Efficacy of epoetin-beta 30,000 IU/week in correcting anaemia in patients with gastrointestinal tumours subjected to concomitant chemoradiotherapy

Objective  

The aim of the project was to assess the effectiveness and safety of weekly epoetin-beta (EB) in patients with gastrointestinal cancer (GIC) subjected to concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CCTRT).     

A prospective study of the association of cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolite levels with lethality of suicide attempts in patients with bipolar disorder

Objectives:  Bipolar disorder is a severe illness that is associated with suicidal behavior. A biological predictor of highly lethal suicide attempts in patients with bipolar disorder would be valuable. We hypothesized that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) monoamine metabolite levels are related to lethality of suicide attempts in bipolar patients and examined the relation between CSF 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5-HIAA), homovanillic acid (HVA), and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) levels and maximum lethality of suicide attempts at baseline and during a 2-year follow up.
Methods:  Twenty-seven bipolar depressed patients participated in the study. Demographic and clinical parameters were examined and recorded. Lumbar punctures were performed and CSF 5-HIAA, HVA, and MHPG were assayed by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Following discharge, patients were evaluated after 3 months, 1 year, and 2 years. Each follow-up interview included an in-depth assessment of suicidal behavior during the intervening time period.
Results:  Six subjects made suicide attempts during the 2-year follow-up. Bipolar patients who attempted suicide during the follow-up period had higher aggression and hostility scale scores compared to bipolar subjects who did not make a suicide attempt during the follow-up period. CSF 5-HIAA, HVA, and MHPG levels were negatively correlated with the maximum lethality of suicide attempts during the 2-year follow-up period.
Conclusions:  Our finding is the first observation that CSF monoamine metabolite levels may be predictors of lethality of suicide attempts in patients with bipolar disorder. Further studies are necessary to answer the question whether CSF monoamine metabolite levels are clinically useful biochemical predictors of highly lethal suicide attempts or completed suicides.     

Clinical predictors of suicidal acts after major depression in bipolar disorder: a prospective study

Objective:  This study determined the clinical predictors of suicidal behavior during a 2-year follow-up of patients with bipolar disorder presenting with a major depressive episode (MDE).
Method:  Sixty four patients with DSM-III-R bipolar disorder were assessed at presentation for treatment of an MDE. Correlates of past suicidal behavior were determined by comparing patients with and without a history of suicide attempts using a t -test, Wilcoxon test or chi-squared test of independence on individual explanatory variables. Putative predictors of attempts during the follow-up period were tested separately using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis.
Results:  Twelve of 64 patients had at least one suicide attempt in the follow-up period, five of them attempted in the first 2 months and seven around or shortly after the 1-year follow-up visit. All attempters had a history of past suicide attempts. Most predictors of future suicidal behavior were correlates of past suicidal behavior. Family history of suicide acts and comorbid borderline personality disorder predicted early attempts, while younger age, high hostility scores, number of past attempts, subjective pessimism as reflected in depression and suicidal ideation, and few reported reasons for living predicted suicidal acts during the whole period.
Conclusion:  In this data set of bipolar patients we noted an intriguing picture of two clusters of suicide attempts. Hostility was the strongest risk factor. These findings may have implications in both the identification of at-risk patients and the timing of clinical interventions including aggressive pharmacotherapeutic prophylaxis to prevent relapse or recurrence of depressive symptomatology.     

Copper,Zinc and Lead Enrichments in Sediments from Guacanayabo Gulf,Cuba, and Its Bioaccumulation in Oysters,Crassostrea rhizophorae

Levels of iron, copper, zinc and lead were determined in sediments and soft tissue of the oyster Crassostrea rhizophorae collected from Guacanayabo Gulf, Cuba. Metal-to-Iron ratio in sediments shows an average enrichment for Cu (5,1), Pb (11,7) and Zn (1,3) in the last 20 years. Metal concentrations found in soft tissue of C. rhizophorae are site dependent. The average biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) obtained for Fe, Cu and Pb are less than unity in all cases, indicating that only a little fraction of Cu and Pb in the sediments is bioavailable, independently of their enrichments. Zinc has an average BSAF value of 2.4 and may represent a serious impact in the area. The concentrations of zinc and copper in some of the oysters are above typical public health recommended limits.     

Activity of phosphoglycerate mutase and its isoenzymes in serum after acute myocardial infarction

Aims/background—In humans there are three phosphoglycerate mutase (PGM, EC 5.4.12.1) isoenzymes (MM, MB and BB) which have similar distribution and developmental pathways to creatine kinase (CK, EC 2.7.3.2) isoenzymes. Total serum PGM activity increases in acute myocardial infarction with the same time course as creatine kinase activity. The present study was undertaken to determine changes in the activity of PGM and its isoenzymes after acute myocardial infarction.     

Evaluation of eight methods for identification of pathogenic Neisseria species: Neisseria-Kwik, RIM-N, Gonobio-Test, Minitek, Gonochek II, GonoGen, Phadebact Monoclonal GC OMNI Test, and Syva MicroTrak Test.

The performance of eight methods in identifying Neisseria species, particularly N. gonorrhoeae, was evaluated. These methods included four rapid carbohydrate utilization tests (Gonobio-Test, Neisseria-Kwik, RIM-N, and Minitek); the Gonochek II, a test which is based on the utilization of chromogenic substrates; and three monoclonal antibody tests (Syva MicroTrak, GonoGen, and Phadebact Monoclonal GC OMNI Test). In all, 182 isolates comprised in six species of Neisseria as well as Branhamella catarrhalis and Moraxella sp. were tested. Cystine-tryptic digest agar supplemented with sugars was included for reference purposes. In the carbohydrate utilization tests, the sensitivity and specificity of the Neisseria-Kwik and Minitek tests for the identification of N. gonorrhoeae were 100%. This compared with sensitivities and specificities, respectively, of 100 and 99.1% for the Gonobio-Test and 99.1 and 100% for cystine-tryptic digest agar sugars and the RIM-N test. The sensitivity and specificity of the Gonochek II test were 99.0 and 86.7%, respectively. Although most test kits did not claim to identify all Neisseria species, in several cases isolates of N. subflava were misidentified or could be misinterpreted as N. gonorrhoeae or N. meningitidis. With the monoclonal reagents, the Syva MicroTrak system was 100% sensitive and 100% specific. The GonoGen test was both 99.1% sensitive and specific, while the Phadebact Monoclonal GC OMNI Test was 99.1% sensitive but 91.2% specific. With this latter test, cross-reactions were observed with strains of B. catarrhalis, N. cinerea, and N. lactamica.     

Saco y pseudosaco. Su importancia en el diagnóstico diferencial ecográfico de la gestación ectópica

We report the case of a pregnant woman who presented to the emergency department with slight vaginal bleeding in the first trimester of pregnancy. The the differential diagnosis between eutopic, heterotopic and tubal ectopic pregnancy was hampered by the presence of an intrauterine pseudosac. The clinical course was complicated by spontaneous rupture of a tubal ectopic pregnancy, which required curettage and laparotomic salpingectomy. The postoperative outcome was favorable.     

Acoustic characteristics of trill productions by groups of Spanish children

Contrary to the English /r/, which has been extensively analysed, there is very little information on the trilled consonants in Spanish. These sounds are in general difficult to produce for young Spanish children and occur later (than other consonant sounds) in normal development. This paper describes acoustic measurements made on the trill productions in Spanish children with varying degrees of speech intelligibility. The spectral (frequency, amplitude, C-V ratio) and temporal characteristics (duration of the trill, number of open and closed periods?apertures and occlusions-and duration of these periods) were studied in 45 children (Granada, Spain) between 3.0 and 9.6 years old, divided into 5 groups. The results reveal differences in spectral and temporal acoustic correlates of trill /r/ among the five speaker groups (e.g., the duration of the first aperture period was longer for the articulatory disordered group than for the normal control group). They seem to indicate, in particular, that children who have trouble learning to make the trill sound do little more than tap the alveolar ridge. Moreover, these children seem to use more of their tongues to make these gestures; also, they do not make many trills or make them very quickly.     

How to report the antinuclear antibodies (anti-cell antibodies) test on HEp-2 cells: guidelines from the ICAP initiative

Immunologic Research - Results of the anti-nuclear antibodies-indirect immunofluorescence assay (anti-cell antibodies test) on HEp-2 cell substrates should be communicated to clinicians in a...