Healing heel pain: help for plantar fasciitis.

If your feet, especially the heels and arches, hurt when you step out of bed in the morning, you may have plantar fasciitis. It may take 6 months or longer for the pain to go away, but there are some things you can do in the meantime to cope with the pain and heal faster.

Plantar fasciitis: prescribing effective treatments.

Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common painful disorders experienced by people in running and jumping sports. While the prognosis for recovery with conservative care remains excellent-more than 90% of athletes ultimately respond-the prolonged duration of symptoms affects sports participation. Studies that examined various treatment options found mixed results, so finding the most effective treatment can be challenging.

Confirmatory factor analysis of DSM-IV borderline, schizotypal, avoidant and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders: findings from the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study.

Objective: To test the diagnostic constructs implied by DSM-IV Axis-II personality disorders by examining relationships between different combinations of DSM-IV criteria.

Method: Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the borderline, schizotypal, avoidant and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder constructs in a large treatment-seeking sample (N= 668) from a multisite study. A model based on the three DSM-IV Axis II clusters was also tested.

Personality disorders and time to remission in generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, and panic disorder.

Background: This investigation assessed the effect of personality disorders (PersDs) on time to remission in patients with generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, or panic disorder.

Methods: Selected Axis I and II predictors of time to remission during 5 years of follow-up were assessed in 514 patients with 1 or more of these anxiety disorders who participated in the Harvard/Brown Anxiety Research Program, a multisite, prospective, longitudinal, naturalistic study.

Results: The presence of a PersD predicted a 30% lower likelihood of generalized anxiety disorder remission, a 39% lower likelihood of social phobia remission, and no difference in likelihood of panic disorder remission.

Confirmatory factor analysis of DSM-IV criteria for borderline personality disorder: findings from the collaborative longitudinal personality disorders study.

Objective: This study tested the factor structure of the DSM-IV criteria for borderline personality disorder by using confirmatory methods for the analysis of covariance structures in a large group from a multisite study.

Method: A total of 668 primarily treatment-seeking subjects were reliably assessed for personality disorders by using the Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders. Associations among criteria for borderline personality disorder were examined.

Functional impairment in patients with schizotypal, borderline, avoidant, or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare psychosocial functioning in patients with schizotypal, borderline, avoidant, or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and patients with major depressive disorder and no personality disorder.

Method: Patients (N=668) were recruited by the four clinical sites of the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study. The carefully diagnosed study groups were compared on an array of domains of psychosocial functioning, as measured by the Longitudinal Interval Follow-Up Evaluation--Baseline Version and the Social Adjustment Scale.

Verification of improved patient outcomes with a partially implantable hearing aid, The SOUNDTEC direct hearing system.

Introduction: Partially implantable hearing devices have been developed to address some of the user-perceived shortcomings of standard amplification systems. Partially implantable devices are purported to provide improved sound quality as a result of decreased occlusion, decreased feedback, and enhanced clarity resulting from increased high-frequency gain. Such improvements may result in greater user satisfaction.

Ibandronate treatment decreases the effects of tumor-associated lesions on bone density and strength in the rat.

Bisphosphonate treatment is beneficial against symptoms of metastatic bone disease, although less is known about the effect of preventative treatment schedules. We investigated the effect of various treatment regimens of the bisphosphonate, ibandronate (IB), on the preservation of bone quality in a rat model of tumor-induced osteolysis. Osteolytic Walker 256 (W256) carcinosarcoma cells were implanted into the left femur of female Sprague-Dawley rats, resulting in a 10% reduction in bone mineral density (BMD), a 16% reduction in bone density (BD), and a 26% reduction in failure load compared with the right femur 28 days after implantation.

An interdomain linker increases the thermostability and decreases the calcium affinity of the calmodulin N-domain.

A hydrophobic core is a widely accepted determinant of protein stability. However, regulatory proteins undergoing ligand-induced conformational switching may expose interior residues to solvent and cannot afford to be extremely rigid. Optimizing the energetic balance between stability and binding is challenging.

Internal consistency, intercriterion overlap and diagnostic efficiency of criteria sets for DSM-IV schizotypal, borderline, avoidant and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders.

Objective: To evaluate performance characteristics of DSM-IV Personality Disorders (PDs) criteria.

Method: Six hundred and sixty-eight adults recruited for the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study (CLPS) were assessed with diagnostic interviews.

Results: Within-category inter-relatedness was evaluated by Cronbach's alpha and median intercriterion correlations (MIC).

Implications of increased left ventricular mass index on in-hospital outcomes in patients undergoing aortic valve surgery.

Background: Increased left ventricular mass index has been shown to be associated with higher mortality in epidemiologic studies. However, the effect of increased left ventricular mass index on outcomes in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement is unknown.

Methods: We studied 473 consecutive patients undergoing elective aortic valve replacement to assess the influence of left ventricular mass index on outcomes in patients having this procedure.

Mutation of Tyr138 disrupts the structural coupling between the opposing domains in vertebrate calmodulin.

We have used circular dichroism and frequency-domain fluorescence spectroscopy to determine how the site-specific substitution of Tyr138 with either Phe138 or Gln138 affects the structural coupling between the opposing domains of calmodulin (CaM). A double mutant was constructed involving conservative substitution of Tyr99 --> Trp99 and Leu69 --> Cys69 to assess the structural coupling between the opposing domains, as previously described [Sun, H., Yin, D.

Comment on the use of GOES solar proton data and spectra in solar proton dose calculations.

There is a need to understand the calibration and response of the GOES solar particle detectors since the GOES data are being used to evaluate high energy solar particle events. We share some of our experience in utilizing these data in the analysis of solar particle ground-level events (GLEs). For the 29 September 1989 event, we have evaluated the solar proton and alpha particle spectral characteristics throughout the event.

Identification of major proton fluence events from nitrates in polar ice cores.

Large transient concentrations of nitrates in polar ice cores have been identified as the signature of some major solar proton fluence events between 1940 and 1991. We review this solar proton proxy identification technique using nitrate concentration measurements in ice cores from the Arctic and Antarctic. Using this identification technique we go back in time in an attempt to identify major solar proton events during the past several centuries.

Phenylalanine fluorescence studies of calcium binding to N-domain fragments of Paramecium calmodulin mutants show increased calcium affinity correlates with increased disorder.

Calmodulin (CaM) is a ubiquitous, essential calcium-binding protein that regulates diverse protein targets in response to physiological calcium fluctuations. Most high-resolution structures of CaM-target complexes indicate that the two homologous domains of CaM are equivalent partners in target recognition. However, mutations between calcium-binding sites I and II in the N-domain of Paramecium calmodulin (PCaM) selectively affect calcium-dependent sodium currents.

Use of tissue plasminogen activator for thrombolysis in occluded peritoneal dialysis catheters in children.

Peritoneal dialysis is often the renal replacement therapy of choice in pediatric patients, but the smaller catheters are at high risk for occlusion by fibrin clots. Tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) is a recombinant protease specific for fibrin, and has been shown to be an effective thrombolytic for central venous catheters. The present study aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of t-PA for thrombolysis in occluded peritoneal catheters.

The effect of pravastatin and atorvastatin on coenzyme Q10.

Background: Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is an antioxidant and plays an important role in the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate. Studies suggest that 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors reduce CoQ10 levels; however, no studies have directly compared HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors in a randomized crossover fashion.

Methods: Twelve healthy volunteers received either 20 mg pravastatin (P) or 10 mg atorvastatin (A) for 4 weeks in a randomized crossover fashion.

The evaluation of a rat model for the analysis of densitometric and biomechanical properties of tumor-induced osteolysis.

Pathologic fractures from a reduction in bone mass and strength are a debilitating complication affecting the quality of life of individuals with metastatic lesions. There are a number of existing animal models for studying the effects of bone metastases experimentally, but these models are unsuitable for measuring structural changes in metastatic bone. Our goal was to present an in vivo model for directly investigating the densitometric and structural consequences of tumor-induced osteolysis in long bones.

The relationship between comorbid personality disorders and treatment received in patients with anxiety disorders.

Few studies have addressed the relationship between the presence of a comorbid personality disorder and the amount of psychiatric treatment received by patients with an Axis I disorder. This issue has not been studied in patients with anxiety disorders. In a prospective, naturalistic, longitudinal study of anxiety disorders, 526 subjects were assessed with the Personality Disorder Examination, and types of treatment received in 1991 and 1996 were identified.

Case of the month.

Each month, we will present a challenging Case of the Month for Green Journal readers, who must use their clinical acumen to arrive at the correct answer. We will also post the case each month on the Journal's web site (http://www.elsevier.

Recent developments in research of trauma and personality disorders.

Although the association between trauma and personality disorders, particularly borderline personality disorder (BPD), has been well established, the etiologic role of trauma in the development of personality disorders has been a topic of debate. Numerous mediation models have been put forth to explain how trauma can serve as a risk factor for the subsequent development of BPD. The symptomatic overlap between the proposed complex post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis and BPD has fueled research efforts aimed at determining whether these are distinct disorders or should both be considered as trauma spectrum disorders.

Patterns of personality pathology in patients with generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder with and without agoraphobia, and social phobia.

The relationship between co-occurring personality disorders and anxiety disorders (panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, social phobia, and generalized anxiety disorder) was examined, taking into account the effect of major depression. This article describes findings for 622 participants in the Harvard/Brown Anxiety Research Project, a longitudinal follow-up study of DSM-III-R-defined anxiety disorders. A total of 24% of participants had at least one personality disorder, with avoidant, obsessive compulsive, dependent, and borderline most common.

The Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study: development, aims, design, and sample characteristics.

This paper describes the aims, background, design, and methods used in a collaborative longitudinal study of Axis II personality disorders (PDs). This study examines the putative stability of selected PD diagnoses and criteria, what factors affect their course, and whether their stability and course distinguishes them from a representative Axis I disorder. This article also describes the acquisition and demographics of the sample on whom the study is being done.

The Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study: reliability of axis I and II diagnoses.

Both the interrater and test-retest-retest reliability of axis I and axis II disorders were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) and the Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders (DIPD-IV). Fair-good median interrater kappa (.40-.