Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
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This review examines multiple forms of intimate partner violence, including women's use of violence, and argues for development of more complex conceptualizations of intimate partner violence. As new victims are identified, partner violence has been reconceptualized. ⋯ The authors argue that how researchers conceptualize intimate partner violence influences how they study and measure it. The authors call for researchers to develop more complex constructions of gender, and to distinguish between distinct forms of intimate partner violence.
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Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. · Oct 2006
Review Meta Analysis Comparative StudyAssociation of SUMO4, as a candidate gene for IDDM5, with susceptibility to type 1 diabetes in Asian populations.
Recent study demonstrated that M55V variant in SUMO4 at IDDM5 was associated with susceptibility to type 1 diabetes. Subsequent studies, however, showed inconsistency in the association. To clarify the population-wide effect on the association of SUMO4 with type 1 diabetes, we have performed meta-analysis including our own data in Asian populations, which confirmed a highly significant association in Asian populations (summary odds ratio [OR]: 1.29, P = 7.0 x 10(-6)), but indicated significant heterogeneity in the genetic effect of the SUMO4 gene on type 1 diabetes among diverse ethnic groups. These observations indicated the association of SUMO4 with type 1 diabetes in Asian populations.
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Paragangliomas are rare tumors that arise from extra-adrenal paraganglia. The effective diagnosis and management of the paraganglioma patient involves the close collaboration of endocrinologists, endocrine surgeons, anesthesiologists, geneticists, laboratory specialists, radiologists, oncologists, and pathologists. Paragangliomas are diagnosed in the following clinical settings: signs and symptoms related to catecholamine hypersecretion, mass effect symptoms (e.g., with head and neck paragangliomas), incidental finding on imaging, or family screening for hereditary paraganglioma. ⋯ Genetic testing should be considered in all patients with paraganglioma. The treatment of choice for paraganglioma is surgical resection; most tumors are benign and can be excised totally. Following surgical cure, annual biochemical testing assesses for metastatic disease, tumor recurrence or delayed appearance of multiple primary tumors.
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Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. · Aug 2006
ReviewAn overview of pheochromocytoma: history, current concepts, vagaries, and diagnostic challenges.
Tragically as many as 50% of pheochromocytomas are discovered at autopsy, mainly because the diagnosis of this neuroendocrine tumor was not considered. Missing the diagnosis almost invariably results in devastating cardiovascular complications or death. ⋯ Very rarely, familial pheochromocytomas may cause no hypertension, symptoms, or signs. But biochemical testing can always establish the presence or absence of a pheochromocytoma, and localization with magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, or 131I or 123I-MIBG is almost always possible.
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Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. · Jul 2006
ReviewEfficacy of hydrocortisone in preventing posttraumatic stress disorder following critical illness and major surgery.
Like other humans exposed to extreme trauma, patients who have been treated in an intensive care unit (ICU) often report traumatic memories. Extremely traumatic memories from the ICU in some of these patients are associated with the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which results in significant impairments in health-related quality of life (HRQL) outcomes of ICU therapy. ⋯ We performed several controlled trials in ICU patients with suspected CIRCI from septic shock or cardiac surgery, which indicated that the administration of glucocorticoids (stress doses of hydrocortisone) during ICU treatment results in a significant reduction of PTSD symptoms in long-term survivors as well as improvements in HRQL outcomes. Stress doses of hydrocortisone could help to surmount impaired glucocorticoid signaling from CIRCI during critical illness resulting in a downregulation of the stress response as well as inhibition of traumatic memory retrieval and facilitated extinction of aversive information.