Prejudice and the Plate: Effects of Weight Bias in Nutrition Judgments

As millions of people turn to social media for health information, better understanding the factors that guide health-related judgments and perceptions in this context is imperative. We report on two Web experiments (n > 400 total) examining the power of society’s widespread weight bias and related stereotypes to influence nutrition judgments in social media spaces. In Experiment 1, meals were judged as lower in nutritional quality when the person who recommended them (the source) was depicted as obese rather than of normal weight, an effect mediated by stereotypic beliefs about the source as a generally unhealthy person. Experiment 2 replicated this effect, which—notably—remained significant when controlling for objective nutritional information (calories and fat content). Results highlight spillover effects of weight bias that extend beyond person perception to color impressions of objects (here, food) that are associated with stigmatized attributes. Implications for everyday nutrition judgments and public health are considered.     

Intensive care research coordinators: who are they and what do they do? Results of a binational survey.

Research coordinators in intensive care are a growing specialty about which little is known. This cross-sectional study surveyed the Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Research Coordinators' Group (n = 49) regarding demographics, education, employment history, job structure, and role content. Most research coordinators were highly qualified and experienced nurses who undertake pharmaceutical trials, multicenter projects, departmental medical and nursing research, audits and data registries, and their own projects.     

Familial hemiplegic migraine and autosomal dominant arteriopathy with leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL)

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a recently described familial cerebrovascular disorder shown to map to chromosome 19q12. Familial hemiplegic migraine has also been shown in some families to map close to the CADASIL locus. The fully developed CADASIL phenotype consists of recurrent strokes developing in the fourth decade, progressing to a pseudobulbar palsy, spastic quadriparesis, and subcortical dementia. In an Irish family 15 members were fully investigated by magnetic resonance scanning; 10 had typical magnetic resonance features of CADASIL. Five members of this family had familial hemiplegic migraine and 4 of these had magnetic resonance evidence of CADASIL. Two other members had migraine with and without aura as a presenting clinical symptom of CADASIL. This disorder has been shown by linkage analysis to map to the CADASIL locus at chromosome 19. The phenotype at presentation of CADASIL in this family was variable and age related and included familial hemiplegic migraine, migraine with and without aura, transient ischemic attacks, strokes, and spinal cord infarction. This family study increases our understanding of the spectrum of clinical manifestations of this underrecognized familial cerebrovascular disorder.     

Thrombolysis and angioplasty for acute lower limb ischemia in Buerger's disease

Acute lower limb ischemia secondary to Buerger's disease in a young patient responded to thrombolysis and subsequent popliteal and anterior artery angioplasty. The value of angioplasty in non-limb-threatening ischemia in Buerger's disease has not been established but this case illustrates a role for thrombolysis and angioplasty in acute ischemia.     

Diagnosis and management of the patulous eustachian tube.

OBJECTIVE: The patulous eustachian tube (ET) seems to be caused by a longitudinal concave defect in the mucosal valve at the superior aspect of its anterolateral wall and causes troublesome autophony of one's own voice and breathing sounds. Patulous ET reconstruction was evaluated to analyze whether submucosal graft implantation to fill in the concavity within the patulous tubal valve may produce lasting relief of symptoms. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective trial. SETTING: Tertiary referral center, ambulatory surgery. PATIENTS: Fourteen ETs in 11 adults with 1 or more years of confirmed continuous patulous ET symptoms refractory to medical care. INTERVENTION: Endoluminal patulous ET reconstruction was performed in 14 separate cases using a combined endoscopic transnasal and transoral approach under general anesthesia. A submucosal flap was raised along the anterolateral wall of the tubal lumen up to the valve and mobilized superiorly off of the basisphenoid. The pocket was filled with autologous cartilage graft or Alloderm implant, restoring the normal convexity and competence to the mucosal lumen valve. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Autophony symptoms were scored as 1) complete relief; 2) significant improvement, satisfied; 3)significant improvement, dissatisfied; 4) unchanged; or 5)worse. RESULTS: All 14 cases reported immediate complete relief of autophony. Results with an average follow-up of 15.8 months are as follows: 1 (7%) case had complete relief; 5 (36%) had significant improvement, satisfied; 7 (50%) had significant improvement, dissatisfied; and 1 (7%) was unchanged. There were no complications. Correlation between patulous ET and other conditions was strongest with previous tubal dysfunction. Autophony of voice, but not breathing sounds, was also found to be experienced by 17 (94%) of 18 patients with superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome and could be easily mistaken for patulous ET autophony. CONCLUSION: Patulous ET seems to be caused by a concave defect in the tubal valve's anterolateral wall. Submucosal graft implantation to restore the normal convexity to the valve wall seems to provide lasting relief of symptoms. Long-term study is needed. It is important to differentiate between the autophony of semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome and patulous ET.     

Normal pressure hydrocephalus and cerebral blood flow: a PET study of baseline values.

Regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) was studied with O(15)-water positron emission tomography and anatomic region-of-interest analysis on co-registered magnetic resonance in patients with idiopathic (n = 12) and secondary (n = 5) normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). Mean CBF was compared with values obtained from healthy volunteers (n = 12) and with clinical parameters. Mean CBF was significantly decreased in the cerebrum and cerebellum of patients with NPH. The regional analysis demonstrated that CBF was reduced in the basal ganglia and the thalamus but not in white matter regions. The results suggest that the role of the basal ganglia and thalamus in NPH may be more prominent than currently appreciated. The implications for theories regarding the pathogenesis of NPH are discussed.