The purpose of this study was to report the functional results and mortality rates of a consecutive series of patients younger than 50 years after Charnley total hip arthroplasty. The original group of 69 patients (93 hips) was followed up until death or a minimum of 25 years after surgery. Of the original 93 hips, 29 had been revised at some point. Functional outcomes included the Short Form-36, Western Ontario and McMaster University University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), 6-minute walk distance, Noyes activity scale, and Harris hip scores and included followup in 42 of 43 living patients. The functional outcome of patients was good, with comparable Short Form-36 scores compared with normative values of healthy age-matched subjects. The 6-minute walk distances and WOMAC scores were slightly lower than healthy normatives but were thought to be influenced by medical comorbidities. Although comorbid medical and musculoskeletal conditions significantly hindered most measures of function, revision surgery or radiographic loosening of components had no significant influence on function. The mortality rates of this cohort of patients were similar to normative values at both 10 and 25 years after surgery.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Recent advances in the neurobiology of schizophrenia.

Despite great progress in basic schizophrenia research, the conclusive identification of specific etiological factors or pathogenic processes in the illness has remained elusive. The convergence of modern neuroscientific studies in molecular genetics, molecular neuropathology, neurophysiology, in vivo brain imaging, and psychopharmacology, however, indicates that we may be coming much closer to understanding the molecular basis of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia may be a neurodevelopmental and progressive disorder with multiple biochemical abnormalities involving the dopaminergic, serotonin, glutamate, and gamma -aminobutyric acidergic systems. In the near future, biological markers for the illness may come from the combination of diverse assessment techniques. An understanding of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia will be essential to the discovery of preventive measures and therapeutic intervention. Rapidly advancing research into schizophrenia includes diverse etiological hypotheses, and offers directions for future research and treatments.

Antipsychotic Agents↗

PubMed2002