In vivo molecular evaluation of guinea pig skin incisions healing after surgical suture and laser tissue welding using Raman spectroscopy.

The healing process in guinea pig skin following surgical incisions was evaluated at the molecular level, in vivo, by the use of Raman spectroscopy. After the incisions were closed either by suturing or by laser tissue welding (LTW), differences in the respective Raman spectra were identified. The study determined that the ratio of the Raman peaks of the amide III (1247 cm(-1)) band to a peak at 1326 cm(-1) (the superposition of elastin and keratin bands) can be used to evaluate the progression of wound healing.

Lifetime sexual and physical victimization among male veterans with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder.

Because of the high prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veteran men and the limited research on victimization in this group, we recruited 133 male veterans with combat-related PTSD from a psychiatric inpatient unit and assessed them for lifetime physical and sexual trauma. Results indicated that 96% of the sample had experienced some form of victimization over their lifetimes; 60% reported childhood physical abuse, 41% childhood sexual abuse, 93% adulthood physical assault, and 20% adulthood sexual assault. In the preceding year alone, 46% experienced either physical or sexual assault.

Guidelines for preclerkship bioterrorism curricula.

Purpose: To develop medical school curriculum guidelines related to bioterrorism to ensure that future medical graduates are armed with the critical knowledge, skills, and attitudes to face this emerging threat.

Method: An Internet-based Delphi survey was performed in 2002 under the auspices of the Association of Medical School Microbiology and Immunology Chairs involving 64 medical educators in microbiology, immunology, and infectious diseases representing 54 U.S.

Retrospective analysis of an outbreak of B virus infection in a colony of DeBrazza's monkeys (Cercopithecus neglectus).

In 1981, an outbreak of herpetic disease developed in a colony of DeBrazza's monkeys (Cercopithecus neglectus). In seven of eight infected animals, clinical signs of infection included vesicular and ulcerative lesions on the lips, tongue, and/or palate. Histologic examination of lesions revealed intranuclear inclusion bodies, and electron microscopy revealed nucleocapsids and virions with typical herpesvirus morphology.

Differential trace amine alterations in individuals receiving acetylenic inhibitors of MAO-A (clorgyline) or MAO-B (selegiline and pargyline).

Marked, dose-dependent elevations in the urinary excretion of phenylethylamine, para-tyramine, and meta-tyramine were observed in depressed patients treated for three or more weeks with 10, 30, or 60 mg/day of the partially-selective inhibitor of MAO-B, selegiline (l-deprenyl). In comparative studies with other, structurally similar acetylenic inhibitors of MAO, pargyline, an MAO-B > MAO-A inhibitor used in doses of 90 mg/day for three or more weeks, produced elevations in these trace amines which were similar to those found with the highest dose of selegiline studied. Clorgyline, a selective inhibitor of MAO-A used in doses of 30 mg/day for three or more weeks (a dose/time regimen previously reported to reduce urinary, plasma, and cerebrospinal fluid 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol (MHPG) > 80%, indicating a marked inhibitory effect on MAO-A in humans in vivo) produced negligible changes in trace amine excretion.

Phospholipase A2-mediated inflammation induces regression of malignant gliomas.

An ideal form of cancer therapy is the harnessing of innate immunity to eradicate spontaneously arising clones of malignant cells. To date, attempts to develop effective immunotherapies have met with limited success. Prostaglandins and leukotrienes, collectively known as eicosanoids, are important mediators of immune and inflammatory responses.

The advantages of using triple-marker screening for chromosomal abnormalities.

Objective: Our purpose was to assess the utility of triple-marker serum screening for chromosomal abnormalities.

Study Design: Our laboratory received 10,605 samples that were between 15 and 22 weeks' gestation for maternal serum screening of chromosomal abnormalities. Triple-marker maternal serum screening consisted of alpha-fetoprotein, human chorionic gonadotropin, and unconjugated estriol in conjunction with maternal age.

Herpesvirus papio 2, an SA8-like alpha-herpesvirus of baboons.

Several SA8 isolates obtained from baboons were compared to the prototype SA8 herpesvirus of African green monkeys. SDS-PAGE and restriction enzyme analyses revealed definite differences between green monkey and baboon isolates. DNA and amino acid sequences of the gB, gD and gJ glycoprotein genes exhibited substantial differences in variable regions.

Inclusion body myositis as a cause of respiratory failure.

Inclusion body myositis (IBM) is a slowly progressive myopathy that has not been reported to affect respiratory muscles. It is often refractory to treatment and a muscle biopsy specimen is necessary for the diagnosis. This is a report of a patient with IBM who quickly progressed to respiratory muscle failure requiring intubation.

Predicting response to amitriptyline in posttraumatic stress disorder.

Objective: This study evaluated the relation between baseline clinical phenomena and response to amitriptyline in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Method: Data were obtained from an 8-week placebo-controlled, double-blind study of combat veterans. Bivariate and multivariate statistics were used to evaluate the relations between the following variables and outcome: age, depression, anxiety, severity of PTSD symptoms, personality, psychiatric comorbidity, level of exposure to trauma, and individual symptoms of depression, anxiety, and traumatic stress.

MELAS point mutation with unusual clinical presentation.

Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) is a multisystemic mitochondrial disorder (Pavlakis et al. Advances in Contemporary Neurology. Philadelphia: Davis, 1988: 95-133) and most patients with the typical MELAS phenotype have a point mutation in mitochondrial DNA, an A to G transition at nucleotide 3243 (Goto et al.

Progressive nemaline rod myopathy in a woman coinfected with HIV-1 and HTLV-2.

Nemaline-rod myopathy was recently reported in eight young males infected with human immune deficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). A 41-year-old woman had a 2-year history of progressive proximal-muscle weakness. Muscle biopsy demonstrated the presence of nemaline rods, predominantly in type 1 fibers.

A cognitive-behavioral therapy for sleep-maintenance insomnia in older adults.

Older adults (3 men, 4 women, aged 55 to 68 years) with chronic sleep-maintenance insomnia were treated sequentially with relaxation therapy (RT) and then with a cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) specifically designed for alleviating sleep maintenance problems. Sleep diaries and an objective measure of sleep, the sleep assessment device, showed only modest improvements in measures of wake time after sleep onset, sleep efficiency, and night-to-night sleep variability following RT. However, significant improvements in these measures were observed following CBT and at a 3-month follow-up.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy in a girl identified by dystrophin deficiency.

We report an isolated case of a girl aged three years six months with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Analysis of the patient's DNA with a probe covering the DNA gene revealed no deletion. Dystrophin, studied in biopsied muscle from the patient, using antidystrophin antibody in combination with immunofluorescence, was nearly completely absent.

Three cases of paraphilias responsive to fluoxetine treatment.

Three cases are presented in which fluoxetine was employed in the apparently successful treatment of paraphilia, a disorder which has been difficult to treat pharmacologically. Therapeutic benefit may have been related to the efficacy of fluoxetine in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorders or to direct effects on sexual activity, or both.

Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder with amitriptyline and placebo.

Amitriptyline hydrochloride was compared with placebo in 46 veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder. Treatment continued up to 8 weeks, and efficacy was measured by five observer and two self-rated scales. Percent recovery rates were higher for amitriptyline than placebo on two measures.

The corticotropin-releasing hormone test in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder.

To evaluate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), we measured adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) and cortisol responses following administration of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) in 8 combat veterans with chronic PTSD. The PTSD patients had a significantly lower ACTH response to CRH compared to a control group of normal volunteers. Blunted ACTH responses occurred in patients with PTSD alone, as well as those PTSD patients who also had major depression.

Medullary and papillary carcinomas occurring as a collision tumor: report of a case.

Multiple thyroid carcinomas of divergent cellular origin are extremely rare. A case is presented in which two unrelated tumors, a medullary carcinoma and a papillary carcinoma, occurred as a collision tumor.