Reactions to predictive testing in Huntington disease: case reports of coping with a new genetic status.

A predictive testing program for Huntington disease has been available in Stockholm, Sweden since October 1990. Psychosocial assessments were performed throughout the testing program to evaluate the impact of the risk situation itself and the effect of predictive testing, and to identify those individuals who were most vulnerable to severe stress and anxiety reactions. All subjects underwent neurological, neuropsychological, and psychiatric examinations.

Interleukin-2-receptor blockade with daclizumab to prevent acute rejection in renal transplantation. Daclizumab Triple Therapy Study Group.

Background: Monoclonal antibodies that block the high-affinity interleukin-2 receptor expressed on alloantigen-reactive T lymphocytes may cause selective immunosuppression. Daclizumab is a genetically engineered human IgG1 monoclonal antibody that binds specifically to the alpha chain of the interleukin-2 receptor and may thus reduce the risk of rejection after renal transplantation.

Methods: We administered daclizumab (1.

Gender differences in episodic memory.

The relationship between gender and memory has been largely neglected by research, despite occasional studies reporting gender differences in episodic memory performance. The present study examined potential gender differences in episodic memory, semantic memory, primary memory, and priming. Five hundred thirty women and 470 men, randomly sampled from the city of Umeå, Sweden, 35-80 years of age, participated in the study.

Episodic memory functioning in population-based samples of very old adults with Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.

Population-based samples of normal old adults, patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and patients with vascular dementia (VaD) between 90 and 100 years of age were given a series of episodic memory tasks, assessing face recognition, word recall, and object recall. Results indicated (a) no group differences in those variables reflecting primary memory, and clear dementia-related deficits in secondary memory; (b) no differences between persons with AD and VaD in face recognition and object recall, and (c) an advantage of VaD patients compared with AD patients in word recall. It was suggested that the ability to transfer information from temporary to permanent storage may be particularly affected by a dementing disease.

Longitudinal and psychometric profiles of two cognitive status tests in very old adults.

Forty-four nondemented adults, over the age of 75 years, were tested at six-month intervals spanning two years. Study goals were to examine the validity of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R), to assess the long-term reliability of these instruments, and to examine the longitudinal profile of this sample. Results showed that the MMSE was moderately correlated with the WAIS-R.

Mini-Mental State Examination item scores as predictors of Alzheimer's disease: incidence data from the Kungsholmen Project, Stockholm.

Background: The present study examined the power of individual Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) items in predicting incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In addition, 3-year longitudinal changes in MMSE items were contrasted between incident AD and nondemented persons.

Methods: A population-based group of very old adults, 75-95 years of age, were followed longitudinally.

The incidence of clinical postoperative thrombosis after gastric surgery for obesity during 16 years.

Background: Suggested risk factors for postoperative thrombosis such as high fatty acid levels, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes are common in obese patients.

Methods: In a retrospective study, the case records of 328 patients operated for obesity by gastric procedure from September 1977 until December 1993 were analyzed: 253 women and 75 men with a mean age of 38 years and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 44 kg/m2. The operation time, use of epidural anesthesia, and the occurrence of risk factors; fatty acid levels, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes were recorded.

Cognitive predictors of incident Alzheimer's disease: a prospective longitudinal study.

The present study examined whether cognitive variables measured at baseline could predict incident cases of Alzheimer's disease (AD) after a 3-year follow-up period. Twenty-six incident AD adults and 179 very old (M = 83.5 years) adults without dementia participated in a population-based study.

Encoding-retrieval interactions in mild Alzheimer's disease: the role of access to categorical information.

Normal old adults and patients in an early phase of Alzheimer's disease (AD) were presented with photographs of common objects under two different encoding conditions: naming and naming along with category decisions. Memory was assessed with free recall, category cued recall, and recognition. For both groups, recognition was superior to cued recall which was higher than that for free recall.

Reduced food intake after jejunoileal bypass: a possible association with prolonged gastric emptying and altered gut hormone patterns.

The object of this study was to examine whether eating behavior, food preference, gastric emptying, and gut hormone patterns are altered after jejunoileal bypass (JIB) in patients with severe obesity. Eight obese [mean (+/- SD) body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2) 42.9 +/- 4] subjects were studied prospectively before and 9 mo after JIB with eight age- and sex-matched normal-weight control subjects.

Phosphoinositide metabolism in hereditary ovalocytic red blood cell membranes.

Metabolic depletion of hereditary ovalocytes leads, similar to normal red cells, to decreased intracellular concentrations of ATP and GSH as well as degradation of the phosphoinositides to phosphatidylinositol and diacylglycerol. In contrast to normal red cells, however, loss of ATP does not induce any gross shape transformations; even after extensive depletion the ovalocytes retain their initial elongated stomatocytic character. The mechanical properties of hereditary ovalocytes are associated with a deletion of nine amino acid residues in band 3.

Calcium-binding mechanism of human nonerythroid alpha-spectrin EF-structures.

We have used circular dichroism and 1H- and 15N-NMR spectroscopy to investigate calcium binding to the two EF-hands of human nonerythroid or alphaII-spectrin. Comparison of the 1H-NMR spectra from the peptide containing both EF-hands to the peptides containing the single EF-I and EF-II structures showed that both the structural and calcium-binding properties are significantly different. Further studies of the 121 amino acid peptide containing both EF-hands using circular dichroism and NMR showed that the binding of calcium ions induces conformational changes.

Cognitive correlates of mortality: evidence from a population-based sample of very old adults.

The authors examined performance on memory, visuospatial, and verbal tasks and subsequent mortality in adults 75-95 years. The sample consisted of 178 living and 44 deceased participants. Mean-level analyses revealed mortality group differences for all domains of cognitive functioning.

Brain activation in young and older adults during implicit and explicit retrieval.

Positron emission tomography was used to study regional cerebral blood flow (H2(15)O method) in groups of young and older adults during implicit and explicit retrieval, following a procedure devised by Squire et al. (1992). At study, subjects were exposed to four lists of words.

Age-related differences in episodic odour recognition: the role of access to specific odour names.

This study addressed the relationship between semantic memory variables and episodic odour recognition across the adult lifespan. Young (19-34 years), young-old (60-69 years), and old women (70-79 years) were tested in a number of measures of semantic memory: letter fluency, category fluency, vocabulary, odour familiarity, and odour naming. Odour recognition memory was assessed on two occasions: immediately after and 48 hours after inspection.

Gastrointestinal hormones and gastric emptying 20 years after jejunoileal bypass for massive obesity.

Objective: Some studies have shown a more rapid gastric emptying in obese subjects. Six to twelve months after jejunoileal bypass (JIB) neurotensin (NT) and enteroglucagon have been shown to be elevated after food intake. These hormones, together with peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) have been implicated in the reduction of upper gastrointestinal motility seen after infusion of nutrients into the ileum.

Cognitive changes in very old persons with dementia: the influence of demographic, psychometric, and biological variables.

Longitudinal changes in global cognitive functioning, indexed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), in subjects with dementia (Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia) were examined. The roles of several demographic, psychometric, and biological indices in predicting cognitive deterioration were also examined. The sample consisted of 36 very old (M age at entry = 83.

Seven year results of vertical banded gastroplasty for morbid obesity.

Objective: To present our experience with a group of obese patients treated by vertical banded gastroplasty.

Design: Open prospective study.

Setting: Teaching hospital, Sweden.

Effects of division of attention during encoding and retrieval on age differences in episodic memory.

This study examined the effects of dual task requirements on age differences in free recall performance. One thousand adults ranging in age between 35 and 80 years performed a word recall task alone and concurrently with a card-sorting task (at encoding, retrieval, or both). Age differences in memory performance were substantial under single task conditions, but after correcting memory performance under dual task conditions for differences in single task performance, age did not predict performance.

Neuropsychological deficits in adults with neurofibromatosis type 1.

Objectives: To examine neuropsychological deficits in adults with Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) with and without an affective mental disorder (i.e. dysthymia).