The analysis of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol and metabolite in whole blood and 11-nor-delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid in urine using disposable pipette extraction with confirmation and quantification by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Essential to forensic laboratories is the desire to find a more sensitive, rapid method of analyzing Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and metabolite in biological specimens. Disposable pipette extraction (DPX) is a valuable method in extracting THC and 11-nor-Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid (THCc) in blood and THCc in urine. Less waste and solvent usage; smaller specimen volume; clean chromatograms; and utilization of lowcost equipment and consumables were achieved using this method. Differing from traditional solid-phase extraction devices, DPX uses loosely packed sorbent allowing thorough mixing with the specimen without requiring vacuum for elution. Prior to extraction, urine specimens were hydrolyzed and proteins precipitated from blood. Specimen volume requirements were 1 mL of blood and 0.2 mL of urine. The limits of quantitation for THC and THCc in blood were 1 and 2 ng/mL, respectively, and 3 ng/mL for THCc in urine. With R2 values > or = 0.99, blood calibration curves were linear from 1 to 200 ng/mL and 2 to 500 ng/mL for THC and THCc, respectively, with urine THCc linear from 3 to 2000 ng/mL.

Sensory correlations in autism.

This study examined the relationship between auditory, visual, touch, and oral sensory dysfunction in autism and their relationship to multisensory dysfunction and severity of autism. The Sensory Profile was completed on 104 persons with a diagnosis of autism, 3 to 56 years of age. Analysis showed a significant correlation between the different processing modalities using total scores. Analysis also showed a significant correlation between processing modalities for both high and low thresholds, with the exception that auditory high threshold processing did not correlate with oral low threshold or touch low threshold processing. Examination of the different age groups suggests that sensory disturbance correlates with severity of autism in children, but not in adolescents and adults. Evidence from this study suggests that: all the main modalities and multisensory processing appear to be affected; sensory processing dysfunction in autism is global in nature; and sensory processing problems need to be considered part of the disorder.

The pattern of sensory processing abnormalities in autism.

The study was undertaken to evaluate the nature of sensory dysfunction in persons with autism. The cross-sectional study examined auditory, visual, oral, and touch sensory processing, as measured by the Sensory Profile, in 104 persons with a diagnosis of autism, 3-56 years of age, gender-and age-matched to community controls. Persons with autism had abnormal auditory, visual, touch, and oral sensory processing that was significantly different from controls. This finding was also apparent when the high and low thresholds of these modalities were examined separately. At later ages for the group with autism, lower levels of abnormal sensory processing were found, except for low threshold touch, which did not improve significantly. There was a significant interaction in low threshold auditory and low threshold visual, suggesting that the two groups change differently over time on these variables. These results suggest that sensory abnormalities in autism are global in nature (involving several modalities) but have the potential to improve with age.

Evaluation of imiquimod 5% cream to modify the natural history of herpes labialis: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Imiquimod is currently approved for the treatment of genital warts and has been shown to decrease recurrences of genital herpes in the guinea pig model of genital herpes. Therefore, we evaluated the safety and potential of topical imiquimod to decrease the rate of recurrence in humans with a history of recurrent herpes labialis. METHODS: Forty-seven subjects with recurrent herpes labialis applied imiquimod 5% (n=30) or vehicle cream (n=17) to recurrent lesion(s) on days 1, 3, and 5 of the study (day 1 of observation occurred within 48 h after recurrence of lesion). Subjects were seen at the study centers between each dose and 3 days after application of the final dose or until resolution of the lesion. RESULTS: After application to recurrent lesions, local erythema, edema, scabbing and/or flaking, pain, burning, and maximal lesion size were significantly greater in the imiquimod group than in the vehicle group. The study was terminated early because of severe local adverse events that occurred in 5 recipients of imiquimod. The median time until the next recurrence was, however, increased from 50 days in the vehicle group to 91 days in the imiquimod group (P=.018). CONCLUSIONS: Application of imiquimod 5% cream to herpes labialis lesions was associated with a delay in the time to the first recurrence after treatment, but severe local inflammation occurred in some individuals.