Changes of spine density and dendritic complexity in the prefrontal cortex in offspring of mothers exposed to stress during pregnancy.

Both chronic stress in adulthood and episodes of stress in the early postnatal period have been shown to interfere with neuronal development in limbic prefrontal cortical regions. The present study in rats showed for the first time that the development of layer II/III pyramidal neurons in the dorsal anterior cingulate (ACd) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is significantly affected in offspring of mothers exposed to stress during pregnancy. In prenatally stressed (PS) male rat pups the ACd and OFC showed significantly lower spine densities on the apical dendrite (ACd, -20%; OFC, -25%), on basal dendrites reduced spine densities where found only in the OFC (-20% in PS males).

Trends in sunburns, sun protection practices, and attitudes toward sun exposure protection and tanning among US adolescents, 1998-2004.

Background: Sun exposure in childhood is an important risk factor for developing skin cancer as an adult. Despite extensive efforts to reduce sun exposure among the young, there are no population-based data on trends in sunburns and sun protection practices in the young. The aim of this study was to describe nationally representative trend data on sunburns, sun protection, and attitudes related to sun exposure among US youth.

Cutting both ways.

Health care coverage is by far the biggest cost of doing business for most American companies large and small. Many are trying to cope by reducing or eliminating health benefits for retirees. That's an unhappy shock for their former employees--and it is bound to have disturbing consequences for providers.

The burden of skin diseases: 2004 a joint project of the American Academy of Dermatology Association and the Society for Investigative Dermatology.

Skin disease is one of the top 15 groups of medical conditions for which prevalence and health care spending increased the most between 1987 and 2000, with approximately 1 of 3 people in the United States with a skin disease at any given time. Even so, a national data profile on skin disease has not been conducted since the late 1970s. This study closes the gap by estimating the prevalence, economic burden, and impact on quality of life for 22 leading categories of skin disease.

The use of mole-mapping diagrams to increase skin self-examination accuracy.

Background: Monthly skin self-examination (SSE) is associated with reduced incidence of advanced melanoma, but SSE is prone to error in detecting early changes of melanoma.

Objective: We sought to improve SSE accuracy by requiring participants to complete a mole-mapping diagram.

Methods: After completing a baseline survey, participants received SSE instruction, had their backs digitally photographed, and half were randomized to complete a mole-mapping diagram.

Adjuvant local irradiation for Merkel cell carcinoma.

Objectives: To determine the effect of adjuvant local irradiation on (1) disease recurrence and (2) survival rates in Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC).

Data Sources: An Ovid MEDLINE search (January 1966-May 26, 2004) was performed using the following criteria: group 1, "Merkel cell OR trabecular OR neuroendocrine skin OR APUDoma skin OR primary small cell skin OR primary undifferentiated skin OR endocrine skin OR neuroepithelial" AND group 2, "carcinoma OR tumor OR cancer" with mapping modifiers "-title, -abstract, -keyword, -subject heading." The search yielded 843 citations.

Controversies in the public health approach to keratinocyte carcinomas.

Keratinocyte carcinomas are very common cancers in fair-skinned populations throughout the world. The term 'keratinocyte carcinoma' includes basal and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, but not other cancers that may be included under the more ambiguous term 'nonmelanoma skin cancer'. Incidence and mortality are important for assessing impact and recent research suggests that these cancers are increasing in incidence in young adults.

The effect of contextual factors on the judgement of informal reasoning fallacies.

Informal reasoning fallacies are arguments that are psychologically persuasive but not valid. In order to judge the validity of these arguments one has to be sensitive to the context in which they appear. However, there is no empirical study that examines students' sensitivity to contextual factors and whether contextual factors actually influence their ability to identify informal reasoning fallacies.

Progress and prospects on melanoma: the way forward for early detection and reduced mortality.

The public health problem of melanoma is difficult. Recent decades have seen substantial efforts directed at primary prevention, yet the incidence of melanoma continues to increase. Substantial efforts have been devoted to improving treatment, yet melanoma retains a poor prognosis if simple surgical excision is not curative.

Innovations and challenges in melanoma: summary statement from the first Cambridge conference.

Innovations and Challenges in Melanoma, chaired by Michael Atkins and cochaired by Ulrich Keilholz, John Kirkwood, and Jeffrey Sosman, was held July 15 to 16, 2005, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The conference brought together leading experts in the fields of cancer research, medical oncology, surgical oncology, anatomic pathology, dermatology, and immunotherapy who wished to advance the field of melanoma treatment by exchanging information and perspectives regarding recent advances and recommendations for further study. The conference proceedings published in this educational supplement to Clinical Cancer Research are intended to provide timely information and recommendations on how genetics, biology, and data information can enhance our understanding of melanoma biology and help inform the use of therapies for this disease.

A smoking cessation intervention for the methadone-maintained.

Aim: To test, in combination with the nicotine patch, the incremental efficacy of a maximal, tailored behavioral treatment over a minimal treatment for smoking cessation.

Design: Randomized clinical trial with 6-month follow-up.

Setting: Five methadone maintenance treatment centers in Rhode Island.

Accreditation. Challenging JCAHO.

The Joint Commission may soon have a new rival for accrediting hospitals. And unless JCAHO mends some open wounds, hospitals could flock to the fledgling competitor.

Cutaneous melanoma: public health approach to early detection.

Melanoma is a major public health problem. There will be a projected 60,000 cases of invasive melanoma diagnosed in 2005, and that number is increasing each year. Fortunately, the prognosis is improving as well, but we still have approximately 8000 deaths per year related to this tumor.

Evaluation of beta-cell replication in mice transgenic for hepatocyte growth factor and placental lactogen: comprehensive characterization of the G1/S regulatory proteins reveals unique involvement of p21cip.

We hypothesized that combined transgenic overexpression of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and placental lactogen in islets would lead to even greater increases in beta-cell mass and replication than either growth factor alone. This did not occur, suggesting that beta-cell replication is saturable or subject to molecular restraint. We therefore performed the first comprehensive G(1)/S cell cycle survey in islets, cataloguing the broad range of kinases, cyclins, and kinase inhibitors that control the G(1)/S transition in islets from normal, HGF, placental lactogen, and doubly transgenic mice.

Public health challenges in sun protection.

Sunscreens are a popular choice for protection from ultraviolet radiation, and hence, important components in the public health campaign to reduce the burden of skin cancer. Public health messages in skin cancer prevention have been used effectively in educational campaigns. The benefits of sunscreen extend beyond skin cancer prevention into other aspects of health and disease prevention: sunscreen decreases the risk for sunburn during physical activity outdoors and seems not to increase the risk for osteoporosis.

Respiratory symptom relief related to reduction in cigarette use.

Introduction: Many smokers reduce their cigarette consumption during failed attempts to quit. We report the impact of changes in consumption on smoking-related respiratory symptom severity (SRRSS).

Methods: Between February 2002 and May 2004 we recruited 383 smokers from 5 methadone maintenance programs for a randomized trial of nicotine replacement plus behavioral treatment versus nicotine replacement alone for smoking cessation.

Save lives now. Patient care. Transitioning care.

H&HN's ongoing series on ways that hospitals can reduce medical errors takes a look at how clinicians can better talk with one another as patients move from one setting to another.

The potential influence of maternal stress hormones on development and mental health of the offspring.

Recent studies in humans suggest that alterations in the activity of the neuroendocrine system mediate the effects of psychosocial stress on fetal development and birth outcome. Chronic maternal distress compromises the normal regulation of hormonal activity during pregnancy and elevates free circulating corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), probably of placental origin, before the normal increase occurs at term. Excess CRH, and other hormones like cortisol and met-enkephalin that pass through the placenta, could precipitate preterm labor, reduce birth weight and slow growth rate in prenatally stressed infants.