A Pilot Randomized Trial of Transdermal Nicotine for Pulmonary Sarcoidosis.

Background: Tobacco smoking is associated with a reduced risk of developing sarcoidosis, and we previously reported that nicotine normalizes immune responses to environmental antigens in patients with active pulmonary sarcoidosis. The effects of nicotine on the progression of pulmonary sarcoidosis are unknown.

Research Question: Is nicotine treatment well tolerated, and will it improve lung function in patients with active pulmonary sarcoidosis?

Study Design And Methods: With local institutional review board approval, a randomized, double-blind, controlled pilot trial was conducted of daily nicotine transdermal patch treatment (21 mg daily) or placebo patch use for 24 weeks.

Family-centered communication: A pilot educational intervention using deliberate practice and patient feedback.

Objective: There are few opportunities in medical education dedicated to learning skills for effective communication in life altering patient scenarios. We therefore aimed to develop and assess a longitudinal advanced communication curriculum for pediatric residents using patient feedback and deliberate practice.

Methods: Pediatric residents at a large academic center were randomized into 2 groups.

Evolution of correlated complexity in the radically different courtship signals of birds-of-paradise.

Ornaments used in courtship often vary wildly among species, reflecting the evolutionary interplay between mate preference functions and the constraints imposed by natural selection. Consequently, understanding the evolutionary dynamics responsible for ornament diversification has been a longstanding challenge in evolutionary biology. However, comparing radically different ornaments across species, as well as different classes of ornaments within species, is a profound challenge to understanding diversification of sexual signals.

Potential drug interaction with opioid agonist in the setting of chronic low-dose opioid antagonist use.

Low dose naltrexone (LDN) has been evaluated in several small studies for the treatment of inflammatory conditions. It is thought to work through modulation of inflammatory mediators and upregulation of endogenous opioid receptors. This may hypersensitize patients to exogenous opioids.