Systematic review and collaborative recalculation of 133,693 incident cases of schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: This systematic review and collaborative recalculation was set up to recalculate schizophrenia incidence rates from previously published studies by age and sex. METHOD: PubMed, EMBASE and PsycINFO databases were searched (January 1950 to December 2009) for schizophrenia incidence studies. Numerator and population data were extracted by age, sex and, if possible, study period. Original data were requested from the authors to calculate age- and sex-specific incidence rates. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed by age and sex from negative binomial regression models. RESULTS: Forty-three independent samples met inclusion criteria, yielding 133 693 incident cases of schizophrenia for analysis. Men had a 1.15-fold (95% CI 1.00-1.31) greater risk of schizophrenia than women. In men, incidence peaked at age 20-29 years (median rate 4.15/10,000 person-years, IRR 2.61, 95% CI 1.74-3.92). In women, incidence peaked at age 20-29 (median rate 1.71/10,000 person-years, IRR 2.34, 95% CI 1.66-3.28) and 30-39 years (median rate 1.24/10,000 person-years, IRR 2.25, 95% CI 1.55-3.28). This peak was followed by an age-incidence decline up to age 60 years that was stronger in men than in women (χ² = 57.90, p < 0.001). The relative risk of schizophrenia was greater in men up to age 39 years and this reversed to a greater relative risk in women over the age groups 50-70 years. No evidence for a second incidence peak in middle-aged women was found. CONCLUSIONS: Robust sex differences exist in the distribution of schizophrenia risk across the age span, suggesting differential susceptibility to schizophrenia for men and women at different stages of life.

[Elevation of cardiac biomarkers after strenuous physical exertion]. / Elévation des biomarqueurs cardiaques après un effort physique intense.

We present the case of a patient who felt faint after a strenuous exercise. A coronary angiography was performed because of an elevated level of troponin, but it failed to demonstrat any significant coronary stenosis. We discuss the effect of strenuous exercise on cardiac biomarkers. Most previous published studies involved young trained populations. The frequency of these abnormalities in older, less trained people is unknown. Moreover, the possible impact of these abnormalities on mid- or long-term outcome is a matter of debate. Seniors practising intensive sport activities should systematically be submitted to a cardiological evaluation.

[Multidetector computed tomography coronarography: preliminary experience in real life settings]. / Scanner coronaire: bilan d'une expérience préliminaire dans le cadre de la vraie vie.

UNLABELLED: Multidetector computed tomography coronarography (MDCT) is a promising tool, offering non invasive anatomic evaluation of coronary arteries. We relate in this article our impressions after our first two years experience. METHODS: Retrospective study of the 328 patients who underwent MDCT examination between January 2005 and December 2006 at our community hospital. Per patient comparative analysis of the anatomical findings versus percutaneous angiography (PCA) in 61 cases. RESULTS: Out of 328 patients 61 (18.5%) underwent PCA. In these patients we found a sensibility, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 100%, 54%, 59% and 100% for MDCT. The main factor responsible for inconclusive vessel analysis was excessive calcification. CONCLUSION: In routine use, MDCT enables one to rule out significant stenosis non invasively, with high sensitivity in an unselected patient population.

Evidence for instrument and family-specific variation of subclinical psychosis dimensions in the general population.

It is unknown to what degree dimensions of schizotypy (subclinical psychosis) show independent, family-specific variation in the general population. Psychologists administered the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences, the Structured Interview for Schizotypy-Revised (SIS-R), and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale to 257 subjects pertaining to 82 general population families. All 3 instruments showed family-specific variation for positive and negative subclinical psychosis dimensions with between-families proportions of total variance between 10% and 40%. However, only the SIS-R showed family-specific variation of the negative dimension independent of its correlation with the positive dimension. The positive dimension of subclinical psychosis shows familial-specific variation in samples unselected for psychiatric disorder, suggesting dimensional liability in the population. The SIS-R additionally captures family-specific variation in the negative domain.

[Long-term outcome of acute myocardial infarction treated with primary angioplasty. Experience of a public center in Alsatia-France]. / Devenir à long terme de patients traités par angioplastie primaire à la phase aiguë d'un infarctus du myocarde. Experience d'un centre hospitalier général alsacien.

OBJECTIVES: Estimation of long-term outcome for patients suffering from acute myocardial infarction treated with primary angioplasty in an alsatian public center. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two-hundred and ninety-eight patients who underwent an urgent coronarography in a non-university center, with a view to immediate angioplasty, between January 1999 and December 2001. RESULTS: Two-hundred and sixty-four patients (88.6%) were actually treated with urgent angioplasty, which has been successful in 87.1% of cases. Hospital mortality was of 7.7%. The population was composed of 16.4% patients older than 75 and of 11.7% patients with Killip 3 or 4 at admission. Mean follow-up was 34 months, lost to follow-up rate was of 4.7%. The global survival rate was of 78.9% and event-less survival rate of 41.9%. CONCLUSION: Our results confirm the efficiency of angioplasty in real-life conditions as well at short-term as at long-term.

Are individual levels of pain anxiety related to negative interpretation bias? An examination using an ambiguous word priming task.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive processes like attentional and interpretation biases have been suggested to play a vital role in the onset and exacerbation of chronic pain. Research consistently supports the occurrence of interpretation bias (IB) in pain patients and healthy individuals high in pain anxiety. Nevertheless, studies on the indirect assessment of IB or the relation between IB and responses to pain are limited. The present studies examined the association between indirect assessed IB and pain anxiety, while Study 2 additionally examined IB as a mediator in the relation between pain anxiety and pain responses. METHOD: In Study 1 (N = 125) and Study 2 (N = 73), anxiety sensitivity, injury/illness sensitivity (IS) and pain catastrophizing were assessed with questionnaires. IB was indirectly derived from performance on an ambiguous word priming task. In Study 2, an experimental heat pain induction was used to assess pain responses (i.e. tolerance and subjective pain experience). RESULTS: Results showed a positive correlation between pain anxiety and IB, albeit that the strength of the observed associations differed between both studies. Furthermore, IB was inversely related to pain tolerance, and found to mediate the relation between IS and pain tolerance in Study 2. CONCLUSIONS: Current findings underscore the importance of interpretational processes in the context of physical health threat. Furthermore, the ambiguous word priming task is proposed as a suitable paradigm for further research on the indirect assessment of IB. Nevertheless, further research is warranted to deepen our understanding of IB and its contribution to the experience of (chronic) pain.

Prevalence of psychotic disorder and community level of psychotic symptoms: an urban-rural comparison.

BACKGROUND: Urban and rural populations have different rates of psychotic illness. If psychosis exists as a continuous phenotype in nature, urban-rural population differences in the rate of psychotic disorder should be accompanied by similar differences in the rate of abnormal mental states characterized by psychotic or psychosislike symptoms. METHODS: A random sample of 7076 individuals aged 18 to 64 years were interviewed by trained lay interviewers with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Approximately half of those with evidence of psychosis according to the Composite International Diagnostic Interview were additionally interviewed by clinicians. We investigated associations between a 5-level urbanicity rating and (1) any DSM-III-R diagnosis of psychotic disorder (sample prevalence, 1.5%), (2) any rating of hallucinations and/or delusions (sample prevalence, 4.2%), and (3) any rating of psychotic or psychosislike symptoms (sample prevalence, 17.5%). RESULTS: Level of urbanicity was associated not only with DSM-III-R psychotic disorder (adjusted odds ratio [OR] over 5 levels, 1.47; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.25-1.72), but also, independently, with any rating of delusion and/or hallucination (adjusted OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.17-1.40; clinician-assessed psychotic symptoms only: OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.03-1.64) and any rating of psychosislike symptom (adjusted OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.13-1.24). Psychotic symptoms were strongly and independently associated with psychotic disorder, regardless of the level of urbanization. CONCLUSIONS: Community level of psychotic and psychosislike symptoms may be inextricably linked to the prevalence of psychotic disorder. The prevalence of abnormal mental states that facilitate development to overt psychotic illness increases progressively with level of urbanization.

[Primary angioplasty in acute coronary syndromes with ST-segment elevation: experience of three Alsacian centers]. / Angioplastie primaire dans les syndromes coronaires aigus avec sus-decalage du segment ST: experience de 3 centres alsaciens.

The guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology, published in 2003, consider primary angioplasty as the preferred treatment strategy in acute coronary syndromes with ST-segment elevation, if the procedure can be performed within 90 min after first medical contact. We report the experience of three Alsacian centers running a common prospective registry with 2504 consecutive patients enroled between January 1999 and December 2004. The average age of the patients was 62 years with a proportion of 24% women. The time delay "pain to admission" was > or =3 hours in 55.9% of the cases. The treatment delay "door to catheterisation needle" was 59 min and the mean delay "door-to-reperfusion" was 79 min. The study population was representative of the real world including subsets of patients with a particulary high risk profile: age > or =70 years in 33%, a Killip grade > or =3 in 11.5%, rescucitated sudden death in 6.6% and cardiogenic shock in 10.9% of the patients respectively. The immediate procedural success rate (Timi 3 flow) in the treated coronary artery was 96.5%. The overall inhospital mortality-rate was 9.3%. The combinations of rescucitated sudden death--cardiogenic shock or age > or =75 years--cardiogenic shock were associated with a poor clinical outcome and mortality rates of 69% and 72.6% respectively, where as in the absence of abovementioned clinical high risk settings, the mortality rate was as low as 1.4%. The overall bleeding complication rate was 1.4%. The policy of systematic primary angioplasty in acute coronary syndromes with ST-Segment elevation appears to be coherent. The procedural complications and the in-hospital mortality rates were low, except in the presence of above mentioned clinical high risk settings.

[Drug eluting stents in 2005: have the initial expectations been met?]. / Le stent "actif" en 2005: remplit-il ses promesses?

Drug eluting stent is a new technology aimed to prevent the development of neointimal hyperplasia and restenosis following percutaneous coronary intervention. This review describes the direction for their use at the present time and the future of their utilization with the summary of the principals clinicals trials.

[Acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction in the elderly (>75 years). Results from a regional multicenter study]. / Infarctus du myocarde du sujet de plus de 75 ans. Données d'un registre multicentrique régional.

OBJECTIVES: This prospective multicenter study assessed the prevalence and feasibility of percutaneous coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in the acute phase of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in 3 nonacademic interventional cardiology centers (Alsace, France). METHODS: We studied the clinical characteristics, angiographic data, and PCTA results of all STEMI patients and analyzed the revascularization rates and adverse events during hospitalization. We compared patients at least 75 years of age and younger patients for these data and with the literature. RESULTS: Of the 1672 patients admitted for STEMI, 342 (20.45%) were at least 75 years of age. Half the patients in this high-risk subgroup were women. These patients had more co-morbidities (e.g., hypertension and diabetes mellitus) than younger patients, and more of them had three-vessel disease. Mortality rate was high in this subgroup and always higher than for comparable younger subjects, but it varied according to the initial clinical profile. Their global mortality rate was 20.47%, but it fell to 5.41% when we excluded patients with cardiogenic shock or in Killip stage ill, and those who were resuscitated. PTCA is a coronary reperfusion technique especially indicated for elderly patients with STEMI. It is an effective revascularization technique, with a reperfusion rate (exclusively TIMI III flow) reaching 93.88% in the elderly group, only slightly lower than among younger patients (97.18%). CONCLUSION: PTCA is a technique particularly indicated in the elderly in Alsace because of regional geographic and medical specificities: nearby emergency services are available to virtually the entire population of Alsace, and most interventional cardiology teams apply a strategy of exclusive primary PTCA.

[Intracardiac mass: Why not a liquefaction necrosis of a mitral annulus calcification?]. / Masse cardiaque: et si c'était une liquéfaction caséeuse de calcification mitrale?

We report the case of an asymptomatic 70-year-old woman with a liquefaction necrosis of mitral annulus calcification. This mass was discovered incidentally during an echocardiographic examination. Additional treatment was not performed because liquefaction necrosis of mitral calcification usually has a benign prognosic. A scheduled clinical review with an echocardiographic examination and cardiac MRI was planified. The patient is actually healthy without any complication.

Prediction of neonatal outcome in women with gestational hypertension or mild preeclampsia after 36 weeks of gestation.

BACKGROUND: There is little knowledge about neonatal complications in GH and PE and induction at term, we aim to assess whether they can be predicted from clinical data. METHODS: We used data of the HYPITAT trial and evaluated whether adverse neonatal outcome (Apgar score < 7, pH < 7.05, NICU admission) could be predicted from clinical data. Logistic regression, ROC analysis and calibration were used to identify predictors and evaluate the predictive capacity in an antepartum and intrapartum model. RESULTS: We included 1153 pregnancies, of whom 76 (6.6%) had adverse neonatal outcome. Parity (primipara OR 2.75), BMI (OR 1.06), proteinuria (dipstick +++ OR 2.5), uric acid (OR 1.4) and creatinine (OR 1.02) were independent antepartum predictors; In the intrapartum model, meconium stained amniotic fluid (OR 2.2), temperature (OR 1.8), duration of first stage of labour (OR 1.15), proteinuria (dipstick +++ OR 2.7), creatinine (OR 1.02) and uric acid (OR 1.5) were predictors of adverse neonatal outcome. Both models showed good discrimination (AUC 0.75 and 0.78), but calibration was limited (Hosmer-Lemeshow p = 0.41, and p = 0.20). CONCLUSIONS: In women with GH or PE at term, it is difficult to predict neonatal complications, possibly since they are rare in the term pregnancy. However, the identified individual predictors may guide physicians to anticipate requirements for neonatal care.

Energy-dependent injury to cultured sinusoidal endothelial cells of the rat liver in UW solution.

The critical injury to liver during cold preservation is believed to occur to the sinusoidal endothelium. In this study the viability of cultured sinusoidal endothelial cells from rat liver was assessed during storage in University of Wisconsin solution at 4 degrees C. The vast majority of cells (83 +/- 12%) died within 24 hr of storage. Addition of KCN (1 mM) to the solution to simulate hypoxia markedly increased survival: only 3 +/- 2% of cells had lost viability after 24 hr in the presence of cyanide. Further experiments showed that other inhibitors of mitochondrial ATP formation (antimycin A 1 microM, rotenone 1 microM, oligomycin 10 microM, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone 1 microM) were protective as well, whereas glucose (10 mM) greatly diminished the protective effect of cyanide (loss of viability 38 +/- 7% after 24 hr). ATP measurements confirmed the correlation between the energy state of the cells and cell death: ATP levels after 6 hr of incubation were 19.9 +/- 4.0 nmol/10(6) cells in UW solution, 13.7 +/- 2.9 nmol/10(6) cells in UW + glucose, 6.9 +/- 1.9 nmol/10(6) cells in UW + KCN + glucose and 1.9 +/- 1.5 nmol/10(6) cells in UW + KCN. In contrast to the protective effect observed in UW solution, addition of KCN to Krebs-Henseleit buffer led to increased endothelial cell damage upon cold storage. We therefore conclude that in UW solution damage to the sinusoidal endothelium is energy-dependent.

Comparison of saruplase and alteplase in acute myocardial infarction. SESAM Study Group. The Study in Europe with Saruplase and Alteplase in Myocardial Infarction.

Four hundred seventy-three patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were treated with either saruplase (80 mg/hour, n = 236) or alteplase (100 mg every 3 hours, n = 237). Comedication included heparin and acetylsalicylic acid. Angiography was performed at 45 and 60 minutes after the start of thrombolytic therapy. When flow was insufficient, angiography was repeated at 90 minutes. Coronary angioplasty was then performed if Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) trial 0 to 1 flow was seen. Control angiography was at 24 to 40 hours. Baseline characteristics were similar. Angiography showed comparable and remarkably high early patency rates (TIMI 2 or 3 flow) in both treatment groups: at 45 minutes, 74.6% versus 68.9% (p = 0.22); and at 60 minutes 79.9% versus 75.3% (p = 0.26). Patency rates at 90 minutes before additional interventions were also comparable (79.9% and 81.4%). Angiographic reocclusion rates were not significantly different: 1.2% versus 2.4% (p = 0.68). After rescue angioplasty, angiographic reocclusion rates of 22.0% and 15.0% were observed. Safety data were similar for both groups. Thus, (1) early patency rates were high for saruplase and alteplase treatment, (2) reocclusion rates for both drugs were remarkably low, and (3) complication rates were similar. Thus, saruplase seems to be as safe and effective as alteplase.

Safety and side effects of anisoylated plasminogen streptokinase activator complex and streptokinase in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Interim report of the IRS II Study.

86 patients with a first myocardial infarction presenting within 6 hours of the onset of symptoms were randomly allocated to treatment with intravenous streptokinase or anisoylated plasminogen streptokinase activator complex (APSAC). Side effects were observed in 34.1% of patients (15 of 44) in the streptokinase group and 23.8% (10 of 42) in the APSAC group. These effects included injection related effects (in 4 patients on streptokinase versus 6 on APSAC) and neurological complications (0 vs 2 patients, respectively). Femoral haematoma accounted for the majority of bleeding events. Death occurred as a consequence of haemorrhage in 2 patients (1 receiving streptokinase and the other APSAC).

Haematological effects of anisoylated plasminogen streptokinase activator complex and streptokinase in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Interim report of the IRS II Study.

86 patients with a first myocardial infarction presenting within 6 hours of the onset of symptoms were randomly allocated to treatment with intravenous streptokinase or anisoylated plasminogen streptokinase activator complex (APSAC). Plasma concentrations of fibrinogen, plasminogen, alpha 2-antiplasmin and fibrinogen degradation products and thrombin and prothrombin times, were measured before the injection of the thrombolytic drug and every 3 hours during the first 24 hours. APSAC and streptokinase produced identical and important systemic effects. APSAC produced a slightly smaller decrease in fibrinogen concentrations. The duration of this systemic activity was about the same for the 2 drugs (congruent to 24 hours).

Strauss (1969) revisited: a psychosis continuum in the general population?

Although dichotomously defined for clinical purposes, psychosis may exist as a continuous phenotype in nature. A random sample of 7076 men and women aged 18-64years were interviewed by trained lay interviewers with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Those with evidence of psychosis according to the CIDI were additionally interviewed by psychiatrists. For the 17 CIDI core psychosis items, we compared a psychiatrist's rating of hallucinations and/or delusions (Clinical Psychosis; sample prevalence 4.2%) with three other possible positive CIDI ratings of the same items: (i) symptom present, but not clinically relevant (NCR Symptom; sample prevalence 12.9%); (ii) symptom present, but the result of drugs or somatic disorder (Secondary Symptom; sample prevalence 0.6%); (iii) symptom appears present, but there is a plausible explanation (Plausible Symptom; sample prevalence 4.0%). Of the 1237 individuals with any type of positive psychosis rating (sample prevalence 17.5%), only 26 (2.1%) had a DSM-III-R diagnosis of non-affective psychosis. All the different types of psychosis ratings were strongly associated with the presence of psychiatrist-rated Clinical Psychosis (NCR Symptom: OR=3.4; 95% CI: 2.9-3.9; Secondary Symptom: OR=4.5; 95% CI: 2.7-7.7; Plausible Symptom: OR=5.8; 95% CI: 4.7-7.1). Associations with lower age, single marital status, urban dwelling, lower level of education, lower quality of life, depressive symptoms and blunting of affect did not differ qualitatively as a function of type of rating of the psychotic symptom, were similar in individuals with and without any CIDI lifetime diagnosis, and closely resembled those previously reported for schizophrenia. Presence of any rating of hallucinations was strongly associated with any rating of delusions (OR=6.7; 95% CI: 5.6-8.1), regardless of presence of any CIDI lifetime diagnosis. The observation by Strauss (1969. Hallucinations and delusions as points on continua function. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 21, 581-586) that dichotomously diagnosed psychotic symptoms in clinical samples are, in fact, part of a continuum of experiences, may also apply to the general population. The boundaries of the psychosis phenotype may extend beyond the clinical concept of schizophrenia.

[Coronary reperfusion by anistreplase (Eminase) used intravenously during the acute phase of myocardial infarction]. / Recanalisation coronaire par l'anistreplase (Eminase) utilisée par voie intraveineuse à la phase aiguë de l'infarctus du myocarde.

Coronary recanalisation rate is one of the parameters utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of a thrombolytic agent. This parameter can only be measured when the occlusion and reopening of the coronary artery involved are demonstrated by angiography. Moreover, this type of study enables the kinetics of drug activity to be accurately determined. When injected intravenously in doses of 30 units less than four hours after the onset of chest pain and when studied by this method, Eminase produces recanalisation in more than 60 per 100 of the cases. The time elapsed between injection and action is 45 minutes on average. The risk of early reocclusion is low (about 5%). The recanalisation rate obtained with Eminase is similar to that obtained with intracoronary streptokinase.

[Rupture of a branch of the pulmonary artery during Swan-Ganz catheterization. Treatment by coil embolization]. / Rupture d'une branche de l'artère pulmonaire au cours d'un cathétérisme de Swan-Ganz. Traitement par embolisation de coils.

Rupture of the pulmonary artery or of one of its branches during a Swan-Ganz catheterisation is a rare complication which remains lethal in about 50% of cases. The risk factors and mechanisms of this complication have been previously described. There are two means of treatment: intensive care and specific medical or surgical treatment. In this case, the rupture of the pulmonary artery occurred during Swan-Ganz catheterisation and was treated by coil embolisation. This simple and rapid technique seems to be very promising.

[Evolution of the ST segment in myocardial reperfusion]. / Evolution du segment ST au cours de la reperfusion myocardique.

Intracoronary thrombolysis showed the chronological order of clinical electric and biological changes following the reestablishment of coronary flow. These changes make up the reperfusion syndrome; ST segment changes are part of this syndrome. They occur in practically all cases at the moment of reperfusion. The ST elevation may regress more or less rapidly or, on the contrary, increase transiently to a greater or lesser degree. When associated with other criteria of reperfusion-enzyme changes, arrhythmias, ST changes contribute to the indirect diagnosis of reestablishment of coronary flow. Rapid decrease in ST segment elevation is usually associated with a good myocardial outcome. The prognostic significance of transient increases in ST elevation--so called "reperfusion ischaemia"--is not fully understood, in particular its relationship to myocardial reperfusion injury. The myocardial prognosis after reperfusion may be the "biological" sum of cellular lesions due to ischaemia and reperfusion.