0000000000774633
AUTHOR
Claudia Dietrich
Improve hip fracture outcome in the elderly patient (iHOPE) : A study protocol for a pragmatic, multicentre randomised controlled trial to test the efficacy of spinal versus general anaesthesia
IntroductionHip fracture surgery is associated with high in-hospital and 30-day mortality rates and serious adverse patient outcomes. Evidence from randomised controlled trials regarding effectiveness of spinal versus general anaesthesia on patient-centred outcomes after hip fracture surgery is sparse.Methods and analysisThe iHOPE study is a pragmatic national, multicentre, randomised controlled, open-label clinical trial with a two-arm parallel group design. In total, 1032 patients with hip fracture (>65 years) will be randomised in an intended 1:1 allocation ratio to receive spinal anaesthesia (n=516) or general anaesthesia (n=516). Outcome assessment will occur in a blinded manner aft…
MAOA-VNTR polymorphism modulates context-dependent dopamine release and aggressive behavior in males
A recent [F-18]FDOPA-PET study reports negative correlations between dopamine synthesis rates and aggressive behavior. Since dopamine is among the substrates for monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), this investigation examines whether functional allelic variants of the MAOA tandem repeat (VNTR) promotor polymorphism, which is known to modulate aggressive behavior, influences dopamine release and aggression in response to violent visual stimuli. We selected from a genetic prescreening sample, strictly case-matched groups of 2 x 12 healthy male subjects with VNTRs predictive of high (MAOA-High) and low (MAOA-Low) MAOA expression. Subjects underwent pairs of PET sessions (dopamine D-2/3 ligand [F-18]DM…