Juvenile dermatomyositis: medical,social and economic status in adulthood.

Eighteen adults were studied an average of 18.5 years after the diagnosis of juvenile dermatomyositis had been made. Persistent weakness was found in six patients and recurrent rash in the classic distribution in seven. Other clinical features present were Raynaud''s phenomenon, arthritis and subcutaneous nodules. Minor increases in the serum creatine phosphokinase level were noted in seven patients and did not correlate with the presence of weakness or rash. Educational achievement and employment status were better in this group than in a group of adults with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis or the general adult population of British Columbia. Significant residual disability related to calcinosis and flexion contractures was present in only three of the patients.     

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis: follow-up into adulthood - medical,sexual and social status.

Fifty-eight adults were studied an average of 14.5 years after the diagnosis of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis had been made. The pattern of disease had been typical with respect to various categories, complications and course; HLA-B27 antigen was found at follow-up in 25% of those tested. Two thirds now had mild to moderate disease, good sexual adjustment and "normal" educational achievement, employment history and lifestyle. One third had severe disease, often with progressive disability; this did not prevent sexual activity but caused some limitations, and the need for sexual counseling is emphasized. Ongoing activity of the disease process rather than severity of disability seemed the chief factor preventing a normal lifestyle.     

Juvenile hormone in earwigs: Roles in oogenesis,mating, and maternal behaviors

The role of juvenile hormone (JH) in courtship, mating, maternal behavior, and the ovarian cycle was studied in the ring-legged earwig, Euborellia annulipes (Lucas). The single, median corpus allatum makes and secretes JH III. JH III production was low in newly eclosed adult females, increasing as oocytes developed, maximal at about the time of oviposition, and low again in brooding females. Application of 35 or 122 μg JH III to newly eclosed females hastened the onset of courtship behavior, but had no effect on the age at which females first mated nor on the duration of mating, though the trend is toward advanced onset. Hormone treatment advanced the age of first oviposition and reduced clutch size and the proportion of eggs hatching but did not affect the interval from oviposition of the first clutch to oviposition of the second clutch, nor the size and proportion hatching of the second clutch. Acetone treatment and treatment with 6 μg JH III did not affect these parameters. Application of 50 μg JH III to females on the day of oviposition shortened the duration of maternal care and advanced the onset of the second gonadotropic cycle, compared with that of acetone-treated and precocene II-treated females. The duration of maternal care was positively correlated with the proportion of eggs hatching. JH titer analysis confirmed JH III to be the predominant hormone in this species and clearly demonstrated the absence of other homologues. This work also confirmed our hypothesis that intermediate to high levels of JH are associated with oocyte growth, mating, and cessation of maternal care; low levels of JH are associated with the period of maternal behavior and slow ovarian development. We are currently investigating factors which might regulate corpus allatum activity during the reproductive cycle and the subsequent period of maternal care. Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 35:427–442, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Juvenile hypertension, the role of genetically altered steroid metabolism.

The importance of hypertension in the pediatric population is not as well appreciated as in adults. This might be related in part to the lower prevalence of high blood pressure in this age group. As with height and weight, blood pressure increases with age during childhood. The underlying causes of significant hypertension in children differ considerably from those in adults: while the prevalence of hypertension in pediatrics is lower than in adults, clinically identifiable causes of hypertension are common. Abnormalities in steroid biosynthesis have been known for years to cause hypertension in some cases of congenital adrenal hyperplasia. In these patients, hypertension usually accompanies a characteristic phenotype with abnormal sexual differentiation. Recently, the molecular basis of four forms of severe hypertension transmitted on an autosomal basis has been elucidated: (a) the glucocorticoid-remediable aldosteronism (GRA), (b) the syndrome of apparent mineralocorticoid excess (AME), (c) activating mutation of the mineralocorticoid receptor and (d) Liddle's syndrome. All these conditions are characterized primarily by low or low-normal plasma renin, normal or low serum potassium and salt-sensitive hypertension, indicating an increased mineralocorticoid effect. These forms of juvenile hypertension are a consequence of abnormal biosynthesis, metabolism or action of steroid hormones: (a) GRA is due to expression of a chimeric gene produced by fusion of 11beta-hydroxylase aldosterone-synthase genes. Expression of the chimeric enzyme occurs in the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex under the control of ACTH and can be suppressed by administration of glucocorticoids. (b) AME is caused by mutations of the 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 enzyme, an enzyme that metabolizes cortisol into its receptor inactive keto-form cortisone, thus protecting the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) from occupation by glucocorticoids. (c) The activating mutation of the MR results in constitutive MR activity and alters receptor specificity, with progesterone and other steroids lacking 21-hydroxyl groups becoming potent agonists. (d) Liddle's syndrome is due to mutations in the beta or gamma chain of the epithelial sodium channel in distal renal tubule cells. The hyperactivity of this channel caused by the mutations results in increased sodium reabsorption. With the advent of molecular biology in clinical practice it has become evident that some genetic defect may present with a more discrete phenotype, with only moderate hypertension with or without hypokalemia as presenting feature. Considering that hypertension in children and adolescents is often 'nonessential', a search for disorders should be integral part of the diagnostic work-up in young patients with hypertension.     

Dreamwork and Nightmares With Incarcerated Juvenile Felons.

Do juvenile felons suffer nightmares? Can dreamwork be useful with this population? After a review of the generally older and limited literature on these issues, 2 new surveys and several case examples give positive answers to these questions. In Study 1, 50 of 100 adolescent male felons reported dreams and 12 reported nightmares. In Study 2, with the addition of a follow-up prompt, 73 of 100 adolescent male felons reported dreams within the prior month and 13 reported nightmares. Seven case examples illustrate verbal interventions for nightmares, and 5 case examples illustrate benefits youths could derive from dreamwork. Suggestions for further research are given. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Juvenile malignant lymphomas. 1. Hodgkin's lymphoma

From 1970 to 1978 22 children with Hodgkin's lymphomas at the age of 4-15 years were treated at the university children's hospital of Jena. There were 16 patients with the first appearance of the disease and 6 with relapses. The stage classification was carried out after the Ann-Arbor-classification. A "staging" operation with laparotomy and splenectomy was performed in 17 children. The histological material was classified after the Rye-modification of the Lukes-Butler-classification. The clinical staging showed 8 patients in stage I, 7 in stage II, 6 in stage III and one child was in stage IV. The therapy consisted of a telecobalt irradiation extended field irradiation, total nodular and local irradiation) with a focal dose of 4500 rad and a chemotherapy (6 cycles COPP). The life-table-analysis for those patients who were primarily treated in Jena showed a complete five-year-remission rate of 92 per cent. The five-year-survival-rate for all patients (with the first appearance of the disease and with relapses) amounts to 77 per cent. After splenectomy we observed two overwhelmingly progressing aetiologically not clear infections and a pneumococcal meningitis.     

Juvenile Subsistence Effort,Activity Levels,and Growth Patterns

Attention has been given to cross-cultural differences in adolescent growth, but far less is known about developmental variability during juvenility (ages 3–10). Previous research among the Pumé, a group of South American foragers, found that girls achieve a greater proportion of their adult stature during juvenility compared with normative growth expectations. To explain rapid juvenile growth, in this paper we consider girls’ activity levels and energy expended in subsistence effort. Results show that Pumé girls spend far less time in subsistence tasks in proportion to their body size compared with adults, and they have lower physical activity levels compared with many juveniles cross-culturally. Low activity levels help to explain where the extra energy comes from to support rapid growth in a challenging environment. We suggest that activity levels are important to account for the variation of resource and labor transfers in mediating energy availability.     

The Good,the Bad,and the Ugly: Agonistic Behaviour in Juvenile Crocodilians

We examined agonistic behaviour in seven species of hatchling and juvenile crocodilians held in small groups (N = 4) under similar laboratory conditions. Agonistic interactions occurred in all seven species, typically involved two individuals, were short in duration (5–15 seconds), and occurred between 1600–2200 h in open water. The nature and extent of agonistic interactions, the behaviours displayed, and the level of conspecific tolerance varied among species. Discrete postures, non-contact and contact movements are described. Three of these were species-specific: push downs by C. johnstoni; inflated tail sweeping by C. novaeguineae; and, side head striking combined with tail wagging by C. porosus. The two long-snouted species (C. johnstoni and G. gangeticus) avoided contact involving the head and often raised the head up out of the way during agonistic interactions. Several behaviours not associated with aggression are also described, including snout rubbing, raising the head up high while at rest, and the use of vocalizations. The two most aggressive species (C. porosus, C. novaeguineae) appeared to form dominance hierarchies, whereas the less aggressive species did not. Interspecific differences in agonistic behaviour may reflect evolutionary divergence associated with morphology, ecology, general life history and responses to interspecific conflict in areas where multiple species have co-existed. Understanding species-specific traits in agonistic behaviour and social tolerance has implications for the controlled raising of different species of hatchlings for conservation, management or production purposes.     

Juvenile hormone biosynthesis,oocyte growth and vitellogenin accumulation in Choristoneura fumiferana and C. rosaceana: a comparative study

We assessed the effects of age and mating status on in vitro juvenile hormone (JH) biosynthesis, oocyte growth, egg production and vitellogenin (Vg) accumulation in the tortricid moths, Choristoneura fumiferana and C. rosaceana. To determine whether vitellogenesis is dependent on the presence of JH, we also examined the effects of decapitation and JH analog treatments on egg production. In both species, the corpora allata (CA) of adult females released fmol quantities of JH, with JH II being the major homolog produced. The CA began producing detectable quantities of JH around the time of emergence. Full activation of the CA was observed a few hours sooner in C. fumiferana than in C. rosaceana. In pharate adults and young virgin females of both species, growth of the basal oocyte reflected changes in CA activity. Decapitation of newly emerged females significantly reduced egg production, but treatment of decapitated females with the JH analog methoprene resulted in egg production that was similar to (C. fumiferana) or greater than (C. rosaceana) that of controls, indicating that JH is required for oocyte maturation. Vg was first observed in the hemolymph before the presumptive time of CA activation, suggesting that the synthesis of this protein is not dependent on JH. The presence of normal quantities of Vg in the hemolymph of pupae decapitated before CA activation confirmed this hypothesis. The Vg titer underwent a transient decline following CA activation and was significantly lower in mated than in virgin females of both species 3 and 5 days after copulation. Since CA activation at emergence and mating are both expected to cause a rise in the JH titer, we suggest that the declines in the levels of Vg result from JH-enhanced Vg uptake by the developing oocytes. Mating induced a significant increase in egg production but had no measurable impact on rates of JH biosynthesis in vitro.     

Juvenile Pernicious Anaemia and Hypothyroidism. A Family Study

A man presented with the sudden onset of pernicious anaemia at the age of 21. He had been treated for hypothyroidism since the age of 6. His father and only paternal aunt were also found to have pernicious anaemia. Gastric and thyroid antibody studies showed one or more antibodies to be present in all three subjects, as well as in the patient''s mother.     

Social Play among Juvenile Bighorn Sheep: Structure,Development, and Relationship to Adult Behavior

A 27-mo study of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) was conducted to examine the structure and development of social play among lambs, and to compare that behavior with the behavior of yearlings and adults. Male lambs played more than females and exhibited a larger repertoire. The behavior patterns used by lambs in social play were the same as those used by adults in intrasexual conflict and courtship. However, the repertoire of lambs was more limited than that of adults. Lambs chose partners closest in age to interact with, regardless of sex. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that play serves to develop physical skills and strength.