Is a dissection balloon beneficial in totally extraperitoneal endoscopic hernioplasty (TEP)?

apd: 27 February 2001     

The 12-month prevalence and risk factors for major depressive episode in Finland: representative sample of 5993 adults

OBJECTIVE: This study reports the 12-month prevalence of major depressive episode and its risk factors in a representative nationwide sample. METHOD: A random sample of non-institutionalized Finnish individuals aged 15-75 years (N = 5993) was interviewed in 1996. Major depressive episode during the last 12 months was assessed using the Short Form of the University of Michigan version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (the UM-CIDI Short Form). RESULTS: The population prevalence of major depressive episode was 9.3% [95% CI 8.5,10.0], and the age-adjusted prevalences for females and males were 10.9% [95% CI 9.7,12.0] and 7.2 [95% CI 6.2,8.2], respectively. In logistic regression analyses the factors associated with major depressive episode after adjustment for age were urban residency, smoking, alcohol intoxication and chronic medical conditions. In addition, being single and obese were found to be risk factors for males. CONCLUSION: The female to male risk ratio for major depressive episode was smaller than in many previous studies. The sex-specific risk factor associations warrant further investigation into sex differences in depression.     

General lymphangiomatosis in a child

The lymphographic findings in a 4 year old girl with general lymphangiomatosis are presented. The number of iliac and lumbar lymphatics had increased markedly and the lymph nodes were enlarged with very loose structure and with contrast medium distributed in scattered droplets and filiform channels.     

Cerebrospinal fluid concentration and urinary excretion of cyclic adenosine-3′, 5′-monophosphate in various diseases of children

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentration and urinary excretion of cyclic adenosine-3′,5′-monophosphate (cAMP) were measured in children aged from 3 days to 15 years by the protein-binding method of Gilman (1970). The mean CSF cAMP concentration (22.4±0.6 (S.E.) nmol/l) of 24 “healthy” children tended to be lower (P<0.2) than that of adult patients who revealed no pathological findings on clinical examination. No difference in the results was found between the sexes. High cAMP concentrations were found in CSF of children suffering from cerebellar glioma, hypothalamic precocious puberty, bacterial meningitis, or Cushing's disease. The urinary excretion of cAMP varied from 0.2 to 5.3 in “healthy” and from 1.3 to 7.6 μmol/24 hrs in diseased children. Two children with pheochromocytoma showed a striking decrease in the rate of urinary excretion of the nucleotide after surgical treatment.     

Information sources used by women in Finland who use hormonal contraceptives

Objective The aim of this study was to examine information sources used by women who use hormonal contraceptives (HCs), and how information source affected women’s attitudes and perceptions in 2001 and 2007. Setting The questionnaires were distributed from university pharmacies in 12 large cities across Finland. Method The data were collected with two questionnaire surveys among women who used hormonal contraceptives in 2001 and 2007. In the 2001 survey the response rate was 53% (n = 264) and in the 2007 survey 55% (n = 436). Results The number of respondents who considered professional information sources the most important information sources was markedly bigger in 2007 than in 2001 (P = 0.005). The most common source of information concerning the benefits of hormonal contraceptives was a physician (2001: 43%, 2007: 53%). The most common source of information concerning the risks of hormonal contraceptives was friends and relatives (43%) in 2001 and physician in 2007 (35%). Only a few percent of the respondents considered a pharmacy the most important information source both the 2001 and 2007 surveys. Conclusion The importance of health care professionals as sources of information concerning hormonal contraceptives has increased. However, role of pharmacists as information source was surprisingly small. Women who use hormonal contraceptives need more information from professional sources to alleviate possible fears associated with use.     

Adult Hirschsprung's disease

To assess the clinical features and long-term functional outcome after surgery, eight patients operated on for adult Hirschsprung's disease during the 20-year period, 1968–1988, were re-examined. There were six men and two women with a mean age of 40±3 years at the time of survey. The mean age of the patients at the time of diagnosis was 23.8 years (range, 16 to 41 years). Results were compared with eight consecutive patients operated on for Hirschsprung's disease during the neonatal period. The Duhamel operation was performed initially on seven patients in the adult group and on all patients in the neonatal group. Anterior resection was performed on one adult patient initially but this was converted subsequently to Soave's pullthrough operation. None of the patients had constipation after definitive surgery. The mean defecation frequency was two in both groups. Three patients in the adult group and two patients in the neonatal group were completely continent, others had occasional soiling. The mean anal sphincter pressures were lower in the neonatal group than in the adult group and in each group lower than in normal controls. Adult Hirschsprung's disease must always be suspected in the context of chronic constipation. Functional results after surgery in adult patients are similar to those achieved in children.     

Assessment of acute behavioral toxicity of low doses of diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) in rats.

The effect on behavior of single subtoxic doses (100 and 600 micrograms/kg i.p., i.e. 1/77 and 1/13 of LD50, respectively) of an organophosphorous compound, diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP), was studied in male Wistar rats. In the open-field test, the lower dose of DFP tended to increase ambulation, while the higher dose showed a trend towards a decrease in ambulation, rearing and frequency of defecation. In the elevated plus-maze, rotarod, elevated bridges and hot plate tests, DFP-treated rats did not differ significantly from the olive oil-treated controls. DFP significantly impaired the performance of rats in the one-trial passive avoidance task and dose-dependently decreased spontaneous locomotor activity for 4 hours after administration. At the doses used DFP only slightly inhibited acetylcholinesterase activity in the blood and different brain areas. The results show that the higher dose of DFP had an inactivating effect on the behavior of rats, while the lower dose did not markedly change their behavioral pattern. Our findings indicate that anticholinesterase compounds, such as DFP, can alter behavior even after single small subtoxic doses.     

Temperature dependence of dark-adapted sensitivity and light-adaptation in photoreceptors with A1 visual pigments: A comparison of frog L-cones and rods

Flash responses of L-cones and rods were recorded as ERG mass potentials in the frog retina at different temperatures (2-25 °C). The purpose was to elucidate factors that make cones faster and less sensitive than rods, particularly the possible role of thermal activation of L-cone visual pigment in maintaining a “light-adapted” state even in darkness. Up to ca. 15 °C, cones and rods were desensitized roughly equally by warming (Q₁₀ ≈ 2.2-2.7), retaining a 5-fold sensitivity difference. In this range, the cone/rod difference must depend on factors other than thermal activation of the visual pigment. Above 15 °C, cones showed an additional component of desensitization compared with rods, coupled to accelerated response shut-off. This behavior is consistent with light-adaptation from temperature-dependent intrinsic activity (dark light). The apparent dark light as measured by the minimum background intensities needed to affect sensitivity and/or kinetics increased by ca. 10-fold between 15 and 25 °C, whereas reported increases in visual-pigment activation rates over this range are less than 5-fold. We conclude that the dark state of frog L-cones above 15 °C may be largely set by thermal activation of the phototransduction machinery, but only part of the experimentally determined dark light can be ascribed to the visual pigment.