Murray Valley encephalitis virus surveillance and control initiatives in Australia. National Arbovirus Advisory Committee of the Communicable Diseases Network Australia.

Mechanisms for monitoring Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) virus activity include surveillance of human cases, surveillance for activity in sentinel animals, monitoring of mosquito vectors and monitoring of weather conditions. The monitoring of human cases is only one possible trigger for public health action and the additional surveillance systems are used in concert to signal the risk of human disease, often before the appearance of human cases. Mosquito vector surveillance includes mosquito trapping for speciation and enumeration of mosquitoes to monitor population sizes and relative composition. Virus isolation from mosquitoes can also be undertaken. Monitoring of weather conditions and vector surveillance determines whether there is a potential for MVE activity to occur. Virus isolation from trapped mosquitoes is necessary to define whether MVE is actually present, but is difficult to deliver in a timely fashion in some jurisdictions. Monitoring of sentinel animals indicates whether MVE transmission to vertebrates is actually occurring. Meteorological surveillance can assist in the prediction of potential MVE virus activity by signalling conditions that have been associated with outbreaks of Murray Valley encephalitis in humans in the past. Predictive models of MVE virus activity for south-eastern Australia have been developed, but due to the infrequency of outbreaks, are yet to be demonstrated as useful for the forecasting of major outbreaks. Surveillance mechanisms vary across the jurisdictions. Surveillance of human disease occurs in all States and Territories by reporting of cases to health authorities. Sentinel flocks of chickens are maintained in 4 jurisdictions (Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Victoria and New South Wales) with collaborations between Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Mosquito monitoring complements the surveillance of sentinel animals in these jurisdictions. In addition, other mosquito monitoring programs exist in other States (including South Australia and Queensland). Public health control measures may include advice to the general public and mosquito management programs to reduce the numbers of both mosquito larvae and adult vectors. Strategic plans for public health action in the event of MVE virus activity are currently developed or being developed in New South Wales, the Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria. A southern tri-State agreement exists between health departments of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia and the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care. All partners have agreed to co-operate and provide assistance in predicting and combatting outbreaks of mosquito-borne disease in south-eastern Australia. The newly formed National Arbovirus Advisory Committee is a working party providing advice to the Communicable Diseases Network Australia on arbovirus surveillance and control. Recommendations for further enhancement of national surveillance for Murray Valley encephalitis are described.

Fluoxetine versus placebo for the marijuana use of depressed alcoholics.

The aim of this analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of the SSRI antidepressant fluoxetine versus placebo for the marijuana use of depressed alcoholics. There are no previous reports involving and SSRI antidepressant for marijuana abuse. This analysis involved a subsample of 22 depressed alcoholic marijuana users out of a total of 51 depressed alcoholics. The entire sample was involved in a 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating the efficacy of fluoxetine versus placebo in depressed alcoholics. During the course of the trial, the cumulative number of marijuana cigarettes used was almost 20 times as high in the placebo group as in the fluoxetine group. Also, the number of days of marijuana use during the study was five times higher in the placebo group than in the fluoxetine group. These data suggest efficacy for fluoxetine in decreasing marijuana use of depressed alcoholics.

Fluoxetine in depressed alcoholics. A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The selective serotonergic medication fluoxetine has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of major depression and has suggested efficacy in the treatment of alcoholism. However, no completed trials with any selective serotonergic medication have been reported in patients who display both major depression and alcoholism, despite previous observations that both depression and alcoholism are associated with low serotonergic functioning. METHODS: Fifty-one patients diagnosed as having comorbid major depressive disorder and alcohol dependence were randomized to receive fluoxetine (n = 25) or placebo (n = 26) in a 12-week, double-blind, parallel-group trial. Weekly ratings of depression and alcohol consumption were obtained throughout the 12-week course of the study. RESULTS: The improvement in depressive symptoms during the medication trial was significantly greater in the fluoxetine group than in the placebo group. Total alcohol consumption during the trial was significantly lower in the fluoxetine group than in the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS: Fluoxetine is effective in reducing the depressive symptoms and the alcohol consumption of patients with comorbid major depressive disorder and alcohol dependence. It is unknown whether these results generalize to the treatment of less depressed and less suicidal alcoholics.

Double-blind fluoxetine in depressed alcoholic smokers.

Treatment trials involving smoking in alcoholics with major depression are scarce, despite the common co-occurrence of these disorders. In this study, 25 smokers with DSM-III-R diagnoses of both major depressive disorder and alcohol dependence were randomized to fluoxetine or placebo in a 12-week, double-blind, parallel group trial. Almost half (48%) of the patients had made a suicide attempt in the week before hospitalization (where recruitment was performed), and 84 percent reported suicidal ideations during that week. Those in the fluoxetine group demonstrated a significant within-group decrease in smoking during the course of the study, whereas those in the placebo group did not. Those in the fluoxetine group smoked 27 percent fewer cigarettes than those in the placebo group, although this difference was not statistically significant. Cumulative alcohol consumption during the 12 weeks of the pharmacotherapy trial was four times as high in the placebo group as in the fluoxetine group, though this difference was not statistically significant in this limited-sized sample. The change in smoking was significantly associated with a change in drinking. These preliminary findings suggest that fluoxetine has the potential for treating the smoking and drinking behaviors of depressed alcoholic smokers.

Gender effects on the clinical presentation of alcoholics at a psychiatric hospital.

Despite the clinical importance of gender effects on symptom patterns and comorbidity patterns in alcoholics, little is known about such effects in treatment facilities other than alcoholism treatment centers. This study evaluated the effect of gender on the clinical profile of 604 alcoholics who presented for initial evaluation and treatment at a psychiatric hospital. It demonstrated that major depression and accompanying depressive and anxiety-related symptoms are more prominent in female alcoholics than in male alcoholics, whereas antisocial personality disorder and antisocial symptoms are more prominent in male alcoholics presenting to a psychiatric hospital. The study also demonstrated that reversed neurovegetative symptoms are more severe in female than in male alcoholics.

Preliminary report: double-blind, placebo-controlled study of fluoxetine in depressed alcoholics.

The selective serotonergic agonist fluoxetine has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of depression and has possible efficacy in the treatment of nondepressed and depressed alcoholics. However, no double-blind, placebo-controlled trials with any selective serotonergic medication have been reported in patients who have both major depression and alcoholism. In this study, 21 patients with DSM-III-R diagnoses of both major depressive disorder and alcohol dependence were randomized to fluoxetine or placebo in a 12-week, double-blind, parallel group trial. The patients reported a high level of current episode (52.4%), prior episode (61.9%), and lifetime (76.2%) suicidal behavior. Total alcohol consumption during the 12-week treatment course was significantly lower in the fluoxetine group than the placebo group, after controlling for baseline differences in consumption. The fluoxetine group demonstrated a four-fold greater improvement in depressive symptoms, but this difference did not reach statistical significance in this small sample. These preliminary findings suggest that fluoxetine has potential for treating the excessive alcohol ingestion of depressed alcoholics and may have potential for treating the depressive symptoms of these patients as well.

Eddy-current-induced artifacts caused by an "MR-compatible" halo device.

Traction or halo devices thought to be compatible with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and made of nonferromagnetic metals may actually cause MR image artifacts. The authors have observed such artifacts caused by eddy currents generated in the conducting frame of the device by the radio-frequency excitation field. The severity of the artifact depends on the orientation of the device in the MR unit and can be effectively eliminated by disrupting the electrical continuity of the supporting frame of the device.

The stable internal fixation of peritrochanteric hip fractures.

Most series found in the literature on peritrochanteric fractures report failure rates of 9% to 35% for nonsliding fixation and 5% to 12% for devices that allow collapse about the axis of the barrel of the device, indicating that the concept of load sharing is a valid principle in the management of these injuries. Reviewing our experience with the fully collapsible devices reveals a remarkably low incidence of complications related to both metal failure and postoperative penetration of the femoral head. Most of the failures in our series occurred before the routine use of fluoroscopic operative placement control and can be related to inadvertent intraoperative penetration of the femoral head. With modern techniques, therefore, these complications are largely preventable. Despite those failures, which cannot be explained by technical error, we are extremely pleased with our overall results because the fully collapsible devices appear to allow early weight bearing without fear of fixation complications, even in unstable fractures. This concept allows for easier postoperative rehabilitation and attendant diminished mortality rates as compared with other devices currently used. Although no study can conclusively demonstrate the clear superiority of the slotted Richards screw and Ken-Pugh nail over other forms of sliding fixation, we believe that if the concept of load sharing is valid, this modification is a simple, sensible, and effective addition to most nail plate devices used today.