We found no benefit to therapy directed by pulmonary-artery catheter over standard care in elderly, high-risk surgical patients requiring intensive care.

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Objective-Preterm infants are exposed to multiple painful procedures in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) during a period of rapid brain development. Our aim was to examine relationships between procedural pain in the NICU and early brain development in very preterm infants.Methods-Infants born very preterm (n=86, 24-32 weeks gestational age) were followed prospectively from birth, and studied with MRI, 3D MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI): scan 1 early in life (median 32.1 weeks) and scan 2 at termequivalent age (median 40 weeks). We calculated N-acetylaspartate to choline ratios (NAA/ choline), lactate to choline ratios, average diffusivity (D AV ) and white matter fractional anisotropy (FA) from up to seven white and four subcortical grey matter regions of interest. Procedural pain was quantified as the number of skin-breaking events from birth to term or scan 2. Data were analysed using generalized estimating equation modelling adjusting for clinical confounders such as illness severity, morphine exposure, brain-injury and surgery.Results-After comprehensively adjusting for multiple clinical factors, greater neonatal procedural pain was associated with reduced white matter FA (β= −0.0002, p=0.028) and reduced subcortical grey matter NAA/choline (β= −0.0006, p=0.004). Reduced FA was predicted by early pain (before scan 1), whereas lower NAA/choline was predicted by pain exposure throughout the neonatal course, suggesting a primary and early effect on subcortical structures with secondary white matter changes.Interpretation-Early procedural pain in very preterm infants may contribute to impaired brain development.

Choroid plexus tumours are rare epithelial brain tumours and limited information is available regarding their biology and the best treatment. A meta-analysis was done to determine prognostic factors and the influence of various treatment modalities. A thorough review of the medical literature (1966 -1998) revealed 566 well-documented choroid plexus tumours. These were entered into a database, which was analysed to determine prognostic factors and treatment modalities. Most patients with a supratentorial tumour were children, while the most common sites in adults were the fourth ventricle and the cerebellar pontine angle. Cerebellar pontine angle tumours were more frequently benign. Histology was the most important prognostic factor, as one, five, and 10-year projected survival rates were 90, 81, and 77% in choroid plexus-papilloma (n=353) compared to only 71, 41, and 35% in choroid plexus-carcinoma respectively (P50.0005). Surgery was prognostically relevant for both choroid plexus-papilloma (P=0.0005) and choroid plexus-carcinoma (P=0.0001). Radiotherapy was associated with significantly better survival in choroid plexus-carcinomas. Eight of 22 documented choroid plexus-carcinomas responded to chemotherapy. Relapse after primary treatment was a poor prognostic factor in choroid plexus-carcinoma patients but not in choroid plexus-papilloma patients. Treatment of choroid plexus tumours should start with radical surgical resection. This should be followed by adjuvant treatment in case of choroid plexus-carcinoma, and a 'wait and see' approach in choroid plexus-papilloma.

A B S T R A C T PurposeWe examined how an aerobic exercise intervention influenced circulating estradiol, estrone, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), androstenedione, and testosterone levels, which may be involved in the association between physical activity and breast cancer risk. MethodsA two-center, two-arm randomized controlled trial of exercise was conducted in 320 postmenopausal, sedentary women age 50 to 74 years. Participants were randomly assigned to a 1-year aerobic exercise intervention of 225 min/wk (n ϭ 160) or to a control group who maintained their usual level of activity (n ϭ 160). Baseline, 6-month, and 12-month assessments of estrone, estradiol, androstenedione, and testosterone were quantified by radioimmunoassay after extraction, and SHBG was quantified by an immunometric assay. Intent-to-treat analyses were performed using linear mixed models. ResultsBlood data were available on 309 women (96.6%) at 12 months. Women in the intervention group exercised an average of 3.6 d/wk for 178 min/wk. At 12 months, statistically significant reductions in estradiol (treatment effect ratio [TER] ϭ 0.93; 95% CI, 0.88 to 0.98) and free estradiol (TER ϭ 0.91; 95% CI, 0.87 to 0.96) and increases in SHBG (TER ϭ 1.04; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.07) were observed in the exercise group compared with the control group. No significant differences in estrone, androstenedione, and testosterone levels were observed between exercisers and controls at 12 months. ConclusionThis trial found that previously sedentary postmenopausal women can adhere to a moderate-to vigorous-intensity exercise program that results in changes in estradiol and SHBG concentrations that are consistent with a lower risk for postmenopausal breast cancer.