The aim of this work was to assess the mixing, transfer and handling, properties, injectability, set time, wash-out characteristics, acceptance of hardware (i.e. stainless screws), and their delivery/transfer systems of self hardening synthetic bone cements made from calcium phosphate and calcium sulphate. Surgical procedures (i.e. cranioplasty) were performed on adult Labrador dogs using seven different bone cements from various manufacturers. Direct comparison of the defined intraoperative properties were evaluated and recorded. There is considerable variability with respect to application properties among commercially available injectable synthetic bone cements. Only one product was rated good to excellent in seven of the eight categories evaluated (6-excellent, 1-good, 1-fair) based on in-vivo tests. This study Outlines the critical parameters required for successful implantation of cements that have to be understood when designing new injectable bone cements for the future.

Affective symptoms were examined retrospectively in 25 patients following placement of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) which can produce intermittent shocks without warning in response to cardiac ventricular arrhythmias. The number of ICD random, uncontrollable discharge shocks and pre-ICD history of psychological distress (i.e., depression and/or anxiety) were documented in all patients using a demographics questionnaire and a standardized behavioral/psychological symptoms questionnaire (i.e., Symptom Checklist-90 Revised). ICD patients were dichotomized into two groups: those without a history of psychological distress prior to ICD (n = 18) and those with a history of psychological distress prior to ICD (n = 7). In ICD patients without a prior history, results indicated that quantity of ICD discharge shocks was significantly predictive of current reported depression (r = 0.45, p = 0.03) and current reported anxiety (r = 0.51, p = 0.02). Conversely, in patients with a reported history of psychological distress, there was no significant relationship found between quantity of discharge shocks and current reported depression or anxiety. This study may provide evidence in support of a human model of learned helplessness in that it supports the notion that exposure to an unavoidable and inescapable aversive stimulus was found to be related to patients' reported depression. Further studies may wish to prospectively consider a larger sample as well as a more comprehensive assessment of premorbid psychological symptoms.