Issues in the use of cochlear implants with prelingually deaf children.

Approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration with deaf adults and prelingually deafened children above age two, the success of cochlear implants lacks supporting independent evaluative documentation. Allen et al (1993) compared hearing thresholds of profoundly deaf children with and without implants. Children with implants had an unaided threshold of 109.

A guide to the diagnosis of learning disabilities in deaf and hard-of-hearing children and adults.

This article provides a guide to psychological tests and test procedures recommended for diagnosing learning disabilities in deaf and hard-of-hearing youth and adults. Tests are evaluated relative to their usefulness with deaf and hard-of-hearing persons in school and rehabilitation settings. These data provide the basis for recommendation of a battery of tests for use by school, vocational, and general psychologists in evaluating deaf and hard-of-hearing youth and adults for learning disabilities.

Case report: the anticardiolipin (antibody) syndrome.

The anticardiolipin antibody syndrome is relatively uncommon. It should be suspected mostly in young people with unexplained embolic or thrombotic events. A young patient with an abnormal prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, or venereal disease research lab test with one of the above noted vascular events would be a suspect for this disorder.

The effects of cyclic adenosine monophosphate, forskolin, and theophylline on motility parameters in gossypol-treated human sperm.

Objective: To examine the effect of gossypol on human sperm in vitro and the mechanism for the effect.

Design: Fresh sperm ejaculates obtained from normal donors to the University of Kentucky Andrology Donor Program were exposed to gossypol. Motility was studied manually and using computer-assisted sperm analysis.

Correlation between ultrasonographic findings and serum testosterone concentration in prepubertal and peripubertal colts.

Correlation between serum testosterone concentration and morphometric findings from ultrasonography of the accessory sex glands in peripubertal colts was investigated during pubertal development. Nineteen colts of initial age ranging from 5 to 12 months were monitored over a 13-month period. Serum testosterone concentration was determined on a biweekly basis, and accessory sex gland development was ultrasonographically monitored once a month.

Immunomodulation of rat endometriotic implant growth and protein production.

Problem: The immune system has been implicated in the pathophysiology of endometriosis. To determine if modulation of the immune system influences endometriotic implant growth and protein production, the following experiment was conducted.

Method: Female rats with surgically induced endometriosis were treated with either the immunosuppressive agent pentoxifylline (Pent; 5 mg/kg BW; N = 16) or a vehicle (N = 16) for 7 consecutive days, then killed.

Classification by the states of deaf and hard of hearing students. It's not how much you hear, but where you live.

The terminology currently used by the U.S. Department of Education and by the 50 states in gathering data on deaf and hard-of-hearing children and in determining eligibility for services varies widely.

Detection of a unique 32-kd protein in the peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that endometriotic tissue secretes endometriotic-specific proteins into the peritoneal fluid (PF) of women with endometriosis.

Design: A prospective design was utilized in this study.

Setting: Tertiary care, university-based center and reproductive endocrinology laboratory.

In vitro study of amniotic fluid gram stain: effect of centrifugation.

Objective: Gram stain of amniotic fluid (AF) is used to detect intraamniotic infection. The purpose of this study was to determine if centrifugation improved the ability of AF Gram stain to detect bacteria.

Methods: AF obtained by amniocentesis from patients with preterm labor (PTL) or preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) was pooled.

A longitudinal study of intellectually gifted deaf and hard of hearing people. Educational, psychological, and career outcomes.

Fifty-seven gifted deaf and hard of hearing people were followed longitudinally to determine their current educational, career, and mental health status. Of the 49 who were old enough for postsecondary schooling and for whom data were available, 86% attained some postsecondary education. Of these, 43% graduated from a four-year college and 18% attended graduate school.

The presence of luteinized unruptured follicle syndrome and altered folliculogenesis in rats with surgically induced endometriosis.

Objective: Our purpose was to determine in the rat model whether endometriosis could influence ovarian function by altering oocyte release or folliculogenesis.

Study Design: We histologically examined the ovaries of reproductively cycling rats with (n = 16) and without (n = 10) surgically induced endometriosis. The rats in these two groups were further subdivided into unilaterally ovariectomized or ovarian-intact groups.

Development and characterization of a polyclonal antiserum-based radioimmunoassay for dog osteocalcin.

Determination of the serum concentration of the protein osteocalcin (OC) is useful for the noninvasive evaluation of bone metabolism. Because the dog is an excellent experimental model for the study of bone, we produced and characterized a polyclonal antiserum specific for dog OC and used it to develop a radioimmunoassay (RIA) for the measurement of the concentration of this protein in dog serum. The antiserum expresses higher affinity for Ca(2+)-bound than for Ca(2+)-free OC (B50 at 10(-5) versus 2 x 10(-4) dilution).

Polypeptides synthesized and released by rat ectopic uterine implants differ from those of the uterus in culture.

Unique endometriosis-specific secretory proteins would be of paramount importance as noninvasive markers for diagnosis and evaluation of therapeutic approaches for endometriosis. Furthermore, identification of endometriosis-specific secretory proteins may be an important step towards understanding the pathophysiology of endometriosis-associated pain and infertility. Therefore this study was designed to assess protein synthesis and secretion by ectopic uterine implants from steroid-treated and reproductively cyclic rats with surgically induced endometriosis.

Age differences in mental rotation task performance: the influence of speed/accuracy tradeoffs.

Young and old subjects performed a mental rotation task with a within-subject instructional manipulation of speed/accuracy criteria. The three sets of instructions emphasized speed, accuracy, or both speed and accuracy equally. Both age groups changed reaction time (RT) in response to instructions, but there was no Age x Instruction interaction.

Embryonic losses after 10-week administration of cobalt to male mice.

Cobalt toxicity was evaluated in the dominant lethal assay (DLA) to determine whether the detrimental effects of cobalt on spermatozoa would have an impact on offspring. Male B6C3F1 mice were treated with cobaltous chloride (400 ppm Co) for 10 weeks and mated. Neither the stage nor rate of development in vitro of 2-cell embryos to blastocyst from cobalt-treated males was affected.

Short-term training in geriatrics: an alternative for family medicine?

Background: Family medicine has responded to the need for training in geriatrics by creating geriatric fellowships and by including geriatric education in residency and medical school curricula. Fellowships, in particular, require extensive time commitment by participating physicians.

Methods: We developed a 1-month geriatric training experience for academic family physicians.

Designing and evaluating an episodic, problem-based geriatric curriculum.

Background: Medical school geriatric training has been directed primarily at improving students' attitudes and knowledge about elderly patients. This study evaluated a clinical problem-based geriatric course for medical students.

Methods: The two-semester geriatric course was presented to 136 second-year medical students.

Enoximone. A review of its pharmacological properties and therapeutic potential.

Enoximone is an imidazolone derivative currently undergoing trials in patients with congestive heart failure refractory to conventional therapy. It is a phosphodiesterase inhibitor with both positive inotropic and vasodilator properties, and is active by both oral and intravenous routes of administration. While pharmacodynamic studies have documented beneficial haemodynamic effects after short term oral administration, and objective and subjective improvement relative to placebo during some short term trials, its clinical efficacy during continuous longer term therapy remains uncertain.

Pregnancy from cryopreserved embryos: an important new aspect of assisted reproduction.

Assisted Reproduction techniques have become well-established methods of treating infertility in the decade since their inception. The gradually improving efficacy of these procedures has made the risks of multiple pregnancy a serious concern. Cryopreservation of "extra" embryos has been developed to counter this problem, but has led to new difficulties.

Detection of a progesterone-induced secretory protein synthesized by the uteri but not the endometriotic implants of rats with induced endometriosis.

Steroids modulate the secretory activity of the uterus, but little is known of their effect on ectopic endometrium protein synthesis and secretion. We utilized two-dimensional electrophoresis to visualize proteins produced by the uteri and endometriotic implants of both steroid-treated and reproductively cyclic rats with and without surgically induced endometriosis. Of the greater than 300 proteins visualized, only the uterine cultures from progesterone (P)-stimulated, estrogen-suppressed rats contained a distinctive glycoprotein (P-induced uterine protein-1; molecular weight [Mr] 70,000; isoelectric point [pI] 5.

Relationships of serum estriol, cortisol and albumin concentrations with pig weight at 110 days of gestation and at birth.

In polytocous species, animals with reduced birth weights are associated with reduced neonatal survival, which may be related to substandard placental function. At 110 days of gestation (n = 84) and at birth (approximately 114 days, n = 193), fetal pigs were bled and weighed, so that indexes of placental function (estriol), fetal stress (cortisol), and fetal growth (albumin) could be related to fetal development. Concentration of estriol at birth or 110 days of gestation was not linearly related to weight of pig.