Pilot investigation of a novel testing strategy for bleeding in ventricular assist device recipients.

Purpose: A universal loss of von Willebrand factor (vWF) high-molecular-weight multimers (HMWM) has been demonstrated in continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (HeartMate II) recipients. However, no reliable clinical or laboratory predictors for an increased bleeding tendency in this patient population have been identified. This study evaluated the ability of a new automated latex particle-enhanced immunoturbidimetric vWF activity assay (ALPEIVA) to predict non-surgical bleeding risk in HeartMate II recipients.

The Yale-Brown-Cornell eating disorders scale self-report questionnaire: a new, efficient tool for clinicians and researchers.

Objective: The YBC-EDS is a semistructured interview assessing core preoccupations and rituals related to eating disorders.

Method: We developed and conducted an examination of the reliability and validity of a self-report questionnaire (SRQ) version of the YBC-EDS. Convergent validity of YBC-EDS-SRQ with the YBC-EDS was examined for 112 eating disordered patients.

Eating-related anxiety in individuals with eating disorders.

Although previous research has supported the importance of anxiety as an etiological and maintenance factor for eating disorders, the specific mechanisms are not well understood. The role of anxiety in the context of eating behavior is especially unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify anxiety-eliciting eating situations and anxiety management strategies patients use to mitigate anxiety experienced in the context of eating as determined by diagnostic groups and symptom patterns.

A teaching oath: a commitment to medical students' learning and development.

Background: There are several oaths and affirmations that are integrated into the academic customs of the health sciences, such as the Hippocratic Oath and the Ethical Affirmation for Scientists. What current oaths do not communicate is that teaching and learning are the foundation of the professions.

Summary: We articulated an oath to punctuate the important role of teaching and to emphasize that educating students is not a marginal responsibility but an important duty.

Parent predictors of child weight change in family based behavioral obesity treatment.

Family based behavioral treatment for overweight and obese children includes parenting skills targeting the modification of child eating and activity change. The purpose of this study was to examine parenting skills and parent weight change as predictors of child weight change in a sample of 80 parent/child dyads who were enrolled in a family based behavioral weight loss program for childhood obesity. Eighty overweight and obese children and their parents who enrolled in treatment in two sites were included in the study.

Longitudinal stability of binge-eating type in eating disorders.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the 2-year longitudinal stability of objective bulimic (binge eating) episodes (OBEs) and subjective bulimic (binge eating) episodes (SBEs) in a multisite eating disorders sample.

Method: Participants included 288 females with eating disorder symptoms who were assessed every 6 months using the Eating Disorder Examination.

Results: Markov modeling revealed considerable longitudinal variability between types of binge eating over 6-month time intervals with relatively higher probability estimates for consistency between OBEs and SBEs than specific transitions between types for the overall sample as well as for eating disorder diagnostic groups.

Eating disorder not otherwise specified presentation in the US population.

Objective: To examine prevalence and clinical correlates of eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) in the US population.

Method: Two cross-sectional surveys of adults and adolescents used the WHO CIDI to assess DSM-IV criteria for anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and EDNOS.

Results: Lifetime prevalence of EDNOS was 4.

Perspective: Guidelines for reporting team-based learning activities in the medical and health sciences education literature.

Medical and health sciences educators are increasingly employing team-based learning (TBL) in their teaching activities. TBL is a comprehensive strategy for developing and using self-managed learning teams that has created a fertile area for medical education scholarship. However, because this method can be implemented in a variety of ways, published reports about TBL may be difficult to understand, critique, replicate, or compare unless authors fully describe their interventions.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy for subthreshold bulimia nervosa: A case series.

The extent to which cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is helpful in treating individuals with bulimic symptoms who do not meet full criteria for bulimia nervosa is unclear. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the potential efficacy of CBT for eating disorder individuals with bulimic symptoms who do not meet full criteria for bulimia nervosa. Twelve participants with subthreshold bulimia nervosa were treated in a case series with 20 sessions of CBT.

A 1-year follow-up of a multi-center treatment trial of adults with anorexia nervosa.

Objective: To examine maintenance of recovery following treatment in an adult anorexia nervosa (AN) population.

Method: One year follow-up of a randomized clinical trial with 122 participants treated with: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), drug therapy (fluoxetine), or a combination (CBT+fluoxetine) for 12 months. Participants were assessed at baseline, end of treatment, and follow-up.

Managing information technology human resources in health care.

The health care sector has seen a major increase in the use of information technology (IT). The increasing permeation of IT into the enterprise has resulted in many non-IT employees acquiring IT-related skills and becoming an essential part of the IT-enabled enterprise. Health care IT employees work in a continually changing environment dealing with new specializations that are often unfamiliar to other personnel.

Risk management of biosimilars in oncology: each medicine is a work in progress.

Drug licensing and drug safety monitoring for standard chemical entities have been established and are routinely used. These have resulted in a solid foundation of knowledge from which confident therapeutic decisions can be made. For many chemical entities, this advanced level of experience is also present for the generic products.

Meeting the family: promoting humanism in gross anatomy.

Background: Human dissection commonly occurs early in the undergraduate medical school curriculum, thus presenting an immediate opportunity for educators to teach and encourage humanistic qualities of respect, empathy, and compassion.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of the Donor Luncheon, a unique program in which medical students meet the families of the anatomical donor prior to dissection in the anatomy course at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.

Methods: Students were randomized into groups of 8 to attend the luncheon and either met with family of the donor or attended the luncheon with no donor family present.

Racial/ethnic differences in adults in randomized clinical trials of binge eating disorder.

Objective: Recent studies suggest that binge eating disorder (BED) is as prevalent among African American and Hispanic Americans as among Caucasian Americans; however, data regarding the characteristics of treatment-seeking individuals from racial and ethnic minority groups are scarce. The purpose of this study was to investigate racial/ethnic differences in demographic characteristics and eating disorder symptoms in participants enrolled in treatment trials for BED.

Method: Data from 11 completed randomized, controlled trials were aggregated in a single database, the Clinical Trials of Binge Eating Disorder (CT-BED) database, which included 1,204 Caucasian, 120 African American, and 64 Hispanic participants assessed at baseline.

Recurrent Aspergillus contamination in a biomedical research facility: a case study.

Fungal contamination of biomedical processes and facilities can result in major revenue loss and product delay. A biomedical research facility (BRF) culturing human cell lines experienced recurring fungal contamination of clean room incubators over a 3-year period. In 2010, as part of the plan to mitigate contamination, 20 fungal specimens were isolated by air and swab samples at various locations within the BRF.

Therapeutic factors affecting the cognitive behavioral treatment of bulimia nervosa via telemedicine versus face-to-face delivery.

Objective: Recently, Mitchell et al. (Behav Res Ther, 46, 581-592, 2008) conducted a randomized controlled trial of an empirically supported treatment for bulimia nervosa (BN) delivered face-to-face (FTF-CBT) or via telemedicine (TV-CBT). Results suggested that the TV-CBT and FTF-CBT were generally equivalent in effectiveness.

Examining the stability of DSM-IV and empirically derived eating disorder classification: implications for DSM-5.

Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to derive an empirical classification of eating disorder symptoms in a heterogeneous eating disorder sample using latent class analysis (LCA) and to examine the longitudinal stability of these latent classes (LCs) and the stability of DSM-IV eating disorder (ED) diagnoses.

Method: A total of 429 females with ED symptoms were assessed using the Eating Disorder Examination every 6 months for 2 years. LCA was used to derive empirical classification at baseline.

Promoting physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption through a community-school partnership: the effects of Marathon Kids® on low-income elementary school children in Texas.

Background: Marathon Kids® (MK) is a community and school-based program that promotes running, walking, and healthy eating in elementary school children. This study assessed the impact of MK on self-reported physical activity (PA), fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC), and related psycho-social factors in a sample of low-income, 4th- and 5th-grade students in Texas (n = 511). Intervention strategies included structured school running time, behavioral tracking, celebratory events, and rewards.

Association of candidate genes with phenotypic traits relevant to anorexia nervosa.

This analysis is a follow-up to an earlier investigation of 182 genes selected as likely candidate genetic variations conferring susceptibility to anorexia nervosa (AN). As those initial case-control results revealed no statistically significant differences in single nucleotide polymorphisms, herein, we investigate alternative phenotypes associated with AN. In 1762 females, using regression analyses, we examined the following: (i) lowest illness-related attained body mass index; (ii) age at menarche; (iii) drive for thinness; (iv) body dissatisfaction; (v) trait anxiety; (vi) concern over mistakes; and (vii) the anticipatory worry and pessimism versus uninhibited optimism subscale of the harm avoidance scale.

Genetic association of recovery from eating disorders: the role of GABA receptor SNPs.

Follow-up studies of eating disorders (EDs) suggest outcomes ranging from recovery to chronic illness or death, but predictors of outcome have not been consistently identified. We tested 5151 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in approximately 350 candidate genes for association with recovery from ED in 1878 women. Initial analyses focused on a strictly defined discovery cohort of women who were over age 25 years, carried a lifetime diagnosis of an ED, and for whom data were available regarding the presence (n=361 ongoing symptoms in the past year, ie, 'ill') or absence (n=115 no symptoms in the past year, ie, 'recovered') of ED symptoms.

Psychometric evaluation of the eating disorder examination and eating disorder examination-questionnaire: a systematic review of the literature.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to systematically review the reliability of scores on the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) and the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and to examine the validity of their use as measures of eating disorder symptoms.

Method: Articles describing the psychometric properties of the EDE and EDE-Q were identified in a systematic search of major computer databases and a review of reference lists. Articles were selected based on a priori inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Endocrinopathies in the cardiac ICU.

The past several years have seen an increased appreciation of the potential role of the endocrine system in the recovery process following surgery for congenital heart disease. Many of the hormonal changes following cardiac surgery are adaptive and necessary, whereas activation of proinflammatory cytokine and chemokine responses and some of the metabolic changes following surgery are likely mediators leading to detrimental outcomes. Additionally, other hormonal perturbations may contribute to adverse outcomes.

Latent class analysis of eating disorders: relationship to mortality.

The current diagnostic nomenclature for eating disorders has shortcomings. Empirical attempts to identify a new nomenclature have found numerous latent structures, but validation of this work has been largely cross-sectional, and nothing is known yet about the relationship of derived latent classes to mortality. This study examined latent diagnostic structure in 1,885 participants seeking outpatient eating disorder treatment over an 18-year period.

Pharmacogenomics of antidepressant induced mania: a review and meta-analysis of the serotonin transporter gene (5HTTLPR) association.

Background: Antidepressants can trigger a rapid mood switch from depression to mania. Identifying genetic risk factors associated with antidepressant induced mania (AIM) may enable individualized treatment strategies for bipolar depression. This review and meta-analysis evaluates the evidence for association between the serotonin transporter gene promoter polymorphism (5HTTLPR) and AIM.