Panic attacks, daily life ischemia, and chest pain in postmenopausal women.

Background: Chest pain is a common symptom of panic attacks, but little is known about the relationship in older women among panic attacks, chest pain, and daily life ischemia.

Methods: The authors conducted a cross-sectional survey of 3063 community-dwelling, generally healthy postmenopausal women enrolled between 1997 and 2000 in the Myocardial Ischemia and Migraine Study in 10 clinical centers of the 40-center Women's Health Initiative. Participants, ages 50 to 79 years, completed a questionnaire about occurrence of panic attacks in the previous 6 months and underwent 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram monitoring (AECG); 2705 women had valid AECG recordings and panic attack questionnaires.

Cloning of the bovine prion-like Shadoo (SPRN) gene by comparative analysis of the predicted genomic locus.

SPRN is a new prion-like gene coding for Sho, a protein with significant similarity to PrP. SPRN was initially described in zebrafish; however, the strong evolutionary conservation led to the hypothesis that SPRN might be the ancestral prion-like gene. We mapped SPRN in Bos taurus by comparative analysis of the locus and of the predicted flanking genes.

[Eating disorders--an increasing problem in children and adolescents?].

Recent evidence from epidemiological studies suggests that the prevalence of eating disorders is rising in adolescents and the age of onset has fallen. An average prevalence rate for anorexia nervosa of 0.5% and for bulimia nervosa of 0.

Maternal depressive symptoms in the postnatal period are associated with long-term impairment of mother-child bonding.

Background: Postnatal Depression has demonstrated long-term consequences on child cognitive and emotional development, however, the link between maternal and child pathology has not been clearly identified.

Objective: This study examined whether maternal bonding to the infant and young child is impaired by maternal depressive symptoms.

Methods: 101 mothers of newborn infants were recruited from local obstetric units and examined for psychopathology using Symptom Checklist, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire at two weeks, six weeks, four months and fourteen months postpartum.

Clinical evaluation of ankylosing spondylitis in Switzerland.

The purpose of this study was to identify the socioeconomic conditions and clinical history of ankylosing spondylitis patients in Switzerland. Data collected from 1177 ankylosing spondylitis patients, through a mail-in questionnaire, was analyzed for epidemiological factors, clinical presentation, musculoskeletal related surgical history and socioeconomic impact. The results showed that the sex ratio, average age at onset of symptoms, latent period until diagnosis, signs and symptoms, peripheral joint involvement and the prevalence of extraarticular organ affection of our patient group all conform with the majority of the published literature.

Effect of high-dose cortisol on memory functions.

Although research indicates that hightened glucocorticoid levels impair long-term memory functions and may inhibit traumatic memory retrieval in humans, the impact of acutely elevated glucocorticoid levels on learning and attentional functions is still unclear. Furthermore, the effect of glucocorticoids on executive functions as well as the recovery from long-term memory deficits is insufficiently studied. The present study examined memory functions in patients with acute exacerbation of neurological diseases (multiple sclerosis, acute optic neuritis), who were treated with a high dose of glucocorticoids.

A Dega-type osteotomy after closure of the triradiate cartilage in non-walking patients with severe cerebral palsy.

A total of 47 non-walking patients (52 hips) with severe cerebral palsy and with a mean age of 14 years, (9 to 27) underwent a Dega-type pelvic osteotomy after closure of the triradiate cartilage, together with a derotation varus-shortening femoral osteotomy and soft-tissue correction for hip displacement which caused pain and/or difficulties in sitting. The mean follow-up was 48 months (12 to 153). The migration percentage improved from a pre-operative mean of 70% (26% to 100%) to 10% (0% to 100%) post-operatively.

Emotional stress in pregnancy predicts human infant reactivity.

Background: Infant distress to novelty at 4 months of life has previously been identified as an important predictor of longer term emotional development in childhood and adolescence.

Aim: To investigate the relationship between prenatal stress and infant reactivity to unfamiliar visual, auditory and olfactory stimuli.

Study Design: Maternal emotional stress, life events and medical adversities during pregnancy and maternal personality characteristics were assessed by interview, questionnaire and patient charts at 2 weeks postnatal age.

Inulin alters the intestinal microbiota and short-chain fatty acid concentrations in growing pigs regardless of their basal diet.

Inulin stimulates intestinal bifidobacteria in humans and rodents but its effect in pigs is inconsistent. We assessed the effect of inulin on the intestinal microbiota by fluorescent in situ hybridization in growing pigs (age 9-12 wk). Pigs (n = 64) were assigned to 2 types of basal diets [wheat and barley (WB) or corn and wheat gluten (CG)] with or without 3% inulin (WBI or CGI) for 3 and 6 wk (n = 8/group) to test whether naturally occurring dietary fibers influence the inulin effect.

[Temperament and character profiles of female adolescent patients with anorexia and bulimia nervosa].

Objective: Based on the personality model outlined by Robert C. Cloninger, studies in adult patient samples demonstrated that according to distinct personality profiles patients with anorexia nervosa could be differentiated from those with bulimia nervosa, as well as from healthy controls. The current study examines whether these personality-related differences also exist in adolescent patients with eating disorders and a short duration of illness.

Effects of combination estrogen plus progestin hormone treatment on cognition and affect.

Context: Some studies of hormone treatment in postmenopausal women suggest benefits on specific cognitive functions, particularly memory.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether hormone therapy influences changes in specific cognitive functions and affect in older women.

Design: This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Criterion validity of 3D trunk accelerations to assess external work and power in able-bodied gait.

Evaluative quantification of gait disorder minimizing time-consuming and cost-intensive laboratory installations remains a challenging task in movement analysis. We examined the criterion validity of global gait mechanics assessed by trunk accelerometry. Eight female and four male volunteer subjects (mean age, 27.

Calcium plus vitamin D supplementation and the risk of colorectal cancer.

Background: Higher intake of calcium and vitamin D has been associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer in epidemiologic studies and polyp recurrence in polyp-prevention trials. However, randomized-trial evidence that calcium with vitamin D supplementation is beneficial in the primary prevention of colorectal cancer is lacking.

Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 36,282 postmenopausal women from 40 Women's Health Initiative centers: 18,176 women received 500 mg of elemental calcium as calcium carbonate with 200 IU of vitamin D3 [corrected] twice daily (1000 mg of elemental calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D3) and 18,106 received a matching placebo for an average of 7.

Calcium plus vitamin D supplementation and the risk of fractures.

Background: The efficacy of calcium with vitamin D supplementation for preventing hip and other fractures in healthy postmenopausal women remains equivocal.

Methods: We recruited 36,282 postmenopausal women, 50 to 79 years of age, who were already enrolled in a Women's Health Initiative (WHI) clinical trial. We randomly assigned participants to receive 1000 mg of elemental [corrected] calcium as calcium carbonate with 400 IU of vitamin D3 daily or placebo.

Low-fat dietary pattern and risk of cardiovascular disease: the Women's Health Initiative Randomized Controlled Dietary Modification Trial.

Context: Multiple epidemiologic studies and some trials have linked diet with cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention, but long-term intervention data are needed.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that a dietary intervention, intended to be low in fat and high in vegetables, fruits, and grains to reduce cancer, would reduce CVD risk.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Randomized controlled trial of 48,835 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 years, of diverse backgrounds and ethnicities, who participated in the Women's Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial.

Low-fat dietary pattern and risk of colorectal cancer: the Women's Health Initiative Randomized Controlled Dietary Modification Trial.

Context: Observational studies and polyp recurrence trials are not conclusive regarding the effects of a low-fat dietary pattern on risk of colorectal cancer, necessitating a primary prevention trial.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a low-fat eating pattern on risk of colorectal cancer in postmenopausal women.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The Women's Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial, a randomized controlled trial conducted in 48,835 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 years recruited between 1993 and 1998 from 40 clinical centers throughout the United States.

Low-fat dietary pattern and risk of invasive breast cancer: the Women's Health Initiative Randomized Controlled Dietary Modification Trial.

Context: The hypothesis that a low-fat dietary pattern can reduce breast cancer risk has existed for decades but has never been tested in a controlled intervention trial.

Objective: To assess the effects of undertaking a low-fat dietary pattern on breast cancer incidence.

Design And Setting: A randomized, controlled, primary prevention trial conducted at 40 US clinical centers from 1993 to 2005.

Association of behavioral inhibition with hair pigmentation in a European sample.

Behavioral inhibition, a temperamental trait signalling a predisposition to childhood and adolescent anxiety disorders, is slightly more frequent in America among Caucasian children having blue irises. This paper examines a community sample of 101 German toddlers assessed for behavioral inhibition in a standardized laboratory procedure. Hair pigmentation was found to be significantly associated with behavioral inhibition in the sense that blond children exhibited higher fear scores.

Changes in muscle activity in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy while walking with and without ankle-foot orthoses.

We compared the electromyographic (EMG) signals of lower extremity muscle groups in 10 children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP) while walking barefoot and in a hinged ankle-foot orthosis (HAFO). All children had excessive plantarflexion and initial toe-contact on the affected side when walking barefoot, a typical gait pattern for hemiplegic patients. The patients walked with a physiological heel-toe gait pattern when wearing the HAFO.

Bovine NALP5, NALP8, and NALP9 genes: assignment to a QTL region and the expression in adult tissues, oocytes, and preimplantation embryos.

A 3204-bp full-length cDNA of bovine NALP9 was cloned and its genomic organization was analyzed. The 2988-bp open reading frame covers 9 exons and encodes a deduced protein of 996 amino acids containing Pyrin, Nacht and leucine-rich repeat domains like the human NALP gene family members. Mapping with the WGRH5000 panel and fluorescence in situ hybridization assigned NALP9 in close vicinity to BM2078 (LOD score 25.

Effects of conjugated equine estrogen on health-related quality of life in postmenopausal women with hysterectomy: results from the Women's Health Initiative Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) clinical trial of conjugated equine estrogens (CEEs), involving 10,739 postmenopausal women with hysterectomy, aged 50 to 79 years, was stopped early owing to lack of overall health benefit and increased risk of stroke. Because CEE is still prescribed for treatment of menopausal symptoms and prevention of osteoporosis, it is important to understand the overall impact of this therapy on health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

Methods: All participants completed 6 specific measures of quality of life at baseline and 1 year, and a subsample (n = 1189) also completed the questions 3 years after randomization.

Estrogen-plus-progestin use and mammographic density in postmenopausal women: Women's Health Initiative randomized trial.

Background: Increased mammographic density reduces the sensitivity of screening mammography, is associated with increased breast cancer risk, and may be hormone related. We assessed the effect of estrogen-plus-progestin therapy on mammographic density.

Methods: In a racially and ethnically diverse ancillary study of the Women's Health Initiative, we examined data from 413 postmenopausal women who had been randomly assigned to receive daily combined conjugated equine estrogens (0.