Do behavioral smoking reduction approaches reach more or different smokers? Two studies; similar answers.

There is a need for innovative approaches capable of reaching smokers who would not otherwise participate in efforts to modify their smoking. This paper reports on two studies to determine whether a smoking reduction intervention would appeal to additional or different types of smokers than do cessation interventions. Study 1 attempted to contact 160 HMO smokers scheduled for outpatient surgeries.

Pregnancy outcome of women using atypical antipsychotic drugs: a prospective comparative study.

Background: A substantial number of women of childbearing age suffer from schizophrenia and other mental illnesses that require the use of antipsychotic drugs. Atypical antipsychotics have been on the market since the mid-1990s, and to date there are no prospective comparative studies regarding use during pregnancy.

Objectives: (1) To determine whether atypical antipsychotics increase the rate of major malformations above the 1% to 3% baseline risk seen in the general population.

Psycho-social issues in breast reconstruction: a patient's perspective.

This chapter reviews psycho-social issues relevant to the management of breast reconstruction patients, with suggestions for assessment and intervention to support maximal response to surgical treatment. The author is a clinical psychologist as well as a breast cancer/reconstructive surgery survivor.

Approach to management of clinically localized prostate cancer in patients with human immunodeficiency virus.

Objectives: To evaluate the approach to management of localized prostate cancer (PCa) in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the highly active antiretroviral therapy era.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 10 HIV-positive patients who recently presented with elevated prostate-specific antigen levels and clinically localized PCa.

Results: At the diagnosis of PCa, the average patient was 54.

The intrathymic pathogenesis of myasthenia gravis.

The thymus is considered to play an important role in the pathogenesis of Myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease characterized by antibody-mediated skeletal muscle weakness. However, its role is yet to be defined. The studies described herein summarize our efforts to determine how intrathymic expression of the neuromuscular type of acetylcholine (ACh) receptors is involved in the immunopathogenesis of this autoimmune disease.

A 55-year-old man with hypogammaglobulinemia, lymphopenia, and unrelenting cutaneous warts.

A 55-year-old white man with a history of hypertension, fibromyalgia, and colonic polyps presented with unrelenting plantar warts on his hands and feet for the past 4 years. He was otherwise healthy and without a history of recurrent infections. Physical examination was unremarkable except for extensive warts on his hands and feet.

Latinos report less use of pharmaceutical aids when trying to quit smoking.

Background: Latino smokers are more likely than white non-Latino smokers to attempt cessation, but less likely to receive cessation advice from physicians or to use nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). Proposed underlying causes have included lighter smoking, lower financial status, and less healthcare access. This study assessed these factors as possible explanations for disparate rates of smoking-cessation support.

Significant changes in antipsychotic drug use during pregnancy.

Atypical antipsychotics are less likely to cause hyperprolactinemia-related side effects, such as infertility; hence it is predicted that more women taking antipsychotic medications will be able to become pregnant as the use of atypical antipsychotics increases. To compare the use of conventional and atypical antipsychotics, we conducted a retrospective review of the Motherisk Program clinic schedule from 1989 to 2001 comparing the proportion of appointments made for conventional and atypical antipsychotics. In 1989, 2.

Coexistent yellow nail syndrome and selective antibody deficiency.

Background: Yellow nail syndrome (YNS) is a rare, often underdiagnosed condition of unknown origin. The clinical features of the syndrome include yellow nails, chronic sinusitis, bronchiectasis, pleural effusion, and lymphoedema. Despite the frequent occurrence of upper and lower respiratory tract infections in patients with YNS, comprehensive analysis of their humoral immunity has not been previously reported.

A new model linking intrathymic acetylcholine receptor expression and the pathogenesis of myasthenia gravis.

The thymus is thought to play an important role in the pathogenesis of myasthenia gravis (MG), an autoimmune disease characterized by skeletal muscle weakness. However, its role remains a mystery. The studies described represent our efforts to determine how intrathymic expression of the neuromuscular type of acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) is involved in the immunopathogenesis of MG.

Prostate specific antigen bounce after simultaneous irradiation for prostate cancer: the relationship to patient age.

Purpose: We report on the relationship of patient age to prostate specific antigen (PSA) bounce after brachytherapy for prostate cancer.

Materials And Methods: From 1992 to 1997, 1,011 consecutive men with stage T1-T2NxM0 prostate cancer were treated with simultaneous irradiation, transperineal prostate I-125 implant followed by external beam irradiation. No patients received neoadjuvant hormones.

Intrathymic expression of neuromuscular acetylcholine receptors and the immunpathogenesis of myasthenia gravis.

The thymus has been considered to play an important role in the pathogenesis of myasthenia gravis (MG), an autoimmune disease characterized by skeletal muscle weakness. However, the pathogenic role of the thymus still remains a mystery. The neuromuscular type of acetylcholine receptor (AChR) was the first self-protein associated with a defined autoimmune disease that was found to be expressed by thymic stromal populations.

The development of Partners for Health's integrated community pathway for postmyocardial infarction patients.

Partners for Health convened an interdisciplinary team to evaluate the quality of care received by cardiac patients. The team detailed the suboptimal postacute care of patients with ischemic heart disease. To solve the quality problems, a cross-sectoral team, using an approach that is in accordance with the American Heart Association's Scientific Statement on Pathways, systematically developed and implemented an integrated community pathway for myocardial infarction patients.

The first 2 years of a state child health insurance plan: whom are we reaching?

Objective: The Colorado Child Health Plan Plus is a non-Medicaid state Child Health Insurance Plan. The objective of this study was to compare early enrolling (EE) children with uninsured children in low-income families (ULI) with respect to 1) sociodemographic factors and previous insurance, 2) health status, and 3) previous health care access and utilization.

Methods: Cross-sectional telephone surveys were conducted during 1999 of 1) randomly selected EE children (n = 711) and 2) ULI children identified by random-dial survey (n = 105).

Disseminated Mycoplasma orale infection in a patient with common variable immunodeficiency syndrome.

Human infection with Mycoplasma species other than M. pneumoniae are infrequent, but may be encountered in patients with immunodeficiencies. We report a patient with combined variable immunodeficiency that developed multiple abscesses and destructive bone disease caused by M.

The ID effect on youth access to cigarettes.

Objective: To estimate the effect on cigarette sales rates when minors present identification (ID).

Design: Controlled experiment in which minors attempting to purchase cigarettes either carried a valid photo ID (documenting they were minors) or carried no ID, and were instructed to show the ID or admit having no ID if the clerk requested proof of age.

Setting: Census of retail stores in six urban and suburban Colorado counties.

Detecting energy emissions from a rotating black hole.

The rotational energy of a black hole surrounded by a torus is released through several channels. We have determined that a minor fraction of the energy is released in baryon-poor outflows from a differentially rotating open magnetic flux tube, and a major fraction of about eta/2 is released in gravitational radiation by the torus with angular velocity eta similar 0.2 to 0.

Probing microquasars with TeV neutrinos.

The jets associated with galactic microquasars are believed to be ejected by accreting stellar mass black holes or neutron stars. We show that if the energy content of the jets in the transient sources is dominated by electron-proton plasma, then a several hour outburst of 1-100 TeV neutrinos produced by photomeson interactions should precede the radio flares associated with major ejection events. Several neutrinos may be detected during a single outburst by a 1 km(2) detector, thereby providing a powerful probe of microquasar jet physics.