Are psychological consequences of stigma enduring or transitory? A longitudinal study of HIV stigma and distress among Asians and Pacific Islanders living with HIV illness.

Cross-sectional findings have shed considerable light on the relationships between illness stigma and psychological outcomes among persons living with HIV/AIDS in the United States. However, no studies have examined the possible long-term consequences of illness stigma on mental health among Asians and Pacific Islanders living with HIV/AIDS, a group particularly vulnerable to HIV stigma due to ingrained sociocultural norms. This 2-year longitudinal study examined the relationship between five HIV-stigma factors (social rejection, negative self-worth, perceived interpersonal insecurity, financial insecurity, discretionary disclosure) and changes in psychological distress dimensions (self-esteem, hopelessness, dread, confused thinking, sadness, anxiety) among a convenience sample of 44 HIV-seropositive Asians and Pacific Islanders in New York City from 2002 to 2004.

Endoscopic approach to orbital apex lesions.

Purpose: To examine the role of transnasal and transantral endoscopic surgical approaches in the management of apical orbital lesions.

Methods: Retrospective case series.

Results: Three patients underwent combined orbital and endoscopic surgery for treatment of apical orbital lesions.

MRI of five patients with mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to retrospectively review MR images of the brain in five patients diagnosed with mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy.

Conclusion: Our research supports previously reported findings of confluent abnormal cerebral white matter in patients with mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy. In contrast to prior studies, our cohort of five patients showed that involvement of the corpus callosum as well as the capsular white matter, basal ganglia, thalami, midbrain, pons, and cerebellar white matter is not rare and does not preclude the diagnosis of mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy.

Four fatal flaws in recent spirituality research.

The answer to the question of whether clinical pastoral education and professional chaplaincy need become more scientific should be a Tillichian "yes and no." Pastoral care and counseling is both an art and a science. The field is thus subject ineluctably to scientific examination.

Accelerated diabetic wound healing using cultured dermal fibroblasts retrovirally transduced with the platelet-derived growth factor B gene.

The treatment of diabetic wounds is a considerable clinical challenge. In this study, mouse dermal fibroblasts retrovirally transduced with the human platelet-derived growth factor B (PDGF-B) gene were used to treat diabetic mouse wounds. The PDGF-B gene was obtained from human umbilical vein endothelial cells, cloned into retroviral vectors, and introduced into diabetic mouse C57B1/ks-db/db dermal fibroblasts.

Antimicrobial control programs.

The use of broad spectrum antimicrobials, the emergence of multiresistant organisms, and the hospital drug costs associated with antimicrobials have all driven the need for institutions to develop strategies to control the use of antimicrobials. Formulary restrictions, prior approval mechanisms, treatment guidelines, order forms, stop orders, antimicrobial management teams, computer-assisted decision support tools, antimicrobial rotation, and combinations of these practices have all been evaluated as methods to encourage the appropriate use of these agents. While many programs have been successful in reducing antimicrobial costs without compromising patient care, limited data are available on the impact of these programs on the development of multiresistant organisms, particularly in neonatal intensive care units.

Interferon-alpha-2b and ribavirin for retreatment of chronic hepatitis C.

Background/aims: Subjects with chronic hepatitis C who fail treatment with interferon-alpha are generally divided into two groups: "relapsers" who normalized serum aminotransferase activity and have undetectable viral RNA during treatment and "non-responders" who do not achieve these results. The aim of this study was to examine retreatment of such subjects.

Methodology: We studied 117 subjects with chronic hepatitis C who failed treatment with interferon-alpha, 87 of whom were "non-responders" and 30 "relapsers.

The witches' brew of spirituality and medicine.

Recent proposals to join spirituality and medicine are facile and ill defined. The notion that physicians have the time or training to make assessments and recommendations about spirituality is misguided. Whenever a physician demonstrates personal caring for a patient, the healing process is likely enhanced, and in that sense, physicians often promote the spirituality of the patient.

New modalities for imaging the fetal heart.

Improvement in the prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease requires familiarity with advances ultrasound equipment and features and any new imaging methods that can effectively provide cardiac information from the fetus. This article discusses imaging the fetal heart with transvaginal ultrasound, Doppler ultrasound, intrauterine sonography, three-dimensional ultrasound (3DUS) and magnetic resonance imaging.

Use of unconventional therapies by children with cancer at an urban medical center.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, modalities, and determinants of use of unconventional therapies among children with cancer receiving conventional treatment at an urban academic medical center in the United States.

Patients And Methods: We interviewed the parents of patients and/or patients who were receiving or had received conventional therapy for treatment of childhood cancer. Of 78 patients/ parents asked, 75 consented to the interview, which included demographic factors, life events, and use of unconventional therapies.

Transverse leukonychia with systemic infection.

Transverse white nail bands (leukonychia) have been described in association with systemic illnesses and exposure to toxins, and medications. We describe the occurrence of transverse nail bands in two patients following acute systemic illnesses. In the first case, transverse white nail bands developed in a 30-year-old human immunodeficiency virus-positive man following acute pulmonary tuberculosis.

Prospective, randomized outcome study of endoscopy versus modified barium swallow in patients with dysphagia.

Objective: Aspiration pneumonia is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in both acute and long-term care settings While there are many reasons for patients to develop aspiration pneumonia, there exists a strong association between difficulty swallowing, or dysphagia, and the development of aspiration pneumonia The modified barium swallow test (MBS) and endoscopic evaluations of swallowing are considered to be the most comprehensive tests used to evaluate and manage patients with dysphagia in an effort to reduce the incidence of pneumonia. The purpose of this study was to provide an initial investigation of whether flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing with sensory testing (FEESST) or MBS is superior as the diagnostic test for evaluating and guiding the behavioral and dietary management of outpatients with dysphagia. FEESST combines the standard endoscopic evaluation of swallowing with a technique that determines laryngopharyngeal sensory discrimination thresholds by endoscopically delivering air pulse stimuli to the mucosa innervated by the superior laryngeal nerve.

Short air bubble in the gastric fundus during fasting: radiographic sign of gastroparesis after lung transplantation.

This study was undertaken to assess whether gastroparesis, as a chronic complication of lung transplantation, correlates with height of the gastric air bubble on chest radiographs of erect fasting subjects. Height of the gastric air bubble and presence or absence of a gastric air-fluid level were assessed on chest radiographic examinations (posteroanterior, lateral, upright position, during fasting, immediately after bronchoscopy, median 148 days after transplantation) obtained on 3 separate days for each of 19 recipients of lung transplantation. Seven of the subjects (five women, two men) had chronic upper gastrointestinal symptoms after transplantation and a confirmed diagnosis of gastroparesis.

What dermatologists need to know about mast cell disease: a dermatopathologist's view.

Mast cell disease involves a group of conditions characterized by the infiltration of mast cells in the tissues and organs. Mast cell disease predominantly affects the skin, presenting in the form of urticaria pigmentosa. This concise review article defines mast cell disease.

Indinavir-related recurrent paronychia and ingrown toenails.

Lamivudine and indinavir are two medications used to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that have recently been reported to cause paronychia. The nails of the great toes are commonly affected. This is the second report of paronychia and ingrown toenails due to indinavir and the first report of recurrent paronychia and ingrown toenails associated with this drug.

Molecular basis of congenital atrichia in humans and mice.

In recent years, molecular genetic approaches to the study of human diseases have yielded unexpected insights into the pathophysiology of many dermatologic disorders, most recently, disorders involving hair loss (i.e., alopecia).

Bilateral tinea nigra plantaris and tinea nigra plantaris mimicking melanoma.

Tinea nigra, a superficial fungal infection caused by Phaeoannellomyces werneckii, presents as a hyperpigmented, nonscaling macule of variable size and shape. Typically lacking induration, erythema, or pruritus, these "ink spot" lesions may resemble junctional nevi or malignant melanoma. Rapid, noninvasive diagnosis can be provided by potassium hydroxide examination, demonstrating numerous large, dematiaceous hyphae.

Invasive squamous cell carcinoma with sporotrichoid metastasis in a patient with cutaneous T cell lymphoma treated with chronic extracorporeal photopheresis.

An 83-year-old Caucasian man with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma developed an aggressive squamous cell carcinoma of the left forearm, which recurred and metastasized after Mohs micrographic surgery and systemic chemotherapy with cis-platin and 5-fluorouracil. He was treated with extracorporeal photopheresis, radiation therapy, PUVA photochemotherapy, and interferon therapy for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Aggressive squamous cell carcinoma can occur in the setting of extracorporeal photopheresis.

SAPHO syndrome: report of three cases and review of the literature.

SAPHO (synovitis, acne, pustulosis, hyperostosis, and osteitis) is an acronym that describes a seronegative syndrome of bone and joint lesions, frequently localized to the anterior chest wall, associated with variable dermatologic manifestations. Dermatologists should be aware of this entity, as early diagnosis can prevent unnecessary surgery and avoid prolonged ineffective antibiotic therapy. We report three new cases and review the literature.