Clinical consequences of MRI activity in treated multiple sclerosis.

Background: Inflammation on brain MRI is the most sensitive marker of disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS) but its clinical consequences remain controversial.

Objective: Here we investigated the clinical consequences of MRI activity in MS subjects treated with two different first line disease modifying agents.

Methods: Seventy-five treatment-naïve subjects with relapsing-remitting MS (N = 61) or clinically isolated syndromes at risk of MS (N = 14) from the BECOME study that had been randomized to interferon beta-1b (N = 39) or glatiramer acetate (N = 36) and followed for up to two years by monthly brain MRI optimized to detect inflammatory activity were studied for the clinical consequences of lack of MRI remission.

Measurement of telomere length by the Southern blot analysis of terminal restriction fragment lengths.

In this protocol we describe a method to obtain telomere length parameters using Southern blots of terminal restriction fragments (TRFs). We use this approach primarily for epidemiological studies that examine leukocyte telomere length. However, the method can be adapted for telomere length measurements in other cells whose telomere lengths are within its detection boundaries.

Sex differences in pulse pressure trends with age are cross-cultural.

Sex differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels and trends with age have been consistently observed in both industrialized and unindustrialized populations. However, the impact of sex on pulse pressure, an index of vascular aging, in unindustrialized populations has not been addressed. The objective of this report was to characterize sex differences in aging trends of pulse pressure within unindustrialized populations.

Effect of anti-IFN{beta} antibodies on MRI lesions of MS patients in the BECOME study.

Background: Interferon beta (IFNbeta) administered subcutaneously is immunogenic in some patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and leads to the development of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs). Considerable evidence has accumulated that NAbs diminish or abolish IFNbeta bioactivity, but there is less evidence that NAbs impact clinical efficacy of the drug.

Methods: Because a robust effect of IFNbeta is a decrease in enhancing lesions on brain MRI scans, the Betaseron Copaxone in Multiple Sclerosis With Triple-Dose Gadolinium and 3-Tesla MRI Endpoints (BECOME) study, a head-to-head study of IFNbeta-1b vs glatiramer acetate with a primary endpoint of enhancing lesions on MRI, provided an excellent opportunity to determine the effect of NAbs on MRI activity.

Serum levels of CXCL13 are elevated in active multiple sclerosis.

There is increasing recognition of the important role that B cells play in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). Recently it was reported that the B cell chemokine CXCL13 is elevated in MS serum and cerebrospinal fluid. Here we study whether serum levels of CXCL13 are associated with active MS.

New acute and chronic black holes in patients with multiple sclerosis randomised to interferon beta-1b or glatiramer acetate.

Background: Hypointense lesions on T1 weighted MRI, referred to as black holes (BH), are a marker of demyelination/axonal loss in multiple sclerosis (MS). There is some evidence that glatiramer acetate (GA) may decrease the conversion of new brain lesions to BH.

Methods: Monthly 3-Tesla brain MRI scans were used for up to 2 years to study the development and evolution of new BH in 75 patients with MS randomised to GA or Interferon beta-1b (IFNbeta1b) in the BECOME study.

Association of pathologic diagnoses with clinical findings in chronic endometritis.

Objective: To investigate the association of chronic endometritis (CE) with abnormal uterine bleeding, chronic pelvic pain, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, genital tract infection and salpingitis.

Study Design: In this retrospective study, specimens obtained from endometrial biopsy, dilatation and curettage or hysterectomy were identified. A total of 123 patients with CE and 177 without CE who were used as controls were included in the study.

Efficacy of treatment of MS with IFNbeta-1b or glatiramer acetate by monthly brain MRI in the BECOME study.

Background: There are no published MRI studies comparing interferon beta 1b (IFNbeta-1b) and glatiramer acetate (GA) for treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS).

Objective: To compare the efficacy of IFNbeta-1b and GA for suppression of MS disease activity as evidenced on frequent brain MRI.

Methods: A total of 75 patients with relapsing-remitting MS or clinically isolated syndromes were randomized to standard doses of IFNbeta-1b or GA and followed by monthly brain MRI for up to 2 years with a protocol optimized to detect enhancement.

Association of adolescent obesity and lifetime nulliparity--the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN).

Objective: To evaluate whether adolescent obesity is associated with difficulties in becoming pregnant later in life.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a longitudinal cohort.

Setting: Multiethnic, community-based observational study of U.

Does the presence of vaginitis on a Pap smear correlate with clinical symptoms in the patient?

Objective: To investigate the association of the finding of trichomoniasis, candidiasis or bacterial vaginosis (BV) on Pap smear with possible symptoms, findings on the clinical examination or treatment that the patient received shortly before or shortly after the results of the Pap smear.

Study Design: Cases were selected from the Department of Pathology, UMDNJ-University Hospital, Newark. Retrospective chart review of patients who had a diagnosis of Trichomonas or Candida infection or bacterial vaginosis on Pap smear was performed.

Longitudinal changes in hypothalamic and ovarian function in perimenopausal women with anovulatory cycles: relationship with vasomotor symptoms.

Objective: To determine whether the transition to menopausal status is unidirectional and predictable with aging.

Design: Longitudinal evaluation of the menstrual cycle hormone patterns and experience of vasomotor symptoms in an anovulatory, perimenopausal cohort, during cycles that occurred 1 and 2 years after an anovulatory cycle.

Setting: Academic center.

Do stillborns with no identifiable pathology have leaner cords than liveborns?

Objective: To evaluate whether stillbirths with no explanation found at autopsy have thinner cords than live, gestational-age-matched controls.

Study Design: Stillbirth autopsies performed at University Hospital, Newark, New Jersey, from January 1995 to October 2002 were reviewed. Cases with no explanation for the death at autopsy had their umbilical cord diameters compared to those in 3 groups of age-matched controls: stillbirths with an identifiable cause of death, liveborns with placentas submitted for pathology evaluation and liveborns from which the placentas were not submitted to pathology.

Does histologic chorioamnionitis correspond to clinical chorioamnionitis?

Objective: To evaluate the degree to which histologic chorioamnionitis, a frequent finding in placentas submitted for histopathologic evaluation, correlates with clinical indicators of infection in the mother.

Study Design: A retrospective review was performed on 52 cases with a histologic diagnosis of acute chorioamnionitis from 2,051 deliveries at University Hospital, Newark, from January 2003 to July 2003. Third-trimester placentas without histologic chorioamnionitis (n = 52) served as controls.

Duration of lactation is associated with lower prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in midlife--SWAN, the study of women's health across the nation.

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate whether lactation duration is associated with lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) in midlife, parous women.

Study Design: This was a cross-sectional cohort analysis of 2516 parous, midlife women using multivariable logistic regression to determine the independent association of lactation and lactation duration on prevalence of MetSyn.

Results: One thousand six hundred twenty women (64.

Leukocytes of exceptionally old persons display ultra-short telomeres.

With a view to understanding the association between leukocyte telomere length and the human lifespan, we performed genome-wide telomere length analyses by the terminal restriction fragment length (TRFL) and single molecule telomere length analysis (STELA) of the X and Y chromosomes in leukocytes of exceptionally old (aged 90-104 yr) and younger (aged 23-74 yr) individuals. We found that the mean TRFL of 82 exceptionally old individuals was within a range projected by age-dependent TRFL attrition of 99 younger individuals. However, compared with the younger individuals, exceptionally old persons exhibited peaking of the TRFL distribution with overrepresentation of ultra-short telomeres.

Six-year incidence of visual loss in african americans with type 1 diabetes mellitus: the New Jersey 725.

Objective: To report the 6-year incidence of visual loss and associated risk factors in African Americans with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Methods: African Americans with type 1 diabetes (n=483) who participated in the New Jersey 725 study were reexamined as part of a 6-year follow-up. Best-corrected visual acuity, a structured clinical interview, fundus photographs, and blood pressure measurements were obtained.

Renal and gastrointestinal potassium excretion in humans: new insight based on new data and review and analysis of published studies.

Objectives: Little is known about the relationship between the renal and gastrointestinal excretion of potassium in humans. This information is important in light of strong associations of potassium intake with hypertension and occlusive stroke.

Methods: We determined the relationship between fecal and urinary excretion of potassium under both fixed and variable potassium intakes using our unpublished archival data and published data of others.

Telomere dynamics in macaques and humans.

In humans, telomere length in proliferating tissues shortens with age--a process accelerated with age-related diseases. Thus, telomere length and attrition with age in the nonhuman primate may serve as a useful paradigm for understanding telomere biology in humans. We examined telomere parameters in tissues of young and old Macaca fascicularis and compared them with several tissues from humans.

Linear derivatives of Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome III can be maintained in the absence of autonomously replicating sequence elements.

Replication origins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are spaced at intervals of approximately 40 kb. However, both measurements of replication fork rate and studies of hypomorphic alleles of genes encoding replication initiation proteins suggest the question of whether replication origins are more closely spaced than should be required. We approached this question by systematically deleting replicators from chromosome III.

Characteristics of the urinary luteinizing hormone surge in young ovulatory women.

Objective: To define characteristics of the luteinizing hormone (LH) surge in urine.

Design: Observational study.

Setting: Academic center.

Demonstration of her-2 protein in cervical carcinomas.

OBJECTIVE.: Recently, an immunohistochemical test for her-2-neu has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for evaluation of breast cancer patients who might benefit from treatment with Herceptin (HercepTest). This study was undertaken to evaluate the immunohistochemical staining patterns in cervical cancer and correlate with clinical parameters.

Is the presence of Trichomonas on a Pap smear associated with an increased incidence of bacterial vaginosis?

Objective: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is associated with significant morbidity. Bacterial vaginosis is due to an overgrowth of anaerobic organisms in the vagina. It has been postulated that the presence of Trichomonas creates an anaerobic environment that favors BV.

Mortality in African-Americans with Type 1 diabetes: The New Jersey 725.

Aim: To determine rates and risk factors for all-cause mortality in African-Americans with Type 1 diabetes from a 3-year observational follow-up study of 725 African-Americans with Type 1 diabetes conducted between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2001.

Methods: Date of death was ascertained either from telephone contact with the patient's family or from relatives or on line review of the US Social Security death index.

Results: Since the initial examination, 131 (18.

The F + 0 protocol for diuretic renography results in fewer interrupted studies due to voiding than the F - 15 protocol.

Unlabelled: Timing of diuretic administration is not universally standardized in renography. Over the past year, our practice has changed from F-15 administration of furosemide to an F + 0 protocol. Therefore, we have retrospectively compared these 2 cohorts to assess if the shorter interval between diuretic administration and study completion in the F + 0 study results in a greater frequency of patients able to complete the subsequent 30-min dynamic acquisition without disruption due to voiding.