Evaluation of left ventricular mass in children with left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

To evaluate left ventricular (LV) mass in children with left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), we retrospectively examined the echocardiographic data available on all newborn infants with a diagnosis of CDH between April 1989 and May 1993. Adequate data for evaluation were available for 20 of 31 patients with left-sided CDH and no significant congenital heart disease. Left ventricular mass was determined from two-dimensional echocardiograms by an area-length method. Findings were compared with a control group that consisted of neonates with other causes of pulmonary hypertension. Patients with left-sided CDH had a significantly lower indexed LV mass than control subjects (1.96 gm/kg +/- 0.59 vs 2.84 gm/kg +/- 0.41; p = 0.0001). Additionally, children with left-sided CDH who required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation before repair (n = 7) had a significantly lower indexed LV mass than those patients who did not require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation before repair (1.53 gm/kg +/- 0.50 vs 2.20 gm/kg +/- 0.52; (p = 0.007). Infants who survived (n = 13) had an indexed LV mass of 2.09 gm/kg +/- 0.58 vs 1.64 gm/kg +/- 0.58 in those who died (p = 0.07). We conclude that the LV mass index in children with left-sided CDH is significantly lower than in children with other causes of pulmonary hypertension in the newborn period. Evaluation of LV mass in neonates with left-sided CDH may help predict the need for extracorporeal support before surgical repair, and may help indicate overall prognosis.

Obesity in free-ranging rhesus macaques.

Spontaneous obesity in free-ranging rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) was assessed in terms of body size, body fat distribution, endocrinological/metabolic indices, and social and familial factors. Eleven animals (six females, five males), or 7% of the adult population surveyed, were defined as obese on the basis of morphometric indices of adiposity > 2 s.d. above the mean for adults in this colony. The age of the obese animals ranged from 9-16 years; obese males were older than females (average 14 vs. 12 years), but this difference was not significant. Mean body weights for obese males and females were 14.1 +/- 0.5 and 13.5 +/- 0.7 kg, respectively. There were no gender differences in either the incidence of obesity or measures of body fat. Serum concentrations of cholesterol and testosterone were not significantly different between obese and nonobese monkeys. Serum triglyceride levels were somewhat higher in obese animals, but this difference was not significant. Glucose clearance was within normal limits in both obese and age- and sex-matched non-obese monkeys (> 2% per min). Although increased adiposity was significantly correlated with fasting insulin and the insulin response to glucose loading, differences between obese and non-obese animals in these values did not achieve significance. The incidence of obesity ranged from 0-20% among the eleven matrilines studied, and several primary familial relationships were observed within the obese sample. Most obese females were from a high ranking matriline whereas only one of the obese males was high ranking at the time of the survey.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Characteristics of spontaneous obesity in the Cayo Santiago rhesus macaque: preliminary report.

As part of the January, 1988 trapping of the Cayo Santiago rhesus colony a number of morphometric measurements and serum were collected to examine metabolic and hormonal changes associated with spontaneous obesity. Measurements included body weights, crown-rump lengths, abdominal and scapular skinfolds and circumferences of the upper arm, upper leg, abdomen and chest. Overall, males had a significantly greater body weight and Quetelet Index (body weight/crown-rump) than females but abdominal skinfolds did not differ. Pregnant females exhibited suppressed cholesterol levels relative to non-lactating and lactating females and males. Approximately 10% of the sample (N = 12) were defined as obese according to morphometric criteria. There were no differences in cholesterol and triglyceride levels between obese and nonobese animals nor were differences observed for testosterone and estradiol levels in obese and nonobese males. All obese animals fell within 7 matrilines, several of which were high ranking. These data confirm previous findings that spontaneous obesity occurs in the Cayo Santiago colony. The absence of obesity-related metabolic and hormonal changes may be related to the free ranging environment of the colony.

A comparison of palpable and nonpalpable breast cancers.

Chi-square statistics were used to compare prognostic factors of 60 patients with nonpalpable breast cancer (NPBC) and 112 patients with palpable breast cancer. Noninvasive cancers were more frequent, tumor size was smaller, and nodal metastasis was significantly less frequent in the NPBC group. However, the frequency of nodal metastasis was similar when adjusted for size and grade. There was no significant difference in the incidence of age and menopausal status of the patients, histologic types, hormone receptor status, and histologic/nuclear grade between these two groups. The findings were consistent with the hypothesis that NPBCs are potentially lethal tumors and that mammograms detect them earlier, ie, these tumors are smaller, localized, and, therefore, more curable.