Longitudinal analysis of the association between removal of dental amalgam, urine mercury and 14 self-reported health symptoms.

Background: Mercury vapor poses a known health risk with no clearly established safe level of exposure. Consequently there is debate over whether the level of prolonged exposure to mercury vapor from dental amalgam fillings, combining approximately 50% mercury with other metals, is sufficiently high to represent a risk to health. The objective of our study is to determine if mercury exposure from amalgam fillings is associated with risk of adverse health effects.

Transfusion-associated Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in a pregnant patient with thalassemia trait: a case report.

Background: Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) is an acute nonspecific febrile illness caused by the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Although usually transmitted via tick bite, HGA may rarely also be acquired through transfusion. HGA during pregnancy may pose significant gestational risks due to altered maternal immune status and the potential for perinatal transmission.

The importance of body weight for the dose response relationship of oral vitamin D supplementation and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D in healthy volunteers.

Unlike vitamin D recommendations by the Institute of Medicine, the Clinical Practice Guidelines by the Endocrine Society acknowledge body weight differentials and recommend obese subjects be given two to three times more vitamin D to satisfy their body's vitamin D requirement. However, the Endocrine Society also acknowledges that there are no good studies that clearly justify this. In this study we examined the combined effect of vitamin D supplementation and body weight on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin (25(OH)D) and serum calcium in healthy volunteers.

Autism research funding allocation: can economics tell us if we have got it right?

There is a concern that the allocation of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research funding may be misallocating resources, overemphasizing basic science at the expense of translational and clinical research. Anthony Bailey has proposed that an economic evaluation of autism research funding allocations could be beneficial for funding agencies by identifying under- or overfunded areas of research. In response to Bailey, we illustrate why economics cannot provide an objective, technical solution for identifying the "best" allocation of research resources.

Vincristine and fine motor function of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Background: Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia receive vincristine, a chemotherapy drug known to cause peripheral neuropathy. Yet, few studies have examined the association of vincristine to fine motor function.

Purpose: This study will describe the fine motor skills and function of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia on maintenance vincristine.

How long is long enough? Extended anticoagulation for the treatment of cancer-associated deep vein thrombosis.

A previously healthy 41-year-old man presents with left leg pain and shortness of breath. He has a 20–packyear history of smoking but quit 2 years ago. An ultrasound of the left leg shows thrombosis of the superficial femoral and popliteal veins.

Effectiveness of a summer camp intervention for children with developmental coordination disorder.

Background: Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) significantly affects a child's motor abilities and negatively impacts their self-efficacy and participation in physical activity. Using a task-specific approach and cognitive strategies in a group setting, we designed a summer camp intervention for children with DCD.

Aims: Our purpose was to examine the effectiveness of the summer camp in meeting child-chosen functional motor goals and increasing self-efficacy and participation.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor presenting with diffuse leptomeningeal involvement in a 55-year-old woman: a case report and brief summary of current diagnostic tests and treatment.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs) are typically present as masses in children and adolescents, but rarely in adults. Diagnoses, management strategies, and prognostication factors are not well established in adult cases of PNETs. We describe the case of a central nervous system PNET diagnosed in a 55-year-old woman presenting with a sudden onset of symptoms consisting of increased intracranial pressure and findings of diffuse leptomeningeal enhancement and a small medullary lesion seen on MRI.

Therapeutic implications of protein disulfide isomerase inhibition in thrombotic disease.

The study of thrombus formation has increasingly applied in vivo tools such as genetically modified mice and intravital microscopy to the evaluation of molecular and cellular mechanisms of thrombosis. Among several unexpected findings of this approach was the discovery that protein disulfide isomerase serves an essential role in thrombus formation at sites of vascular injury. The observation that the commonly ingested quercetin flavonoid, quercetin-3-rutinoside, inhibits protein disulfide isomerase and blocks thrombus formation in preclinical studies has set the stage for clinical trials using protein disulfide isomerase antagonists as antithrombotics.

Glial TLR4 signaling does not contribute to opioid-induced depression of respiration.

Opioids activate glia in the central nervous system in part by activating the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/myeloid differentiation 2 (MD2) complex. TLR4/MD2-mediated activation of glia by opioids compromises their analgesic actions. Glial activation is also hypothesized as pivotal in opioid-mediated reward and tolerance and as a contributor to opioid-mediated respiratory depression.

Unconventional approaches to the prevention of cancer associated thrombosis.

A number of strategies are currently under investigation to prevent venous thromboembolic events in cancer cohorts. Based on the efficacy of low molecular weight heparin in the treatment of thrombosis in cancer patients, a number of clinical studies have focused on evaluating the efficacy the low molecular weight heparins in the primary thromboprophylaxis setting. Further refinements in defining which cancer cohorts are at greatest risk of suffering thromboembolic events are under investigation such as clinical-laboratory risk scores and biomarkers such as tissue factor-bearing microparticles.

Pattern of frequent but nontargeted pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis for hospitalized patients with cancer at academic medical centers: a prospective, cross-sectional, multicenter study.

Purpose: Hospitalized patients with cancer are considered to be at high risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE). Despite strong recommendations in numerous clinical practice guidelines, retrospective studies have shown that pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis is underutilized in hospitalized patients with cancer.

Patients And Methods: We conducted a prospective, cross-sectional study of hospitalized patients with cancer at five academic hospitals to determine prescription rates of thromboprophylaxis and factors influencing its use during hospitalization.

Lack of evidence to support thromboprophylaxis in hospitalized medical patients with cancer.

Background: The administration of anticoagulant thromboprophylaxis for all patients with cancer who are hospitalized for acute medical illness is considered standard practice and strongly recommended in clinical guidelines. These recommendations are extrapolated from randomized controlled prophylaxis trials not specifically conducted in cancer cohorts. Because hospitalized patients with cancer constitute a unique population with increased risk of venous thromboembolic events and major hemorrhage, validation of the efficacy and safety of primary thromboprophylaxis in this population is critical.

Score for neonatal acute physiology-II and neonatal pain predict corticospinal tract development in premature newborns.

Premature infants are at risk for adverse motor outcomes, including cerebral palsy and developmental coordination disorder. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of antenatal, perinatal, and postnatal risk factors for abnormal development of the corticospinal tract, the major voluntary motor pathway, during the neonatal period. In a prospective cohort study, 126 premature neonates (24-32 weeks' gestational age) underwent serial brain imaging near birth and at term-equivalent age.