Eating-related anxiety in individuals with eating disorders.

Although previous research has supported the importance of anxiety as an etiological and maintenance factor for eating disorders, the specific mechanisms are not well understood. The role of anxiety in the context of eating behavior is especially unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify anxiety-eliciting eating situations and anxiety management strategies patients use to mitigate anxiety experienced in the context of eating as determined by diagnostic groups and symptom patterns. Fifty-three eating disorder outpatients were administered the Eating and Anxiety Questionnaire (EAQ) and the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale. Ratings indicated significant anxiety in most eating situations, whereas management strategies were more limited yet regularly employed. Factor analysis of the EAQ revealed a 6-factor solution for anxiety management strategies and a 4-factor solution for anxiety-eliciting situations. These results indicate patients with eating disorders report high levels of anxiety associated with eating behaviors but utilize limited yet consistent anxiety management strategies. Effective intervention strategies for managing eating-related anxiety should be incorporated into treatment and may need to be specified for different diagnostic subgroups.

Functional considerations in evaluation and treatment of the client with low vision.

In evaluating and treating clients who have low vision, the occupational therapist must consider factors in addition to typical measures of the client's visual acuity, field loss, and oculomotor control. It is important to consider the functional implications of the client's ocular pathology, including illumination needs, contrast sensitivity, sensitivity to glare, and need for magnification as well as environmental factors such as the amount of pattern in a visual task, the amount of lighting and contrast available, and the conditions under which the task is performed. These factors are all relevant to occupational therapy low vision rehabilitation because each may influence the way in which a client uses his or her residual vision and achieves successful adaptation. This article provides an overview of these factors and presents a suggested protocol for evaluation of the client with low vision.

[An unusual etiology of recurrent ulcerative colitis : Behçet's disease. Value of the double contrast barium enema (author's transl)]. / Une cause exceptionnele de colite ulcéreuse récidivante : la maladie de Behçet. Apport du lavement baryté en double contraste.

A recurrent ulcerative colitis in a Behcet's disease. The radiological features of this colitis are studied by a follow up of double contrast baryum enema. The diagnostic with Crohn's colitis is discussed.

Transgenic mice with a diverse human T cell antigen receptor repertoire.

Because of tolerance mechanisms, it has been hard to identify the T cell receptors (TCRs) of high-avidity T cells against self (for example, tumor) antigens. TCRs that are specific for foreign human antigens from the nontolerant T cell repertoire can be identified in mice. Moreover, if mice are constructed to express the human TCR repertoire, they can be used to analyze the unskewed repertoire against human self antigens. Here we generated transgenic mice with the entire human TCRalphabeta gene loci (1.1 and 0.7 Mb), whose T cells express a diverse human TCR repertoire that compensates for mouse TCR deficiency. A human major histocompatibility class I transgene increases the generation of CD8+ T cells with human compared to mouse TCRs. Functional CD8+ T cells against several human tumor antigens were induced, and those against the Melan-A melanoma antigen used similar TCRs to those that have been detected in T cell clones from individuals with autoimmune vitiligo or melanoma. These mice will allow researchers to identify pathogenic and therapeutic human TCRs.

Annual survey: executive compensation under fire.

Compensation of health care executives has continued to grow, largely pushed along by such factors as continuing turnover in top management positions in hospitals, according to the 1992 Hay hospital management/professional survey of compensation and benefits data from over 1,200 U.S. hospitals. And although pay increases are moving up faster among top hospital executives than in industry, overall hospital executive pay still lags. In addition, survey results look at such issues as linking executive pay to various measures of performance.

[The electro-oculogram in the early postoperative period following fistulizing operations (author's transl)]. / Das Elektrooculogramm im Frühverlauf nach fistulierenden Operationen bei Glaucoma chronicum simplex

EOGs were obtained from 2 groups of patients suffering from glaucoma chronicum simplex the day before surgery and 3, 5, 8, 11 and 14 days after trephining or fistulizing operation after Scheie. Though and peak potentials of the treated eyes were significantly less than those of the untreated fellow eyes five days after surgery. In addition on the 11. postoperative day after Scheie a second potential decrease was seen. The EOG-changes observed appear to reflect disturbances of the choroidal circulation after fistulizing operations.

Activation of immobilized acetyl-Coenzyme A carboxylase.

Partially purified acetyl-CoA carboxylase was covalently bound to a Sepharose 4B matrix. Although aggregation was thus prevented, the enzymic activity was stimulated by citrate and isocitrate.

Is carbamazepine an alternative maintenance therapy for neonatal seizures?

The absorption and elimination of a hospital pharmacy preparation of carbamazepine suspension have been investigated in a group of 6 new-born and 2 older infants. The results indicate that carbamazepine is adequately absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and that blood carbamazepine levels which are therapeutic in older children or adults are maintained with doses of 5-8 mg/kg twice daily. Elimination half-lives in this group of infants, who were each receiving other anti-epileptic drugs, varied from 7.2 to 15.2 h. Carbamazepine may provide a useful alternative to phenytoin and phenobarbitone as maintenance oral therapy in the management of neonatal seizures. Further investigation of efficacy and safety in this age group is required.

Identification and characterization of a mammalian enzyme catalyzing the asymmetric oxidative cleavage of provitamin A.

In vertebrates, symmetric versus asymmetric cleavage of beta-carotene in the biosynthesis of vitamin A and its derivatives has been controversially discussed. Recently we have been able to identify a cDNA encoding a metazoan beta,beta-carotene-15,15'-dioxygenase from the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. This enzyme catalyzes the key step in vitamin A biosynthesis, symmetrically cleaving beta-carotene to give two molecules of retinal. Mutations in the corresponding gene are known to lead to a blind, vitamin A-deficient phenotype. Orthologs of this enzyme have very recently been found also in vertebrates and molecularly characterized. Here we report the identification of a cDNA from mouse encoding a second type of carotene dioxygenase catalyzing exclusively the asymmetric oxidative cleavage of beta-carotene at the 9',10' double bond of beta-carotene and resulting in the formation of beta-apo-10'-carotenal and beta-ionone, a substance known as a floral scent from roses, for example. Besides beta-carotene, lycopene is also oxidatively cleaved by the enzyme. The deduced amino acid sequence shares significant sequence identity with the beta,beta-carotene-15,15'-dioxygenases, and the two enzyme types have several conserved motifs. To establish its occurrence in different vertebrates, we then attempted and succeeded in cloning cDNAs encoding this new type of carotene dioxygenase from human and zebrafish as well. As regards their possible role, the apocarotenals formed by this enzyme may be the precursors for the biosynthesis of retinoic acid or exert unknown physiological effects. Thus, in contrast to Drosophila, in vertebrates both symmetric and asymmetric cleavage pathways exist for carotenes, revealing a greater complexity of carotene metabolism.