Cerebrovascular deaths before and after the appearance of oral contraceptives

The mortality of cerebrovascular diseases in Denmark was analysed for men and women 15-44 years of age, in a 14-year period before and after the appearance of oral contraceptives (OC) in 1966. 1,670 deaths were registered over 28 years, during which the female incidence of cerebrovascular deaths increased by 19% (P less than 0.025), while the male mortality was unchanged. Women showed a percentage increase in deaths from cerebral thromboembolic attacks (CTA) of 33%, men a fall of 14%. The increase of female CTA deaths was most pronounced in the young fertile group, the age group with a high OC use. A relative risk of CTA of 3.3-4.5 for OC users compared with non-users could explain the CTA trend difference between women and men. No other single risk factor responsible for the observed trends could be identified. Both women and men had a significant increase in the mortality of subarachnoidal hemorrhages, and a significant fall in the mortality of intracerebral hemorrhages.     

Nocturnal sleep in huntington's disease

Summary Nocturnal sleep was studied in 16 inpatients with Huntington's disease. In comparison with healthy controls, patients exhibited a disturbed sleep pattern with increased sleep onset latency, reduced sleep efficiency, frequent nocturnal awakenings, more time spent awake and less slow wave sleep. These abnormalities correlated in part with duration of illness, severity of clinical symptoms, and degree of atrophy of the caudate nucleus. Patients showed an increased density of sleep spindles.     

Factor analysis of bowel symptoms in US and Italian populations

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Functional gastrointestinal disorders are diagnosed by the presence of a characteristic set of symptoms. Aims of this study were to validate the Rome symptom criteria by factor analysis and to determine whether symptoms cluster in the same way in different cultures. METHODS: One thousand forty-one gastroenterology clinic patients in the US (response rate 53%) and 228 family members accompanying clinic patients in Italy (84%) completed a previously validated symptom questionnaire. Factor analysis identified clusters of symptoms which are highly correlated with each other, and these were compared to the Rome diagnostic criteria. RESULTS: In the US, 13 factors were identified. The irritable bowel factor was composed of three core symptoms corresponding to the Rome II classification system. Two dyspepsia factors were identified which correspond to the ulcer- and motility-like subtypes proposed in the Rome I classification system. All symptoms of constipation formed a single cluster as proposed in the Rome II classification system. Symptom clusters in the US agreed well with symptom clusters identified in Italian subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Empirically derived symptom clusters agree in most respects with the Rome II classification system and support their validity. These symptom clusters are independent of cultural differences in diet and behaviour.     

490名师范学院大学生失眠状况调查

目的　了解师范学院大学生失眠情况及其分布特征。方法　对上饶师院 4 90名学生进行睡眠和失眠相关问题的问卷调查。结果　 38.0 %的被试报告有失眠现象。男生失眠率显著高于女生 ( χ2 =9.79,P <0 .0 1) ;三年级毕业班学生失眠率高于一年级和二年级学生 ( χ2 =9.86 ,P <0 .0 1) ;文理科学生失眠率差异无显著性。SCL - 90调查结果显示 ,失眠学生躯体化、强迫、人际关系敏感、抑郁、焦虑、恐怖6个因子分和阳性项目数显著高于非失眠者。结论　师范学院大学生失眠现象常见 ,失眠学生心理问题症状较多     

脑肿瘤伴发精神障碍─—附36例分析

９８例颅内肿瘤经手术和病理检查证实，其中３６例脑瘤伴精神障碍，最常见的精神症状是情感淡漠，情感不稳，遗忘，意识模糊，嗜睡、痴呆。为最常见的部位为额顶部和颞叶部。     

Hyperaemia in rat neocortex produced by acute exposure to methylenedioxymethamphetamine

Cerebral blood flow and glucose utilization were measured in rat neocortex, hippocampus and striatum following methylenedioxymethamphetamine injection (5 mg/kg, i.v.), using the tracers [¹⁴C]iodoantipyrine and [¹⁴C]2-deoxyglucose, respectively. In control rats, blood flow was coupled to glucose metabolism, but in methylenedioxymethamphetamine-treated rats, marked hyperperfusion was measured in frontal and parietal cortex with no change in glucose use. This suggests that methylenedioxymethamphetamine has the potential to disrupt cerebrovascular control.     

Modulation of infection-induced inflammation and locomotive deficit and longevity in senescence-accelerated mice-prone (SAMP8) model by the oligomerized polyphenol Oligonol.

Oligonol is produced from the oligomerization of polyphenols (typically proanthocyanidin from a variety of fruits such as lychees, grapes, apples, persimmons, etc.) and contains catechin-type monomers and oligomers of proanthocyanidins. The ability of Oligonol to affect infection-dependent eye inflammation, locomotion and longevity in senescence-accelerated prone mice (SAMP8) (a model of senescence acceleration and geriatric disorders with increased oxidative stress and neuronal deficit) was investigated. Oligonol (60mg/kg) significantly modulated the extent of inflammation scores in the eye of SAMP8 mice. Examination of the mice indicated infection with mouse hepatitis virus and pinworm (Syphacia obvelata) in both males and females and with the intestinal protozoa (trichomonad) in males. A comparison of the two groups (using log-rank test) and the difference in the mean life span between groups (using Student's t-test) indicated significant differences in survival (p=0.043) and the mean life span (p=0.033) in male SAMP8 mice. Oligonol increased the mean life span and this was statistically significant. In the open-field locomotive test, the 7-week-old SAMP8 mice crossed more than 40 partitioned lines in 1min. At 48-week-old control untreated male SAMP8 crossed 2 lines. The Oligonol-treated 48-week-old male SAMP8 mice crossed 17 lines however. The improved locomotive activity was statistically significant even after 36weeks in the Oligonol-treated male SAMP8 but this was not the case throughout the time course of the study in the Oligonol-treated female SAMP8. Thus Oligonol treatment to SAMP8 mice modulated the severity of infection-dependent inflammation, prolonged life-span and significantly improved locomotive activity indicating potential benefit to aging-associated diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's diseases. This presents potential for further research to define infection-dependent inflammation associated with degenerative conditions and the molecular mechanism of dietary antioxidant protection.     

The problem of rickets in UK Asians

A large body of work relating to the occurrence of rickets in UK Asians is reviewed. Several theories of the aetiology of this condition are shown to be untenable: it is not exclusively a function of sunlight deprivation or of darker pigmentation; nor is it simply due to phytate-induced losses of calcium from the gut. Asian rickets, however, is associated with a high consumption of cereals, and experiments with rats have suggested a mechanism. In the absence of adequate vitamin D from sunlight, the low-calcium, high cereal intake of the UK Asian population may induce a state of mild secondary hyperparathyroidism which enhances the destruction of vitamin D and leads to a progressive reduction in vitamin D status and, ultimately, to the development of clinical rickets.     

Phospholipid determination in platelets,plasma and red cells of patients with chronic myeloproliferative disorders

Abstract: Red cell phospholipids (PLs) were assessed in 11 patients with essential thrombocythemia and 5 patients with polycythemia vera. Platelet and plasma PLs were also determined in 10 of these patients, and the results were compared with studies performed in 16 healthy volunteers. The amount of platelet PLs in patients was similar to controls (556 ± 90 nmol/10⁹cells, versus 481 ± 91 nmol/10⁹cells), as was the percentage of the main specimens of these compounds, including phosphatidylserine (11.1 ± 0.8%), which is relevant for platelet procoagulant activity. We did not find differences between red cell PLs of patients (300 ± 60 nmol/10⁹cells), versus controls (289 ± 71 nmol/10⁹cells), and the sphingomyelin/phosphatidylcholine ratio in these cells was the same in both groups (0.75 ± 0.1). Finally, we did not detect any alteration in the amount of plasma PLs specimens.