Segregation analysis of urothelial cell carcinoma.

A family history of urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC) confers an almost two-fold increased risk of developing UCC. It is unknown whether (part of) this aggregation of UCC has a Mendelian background. We performed complex segregation analyses on 1193 families ascertained through a proband with UCC of the bladder, ureter, renal pelvis or urethra, who were newly diagnosed between January 1, 1995 and December 31, 1997 and registered by two population-based cancer registries in the southeastern part of the Netherlands.

Expanding the WAIS-III Estimate of Premorbid Ability for Canadians (EPAC).

Since the release of the Canadian WAIS-III normative data in 2001 (Wechsler, 2001), the clinical application of these norms has been limited by the absence of a method to estimate premorbid functioning. However, Lange, Schoenberg, Woodward, and Brickell (2005) recently developed regression algorithms that estimate premorbid FSIQ, VIQ and PIQ scores for use with the Canadian WAIS-III norms. The purpose of this study was to expand work by Lange and colleagues by developing regression algorithms to estimate premorbid GAI (Saklofske et al.

Clinical outcomes following radical cystectomy for primary nontransitional cell carcinoma of the bladder compared to transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.

Purpose: The effect of bladder cancer histological subtypes other than transitional cell carcinoma (nonTCC) on clinical outcomes remains uncertain. We conducted a multi-institutional retrospective study of patients with bladder cancer treated with radical cystectomy to assess the impact of nonTCC histology on bladder cancer specific outcomes.

Materials And Methods: A total of 955 consecutive patients underwent radical cystectomy with bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy for bladder cancer at 3 academic institutions.

Cancer specific outcomes in patients with pT0 disease following radical cystectomy.

Purpose: We assessed clinical outcomes in patients found to have no evidence of disease, ie pT0, in the cystectomy specimen following radical cystectomy for transitional cell carcinoma.

Materials And Methods: Between 1984 and 2003, 955 consecutive patients underwent bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy and radical cystectomy for bladder cancer at 3 institutions, namely The Johns Hopkins Hospital, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine. Excluding nonTCC histology and patients with missing data resulted in 888 evaluable cases.

Primary squamous cell carcinoma in unreconstructed exstrophic bladder.

Bladder exstrophy is associated with an increased incidence of primary adenocarcinoma of the bladder. We report a rare case of squamous cell carcinoma occurring in the unreconstructed, exstrophic bladder of a 53-year-old woman treated with radical cystectomy and radiochemotherapy. This case represents the oldest patient to present with squamous cell carcinoma of an unreconstructed exstrophic bladder.

Subjective preference for lamotrigine or topiramate in healthy volunteers: relationship to cognitive and behavioral functioning.

Objective: Outcomes research emphasizes patient self-assessment and preferences in optimizing treatment. We previously showed that lamotrigine produces significantly less cognitive and behavioral impairment compared with topiramate. In the current study we extend these observations to subject self-report of preference for lamotrigine or topiramate independent of potentially confounding effects of seizures or seizure control.

Fluorescence guided optical coherence tomography for the diagnosis of early bladder cancer in a rat model.

Purpose: We describe the technique of fluorescence image guided optical coherence tomography (FG-OCT). We examined its ability to enhance specificity and sensitivity for the noninvasive diagnosis of early bladder cancer.

Materials And Methods: Transitional cell carcinoma was developed in 54 Fisher 344 female rats by intravesical methyl-nitroso-urea instillations.

RBANS index discrepancies: base rates for older adults.

The present study expands upon the data available in the manual of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status, by providing base rate data on Index discrepancies that are organized by general level of ability and include both age and education corrections. The data presented are based on the performances of a sample of 718 community dwelling older adults. These findings offer the possibility of increased sensitivity at detecting clinically significant differences that might not be identified when relying on base rate data from a greater age range.

Lymphovascular invasion is independently associated with overall survival, cause-specific survival, and local and distant recurrence in patients with negative lymph nodes at radical cystectomy.

Purpose: We hypothesized that bladder cancer patients with associated lymphovascular invasion (LVI) are at increased risk of occult metastases.

Methods: A multi-institutional group (University of Texas Southwestern [Dallas, TX], Baylor College of Medicine [Houston, TX], Johns Hopkins University [Baltimore, MD]) carried out a retrospective study of 958 patients who underwent cystectomy for bladder cancer between 1984 and 2003. Of patients with transitional-cell carcinoma (n = 776), LVI status was available for 750.

Development of the WAIS-III estimate of premorbid ability for Canadians (EPAC).

This study developed regression algorithms for estimating IQ scores using the Canadian WAIS-III norms. Participants were the Canadian WAIS-III standardization sample (n = 1,105). The sample was randomly divided into two groups (Development and Validation groups).

Test-retest stability and practice effects of the RBANS in a community dwelling elderly sample.

Repeated neuropsychological assessments are common with older adults, and the determination of true neurocognitive change is important for diagnostic assessment. Several statistical formulas are available to assist in this determination, but they rely on access to test-retest stability coefficients and practice effect values. The current study presents data on these psychometric properties of the RBANS in a large community dwelling elderly sample.

Cognitive and behavioral effects of lamotrigine and topiramate in healthy volunteers.

Background: The relative cognitive and behavioral effects of lamotrigine (LTG) and topiramate (TPM) are unclear.

Methods: The authors directly compared the cognitive and behavioral effects of LTG and TPM in 47 healthy adults using a double-blind, randomized crossover design with two 12-week treatment periods. During each treatment condition, subjects were titrated to receive either LTG or TPM at a target dose of 300 mg/day for each.

The influence of oxygenated water on the immune status, liver enzymes, and the generation of oxygen radicals: a prospective, randomised, blinded clinical study.

Background & Aims: Oxygenated water with an oxygen concentration of 30-120 mg/l water is believed to improve the immune status, without any toxicological effects. The purpose of this clinical study was to assess the effects of long-term drinking of oxygenated water on the immune status.

Methods: In this prospective, double-blinded, randomised study 24 volunteers of either sex (age 18-63 years) drank daily 3 times 500 ml either oxygenated (Verum-group: n=12) or normal mineral water (Placebo-group: n=12) for 28 days.

Development of the WAIS-III general ability index estimate (GAI-E).

The WAIS-III General Ability Index (GAI; Tulsky, Saklofske, Wilkins, & Weiss, 2001) is a recently developed, 6-subtest measure of global intellectual functioning. However, clinical use of the GAI is currently limited by the absence of a method to estimate premorbid functioning as measured by this index. The purpose of this study was to develop regression equations to estimate GAI scores from demographic variables and WAIS-III subtest performance.

Base rates of longitudinal RBANS discrepancies at one- and two-year intervals in community-dwelling older adults.

Identification of clinically significant change in performance over time on neurocognitive tests is an important aspect of neuropsychological evaluation; however, scant published empirical data exists to guide the clinician in determining the significance of psychometric change across clinically relevant retest intervals. The present study presents base rate data of RBANS score discrepancies in a user-friendly manner based on the performances of a large sample (n=283) of community-dwelling older adults. Data for 1- and 2-year retest intervals are presented in a tabular form that can be used as a convenient reference.

Regression-based formulas for predicting change in RBANS subtests with older adults.

Repeated neuropsychological assessments are common with older adults, and the determination of clinically significant change across time is an important issue. Regression-based prediction formulas have been utilized with other patient and healthy control samples to predict follow-up test performance based on initial performance and demographic variables. Comparisons between predicted and observed follow-up performances can assist clinicians in making the determination of change in the individual patient.

Predicting change with the RBANS in a community dwelling elderly sample.

Repeated neuropsychological assessments are common with older adults, and the determination of clinically significant change across time is an important issue. Regression-based prediction formulas have been utilized with other patient and healthy control samples to predict follow-up test performance based on initial performance and demographic variables. Comparisons between predicted and observed follow-up performances can assist clinicians in determining the significance of change in the individual patient.

The relationship between executive functioning and verbal and visual learning and memory.

Executive functions, which include an individual's ability to develop a response set, inhibit behaviors, plan, and reason, likely impact other areas of cognitive functioning, such as learning and memory. The present study examined the relationship between executive functioning and a wide array of standardized, clinical verbal and visual learning and memory measures in 212 patients referred for a neuropsychological evaluation. IQ was also included in the analyses.

Dynamic MRI of bladder cancer: evaluation of staging accuracy.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of gadoliniumenhanced MRI in staging bladder cancer in a series of patients with surgically proven bladder cancer.

Materials And Methods: Seventy-one patients with biopsy-proven bladder cancer underwent MRI on a 1.5-T scanner with a phased-array pelvic coil.

Differential estimation of verbal intelligence and performance intelligence scores from combined performance and demographic variables: the OPIE-3 verbal and performance algorithms.

Data from the WAIS-III standardization sample (The Psychological Corporation, 1997) was used to generate VIQ and PIQ estimation formulae using demographic variables and current WAIS-III subtest performances. The sample (n = 2450) was randomly divided into two groups; the first was used to develop formulas and the second to validate the regression equations. Age, education, ethnicity, gender, region of the country as well as Vocabulary, Matrix Reasoning, and Picture Completion subtests raw scores were used as predictor variables.

Assessment of perioperative psychological distress in patients undergoing radical cystectomy for bladder cancer.

Purpose: Despite a recent growth in our understanding of the impact of psychosocial factors on the outcome of patients with cancer there is still relatively little known about the effect of these issues on patients with genitourinary malignancies. We determined the prevalence of psychological distress in patients with bladder cancer prior to and following radical cystectomy.

Materials And Methods: A total of 74 consecutive patients with clinically organ confined bladder cancer were prospectively surveyed preoperatively using the Basic Symptom Inventory-18, a validated instrument that measures the psychological domains of general distress, anxiety, depression and somatization.

Preoperative somatic symptoms are associated with disease progression in patients with bladder carcinoma after cystectomy.

Background: A link between patient psychologic factors and bladder carcinoma outcome has not been demonstrated. The purpose of the current study was to assess the association of psychologic factors measured preoperatively with bladder carcinoma progression after cystectomy.

Methods: The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)-18 was administered prospectively to 65 patients with clinically localized bladder carcinoma before surgery.