The impact of care management information technology model on quality of care after percutaneous coronary intervention: "Bridging the Divides".

Background: Reducing readmissions and improving metrics of care are a national priority. Supplementing traditional care with care management may improve outcomes. The Bridges program was an initial evaluation of a care management platform (CareLinkHub), supported by information technology (IT) developed to improve the quality and transition of care from hospital to home after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and reduce readmissions.

The impact of care management information technology model on quality of care after Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery: "Bridging the Divides".

Background: Reducing readmissions and improving metrics of care are a national priority. Supplementing traditional care with care management may improve outcomes. The Bridges program was an initial evaluation of a care management platform (CareLinkHub), supported by information technology (IT) developed to improve the quality and transition of care from hospital to home after Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (CABG) and reduce readmissions.

Lanthanide transport in stabilized zirconias: interrelation between ionic radius and diffusion coefficient.

The diffusion of all stable lanthanides was measured both in calcia stabilized zirconia (CSZ) and in yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) in the temperature range between 1,286 and 1,600 degrees C. The lanthanide diffusion coefficients obtained increase with increasing ionic radius. The experimental activation enthalpy of diffusion is near 6 eV for CSZ and between 4 and 5 eV for YSZ and is not strongly affected by the type of lanthanide.

Diffusion studies in non-oxide ceramics: analytical aspects of the use of ion implanted stable tracers and SIMS.

The physical and chemical properties of complex non-oxide ceramic materials require advanced methods of diffusivity determination. In this study, we present a method based on the high-dose ion implantation of stable tracers in combination with secondary ion mass spectroscopy for depth profiling. The analytical basics, advantages and problems of the method are discussed for two examples of complex materials, the Si-B-C-N precursor ceramics and the Ti-based transition metal diborides.

[Primary hypothalamic tumors (excluding craniopharyngioma). Endocrine and post-radiotherapy development study. Apropos of 17 cases].

The authors underline a number of features of primary hypothalamic tumours (except craniopharyngioma) based on a study of 17 cases: The vital prognosis is satisfactory; only one death was observed with an average follow-up period of 80 months (range 1 to 17 years). This raises the question of the necessity for systematic biopsy to confirm the tumour histology (although when performed in conditions of stereotaxis there are no serious risks). The site of the tumour makes surgery difficult and complete ablation impossible.

[Pregnancy and hyperprolactinemia. Review of therapeutic measures apropos of a series of 35 patients].

Forty-eight pregnancies were observed in 35 patients with hyperprolactinaemia divided into 3 groups according to their initial radiological appearances: normal sella turcica (Group I, n = 11), microadenoma (Group II, n = 12) or macroadenoma without suprasellar expansion, visual defect or pituitary deficiency (Group III, n = 12). Twenty-seven patients were treated with Bromocriptine (Br) from the outs six by adenomectomy + Br, one by adenomectomy alone complicated by meningitis and by corticotropic and thyrotropic hormone deficiencies, followed by amenorrhea despite normalisation of the hyperprolactinaemia requiring induction of a first pregnancy with Clomid. As regards the pregnancies induced by Br (43/48), Br was withdrawn at an early stage in Group I and in the majority of cases in Groups II and III.

Hyperprolactinemia and estrogen-induced rhythms in LH and prolactin release in the ovariectomized rat.

Short-term (9 days) hyperprolactinemia induced by pituitary grafts reduced basal plasma LH levels in ovariectomized rats whereas long-term (31 days) grafts increased basal LH levels. Although long-term grafts inhibited estradiol-induced prolactin surges, hyperprolactinemia had no effect on the LH surge. It is concluded that the estrogen-treated ovariectomized rat is not suitable for studying the effects of hyperprolactinemia on LH release.

[Results of bromocriptine treatment of giant or invasive prolactin adenomas. Apropos of 20 cases].

The therapeutic results of twenty patients with giant expansive prolactinomas were studied under bromocriptine as treatment of first intent (Group I, n = 10) or of second intent after surgery with or without radiotherapy (Group II, n = 10). Patients in Group I (PRL: 350-17 000 ng/ml) were given bromocriptine alone (10 to 20 mg/day) for a period of 21 days to 22 months. The visual fields and acuity returned to normal in 8 days to 3 months in 4 out of 7 patients and significantly improved in 2 out of 7 patients.

Interaction between somatostatin and TRH on growth hormone secretion in perifused human growth hormone tumor cells.

The interaction between somatostatin (SRIF) and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) on growth hormone (GH) release has been studied on dispersed somatotrophic tumor cells obtained from 7 acromegalic patients. TRH increased GH secretion in 4 cases and SRIF decreased GH secretion in 5 cases. When TRH and SRIF were concomitantly perifused, SRIF, when active by itself, prevented and reversed the TRH-induced stimulation of GH release, while TRH never antagonized the inhibitory effect of SRIF.

[Adrenomyeloneuropathy. Endocrine, clinical and biological study of 4 cases].

Adrenoleukomyeloneuropathy (ALMN) is a rare neurological and endocrine disorder. It usually affects children, and consists of cortical disease and adrenal insufficiency (adrenoleukodystrophy: ALD). An adult form has recently been identified in which medullary disease is associated with an endocrine disorder (adrenomyeloneuropathy AMN).

Interaction between estradiol and prolactin on vasoactive intestinal peptide concentrations in the hypothalamus and in the anterior pituitary of the female rat.

To determine whether vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) can be regulated by modification of plasma estradiol and prolactin levels, VIP concentrations in various structures of the rat brain and in the pituitary were measured in hyperprolactinemic female rats by means of a specific radioimmunoassay for the peptide. In ovariectomized rats treated with estradiol (E2) implants alone and with both E2 and pituitary grafts to induce an experimental hyperprolactinemia, VIP levels decreased in the anterior and mediobasal hypothalamus and increased in the pituitary as compared to ovariectomized rats. No modification of hypothalamic VIP concentrations was observed in ovariectomized rats with pituitary grafts only, whereas a significant increase was found in the pituitary.

Specific binding of [3H]prostaglandin E2 to rat brain membranes and synaptosomes.

There is saturable, reversible and specific binding for [3H]prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) to rat brain membranes. This binding is of high affinity, selectively distributed with a maximum in the hypothalamus, the amygdala and the posterior pituitary, and is associated subcellularly with the synaptosomal fraction. This specific PGE2 binding has the characteristics expected for receptors, so opening new perspectives which might clarify the role of PGs in the brain.

[Endorphins: structure, roles and biogenesis].

The knowledge of the amino acid sequence of both beta-lipotropin (beta-LPH) and gamma-LPH was the starting point that led to the hypothesis, considered revolutionary in 1967, that hormonal precursors exist. This concept was simultaneously proposed for proinsulin and applied later to other polypeptide hormones. The discovery of endorphins brought together two fields of research that were not related: the opiates and the so-called pituitary lipotropic hormones.