Prospective validity of a clinical prediction rule for response to non-surgical multidisciplinary management of knee osteoarthritis in tertiary care: a multisite prospective longitudinal study.

Objectives: We tested a previously developed clinical prediction tool-a nomogram consisting of four patient measures (lower patient-expected benefit, lower patient-reported knee function, greater knee varus angle and severe medial knee radiological degeneration) that were related to poor response to non-surgical management of knee osteoarthritis. This study sought to prospectively evaluate the predictive validity of this nomogram to identify patients most likely to respond poorly to non-surgical management of knee osteoarthritis.

Design: Multisite prospective longitudinal study.

Carbamazepine therapy in neuropsychiatric patients.

We reviewed the charts of 106 patients treated with carbamazepine. Age, sex, race, seizure type, seizure focus, age at onset, duration of epileptic illness, reasons for discontinuing treatment, other medications, and response to treatment of seizures, psychiatric symptoms, and behavioral symptoms were recorded. Statistical analysis was done to determine clinical factors influencing response to carbamazepine.

Carbamazepine as therapy for psychiatric sequelae of herpes simplex encephalitis.

We have presented a case of herpes simplex encephalitis that is interesting in that seizure activity was detected in mesial temporal structures, without manifestations of seizure activity except for severe emotional lability with explosive emotional outbursts. Response to carbamazepine (Tegretol) included marked reduction in EEG-detected seizure activity and in the frequency of emotional outbursts, extending to one year after treatment.

[Monitoring of high-risk pregnancies (author's transl)].

The AA. have monitored 202 patients affected by several pathological conditions and at different stages of their pregnancies. Among them, 173 were pregnancies without complications.

[Rate meaning of estriol-dosage in the pregnant wife pointing out the phoetus development (author's transl)].

The AA. point out the meaning of the urinary estriol dosage in high risk pregnancy. The screening must be frequent and regular, with constant growing curve all time along.

[New views referred to gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase (author's transl].

The AA. have observed some patients suffering from persistent chronic hepatitis, aggressive chronic hepatitis, severe virus hepatitis, hepatic cirrhosis, hepatic metastasis, cholecystolithiasis, hepatic abscess, congestic heart disorder, alcoholism also patients treated with barbiturics and benzodiazepine, comparising in the meanwhile gamma-glutamyl-transaminase. They would suggest a new interpretation: the observed enzyme was higher in the obstructive diseases, gamma-GT also notable higher in the cellular hepatic diseases (hepatitis, cirrhosis and so on).

[Treatment of obesity with chorionic gonadotropins. Relations between obesity, dyslipidemia and arthero-arteriosclerosis].

A long account of the many factors responsible form atherosclerosis (dysmetabolism, physical, genetic and familial factors, immunobiological features, diet) is followed by an assessment of obesity as a main risk factor in the local pathology of atherosclerosis. Results obtained in the treatment of obesity with chorionic gonadotropin and a 500 calorie standard diet are presented. These were highly satisfactory with respect to weight loss, tolerance, and marked improvement (or even normalisation) of blood lipid values, which were initially pathological in many cases.

[Hepato-Quick: a new diagnostic test for liver diseases (author's transl)].

The AA. have adopted usual biohumoral examinations and the Hepato-Quick test for a group of patients affected by various liver diseases. Hepato-Quick contains thromboplastine from monkey brain and plasma absorbed on barium sulphate.