Direct detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA from whole blood, and comparison with HCV RNA in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) requires reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or branched DNA signal amplification assays to be detected in patient samples. Although conventional methods of RNA isolation are employed for samples of serum, plasma, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), whole blood is generally considered an unsuitable source of RNA because of abundant RNases and polymerase inhibitors. Using a cationic surfactant, Catrimox-14, we adapted a procedure for RNA isolation from whole blood, plasma, and PBMCs that yields RNA template suitable for HCV RT-PCR.

Predicting resting blood pressure at eighteen years: the Dunedin Study.

Purpose: To examine the value of repeated blood pressure screening during childhood, and exercise testing in adolescence, for predicting resting blood pressure at eighteen years.

Method: Regular measures of blood pressure and other variables in a birth cohort from 7 to 18 years. Cardiovascular responses to exercise testing at 15 and 18 years.

Sensitivity of radiographic features and specificity of scintigraphic imaging in hand osteoarthritis.

We undertook to determine which of the radiographic features most reliably detected the presence and disease progression in osteoarthritis in the hand; and which of the radiographic features corresponded with the radionuclide bone scan images. 32 patients with osteoarthritis had X 5 macroradiographs taken of their wrists and hands at 6 monthly intervals over an 18 month period. The high magnification and resolution of microfocal radiography permitted quantitative detection of the extent and change in joint space width, subchondral sclerosis, osteophytosis and juxtaarticular radiolucencies.

Quantitative microfocal radiography detects changes in OA knee joint space width in patients in placebo controlled trial of NSAID therapy.

Objective: To assess the usefulness of, and define the time course of changes in the features of osteoarthritic (OA) knees measurable using microfocal radiography, and to determine whether it differs in patients taking a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID).

Methods: Forty-five patients with knee OA were randomly allocated to receive either diclofenac sodium or placebo for 18 months; 33 (17 NSAID, 16 placebo) completed the study. Clinical and 5 x high definition macroradiographic assessments of both knees in standing semiflexed views were carried out at 6-monthly intervals.

Intra-articular and soft tissue injections: a survey of current practice.

Intra-articular and soft tissue injections are the two most frequently used procedures in rheumatological practice. A questionnaire completed by 172 consultant rheumatologists aimed to ascertain the techniques used in these procedures. The results showed a wide divergence of practice in almost every aspect of technique.

Long-term stable mode locking of a visible diode laser with phase-conjugate feedback.

We present a new method to obtain long-term stable phase-conjugate feedback (pcf) with a photorefractive crystal for a mode-locked semiconductor laser. The phase-conjugate mirror is a barium titanate crystal in a self-pumped internal reflection configuration, and the laser is a visible, antireflection-coated AlGaInP diode. We describe a new dynamic writing procedure for growth of an index grating in the photorefractive crystal that leads to stable pcf and discuss the reasons for this stability, which is the major advantage of this method over previously reported ones.

Joint space width measures cartilage thickness in osteoarthritis of the knee: high resolution plain film and double contrast macroradiographic investigation.

Objective: To test reliability of joint space width (JSW) measurements as a predictor of cartilage thickness in knees of patients with osteoarthritis (OA), using high definition microfocal radiography.

Method: JSW was measured from weight bearing plain film macroradiographs taken in the tunnel view and compared with the sum of femoral and tibial cartilage thicknesses measured from double contrast macroarthrograms of the same regions of the same knees obtained in the non-weight bearing lateral position.

Results: All knees had medial compartment OA.

Triple-head SPECT with 2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG): initial evaluation in oncology and comparison with FDG PET.

Purpose: In patients with cancer, performance was assessed of a commercially available triple-head gamma camera fitted with ultra-high energy parallel-hole collimators performing single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with 2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG). Results were compared with those of positron emission tomography (PET) with FDG.

Materials And Methods: Performance characteristics were first determined in phantom studies for FDG PET and triple-head gamma camera SPECT systems.

Mechanism of exercise hypotension in patients with ischemic heart disease. Role of neurocardiogenically mediated vasodilation.

Background: Exercise-induced hypotension in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) has been considered to be due to an inability to achieve an adequate increase in cardiac output to match the demands of exercise. We investigated 10 consecutive patients (9 men and 1 woman; age, 38 to 71 years; mean, 52 years) with angiographically documented CAD and exercise-induced hypotension (EIH) (BPPeak < BPRest). Ten approximately age- and sex-matched patients with documented CAD and normal exercise blood pressure response (NBP) served as control subjects.

Volumetric three-dimensional display.

A true three-dimensional monitor is being developed for the direct display of three- (or higher-) dimensional information. The device is constructed of a three-dimensional array of pixels, actually voxels or volume elements, which in their quiescent state are transparent. When these elements are excited optically through a fiber-optic pigtail, they fluoresce.

Neutrophil collagenase in sputum from patients with cystic fibrosis.

The potential role of neutrophil elastase in causing lung damage and exacerbating the inflammatory response in cystic fibrosis (CF) has received considerable attention. Although another potent neutrophil-derived enzyme, collagenase, is implicated in tissue destruction in several interstitial lung disorders, there has been no reference to this enzyme in CF. The objective of this study was to determine whether neutrophil collagenase is present in active form in CF sputum and, if so, whether it is related to disease severity.

[Formation of a cohort of opiate addicts through linkage of confidential records].

The need to combine several files in order to create a cohort of opiate addicts, sufficiently large for the analysis of its mortality, requires use of the probabilistic method of record linkage. This study is a preliminary phase in which two sub-files of the Hospital del Mar (Barcelona) Register of toxicological emergencies are linked. This phase served to adapt probabilistic record linkage to our files, develop computer programs, define agreement criteria, and evaluate the validity and performance of the method.

Quantitative microfocal radiographic assessment of osteoarthritis of the knee from weight bearing tunnel and semiflexed standing views.

Objective: Joint space width (JSW) in osteoarthritis (OA) knee radiography is reported to be optimally assessed from semiflexed standing and tunnel views although no detailed assessment of tunnel view radiography of OA knees has been done. The primary objective of our study was to determine the incidence of joint space narrowing (JSN) in semiflexed standing vs weight bearing tunnel views. The data were also analyzed to examined the degree and relationship of JSN and bony features of OA in the 2 views.

Photodamage, photoaging and photoprotection of the skin.

Overexposure to ultraviolet and visible radiation causes sunburn. Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, cool baths and topical steroids offer only mild relief. Long-term sun exposure causes chronic inflammatory skin changes.

Efficacy and safety of enoxaparin to prevent deep venous thrombosis after hip replacement surgery. Enoxaparin Clinical Trial Group.

Objective: To determine the most effective and safe dose of enoxaparin to prevent deep venous thrombosis in high-risk surgical patients.

Design: A double-blind, randomized, multicenter clinical trial.

Setting: Private, university, and government hospitals in the United States.

Increased skeletal uptake of Tc-99m methylene diphosphonate in milk-alkali syndrome.

A case of milk-alkali syndrome is described in a 34-year-old man taking an over-the-counter antacid preparation for gastroesophageal reflux. A Tc-99m MDP bone scan performed in the initial investigation of the hypercalcemia was markedly abnormal with a "metabolic" pattern of tracer uptake similar to that seen in hyperparathyroidism and humoral hypercalcemia. Following withdrawal of the antacid and calcium, the bone scan appearance returned to normal, as did the biochemical markers of his disease.

A comparative study of the efficacy and toxicity of etodolac and naproxen in the treatment of osteoarthritis.

In a two-period, double-blind, crossover study, patients with osteoarthritis of the knee and/or hip received etodolac 300 mg twice daily for 4 weeks and naproxen 500 mg twice daily for 4 weeks in random order. The assessment of efficacy showed that naproxen and etodolac were equally effective in the management of pain and stiffness in osteoarthritis. However, a significantly higher proportion of patients preferred naproxen to etodolac for the relief of pain intensity.