Is there a relationship between the extent of tonsillar ectopia and the severity of the clinical Chiari syndrome?

Background: Chiari 1 malformation is diagnosed if the cerebellar tonsils extend at least 5 mm below the opisthion-basion line.

Objective: To examine the correlation of the extent of tonsillar ectopia with the prevalence and severity of the symptoms associated with the Chiari malformation.

Methods: Patients (N = 428) were grouped according to the extent of tonsillar ectopia on the mid-sagittal MRI image (group 1, 0-< 3 mm; group 2, 3-5 mm; group 3, > 5 mm).

Operative findings and surgical outcomes in patients undergoing Chiari 1 malformation decompression: relationship to the extent of tonsillar ectopia.

Background: The diagnosis of Chiari 1 malformation is based on the extent of tonsillar ectopia.

Objective: To examine the relationship between the extent of tonsillar ectopia and the intra-operative findings and clinical outcome following Chiari decompression surgery.

Methods: Patients were divided into four groups depending on the position of the cerebellar tonsil (T): group 1: 0 < T < 3; group 2: 3 ≤ T ≤ 5; group 3: 5 < T ≤ 10; and group 4: T > 10.

Experimental design affects social behavior outcomes in adult zebrafish developmentally exposed to lead.

Lead (Pb(2+)) affects neuronal and endocrine systems that influence social interactions. By providing potential hiding locations, spatial heterogeneity may affect Pb(2+)-induced behavioral outcomes. Therefore, a test chamber was designed into which a refuge could be inserted.

Developmental lead exposure causes startle response deficits in zebrafish.

Lead (Pb(2+)) exposure continues to be an important concern for fish populations. Research is required to assess the long-term behavioral effects of low-level concentrations of Pb(2+) and the physiological mechanisms that control those behaviors. Newly fertilized zebrafish embryos (<2h post fertilization; hpf) were exposed to one of three concentrations of lead (as PbCl(2)): 0, 10, or 30 nM until 24 hpf.

The type of responder T-cell has a significant impact in a human in vitro suppression assay.

Background: In type 1 diabetes (T1D), a prototypic autoimmune disease, effector T cells destroy beta cells. Normally, CD4(+)CD25(+high), or natural regulatory T cells (Tregs), counter this assault. In autoimmunity, the failure to suppress CD4(+)CD25(low) T cells is important for disease development.

Total cost and operating room time comparison of rotator cuff repair techniques at low, intermediate, and high volume centers: mini-open versus all-arthroscopic.

Background: The objective of this study was to determine mean cost and operative time differences between mini-open and all-arthroscopic rotator cuff repair techniques at surgical centers of low, intermediate, and high annual rotator cuff repair volume.

Methods: The 2006 New York State Ambulatory Surgery Database (NY-SASD) was utilized. It represents 100% of all outpatient procedures performed in hospital-affiliated and freestanding surgical centers, containing 10,658,923 patients for 2006 alone.

Developmental selenomethionine and methylmercury exposures affect zebrafish learning.

Methylmercury (MeHg) is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant and has been shown to affect learning in vertebrates following relatively low exposures. Zebrafish were used to model long-term learning deficits after developmental MeHg exposure. Selenomethionine (SeMet) co-exposure was used to evaluate its role in neuroprotection.