PBMC telomerase activity, but not leukocyte telomere length, correlates with hippocampal volume in major depression.

Accelerated cell aging, indexed in peripheral leukocytes by telomere shortness and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) by telomerase activity, has been reported in several studies of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the relevance of these peripheral measures for brain indices that are presumably more directly related to MDD pathophysiology is unknown. In this study, we explored the relationship between PBMC telomerase activity and leukocyte telomere length and magnetic resonance imaging-estimated hippocampal volume in un-medicated depressed individuals and healthy controls.

Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 for managing infant colic: protocol for an individual participant data meta-analysis.

Introduction: Infant colic, or excessive crying of unknown cause in infants less than 3 months old, is common and burdensome. Its aetiology is undetermined, and consensus on its management is still lacking. Recent studies suggest a possible link between infant colic and gut microbiota, indicating probiotics to be a promising treatment.

Peripheral antioxidant markers are associated with total hippocampal and CA3/dentate gyrus volume in MDD and healthy controls-preliminary findings.

Several psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD), are associated with increased blood markers of oxidative stress. The relevance of this to the oxidation-sensitive hippocampus (HC) is unknown. We investigated the relationship between peripheral oxidative stress markers and HC volume in unmedicated individuals with MDD (n=16) and healthy controls (n=19).

Comparative evaluation of local control strategies in localized Ewing sarcoma of bone: a report from the Children's Oncology Group.

Background: Patients with Ewing sarcoma require local primary tumor control with surgery, radiation, or both. The optimal choice of local control for overall and local disease control remains unclear.

Methods: Patients with localized Ewing sarcoma of bone who were treated on 3 consecutive protocols with standard-dose, 5-drug chemotherapy every 3 weeks were included (n=465).

It's academic: public policy activities among faculty members in a department of medicine.

Problem: To investigate whether and how faculty members in a department of medicine are engaged in public policy activities.

Approach: Between February and April 2011, the authors conducted a cross-sectional, Web-based survey of all active Department of Medicine faculty members at the University of California, San Francisco. Survey questions covered demographics, academic role, academic rank, and participation in three specific public policy activities during the past five years: (1) policy-related research, (2) expert advice to government officials, and (3) public policy advocacy in collaboration with organizations outside government.

Influence of gynecologic oncologists on the survival of patients with endometrial cancer.

Purpose: Despite a lack of evidence for survival benefit, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology has recommendations for referral to gynecologic oncologists for the treatment of endometrial cancer. Therefore, we propose to determine the influence of gynecologic oncologists on the treatment and survival of patients with endometrial cancer.

Patients And Methods: Data were obtained from Medicare and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) databases from 1988 to 2005.

Glucocorticoids. Mood, memory, and mechanisms.

Elevated circulating levels of glucocorticoids are associated with psychiatric symptoms across several different conditions. It remains unknown if this hormonal abnormality is a cause or an effect of the psychiatric conditions. For example, the hypercortisolemia observed in a subset of patients with depression may have a direct impact on the symptoms of depression, but it is also possible that the hypercortisolemia merely reflects the stress associated with depression.

Chemotherapy: The role of ifosfamide and etoposide in Ewing sarcoma.

The EICESS-92 Trial compared the efficacy of cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide in patients with Ewing sarcoma. Subgroup analysis suggested that patients with large, localized tumors benefited from the addition of etoposide, whereas patients with metastases did not.

Does treated systemic hypertension affect progression of optic nerve damage in glaucoma suspects?

Purpose: To evaluate whether treatment of systemic hypertension has an effect on progression of optic nerve parameters in glaucoma suspects using confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy.

Methods: Two hundred eyes of 103 glaucoma suspect patients were included in this retrospective cohort study. Thirty-one patients (of whom 59 eyes were included in the study) had systemic hypertension under treatment (based on medical history).

Community-based rapid HIV testing in homeless and marginally housed adults in San Francisco.

Background: Standard two-step HIV testing is limited by poor return-for-results rates and misses high-risk individuals who do not access conventional testing facilities.

Methods: We describe a community-based rapid HIV testing programme in which homeless and marginally housed adults recruited from shelters, free meal programmes and single room occupancy hotels in San Francisco received OraQuick Rapid HIV-1 Antibody testing (OraSure Technologies, Bethlehem, PA, USA).

Results: Over 8 months, 1614 adults were invited to participate and 1213 (75.

Intraocular pressure and ocular pulse amplitude comparisons in different types of glaucoma using dynamic contour tonometry.

Purpose: To compare the intraocular pressures (IOP) and ocular pulse amplitudes (OPA) in patients with different types of glaucoma, ocular hypertension (OHT), and normal controls (NC) using dynamic contour tonometry (DCT) and the goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT).

Methods: 906 eyes of 501 adult patients in the following five groups were included in this cross-sectional study: primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), normal tension glaucoma (NTG), Pseudoexfoliative Glaucoma (PXG), OHT, and NC. The following tests were performed simultaneously during a single visit: IOP using DCT and GAT; OPA using DCT and central corneal thickness (CCT) using ultrasound pachymetry.

Infant botulism, type F, presenting at 54 hours of life.

We report a case of botulism in a 54-hour-old infant with rapidly progressive fulminant paralysis and rapid spontaneous recovery atypical for infant botulism. Clostridium baratii and type F botulinum neurotoxin were isolated from the patient's stool. This unique presentation with rapid recovery is consistent with pharmacokinetics of type F botulinum neurotoxin.

DHEA treatment of Alzheimer's disease: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Objective: To compare the efficacy and tolerability of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) vs placebo in AD.

Method: Fifty-eight subjects with AD were randomized to 6 month's treatment with DHEA (50 mg per os twice a day; n = 28) or placebo (n = 30) in a multi-site, double-blind pilot trial. Primary efficacy measures assessed cognitive functioning (the AD Assessment Scale-Cognitive [ADAS-Cog]) and observer-based ratings of overall changes in severity (the Clinician's Interview-Based Impression of Change with Caregiver Input [CIBIC-Plus]).

A strategy for the detection and evaluation of unprofessional behavior in medical students. University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine Clinical Clerkships Operation Committee.

The authors describe the first four years (1995-1998) in which the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine operated an evaluation system to monitor students' professional behaviors longitudinally through their clinical rotations. The goals of this system are to help "turn around" students found to have behaved unprofessionally, to demonstrate the priority placed by the school on the attainment of professional behavior, and to give the school "muscle" to deal with issues of professionalism. A student whose professional skills are rated less than solid at the end of the clerkship receives a "physicianship report" of unprofessional behavior.

Case-mix adjustment using objective measures of severity: the case for laboratory data.

Objective: We evaluate the use of routinely gathered laboratory data to subclassify surgical and nonsurgical major diagnostic categories into groups homogeneous with respect to length of stay (LOS).

Data Sources And Study Setting: The source of data is the Combined Patient Experience database (COPE), created by merging data from computerized sources at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center and Stanford University Medical Center for a total sample size of 73,117 patient admissions.

Study Design: The study is cross-sectional and retrospective.