Cytogenetic Heterogeneity in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a malignancy identified by an increase in the number of lymphocytes in the blood. It is one of the most common adult leukemias. It is a heterogeneous clinical disease with changeable progression.

Assessment of PTEN Gene Loss as a Possible Prognostic Marker for Prostate Cancer.

Background: Prostate Cancer (PCa) is a leading cause of cancer deaths in older men worldwide. In the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PIK3)/AKT pathway, the PTEN (10q23.3) gene is a negative regulator and a tumor suppressor gene frequently deleted in PCa.

A Comprehensive Review of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: An Indian Perspective.

The use of imatinib has brought a standard shift in the management of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) during the last two decades. In India, imatinib has been available for more than fifteen years and has been made available all over the country due to patient assistance programs and cheaper generic versions. Despite improvements in survival of CML patients, there are unique challenges in the Indian context.

Clinical Implications of Simultaneous Occurrence of Variant Philadelphia Translocations in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.

Up to 90% of cases of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) are myeloproliferative disorders characterized by a Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome with a classical t(9;22)(q34;q11). Of all CML patients, 5-10% show variant Philadelphia translocations (vPh) and are an area of research interest for their significance in predicting response to various therapies, including tyrosine kinase inhibitors. They are also being studied for prognosticating multi-year survival outcomes in varied patient populations, with conflicting results.

Association between α-antitrypsin and bronchiectasis in patients with humoral immunodeficiency receiving gammaglobulin infusions.

Background: In patients with humoral immunodeficiency, the progression of bronchiectasis has been known to occur despite adequate gammaglobulin therapy and in the absence of recurrent infections. This observation suggests that factors other than gammaglobulin replacement might play a part in the prevention of lung damage in this population. α-Antitrypsin deficiency can be associated with bronchiectasis, a chronic inflammatory lung disease.

Scholar 7: The Development of Regional Community Hospitals' Scholastic Environment.

The importance of increasing scholarly activity has been highlighted among residency programs currently accredited by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) to ensure a smooth transition to the single accreditation system. The Scholar 7 program, a series of seven 2-hour sessions, was created to aid faculty and residents in the pursuit of scholarly work and to facilitate change in an entire community hospital system's environment by creating a self-replicating scholarly culture in a timely and cost-efficient manner. Skills were taught by means of preparation and submission of a research protocol to the institutional review board (IRB) along with grant proposals.

Reducing Errors in Transition from Acute Stroke Hospitalization to Inpatient Rehabilitation.

Objective: Effective stroke care does not end with acute treatment during hospitalization, but extends through rehabilitation and secondary stroke prevention. In transitions across care environments, stroke patients are vulnerable to errors in communication of diagnosis and treatment. This study aimed to demonstrate that formalized communication between the neurology team and the rehabilitation medicine team would promote secondary stroke prevention and minimize interruptions during rehabilitation.

Genetic vs Environmental Factors That Correlate With Rosacea: A Cohort-Based Survey of Twins.

Importance: To our knowledge, this is the first study on rosacea to formally define genetic and environmental contributions.

Objectives: To study a cohort of identical and fraternal twins to determine whether genetic factors contribute to rosacea development and, if genetic factors are present, quantitatively estimate the genetic contribution, as well as to identify environmental factors that correlate with rosacea by controlling for genetic susceptibility.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Identical and fraternal twins were surveyed regarding risk factors implicated in rosacea.

Epidemiology of limb loss.

In 2005, 1.6 million people were estimated to be living with limb loss; by 2050, the rate is expected to double to 3.6 million in the United States.

Former heroin addicts with or without a history of cocaine dependence are more impulsive than controls.

Background: Personality traits such as impulsivity and sensation seeking may contribute to the initiation and maintenance of illicit drug use. Since studies have reported higher impulsivity and sensation seeking traits in cocaine dependent subjects, we were interested in determining whether former heroin addicts in methadone pharmacotherapy with comorbid cocaine addiction have greater impulsivity than those without.

Methods: Instruments to assess impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale version 11) and sensation seeking (Sensation Seeking Scale version V) were administered to former severe heroin addicts meeting Federal criteria for methadone maintenance pharmacotherapy with (n = 71) or without cocaine dependence (n = 31) and to 145 normal healthy (non-methadone-maintained) volunteers.

Penetrating eyelid injury: a case report and review of literature.

Introduction: In literature, many different types of foreign objects have been found to have caused eye injuries. These objects can range from organic to inorganic matter such as glass, wood, pencil, nails and fishhooks. Once the injury is recognized, removal of the foreign body and technique used in the management of the injury is very important to reduce further ocular damage.

Infrared matrix isolation study of the thermal and photochemical reactions of ozone with dimethylzinc.

The matrix isolation technique has been combined with infrared spectroscopy and theoretical calculations to explore the reaction of (CH3)2Zn with O3 over a range of time scales. Upon twin jet deposition, an initial cage pair complex was observed, along with formation of the novel H3COZnCH3 species. Subsequent UV irradiation destroyed the complex and greatly increased the yield of H3COZnCH3.

Pharmaceuticals: pharmaceutical cost controls--2005. End of Year Issue Brief.

The enactment of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA '90) gave states the option of offering pharmaceutical benefits within their Medicaid programs. But the law placed restrictions on states' flexibility to control what prescriptions they would cover and required the states to reimburse outpatient prescription drugs from manufacturers that signed rebate agreements with the U.S.

Public health issue brief: medical marijuana: year end report-2004.

During the last few years, the debate over the use of marijuana for medical purposes has moved from the legislative arena into the public forum. Thirty six states and the District of Columbia have had statutes that address the medical utility of marijuana within the past 26 years. However, several of those states have either repealed the laws or allowed them to sunset.