Lithium and memory: a review

This paper reviews systematic clinical studies suggesting memory and cognitive impairment in patients suffering from unipolar and bipolar affective disorders treated with lithium. A number of studies failed, however, to demonstrate lithium induced memory deficits. Thus, the results of studies were equivocal. This lack of empirical consensus was in part due to the heterogeneity of samples and a variety of methodological and design problems. The definition of short- and long-term memory was often arbitrary and lacked standard criteria. Some studies revealed a stability of the memory test scores over time and showed that subjective complaints of memory impairment were correlated with depression. The authors also reviewed studies examining the effects of lithium on cognition and memory of healthy control subjects. In animal research it was difficult at times to distinguish between toxic and pharmacologic effects of lithium. There is a need for prospective studies of the effect of lithium in large samples of patients using refined memory tests.     

Psychiatric considerations in pulmonary disease.

Lung disease is a prominent cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. When a patient has a common lung disease, such as asthma, or a less prevalent one, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, psychiatric issues should be considered as an integral part of the care plan for each patient. There have been many studies of psychologic factors and psychiatric syndromes in various lung diseases and their treatment. In this article, the authors focus on an evidence-based approach to reviewing this clinical literature.     

Recrudescent Tobacco Exposure Following Heart Transplantation: Clinical Profiles and Relationship with Athero-Thrombosis Risk Markers

To identify tobacco recidivism among 86 heart transplant recipients who were smokers but demonstrated compliance with a smoking cessation program pre-transplant, we used a questionnaire and randomly tested urine for nicotine and its by-products. In 36 patients, we also evaluated circulating levels of HS-CRP, homocysteine and MPV. Twenty-eight (32.5%) of 86 patients met our definition for tobacco exposure. In this cohort, 28 (32.5%) of 86 patients met our definition for tobacco exposure. Of these 28, 12 patients self-reported tobacco use and demonstrated biochemical verification; 14 patients demonstrated only biochemical evidence of significant tobacco exposure; 2 patients self-reported tobacco use but did not demonstrate biochemical positivity. Smoking cessation within 6 months of transplantation (r = 0.52) and time post-transplantation (r = 0.43) were independent predictors for recidivism of tobacco use, p < 0.01. No differences in HS-CRP, homocysteine and MPV levels were noted among the groups. Our investigation demonstrates a high rate of tobacco recidivism among heart transplant recipients, yet few admit to it. The adverse effects of tobacco do not appear to be directly modulated by an effect on athero-thrombotic risk markers.     

Induction of long-term protective effects against heterologous challenge in SIVhu-infected macaques

A group of three rhesus macaques were inoculated with SIV isolated from a human (SIVhu) accidentally exposed and infected with SIVsm. Extensive sequence analyses of SIVhu obtained from the human and macaques following infection indicated the presence of truncated nef. Not only did nef fail to repair itself in vivo postinfection (p.i.), but instead, further mutations added additional stop codons with increasing time p.i. Infection of these animals was associated with minimal acute viral replication, followed by undetectable plasma viral loads and only intermittent PCR detection up to 5 years p.i. The three SIVhu infected and three control monkeys were then challenged with the heterologous highly pathogenic SHIV89.6p. All three controls became infected and showed rapid declines in peripheral CD4(+) lymphocytes, disease, and death at 10 and 32 weeks p.i., respectively. In contrast, all three animals previously infected with SIVhu are healthy and exhibit stable CD4(+) lymphocyte levels and undetectable plasma viral loads at >20 months post-SHIV89. 6p challenge. Only transient, low levels of SHIV replication were noted in these animals. Whereas responses to SIVgag/pol were noted, no evidence for SIV/SHIV envelope cross-reactivity was detected by antibody or CTL analyses, suggesting that the protective immune mechanisms to the heterologous challenge isolate were most likely not directed to envelope but rather to other viral determinants.     

Healthy monozygous twins do not recognize identical T cell epitopes on the myelin basic protein autoantigen

The T cell response against myelin basic protein (MBP) has been extensively studied in humans because of its putative role in the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis (MS). Higher concordance rates in monozygous twins as well as an increased risk in relatives suggest the role of genetic factors in MS susceptibility. Very little is known about the shaping of T cell repertoire towards self antigens in humans and their contribution to disease susceptibility in autoimmune disorders. Here we report the comparative T cell epitope recognition patterns towards the MBP auto-antigen in healthy identical twins. We have established MBP-specific T cell lines from eight sets of twins and characterized their fine epitope specificity. Intra-pair comparison showed the co-existence of shared as well as distinct epitopes in six of eight pairs and a complete absence of concordant epitope recognition within two other pairs. These findings indicate that important differences in T cell repertoires against a self antigen may be observed between genetically identical healthy individuals, rendering difficult the interpretation of the differences which may be observed between identical twins discordant for an autoimmune disease.     

pH-adjusted periocular anaesthesia for primary vitreoretinal surgery

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of pH-adjusted bupivacaine in conjunction with medial orbital periconal block (periocular anaesthesia). METHODS: Sixty consecutive patients undergoing primary vitreoretinal surgery were enrolled prospectively. RESULTS: Adequate anaesthesia and akinesia with no intraoperative supplementation was achieved in 53 eyes (88.3%). Factors influencing intraoperative supplementation were combined vitrectomy with scleral buckling (p = 0.005) and duration of surgery of more than 2 hours (p = 0.001). No ocular or systemic complication resulted. CONCLUSION: pH-adjusted periocular anaesthesia is safe and effective in patients undergoing primary vitreoretinal surgery.