Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease: the Vanderbilt University Medical Center experience, 1998-2004.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become increasingly popular to treat the symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) that are no longer adequately controlled by oral medications. This report summarizes safety and efficacy outcomes for 72 patients who underwent DBS surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center between September 1998 and December 2004. Efficacy was measured by reduction in anti-PD medications; patients saved an average of $2,292 per year after surgery.

[Evolution of the isokinetic torque of shoulder rotators before and after 3 months of shoulder stabilization by the Latarjet technique].

Objective: To compare prospectively isokinetic shoulder strength before and 3 months after shoulder stabilization by the Latarjet procedure indicated for the treatment of recurrent dislocation.

Method: Twenty-five subjects, 23+/-6 years old, with anterior unidirectional recurrent shoulder dislocation, underwent isokinetic concentric (con) and eccentric (ecc) measurement of lateral rotators (LR) and medial rotators (MR) of both shoulders at the angular speed of 60 and 120 degrees par second. Evaluation was carried out in the scapular plane with the patient in a sitting position one month before and 3 months after shoulder stabilization by the Latarjet technique.

Application of near-infrared spectroscopy in quality control and determination of adulteration of African essential oils.

An evaluation has been made of the potential of near-infrared (NIR) technologies in the assessment of essential oil components and in the identification of individual essential oils. The results showed that cross-validation models are able to predict accurately almost all of the components of essential oils. In different cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) and clove (Syzygium aromaticum) essential oils, which showed a similar composition, 23 components (representing 97.

Experiences of female general practice registrars: are rural attachments encouraging them to stay?

Objective: To establish whether a six-month rural attachment influenced female GP registrars' future plans to work in a rural area. Secondary aims include establishing the adequacy of postgraduate training in preparing the registrars for the attachment, opinions regarding rural practice and suggestions to improve the attachment.

Design: A six-page questionnaire was sent to eligible participants via state branches of General Practice Education Australia.

Assessment of personal protective equipment used for facial mucocutaneous exposure protection in nonhuman primate areas.

Animal caretakers working in NHP areas must wear facial PPE to protect themselves from the zoonotic hazards related to splash exposures, but PPE that is uncomfortable may present its own risks. The authors evaluated the level of protection offered by several types of facial PPE against a variety of simulated facial mucocutaneous exposures of the sort that could occur during typical procedures in Old World NHP facilities and determined that less restrictive PPE can be used without compromising safety.

Surface and Orbscan II slit-scanning elevation topography in circumscribed posterior keratoconus.

We used an Orbscan II topography system (Bausch & Lomb) to study anterior and posterior surface abnormalities, keratometry, and topographic pachymetry in a patient with circumscribed posterior keratoconus. This system clearly showed a marked localized paracentral annular elevation in the posterior corneal surface that corresponded to an abrupt decrease in thickness and a slightly localized anterior surface bulge in the anterior float.

Folic acid supplements in pregnancy and birth outcome: re-analysis of a large randomised controlled trial and update of Cochrane review.

Periconceptual folic acid prevents neural tube defects. The effect of folic acid taken throughout pregnancy is unclear, however. We re-analysed data from a large randomised controlled trial performed between 1966 and 1967 and combined the results with those from trials included in a Cochrane review.

Notifications of imported malaria in Western Australia, 1990-2001: incidence, associated factors and chemoprophylaxis.

Objective: To assess changes in and factors associated with recent malaria notifications in Western Australia (WA).

Design: Retrospective analysis of the WA Notifiable Infectious Diseases Database and enhanced surveillance questionnaires completed by attending medical practitioners.

Patients: Cases of malaria notified between January 1990 and December 2001.

Entorhinal cortex contributes to object-in-place scene memory.

Four rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were trained preoperatively in a test of object-in-place scene memory. They were presented daily with lists of unique computer-generated scenes each containing a spatial array of multiple individual objects. Within each scene, objects to be discriminated appeared in the foreground, each occupying a unique location, and monkeys were required to correctly discriminate the rewarded object to receive a food reward.

Posttraumatic stress disorder and trauma in youth in juvenile detention.

Objective: To determine prevalence estimates of exposure to trauma and 12-month rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among juvenile detainees by demographic subgroups (sex, race/ethnicity, and age).

Design: Epidemiologic study of juvenile detainees. Master's level clinical research interviewers administered the PTSD module of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, version IV (DISC-IV), to randomly selected detainees.

Impaired recency judgments and intact novelty judgments after fornix transection in monkeys.

Over four experiments based on the delayed matching-to-sample task, fornix-transected and normal control monkeys were presented with a sequence of five sample stimuli and then received intermixed within-session recency (WSR) and between-session recency (BSR) tests in experiment 1, only BSR tests in experiment 2, only absolute novelty (AN) tests in experiment 3, or only WSR tests in experiment 4. In WSR tests, monkeys chose which of two samples had occurred more recently in the immediately preceding sequence. In BSR and AN tests, monkeys were required to choose one sample from the immediately preceding sequence in preference to a foil unseen in the present session (BSR) or an AN foil that had never been presented before.

Learning and retrieval of concurrently presented spatial discrimination tasks: role of the fornix.

In macaque monkeys (Macaco mulatta), memory for scenes presented on touch screens is fornix dependent. However, scene learning is not a purely spatial task, and existing direct evidence for a fornix role in spatial memory comes exclusively from tasks involving learning about food-reward locations. Here the authors demonstrate that fornix transection impairs learning about spatial stimuli presented on touch screens.

Randomized controlled trial comparing argon plasma coagulation tonsillectomy with conventional techniques.

Argon plasma coagulation (APC) is based on the principle of ionized argon creating a conductive plasma between an activating electrode and a tissue surface. To date, its use in tonsillectomy has not been extensively examined. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to assess the clinical efficacy of APC as a tool for this common surgical procedure.

Helicobacter pylori and tonsillectomy.

Tonsillar tissue is a component of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT), which has evolved to protect vulnerable mucosal surfaces. Helicobacter pylori, implicated as an aetiological factor in duodenal ulcers and gastritis, induces the appearance of lymphoid aggregates (MALT) in the stomach. This organism is cytotoxic via a nitric oxide synthase cascade.