Blue-Yellow (B-Y) Perimetry Vs White- White (W-W) in detecting glaucomatous changes

Objectives: To determine if the Koniocellular pathway is broken down before the magnocellular pathway in glaucoma. To determine if there is any significant difference in the results for W-W perimetry vs B-Y perimetry of the same patient. The koniocellular pathway is the first to be damaged in glaucoma and the B-Y method of perimetry testing would be more beneficial to the patient where any change in the progression of their glaucoma would be detected earlier. Design and Methodology: The patients of fitting criteria were randomly selected and brought into the UWI clinic for two visual field tests. Both tests required the patient to do the same thing with the only difference being the colour of lights used. The results recorded for each patient were analysed using the software SPSS. Results: The results showed that although the blue- yellow perimetry detected more visual field defects than the white on white, the difference was not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. Conclusion: Even though SPSS analysis indicated that the results obtained were not significant it was inferred that using the alternative Blue Yellow method of perimetry can be helpful in monitoring those patients who are classed as glaucoma suspects to detect earliest glaucomatous changes.

The Relationship between Substance Use and Depressive Symptoms among Colombian Adolescents / Relación entre el uso de sustancias y los síntomas depresivos entre adolescentes colombianos

ABSTRACT Objective: To explore the relationship between substance use and depressive symptomatology among adolescents in Colombia. Methods: Adolescents aged 13-19 years from a rural city in Colombia completed the Spanish version of the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test and the Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale-6 (KADS-6). Results: Regression analyses indicated that gender, having used cannabis, having used sedatives, and having a family member who used illegal drugs were predictive of higher symptom levels of depression according to KADS-6. Conclusion: The results of this study suggested that substance use was associated with depressive symptoms in this sample of Colombian adolescents.

RESUMEN Objetivo: Explorar la relación entre el uso de sustancias y la sintomatologia depresiva entre adolescentes en Colombia. Métodos: Los adolescentes de 13 a 19 años de una ciudad rural en Colombia completaron la versión en español de la Prueba de Detección de Alcohol, Tabaco y Sustancias (ASSIST, en inglés) y la Escala de Depresión pasa Adolescentes de Kutcher-6 (KADS-6, en inglés). Resultados: Los análisis de regresión indicaron que tanto el género, como el haber consumido cannabis, usado sedantes, y tener un miembro de la familia que usó drogas ilegales, fueron predictores de niveles más altos de sintomas depresivos de acuerdo con la escala KADS-6. Conclusión: Los resultados de este estudio sugirieron que el uso de sustancias estaba asociado con sintomas depresivos en esta muestra de adolescentes colombianos.

Genetic characterization of Vitis germplasm collected from the southwestern US and Mexico to expedite Pierce's disease-resistance breeding.

Pierce's disease (PD) limits the cultivation of Vitis vinifera grape cultivars in California, across the southern United States and into South America. Resistance has been well characterized in V. arizonica, and one resistance locus has been identified (PdR1). However, resistance is poorly characterized in most other grape species. We tested a wide range of Vitis species from the southwestern United States for resistance to PD and used nuclear and chloroplast markers to phenotypically and genetically select a diverse set of resistant accessions. Chloroplast SSR markers identified 11 maternal lineage lines within the set of 17 (14 new and three previously identified) PD resistant accessions. A total of 19 breeding populations (F1 and pseudo-BC1) were developed with the 14 PD resistant accessions, and a total of 705 seedlings were analyzed for PD resistance. Using a limited mapping approach, 12 SSR markers, linked to the PdR1 locus, were used to genotype the breeding populations and phenotypic data were analyzed. Nine accessions had a major resistance quantitative trait locus (QTL) within the genomic region containing PdR1. The phenotypic data for these three resistant accessions, ANU67, b41-13, and T03-16, did not associate with PdR1 linked markers, indicating that their resistance is located in other regions of the genome. These three accessions were identified as candidates for use in the development of framework maps with larger populations capable of detecting additional and unique loci for PD resistance breeding and the stacking of PD resistance genes.

[A comparative study of celiprolol and nicardipine in stable angina of effort]. / Efecto comparativo de celiprolol y nicardipina en angina de esfuerzo estable.

Seventeen patients with effort angina, a positive exercise test and at least one stenosed vessel in coronary angiography were studied. Following a crossover blind-design, each patient received at random either 400 mg/day oral celiprolol or 120 mg/day oral nicardipine. A treadmill exercise test and 24 hour Holter monitoring were accomplished at the end of each treatment period. Both drugs significantly prolonged exercise time and reduced maximum ST segment depression at similar stages of control testing. Nicardipine reduced resting diastolic blood pressure a mean of 18 mm Hg (p less than 0.005) and also systolic blood-pressure 11 mm Hg (p less than 0.005) while celiprolol only reduced systolic pressure 10 mm Hg (p less than 0.01). Resting heart-rate was lowered by celiprolol a mean of 9 beats/min (p less than 0.0001) while nicardipine slightly increased it. The double product at maximum effort decreased with celiprolol and increased with nicardipine. Six patients with 3 vessel disease continued having transient ischemic episodes during treatment with celiprolol and 5 had them with nicardipine. Both drugs were well tolerated by the patients. In conclusion celiprolol and nicardipine proved to be effective in the treatment of myocardial ischemia specially when coronary heart disease is not very advanced.

[Post-infarction recurrent myocardial ischemia. Characterization with Holter ECG and exercise test]. / Isquemia miocárdica recurrente postinfarto. Caracterización por ecg-holter y prueba de esfuerzo.

In order to characterize postinfarction ischemia, 68 patients were studied by 24 hours Holter-monitoring and exercise testing. Twenty-four (35%) patients in Holter-monitoring and 26 (38%) in exercise testing had transient ischemic episodes. A significant coefficient of agreement was found between both tests. Nineteen (79%) of the patients had only silent ischemic episodes in Holter monitoring, and 87% of all episodes were asymptomatic. Twenty-two (87%) of the patients during positive exercise testing had silent ischemia. Eleven (46%) patients had transient ischemia at low and also at high heart-rates. Ten (37%) patients had ischemic episodes at lower charges than 100 watts, and all of them had more than 60 min of total ischemic burden in Holter-monitoring. A significant correlation was found between total ischemic burden and maximum ST segment shifts. The number of ischemic episodes were significantly higher during morning hours. A significantly higher rate of ventricular extrasystoles was found in recurrent ischemic patients, however, no difference was found in complex arrhythmias. After 1 year follow-up, 3 residual ischemic patients have died. The morbidity-calculated relative-risk is 13.9 times higher in patients with recurrent ischemia.