The Nation-wide Swedish Family-Cancer Database—Updated Structure and Familial Rates

The Swedish Family-Cancer Database was expanded to include all Swedes born in 1932 and later (offspring) with their parents, totaling 10.2 million individuals. Cancer cases were retrieved from the Swedish Cancer Registry from the years 1958 to 1998, including over 1 million primary cancers and in situ tumors. Some 10% of offspring diagnosed with cancer lack any parental information. Incidence rates of cancers were similar in the database and in the Cancer Registry to age 70, but at higher ages the rates in the Database were lower, probably because of selection. The familial risk for all types of cancer in offspring was 1.73 when a parent had the same type of cancer. The familial rates were increased for all main cancer sites, except for the upper aerodigestive tract, stomach, liver, pancreas and bone marrow (leukemia). The rates were 7.47 for thyroid, 4.69 for testis, and over 2.00 for melanoma, ovary, prostate, skin, endocrine glands and endometrium.     

妇科良、恶性肿瘤患者D二聚体水平的变化

目的观察妇科良、恶性肿瘤患者血浆中D二聚体水平的变化,探讨其临床意义。方法采用希森美康CA-7000全自动血凝分析仪测定53例子宫肌瘤患者,112例妇科恶性肿瘤(宫颈癌36例,卵巢癌30例,绒癌16例,葡萄胎12例,乳腺癌18例)患者的D二聚体水平,并与22例妇科正常健康体检者作比较,进行分析。结果妇科恶性肿瘤患者D二聚体水平与正常健康体检者和妇科良性肿瘤组相比均增高(P<0.01)。而且肿瘤恶性程度分期Ⅲ-Ⅳ期患者血浆D二聚体水平明显高于Ⅰ-Ⅱ期患者(P>0.05)。结论 D二聚体检测对妇科恶性肿瘤的实验室检查和临床分期有一定的考照价值。     

Odor enrichment influences neurogenesis in the rostral migratory stream of young rats

The olfactory bulb is one of a few brain structures characterized by high plasticity due to the fact that new neurons are continually integrated into the olfactory bulb circuit throughout life. The new cells originate from the subventricular zone of the forebrain and migrate through the rostral migratory stream (RMS) to the olfactory bulb that also represents the first synaptic relay of the olfactory system. Data accumulating in recent years have confirmed that sensory inputs can influence the level of postnatal neurogenesis in the olfactory bulb. In this study, we studied neurogenesis in the rostral migratory stream of Wistar albino rat pups after exposure to an odor-enriched environment. The rats were olfactory stimulated twice daily with different odorants from the day of their birth up to 1, 2 or 3 weeks, respectively. Using bromodeoxyuridine, a marker of cell proliferation, we found an increased number of proliferating cells in the rostral migratory stream of rat pups submitted to olfactory stimulation. Conversely, the number of dying cells, labeled with the fluorescent dye Fluoro Jade-C, was down-regulated in groups of rats exposed to an odor-enriched environment.     

Relapse following combined treatment discontinuation in a placebo-controlled trial for panic disorder

A recent double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (Barlow et al., 2000 JAMA. 283:2529-2536) examined separate and synergistic effects of psychological and pharmacological treatments for panic disorder. One finding warranting further investigation involved relatively high relapse rates of participants who received cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) + imipramine when compared with those receiving CBT + placebo. In this article, we investigate why CBT was less effective in protecting against relapse for individuals in the active drug condition. We hypothesized that participants correctly deduced treatment assignments and, for those taking imipramine, this was associated with the belief that they were no longer taking active drug after discontinuation, accounting for increased relapse rates. Contrary to hypothesis, there were no group differences in frequencies of guessing drug or placebo, nor were specific beliefs about taking drug or placebo differentially associated with relapse. Other possible reasons for differential relapse rates and treatment implications are discussed.