In the epidemiological study among 379 adult men with permanent residence at 4300 meters (14,200 feet), we found 32.2% with migraine (mostly migraine with aura), 15.2% with tension-type headache (episodic more than chronic), and 7.2% with other headaches. The frequency of migraine increased with age from 30.1% in the 20-29 year age group to 36.8% in the 50-59 year group. Episodic tension-type headaches also showed this trend. We found an age-specific increase in the frequency of high hemoglobin (Hb > 213 milligrams), low oxygen saturation (O2 saturation < 81.5%) and high chronic mountain sickness scores. Male migraineurs and those with more than two headaches per month had the highest hemoglobin levels and chronic mountain sickness scores when compared with high altitude men without headaches.

In pig (Sus Scrofa) production, within-batch variation in bw gain of piglets during the nursery period (up to 10 wk of age) can be high and is of high economic importance. Homogeneity of BW within batches of animals is important as it influences the efficiency of use of the grower and finisher facilities, and provides an extra value for the fattening farms. In the current study, factors for a light BW at the end of the nursery period of pigs were determined by analyzing datasets from 3 different swine research centers in the Netherlands and France. The entire dataset contained information on 77,868 individual piglets born between 2005 and 2010. Body weight was determined at different time points over the pre- and post-weaning phase, and sex, season of birth, litter information (litter size at day of birth and after cross-fostering, number of piglets born alive per litter, number of total born littermates, sow parity number), cross-fostered animals (yes or no), and pen group size over the post-weaning period were recorded. A risk factor analysis approach was used to analyze the datasets to determine factors that predict piglet bw at the end of the nursery period. Body weight at the end of the nursery period corrected for age was mainly determined by season (P < 0.001), birth weight (BiW, P < 0.001), weaning weight (WW, P < 0.001), and BW at 6 wk of age (P < 0.001). These variables were consistent among datasets and explained approximately 70% of the overall variation in BW at the end of the nursery period. Litter information did not significantly (P > 0.05) contribute to explaining the BW at the end of the nursery period. To discard the possibility of intrauterine growth retarded piglets (IUGR) being the reason for the influence of BiW as an explanatory factor in the regression model, a further analysis was performed on the effect of this category of piglets on the results of the regression analysis. Overall, it was concluded that the bw of piglets at the end of the nursery phase is mainly determined by season, sex, birth, WW, and BW at 6 wk of age. Piglets with a BiW greater than the mean biw minus 2.5 times the sd have the potential to compensate during the subsequent phases of growth.

MIGRAINETan BB. Migraine versus glaucoma -a diagnostic dilemma. Ann Acad Med Singapore 1990; 19:856-858.The differential diagnosis of migraine without aura and intermittent primary angle closure glaucoma is discussed. Three cases are reported in which the two conditions were confused.Holdaway IM, Parr CE, France J. Treatment of a patient with severe menstrual migraine using the depot LHRH analogue Zoladex. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol 1991; 31:164-165. A 38 year old woman with exceptionally severe menstrual migraine was treated by temporary ovarian suppression using Zoladex, a long-acting luteinizing hormone -releasing hormone agonist. There was prompt relief of headache and after several months of treatment, the patient elected to undergo surgical oophorectomy with subsequent resolution of her migraine.Jost WH, Raulf F, Muller-Lobeck H. Anorectal ergotism. Induced by migraine therapy. Acta Neurol Scand 1991; 84:73-74.In 14 women and one man, an anorectal ulcer appeared after use of ergotamine suppositories. The condition did not directly correlate with the dosage of the medication. In 8 of the 15 patients, an anovaginal or rectovaginal fistula occurred and required surgical intervention. One patient had a permanent stenosis of the anal canal, while another required a permanent colostomy. Goadsby PJ, Zagami AS, Donnan GA, et al. Oral sumatriptan in acute migraine. Lancet 1991;338:782-783.The efficacy in acute migraine of oral sumatriptan was assessed in a double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled, crossover study. Forty-one patients completed treatment of 4 attacks, 2 with sumatriptan 100 mg. and 2 with placebo. Reduction in headache from moderate or severe to mild or absent at 2 hours was 51 percent with sumatriptan and 10 percent with placebo. Rescue medication was needed at 2 hours in 41 and 88 percent respectively. Of 28 patients headache-free at 24 hours, 11 had recurrent headache within 24 hours. Diener HC, Peters C, Rudzio M, et al. Ergotamine, flunarizine and sumatriptan do not change cerebral blood flow velocity in normal subjects and migraineurs. J Neurol 1991; 238:245-250.Blood flow velocities in the middle cerebral and basilar arteries were measured in 29 migraineurs and compared to 20 normal subjects. The mean flow velocity in the basilar artery was lower in normal subjects as compared with migraineurs between attacks, but mean flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery was not different in the two groups. Administration of ergotamine, sumatriptan or flunarizine did not effect blood flow velocity in the two major vessels whether the drugs were given in the headache-free period, during a migraine attack or during the withdrawal phase of drug-induced headache. Sumatriptan attenuated headache during drug withdrawal from chronic analgesic intake.Keller JT, Marfurt CF. Peptidergic and serotoninergic innervation of the rat dura mater. J Comp Neurol 1991; 309:515-534.

The evolution of hyper-prolific pig breeds has led to a higher within-litter variation in birth weight and in BW gain during the nursery phase. Based on an algorithm developed in previous research, two populations from a pool of 368 clinically healthy piglets at 6 weeks of age were selected: a low (LP) and a high (HP) performing population and their development was monitored until the end of the nursery phase (10 weeks of age). To understand the cause of the variation in growth between these populations we characterized the LP and HP piglets in terms of body morphology, behaviour, voluntary feed intake, BW gain, and apparent total tract and ileal nutrient digestibility. Piglets were housed individually and were fed a highly digestible diet. At selection, 6 weeks of age, the BW of LP and HP piglets were 6.8 ± 0.1 and 12.2 ± 0.1 kg, respectively. Compared with the LP piglets the HP piglets grew faster (203 g/day), ate more (275 g/day) from 6 to 10 weeks of age and were heavier at 10 weeks (30.0 v. 18.8 kg, all P < 0.01). Yet, the differences in average daily gain and average daily feed intake disappeared when compared per kg BW 0.75 . Assuming similar maintenance requirements per kg BW 0.75 the efficiency of feed utilization above maintenance was 0.1 g/g lower for the LP piglets ( P = 0.09).The gain : feed ratio was similar for both groups. LP piglets tended to take more time to touch a novel object ( P = 0.10), and spent more time eating ( P < 0.05). At 10 weeks, LP piglets had a higher body length and head circumference relative to BW ( P < 0.01). Relative to BW, LP had a 21% higher small intestine weight; 36% longer length, and relative to average FI, the small intestinal weight was 4 g/kg higher (both P = < 0.01). Apparent total tract and ileal dry matter, N and gross energy digestibility were similar between groups ( P > 0.10). We concluded that the low performance of the LP piglets was due to their inability to engage compensatory gain or compensatory feed intake as efficiency of nutrient utilization and feed intake per kg BW 0.75 was unaffected. LP piglets tend to be more fearful towards novel objects. The morphological comparisons, increased body length and head circumference relative to BW imply that LP piglets have an increased priority for skeletal growth.

Postnatal (muscle) growth potential in pigs depends on the total number and hypertrophy of myofibers in skeletal muscle tissue. In a previous study an algorithm was developed to predict piglet BW at the end of the nursery period (10 wk of age) on the basis of BW at birth, at weaning, and at 6 wk of age. The objective of this study was to determine whether the differences in growth performance between poor (PP) and high (HP) performing piglets could be the result of different skeletal muscle properties. Therefore, from a total of 368 piglets (offspring from Hypor sows bred to TOPIGS sires) 2 groups with a divergent growth performance were selected at 6 wk of age: HP (n = 20, predicted BW at 10 wk of age 26.8-30.9 kg) and PP (n = 20, predicted BW at 10 wk of age 16.0-22.9 kg). Piglets were euthanized at 10 wk of age, and samples of the semitendinosus muscle (STN) were collected for histochemistry and gene expression analysis using quantitative PCR (qPCR). At 10 wk of age, realized BW did not differ from predicted BW in either group (P > 0.880). The HP piglets exhibited greater ADG and ADFI from 6 to 10 wk and greater BW at birth and 6 and 10 wk of age (P ≤ 0.002) compared with the PP piglets, whereas G:F ratio was similar (P = 0.417). Superior growth performance of HP piglets was associated with a 1.27-fold higher IGF1 plasma concentration at 10 wk compared with the PP piglets (P = 0.044). The greater weight and muscle cross-sectional area of STN in HP piglets was due to a 1.20-fold increase in total muscle fiber number (TFN; P = 0.009) and 1.34-fold increase in fiber cross-sectional area (FCSA; P = 0.004) compared with the PP piglets. The number of myonuclei per red and intermediate fiber was greater in HP piglets (P ≤ 0.097), but the nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio was unaffected by the performance group (P = 0.861). The mRNA expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), paired box 7 (PAX7), myogenic factor 5 (MYF5), and myogenic differentiation factor (MYOD) did not differ between groups (P ≥ 0.327). However, IGF2-specific mRNA expression was numerically higher in the HP piglets (P = 0.101). The greater myofiber number, the higher degree of myofiber hypertrophy, and the increased muscular mRNA expression of IGF2 indicate that HP piglets exhibit a greater capacity for lean accretion and may grow faster until market weight. In summary, pigs that were selected for predicted high BW at 10 wk of age using a complex selection model had a superior muscularity in terms of greater TFN and FCSA, which may be of advantage for lean mass accretion in later life and for meat quality.

RESUMENObjetivo: Estudiar la posible asociación entre mal de montaña crónico, migraña y depresión. Material y métodos: Estudio epidemiológico realizado en setiembre de 1990en 379 hombres adultos con residencia permanente en la ciudad de Cerro de Pasco (4300 m.s.n.m.); se hicieron 15 preguntas asociadas a depresión y 9 preguntas asociadas al mal de montaña crónico (MMC) con las que se calcularon puntajes de depresión y del mal de montaña crónico. Los puntajes por encima de dos desviaciones estándar de la media fueron considerados como altos. Resultados: La frecuencia de migrañas fue de 48.3% entre hombres con puntajes altos de MMC y de 26.5% entre aquellos con puntajes normales (p=0.013). El 16.7% de hombres con puntaje alto de MMC tuvo puntaje alto de depresión mientras que sólo el 6.5% con puntaje normal de MMC tuvo puntaje alto de depresión (p=0.04). El riesgo de tener puntaje alto de depresión o de MMC fue más del doble entre hombres con migrañas comparados con hombres sin migrañas. La posibilidad de tener migraña o puntajes alto de MMC, fue tres veces mayor entre hombres con puntajes alto de depresión comparados con los que tuvieron puntajes de MMC más altos que aquellos sin cefaleas o con otros tipos de cefaleas. Conclusiones: Los datos muestran una coexistencia más que casual entre estas tres entidades clínicas. Se sugiere que un factor de riesgo común a las tres sea la hipoxia crónica que podría producir cambios neuroquímicos en el cerebro que explicaría, en parte, los síntomas de estos tres síndromes. Los datos también sugieren que los síntomas subjetivos que ocurren en el mal de montaña crónico son similares a los que ocurren en la depresión. (Rev Med