Aggressive behavior linked to corticotropin-reactive autoantibodies.

BACKGROUND: Altered stress response is characteristic for subjects with abnormal aggressive and antisocial behavior, but the underlying biological mechanisms are unclear. We hypothesized that autoantibodies (autoAbs) directed against several stress-related neurohormones may exist in aggressive subjects. METHODS: Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, we studied whether autoAbs directed against corticotropin (ACTH), alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), oxytocin, and vasopressin are present in serum of male subjects with conduct disorder and prisoners with history of violence. Healthy blood donors served as control subjects. RESULTS: Both conduct disorder and prisoners groups displayed strongly increased levels of ACTH-reactive immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) autoAbs compared with control subjects. Levels of oxytocin-reactive IgM autoAbs were slightly increased in both groups of aggressive subjects, whereas levels of vasopressin-reactive IgG and IgM autoAbs were lower only in conduct disorder. No differences in the levels of alpha-MSH-reactive autoAbs were found between aggressive and control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: High levels of ACTH-reactive autoAbs as well as altered levels of oxytocin- and vasopressin-reactive autoAbs found in aggressive subjects may interfere with the neuroendocrine mechanisms of stress and motivated behavior. Our data suggest a new biological mechanism of human aggressive behavior that involves autoAbs directed against several stress-related neurohormones.     

Peri-sleep-onset cortisol levels in children and adolescents with affective disorders.

BACKGROUND: Changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, as evidenced by patterns of cortisol secretion, have been of interest in understanding depression and anxiety disorders across the life span. Previous studies of pediatric depression have pointed to the period around sleep onset as a key time point for observing alterations in cortisol secretion associated with affective disorders. Evidence also indicates that pubertal development may influence the expression of HPA dysregulation. We hypothesized that adolescents with depression and youth with anxiety disorders exhibit elevated peri-sleep-onset cortisol. METHODS: Plasma cortisol was sampled every 20 min around sleep onset from children and adolescents with major depressive disorder (n = 116), anxiety disorders (n = 32), or no history of psychiatric disorder (control; n = 76). Sleep onset was determined by polysomnography. Classification of participants as children or adolescents was based on Tanner staging of pubertal maturation. RESULTS: Children with anxiety disorders had higher peri-sleep-onset cortisol than children with depression or control children. Adolescents with depression had marginally higher peri-sleep-onset cortisol than control adolescents and significantly higher peri-sleep-onset cortisol than children with depression. CONCLUSIONS: Depression and anxiety are associated with altered cortisol secretion around sleep onset, and these changes appear to be influenced by pubertal maturation.     

Hemichorea associated with polycythaemia vera

Abstract Chorea is a rare complication of polycythaemia vera. Polycythaemic chorea occurs predominantly in females and usually in generalised form. We present a 66-year-old woman with acute onset hemichorea-ballism with no vascular pathology in the basal ganglia region. A clear relationship was observed between the onset of chorea and worsening of haematological parameters in the patient. After repeated phlebotomies the patient's clinical status was improved. Polycythaemic chorea must be considered, especially in the elderly, as early diagnosis leads to effective treatment and prevention of complications.     

Caudate nucleus volume and cognitive performance: Are they related in childhood psychopathology?

BACKGROUND: Impaired neuropsychological test performance, especially on tests of executive function and attention, is often seen in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Structures involved in fronto-striatal circuitry, such as the caudate nucleus, may support these cognitive abilities. However, few studies have examined caudate volumes specifically in children with ASD, or correlated caudate volumes to cognitive ability. METHODS: Neuropsychological test scores and caudate volumes of children with ASD were compared to those of children with bipolar disorder (BD) and of typically developing (TD) children. The relationship between test performance and caudate volumes was analyzed. RESULTS: The ASD group displayed larger right and left caudate volumes, and modest executive deficits, compared to TD controls. While caudate volume inversely predicted performance on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in all participants, it differentially predicted performance on measures of attention across the ASD, BD and TD groups. CONCLUSIONS: Larger caudate volumes were related to impaired problem solving. On a test of attention, larger left caudate volumes predicted increased impulsivity and more omission errors in the ASD group as compared to the TD group, however smaller volume predicted poorer discriminant responding as compared to the BD group.     

腹腔镜下胆总管探查术22例临床分析

目的探讨腹腔镜下胆总管探查术的方法及避免副损伤的措施.方法应用Olympus腹腔镜及操作器械一套.全麻下进行,体位及穿刺点均与腔镜胆囊切除相同.穿刺证实胆总管后,对胆总管直径＞1.5 cm者用针式电钩直接切开;胆总管直径＜1.2 cm者用剪刀切开,纵行切开1.0～1.5 cm,直视下用常规器械或胆管镜网篮取石,胆总管Ⅰ期缝合.结果本组22例中,21例成功,1例由于胆囊三角区粘连紧密,镜下缝合胆总管困难中转开腹手术.结论腹腔镜下胆囊切除,胆总管探查与传统开腹手术比较具有微创特点,胆总管Ⅰ期缝合更体现微创外科的优势.     

血色病肝脏铁过度沉着症1例

1.病例资料：患者，男，48岁。以“乏力、多饮、多尿、多食，伴消瘦4个月，加重1周”入院。既往有乙型肝炎和地中海贫血病史30年，无输血史，无血色病家族史，曾行“脾脏切除”治疗。查体：慢性贫血面容，全身皮肤黄染有散在色素沉着，巩膜黄染，双手肝掌，男性乳房发育；肼右肋下3cm，剑突下5cm，质硬；腹部未触及肿块。     

Comparison of local and general anesthesia in tension-free (Lichtenstein) hernioplasty: a prospective randomized trial

To compare pulmonary effects, postoperative pain and fatigue, morbidity, patient satisfaction, and cost of different anesthetic techniques for inguinal hernia repair, 50 patients were randomized to local and general anesthesia groups (LA and GA). All patients received the same premedications and the same postoperative analgesic regimen. The standardized postoperative analgesic, intramuscular pyroxicam 20 mg, was given to all patients in the recovery room and an additional 20 mg on the same day was given as requested by each patient. Pulmonary function studies and arterial blood gas analysis were performed 1 h prior to the operation and at the postoperative 8th and 24th hours. All patients underwent Lichtenstein's tension-free hernioplasty. Postoperative pain and fatigue were registered 8 h and 24 h after the operation. A questionnaire was filled out by the patients, and they were asked to give grades for the general comfort of the anesthesia and the surgical procedure (1=worst, 10=best). Postoperative pulmonary function tests were significantly poorer in the GA group both on 8th- and 24th-hour measurements (P<0.05). Patients who underwent LA had significantly lower PCO₂ and higher PO₂ at the postoperative 8th hour (P<0.05). Mean postoperative pain and fatigue scores revealed a significant difference in favor of local anesthesia at only the 8th hour (P<0.05). There were two complications, one in each group (a hematoma in LA and a urinary retention in GA). Patient satisfaction grades were not different in the two groups. We conclude that LA in inguinal hernia repair does not adversely affect pulmonary functions, patients feel less pain, and patient satisfaction is comparable to that with GA. Electronic Publication     

Facilitation of discrimination transfers under amphetamine: the relative control by S+ and S− and general transfer effects

Rats were trained in a Y-maze on a two-choice simultaneous black-white discrimination with either black or white as S⁺. Animals were then transferred to one of three discrimination tasks. In task 1 (New S^–), a new stimulus, either vertical or horizontal stripes, was substituted for the original S^–. In task 2 (New S⁺), a new stimulus, either vertical or horizontal stripes as in task 1, was substituted for the original S⁺. In task 3 (New S⁺/S^–) animals were trained on horizontal-vertical discrimination. The pre-trial administration of 1 mg/kg d-amphetamine facilitated the acquisition of the original black-white discrimination with both black as S⁺ and white as S⁺. Likewise, the drug improved performance in all three transfer conditions. However, the course of learning in the three transfer tasks was different in the placebo- and amphetamine-treated animals. Amphetamine-treated animals were disrupted more by a change in S⁺ than by a change in S^–, whereas the opposite pattern was evident in the placebo controls. When both discriminative stimuli were changed, placebo animals exhibited pronounced decrement in performance, whereas amphetamine animals exhibited excellent learning. The implications of these findings for the effects of amphetamine on discrimination learning are discussed.     

棉酚服用者睾丸活检的形态及定量组织学研究

对48例服棉酚者睾丸活检组织进行形态学及定量组织学研究。光镜下可见紊乱型、脱落型和严重障碍型三种精子发生障碍。电镜下可见除精子细胞、精母细胞改变外,精原细胞及支持细胞结构也有明显改变。自动图象分析结果表明:三种类型生精障碍曲细精管横截面平均面积和平均细胞总面积与正常对照相比,存在非常显著差异:三种类型生精障碍之间的曲细精管横截面平均面积和平均细胞总面积也有非常显著差异。     

Musical obsession or pseudohallucination: Electrophysiological standpoint

Reported herein is a case of obsessive–compulsive disorder with persistent and distressing musical obsessions along with other symptoms. Advanced source analysis of electroencephalographic data indicated high spectral power over the bifrontal region. The musical symptoms were resistant to pharmacotherapy but there was some reduction in frequency and duration of musical obsessions with thought-stopping technique.