bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Potential Ototoxicity of Aluminum in Hemodialysis Patients
Authors: Chu Pei‐Lun , Wu Chen‐Chi , Hsu Chuan‐Jen , Wang Yu‐Ting , Wu Kwan‐Dun 
Published: January 2007

AbstractObjectives/Hypothesis: Aluminum (Al) is a neurotoxin in both human and animal models. Al accumulation is usually observed in patients with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD). To clarify whether Al also exhibits toxic effects on the specified neural organ of inner ear, we recruited hemodialysis (HD) patients to investigate the effect of serum Al level on the auditory physiology.Study Design: Forty patients in maintenance HD as well as 40 age‐matched healthy subjects without hearing complaints were enrolled. The auditory function tests, including pure‐tone audiometry (PTA), distortion‐product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs), and auditory brainstem response (ABR) were performed in all subjects. The serum Al levels determined within 3 months of auditory tests were used for analysis.Results: High‐frequency hearing impairment was the predominant auditory dysfunction in HD patients who showed worse high‐tone hearing level on PTA and diminished amplitudes of DPOAEs at 3 K and 4 K as compared with the controls (P < .001). Age was a significant factor determining the auditory dysfunction in both HD patients and control subjects. After age correction, serum Al level correlated reversely with the amplitude of DPOAEs‐2 K (P = .002), but not with amplitudes of DPOAEs‐3 K, ‐4 K, hearing levels on PTA, or wave latencies on ABR.Conclusion: High‐frequency hearing impairment is a common presentation in HD patients. Serum Al level correlates reversely with the amplitude of DPOAEs‐2 K but not those of DPOAEs‐3 K, ‐4 K, hearing levels on PTA, and wave latencies on ABR. Possibly, the correlation between the Al level and the high‐frequency OAE results was obscured by the significantly diminished amplitudes of DPOAEs‐3 K, ‐4 K in ESRD patients. These results implicate that the effect of Al is mainly of cochlear origin rather than of retrocochlear origin.
Reactivation of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 and Varicella‐Zoster Virus and Therapeutic Effects of Combination Therapy With Prednisolone and Valacyclovir in Patients With Bell's Palsy
Authors: Kawaguchi Kazuhiro , Inamura Hiroo , Abe Yasuhiro , Koshu Hidehiro , Takashita Emi , Muraki Yasushi , Matsuzaki Yoko , Nishimura Hidekazu , Ishikawa Hitoshi , Fukao Akira , Hongo Seiji , Aoyagi Masaru 
Published: January 2007

AbstractObjectives: To determine whether reactivation of herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 or varicella‐zoster virus (VZV) is the main cause of Bell's palsy and whether antiviral drugs bring about recovery from Bell's palsy.Study Design: Randomized, multicenter, controlled study.Methods: One hundred fifty patients with Bell's palsy were enrolled in this study. The patients were randomly assigned to a prednisolone group or a prednisolone‐valacyclovir group, in whom virologic examinations for HSV‐1 and VZV were performed by simple randomization scheme in sealed envelopes. The recovery rates among various groups were analyzed using the Kaplan‐Meier method and the Cox proportional hazards model.Results: Reactivation of HSV‐1, VZV, and both viruses was detected in 15.3%, 14.7%, and 4.0% of patients, respectively. There was no significant difference in recovery rates between the prednisolone group and the prednisolone‐valacyclovir group, although recovery in the patients with HSV‐1 reactivation tended to be higher in the prednisolone‐valacyclovir group than in the prednisolone group. There was a significant difference in recovery among age groups and between individuals with complete and incomplete paralysis.Conclusions: Reactivation of HSV‐1 or VZV was observed in 34% of the patients with Bell's palsy. The effect of combination therapy with prednisolone and valacyclovir on recovery was not significantly higher than that with prednisolone alone.
Morphometric Histology for Infant Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: Evaluation of Reliability in 497 Esophageal Biopsies
Authors: Sabri Mahmoud T , Hussain Sunny Z , Shalaby Theresa M , Orenstein Susan R 
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACTObjectives:We sought to determine the reliability of morphometric measurements on infant esophageal biopsies using a light microscope with eyepiece micrometer.Methods:We measured epithelial thickness, basal layer thickness (B), papillary height (P) and epithelial lymphocyte and eosinophil numbers on ≈500 existing esophageal suction biopsies from infants previously evaluated for reflux esophagitis. We tested these measurements for interobserver, test‐retest and internal consistency reliability.Results:Infants ages 0.25 to 23.75 (median, 6.25) months provided 497 biopsies. Both investigators scoring the biopsies independently judged 93% of them scorable. Of the biopsies scored by both, the 2 readings were within 0.15 of each other for P in 97% and for B in 81%. In addition to these correlative measures of consistency, categoric measures demonstrated that 373 (89%) of the 420 scorable biopsies with visible papillae produced agreement as to P being abnormal (317, 85%) or normal (56, 15%). Similarly, 360 (78%) of the 463 scorable biopsies produced agreement as to B being abnormal (339, 94%) or normal (21, 6%). P values were 0.17 to 0.94 (median, 0.67), and B values were 0.13 to 0.91 (median, 0.34). Lymphocytes numbered 0 to 40 (median 5) per high‐power field. Only 12% had any eosinophils; none of those with completely normal morphometrics had any eosinophils; and only 2% had >5 eosinophils per high‐power field.Conclusions:Simple quantitative esophageal histological morphometric parameters are reliably measurable on suction biopsies from infants using a light microscope fitted with an ocular micrometer, even by nonpathologists.
Functional Nonretentive Fecal Incontinence in Children
Authors: Bongers Marloes EJ , Tabbers Merit M , Benninga Marc A 
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACTFecal incontinence, the loss of feces in the underwear after age 4 years, is a frustrating phenomenon for children and their parents. It is difficult to treat, presenting as a single symptom without any organic cause or signs of constipation. This review addresses the definition of functional nonretentive fecal incontinence and provides an overview of its epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical features, diagnostic work‐up and prognosis.
Nutritional Solutions to Major Health Problems of Preschool Children: How to Optimise Growth and Development
Authors: Branca Francesco 
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACTDespite major economic development in the last few decades, childhood nutrition remains a great challenge for the human species. A combination of undernutrition, overnutrition, and poor dietary quality affect to a variable extent all of the world's populations, and are often combined in the same areas and even in the same families. Malnutrition is part of the life of many individuals since conception and is transmitted by 1 generation to the next. Countries with lower income per capita and poor socioeconomic strata are mainly affected and, in turn, malnutrition hampers their development. The eradication of child malnutrition is crucial in the fight against poverty. This article examines whether this goal will be achieved within the time frame the United Nations has set.
Impact of adherence to statins on coronary artery disease in primary prevention
Authors: Bouchard Marie‐Hélène , Dragomir Alice , Blais Lucie , Bérard Anick , Pilon Danielle , Perreault Sylvie 
Published: January 2007

What is already known about this subject • There is a major gap between the use of statins in clinical trial settings and in actual practice.• Unfortunately, little is known about the impact of suboptimal use of statins on clinical outcomes. What this study adds • Patients who filled more than 90% of the prescribed doses began to achieve significant reductions in nonfatal coronary artery disease events.• Statin effectiveness is apparent after one full year of treatment.AimsTo evaluate the impact of adherence to statins on nonfatal coronary artery disease (CAD). Statins reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality after 1–2 years of continuous treatment. Studies have shown that <40% of patients take ≥80% of prescribed doses 1 year after starting therapy and that approximately half discontinue medication within 6 months of starting therapy.MethodsA cohort of 20 543 patients was reconstructed using the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec databases. Patients aged 50–64 years, without cardiovascular disease, and newly treated with statins between 1998 and 2000 were eligible. A nested case–control design was used to study nonfatal CAD. Every case was matched with 20 randomly selected controls. The adherence level was defined as the percentage of the prescribed medication doses used over a specified period and classified as ≥90% or <90%. Rate ratios (RR) of nonfatal CAD were determined through conditional logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, diabetes and hypertension.ResultsThe mean patient age was 58 years, 45% had hypertension and 19% had diabetes. Men represented 37% of the cohort. Among patients followed for >1 year, adherence of ≥90% was associated with fewer nonfatal CAD events (RR 0.81; 0.67, 0.97) compared with adherence <90%. In the multivariate model, male gender (RR 1.37; 1.16, 1.63), welfare recipients (RR 1.24; 1.04, 1.48), newly diagnosed hypertension (RR 3.54; 2.62, 4.77) and newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus (RR 1.97; 1.20, 3.24) were risk factors for CAD.ConclusionThe incidence of nonfatal CAD events decreases when >90% of the prescribed medications is used over at least 1 year.
Feline herpes dermatitis treated with interferon omega
Authors: Gutzwiller Meret E. Ricklin , Brachelente Chiara , Taglinger Karin , Suter Maja M. , Weissenböck Herbert , Roosje Petra J. 
Published: January 2007

AbstractThis case report describes the diagnosis, demonstration and treatment of feline herpes virus‐induced facial dermatitis in a cat. The cat was successfully treated with interferon omega (IFN‐ω).
Clinical study with allogeneic cultured dermal substitutes for chronic leg ulcers
Authors: Yonezawa Masao , Tanizaki Hideaki , Inoguchi Naoko , Ishida Masahide , Katoh Mayumi , Tachibana Takao , Miyachi Yoshiki , Kubo Kentaro , Kuroyanagi Yoshimitsu 
Published: January 2007

AbstractBackground  Clinical studies of the use of allogeneic cultured dermal substitutes (CDSs) have been conducted in 30 medical centers across Japan with the support of the Millennium Project of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. The CDS is prepared by plating cultured fibroblasts on a spongy matrix made from hyaluronic acid and atelo‐collagen. The aim of the present clinical study was to evaluate an allogeneic CDS as cell therapy in which cytokines are released to promote wound healing.Materials and Methods  The CDS was applied repeatedly at an interval of 5–7 days to 13 patients being treated with intractable chronic leg ulcers, using the CDS as a dermatological treatment. Intractable leg ulcers, whether venous or arterial, are difficult to heal because they occur as a secondary change of disease.Results  None of these patients had responded to conventional therapies such as topical or surgical methods, but 77% of the patients had an efficacy score of > 80 points for wound healing with allogeneic CDS. A high safety level was obtained: A, 84.6%; B and C, 7.7%; D, 0%. In 92% of the patients, the final assessment of wound healing was good or very good.Conclusions  For promotion of wound healing, the present CDS is superior to existing topical agents and occlusive dressings.
Total steroid dose given to ventilated newborn infants with chronic lung disease
Authors: Jones Bryn Owen , Davies Mark William 
Published: January 2007

Aim:  There are currently two dexamethasone regimes used in our nursery. We aimed to retrospectively compare the cumulative dose of dexamethasone that infants on each regime received and the requirement for further courses.Methods:  Infants receiving dexamethasone between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2004, with a gestational age of <30 weeks or a birthweight of <1000 g, were identified and then a chart review of these infants was undertaken. Demographic data were obtained and compared as was the total dose of dexamethasone and number of courses that each infant received. Some clinical outcome measurements were also obtained.Results:  A total of 119 infants were identified. The total dexamethasone dose received was 1.92 mg/kg less for infants commencing on the 2‐week course compared with the 6‐week course (difference between medians, Mann–Whitney test, P = 0.005). Infants having the 2‐week course had 17 days less steroid treatment (difference between medians, Mann–Whitney test, P = 0.0001). Seventeen (46%) subjects who started on a 2‐week course of steroids and 18 (22%) who started on a 6‐week course required at least one further course of steroids (Fisher’s exact test, P = 0.01). There were no significant differences in the short‐term outcome measures of neonatal chronic lung disease.Conclusion:  Infants who received the 2‐week course of dexamethasone had a 27% reduction in total steroid dose compared with infants receiving a 6‐week course with similar short‐term outcomes. However, our study was limited by its retrospective nature and possible confounding factors.
Retrospective analysis of patients attending a neurofibromatosis type 1 clinic
Authors: Noble Fiona , Kornberg Andrew J , Elder James E , Delatycki Martin B 
Published: January 2007

Aim:  To undertake a retrospective analysis of the patients who attended the neurofibromatosis type 1 clinic (NF clinic) at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne between March 2001 and May 2004. From this analysis, we aimed to ascertain the frequency and nature of complications of NF1 in this cohort and compare this with other large series.Methods:  Genetic files and hospital records of patients who attended the NF clinic were reviewed. Data regarding the clinical features and NF1‐related complications present in the patient population were entered into a database and then analysed.Results:  Data were available for 121 patients with presumed or confirmed diagnoses of NF1 who attended the NF clinic between the study dates. While most patients were referred to the clinic for ‘routine surveillance’, complications of NF1 were common. Forty‐four per cent of patients had learning difficulties, 21% had optic gliomas and 17% had plexiform neurofibromas. Fifty‐five per cent of those with plexiform neurofibromas required at least one surgical procedure.Conclusion:  The NF clinic was accessed by patients of all ages to assist with diagnosis, provide routine surveillance and manage complex complications of NF1. The prevalence and range of complications of NF1 of the patients attending this clinic is similar to other large retrospective studies in tertiary centres.
Strategies which aim to positively impact on weight, physical activity, diet and sedentary behaviours in children from zero to five years. A systematic review of the literature
Authors: Campbell K. J. , Hesketh K. D. 
Published: January 2007

SummaryPreventing the development of obesity in children is an international health priority. To assess the effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent obesity, promote healthy eating and/or physical activity and/or to reduce sedentary behaviours in 0–5‐year‐old children, a systematic review of the literature was performed. Literature searches were limited to articles published between January 1995 and June 2006, printed in English and sampling children aged 0–5‐years. Searches excluded literature concerned with breastfeeding, eating disorders, and interventions which were school‐based or concerned with obesity treatment. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study strengths and weaknesses. Nine included studies were grouped based on the settings in which they were delivered. Most studies involved multi‐approach interventions, were conducted in the USA and varied in study designs and quality. All showed some level of effectiveness on at least one obesity‐behaviour in young children. These studies support, at a range of levels, the premise that parents are receptive to and capable of some behavioural changes that may promote healthy weight in their young children. The small quantity of research heralds the need, particularly given the potential for early intervention to have long‐lasting impacts on individual and population health, to build in a substantial way upon this evidence base.
RACIST ORGAN DONORS AND SAVING LIVES
Authors: WILKINSON T.M. 
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACTThis paper considers what should be done about offers of organs for transplant that come with racist strings attached. Saving lives or improving their quality seem powerful reasons to accept the offer. Fairness, justice, and rejecting racism seem like powerful reasons against. This paper argues that conditional allocation should occur when it would provide access to organs for at least one person without costing others their access to organs. The bulk of the paper concentrates on defending this claim against these objections: (i) that the good that might come about through conditional allocation does so through wrongful complicity in the racist's wrongdoing; (ii) that conditional allocation symbolizes support for racism; and (iii) that conditional allocation is unjust or unfair and is, for that reason, impermissible. The final section, on conditional allocation as a policy, considers the speculative possibility that conditional allocation would reduce access to organs for some, but it argues that, even then, conditional allocation could be justified.
PASCAL'S WAGER AND THE PERSISTENT VEGETATIVE STATE
Authors: STONE JIM 
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACTI've argued that a version of Pascal's Wager applies to PVS so forcefully that no one who declines continued life without considering it makes a reasoned and informed decision. Thomas Mappes objects that my argument is much more limited than I realize. Of special interest is his appeal to an emerging diagnostic category, the ‘minimally conscious state’, to argue that there is much to lose in gambling on life. I will defend the Wager. Along the way I maintain that the chance of recovery from long‐term PVS is much better than represented (as is the prospect of regaining independence if one recovers consciousness), and that the 1994 Multi‐Society Task Force definitions of ‘permanent’ PVS are confused in ways that make crafting advance directives dangerously difficult. Valid advance directives require informed consent, I argue; the Wager needs to be part of the process. A consequence of my argument is that withdrawing medically‐delivered nutrition and hydration from PVS patients is much harder to justify.
Competitive Lobbying and Supermajorities in a Majority‐rule Institution
Authors: Baron David P. 
Published: January 2007

AbstractThis paper presents a complete information model of competitive lobbying in a majority‐rule institution where lobbying consists of providing politically‐valuable resources to legislators. Legislators have three roles. First, they act as allies or opponents in deciding whether to consider a lobbyist's offer. Second, they act as agenda‐setters in deciding whether to bring a policy alternative to a vote. Third, they vote on the agenda. The stationary equilibria include minimal majorities and supermajorities and involve unilateral, counteractive and preemptive lobbying. Supermajorities are recruited either to influence agenda formation or to preempt the opposing lobbyist.
Lobbying Bureaucrats*
Authors: Bennedsen Morten , Feldmann Sven E. 
Published: January 2007

AbstractWe study how interest group lobbying of the bureaucracy affects policy outcomes and how it changes the legislature's willingness to delegate decision‐making authority to the bureaucracy. We extend the standard model of delegation to account for interest group influence during the implementation stage of policy. We analyze how the decision to delegate changes when the bureaucratic agent is subject to external influence. The optimal degree of delegation as well as the extent to which interest groups influence policy outcomes differ depending on whether the system of government is characterized by unified or divided control. The result is a comparative theory of bureaucratic lobbying.
A comparison of the glutamate release inhibition and anti‐allodynic effects of gabapentin, lamotrigine, and riluzole in a model of neuropathic pain
Authors: Coderre T. J. , Kumar N. , Lefebvre C. D. , Yu J. S. C. 
Published: January 2007

AbstractThe effects of treatment with the anti‐convulsant agents, lamotrigine and riluzole were compared with gabapentin in a rat experimental model of neuropathic pain. Rats were treated intraperitoneally, with gabapentin (30, 100 and 300 mg/kg), lamotrigine (2, 10 and 50 mg/kg) or riluzole (6 and 12 mg/kg) prior to, and every 12 h for 4 days following chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve. Mechanical and cold sensitivity were assessed prior to surgery (baseline) and then at 4, 8 and 12 days following CCI. The four‐day treatment with each of the agents was effective at producing reductions in the development of mechanical and cold hypersensitivity for periods ranging from the fourth to 12th day. The highest doses of each of the agents were also assessed on formalin‐induced nociceptive behaviors and on formalin‐induced increases in extracellular glutamate (Glu) and aspartate (Asp) in the spinal cord dorsal horn (SCDH) of awake behaving rats usingin vivomicrodialysis. Nociceptive scores in formalin test were significantly decreased by gabapentin (300 mg/kg i.p.) and riluzole (12 mg/kg i.p.), but not by lamotrigine (50 mg/kg i.p.). Formalin‐induced increases in glutamate levels in SCDH were lowered significantly, as compared with the controls, with all drugs both in the first phase and second phases, with the greatest effects for riluzole and gabapentin. Similar suppressive effects of the drugs were observed on formalin‐induced increases in spinal aspartate, except that gabapentin and lamotrigine produced effects only during the second phase. Riluzole produced profound and prolonged reductions in the spinal levels of glutamate and aspartate both for basal and formalin‐stimulated release. In conclusion, the results suggest that the anti‐convulsant agents gabapentin, lamotrigine and riluzole may reduce the development of hyperalgesia in a rat model of neuropathic pain by reducing the spinal release of glutamate. Riluzole’s pronounced suppressive effects on spinal EAA levels is attributed to its established role as a glutamate release inhibitor and an enhancer of glutamate transporter activity.
Myelin‐associated glycoprotein (MAG): past, present and beyond
Authors: Quarles Richard H. 
Published: January 2007

AbstractThe myelin‐associated glycoprotein (MAG) is a type I transmembrane glycoprotein localized in periaxonal Schwann cell and oligodendroglial membranes of myelin sheaths where it functions in glia–axon interactions. It contains five immunoglobulin (Ig)‐like domains and is in the sialic acid‐binding subgroup of the Ig superfamily. It appears to function both as a ligand for an axonal receptor that is needed for the maintenance of myelinated axons and as a receptor for an axonal signal that promotes the differentiation, maintenance and survival of oligodendrocytes. Its function in the maintenance of myelinated axons may be related to its role as one of the white matter inhibitors of neurite outgrowth acting through a receptor complex involving the Nogo receptor and/or gangliosides containing 2,3‐linked sialic acid. MAG is expressed as two developmentally regulated isoforms with different cytoplasmic domains that may activate different signal transduction pathways in myelin‐forming cells. MAG contains a carbohydrate epitope shared with other glycoconjugates that is a target antigen in autoimmune peripheral neuropathy associated with IgM gammopathy and has been implicated in a dying back oligodendrogliopathy in multiple sclerosis.