C.B‐17 SCID mice develop epicardial calcinosis with unaltered cardiac function

Inbred mouse strains are the most widely used mammalian model organism in biomedical research owing to ease of genetic manipulation and short lifespan; however, each inbred strain possesses a unique repertoire of deleterious homozygous alleles that can make a specific strain more susceptible to a particular disease. In the current study, we report dystrophic cardiac calcinosis (DCC) in C.B‐17 SCID male mice at 10 weeks of age with no significant change in cardiac function. Acquisition of DCC was characterized by myocardial injury, fibrosis, calcification, and necrosis of the tissue. At 10 weeks of age, 38% of the C.B‐17 SCID mice from two different commercial colonies exhibited significant calcinosis on the ventricular epicardium, predominantly on the right ventricle. The frequency of calcinosis was more than 50% for mice obtained from Taconic's Cambridge City colony and 25% for mice obtained from Taconic's German Town colony. Interestingly, the DCC phenotype did not affect cardiac function at 10 weeks of age. No differences in echocardiography or electrocardiography were observed between the calcinotic and non‐calcinotic mice from either colony. Our findings suggest that C.B‐17 SCID mice exhibit DCC as early as 10 weeks of age with no significant impact on cardiac function. This strain of mice should be cautiously considered for the study of cardiac physiology.     

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans: a population-based cancer registry descriptive study of 66 consecutive cases diagnosed between 1982 and 2002

BACKGROUND: Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare malignant tumour of the skin, with an estimated incidence of 0.8 to five cases per 1 million people per year. OBJECTIVE: To study epidemiological, immunohistochemical and clinical features, delay in diagnosis, type of treatment and outcome of DFSP from 1982 to 2002. METHODS: Using data from the population-based cancer registry, 66 patients with pathologically proved DFSP were included (fibrosarcomatous DFSP were excluded). Each patient lived in one of the four departments of Franche-Comté (overall population of 1 million people) at the time of diagnosis. The main data sources came from public and private pathology laboratories and medical records. The rules of the International Agency for Research on Cancer were applied. RESULTS: The estimated incidence of DFSP in Franche-Comté was about three new cases per 1 million people per year. Male patients were affected 1.2 times as often as female patients were. The trunk (45%) followed by the proximal extremities (38%) were the most frequent locations. DFSP occurred mainly in young adults between 20 and 39 years of age. Mean age at diagnosis was 43 years, and the mean delay in diagnosis was 10.08 years. Our 66 patients initially underwent a radical local excision. Among them, 27% experienced one or more local recurrences during 9.6 years of follow-up. There was one regional lymph node recurrence without visceral metastases. These recurrences were significantly related to the initial peripheral resection margins. We observed a local recurrence rate of 47% for margins less than 3 cm, vs. only 7% for margins ranging from 3 to 5 cm [P=0.004; OR=0.229 (95%, CI=0.103-0.510)]. The mean time to a first local recurrence was 2.65 years. Nevertheless, there was no death due to the DFSP course at the end of the follow-up, and the final outcome was favourable. CONCLUSION: Our study emphasizes the importance of wide local excision with margins of at least 3 cm in order to prevent local recurrence. However, the recent development of inhibitors of signal transduction by the PDGFB pathway should soon modify the surgical strategy, which is often too mutilating.     

Educating African American men about the prostate cancer screening dilemma: a randomized intervention.

BACKGROUND: Until there is a definitive demonstration that early diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer reduces disease-related mortality, it is imperative to promote informed screening decisions by providing balanced information about the potential benefits and risks of prostate cancer screening. Within a community/academic collaboration, we conducted a randomized trial of a printed booklet and a videotape that were designed for African American (AA) men. The purpose of the trial was to determine the effect of the interventions on knowledge, decisional conflict, satisfaction with the screening decision, and self-reported screening. METHODS: Participants were 238 AA men, ages 40 to 70 years, who were members of the Prince Hall Masons in Washington, DC. Men were randomly assigned to the (a) video-based information study arm, (b) print-based information study arm, or (c) wait list control study arm. Intervention materials were mailed to men at home. Assessments were conducted at baseline, 1 month, and 12 months postintervention. Multivariate analyses, including ANCOVA and logistic regression, were used to analyze group differences. RESULTS: The booklet and video resulted in a significant improvement in knowledge and a reduction in decisional conflict about prostate cancer screening, relative to the wait list control. Satisfaction with the screening decision was not affected by the interventions. Self-reported screening rates increased between the baseline and the 1-year assessment, although screening was not differentially associated with either of the interventions. In exploratory analyses, prostate-specific antigen testing at 1 year was more likely among previously screened men and was associated with having low baseline decisional conflict. CONCLUSIONS: This study represents one of the first randomized intervention trials specifically designed to address AA men's informed decision making about prostate cancer screening. We have developed and evaluated culturally sensitive, balanced, and disseminable materials that improved knowledge and reduced decisional conflict about prostate cancer screening among AA men. Due to the high incidence and mortality rates among AA men, there is a need for targeted educational materials, particularly materials that are balanced in terms of the benefits and risks of screening.     

A proportionate mortality ratio analysis of pulp and paper mill workers in New Hampshire.

A proportionate mortality ratio (PMR) analysis of 1071 deaths in pulp and paper mill workers in New Hampshire during 1975-85 showed an increase in cancers of the digestive tract and lymphopoietic tissues. A similar analysis of deaths for 452 timber cutters and loggers failed to show excess PMRs for cancers of these sites. Despite methodological constraints, these results suggest that one or more of the exposures experienced by pulp and paper mill workers may pose a significant carcinogenic risk. More definitive epidemiological studies are required to determine particular high risk processes or specific aetiological agents.     

Effects of emotion on perceptual asymmetry: interactions with personality

Perceptual asymmetry on a series of four specially constructed dichotic word tests was found to change as a function of the emotional quality of the words in the tests (P = 0.05). This was most pronounced in the case of positively valued words which produced an increase in asymmetry consistent with facilitated left-hemisphere function (P less than 0.004). Changes in asymmetry with emotion differed as a function of personality characteristics of the subjects, with repressors and high anxious subjects showing an increase with emotion while true low anxious subjects showed a decrease (P less than 0.02). Personality groups also differed in asymmetry on an emotionally neutral test (P less than 0.04) and in changes in asymmetry over time independent of emotion (P less than 0.001). These data suggest that emotion mediated activation of the left hemisphere may facilitate information processing within that hemisphere. Moreover, they indicate that dichotic listening tests may provide a non-invasive and inexpensive method for assessing emotion mediated changes in brain state that are clinically relevant.