Immunophenotypic features distinguishing familial chronic lymphocytic leukemia from sporadic chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Background: Familial chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has the most frequent familial aggregation among hematological malignancies. Familial CLL families have been studied to identify susceptibility genes and other factors that contribute in the etiology of CLL. To date no study has been conducted to evaluate and compare patterns of cell surface antigen expression in familial CLL and sporadic CLL.

Recording, editing, archiving, and distributing radiology lectures: a streamlined approach.

Recent advances in digital recording technology have simplified the recording of audio, video, and image information from didactic radiology conferences. Recording lectures in a suitable digital format has several advantages, including the ability to edit lecture content, combine lectures conducted at different times and places, store media digitally, and broadcast conferences electronically over the Internet. An inexpensive, commercially available conversion device was developed that allows straightforward capture and compression of multimedia audiovisual information, thus facilitating the use of this information by the conference presenter as well as the end user.

Visualizing white matter pathways in the living human brain: diffusion tensor imaging and beyond.

Biologic connectionism holds as its central tenet that the cognitive, behavioral, and motor functions of the brain are derived from the complex interconnections of simple neural processing units. Much can be learned about the human mind through the study of the brain's connections in normal and diseased states. This article summarizes the essential features of the tensor model of diffusion, outlines newer approaches to overcoming the limitations of the tensor, and provides normal and clinical examples of white matter anatomy derived using diffusion tensor imaging and more sophisticated high angular resolution diffusion imaging methods.

Probabilistic streamline q-ball tractography using the residual bootstrap.

Q-ball imaging has the ability to discriminate multiple intravoxel fiber populations within regions of complex white matter architecture. This information can be used for fiber tracking; however, diffusion MR is susceptible to noise and multiple other sources of uncertainty affecting the measured orientation of fiber bundles. The proposed residual bootstrap method utilizes a spherical harmonic representation for high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) data in order to estimate the uncertainty in multimodal q-ball reconstructions.

Intracranial time-of-flight MR angiography at 7T with comparison to 3T.

Purpose: To establish the feasibility of intracranial time-of-flight (TOF) MR angiography (MRA) at 7T using phased array coils and to compare its performance to 3T.

Materials And Methods: In an initial study, five normal volunteers were scanned at 7T and 3T using eight-channel coils and standard acquisition parameters from a clinical TOF protocol. In a second study three additional studies were performed at 7T and 3T using empirically optimized 7T parameters.

Development and initial evaluation of 7-T q-ball imaging of the human brain.

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) noninvasively depicts white matter connectivity in regions where the Gaussian model of diffusion is valid but yields inaccurate results in those where diffusion has a more complex distribution, such as fiber crossings. q-ball imaging (QBI) overcomes this limitation of DTI by more fully characterizing the angular dependence of intravoxel diffusion with larger numbers of diffusion-encoding directional measurements at higher diffusion-weighting factors (b values). However, the former technique results in longer acquisition times and the latter technique results in a lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

Evolutionary genetics of Carpodacus mexicanus, a recently colonized host of a bacterial pathogen, Mycoplasma gallisepticum.

We present molecular data documenting how introduction to the eastern United States and an epizootic involving a bacterial pathogen has affected the genetic diversity of house finches, a cardueline songbird. Population bottlenecks during introduction can cause loss of genetic variation and may negatively affect a population's ability to adapt to novel stressors such as disease. Although a genome-wide survey using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) markers suggests little loss of genetic diversity in introduced populations, an epizootic of bacterial Mycoplasma has nonetheless caused dramatic declines in the eastern US population.

Movement disorders and alcohol misuse.

Many movement disorders, including tics, chorea, tremor, myoclonus and parkinsonism, may result from substance abuse. However, alcohol in particular is associated in a more complex manner with two specific movement disorders, essential tremor (ET) and myoclonus-dystonia (M-D). In this review we discuss the comorbidity of alcohol abuse in both ET and M-D, the ameliorative effects of alcohol in both diseases, and review the data evaluating alcohol abuse secondary to self-medication.

Outcome of skin graft versus flap surgery in the salvage of the exposed achilles tendon in diabetics versus nondiabetics.

Background: Achilles tendon wounds pose a reconstructive dilemma because of the tendon's functional importance and the paucity of soft tissue surrounding the ankle. The currently accepted treatment is to repair the wound with a flap (local, pedicled, or free). In this article, the authors examine whether skin graft coverage of the exposed Achilles tendon is a viable option for reconstruction and whether the comorbidity of diabetes affects the outcome.

Q-ball reconstruction of multimodal fiber orientations using the spherical harmonic basis.

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) accurately delineates white matter pathways when the Gaussian model of diffusion is valid. However, DTI yields erroneous results when diffusion takes on a more complex distribution, as is the case in the brain when fiber tracts cross. High angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) overcomes this limitation of DTI by more fully characterizing the angular dependence of intravoxel diffusion.

Mechanisms and clinical applications of the vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) Device: a review.

The use of sub-atmospheric pressure dressings, available commercially as the vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) device, has been shown to be an effective way to accelerate healing of various wounds. The optimal sub-atmospheric pressure for wound healing appears to be approximately 125 mm Hg utilizing an alternating pressure cycle of 5 minutes of suction followed by 2 minutes off suction. Animal studies have demonstrated that this technique optimizes blood flow, decreases local tissue edema, and removes excessive fluid from the wound bed.

A review of the biomechanical and functional changes in the shoulder following transfer of the latissimus dorsi muscles.

The latissimus dorsi muscle is among the most commonly used muscle flaps because it has broad versatility and is generally believed to result in minimal donor-site morbidity. However, the normal physiology of the shoulder girdle depends on the function of this muscle. Therefore, we have undertaken this review of the literature to examine the issue of biomechanical and functional changes of the shoulder that occur with transfer of the latissimus dorsi muscle and to determine whether these changes result in deficits in normal function.

Mycobacterium marinum infections of the upper extremity.

A significant number of patients infected with Mycobacterium marinum have been treated at the Curtis National Hand Center in Baltimore, Maryland. The purpose of this study was to review the authors' experience with M. marinum infections of the upper extremity.

TRAM flap breast reconstruction after abdominal liposuction.

The transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous (TRAM) flap has become the gold standard of autologous breast reconstruction. It is typically a low-risk procedure with few surgical contraindications. A relative contraindication, however, is prior liposuction of the abdomen.

A review of mechanical adjuncts in wound healing: hydrotherapy, ultrasound, negative pressure therapy, hyperbaric oxygen, and electrostimulation.

Chronic or non-healing wounds may develop in the setting of many diseases and are the source of considerable morbidity as well as health costs. These wounds demand an aggressive, multifactorial approach including surgical debridement, revascularization, antibiotics and dressings. In addition several adjuvant treatment methods have been developed to further stimulate healing.

Prenatal cocaine exposure alters maternal retrieval behavior in mice.

Previous studies have demonstrated alterations in maternal retrieval behavior as a result of direct cocaine exposure. To establish the influence of prenatal cocaine exposure on pup retrieval, we exposed pups of three F1 genotypes by injecting their mothers (all C57BL/10J strain) with 20 mg/kg cocaine hydrochloride or saline subcutaneously on gestation days 7 to 17. When those pups became adults, control and exposed females were mated with males of the same genotype and tested for pup retrieval on postpartum days 4 and 5.