Detection of the PTC/retTPC oncogene in human thyroid cancers.

We have investigated the PTC/retTPC oncogene, an activated form of ret proto-oncogene with a specific rearrangement, in thyroid malignancies. Southern analysis was used to screen 36 thyroid papillary carcinomas (PC), 22 normal thyroid tissues from glands with PC elsewhere, three follicular carcinomas, eight follicular adenomas and 30 other non-malignant thyroids. Rearrangements were detected in four PCs (11%) using probes derived from the ret proto-oncogene. Genomic breakpoints from a PC and a PC cell line (TPC-1) were cloned and sequenced. The rearrangement points of ret proto-oncogene were found in the intron between the exon for the transmembrane domain and the first exon for the tyrosine kinase domain. Furthermore, the PTC/retTPC chimeric transcripts were detected in two PCs with the rearrangement by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Distant metastases were present in 50% (2/4) of PCs with the rearrangement, but in only two out of 32 PCs without a detectable rearrangement (P = 0.05, Fisher exact test). Our study suggests that the rearrangement of the ret proto-oncogene may be involved in the development of distant metastases in patients with papillary thyroid carcinomas. However, a larger clinical study will be required to verify this observation.

Emotional intelligence as a standard intelligence.

The authors have claimed that emotional intelligence (EI) meets traditional standards for an intelligence (J. D. Mayer, D. R. Caruso, & P. Salovey, 1999). R. D. Roberts, M. Zeidner, and G. Matthews (2001) questioned whether that claim was warranted. The central issue raised by Roberts et al. concerning Mayer et al. (1999) is whether there are correct answers to questions on tests purporting to measure EI as a set of abilities. To address this issue (and others), the present authors briefly restate their view of intelligence, emotion, and EI. They then present arguments for the reasonableness of measuring EI as an ability, indicate that correct answers exist, and summarize recent data suggesting that such measures are, indeed, reliable.

Perceptions of mental retardation and mental illness.

College undergraduates were asked the degree to which they believed certain behaviors and characteristics are present in mentally retarded and mentally ill persons. Comparisons of responses showed that subjects clearly differentiated the concepts, although several areas overlapped. Mental retardation was characterized by physical stigmata and brain damage, developmental delays, and cognitive deficits; mental illness, by emotional lability due to environmental, hereditary, or mixed factors. How knowledge of people's perceptions of these disorders is essential for a more complete understanding of reactions to group homes, mainstreaming, and other "normalized" placements was discussed.

Assessment of basic cognitive abilities in relation to cognitive deficits.

A modal model of information-processing was used to select a battery of nine tasks of basic cognitive ability (learning, relearning, reaction time, probe recall, Sternberg search, self-paced probe, stimulus discrimination, tachistoscopic full report, tachistoscopic partial report). Parameters from these tasks operationalized the model. After extensive pilot testing of the tasks to establish reliability, we tested 40 subjects (20 with mental retardation and 20 college students) on all tasks and the WAIS-R. The parameters from the tasks were generally reliable (.7 through .9) and had low correlations with IQ (average about .37). Nearly all of the major cognitive parameters differentiated significantly between groups. A subset of the basic cognitive parameters predicted IQ with an estimated multiple correlation in the general population of .72. Prediction of IQ using basic cognitive parameters was better for subjects with mental retardation than for college students. A modified version of the modal model was supported. Results show that individual differences in higher mental processes are highly dependent on basic cognitive abilities and can be predicted from them. These findings have substantial implications for the development of models of information-processing.

Intervention in Graves' disease. Choosing among imperfect but effective treatment options.

Graves' disease is an autoimmune disorder that comprises the triad of diffuse toxic goiter, ophthalmopathy, and infiltrative dermopathy, although all three are not necessarily present in a given patient. The manifestations of Graves' disease vary, depending on the patient's age and other factors. Choice of therapy is influenced by the patient's age, history of heart disease, pregnancy status, expectations, and preferences. Most patients are treated with either radioactive iodine (sodium iodide I 131 [Iodotope]) or the antithyroid drugs propylthiouracil or methimazole (Tapazole). Antithyroid drugs may be more effective in producing long-term remission if levothyroxine sodium (Levothroid, Levoxine, Synthroid) is added to the regimen after the patient becomes euthyroid. Hypothyroidism occurs in many patients following 131I therapy but is also seen in a substantial number of patients who have been treated with thyroidectomy and even in some who have taken antithyroid drugs. Long-term follow-up is necessary, regardless of type of initial treatment, and should include an annual physical examination and measurement of serum concentrations of thyrotropin and the free thyroxine index, both of which should be maintained in the normal range.

Stimulus encoding by mentally retarded and nonretarded adults.

Stimulus encoding was studied with a group of mentally retarded and nonretarded adults. Two sets of 24 nonverbal stimuli were selected; one had a wide range of stimulus structure variables and the other, a representative sample of stimuli. Performance on a match-to-sample task for both stimulus sets was assessed and correlated with the stimulus structure of the standard stimulus. Although there were significant group differences in speed of matching or encoding, matching times for retarded and nonretarded subjects for each stimulus were correlated .97 and .90 for each stimulus set. Correlations of matching times with the stimulus structure variables for each stimulus were very similar for both subject groups. We concluded that both groups encode stimuli in similar ways, but at different rates.

Multiple endocrine neoplasia.

The multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) syndromes are well-defined disorders characterized by familial inheritance of specific endocrine tumors. The parathyroid, endocrine, pancreas, and pituitary tumors of MEN-1 are described by frequency and symptomatology. The effectiveness of surgery, symptomatic therapy, and panendocrine suppression by the somatostatin congener octreotide are discussed. Evidence indicates that the MEN-1 gene is located on chromosome 11 and tightly linked markers can help identify family members at risk for inheriting the gene. In MEN-2, the effectiveness of biochemical screening for thyroidal C-cell neoplasms and early thyroidectomy are described. New imaging techniques have been developed to identify medullary thyroid carcinoma and pheochromocytoma in MEN-2. Genetic analysis has identified markers on chromosome 10 closely linked to the MEN-2a gene, allowing better identification of family members likely to develop the syndrome.