Survival following surgery and prognostic factors for recently diagnosed malignant glioma: data from the Glioma Outcomes Project.

Object: The Glioma Outcomes Project represents a contemporary analysis of the management of malignant (Grade III and Grade IV/GBM) gliomas in North America. This observational database was used to evaluate the influence of resection, as opposed to biopsy, on patient outcome as measured by the length of survival. Attempts were made to reduce the impact of selection bias by repeating the data analysis after omitting patients with major negative prognostic factors.

Lipopolysaccharide of Burkholderia cepacia complex.

Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) is a group of phenotypically similar, genetically distinct bacteria that are beneficial to the environment but can also cause severe human infections. Bcc are being exploited for use as bioremediation agents and as a way to combat agricultural plant diseases. However, Bcc can cause lung infections in patients with chronic granulomatous disease or cystic fibrosis often resulting in mortality of these patients.

Do the utrophin tandem calponin homology domains bind F-actin in a compact or extended conformation?

Tandem calponin-homology (CH) domains play an important role in the actin-binding function of many spectrin superfamily proteins. Crystal structures from several of these proteins have suggested a flexibility between these domains, and the manner in which these domains bind to F-actin has been the subject of some controversy. A recent paper has used electron microscopy and three-dimensional reconstruction to examine the complex of the utrophin tandem CH domain with F-actin.

Gliadel for pituitary adenomas and craniopharyngiomas.

Objective: We developed a protocol for a clinical trial of postresection implantation of Gliadel wafers in patients with aggressive, relentlessly recurring pituitary adenomas and craniopharyngiomas.

Methods: Ten patients, nine with pituitary adenomas and one with a craniopharyngioma, underwent implantation of from two to eight Gliadel wafers.

Results: No obvious adverse reactions occurred.

Permanent interstitial brachytherapy for prostate cancer: a current review.

Prostate brachytherapy with permanent radioactive implants is becoming an increasingly popular treatment choice for patients with prostate cancer. This therapy is attractive to patients due to the fact that it is an outpatient procedure and in many cases has been associated with lower long-term risks of urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction when compared to other curative modalities. This review will describe the history, isotopes used, implantation techniques, and results achieved with modern prostate brachytherapy.

GDF-5 deficiency in mice delays Achilles tendon healing.

The aim of this study was to examine the role of one of the growth/differentiation factors, GDF-5, in the process of tendon healing. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that GDF-5 deficiency in mice would result in delayed Achilles tendon repair. Using histologic, biochemical, and ultrastructural analyses, we demonstrate that Achilles tendons from 8-week-old male GDF-5 -/- mice exhibit a short-term delay of 1-2 weeks in the healing process compared to phenotypically normal control littermates.

Different reactions of control and epileptic rats to administration of APV or muscimol on thalamic or CA3-induced CA1 responses.

The physiology and pharmacology of CA1 is changed in epilepsy. There is evidence that the thalamic input to CA1 has a somewhat different physiological effect compared with the CA3 input. In this study we sought to determine whether this difference in physiology persists in epilepsy, and whether there are changes in the pharmacologic profile of these responses.

Zonisamide effective for weight loss in women.

Zonisamide (Zonegran), in conjunction with a reduced-calorie diet (deficit of 500 kcal/d), resulted in an additional mean 5-kg (11-pound) weight loss compared with diet alone. This regimen was well-tolerated in obese female patients. Further evaluation of long-term side effects and continued weight loss beyond 32 weeks is needed.

Illuminating protein interactions in tissue using confocal and two-photon excitation fluorescent resonance energy transfer microscopy.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains the most common cause of death in persons under age 45 in the Western world. One of the principal determinants of morbidity and mortality following TBI is traumatic axonal injury (TAI). Current hypotheses on the pathogenesis of TAI involve activation of apoptotic cascades secondary to TBI.

Hypothesis: spring-loaded boomerang mechanism of influenza hemagglutinin-mediated membrane fusion.

Substantial progress has been made in recent years to augment the current understanding of structures and interactions that promote viral membrane fusion. This progress is reviewed with a particular emphasis on recently determined structures of viral fusion domains and their interactions with lipid membranes. The results from the different structural and thermodynamic experimental approaches are synthesized into a new proposed mechanism, termed the "spring-loaded boomerang" mechanism of membrane fusion, which is presented here as a hypothesis.

Cell walls, cell shape, and bacterial actin homologs.

The synthesis of the peptidoglycan layer, one of the key determinants of cell shape in B. subtilis, has been shown by Daniel and Errington to occur in a helical pattern. This pattern is generated by the actin homolog Mbl.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone stimulation of gonadotropin subunit transcription: evidence for the involvement of calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (Ca/CAMK II) activation in rat pituitaries.

The intracellular pathways mediating GnRH regulation of gonadotropin subunit transcription remain to be fully characterized, and the present study examined whether calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (Ca/CAMK II) plays a role in the rat pituitary. Preliminary studies demonstrated that a single pulse of GnRH given to adult rats stimulated a transient 2.5-fold rise in Ca/CAMK II activity (as determined by an increase in Ca/CAMK II phosphorylation), with peak values at 5 min, returning to basal 45 min after the pulse.

Thermodynamics of fusion peptide-membrane interactions.

The fusion peptides of viral membrane fusion proteins play a key role in the mechanism of viral spike glycoprotein mediated membrane fusion. These peptides insert into the lipid bilayers of cellular target membranes where they adopt mostly helical secondary structures. To better understand how membranes may be converted to high-energy intermediates during fusion, it is of interest to know how much energy, enthalpy and entropy, is provided by the insertion of fusion peptides into lipid bilayers.

Endothelial cell signaling during conducted vasomotor responses.

ACh and KCl stimulate vasomotor responses that spread rapidly and bidirectionally along arteriole walls, most likely via spread of electric current or Ca2+ through gap junctions. We examined these possibilities with isolated, cannulated, and perfused hamster cheek pouch arterioles (50- to 80-microm resting diameter). After intraluminal loading of 2 microM fluo 3 to measure Ca2+ or 1 microM di-8-ANEPPS to measure membrane potential, photometric techniques were used to selectively measure changes in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) or membrane potential in endothelial cells.

Assessing sedation in the pediatric intensive care unit by using BIS and the COMFORT scale.

Objective: To evaluate bispectral index technology in critically ill children and compare its performance to standard clinical assessment of sedation level.

Design: Prospective convenience sample.

Setting: Multidisciplinary 16-bed pediatric intensive care unit at a large, urban, university-affiliated children's hospital.

Inhibiting NOS blocks microvascular recruitment and blunts muscle glucose uptake in response to insulin.

We examined the effects of inhibiting nitric oxide synthase with Nomega-nitro-l-arginine-methyl ester (l-NAME) on total hindlimb blood flow, muscle microvascular recruitment, and hindlimb glucose uptake during euglycemic hyperinsulinemia in vivo in the rat. We used two independent methods to measure microvascular perfusion. In one group of animals, microvascular recruitment was measured using the metabolism of exogenously infused 1-methylxanthine (1-MX), and in a second group contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEU) was used.

Admission electronic fetal monitoring does not improve neonatal outcomes.

Admission electronic fetal monitoring did not decrease neonatal morbidity and mortality compared with intermittent auscultation. Patients in the admission fetal monitoring group were more likely to receive continuous electronic monitoring and fetal blood sampling, but there were no significant differences in the rates of operative deliveries or episiotomy. Institutions not routinely using admission electronic fetal monitoring should not start; those that do may not be benefiting their patients.

Connecting the dots: caring for the patient with progressive CKD.

The approach we take to CKD in the KDIPPP Clinic represents a complicated regimen. It's not something we can do by ourselves, and it requires an integrated team approach. The team approach includes many different individuals all working together (see Fig.

Conversion of teaching file cases from film to digital format: a comparison between use of a diagnostic-quality digitizer and use of a flatbed scanner with transparency adapter.

Rationale And Objectives: The authors' institution had decided to convert its radiology teaching files from film to digital media. This study was performed to determine the simplest method for converting the analog film images to digital images without a subsequent loss in diagnostic accuracy.

Materials And Methods: Twenty chest radiographs that demonstrated interstitial lung disease were randomly selected from the departmental teaching files and matched with 20 control radiographs from healthy adults.

Precipitants of constipation during early childhood.

Background: Childhood constipation is a common problem, accounting for 3% of visits to pediatric clinics and 30% of visits to pediatric gastroenterologists. Estimates of the prevalence of childhood constipation vary from 0.3% to 28% with younger children being affected most often.

Anemia, testosterone, and pituitary adenoma in men.

Object: Older men with clinically nonfunctioning pituitary tumors have been noted to be anemic, to have hypopituitarism, and to have low serum levels of testosterone. The authors hypothesized that men with pituitary adenomas and hypogonadism have a physiologically related decrease in hematocrit.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 216 patients older than 50 years of age who harbored pituitary adenomas.

Combination therapy with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor antagonists in the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Aggressive therapy for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and renal disease is warranted given the natural history of this disease. Although antagonizing the renin-angiotensin system is clearly important, how this is accomplished is of considerable controversy. On the one hand, recent clinical trials of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with renal disease demonstrate unequivocally the renal protective effect of angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs).

Safety and efficacy of once daily intranasal zanamivir in preventing experimental human influenza A infection.

Zanamivir, a potent inhibitor of influenza A and B virus neuraminidases, is protective against experimental human influenza when given intranasally twice daily. We conducted two studies to assess the pharmacokinetics and protective efficacy of a reduced frequency dosing regimen of topical zanamivir. In the first study, 36 uninfected volunteers received a single dose of zanamivir by intranasal spray (6.