Detecting early stages of Alzheimer's disease using a web-based cognitive battery.

Portable and efficient cognitive screening measures are needed to address the growing need for effective early detection of Alzheimer's disease. The Neurotrack Cognitive Battery (NCB) offers an appealing, web-based application that may be sensitive to early cognitive changes associated with Alzheimer's disease. The NCB contains measures that were conceptually derived from animal lesion studies.

A comparative evaluation of telehealth and direct assessment when screening for spasticity in residents of two long-term care facilities.

Objective: To evaluate the performance of telehealth as a screening tool for spasticity compared to direct patient assessment in the long-term care setting.

Design: Cross-sectional, observational study.

Setting: Two long-term care facilities: a 140-bed veterans' home and a 44-bed state home for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Recurrent refrains in a patient with multiple sclerosis: Earworms or musical hallucinations?

Musical hallucinations are recognized in certain neurological and psychiatric conditions and can be caused by focal brain disease (Evers and Ellger, 2004). However, the occurrence of primary musical hallucinations in multiple sclerosis (MS) has not been reported previously. We report a case of a 54 year old woman with progressive, relapsing MS who has continuous, unremitting, complex auditory phenomenon for an extended period of time.

Strengthening research governance for sustainable research: experiences from three Zimbabwean universities.

A robust research system requires a robust governance framework. As part of the Medical Education Partnership Initiative, three Zimbabwean universities partnered with two U.S.

Physician tracking in sub-Saharan Africa: current initiatives and opportunities.

Background: Physician tracking systems are critical for health workforce planning as well as for activities to ensure quality health care - such as physician regulation, education, and emergency response. However, information on current systems for physician tracking in sub-Saharan Africa is limited. The objective of this study is to provide information on the current state of physician tracking systems in the region, highlighting emerging themes and innovative practices.

Implementation trial of the basic life support termination of resuscitation rule: reducing the transport of futile out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.

Background: The basic life support (BLS) termination of resuscitation (TOR) rule recommends transport and continued resuscitation when cardiac arrest is witnessed by EMT-Ds, or there is a return of spontaneous circulation, or a shock is given, and prior studies have suggested the transport rate should fall to 37%.

Methods And Results: This real-time prospective multi-center implementation trial evaluated the BLS TOR rule for compliance, transport rate and provider and physician comfort. Both provider and physician noted their decision-making rationale and ranked their comfort on a 5-point Likert scale.

Medical student in global health-just one part of a larger commitment.

Across U.S. medical schools, the interest in global health is rapidly growing.

Experience of head and neck theatre staff and attitudes to human factors using an aviation-based analysis and classification system--a pilot survey.

The role that human factors have in contributing to air crashes is well known and is included as an essential part of training. Awareness of human factors in surgery is increasingly being recognised but surprisingly few papers have come from head and neck specialties. We circulated a questionnaire on human factors based on an aviation model to 140 head and neck medical and ancillary staff who work in operating theatres in 3 large UK hospitals.

Efficacy of the ANAM General Neuropsychological Screening Battery (ANAM GNS) for detecting neurocognitive impairment in a mixed clinical sample.

The Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) is a computerized neuropsychological assessment battery that has demonstrated utility in a variety of clinical populations including multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Parkinson's disease, acquired brain injury, migraine headaches, and Alzheimer's disease. This study utilized selected tests from the ANAM General Neuropsychological Screening Battery (ANAM GNS), a newly defined subset of tests from the broader ANAM library designed for general clinical assessment of cognition. ANAM GNS is an expansion of the ANAM Core battery which has been utilized in a military setting.

Using an electronic prescribing system to ensure accurate medication lists in a large multidisciplinary medical group.

Background: Although medication safety has largely focused on reducing medication errors in hospitals, the scope of adverse drug events in the outpatient setting is immense. A fundamental problem occurs when a clinician lacks immediate access to an accurate list of the medications that a patient is taking. Since 2001, PeaceHealth Medical Group (PHMG), a multispecialty physician group, has been using an electronic prescribing system that includes medication-interaction warnings and allergy checks.

Clinical phase 1 testing of the safety and immunogenicity of an epitope-based DNA vaccine in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected subjects receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy.

A DNA vaccine encoding sequence-conserved human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-derived cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes from multiple HIV-1 gene products (designated EP HIV-1090) was evaluated in a placebo-controlled, dose escalation phase 1 clinical trial of HIV-1-infected subjects receiving potent combination antiretroviral therapy. Patients received four intramuscular immunizations with EP HIV-1090 over a 4-month period at one of four doses (0.5, 1.

Human exposure following Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection of multiple animal species in a Metropolitan Zoo.

From 1997 to 2000, Mycobacterium tuberculosis was diagnosed in two Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), three Rocky Mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus), and one black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) in the Los Angeles Zoo. DNA fingerprint patterns suggested recent transmission. An investigation found no active cases of tuberculosis in humans; however, tuberculin skin-test conversions in humans were associated with training elephants and attending an elephant necropsy.