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The article presents research which determines the independent predictors of total hip replacement in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and symptomatic osteonecrosis (ON) in Korea. Results of the study show the independent risk factors for symptomatic ON in SLE patients including the administration of immunodepressants and Cushingoid body habitus. The likeliness of the patients to undergo total hip replacement following their ON diagnosis is also noted.

We solve the inhomogeneous Bessel differential equationwhere ν is a positive nonintegral number, and use this result for the approximation of analytic functions of a special type by the Bessel functions of fractional order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral antidepressants are currently the first-line pharmacotherapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but response rates can often be low and with delayed onset of therapeutic action. Some reports have suggested that intravenous (i.v.) anti-obsessive agents may have faster onset of action and greater efficacy. A Medline search was conducted for all reports pertaining to the use of i.v. antidepressants for OCD. Search terms included: 'intravenous', 'clomipramine', 'selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor', 'tricyclic', 'citalopram', 'sertraline', 'paroxetine', 'fluvoxamine', 'SSRIs' and 'intravenous antidepressants'. Relevant articles mainly investigated clomipramine (CMI) with one open trial examining citalopram. Intravenous agents appear to be well-tolerated, particularly in those who have failed oral agents, and may act more rapidly to produce initial clinical response, although this advantage is often lost over time. Preliminary evidence suggests subgroups of patients with severe treatment-refractory OCD may benefit from i.v. anti-obsessive agents, CMI and citalopram. Larger, controlled trials are needed for more definitive conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture as a treatment for chronic shoulder pain and to compare the efficacy of individualized acupuncture to fixed, standard point acupuncture treatment. Design: The study was a single-blind randomized, controlled trial. Settings/Location: The study was conducted in an outpatient rheumatology clinic at the VA Medical Center of Philadelphia. Subjects: The participants were adults with shoulder pain for at least 8 weeks with a diagnosis of osteoarthritis or rotator cuff tendonitis and a total Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) score of ≥30. Interventions: Thirty-one (31) subjects were randomized to one of three treatment groups: individualized acupuncture points according to the approaches of Traditional Chinese Medicine; fixed, standard acupuncture points conventionally used for shoulder pain; and sham nonpenetrating acupuncture. Subjects received 12 treatments over 6 weeks and were reassessed using the SPADI at the end of the 6 weeks. Outcome measures: The primary outcome evaluated was the mean change in total SPADI score in each group from baseline to 6 weeks. Results: After 6 weeks of treatment, the mean total SPADI score improved in all three groups, but the change was clinically significant (≥10 points) only in groups 1 and 2 (−20.3 and −20.4, respectively, versus −6.5 in group 3). The treatment effects of groups 1 and 2 compared to the sham acupuncture group were −13.8 (95% confidence interval: −2.2 to −25.4, p < 0.015) and −13.9 (−2.0 to −25.8, p < 0.013), respectively. There was no difference between the individualized acupuncture and standardized acupuncture treatments. Conclusions: Acupuncture may be an effective treatment for chronic shoulder pain. There may be no difference in efficacy between individualized and standardized acupuncture treatment. This suggests that the use of standard points may make treatment easier for patient care and for further research studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telomerase is a specialized ribonucleoprotein polymerase that directs the synthesis of telomere repeats at chromosome ends. Accumulating evidence has indicated that telomerase is stringently repressed in normal human somatic tissues but reactivated in cancers and immortal cells, suggesting that reactivation of telomerase plays an important role in carcinogenesis. In this study, the status of telomerase activity in diseased human nasopharyngeal lesions was determined by the telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP). Fifty-four patients participated including 17 inflammation or hyperplasia, eight with squamous metaplasia, and 29 with different stages of carcinomas. Telomerase activity was detected in 1 of 17 (5.9%) inflammatory or lymphoid hyperplastic tissues, 3 of 8 (37.5%) squamous metaplastic, and 25 of 29 (86.2%) carcinoma tissues. The differences in telomerase expression in these groups is statistically significant (P < 0.001). Levels of telomerase activity correlated with tumour stage (P = 0.024). These results suggest that telomerase reactivation plays a role in the carcinogenesis of nasopharyngeal cancer. Since telomerase activity is found in the majority of nasopharyngeal cancers and a subset of metaplasia, this enzyme may be served as a reference to monitoring the status of abnormal nasopharyngeal tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the identification of novel allele HLA-DRB1*1478 that was found during routine high-resolution sequence-based typing of the cord blood unit in Korean population. The DRB1*1478 allele shows two nucleotide differences from DRB1*1463 in exon 2 at nucleotide position 344 (G→T) and 345 (T→G), resulting in an amino acid change, Gly86Val. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although cardiac tamponade is an important and emergent complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), purulent pericarditis is rare despite the high frequency of pericardial effusion in SLE. We describe the first SLE case ofHaemophilus influenzaetype-f pericarditis with cardiac tamponade with SLE as the initial presentation. The pathophysiology and therapy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]