Predictors and moderators of outcome for severe and enduring anorexia nervosa.

Few of the limited randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for adults with anorexia nervosa (AN) have explored predictors and moderators of outcome. This study aimed to identify predictors and moderators of outcome at end of treatment (EOT) and 6- and 12-month follow-up for adults with AN (N = 63). All participants met criteria for severe and enduring AN (duration of illness ≥ 7 years) and participated in an RCT of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT-AN) and specialist supportive clinical management (SSCM).

Hyperkalemia: recognition and management of a critical electrolyte disturbance.

Electrolytes, in the right balance, are essential for regulating body functions and maintaining health. Even small deviations from normal electrolyte concentrations may cause significant problems. Hyperkalemia is acknowledged as one of the most dangerous electrolyte abnormalities.

Course of depressive symptoms and treatment in the longitudinal assessment of bariatric surgery (LABS-2) study.

Objective: To examine changes in depressive symptoms and treatment in the first 3 years following bariatric surgery.

Methods: The longitudinal assessment of bariatric surgery-2 (LABS-2) is an observational cohort study of adults (n = 2,458) who underwent a bariatric surgical procedure at 1 of 10 US hospitals between 2006 and 2009. This study includes 2,148 participants who completed the Beck depression inventory (BDI) at baseline and ≥ one follow-up visit in years 1-3.

Changes in sexual functioning and sex hormone levels in women following bariatric surgery.

Importance: Obesity has been associated with impairments in sexual function and untoward changes in reproductive hormones in women. Relatively few studies have investigated changes in these domains following bariatric surgery.

Objective: To investigate changes in sexual functioning, sex hormone levels, and relevant psychosocial constructs in women who underwent bariatric surgery.

C-type lectin receptor Clec4d plays a protective role in resolution of Gram-negative pneumonia.

Pneumonia is frequently associated with sepsis, characterized by a nonresolving hyperinflammation. However, specific host components of the pulmonary milieu that regulate the perpetuation of inflammation and tissue destruction observed in this immune disorder are not clearly understood. We examined the function of Clec4d, an orphan mammalian CLR, in Gram negative pneumonic sepsis caused by KPn.

Cohabitation, gender, and alcohol consumption in 19 countries: a multilevel analysis.

We used an ecological paradigm and multilevel analytic techniques to analyze gender-specific relationships of cohabitation (versus marriage) to drinking in 19 countries (n = 32,922) and to "heavy episodic drinking" (HED) in 17 countries (n = 24,525) in surveys (1996-2004) from Gender, Alcohol, and Culture: An International Study. Cohabitation was associated with elevated risk of HED among drinkers of both genders, controlling for age, education, and societal characteristics. The association between cohabitation and HED tended to be stronger for female drinkers than for male drinkers.

Pro-inflammatory responses in human monocytes are beta1-adrenergic receptor subtype dependent.

Stress induced circulating catecholamines are hypothesized to selectively activate adrenergic receptors (ARs) on immunocompetent cells modulating their inflammatory response to trauma or environmental toxins. We characterized changes in expression of a pro-inflammatory cytokine modulated by beta-AR activation in human primary and immortalized monocytes that had been simultaneously stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Results from cytokine antibody arrays demonstrated that half-maximal effective concentrations of the selective beta-AR agonist isoproterenol (Iso) qualitatively increased LPS-mediated expression of the soluble cytokine, interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta).

Anticipating problem drinking risk from preschoolers' antisocial behavior: evidence for a common delinquency-related diathesis model.

Objective: Early first drinking (EFD) experiences predict later alcohol problems. However, the longitudinal pathway from early childhood leading to EFD has not been well delineated. Based on documented links between drinking behaviors and chronic antisocial behaviors, this article tests a common diathesis model in which precursive patterns of aggression and delinquent behavior-from preschool onward-anticipate EFD.

Relationship of stimulus and examinee variables to performance on analogous visual and tactile block construction tasks.

Nonverbal/spatial tests are unavailable for persons with visual impairments, despite decades of documented need and developmental effort. Because past tactile analogs of block design (BD) tests have not been widely accepted, known BD test parameters were compared across visual and tactile designs to assess the applicability of the test across modalities. Contrary to expectations, edge-cueing of designs with no perceptual cohesiveness (PC) improved tactile and visual performance.

Predictors and moderators of outcome in family-based treatment for adolescent bulimia nervosa.

Objective: To explore the predictors and moderators of treatment outcome for adolescents with bulimia nervosa (BN) who participated in family-based treatment or individual supportive psychotherapy.

Method: Data derived from a randomized controlled trial (n = 80) of family-based treatment of BN and supportive psychotherapy were used to explore possible predictors and moderators of treatment outcome.

Results: Participants with less severe Eating Disorder Examination eating concerns at baseline were more likely to have remitted (abstained from binge eating and purging) after treatment (odds ratio [OR] 0.

Professionally mediated peer support and early breastfeeding success.

Social support interventions that incorporate professionally mediated peer support (PMPS) for improved breastfeeding outcomes were compared with no special breastfeeding support. Fifty-five breastfeeding mothers participated. The breastfeeding outcomes of duration, completeness, satisfaction, and exclusive breastfeeding were compared at 6 weeks postpartum among an experimental group that received PMPS, and among younger community (YC) and older community (OC) groups that received no special breastfeeding support.

Pharmacologic and Psychotherapeutic Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa.

This article will review the treatment research literature on patients with anorexia nervosa. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the controlled treatment literature on this disorder is fairly limited. This is attributable to several factors, including the fact that many patients with anorexia nervosa are difficult to engage in treatment and unwilling to participate in randomized trials, and that many of these patients are so critically ill that they require a multiplicity of interventions and long-term therapy, creating design problems for randomized trials.

Training the trainee: the institution's responsibility to the often forgotten.

Because some trainees are not university employees, regulatory agencies, oversight committees, and investigators may overlook those who work with animals when it comes to training related to animal care and use. The authors draw attention to a common problem facing universities and suggest ways to close the gap in training.

Treatment options for hepatic cystic echinococcosis.

A number of surgical and non-surgical options exist to treat cystic echinococcosis of the liver. For decades, surgical excision via a conservative or radical approach was the recommended approach for hepatic hydatid cysts. The availability of chemotherapeutic agents with significant activity against Echinococcus granulosis has made it possible to undertake ultrasound- or computed tomography-guided transhepatic percutaneous drainage (termed puncture, aspiration, injection, and re-aspiration (PAIR)) of hydatid cysts.

Effects of sibutramine on binge eating, hunger, and fullness in a laboratory human feeding paradigm.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of sibutramine vs. placebo on binge-eating behavior, hunger, and satiety in patients who had problems with binge eating.

Research Methods And Procedures: Seven adult subjects who had problems with binge eating (mean age, 42 years) were randomly assigned to receive alternating sibutramine and placebo in a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study.

Isolated atlantoaxial rotatory fixation in a child with seronegative spondyloarthropathy presenting with torticollis.

Children presenting with torticollis demand thorough investigation. Atlantoaxial subluxation and rotatory fixation should be included in the differential diagnosis even in the absence of neurologic findings. We describe a 9-year-old boy with this condition associated with HLA-B27 positive seronegative spondyloarthropathy that went undiagnosed for 11 weeks.

Open pilot study of the addition of sulfasalazine to methotrexate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis inadequately controlled with methotrexate alone.

The safety and efficacy of the sequential addition of sulfasalazine to baseline methotrexate was assessed in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis inadequately controlled by methotrexate alone. Nineteen patients were recruited in a pilot, prospective, open label, uncontrolled clinical trial. One patient was lost to follow-up, four dropped out due to toxicity, one dropped out due to inefficacy, and five violated the protocol.

Determination of chlorinated hydrocarbons introduced into air/acetylene flames by Fourier transform infrared emission spectroscopy.

A Fourier transform spectrometer is used to record the infrared emission from chlorinated hydrocarbons combusted in an air/acetylene flame. In this manner, the chlorinated hydrocarbons are determined by monitoring the infrared emission of hydrogen chloride at 2653 cm(-1). Discussion is presented of the air/acetylene flame background, and the potential spectral interference from the emission of deuterated species.

Negative endocrine control system for inflammation in rats.

Inflammatory processes may be suppressed by endogenous mechanisms such as release of adrenocorticosteroid hormones through stimulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. In the present study, the relationship between the temporal development of carrageenan-induced edema in the hindlimb of the rat and release in plasma of the principal endogenous adrenocorticosteroid of the rat corticosterone was investigated. Suplantar injection of carrageenan produced a biphasic increase in basal plasma corticosterone levels that was not attributed to diurnal variation.