Incidence of asthma and net change in symptoms in relation to changes in obesity.

The incidence of asthma has been reported to be associated with obesity. An alternative analysis, of net change in prevalence, does not require exclusion of those with asthma at baseline. Follow-up data were obtained from 9,552 participants in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey and the Swiss cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Disease in Adults. Incidence of asthma was analysed by proportional hazards regression, and net changes in symptoms and asthma status by generalised estimating equations, by obesity group. Incidence and net change in ever having had asthma were greater in females than in males, and in participants who remained obese compared with those who were never obese (hazard ratio 2.00, 95% confidence interval 1.25-3.20; excess net change 2.8%, 0.4-5.3% per 10 yrs). The effect of being obese on net change in diagnosed asthma was greater in females than in males, but for net change in wheeze without a cold it was greater in males. The present results are consistent with asthma being more frequently diagnosed in females, especially obese females. These findings may help to explain the reports of a stronger association between asthma and obesity in females than in males.     

Neuroimaging in Pineal Tumors

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The authors report radiological findings in 11 tumors in the pineal region, which were histologically diagnosed as germinomas, pineocytomas pineoblastomas, ependymomas, teratomas, and astrocytomas. METHODS: Computed tomography (CT) was performed in seven patients and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in all patients. RESULTS: CT showed a solid or solid/cystic mass with variable contrast enhancement. MRI showed a heterogeneous mass, with hypointense signal on T1 and iso/hyperintense signal on T2-weighted images (WI) and gadolinium enhancement. Extension to adjacent structures occurred in five patients and spread through the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) in two. CONCLUSIONS: Pineal region tumors have no pathognomonic imaging pattern. MRI and CT are complementary in diagnosis and are important to determine localization, extension, and meningeal spread.     

Modulation of carcinogenicity in 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-7,12- dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (THDMBA) by fluorine substitution: crystal structures of the 5- and 6-fluoro regioisomers.

1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (THDMBA) is an animal carcinogen which lacks an aromatic bay-region and shows promise as a model to investigate non-classical mechanisms of carcinogenesis. The fluorine-substituted derivatives at positions 5 and 6 on the B-ring exhibit a striking range of oncogenic potential wherein the 6F-THDMBA is twice as potent as the parent carcinogen, but the 5F-THDMBA is virtually inactive. To study structure-reactivity relationships for these fluorine regioisomers, we have determined the three-dimensional structures of the compounds by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. These crystal structures are the first such to be reported for any monofluoro anthracene (or pyrene) derivative. The partially-reduced A-ring exists in both enantiomeric half-chair conformers in the crystalline state, and the compounds have quasi-planar anthracene ring systems which exhibit a right-handed twist in the 'beta'-conformer, with the expected opposite twist in the other. A complete analysis of bond lengths, bond angles and torsion angles is presented. Preliminary electrostatic potentials have been derived from the X-ray data sets, and the results indicate significant differences in potential between 5F- and 6F-THDMBA at positions near the partially reduced bay region. Such results are likely to be of importance in the understanding of metabolic activation to reactive intermediates capable of bonding covalently to DNA.     

Psychological adjustment after cardiac transplantation

Cardiac transplantation is viable therapeutic alternative for patients with end-stage heart disease, which offers a favourable short- and medium-term prognosis. The survival has improved from 20% of patients who survived at one year after transplantation in the 1960s to the present figures of 80%-85% of patients who are alive at one year, and 50%-70% of patients who are alive at five years, after transplantation. Therefore, it seems timely to focus attention on the psychological well-being of cardiac-transplant recipients. The medical literature is scant in regard to the psychiatric and the psychosocial impact of cardiac transplantation on recipients, and a systematic and prospective study of the psychosocial adaptation of recipients is lacking. Since 1984, we have been studying the emotional impact of cardiac transplantation on recipients and their families. This article presents the results for a group of recipients who have been assessed before transplantation, then followed-up at discharge from hospital and at four, eight and 12 months after transplantation. The study attempted to quantitate the recipients' anxiety, depression, body image and subjective quality of life by way of standardized self-assessment questionnaires. The recipients' satisfaction with relationships or their marital situation also was reported, as were their degree of rehabilitation at 12 months and their attitudes to various aspects of treatment after the transplantation. Before the transplantation, 53% of patients reported an increase in anxiety and 34% of patients recorded scores that indicated mild-to-moderate levels of depression. Thirty-seven per cent of patients showed a deterioration in the quality of their lives and 34% of patients had a negative body image. After the transplantation, significant improvements occurred in all parameters, which were maintained at follow-up.     

Effects of gastric bypass procedures on bone mineral density,calcium, parathyroid hormone,and vitamin d

Weight loss after gastric bypass procedures has been well studied, but the long-term metabolic sequelae are not known. Data on bone mineral density (BMD), calcium, parathyroid hormone, and vitamin D were collected preoperatively and at yearly intervals after gastric bypass procedures. A total of 230 patients underwent preoperative BMD scans. Fifteen patients were osteopenic preoperatively, and three patients subsequently developed osteopenia postoperatively within the first year. No patient had or developed osteoporosis. At 1 year, total forearm BMD decreased by 0.55% (n = 91; P = .03) and radius BMD had increased overall by 1.85% (n = 23; P = .008); both total hip and lumbar spine BMD decreased by 9.27% (n = 22; P < .001) and 4.53% (n = 31; P < .001), respectively. By the second postoperative year, BMD in the total forearm had decreased an additional 3.62% (n = 14; P<.001), whereas radius BMD remained unchanged. Although total hip and lumbar spine BMD significantly decreased at 1 year, by year 2 both total hip and lumbar spine BMD only slightly decreased and were not significantly different from before the operation. Serum calcium decreased from 9.8 mg/dL to 9.2 during the first year (not significant [NS]) and then to 8.8 (NS) by the second year. Parathyroid hormone increased from 59.7 pg/mL (nl 10-65 pg/mL) preoperatively to 63.1 during year 1 (NS) and continued to increase to 64.7 by year 2 (NS). No difference was noted among levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D preoperatively (25.2 ng/mL; nl 10-65 ng/mL), at 1 year (34.4), and at 2 years (35.4). Our data indicate that bone loss is highest in the first year after gastric bypass with stabilization, and that, in some cases, there is an increase in bone density after the first year. Presented at the Forty-Sixth Annual Meeting of The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, Chicago, Illinois, May 14–18, 2005 (oral presentation).