Prenatal methamphetamine-impact on the mother and child-a review.

Methamphetamine (MA) is the second most commonly used illicit drug in the world, after cannabis. There are limited data on the outcomes of pregnant MA users but there is rapidly emerging evidence to suggest that they are more vulnerable, marginalized and impoverished compared with other drug-using mothers. MA use during pregnancy is associated with worse pregnancy outcomes and significantly higher rates of co-existing health and psychosocial problems.

Randomized controlled trial of cognitive behaviour therapy for comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorders.

Aims This study aimed to test the efficacy of integrated cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for coexisting post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorders (AUD). Setting Clinics across Sydney, Australia.Design Randomized controlled trial of 12 once-weekly individual sessions of either integrated CBT for PTSD and AUD(integrated therapy, IT; n = 33) or CBT for AUD plus supportive counselling (alcohol-support, AS; n = 29).

Reconstruction versus no reconstruction of iliac crest defects following harvest for spinal fusion: a systematic review: A review.

Object: Autologous bone from the iliac crest is commonly used for spinal fusion. However, its use is associated with significant donor site morbidity, especially pain. Reconstructive procedures of the iatrogenic defect have been investigated as a technique to alleviate these symptoms.

Genome-wide screens for gene products regulating lipid droplet dynamics.

Lipid droplets (LDs) are emerging as dynamic cellular organelles that play a key role in lipid and membrane homeostasis. Abnormal lipid droplet dynamics are associated with the pathophysiology of many metabolic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis, fatty liver, and even cancer. Understanding the molecular mechanisms governing the dynamics of LDs, namely, their biogenesis, growth, maintenance, and degradation, will not only shed light on the cellular functions of LDs, but also provide additional clues to treatment of metabolic diseases.

Parameter fitting using multiple datasets in cardiac action potential modeling.

A multiple dataset model fitting approach for improving parameter reliability in action potential modeling is presented. A robust generic cardiac ionic model employing membrane currents based on two-gate Hodgkin-Huxley kinetics is described. Its generic nature allows it to accurately reproduce action potential waveforms in heterogeneous cardiac tissue by optimizing parameters governing ion channel kinetics and magnitudes.

Negotiating meanings about embryos in Australia: from potential humans to prohibited substances.

In the late 1990s, human embryonic stem-cell research became a highly emotional and politicized debate. In 2001, the United States announced a ban on all federal funding for research involving human embryos, and other countries around the world were similarly engaged in political debate at the same time, and for very similar reasons--namely, that embryos are regarded as unique entities that warrant special protection. This article tracks the transformations in the history of legislative response in Australia to the anxieties provoked by the use of reproductive and regenerative human material over the last 40 years, in order to examine how embryos have come to adopt such a special position in the community's psyche.

Estimating the risk of fatal arrhythmia in patients in methadone maintenance treatment for heroin addiction.

Aims: To estimate risk of death due to cardiac arrhythmia during methadone maintenance treatment.

Background: There is evidence that methadone prolongs the QT interval, and has been associated with ventricular tachycardia in some individuals.

Methods: We identified 51 deaths occurring during methadone treatment, occurring in a cohort with a defined exposure to methadone treatment.

Fuzzy scaling analysis of a mouse mutant with brain morphological changes.

Scaling behavior inherently exists in fundamental biological structures, and the measure of such an attribute can only be known at a given scale of observation. Thus, the properties of fractals and power-law scaling have become attractive for research in biology and medicine because of their potential for discovering patterns and characteristics of complex biological morphologies. Despite the successful applications of fractals for the life sciences, the quantitative measure of the scale invariance expressed by fractal dimensions is limited in more complex situations, such as for histopathological analysis of tissue changes in disease.

Cortical hyperexcitability may precede the onset of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder of the motor neurons. While 10-15% of cases are caused by mutations in the copper/zinc superoxide-dismutase-1 (SOD-1) gene, the dying-forward hypothesis, in which corticomotoneurons induce anterograde excitotoxic motoneuron degeneration, has been proposed as a potential mechanism. The present study applied novel threshold tracking transcranial magnetic stimulation techniques to investigate the mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration in FALS.