Abnormal brain glucose metabolism in the delusional misidentification syndromes: a positron emission tomography study in Alzheimer disease.

Brain lesions have been reported with increasing frequency in the delusional misidentification syndromes (DMS). This is the first controlled study to describe DMS regional cerebral metabolic rates of glucose (rCMRglc). We compared rCMRglc (using positron emission tomography) and neuropsychological data in 9 patients with DMS and Alzheimer dementia (AD), 15 AD patients without DMS, and 17 healthy controls.

Current management of coexistent intra-abdominal pathology in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms.

In conclusion, it can be seen that coexistent intra-abdominal pathology and aortic aneurysms demands an individualized approach to determine a treatment plan for a given patient. Life expectancy must be balanced against the risk of a complication developing in either the treated or untreated condition as well as the potential for increased morbidity associated with combined procedures. If combined procedures are performed, they must be undertaken only if the aneurysm resection has gone smoothly.

Echocardiographic diagnosis of discontinuous left pulmonary artery as an isolated lesion.

The diagnosis of a discontinuous left pulmonary artery arising from a left ductus arteriosus was made by two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography in an infant with recurrent pneumonia. The diagnosis was later confirmed at cardiac catheterization and surgery. The suprasternal notch views were especially useful for the identification of the left pulmonary artery.

Two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography alone can adequately define preoperative anatomy and hemodynamic status before repair of complete atrioventricular septal defect in infants < 1 year old.

Objectives: We sought to assess the ability of two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography alone, without cardiac catheterization, to evaluate infants < 1 year of age for complete open heart repair of complete balanced atrioventricular (AV) septal defect.

Background: Two-dimensional echocardiographic-Doppler examinations provide accurate anatomic detail in patients with AV septal defect. Lung biopsy data have shown that patients rarely develop significant inoperable pulmonary vascular disease before 7 months of age.

Angiographic evaluation of a carotid-subclavian bypass graft in a patient with subclavian artery stenosis and left internal mammary artery bypass graft.

The incidence of coronary subclavian steal syndrome is estimated to be 0.4%. When revascularization is necessary, the preferred technique is the carotid-subclavian bypass graft.

Preventing obesity in black women by targeting adolescents: a literature review.

Obesity is a critical problem in black women. Black women have been found to have twice the rate of obesity of white women, and the origins of obesity appear to be in adolescence. To date, few obesity prevention and treatment programs have been designed specifically for black female adolescents and black women.

The classification of delusional misidentification syndromes.

The delusional misidentification syndromes are characterized by a belief in duplicates and replacements. They can be classified as forms of reduplication expressed in the modalities of person, place, time and event, objects, parts of the body and the self. Common features are selectivity, coexistence of forms, intact recognition and faulty identification, depersonalization, and symbolic representation of the patient's feelings, experiences and problems.

Decreasing sex bias through education for parenthood or prevention of adolescent pregnancy: a developmental model with integrative strategies.

This paper identifies the need for more research, education, and services for males about adolescent pregnancy and parenthood to augment their social and familial learning experiences. A case is made for more participation by schools in achieving a better balance between males and females in preparing for parenthood or prevention of pregnancy. Developmentally appropriate educational concepts and strategies that are integrated into the curriculum are described.

Concomitants of asymptomatic retinal cholesterol emboli.

Background And Purpose: Asymptomatic retinal cholesterol emboli are sometimes encountered on ophthalmoscopic examination. They are associated with decreased survival, but their clinical significance is not fully known. We sought to determine which vascular risk factors are associated with such emboli.

Torture: psychiatric sequelae and phenomenology.

Torture has been defined by the United Nations (declaration of December 9, 1975) as "every act by which a public functionary (or another person at his instigation) intentionally inflicts on another person serious pain or suffering, ...

Dental disease in the differential diagnosis of fever of unknown origin.

A patient with a one-year history of fever of unknown origin is presented. Extensive work-up failed to reveal the source of the fever. Treatment of periodontal infection resulted in complete cure, suggesting a cause-effect relationship.

Use of hypnosis before and during angioplasty.

In this study, 16 patients matched with 16 controls were hypnotized prior to angioplasty. The hypnotized patients had a 25% increase in the time the cardiologist was able to keep the balloon inflated compared to the controls. Of the hypnotized patients, 13% required additional narcotic pain medication during the procedure as compared to 44% for the controls.

Facial thermography, basis, protocol, and clinical value.

Computerized electronic telethermography provides clinicians with a reliable evaluation of subtle body surface temperature changes that show underlying physical disorders characterized by pain. The first study population involved 4000 measurements of 100 volunteers at the Medical School of New Jersey. This study of normal volunteers evaluates the validity and reliability of using 0.

Reduplication and the syndrome of Capgras.

THE CONCEPT of reduplication has done much to break down the traditional barriers between behavioral neurology and psychiatry, and to provide a common theme for the study of the delusional misidentification syndromes. This paper describes the features of reduplication that occur in neurological patients, considers their selective and symbolic aspects, their relationship to other disturbances of behavior and to alterations in brain function, and indicates their applicability to the illusion of doubles first described by Joseph Marie Capgras.

The development of adolescent sexual intimacy: implications for counseling.

This paper proposes a perspective for understanding the development of adolescent sexual intimacy. A "transitional stage" is described in which adolescents, driven by a variety of developmental needs influenced by external forces such as peers and family, experiment with sexual behaviors. The completion of the transitional stage results in the adolescent's ability to achieve "relational" sexual intimacy, which is also described.

Thermophysiologic anthropometry of the face in Homo sapiens.

Standard clinical thermographic practice has been to regard a side-to-side skin surface temperature difference of 0.5 degrees C or greater as indicative of a clinically significant disorder when such a difference is observed for the contralateral sides of the face. Prior to this time this standard relied upon empiric observation and cumulative experience.

Infrarenal aortic occlusion: does it threaten renal perfusion or function?

Proximal propagation of aortic thrombus with resultant impaired renal perfusion has been considered a significant risk of untreated infrarenal aortic occlusion. To investigate this question, we studied 52 patients surviving 1 year or more after surgical interruption of the infrarenal aorta in the course of treatment of aortic graft infection. Blood pressure, renal function, and renal artery anatomy were studied before and after aortic interruption.

The immediate postoperative prosthesis (IPOP) in ischemia and septic amputations.

A retrospective analysis of the medical records of 17 consecutive patients undergoing lower extremity amputation and Immediate Postoperative Prosthesis (IPOP) placement for infectious complications of unreconstructable arterial insufficiency was performed. Significant soft tissue infection was present in 13 patients and osteomyelitis in four. The mean patient age was 59.

Hyperinflation of the lungs in infants with large left-to-right shunts.

Infants with significant left-to-right shunts due to ventricular septal defects and atrioventricular canal defects commonly present with respiratory symptoms, such as shortness of breath while feeding, tachypnea, and wheezing. Radiographs show hyperinflated lungs as well as cardiomegaly and increased vascularity. Enlarged vessels adjacent to small compressible airways as well as peribronchial interstitial edema may cause diffuse air trapping.

CORFs (comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities): an emerging healthcare system for brain-injured patients.

This paper follows the development of Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (CORFs) as they emerged from the Day Hospital concept to a new healthcare delivery system. The structure, requirements for stature, reimbursement considerations and potential problems associated with CORFs are discussed. Issues relating to the care of patients with brain injuries are presented and an innovative model of an institute that individualizes a program of techniques to arouse comatose patients and trains and supports families during the process of arousal from coma, are described.