Risk factors for fecal incontinence in a nursing home population.

Even though fecal incontinence is a leading cause of nursing home placement, risk factors contributing to its development have not been established. Identification of such factors may lead to prevention of incontinence and reduce the need for nursing home placement. A total of 388 residents of five nursing homes were included.

Diagnosis and management of AIDS-related diarrhea.

The spectrum of illness associated with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has been increasing since the initial description in 1981. While virtually all organ systems may be affected, the gastrointestinal tract appears to be a major target. Diarrhea is the most common symptom, affecting up to half of all AIDS patients during the course of their disease.

Nitrous oxide antinociception in BXD recombinant inbred mouse strains and identification of quantitative trait loci.

Among inbred mouse strains, DBA/2 mice are unique because of their poor responsiveness to nitrous oxide (N2O) antinociception. As a first step towards identifying candidate genes involved in determining antinociceptive responsiveness to N2O, male mice from the DBA/2 strain, the more responsive C57BL/6 strain, their B6D2F1 offspring, and 22 BXD recombinant inbred (RI) strains derived from DBA/2 and C57BL/6 mice were exposed to N2O and evaluated using the acetic acid abdominal constriction test. When exposed to 70% N2O, C57BL/6, DBA/2 and B6D2F1 mice exhibited antinociceptive responses of 78, 22 and 55%, respectively.

Cough productive of casts.

Plastic bronchitis is a rare disorder characterized by the formation and, sometimes dramatic expectoration of long, branching bronchial casts. DIsorders associated with bronchial casts either produce an increase in the volume or viscosity of secretions, such as allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, asthma, cystic fibrosis, pneumonia, and chronic bronchitis; or there are obstructions or structural abnormalities that decrease mucous clearance, such as bronchiectasis. The diagnostic evaluation should include serum laboratory studies, specimen cultures, skin tests, chest radiograph and CT scan, pulmonary function tests, and bronchoscopy.

Epidemiology of fecal incontinence: the silent affliction.

Objective: Fecal incontinence represents an embarrassing social problem, the magnitude of which remains largely unknown. The present study prospectively examined the prevalence and demographic distributions of fecal incontinence.

Methods: demographic data, in addition to information regarding the reason for visit, bowel habits, and the frequency, type, and severity of fecal incontinence, were collected from individuals at the time of visits to their primary care physician or gastroenterologist.

Involvement of nitric oxide in intracerebroventricular beta-endorphin-induced neuronal release of methionine-enkephalin.

Previous work has suggested that the antinociceptive effect of nitrous oxide (N2O) in rats is mediated, at least in part, by beta-endorphin (beta-EP) and that centrally administered beta-EP stimulates release of methionine-enkephalin (ME) in the rat spinal cord. Since inhibition of central nitric oxide (NO) production has been found to suppress N2O antinociception, we examined the possible involvement of NO in the release of spinal cord ME by i.c.

Defining a generalist education: an idea whose time is still coming.

Generalist education is different from the traditional medical curriculum as it has developed over the past 40 years. For example, in their training doctors must develop the appropriate skills, knowledge, and attitudes to understand patients' specific expectations, address wellness rather than illness only, be familiar with concepts of clinical epidemiology, concentrate on interpersonal communication, and strive to control costs. The University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford was established to provide community-based medical education.

Dementia and depression symptomatology as assessed through screening tests of older patients in an outpatient clinic.

Objective: This study examined the prevalence of dementia and depression symptoms as assessed through screening instruments in older patients visiting a family practice clinic, compared screening results with indications of either a dementia or depression-related diagnosis as reported on patients' medical records and billing statements, and examined the relationship between screening instrument results and patients' demographics.

Methods: A total of 214 patients were interviewed and completed a written survey relating to dementia (Mini-Mental State Exam), depression (Beck Depression Inventory), medical conditions, and demographics. Patients were 60 years of age and older visiting a family practice clinic serving an outpatient population in northwest Illinois and southern Wisconsin.

Effect of opioid peptide antisera on nitrous oxide antinociception in rats.

This study was performed to examine the effects of ICV injection of antiserum against beta-endorphin (beta-EP) or methionine-enkephalin (ME) on nitrous oxide-induced antinociception in rats using the hot plate test. The injection of beta-EP antiserum reversed the antinociceptive effect of nitrous oxide in a dose-related manner up to 200 micrograms/rat. However, antagonism of nitrous oxide by 400 micrograms beta-EP antiserum was comparable to that produced by 200 micrograms.

Nitrous oxide anxiolytic effect in mice in the elevated plus maze: mediation by benzodiazepine receptors.

In earlier research, we have hypothesized that exposure to nitrous oxide (N2O) produces an anxiolytic effect that is mediated by benzodiazepine (BZ) receptors. The present research was conducted to characterize pharmacologically the behavioral effects of N2O in comparison with a BZ standard, chlordiazepoxide (CP), in the mouse elevated plus maze. Exposure to increasing levels of N2O produced a concentration-related increase in the percent of total entries into and the percent of total time spent on the open arms, a pattern of response similar to that induced by CP.

Monte Carlo and Poisson-Boltzmann calculations of the fraction of counterions bound to DNA.

The counterion density and the condensation region around DNA have been examined as functions of both ion size and added-salt concentration using Metropolis Monte Carlo (MC) and Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) methods. Two different definitions of the "bound" and "free" components of the electrolyte ion atmosphere were used to compare these approaches. First, calculation of the ion density in different spatial regions around the polyelectrolyte molecule indicates, in agreement with previous work, that the PB equation does not predict an invariance of the surface concentration of counterions as electrolyte is added to the system.

Schistosoma mansoni: fatty acid-induced cercarial tail loss does not involve eicosanoid production and chemoreceptors.

Inhibitors of eicosanoid production had no effect on linoleic acid-induced Schistosoma mansoni cercarial tail loss. In addition, linoleic acid-induced cercarial tail loss was not inhibited by silver nitrate, which binds to putative chemoreceptors for fatty acids in cercariae. There was no correlation between molecular structures of fatty acids and their potencies to induce tail loss.

Transcriptional specificities of adriamycin.

The transcriptional effect of adriamycin using E. coli RNA polymerase on several single- and double-stranded DNAs of known base content and sequence is studied in vitro. The results show that adriamycin inhibits strongly and with little difference toward both poly[d(A-T)] and poly[d(G-C)] templates, and that it inhibits both single- and double-stranded DNA directed RNA synthesis, albeit the inhibition is clearly preferential to the double-stranded alternating copolymers over the double- and single-stranded homopolymers.

The effect of a variable dielectric coefficient and finite ion size on Poisson-Boltzmann calculations of DNA-electrolyte systems.

The results of variable dielectric coefficient Poisson-Boltzmann calculations of the counter-ion concentration in the vicinity of an all-atom model of the B-form of DNA are presented with an emphasis on the importance of spatial variations in the dielectric properties of the solvent, particularly at the macro-ion-solvent interface. Calculations of the distribution of hard-sphere electrolyte ions of various dimensions are reported. The presence of a dielectric boundary significantly increases the magnitude of the electrostatic potential with a concomitant increase in the accumulation of small counter-ions in the groove regions of DNA.

Benzodiazepine receptor-mediated behavioral effects of nitrous oxide in the rat social interaction test.

The present study was conducted to ascertain whether an anxiolytic effect of nitrous oxide was demonstrable in rats using the social interaction test and whether this drug effect might be mediated by benzodiazepine receptors. Compared to behavior of vehicle-pretreated, room air-exposed rats, rat pairs exposed to nitrous oxide showed a generally inverted U-shaped dose-response curve with the maximum increase in social interaction encounters occurring at 25% and significant increase in time of active social interaction at 15-35%; higher concentrations produced a sedative effect that reduced social interaction. Treatment with 5.

Conversion of spironolactone to 7 alpha-thiomethylspironolactone by hepatic and renal microsomes.

Recent observations indicate that 7 alpha-thiomethylspironolactone is an important circulating metabolite of the mineralocorticoid antagonist spironolactone (SL). Studies were carried out to determine possible sites and pathways of 7 alpha-thiomethyl-SL formation and, in particular, to evaluate SL metabolism by guinea pig hepatic and renal microsomal preparations. In the absence of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), liver and kidney microsomes rapidly converted SL to 7 alpha-thio-SL as the only metabolite.