bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Daily Variation in an Intracranial EEG Feature in Humans Detected by a Responsive Neurostimulator System
Authors: Duckrow Robert B. , Tcheng Thomas K. 
Published: April 2007

Summary:  Purpose: Based on the observation that epileptic seizures can occur at specific times of the day, we looked for daily variation in an intracranial electrographic feature used by a responsive neurostimulator system to detect seizures. Methods: A computationally efficient measure of intracranial EEG energy or complexity, the line length baseline, was calculated and reported by an external responsive neurostimulator during a clinical trial of device safety. Data were obtained from 24 consecutive patients with medically intractable epilepsy undergoing intracranial monitoring over 2 to 54 days to localize the seizure onset zone. Measurements from individual subjects made at different times of day over many days were displayed on a single 24‐h cycle and fit with a cosine function to characterize the time of the maximum value. The timing of epileptic seizures was also noted. Results: The time of the maximum line length baseline value had a bimodal distribution with relative peaks at 05:30 and 15:00 hours. The time of the maximum value did not associate with specific brain regions, except that a nocturnal peak was not measured from temporal neocortex. The temporal distribution of maximum values was similar to the timing of epileptic seizures. Conclusion: The line length baseline feature of the intracranial EEG shows daily variation with location specific characteristics within individual subjects.
An Unspecified Clinical Syndrome in Mentally Retarded Patients with Bilateral Mesial Temporal Sclerosis
Authors: Gürses Candan , Kınay Demet , Kulaksızoğlu Işın Baral , Sencer Serra , Bebek Nerses , Baykan Betül , Gökyiğit Ayşen , Tanör Öget Öktem 
Published: April 2007

Summary:  Purpose: The association of febrile convulsions and mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) is a well‐known phenomenon. However, the effects of mental retardation on febrile convulsions and MTS have not been investigated previously. The aim of this study is to investigate the relation of mental retardation to febrile convulsions especially as febrile status epilepticus and MTS. Methods: We describe three patients who have bilateral mesial temporal sclerosis with mental retardation and a history of febrile status epilepticus (FSE), and have clinically typical mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). Results: The FRSB and neuropsychology test revealed executive dysfunction in patients whose bilateral MTS had a benign course, which was unexpected. Conclusions: Febrile status epilepticus might have a role in the development of their mental retardation. This study also pointed out that MTS might have subtypes as a result of our attempts at distinguishing patients with MTS.
Diminished Response of CA1 Neurons to Antiepileptic Drugs in Chronic Epilepsy
Authors: Schaub Christina , Uebachs Mischa , Beck Heinz 
Published: April 2007

Summary Purpose:A substantial proportion of epilepsy patients (∼30%) continue to have seizures despite carefully optimized treatment with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). One key concept to explain the development of pharmacoresistance is that epilepsy‐related changes in the properties of CNS drug targets result in AED‐insensitivity of these targets. These changes then contribute to drug‐resistance on a clinical level. We have tested this hypothesis in hippocampal CA1 neurons in experimental epilepsy.Methods:Using patch‐clamp techniques, we thoroughly examined the effects of carbamazepine (CBZ) and phenytoin (PHT) on voltage‐gated Na+currents (INa) in hippocampal CA1 neurons of sham‐control and chronically epileptic rats.Results:We find that there were significant changes in the effects of PHT, but not CBZ on the voltage‐dependence of inactivation, resulting in a significant reduction in voltage‐dependent blocking effects in chronically epileptic animals. Conversely, CBZ effects on the time course of recovery from inactivation of INawere significantly less pronounced in epileptic compared to sham‐control animals, whereas PHT effects remained unaltered.Conclusions:Our findings indicate that AED‐sensitivity of Na+currents is reduced in chronic epilepsy. The reduction in sensitivity is due to different biophysical mechanisms for CBZ and PHT. Furthermore, comparison to published work suggests that the loss of AED‐sensitivity is less pronounced in CA1 neurons than in dentate granule neurons. Thus, these results suggest that target mechanisms of drug resistance are cell type and AED specific. Unraveling these complex mechanisms is likely to be important for a better understanding of the cellular basis of drug‐resistant epilepsy.
An Epidemiological Study of Children with Status Epilepticus in Okayama, Japan
Authors: Nishiyama Itsuko , Ohtsuka Yoko , Tsuda Toshihide , Inoue Hideo , Kunitomi Taiji , Shiraga Hiroshi , Kimura Takafumi , Fujimoto Kiyoshi 
Published: April 2007

Summary:  Background: The incidence of status epilepticus (SE) in Asian children, including Japanese, has not been reported. Methods: In 2003, we performed an epidemiological study of SE on Japanese children (31 days or older to <15 years of age) in Okayama City by ascertaining all lifetime first episodes of SE. Results: Thirty‐seven patients (22 males and 15 females) were identified. The annual incidence of SE was 38.8 per 100,000 population (95% CI: 24.5–49.5). Febrile SE in the absence of CNS infection accounted for 17. Acute symptomatic etiologies other than febrile SE were observed in eight patients, including three cases of influenza encephalitis/encephalopathy. Five were classified as remote symptomatic and the remaining seven as cryptogenic. The highest incidence (155.1/100,000) was seen in the age range of 31 days or older to <1 year, followed by 101.5/100,000 in the age range of one year, and the incidence decreased after eight years. In 26 of the 37 patients, SE was their first seizure. As for seizure types, 32 had convulsive SE, including tonic status in one. Five others showed nonconvulsive SE, including complex partial SE in four and absence status in one. No one died of SE. Two patients who brought on SE because of influenza encephalitis/encephalopathy suffered from motor disturbance with or without mental disturbance after SE. Conclusions: The incidence of SE tended to be higher in Japanese children than reported in Caucasians. The Japanese had an age‐specific incidence pattern similar to that of Caucasians.
Pathological Tau Tangles Localize to Focal Cortical Dysplasia in Older Patients
Authors: Sen Arjune , Thom Maria , Martinian Lillian , Harding Brian , Cross J. Helen , Nikolic Margareta , Sisodiya Sanjay M. 
Published: April 2007

Summary:  Purpose: Reactivation of neurodevelopmental processes may contribute to neurodegeneration. For example, the proteins cyclin dependent kinase 5 (cdk5) and glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3β), which are essential to normal cortical development, can hyperphosphorylate tau and might contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is an important neurodevelopmental cause of refractory human epilepsy within which dysplastic neurons exhibit increased immunoreactivity for cdk5 and GSK3β as well as neurofilamentous accumulations. We therefore hypothesized that the developmentally abnormal cortex of FCD might be more susceptible to tau‐mediated neurodegeneration than adjacent histologically normal cortex. Materials and Methods: We examined a series of 15 cases of FCD, spanning a wide age range, for β‐amyloid, pathologically phosphorylated tau and neurofibrillary tangles using silver staining, immunohistochemistry for tau, AT8, RD3, RD4 and two‐dimensional cell counting. Results:β‐amyloid plaques, aberrantly phosphorylated tau and neurofibrillary tangles are only found in older patients. The hyperphosphorylated tau tangles are confined to dysplastic neurons. Immunoreactivity for 3‐ and 4‐repeat tau was again only detected within regions of FCD in older patients. With increasing age, the dysplastic cortex became hypocellular and a higher proportion of dysplastic neurons exhibited pathological tau phosphorylation. Conclusions: In older patients, FCD appears more susceptible to formation of pathologically phosphorylated tau neurofibrillary tangles than adjacent histologically normal cortex. Our results suggest a novel convergence of pathological neurodevelopment with pathological age‐related neurodegeneration.
Decision Making and Binge Drinking: A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Goudriaan Anna E. , Grekin Emily R. , Sher Kenneth J. 
Published: April 2007

Background: Behavioral decision making, as measured by the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is found to be diminished in individuals with substance dependence and other types of disinhibitory psychopathology. However, little is known regarding the relation between heavy alcohol use and decision‐making skills in young adults. This study therefore investigated whether binge drinking is related to disadvantageous decision making, as measured by the IGT. We also examined the relation between decision making and impulsivity.Methods: Latent class growth analysis was used to classify college students into 4 groups (each group n=50, 50% male), based on their binge drinking trajectories over a 2‐year time period (precollege through second year of college). Participants were 200 college students, divided in 4 subgroups: (1) low binge drinkers, (2) stable moderate binge drinkers, (3) increasing binge drinkers, and (4) stable high binge drinkers. A measure of decision making, the IGT, impulsivity questionnaires, and multiple indicators of heavy alcohol use were included.Results: The stable high binge‐drinking group made less advantageous choices on the IGT than the low binge‐drinking group. Impulsivity was not related to decision‐making performance. Decision‐making performance did not differ by gender, but deck preferences and decision time patterns did differ; women preferred low frequency, high amount punishments to a greater extent than men.Conclusions: Although disadvantageous decision making is related to binge‐drinking patterns in emerging adulthood, this relation is independent of impulsivity. Additionally, the association appears attributable to those who engage in heavy (binge) drinking at an early age, but not to age of onset of drinking in general.
A Randomized Trial of a DWI Intervention Program for First Offenders: Intervention Outcomes and Interactions With Antisocial Personality Disorder Among a Primarily American‐Indian Sample
Authors: Woodall W. Gill , Delaney Harold D. , Kunitz Stephen J. , Westerberg Verner S. , Zhao Hongwei 
Published: April 2007

Background: Randomized trial evidence on the effectiveness of incarceration and treatment of first‐time driving while intoxicated (DWI) offenders who are primarily American Indian has yet to be reported in the literature on DWI prevention. Further, research has confirmed the association of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) with problems with alcohol including DWI.Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted, in conjunction with 28 days of incarceration, of a treatment program incorporating motivational interviewing principles for first‐time DWI offenders. The sample of 305 offenders including 52 diagnosed as ASPD by the Diagnostic Interview Schedule were assessed before assignment to conditions and at 6, 12, and 24 months after discharge. Self‐reported frequency of drinking and driving as well as various measures of drinking over the preceding 90 days were available at all assessments for 244 participants. Further, DWI rearrest data for 274 participants were available for analysis.Results: Participants randomized to receive the first offender incarceration and treatment program reported greater reductions in alcohol consumption from baseline levels when compared with participants who were only incarcerated. Antisocial personality disorder participants reported heavier and more frequent drinking but showed significantly greater declines in drinking from intake to posttreatment assessments. Further, the treatment resulted in larger effects relative to the control on ASPD than non‐ASPD participants.Conclusions: Nonconfrontational treatment may significantly enhance outcomes for DWI offenders with ASPD when delivered in an incarcerated setting, and in the present study, such effects were found in a primarily American‐Indian sample.
Drinking Level, Neighborhood Social Disorder, and Mutual Intimate Partner Violence
Authors: Cunradi Carol B. 
Published: April 2007

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) remains a significant public health problem. The purpose of this study is to assess the contribution of drinking patterns to risk for mutual IPV among married/cohabiting adults in the general population, and to determine if the association between drinking level and mutual IPV varies by level of neighborhood social disorder.Methods: The study sample consists of 19,035 non‐Hispanic black, Hispanic, and non‐Hispanic white married/cohabiting adults who participated in the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), and whose responses were available through the NHSDA public use file. Gender‐specific multivariate logistic regression models of mutual IPV were developed to assess the association between drinking level and mutual IPV, and to test whether these associations vary by neighborhood social disorder.Results: Compared with men who are abstainers, men who are past‐30 day heavy drinkers are at a more than 6‐fold increased risk for mutual IPV. Men in less hazardous drinking categories are at a 2‐ to 3‐fold increased risk of mutual IPV. Neighborhood disorder is independently associated with men's risk for mutual IPV (odds ratio=1.61). Except for women in the most hazardous drinking category, neighborhood disorder moderates the association between women's drinking level and risk of mutual IPV such that risk for mutual IPV significantly increases under conditions of high neighborhood disorder, and decreases to insignificant risk under conditions of low neighborhood disorder. Compared with abstainers, women who are past‐30 day heavy drinkers are at an approximate 6‐fold risk for mutual IPV regardless of level of neighborhood disorder.Conclusions: Drinking level and neighborhood characteristics should be taken into account when assessing risk for mutual IPV among married/cohabiting men and women in the general population. An environmental approach to IPV prevention and intervention which addresses the neighborhood context in which couples reside may be a promising strategy for reducing IPV occurrence.
College Attendance and Its Effect on Drinking Behaviors in a Longitudinal Study of Adolescents
Authors: Timberlake David S. , Hopfer Christian J. , Rhee Soo Hyun , Friedman Naomi P. , Haberstick Brett C. , Lessem Jeffrey M. , Hewitt John K. 
Published: April 2007

Background: While college attendance has been shown to be associated with increased drinking behaviors, there are no studies to our knowledge that have examined whether college attendance moderates genetic influences for drinking. We first tested for changes in alcohol consumption in adolescents who did and did not subsequently attend college, and then tested for variation of the genetic and environmental determinants of drinking in these 2 groups.Methods: Participants eligible for this study were selected from 2 samples from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a national probability sample (n=7,083) and a sample of sibling pairs (n=855 pairs). Participants were assessed for measures of drinking behaviors as adolescents (wave I) and reinterviewed at 1 (wave II) and 6 years (wave III) following the initial survey. Changes in binge drinking and average quantity of alcohol consumed in the past year were estimated among 4 groups (2‐year college students, 4‐year college students, college withdrawers, noncollege participants) in sequential cohorts which spanned the ages of 13 to 24 across the 3 Add Health waves. Gene by environment interactions were then tested at wave III using biometrical models in the genetically informative pairs.Results: Participants who did not attend college reported more binge drinking and consumed greater quantities of alcohol as adolescents than participants who subsequently attended college. However, the college students not only surpassed their noncollege peers in alcohol use as young adults, but also exhibited a greater genetic influence on quantity of alcohol consumed per drinking episode.Conclusions: Exposure to a college environment acts as an environmental moderator, supporting the hypothesis that the magnitude of genetic influence on certain aspects of alcohol consumption is greater in environments where drinking behaviors are more likely to be promoted.
Extreme Prematurity: An Alcohol‐Related Birth Effect
Authors: Sokol Robert J. , Janisse James J. , Louis Judette M. , Bailey Beth Nordstrom , Ager Joel , Jacobson Sandra W. , Jacobson Joseph L. 
Published: April 2007

Background: Rates of preterm delivery, a major proximate cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality, have been increasing. Prenatal alcohol exposure has been implicated in preterm delivery, although results have been inconsistent due to inadequate control for confounding factors, insufficient power, unreliable and inaccurate assessment of both exposure and gestational age, and lack of stratification of prematurity into severity levels. The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between maternal alcohol, cocaine and cigarette use during pregnancy, and extreme and mild preterm birth.Methods: Three thousand one hundred thirty consecutive gravidas were followed prospectively for antenatal substance use and had ultrasound confirmed pregnancy dating.Results: Alcohol and cocaine, but not cigarette use, were associated with increased risk of extreme preterm delivery after control for potential confounders. For every unit increase in alcohol exposure, risk of extreme preterm delivery increased significantly [odds ratio (OR) 34.8]. Furthermore, in women aged 30+, alcohol exposure was associated with mild prematurity. Abstention from alcohol while continuing to use cocaine and tobacco was related to a decrease in extreme prematurity of 41%.Conclusions: The risk of extreme preterm delivery associated with alcohol use is substantial and similar in magnitude to other well‐recognized risks. Increased accuracy in identifying exposure and the use of ultrasound to confirm gestational age dating likely contributed to the findings of the current study. These findings suggest that eliminating pregnancy alcohol use might substantially reduce the risk of preterm delivery.
Upper and Lower Limb Motor Impairments in Alcoholism, HIV Infection, and Their Comorbidity
Authors: Fama Rosemary , Eisen Jeffrey C. , Rosenbloom Margaret J. , Sassoon Stephanie A. , Kemper Carol A. , Deresinski Stanley , Pfefferbaum Adolf , Sullivan Edith V. 
Published: April 2007

Background:Both HIV infection and alcoholism can impair motor abilities involving manual dexterity and postural stability. Given the high prevalence of HIV and alcoholism comorbidity, we examined whether each disease selectively disrupts different components of upper and lower limb motor control and whether these impairments are compounded by disease comorbidity.Methods:Simple and complex upper (speed and finger dexterity) and lower (static posture) limb functions were tested in 31 men with HIV infection, 27 with alcoholism, 43 comorbid for HIV infection and alcoholism, and 22 normal healthy controls to assess whether comorbid patients would demonstrate greater motor impairment relative to those with a single diagnosis.Results:Individuals with HIV infection and those with alcoholism had impaired upper and lower limb motor function. Disease comorbidity compounded deficits in speeded finger movement. Neither Beck Depression Inventory scores, self‐reported peripheral neuropathy, nor HIV medication accounted for group differences. Lower limb motor composite scores with eyes open were correlated with upper limb motor scores in the alcoholism group.Conclusions:Overall, the observed impairment patterns indicate the presence of upper and lower limb motor impairment in both HIV infection and alcoholism and the relevance of alcoholism in exacerbating impairment in speeded fine finger movement, when it occurs in HIV infection.
Matrix Proteolytic Activity During Wound Healing: Modulation by Acute Ethanol Exposure
Authors: Radek Katherine A. , Kovacs Elizabeth J. , DiPietro Luisa A. 
Published: April 2007

Background: Clinical studies demonstrate that intoxicated patients exhibit an increased incidence of wound healing complications. Previous studies in a murine excisional wound model revealed that acute ethanol exposure impairs the wound healing response, causing decreased angiogenesis and a significant reduction in wound collagen content.Methods: Using the same murine model of excisional wounding, we examined the effect of a single dose of ethanol on the overall collagen content and collagen type I and type III mRNA expression, transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β) production, and levels of several components of the extracellular matrix proteolytic cascade.Results: Wounds from ethanol‐treated mice exhibited a significant decrease in collagen and in the production of collagen type I mRNA compared with saline controls. Exposure to ethanol also caused significant increase in wound TGF‐β by day 2 after injury (1.69 ± 0.29 vs 12.34 ± 3.97 pg/μg protein, p<0.01). In addition, wounds from mice exposed to ethanol had significantly increased levels of active urokinase plasminogen activator at day 7, (205.10 ± 48.79 vs 642.70 ± 159.80 pg/μg protein, p<0.001). The level of matrix metalloproteinase‐8, a collagen type I proteinase, was 2.2‐fold higher in wounds of ethanol‐treated mice compared with control at day 7 (p<0.05).Conclusions: These studies demonstrate that a single dose of ethanol decreases collagen production, increases the production of TGF‐β and increases levels of matrix degrading enzymes. This alteration in protease balance may partially explain the impaired wound healing that follows acute alcohol intoxication.
Thalassemia intermedia today: should patients regularly receive transfusions?
Authors: Aessopos Athanassios , Kati Maria , Meletis John 
Published: April 2007

BACKGROUND: β‐Thalassemia is an inherited hemoglobin disorder characterized by reduced synthesis of β‐globin chain. The severity of clinical course distinguishes this heterogeneous disease in two main subtypes: thalassemia major (TM) and thalassemia intermedia (TI). TI has a later clinical onset with a milder anemia that does not require transfusions at least during the first few years of life. The clinical picture of TI patients who have not received transfusions or have occasionally received transfusions is dominated by the consequences of chronic hemolytic anemia, tissue hypoxia, and their compensatory reactions, such as bone deformities and fractures, extramedullary hemopoiesis, spleen and liver enlargement, hypercoagulability, and pulmonary hypertension. These complications, especially the latter two, are getting more frequent and severe over the years. Nowadays, although TI patients have almost no changes in the course of the disease, well‐treated TM patients with regular transfusion‐chelation therapy showed suppression of the anemia‐related disorders in parallel to prolongation of life. The new oral iron chelators and the magnetic resonance imaging application for early detection of heart iron load are promising for further improvement on survival.CONCLUSIONS: Considering the current cost‐benefit balance of regular treatment in TM as well as the frequency and severity of complications in TI, it seems that the majority of TI patients will be benefited if this kind of treatment is applied targeting prevention and not palliation of the anemia‐induced complications.