A visual motor psychological test as a predictor to treatment in nocturnal enuresis.

Background And Aims: The neurological control of bladder function and the ability to be dry at night involves not only the acquisition of normal daytime control, but also the establishment of a circadian rhythm in vasopressin release and the ability to arouse to a full bladder during sleep. We postulated that in some children there might be a delay in maturation of the normal neurological pathways involved in establishment of nocturnal continence and examined this by using a specific neuropsychological test.

Methods: Children attending an established nocturnal enuresis clinic were examined using the Rey-Osterrieth test to assess the presence or absence of boundary errors in both copy and memory reproductions.

A search for the evidence supporting community paediatric practice.

Aim: Controversy exists regarding the evidence base of medicine. Estimates range from 20% to 80% in various specialties, but there have been no studies in paediatrics. The aim of this study was to ascertain the evidence base for community paediatrics.

Antiemetic efficacy of prednisolone: a placebo-controlled trial in patients with advanced prostatic cancer treated with estramustine phosphate.

The antiemetic effect of prednisolone on nausea/vomiting was investigated in 67 patients with advanced prostatic cancer and a performance status of < or = 2. The study was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial with a parallel group design. The objective was to compare the incidence and severity of nausea/vomiting between the two groups.

Effects of a calcium antagonist (nifedipine) on cats in live E. coli bacteriemic shock.

The effects of a calcium antagonist, nifedipine, on cardiovascular reactions and on gastrointestinal mucosal integrity was studied in a standardized feline bacteriemic model. Nifedipine pretreatment delayed the development of cardiovascular derangement and reduced the severity of the intestinal but not the gastric mucosal injury. The effect on the intestinal mucosa could be due to the delayed development of hypotensive shock but also to a protective effect on the superficial mucosal cells.

Increased survival with calcium antagonists in antibiotic-treated bacteremia.

This study was done to test the effectiveness of calcium antagonists on survival in a bacteremic model. Swiss albino mice were injected intraperitoneally with live Escherichia coli at an LD90 dose. When antibiotic treatment was delayed for 3 hr after E coli challenge, there was a mortality range of 30-50% for the gentamicin-treated mice and 40-60% for the cefoxitin-treated mice.

Verapamil improves cardiac function and increases survival in canine E. coli endotoxin shock.

The effects of verapamil, a calcium antagonist, on survival and on hemodynamic and metabolic parameters were studied in canines administered E. coli endotoxin. Shams, endotoxin controls, and endotoxin-shocked dogs treated with a 4-hour infusion of verapamil were studied.