Methods of Restoring Patency to Occluded Feeding Tubes.

Obstruction of enteral tubes places clinicians at a therapeutic crossroad. One must either remove the current device and replace it, or remove the obstruction from the tube. The following article addresses issues related to clogged or obstructed enteral feeding tubes, and methods used to restore patency to these devices.

Late hyponatremia in very-low-birth-weight infants: incidence and associated risk factors.

Objective: To determine the incidence of late hyponatremia in very-low-birth-weight infants and to identify associated risk factors. Low serum sodium concentration in otherwise healthy premature infants beyond 2 weeks of life is referred to as the hyponatremia.

Design: Retrospective cohort review.

Multicenter, placebo-controlled trial of cabergoline taken once daily in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Cabergoline is a dopaminergic agonist relatively specific for the D2 receptor and much longer-acting than other dopamine agonists. We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study of cabergoline in 188 levodopa/carbidopa-treated patients with suboptimally controlled Parkinson's disease (PD). The cabergoline patients had significantly better Activities of Daily Living (p = 0.

Contrast sensitivity dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease.

We compared the spatial contrast sensitivity of six patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) and six age-matched control subjects in a parametric design. Results demonstrate reduced contrast sensitivity in patients with AD at all but the lowest frequency tested. The results suggest that the effect of AD on spatial contrast sensitivity is stronger at higher frequencies and provide a rationale for complaints of poor vision in AD patients.

Levodopa improves spatial contrast sensitivity in Parkinson's disease.

Objective: To study the effect of levodopa on the visual contrast sensitivity of patients with Parkinson's disease.

Design: Contrast sensitivity of patients was measured before and after levodopa administration. Patient contrast sensitivity was compared with that of normal controls by repeated-measures analyses of variance.

Controlled study of the antiparkinsonian activity and tolerability of cabergoline.

Cabergoline, a new ergoline derivative, is a D2-specific dopaminergic agonist that is more potent and longer-acting than other agonist agents. We conducted a randomized, double-blind study of increasing doses of cabergoline taken once a day. Twenty-five patients with Parkinson's disease taking stable doses of levodopa began cabergoline at 0.

Long-acting carbidopa-levodopa in the management of moderate and advanced Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease patients treated chronically with levodopa often develop fluctuations in motor response. Motor fluctuations can be attributed in part to oscillating plasma levodopa concentrations. A controlled-release formulation containing 200 mg of levodopa and 50 mg of carbidopa provides superior plasma levodopa profiles compared with the standard preparation.

Long-term evaluation of Sinemet CR in parkinsonian patients with motor fluctuations.

The safety and efficacy of Sinemet CR, a controlled-release formulation of carbidopa/levodopa, were investigated in a three year, open-label trial involving 18 parkinsonian patients with fluctuating motor response. The average daily levodopa dosing frequency did not change significantly during long-term treatment. Efficacy measures generally revealed a gradual progression of parkinsonian disability.

Spatial contrast sensitivity is reduced in bilateral Parkinson's disease.

We studied the contrast sensitivity functions of 41 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) with a wide range of parkinsonian symptomatology (Hoehn and Yahr stages 1 to 4) and 22 age-matched control subjects in a parametric design. Results demonstrated reduced contrast sensitivity in PD patients but only in those patients who had progressed beyond Hoehn and Yahr stage 1. Furthermore, there were deficits in contrast sensitivity related to the severity of PD.

Functional ambulation velocity and distance requirements in rural and urban communities. A clinical report.

The purposes of this clinical report are 1) to document the distances and velocities that individuals must ambulate to function independently in their community and 2) to demonstrate the differences in travel distances and velocities among communities of various sizes. In seven communities of different sizes, we measured distances from a designated parking space to commonly frequented sites (eg, stores, post offices, banks, and medical buildings). We also measured street widths and the time allowed by crossing signals to cross streets safely.