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The article informs on International Olympia Symposium "Becoming an Olympic Athlete without Doping" that was held at the International Olympic Academy with topics such as providing strong support for antidoping efforts; and understanding the motivations of young athletes in making doping decisions.

Objective: To examine the association of epilepsy with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Afghanistan and Iraq (Operation Enduring Freedom [OEF]/Operation Iraqi Freedom [OIF]) Veterans. Design: Cross-sectional observational study. Participants: A total 256 284 OEF/OIF Veterans who received inpatient and outpatient care in the Veterans Health Administration in fiscal years 2009-2010. Main Outcome Measures: We used algorithms developed for use with International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, codes to identify epilepsy, TBI (penetrating TBI [pTBI]/other TBI), and other risk factors for epilepsy (eg, stroke). TBI and other risk factors were identified prior to the index date (first date of seizure or October 1, 2009) for primary analyses. Results: Epilepsy prevalence was 10.6 per 1000 (N = 2719) in fiscal year 2010; age-adjusted prevalence was 6.1. Of 37 718 individuals with a diagnosis of TBI, 29 297 Veterans had a diagnosis of TBI prior to the index date. Statistically significant associations were found between epilepsy and prior TBI diagnosis (pTBI: adjusted odds ratio = 18.77 [95% confidence interval, 9.21-38.23]; other TBI: adjusted odds ratio = 1.64 [1.43–1.89]). Conclusions: Among OEF/OIF Veterans, epilepsy was associated with previous TBI diagnosis, with pTBI having the strongest association. Because war-related epilepsy in Vietnam War Veterans with TBI continued 35 years postwar, a detailed, prospective study is needed to understand the relationship between epilepsy and TBI severity in OEF/OIF Veterans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explains the role of corin overexpression towards survival of mice that underwent dilated cardiomyopathy. A study was performed on wild-type mice and those that underwent dilated cardiomyopathy, where the amount of corin, a heart enzyme, was being evaluated to determine heart function and survival. Results stated that corin overexpression can regulate heart function, heart failure, and survival, as it extended life of mice that underwent the surgery.

The article discusses the treatment of disorders of consciousness (DOC) at the 4 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Polytrauma Centers. DOC patients require closely integrated rehabilitation and acute medical care due to unique recovery patterns and rehabilitative needs. The VHA developed the Emerging Consciousness Programme (ECP), a national 90-day programme, which involves cyclical assessments, outcome-linked therapeutic interventions and interdisciplinary observation and monitoring.

The article presents a study on the dicentric chromosome assay (DCA) Quickscan for radiation biodisimetry. The study used 40 blood samples from donors who responded to an advertising approved by the Health Canada Research Ethics Board. The samples were irradiated at varying doses with a Caesium (Cs) Gammacell140. The study demonstrates the capacity of Canada's Cytogenetic Emergency Network (CEN) for triage-quality biodisimetry, and recommends the implementation of a DCA QuickScan approach for emergency situations.

The article discusses the study on the effectiveness of 280 keV neurons for apoptosis in human lymphocytes. In this study, apoptosis in human lymphocytes was examined to assess the RBE of low energy keV neutrons compared to (1,3,7)C gamma radiation using three flow cytometry assays such as Annexin V, 3, 3′ -dihexaoxacarbocyanine iodine and Caspase-3. The result shows that 280 keV neutrons are equally effective as gamma radiation at inducing apoptosis in lymphocytes. It indicates that these two radiation qualities may produce similar level of biological effect in some cell types. Moreover, the finding that radiation quality and dose rate do not seem to affect the apoptotic response further adds to the potential utility of this endpoint for biolgical dosimetry.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Background: Accuracy of incidence estimates may be affected by biases that depend on frequency of approach to reporters and reporting window length. A time-sampling strategy enables infrequent approaches with short windows but has never been evaluated. Methods: A randomized crossover trial compared incidence estimates of work-related diseases using time-sampled versus continuous-time reporting. Physicians were randomly allocated either to report every month (12/12) in 2004 and for 1 randomly chosen month (1/12) in 2005, or to the reverse sequence. Numbers of new cases of work-related disease reported per reporter per month for 1/12 and 12/12 reporting periods were compared. Results: Response rates were high (87%). Withdrawal from the study was higher under 12/12 reporting. The rate ratio for 1/12 versus 12/12 reporting was 1.26 (95% confidence interval = 1.11-1.42). Rates declined gradually in the 12/12 groups over the year, consistent with reporting fatigue. Conclusions: Increased frequency of data collection may reduce incidence estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the cost-effectiveness of self-management techniques for older populations (65 and over) with chronic pain and in the absence of such evidence to investigate this question in an aging adult population (average age 60 and over)., Methods: Systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with cost-effectiveness data and at least 6 months' follow-up, up to December 2010., Results: No RCT studies reported cost-effectiveness of self-management exclusively in the over 65 age group. Ten RCTs reported participants with an average age of 60 years or over and met all other inclusion criteria. All of these studies measured cost-effectiveness as cost per improvement in primary outcome, 7 of them using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index score, of which 6 reported the pain dimension. Six studies reported cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY)-gained information, with a further 1 reporting EQ-5D. In 7 studies, relative to usual care, self-management was effective, and in the remaining 3 studies, there was no significant difference. Among those reporting cost per QALY-gained results, self-management did not lead to statistically significant QALY gains relative to usual care (with only one exception). Eight studies suggested that the cost of developing and delivering self-management interventions may be partly offset by savings from reduced subsequent health care resource use., Conclusions: Self-management is effective among an aging adult population (mean age over 60) with chronic pain and may be cost-effective when outcomes are measured using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index pain score. Cost-effectiveness is less certain when measured using the QALY metric. Uncertainty over conclusions regarding cost-effectiveness exists partly due to lack of information regarding societal willingness to pay for pain improvement. There is a need for large multicentred high-quality RCTs to confirm the findings of this review exclusively among older aged populations, such as those who have already reached the statutory retirement age.