Management of growth retardation in the young patient with Crohn's disease.

Linear growth retardation is a major complication of Crohn's disease that occurs in children. It is related both to undernutrition and to direct effects of the inflammatory process on the growth axis. Enteral nutrition (elemental, semi-elemental or polymeric diet) employed as the sole source of nutrition remains a mainstay of treatment of active Crohn's disease because it corrects nutritional deficits, has anti-inflammatory effects, heals mucosal inflammation and stimulates growth.

Does the fetus lose weight in utero following fetal death: a study in preterm infants.

Objective: To evaluate whether the fetus loses weight in uttero following fetal death, looking specifically at weight differences according to whether the death occurred during labour or before labour.

Design: Record linkage of maternity data and perinatal mortality data.

Setting: Scotland, UK.

Stimulating regeneration in the damaged spinal cord.

Great progress has been made in recent years in experimental strategies for spinal cord repair. In this review we describe two of these strategies, namely the use of neurotrophic factors to promote functional regeneration across the dorsal root entry zone (DREZ), and the use of synthetic fibronectin conduits to support directed axonal growth. The junction between the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and central nervous system (CNS) is marked by a specialized region, the DREZ, where sensory axons enter the spinal cord from the dorsal roots.

Early pregnancy is elusive and robust.

We describe a live birth occurring following bilateral ovarian diathermy, hysteroscopy and dye test in women with clomiphene citrate resistant polycystic ovarian syndrome performed inadvertently during early pregnancy. A woman with polycystic ovarian syndrome resistant to Clomiphene citrate had bilateral laparoscopic ovarian diathermy performed inadvertently during early pregnancy. The patient was treated by Clomiphene citrate for 12 cycles then she had bilateral laparoscopic ovarian diathermy and hysteroscopy and dye test.

Nonlinear behavior of certain optic nerve head parameters and their determinants in normal subjects.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the absolute area of certain optic disc parameters and a number of ocular dimensional characteristics and demographic factors in young, healthy subjects.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Participants: One hundred twenty-one subjects, aged 16.

Predictions and associations of fatigue syndromes and mood disorders that occur after infectious mononucleosis.

Background: Certain infections can trigger chronic fatigue syndromes (CFS) in a minority of people infected, but the reason is unknown. We describe some factors that predict or are associated with prolonged fatigue after infectious mononucleosis and contrast these factors with those that predicted mood disorders after the same infection.

Methods: We prospectively studied a cohort of 250 primary-care patients with infectious mononucleosis or ordinary upper-respiratory-tract infections until 6 months after clinical onset.

Possible involvement of PKC isoforms in signalling placental apoptosis in intrauterine growth retardation.

Apoptosis contributes to uteroplacental dsyfunction in intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). Specific protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms regulate apoptosis in other cell types. PKC isoforms thought to be anti-apoptotic include the conventional PKC isoforms (cPKC-alpha, -beta I and -beta II), whereas the novel PKC isoforms nPKC-delta and nPKC-epsilon may be apoptotic.

Enhanced placental GLUT1 and GLUT3 expression in dexamethasone-induced fetal growth retardation.

Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) increases the risk of developing glucose intolerance and cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Fetal exposure to excess glucocorticoids may contribute to IUGR. Despite the importance of glucose supply for fetal growth, studies on glucose transporter expression in IUGR are few.

Death of neurasthenia and its psychological reincarnation: a study of neurasthenia at the National Hospital for the Relief and Cure of the Paralysed and Epileptic, Queen Square, London, 1870-1932.

Background: The diagnosis of neurasthenia appeared in 1869 and rapidly became fashionable and highly prevalent. It disappeared almost completely, producing ongoing debates about what happened to the disease, which have not so far been informed by empirical data.

Aims: To use empirical historical hospital data from one specific hospital to explore several controversies about neurasthenia, including what happened to the disorder.

Plasma OLC is elevated in mild experimental uremia but is not associated with hypertension.

Background: Little is known about the renal handling of endogenous ouabain-like compound (OLC). The aim of this study was to determine the normal renal clearance of OLC and the effect of mild experimental uremia on plasma OLC and its clearance.

Methods: Male Wistar rats were studied 8 weeks after subtotal (5/6th) nephrectomy (n = 8) and compared with a control sham-operated group (n = 8).

Selective modification of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase isoform expression in rat pancreatic islets elicited by starvation and activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha: implications for glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.

The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) has a pivotal role in islet metabolism. The pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases (PDK1-4) regulate glucose oxidation through inhibitory phosphorylation of PDC. Starvation increases islet PDK activity (Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 270:E988-E994, 1996).

The West London Schools Study: the effects of chronic aircraft noise exposure on child health.

Background: Previous field studies have indicated that children's cognitive performance is impaired by chronic aircraft noise exposure. However, these studies have not been of sufficient size to account adequately for the role of confounding factors. The objective of this study was to test whether cognitive impairments and stress responses (catecholamines, cortisol and perceived stress) are attributable to aircraft noise exposure after adjustment for school and individual level confounding factors and to examine whether children exposed to high levels of social disadvantage are at greater risk of noise effects.

Tropical enteropathy: a T-cell-mediated crypt hyperplastic enteropathy.

Objective: Tropical enteropathy is widespread throughout the tropics, but its pathogenesis is unknown. T-cell activation has been demonstrated to result in enteropathy in vitro and in animal models, and occurs in untreated patients with coeliac disease. We have therefore examined the hypothesis that T-cell activation is important in the pathogenesis of tropical enteropathy.

Human beta defensin-1 and -2 expression in human pilosebaceous units: upregulation in acne vulgaris lesions.

A rich residential microflora is harboured by the distal outer root sheath of the hair follicle and the hair canal - normally without causing skin diseases. Although the basic mechanisms involved in the development of inflammation during acne vulgaris remain unclear, microbial agents might play an important role in this process. In this study we have analyzed by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry the expression patterns of two antimicrobial peptides, human beta defensin-1 and human beta defensin-2, in healthy human hair follicles as well as in perilesional and intralesional skin of acne vulgaris lesions such as comedones, papules, and pustules.

Immunohistochemical expression of the alpha5 integrin subunit in the normal adult rat central nervous system.

We investigated the distribution of the alpha5 integrin subunit in the normal adult rat CNS using immunohistochemical methods. Results indicated that the alpha5 integrin subunit was expressed on the vast majority of neurons throughout the brain and spinal cord. In general, neurons showed diffuse cytoplasmic labelling, although many cortical neurons in layers 4 and 5 did show punctate labelling on the cell surface.

Analysis of the temporal expression of chemokines and chemokine receptors during experimental granulomatous inflammation: role and expression of MIP-1alpha and MCP-1.

1. Chemokine expression and function was monitored in an experimental model of granulomatous tissue formation after injection of croton oil in complete Freund's adjuvant (CO/CFA) into mouse dorsal air-pouches up to 28 days. 2.

A follow-up survey of alcohol consumption and knowledge in medical students.

We surveyed a medical school's students' drinking habits and knowledge 12 years after a previous survey. In this current survey from two academic years, final year students drank less than second year students did. Women in their second year drank as much as men.

Liposomal daunorubicin (DaunoXome) in combination with cyclophosphamide, vincristine and prednisolone (COP-X) as salvage therapy in poor-prognosis non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

We treated 33 patients with a variant of the standard 3 weekly CHOP regime, replacing doxorubicin with liposomal daunorubicin (DaunoXome, NeXstar Pharmaceuticals) 120 mg/m2 (COP-X). Eighteen subjects had relapsed/refractory aggressive NHL and 15 had indolent NHL/CLL. Median number of courses received was 4 (1-8).

5-aminoisoquinolinone, a potent inhibitor of poly (adenosine 5'-diphosphate ribose) polymerase, reduces myocardial infarct size.

This study investigates the effects of a novel, water-soluble inhibitor of the activity of poly (adenosine 5'-diphosphate ribose) polymerase, 5-aminoisoquinolinone [5-aminoisoquinolin-1(2H)-one], on (i) poly (adenosine 5'-diphosphate ribose) polymerase activity in rat cardiac myoblasts and (ii) the infarct size caused by regional myocardial ischaemia and reperfusion in the rat. Exposure of H9c2 cells to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, 1 mM) caused a significant increase in poly (adenosine 5'-diphosphate ribose) polymerase activity and an 80-90% reduction in mitochondrial respiration (cellular injury). Pretreatment of these cells with 5-aminoisoquinolinone (0.

Analysis of the protection afforded by annexin 1 in ischaemia-reperfusion injury: focus on neutrophil recruitment.

Ischaemia-reperfusion injury underlies many of the most important cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction, thrombotic stroke, embolic vascular occlusions and peripheral vascular insufficiency. Neutrophils feature prominently in this inflammatory component of post-ischaemic injury. Experimental therapies, shown to reduce neutrophil-mediated ischaemia-reperfusion injury include neutrophil depletion, direct inhibitors of neutrophil activators, antibodies against neutrophil adhesion molecules and the endothelial adhesion molecules.

Role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha in the mechanism underlying changes in renal pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase isoform 4 protein expression in starvation and after refeeding.

The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) occupies a strategic role in renal intermediary metabolism, via partitioning of pyruvate flux between oxidation and entry into the gluconeogenic pathway. Inactivation of PDC via activation of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases (PDKs), which catalyze PDC phosphorylation, occurs secondary to increased fatty acid oxidation (FAO). In kidney, inactivation of PDC after prolonged starvation is mediated by up-regulation of the protein expression of two PDK isoforms, PDK2 and PDK4.

Control of jaw closing forces: a comparison between implant-stabilised overdenture wearers and complete denture wearers.

This study compared the precision of control of jaw closing forces in two groups of edentulous subjects: ten patients wearing implant-stabilised mandibular overdentures and ten complete denture wearers who were satisfied with their prostheses. A force transducer was used to assess the ability of the subjects to follow pre-determined jaw closing cycles. The error in tracking the target increased as the force increased for both the implant and denture group.

Matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors in the nasal mucosa of patients with perennial allergic rhinitis.

Background: Allergic rhinitis and asthma show many similarities in their epithelial and inflammatory responses to allergens. However, one notable difference is that disruption and desquamation of the epithelium is a characteristic feature of asthma, whereas in perennial allergic rhinitis the epithelium is intact and thickened. One reason for this might be differing expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) or their inhibitors (TIMPs).

Anxiety in cataract surgery: pilot study.

Purpose: To quantify the anxiety provoked by cataract surgery and establish whether the preoperative stage, the day of surgery, or the outcome was associated with unduly high anxiety.

Setting: Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, United Kingdom.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of adult patients having cataract surgery under local anesthesia was done.