Non-therapy Group Research Articles

Downregulation of transforming growth factor-beta1 and platelet-derived growth factor gene expression by interleukin-10 in murine hepatic stellate cells in response to experimental liver injury

To investigate the effect of interleukin-10 (IL-10) on the expression of transforming growth factor-beta(1) (TGFbeta(1)) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) in hepatic stellate cells (HSC) during liver injury. The adenovirus vector (the titer was 1 x 10(7) efu/ml) encoded IL-10 gene was used to transfect the rat via the vein of caudal. At the same time, CCl(4) was injected into rat by a hypodermic injection. These processes went on twice a week. After eight weeks, the liver were perfused with collagenase IV and purified by density gradient centrifugation with Nycodenz for separate HSC. The level of IL-10 was measured by ELISA method; The expression of PDGF and TGFbeta(1) in HSC was detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western-blot methods. The level of IL-10 in therapy group (adenovirus vector encoding IL-10 gene group) was higher than that in non-therapy group (adenovirus vector without IL-10 gene and PBS group); The expression of TGFbeta(1) mRNA, TGFbeta(1) protein and PDGF mRNA, PDGF protein in therapy group were significantly lower than that in non-therapy group (P < 0.05). Downregulating the TGFbeta(1) and PDGF expression could be the passageway by which IL-10 alleviate the degree of proliferation and activation in hepatic stellate cells.

Short Communication: Effect of Mitomycin C and Vinblastine on FDG Uptake of Human Nonsmall-Cell Lung Cancer Xenografts in Nude Mice

This study was designed to preliminarily evaluate the use of positron emission tomography (PET) with [18F]-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) for monitoring chemotherapy effects, using a nude-mouse model of human nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the Lu-99 cell line. Tumor-FDG uptakes and volumes were measured after administrating a single dose of mitomycin (MMC) and vinblastine (VLB) and then compared these for a nontherapy group. A significant reduction in tumor volume after either chemotherapy occurred and associated with significantly lower FDG uptake values than the control group (p < 0.001), as early as day 1. These observations suggest that FDG-PET may be useful for noninvasively monitoring the effects of cancer chemotherapy.

Psicoterapia Jungiana para la somatización

Few controlled treatment studies addressing the clinical course of alexithymia, as well as somatizing symptoms, have been conducted hitherto. The aim of this pilot study was to show that it is possible to engage patients with alexithymia and somatization into a therapeutic relationship although this has been noted as difficult in other studies. The study was carried out with a sample of patients (n = 10) in primary care outpatients scoring for alexithymia on a test measuring this variable. They all shared high scores on somatization and on both muscular tension and guilt on the Karolinska Scale of Personality. The patients were blindly divided into two groups (n = 5). Jungian psychotherapy was given to the treatment group for six months. The control group did not receive any psychotherapy but had contact as before with their GP. They did not know about other patients receiving therapy. The full consent to participate in two testing-sessions with six months in between were received from all ten patients. We predicted that the therapy group would show reductions in psychic anxiety, suspicion and indirect aggression, reflecting the establishment of a trusting transference-counter-transference relationship and hence an improved communication of feelings. We did not expect any radical changes in somatization or alexithymia during this short-term process, as these concepts have been seen as more rigid and complex parts of the patients personality. After six months the therapy group showed an overall effect in their personality with larger change than the non-therapy group in 14 of the 17 measured variables (p = 0.0064) which could be interpreted as them being able to engage within the therapy. We concluded that this treatment seems to be able to engage even these patients in a trusting therapeutic relationship. No definite conclusions about the value of psychotherapy for patients meeting the above criteria can be drawn from this study. Longer-term studies with larger patient number will be required to demonstrate the benefits of this form of psychotherapy on alexithymia and somatization.

Drug therapy of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: results of a short-term treatment with theophylline

In the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSA), nasal ventilation therapy (nCPAP) and various surgical strategies such as uvulopalatopharyngoplasty have proved effective. However, not all patients can be successfully treated with these therapies. The present study investigated the effects of oral theophylline taken at night in patients with OSA. Fifty patients with polysomnographically verified OSA were enrolled in this study and divided into two equal groups. In the therapy group, 300–500 mg of oral theophylline were administered at night for 4–22 weeks. The non-therapy group served as a control for comparison. In all patients, nCPAP therapy was indicated at the beginning of the trial. The authors found a positive effect of theophylline treatment in patients with a comparatively low apnoea-hypopnoea index, low overweight and inconspicuous status of the upper airways. In 5 cases, the initially indicated nCPAP treatment could be stopped. In the therapy group, the number of apnoea and hypopnoea episodes was reduced by 17.08%. The mean apnoea duration and the time of sleep with an oxygen saturation below 90% were reduced by 8.41% and 19.58%, respectively. In the control group, an increase of 10.48% was found in the number of apnoeas and hypopnoeas. Apnoea duration and desaturation time were increased by 4.71% and 11.04%, respectively. Comparison of the effects in the two groups using the Wilcoxon 2-sample test showed the differences to be statistically significant. Besides these positive effects, 27.2% of the therapy group did not respond to treatment. The authors concluded that theophylline has a short-term effect on patients with mild OSA. Because of the limited beneficial effects, permanent theophylline treatment has to be monitored regularly by polysomnography. Under certain conditions, nocturnal oral administration of theophylline may supplement conventional therapy strategies. Henning Schliephake

Value of measuring perceived problems in a stroke population

Functional status assessments mainly concentrate on difficulty in performance and/or dependency on other people. Very few assessments document the perceived problems of the patient regarding the assessed activities. This study evaluates the added value of measuring perceived problems using a parallel assessment method: the Rehabilitation Activities Profile. The study population consisted of 57 stroke patients living at home, six months after stroke. Thirty-three were receiving therapy (physiotherapy or rehabilitation day care). The patients indicated that they perceived a number of problems, especially on the items 'walking', 'using transport', 'leisure activities' and 'relation with friends/acquaintances'. The perceived problem scores did not relate in a uniform way to the disability scores. The perceived problem scores were dichotomized. The proportions of persons with perceived problems showed statistically significant differences between the therapy group and the nontherapy group for 15 out of 21 items (p &lt;0.02). The cumulative relative frequency distributions showed that the therapy group indicated significantly more problems than the nontherapy group (p &lt;0.01). It was concluded that it is at least as important to measure perceived problems as it is to measure disabilities.

Pediatric blood culture evaluation of the bactec peds plus and the Du Pont Isolator 1.5 systems

A new nonradiometric bactec medium has been developed for culturing pediatric blood samples. The bactec peds plus medium ( bactec ped) consists of 20 ml of an enriched broth with resins. In contrast to the other aerobic bactec media, there is a lower concentration of sodium polyanetholesulfonate in the medium and more CO 2 in the headspace of the vial. This study was conducted in two different pediatric settings to compare the performance of the bactec ped medium with the Du Pont Isolator 1.5 system ( iso 1.5) in terms of overall organism recovery and time to detection. Equal volumes of up to 1.5 ml were tested in both systems. A total of 4063 culture sets were analyzed, yielding 301 (7.4%) clinically significant isolates. Of these, 86 (29%) were recovered only from the bactec ped and 12 (4%) only from the iso 1.5 ( p < 0.001). Bactec ped recovered significantly more staphylococci and Enterobacteriaceae than iso 1.5 ( p < 0.001 and p < 0.005, respectively). Detection times of isolates recovered in both systems were comparable. For those patients on antibiotic therapy at the time of culture, 21 (37%) were positive only in the bactec ped, whereas two (4%) were positive only in the iso 1.5. The nontherapy group had 61 (27%) organisms that were detected in bactec ped only and 9 (4%) in iso 1.5 only. These results indicate that bactec ped is a significant advance in blood culture systems that will provide a sensitive method for detecting pediatric bacteremias.

Anticoagulation therapy for renal insufficiency after burns

The changes in blood coagulation, fibrinolysis and kidney function and the effect of anticoagulation therapy using herapin were investigated in rabbits with full thickness skin loss burns covering 35 per cent of the total body surface area. Determinations of various kidney function tests, blood coagulation and fibrinolysis tests, blood viscosity and haematocrit values were made before burning and after 8 and 24 h. Thirty rabbits were divided into a non-therapy group, an intravenous infusion group, a heparin group, an antithrombin III group and an antithrombin III plus heparin group and the results were compared. Oliguria and a disturbance of kidney function were noted 8 h after the burn in the non-therapy group. In the intravenous infusion group urine volume was well maintained although the early stage of non-oliguric renal insufficiency was noted. The changes noted in the intravenous infusion group were prevented almost completely in the heparin group but FE Na and C H 2O were elevated at 24h probably because antithrombin III activity was markedly depressed. In the antithrombin III group and the antithrombin III plus heparin group, however, creatinine clearance (Cl cr) was moderately elevated while FE Na and C H 2O remained unchanged as compared with the values before the burn. The anti-thrombin III plus heparin group showed slightly better results than the antithrombin III group in U cr/P cr ratio, Cl cr and C H 2O . The results of the present study indicate that it is extremely effective to initiate appropriate fluid therapy immediately after a burn and to administer antithrombin III concentrate in combination with or without heparin for the prevention of acute renal insufficiency in patients with a severe burn.

Audiotape self-confrontation in group psychotherapy.

Numerous benefits have been attributed to use of playback during psychotherapy. To test its usefulness, 24 inmates at a federal women's prison were randomly divided into an audiotape-playback group, a regular therapy group, and a non-therapy control group. All Ss were administered a Q-sort measure immediately before and following a 6-wk. therapy or control period. The three groups did not significantly differ on any of the three Q-sort indices used. Taped excerpts from the two experimental groups showed that the playback Ss were significantly more verbally productive per unit of time, and it was suggested that playback may have affected the process but not the outcome of psychotherapy.