Publications

BACKGROUND

18-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) is used clinically to detect recurrent colon cancer after surgical resection, but the sensitivity of PET for premalignant colon lesions and early stage colon cancer is not well defined.

METHODS

In a prospective study, 45 patients with a total of 58 colonic neoplasms, including premalignant polyps, premalignant, flat lesions, and early stage cancers, were evaluated by PET.

RESULTS

The sensitivity of PET for cancer was 62% (8/13). PET detected 100% (7/7) of cancers 2 cm or larger but only 17% (1/6) of cancers smaller than 2 cm. PET detected 23% (3/13) of flat, premalignant lesions; 70% (7/10) of protruded, premalignant lesions 3 cm or larger; 38% (3/8) of protruded, premalignant lesions between 2 and 2.9 cm; and 14% (2/14) of protruded, premalignant lesions between 1 and 1.9 cm. There was no false-positive PET reading.

CONCLUSIONS

PET has limited sensitivity for flat, premalignant lesions; protruded, premalignant lesions smaller than 3 cm; and colon cancers smaller than 2 cm.

This study describes knowledge about hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and interest in treatment among 110 opiate dependent patients from an opiate dependence treatment program in San Francisco. None had been treated for HCV and only 30% had been evaluated for HCV treatment. While only 34% knew about HCV treatment, 54% of the sample became "definitely interested" in HCV treatment after hearing the risks and benefits. Men were approximately five times more likely than women to know of some HCV treatment. Whites were seven times and Latinos were about six times more likely than African-Americans to know about HCV treatment. Our findings suggest that methadone programs can play an important role in increasing access to HCV treatment through educating patients about treatment options.

Anemia, the most common hematological disorder in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), is associated with decreased quality of life and survival. Hypogonadism is prevalent in advanced HIV disease, however, low testosterone levels have not been customarily implicated in HIV-associated anemia. This study was undertaken to determine whether there is a relationship between testosterone levels and androgen use with anemia in HIV, and to characterize other clinical correlates of HIV-associated anemia. This was a cross-sectional, observational study of 200 HIV-positive patients at a public hospital HIV clinic from July 2000 to August 2001. A written questionnaire detailed previous and current medication use, opportunistic infections, and malignancies. Hematological and virological parameters, testosterone, and erythropoietin levels were measured; CD4(+) T lymphocyte count and viral load nadir and peak levels were obtained from the computerized medical record. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin <13.5 g/dl in men and <11.6 g/dl in women. Twenty-four percent of women and 28% of men were anemic. Anemia was associated with lymphopenia (adjusted OR 4.0, 95% CI 1.36-11.80), high erythropoietin levels (adjusted OR 7.73, 95% CI 2.92-20.48), and low testosterone levels (adjusted OR 3.27, 95% CI 1.01-10.60). Anemia was negatively associated with female sex (adjusted OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.11-0.85), current antiretroviral therapy (adjusted OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.20-0.95), current androgen use (adjusted OR 0.20, 95% CI 0.05-0.84), and macrocytosis (adjusted OR 0.23, 95% CI 0.09-0.61). Low testosterone levels may have a positive association and supplemental androgens a negative association with anemia in HIV disease.

To determine patterns and predictors of antimicrobial drug use for outpatients with community-acquired pneumonia, we examined office visit and pharmacy claims data of 4 large third-party payer organizations from 2000 to 2002. After patients with coexisting conditions were excluded, 4,538 patients were studied. Despite lack of coexisting conditions, fluoroquinolone use was commonly observed and increased significantly (p < 0.001) from 2000 to 2002 (24%-39%), while macrolide use decreased (55%-44%). Increased age correlated with increased fluoroquinolone use: 18-44 years (22%), 45-64 years (33%), and > or =65 years (40%) (p < 0.001). Increased use of fluoroquinolones occurred in healthy young and old patients alike, which suggests a lack of selectivity in reserving fluoroquinolones for higher risk patients. Clear and consistent guidelines are needed to address the role of fluoroquinolones in treatment of outpatient community-acquired pneumonia.

Although many skin disorders, including psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, are adversely affected by psychologic stress (PS), the pathophysiologic link between PS and disease expression remains unclear. Recent studies demonstrated PS-induced alterations in permeability barrier homeostasis, mediated by increased endogenous glucocorticoids. Here, we assessed the mechanisms by which PS alters stratum corneum (SC) function. Insomniac psychologic stress (IPS) altered both barrier homeostasis and SC integrity. IPS decreased epidermal cell proliferation, impaired epidermal differentiation, and decreased the density and size of corneodesmosomes (CD), which was linked to degradation of CD proteins (e.g., desmoglein1). Barrier compromise was linked to decreased production and secretion of lamellar bodies (LB), which in turn could be attributed to a decrease in de novo synthesis of epidermal lipids. Topical physiologic lipids (equimolar cholesterol, ceramides, and free fatty acids) normalized both barrier homeostasis and SC integrity in IPS mice, further evidence that lipid deficiency accounted for these functional abnormalities. Thus, PS inhibition of epidermal lipid synthesis results in decreased LB formation and secretion, as well as decreased CD, compromising both permeability barrier homeostasis and SC integrity. These studies suggest that topical treatment with epidermal physiologic lipids could be beneficial in stress-induced, barrier-associated dermatoses, such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.