Pustulo-ovoid bodies of Milian in granular cell tumors.

Background: Granular cell tumors (GCTs) are benign neural tumors with a distinct histologic appearance on light microscopy, characterized by eosinophilic cytoplasmic granules. Pustulo-ovoid bodies of Milian (POB) are larger granules surrounded by a clear halo. There have been no histologic studies to document their prevalence in GCT.

Promoting "dual protection" from pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease: a social ecological approach.

High rates of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease in women challenge health promotion to identify improvements in "dual protection" interventions. Findings from an exploratory qualitative study using a social ecological model identify causal, contextual, and intervening factors that influence dual protection. The study examined 48 U.

Managing caregiving at home: Thai caregivers living in the United States.

The researchers designed a qualitative descriptive study informed by grounded theory and ethnography to generate a beginning substantive theory that illuminates the process of caregiving in Thai families living in the United States. A purposive sample of seven Thai caregivers of chronically ill relatives in the western and the midwestern regions of the U.S.

Antigen-specific T cells: analyses of the needles in the haystack.

Antigen binding to T cell receptors is a critical step in an immune response. Detection and characterization of rare populations of T cells enhances our ability to understand and treat disease

Pharmacology of antihypertensive drugs.

The wide variety of first-line agents available for managing high blood pressure include diuretics, beta adrenergic receptor blockers, alpha adrenergic receptor blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, and calcium channel blockers. Supplemental agents used for second-line therapy and special indications, such as pregnancy and hypertensive emergencies, include angiotensin receptor blockers, central-acting agents, direct vasodilators, and adrenergic neuron inhibitors. Selection of agents for particular patients requires consideration of research-based evidence for positive long-term outcomes and of the unique patient profile of age, race, co-morbidities, and lifestyle.

Liver problems in pregnancy: distinguishing normal from abnormal hepatic changes.

Abnormal liver tests occur in 1 of 10 pregnancies, though liver function is usually normal during pregnancy. The data suggest that liver metabolic capacity may be reduced in late pregnancy. Hepatic excretory function has been assessed in human pregnancy by both bromosulfophthalein (BSP) and bilirubin tolerance tests.

The evolution of adjustment issues in HIV/AIDS.

The issues of emotional adjustment to AIDS have been inextricably linked to medical advances in fundamental knowledge about the human immunodeficiency virus and its potential therapies. In 1987 patients were struggling with the advantages and disadvantages "to do or not to do AZT (zidovudine)," whereas the choices imposed by combination therapies and the protease inhibitors in 1997 are fundamentally different and are occurring in an evolving context created by a number of striking medical advances, expanding populations, the availability of environmental support, and changing public sentiments. As the psychiatric treatment of HIV-positive individuals shifts increasingly from "AIDS specialists" to the wider therapeutic community, it is important that the therapist who has had relatively little experience with this population not assume that contemporary issues and concerns of the seropositive patient, or the patient with AIDS, are essentially those discussed widely in the earlier years of the epidemic.

Opiate antagonists for recurrent self-injurious behavior in three mentally retarded adults.

Opiate antagonists have shown promise for treating a subset of self injurious patients. The authors report on the use of naltrexone with three mentally retarded adults who had long histories of self-injurious behavior and unsuccessful behavioral and drug treatments; for all three, the self- injurious behavior was substantially decreased. The authors have found a positive response for half the self-injurious patients for whom naltrexone has been tried.