Physiologic and psychobehavioral research in oncology.

A major thrust in research in psychosocial oncology is the study of the interaction of psychologic and physiologic variables. This discussion reviews the current status and future directions of such research. Areas addressed include pain, nausea and vomiting with chemotherapy, sexuality, effects of cancer on psychologic and neuropsychologic function, impact of psychologic factors on cancer and its treatment, and psychoneuroimmunology.

Reversible transformation by v-sis: a model cell line for analysis of transformation by antisense methods.

Cellular homologs of v-sis are implicated in numerous human tumor types (Eva et al., 1982; Betsholtz et al., 1984; Johnson et al.

New method for measuring young children's self-report of fear and pain.

The purposes of this paper are (a) to describe the conceptual development of the Children's Global Rating Scale (CGRS), a technique for measuring young children's self-report of such constructs as pain and fear that was designed to address the methodological limitations of existing techniques, and (b) to report the findings of a study investigating the convergent and predictive validity of the CGRS in a sample of children undergoing an invasive medical procedure. Anticipatory procedural distress in 145 children between the ages of 4 and 8 was assessed in outpatient phlebotomy using three independent rating sources: children, parents, and a trained clinical observer. Phlebotomists' ratings as to whether or not children's distress during the actual procedure extended the time it usually takes to perform the procedure was used as the outcome criterion in a discriminate analysis in determining the degree to which anticipatory ratings would predict actual clinical distress during the medical procedure.

What one intelligence test measures: a theoretical account of the processing in the Raven Progressive Matrices Test.

The cognitive processes in a widely used, nonverbal test of analytic intelligence, the Raven Progressive Matrices Test (Raven, 1962), are analyzed in terms of which processes distinguish between higher scoring and lower scoring subjects and which processes are common to all subjects and all items on the test. The analysis is based on detailed performance characteristics, such as verbal protocols, eye-fixation patterns, and errors. The theory is expressed as a pair of computer simulation models that perform like the median or best college students in the sample.

Ovine corticotropin releasing hormone stimulation test: normal value study.

We determined the pituitary-adrenal response to 1 microgram/kg of ovine corticotropin releasing hormone (oCRH) administered as an intravenous bolus injection in 50 normal subjects. Brief facial flushing was noted in 44% of the subjects; no other side effects were reported. Plasma corticotropin levels increased from a median of 30.

The proto-oncogene c-fos is over-expressed in the majority of human osteosarcomas.

The expression of fos protein was examined in 30 cases of human osteosarcoma as formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue sections using two monoclonal antibodies and, for five cases, as frozen sections using 3 polyclonal antibodies. Nuclear antibody labeling intensities were determined either by visual scoring (3 pathologists) or by microdensitometry and included over 700 tumor, 350 normal and 150 benign tissue observations. Visual scores were shown to be linear with optical density with a correlation coefficient of 0.

Association of acrocyanosis with Asperger's syndrome.

The authors present three men with both acrocyanosis and Asperger's syndrome. Though the general incidence of acrocyanosis is unknown, they suggest that it is probably more common in autistic disorders and may be caused by hyperserotonaemia.

Use of a camp setting to provide medical information to siblings of pediatric cancer patients.

It has been reported that siblings of children with cancer often lack information and understanding about their brother's or sister's disease and treatment. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to describe a camping program for siblings, which was designed, in part, to provide these children with age-appropriate medical information; and (2) to report the results of a study which examined how this intervention influenced siblings' knowledge and understanding of their brother's or sister's disease. Ninety siblings between the ages of 6 and 17 who completed a pre/post camp medical information questionnaire participated in this investigation.

Frames of reference for allocating attention to space: evidence from the neglect syndrome.

With respect to what frames of reference, or spatial coordinate systems, is attention allocated to locations in space? We posed this question about the spatial attention system that has been damaged in neglect patients, distinguishing among three possible types of spatial reference frame: viewer-centered, according to which locations are coded with respect to the viewer, environment-centered, according to which locations or coded with respect to the environment, and object-centered, according to which locations are coded with respect to an object. The three candidate frames of reference were decoupled from one another by rotating either the viewer or the stimulus object. Visual search performance suggested that the neglected hemifield was defined with respect to both viewer-centered and environment-centered frames of reference, but not with respect to an object-centered frame of reference.

Confirmation of metastatic prostatic carcinoma to lung by immunohistochemistry.

In recent years, immunoperoxidase staining of fine needle aspirates has been proposed. This study examines the use of immunoperoxidase staining of prostatic acid phosphatase and prostatic specific antigen in two cases where differentiation of prostatic carcinoma from other carcinomas manifesting as metastatic lesions is essential. The histologic differentiation of primary and metastatic disease, which has significant therapeutic and prognostic implications, has been enhanced by the use of immunoperoxidase staining.

Descriptions of schizophrenia in the psychiatry of Georgian Britain: John Haslam and James Tilly Matthews.

John Haslam's description of James Tilly Matthews is the earliest clear description of schizophrenia in British psychiatric writing. Matthew's life and symptomatology are described. The reasons why there are few unambiguous contemporary accounts of schizophrenia are explored.

Evaluation of a camp program for siblings of children with cancer.

In recent years, specialized camping programs for chronically ill children, members of their family, or both have proliferated. Although these programs are popular, little systematic evaluation of risk-benefit has been undertaken. In a naturalistic study we evaluated the effect of a 5-day residential camping program to determine the effect of the program on the level of medical knowledge, on the perceptions of how the cancer experience affected the individual, and on the participant's mood state.

Epilepsy and arson.

A man temporarily developed an organic personality change, psychosis and epilepsy after a frontal lobe operation for a subarachnoid haemorrhage. While affected, he set fire to his house. The arson is thought to have been a direct result of a seizure.

Diagnostic evaluation of Cushing's syndrome.

The regulation of ACTH-cortisol production in the pathophysiology of the various forms of Cushing's syndrome is discussed. The diagnostic algorithms for the differential diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome are reviewed with emphasis on the precision of the evaluation, diagnostic pitfalls, and the influence of some of the more recently developed procedures on this diagnostic evaluation.

Estrogen replacement therapy: current recommendations.

Estrogen replacement therapy is effective for the prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis and should be offered to all women at high risk for osteoporosis. Such therapy is particularly beneficial for prevention of spinal compression fractures; in addition, it alleviates menopausal symptoms (hot flushes, genitourinary symptoms, and changes in mood). In each patient, these benefits must be weighted against the potential risks of endometrial hyperplasia and carcinoma, breast tenderness, hypertension, vascular headaches, and the inconvenience of menstrual bleeding if the uterus is intact.

Cushing's syndrome due to primary multinodular corticotrope hyperplasia.

In this report, a case of Cushing's syndrome due to primary multinodular corticotrope hyperplasia is described. The patient had typical features of Cushing's syndrome and dynamic pituitary-adrenal testing, which suggested an ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) syndrome. Results of petrosal sinus catheterization indicated that the pituitary gland was the source of excess ACTH.

Aneurysm of the mitral valve in a patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

We report a case of mitral valve aneurysm and severe mitral regurgitation complicating infective endocarditis in a patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. 2-dimensional echocardiography revealed a saccular structure in the anterior mitral leaflet that bulged into the left atrium throughout the cardiac cycle. Pathology of the excised valve showed inflammation, early repair and perforation of the aneurysm.

Neurone specific enolase in amniotic fluid: a potential marker of anencephaly.

Normal values for neurone specific enolase in amniotic fluid have been found to follow a non gaussian distribution with a 1-99 centile range of 1.10-4.32 micrograms/L.

Acute ascending necrotizing myelopathy caused by herpes simplex virus type 2.

A 57-year-old diabetic man died of a rapidly ascending necrotizing myelitis. Autopsy results proved that the etiologic agent was herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV2). The clinical findings, autopsy immunohistopathology, and electron-microscopy suggest that either primary HSV2 infection or reactivation of HSV2 infection within dorsal root ganglia was followed by spread to the spinal cord.

DF-2 bacteremia following cat bites. Report of two cases.

DF-2 is a recently described gram-negative bacillus known to be part of the normal flora of dogs. A variety of serious infections (bacteremia, endocarditis, meningitis, cellulitis) caused by DF-2 have occurred following dog bites. Asplenic patients appear to be especially susceptible to DF-2 infection.

Transplacental hemorrhage associated with placental neoplasms.

We report a case of choriocarcinoma in situ arising from a term placenta in an otherwise normal pregnancy that resulted in fetal hydrops and intrauterine fetal death from chronic fetal-maternal hemorrhage (FMH). The clinical and pathologic features are described and compared with the few similar cases reported and with an additional placental choriocarcinoma found in our files. We also describe the clinical and pathologic observations of two chorangiomas that caused massive FMH and led to fetal death.

Primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical disease: diagnosis and management.

A rare cause of Cushing's syndrome appearing to originate in the adrenal glands is primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical disease (PPNAD). It may be variably associated with a complex of other pathologic characteristics that include cardiac myxomas, cutaneous myxomas, and lentigines, mammary myxoid lesions, testicular tumors, pituitary adenomas, and neuroectodermal tumors. We have reviewed the clinical, biochemical, radiographic, operative, and pathologic details of seven patients with PPNAD who have been evaluated at Mayo Clinic.