 172 kg, underwent 126 video-assisted thoracic operations: pleural biopsy/effusion drainage with or without talc 81, drainage of empyema 21, lung biopsy 18, evacuate hemothorax 3, pericardial window 2, biopsy chest wall mass 1. No patient required intubation or conversion to thoracotomy. Three patients who underwent lung biopsy died of their underlying disease (cytomegalovirus and pneumocystis, primary amyloidosis, metastatic cancer to contra-lateral lung) on postoperative days 18, 14, and 4, respectively. One patient developed transient renal insufficiency attributed to ketorolac. CONCLUSION: VATS utilizing local anesthesia and sedation is well tolerated, safe, and valuable for an increasing number of indications.     

Evaluating systems of care: Missing links in children's mental health research

Systems of care (SOCs) have been developed throughout the country to meet the needs of children with severe emotional disturbances (SED) and their families. In these SOCs, multiple agencies and disciplines are expected to work together with informal community supports to address families' needs (Stroul & Friedman, 1986a). A review of the literature on the impact of SOCs suggests: (a) communities' service delivery systems change; and (b) children experience modest improvements in symptomatology and functioning. At the same time, little is known about (a) which components of the SOC approach, at what levels, are necessary to impact child and family outcomes; (b) the degree to which SOCs affect other family members, beyond the target child; and (c) the impact of community contexts and supports in SOCs. Future research should improve measurement of key SOC constructs, examine the relation between specific levels of implementation and outcomes for the entire family, and investigate the impact of broader community systems and supports on families within SOCs. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 32: 655–674, 2004.     

A case of group A streptococcal meningitis following acute otitis media.

Group A streptococcal meningitis is less common than other forms of meningitis; however, the occurrence of this infection is associated with high mortality and morbidity. Early recognition and a prompt treatment are therefore essential. We review one case of an Asian women admitted with group A streptococcal meningitis as a complication of otitis media.     

Development of miotic cross-tolerance between pyridostigmine and sarin vapor.

The organophosphorous nerve agent sarin (GB) and the carbamate pyridostigmine bromide (PB) both inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE), leading to overstimulation of muscarinic receptors. Both GB and PB produce miosis through stimulation of ocular muscarinic receptors. This study investigated 2 hypotheses: (1) that the miotic response to PB would decrease following repeated injections; and (2) that repeated administration of PB would result in tolerance to the miotic effect of GB vapor. Rats were injected intramuscularly with saline, 0.04 mg/kg, 0.5 mg/kg, or 1.4 mg/kg of PB twice daily for 8 consecutive days. After day 3, animals injected with 1.4 mg/kg PB developed miotic tolerance. Twenty-four (24) h following the final PB injection, the rats were exposed to GB vapor (4.0 mg/m(3)). A similar magnitude of miosis was observed in all groups after GB exposure. However, the rate of recovery of pupil size in animals pretreated with 0.5 and 1.4 mg/kg PB was significantly increased. Twenty (20) h following exposure to GB vapor, the pupils of animals pretreated with 1.4 mg/kg PB had recovered to 77% +/- 4% of their pre-exposure baseline, whereas the saline-injected controls had recovered to only 52% +/- 2% of their pre-exposure baseline. The increased rate of recovery does not appear to be a result of protection of pupillary muscarinic receptors by the higher doses of PB, as there was no longer PB present in the animal at the time of GB exposure. These results demonstrate the development of tolerance to the miotic effect of PB following repeated exposures, and also suggest that cross-tolerance between PB and GB occurs. However, because the magnitude of the response was not reduced, the PB pretreatment and its associated miotic cross-tolerance does not appear to diminish the effectiveness of miosis as a biomarker of acute exposure to nerve agent vapor.     

Clinicopathological features of melanocytic skin lesions in Egypt.

Although melanocytic skin lesions have been recognized since antiquity, their literature was limited to Caucasians. To date, the clinicopathologic features of these lesions in Egyptians are still unknown. To define these features, diagnostic records of the melanocytic skin lesions received at the Pathology Department, Assuit University Hospitals (1989-2004) were reviewed. The lesions examined included 12 benign naevi (BN), 10 dysplastic naevi (DN), and 21 cutaneous malignant melanomas (CMMs). The DN and CMMs were more common in men than in women (2 : 1 and 1.5 : 1, respectively) while BN were more common in women (2 : 1). The average age incidence was 33+/-5, 38+/-7 and 54+/-3 years, for BN, DN and CMM, respectively. The lower limb (13/21, 62%), head and neck (7/21, 33%) were the most common sites for CMMs. The average size (mm) was 2+/-0.3, 4+/-0.6 and 21+/-0.3 for BN, DN and CMMs, respectively. Recurrence occurred in 10% of CMMs. Histologically, CMMs were of nodular type and composed of epithelioid (7/21, 33%), spindle cells (1/21, 5%), or mixed cells (13/21, 62%). The mean tumour thickness (Breslow) was 6+/-0.5 mm. CMMs included two of 21(9%), three of 21(14%), six of 21(38%), and 10 of 21(38%) with Clark level II, III, IV and V. In Egypt, CMM is the third most common cutaneous neoplasm following squamous and basal cell carcinomas. Compared with Western societies, melanoma has a male sex predilection, similar histological features but different topographical distribution and rare incidence. The striking difference from Western series is the incidence of nodular melanoma - in the West this represents 15-30% of melanomas, with superficial spreading being the majority. Another key difference from the West is the 'sun-bed' culture of the West and the desire to have suntans. This is the first study that reports the clinicopathologic features of melanocytic skin lesions in Egypt.     

Erythropoietin stimulates wound healing and angiogenesis in mice.

Erythropoietin exerts hematopoietic effects by stimulating proliferation of early erythroid precursors. Nonhematopoietic effects of erythropoietin have also been shown. It may act as a new angiogenic factor in wound healing. This study aimed to investigate the effect of systemic administration of recombinant human erythropoietin on wound healing in mice. Dorsal incisional wounds were performed in mice, which were then divided into two groups; a group treated for 7 days with recombinant human erythropoietin, and a control group. Sacrificing animals on day 7, the wound tissues were collected for analysis of wound breaking strength, malondialdehyde, a marker of lipid peroxidation, hydroxyproline, an index of reparative collagen deposition, reduced glutathione levels, and for histological evaluation. The immunohistochemical determination of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) which is believed to be the most prevalent angiogenic factor throughout the skin repair process, was also studied. The treatment significantly increased wound breaking strength by decreasing malondialdehyde and increasing hydroxyproline levels on day 7 after wounding. No statistically meaningful change was observed in reduced glutathione content. VEGF was immunostained significantly more on wound tissue of treated animals compared to the control group. Recombinant human erythropoietin treatment may be effective in wound healing due to inhibition of lipid peroxidation, deposition of collagen, and VEGF expression in wound area.