Pharmacotherapy for trichotillomania.

Background: Trichotillomania (TTM; hair-pulling disorder) is a prevalent and disabling disorder characterised by recurrent hair-pulling. Here we update a previous Cochrane Review on the effects of medication for TTM.

Objectives: To assess the effects of medication for trichotillomania (TTM) in adults, children and adolescents compared with placebo or other medication.

Pharmacotherapy of trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder): an updated systematic review.

Introduction: Individuals affected by trichotillomania (TTM) (hair-pulling disorder) consciously or non-consciously pull out their own body hair. The disorder has recently been incorporated into a chapter entitled, 'Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders' in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition.

Areas Covered: The review describes the literature currently available on the pharmacotherapy for TTM, including both randomized controlled trials and open-label trials of pharmacotherapy for TTM in adults or children.

Pharmacotherapy for trichotillomania.

Background: Trichotillomania (TTM) (hair-pulling disorder) is a prevalent and disabling disorder characterised by recurrent hair-pulling. The effect of medication on trichotillomania has not been systematically evaluated.

Objectives: To assess the effects of medication for trichotillomania in adults compared with placebo or other active agents.

Stroke with intermittent atrial fibrillation: incidence and predictors during aspirin therapy. Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation Investigators.

Objective: This study was performed to characterize the risk of stroke in elderly patients with recurrent intermittent atrial fibrillation (AF).

Background: Although intermittent AF is common, relatively little is known about the attendant risk of stroke.

Methods: A longitudinal cohort study was performed comparing 460 participants with intermittent AF with 1,552 with sustained AF treated with aspirin in the Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation studies and followed for a mean of two years.

Pathophysiologic correlates of thromboembolism in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation: II. Dense spontaneous echocardiographic contrast (The Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation [SPAF-III] study).

We analyzed transesophageal echocardiograms from 772 participants in the Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation (SPAF-III) study, characterizing spontaneous echocardiographic contrast (SEC) in the left atrium or appendage as faint or dense. The association of dense SEC with stroke risk factors and anatomic, hemodynamic, and hemostatic parameters related to specific thromboembolic mechanisms was evaluated by multivariate analysis. Spontaneous echocardiographic contrast was present in 55% of patients and was dense in 13%.

Factors associated with ischemic stroke during aspirin therapy in atrial fibrillation: analysis of 2012 participants in the SPAF I-III clinical trials. The Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation (SPAF) Investigators.

Background And Purpose: Nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF) is a strong, independent risk factor for stroke, but the absolute rate of stroke varies widely among AF patients, importantly influencing the potential benefit of antithrombotic prophylaxis. We explore factors associated with ischemic stroke in AF patients taking aspirin.

Methods: We performed multivariate logistic regression analysis of 2012 participants given aspirin alone or in combination with low, inefficacious doses of warfarin in the Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation I-III trials followed for a mean of 2.

Left atrial diameter in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation: An echocardiographic study. Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation Investigators.

Background: The left atrium (LA) is usually enlarged in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF), but factors associated with LA diameter are incompletely defined.

Methods And Results: This transthoracic echocardiographic cohort study includes 3465 participants with nonvalvular AF in 3 multicenter clinical trials. LA diameter determined by M-mode echocardiography was correlated with clinical and echocardiographic features by cross-sectional multivariate regression analyses.

Clinical and echocardiographic features of intermittent atrial fibrillation that predict recurrent atrial fibrillation. Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation (SPAF) Investigators.

In addition to antithrombotic therapy, 2 treatment strategies for intermittent atrial fibrillation (AF) are evolving: suppression of AF or control of the ventricular response during AF. Clinical and echocardiographic features that predict recurrent AF may influence the choice of management. In this study, clinical, echocardiographic, and electrocardiographic data from 486 patients with intermittent AF enrolled in the Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation studies were analyzed.

Determination of aortic valve area by two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography in patients with normal and stenotic bioprosthetic valves.

To assess the feasibility and accuracy of determining bioprosthetic aortic valve area from two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiographic measurements, three partially overlapping groups were selected from 55 patients with such bioprosthetic valves and adequate Doppler studies. These were Group 1, 37 patients with recent aortic valve replacement surgery and no clinical or echocardiographic evidence of valve dysfunction; Group 2, 12 patients with prosthetic valve stenosis documented by cardiac catheterization; and Group 3, 22 patients with both Doppler and catheterization studies in whom noninvasive and invasive determinations of aortic valve area could be directly compared. Left ventricular outflow tract diameter was measured from two-dimensional still frame images.

Comparison of outcome of asymptomatic to symptomatic patients older than 20 years of age with valvular aortic stenosis.

A 2-part prospective study was performed to evaluate the clinical outcome of patients with hemodynamically confirmed asymptomatic valvular aortic stenosis (AS). During phase 1, linear regression analysis showed continuous wave Doppler to be highly accurate in predicting catheterization measured peak systolic aortic valve pressure gradients in 101 consecutive patients aged 36 to 83 years (mean 65 +/- 8) with symptomatic AS. During phase 2, 90 additional patients (51 asymptomatic and 39 symptomatic) with Doppler-derived peak systolic aortic valve gradients greater than or equal to 50 mm Hg (range 50 to 132 [mean 68 +/- 19]) were followed for 1 to 45 months.

A prospective comparison of continuous wave versus high pulse repetition frequency Doppler echocardiography for quantifying transvalvular pressure gradients in adults with aortic stenosis.

To evaluate the relative accuracy of continuous wave (CW) and high pulse repetition frequency (HPRF) Doppler for estimating aortic transvalvular pressure gradients, Doppler examinations with both devices were obtained in 87 consecutive patients with aortic valve disease. Thirty-seven (43%) also underwent catheterization and direct determination of the pressure gradient. The correlation between CW Doppler and catheterization measurements was high (r = 0.

Cytotoxic activity of human pulmonary alveolar macrophages.

The functions of human pulmonary alveolar macrophages (PAMs) have been relatively little studied compared with those of their circulating counterparts, blood monocytes. This study examined the ability of human PAMs to kill primary human tumor cell cultures and control normal fibroblasts in vitro. PAMs were derived by bronchial lavage from patients with lung cancer of various histological types and stages, patients with acute or chronic noncancerous pulmonary disorders, and subjects with a presumed illness who proved to be normal.

The timing of CNV resolution in a memory retrieval task.

Twelve men performed the Sternberg memory retrieval task while the EEG and EOG were recorded. Subjects saw a target set of 1 to 4 digits followed by a warning tone that was followed after 1.5 sec by a probe digit.

Parameters of temporal recovery of the human auditory evoked potential.

Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) to tone pips at three monopolar scalters were systematically varied: tone intensity (3.0, 1.5 and 0.