Retinal image motion during deliberate fixation: implications to laser safety for long duration viewing.

With the easy attainability of hand-held laser devices and the burgeoning light emitting diode (LED) technology, safety standards for long-term viewing of continuous light sources are being scrutinized. One concern is with quantifying the effect of head and eye movements on the distribution of energy over the retina. This experiment describes target motion over the retina as a result of head and eye movements during a deliberate fixation task.

Phase I trial with weekly EO9, a novel bioreductive alkylating indoloquinone, by the EORTC Early Clinical Study Group (ECSG).

Purpose: EO9 is a new synthetic bioreductive alkylating indoloquinone, with preferential activity against solid tumors and higher antitumor activity under anaerobic conditions compared with aerobic conditions. In preclinical models EO9 demonstrated no major organ toxicity. The aim of the present phase I study was to determine the toxicities and the maximal tolerated dose (MTD) of EO9 administered as a 5-min i.

Treatment of Parkinson's disease with ropinirole after pergolide-induced retroperitoneal fibrosis.

Pergolide is a dopaminergic agonist used to treat Parkinson's disease but is associated with the development of retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF). Newer nonergot agents (pramipexole, ropinirole) may not carry this same risk. A patient with a history of pergolide-induced RPF was treated successfully with ropinirole for 1 year without complications.

Testosterone and andropause: the feasibility of testosterone replacement therapy in elderly men.

Andropause, a syndrome in aging men, consists of physical, sexual, and psychologic symptoms that include weakness, fatigue, reduced muscle and bone mass, impaired hematopoiesis, oligospermia, sexual dysfunction, depression, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, memory impairment, and reduced cognitive function. Free testosterone levels begin to decline at a rate of 1% per year after age 40 years. It is estimated that 20% of men aged 60-80 years have levels below the lower limit of normal.

Evaluation of low-dose, extended-interval clindamycin regimens against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae using a dynamic in vitro model of infection.

We have previously described the activity of low-dose clindamycin in extended-interval dosing regimens by determination of bactericidal titer in serum. In this study, we used a one-compartment in vitro dynamic infection model to compare the pharmacodynamics of clindamycin in three intravenous-dosing regimens (600 mg every 8 h [q8h], 300 mg q8h, and 300 mg q12h) against three clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and two clinical isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Test organisms were added to the central compartment of the model to yield a starting inoculum of 10(6) CFU/ml.

Coenzyme Q10 administration increases antibody titer in hepatitis B vaccinated volunteers--a single blind placebo-controlled and randomized clinical study.

Persons involved in the study, 21 per treatment arm, were consuming ubiquinone (Q10), 90 mg/day, 180 mg/day or placebo, for two weeks prior to hepatitis B vaccination. After 30 days this vaccination was repeated. Q10 was given as soft gelatin capsules containing 30 mg each.

Advanced epithelial ovarian cancer: 1998 consensus statements.

Background: During an international workshop held in September 1998, a group of specialists in the field of ovarian cancer reached consensus on a number of issues with implications for standard practice and for research of advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.

Methods: Five groups of experts considered several issues which included: biologic factors, prognostic factors, surgery, initial chemotherapy, second-line treatment, the use of CA 125, investigational drugs, intra-peritoneal treatment and high-dose chemotherapy. The group attempted to arrive at answers to questions such as: Are there prognostic factors, which help to identify patients who will not do well with current therapy? What is the current best therapy for advanced ovarian carcinoma? What directions should research take in advanced ovarian cancer? These issues were discussed in a plenary meeting.

Recovery of beat-to-beat variations of QRS.

There is a growing interest in the analysis of beat-to-beat variations of the morphology (BBM) of cardiac waves in electrocardiograms (ECG). Such analyses are confronted with the low BBM-to-noise ratio. An ECG clustering technique is introduced that brings the benefits of signal averaging to BBM analysis and recovers the beat-to-beat pattern of BBM.

Long-term results from a phase II study of single agent paclitaxel (Taxol) in previously platinum treated patients with advanced ovarian cancer: the Nordic experience.

Background: Owing to the wide spread perception of a possible benefit from paclitaxel in the second-line situation the Nordic Gynecologic Oncology Group (NGOG) conducted two prospective phase II studies of paclitaxel single agent treatment (175 mg/m2, three-hour i.v. infusion with standard pre-medication every third week) in patients with relapsing or progressing epithelial ovarian cancer following platinum.

Preoperative bone mineral density of the proximal tibia and migration of the tibial component after uncemented total knee arthroplasty.

Twenty-two patients with primary osteoarthrosis of the knee all operated on with insertion of an uncemented total knee arthroplasty had a preoperative measurement of bone mineral density (BMD) in the coronal plane of the proximal tibia performed by dual-photon absorptiometry. Postoperatively and with follow-up after 6 weeks (n = 21), 1 year (n = 22), and 3 years (n = 19), radiographs suitable for radiostereometric analysis of the tibial component migration were obtained. One year postoperatively, stress examinations were performed with the aim of measuring inducible displacement of the tibial component.

Structure-activity relationship for inhibition of CYP11B1-dependent glucocorticoid synthesis in Y1 cells by aryl methyl sulfones.

The effects of xenobiotics on CYP11B1-dependent corticosterone synthesis (11 beta-hydroxylase) in mouse adrenocortical Y1 cells were studied. 3-Methylsulfonyl-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dichloroethene (MeSO2-DDE) and some methylsulfonyl polychlorinated biphenyls (MeSO2-PCB) inhibited the corticosterone synthesis, whereas PCBs or DDE did not. This indicates a crucial role of the methyl sulfone group for this inhibitory effect.

Interactions between methylsulfonyl PCBs and the glucocorticoid receptor.

Persistent polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) metabolites were studied with respect to their interaction with the human glucocorticoid receptor (GR). 3-Methylsulphonyl-2,5,6,2',4',5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (3-MeSO2-CB149) was shown to compete with 3H-dexamethasone for binding to the GR, with an IC50 (concentration that inhibits 50%) of approximately 1 microM. Using GRAF cells expressing human GR, glucocorticoid responsive element, and a reporter enzyme, we demonstrated that 3-MeSO2-CB149 functionally acts as an antagonist at the GR (IC50 = 2.

Morbillivirus downregulation of CD46.

There is evidence that CD46 (membrane cofactor protein) is a cellular receptor for vaccine and laboratory-passaged strains of measles virus (MV). Following infection with these MV strains, CD46 is downregulated from the cell surface, and consequent complement-mediated lysis has been shown to occur upon infection of a human monocytic cell line. The MV hemagglutinin (H) protein alone is capable of inducing this downregulation.

Effect of nasal salmon calcitonin on post-traumatic osteopenia following ankle fracture. A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study in 24 patients.

With the aim of preventing postfracture osteopenia, we randomized 24 patients with internally fixed ankle fractures to 3 months of treatment with placebo or 200 IU nasal salmon calcitonin (sCT) in a prospective, double-blind design. 3 patients were excluded, leaving 11 patients in the placebo group and 10 in the sCT group for study. Bilateral measurements of bone mineral content (BMC) in the coronal plane of the proximal tibia were performed by dual photon absorptiometry (DPA) postoperatively within 7 days of the fracture and after 1.

Strategies in the treatment of penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae.

The epidemiology, resistance mechanisms, susceptibility testing, treatment, prevention, and clinical importance of penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP) infection are discussed. PRSP is an established presence in the United States, with some geographic areas reporting decreased susceptibility in up to half of isolates. The mechanism of resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics in S.

Docetaxel and cisplatin in metastatic urothelial cancer: a phase II study.

Purpose: Docetaxel and cisplatin has documented single-agent activity and different toxicity profiles in patients with metastatic urothelial cancer. We performed a phase II study in which docetaxel was combined with cisplatin to evaluate response rate, toxicity, and survival.

Patients And Methods: Eligibility criteria included performance status (World Health Organization [WHO]) less than 3; normal bone marrow, liver, and renal function; and no concurrent malignancy or symptomatic peripheral neuropathy.

[Hereditary long QT syndrome].

The Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) is a hereditary disease, characterized by a prolonged QT-interval on the electrocardiogram and a high risk of syncope and sudden death due to ventricular arrhythmias. LQTS must be suspected in apparently healthy children and young people with syncope after emotional or physical stress. Untreated symptomatic patients have a high mortality, which is markedly reduced by sympathetic block.

Assessment of antifungal activities of fluconazole and amphotericin B administered alone and in combination against Candida albicans by using a dynamic in vitro mycotic infection model.

We evaluated the pharmacodynamic activities of fluconazole and amphotericin B given alone and in combination against Candida albicans by using an in vitro model of bloodstream infection that simulates human serum pharmacokinetic parameters for these antifungals. Fluconazole was administered as a bolus into the model to simulate regimens of 200 mg every 24 h (q24 h) and 400 mg q24 h. Amphotericin B was administered at doses producing the peak concentration (2.

Dysplasia epiphysealis hemimelica (Trevor's disease) of the distal radius.

The authors report a rare case of dysplasia epiphysealis hemimelica (DEH) or Trevor's disease of the radius in an Eskimo from Greenland. DEH is indistinguishable microscopically from osteochondroma, however its epiphyseal site of origin differentiates it from the osteochondroma, which characteristically originates in the metaphysis.

[Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy].

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia is a rare cardiomyopathy, but a frequent cause of ventricular tachyarrhythmia and sudden cardiac death among young otherwise healthy individuals. This article contains a review of the current knowledge on epidemiology, diagnosis, symptoms and signs as well as theories on etiology and pathogenesis, prognosis and treatment. The aim is to draw attention to the disease as a cause of syncope, ventricular tachycardia and sudden cardiac death.

A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of efficacy and tolerance of meloxicam treatment in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.

Meloxicam is a new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), with a favourable ratio of inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)/cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), giving the drug the potential to produce few gastric adverse effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of meloxicam in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Five hundred and thirteen patients were treated in a double-blind trial comparing once-daily meloxicam 7.

[From paroxysmal to chronic atrial fibrillation].

Chronic atrial fibrillation is by definition always preceded by paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. The electropathophysiological mechanisms underlying paroxysmal atrial fibrillation are reviewed: atrial electrophysiological inhomogeneity, atrial ectopic activity, and cardiac autonomic dysfunction. Safe and effective interventions that prevent the progression from paroxysmal into chronic atrial fibrillation have not yet been developed.

[The role of tumor marker CA 125 in the treatment of ovarian cancer].

Among the gynaecological malignancies in Denmark, ovarian cancer still has the highest mortality. At diagnosis, the majority of the patients show disseminated diseases and are treated with a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. At the conclusion of treatment and at later control examinations, the patients are evaluated by pelvic examination, ultrasound scans, CT-scanning, determination of the tumor-marker CA 125 and explorative laparotomy ("second look operation").

Paclitaxel (175 mg/m2 over 3 hours) with cisplatin or carboplatin in previously untreated ovarian cancer: an interim analysis.

The side effects of cisplatin (75 mg/m2) in combination with paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ) (175 mg/m2 over 3 hours) are expected to be more severe and frequent than those of carboplatin (area under the concentration-time curve of 5) in combination with the same dose of paclitaxel, but the combinations are expected to be equally effective. A disadvantage of the cisplatin-based regimen is that patients need to be admitted to the hospital. The carboplatin regimen can be administered to outpatients.