The potential value of CA125 as a tumour marker in small volume, non-evaluable epithelial ovarian cancer.

Seventy four consecutive patients with epithelial ovarian cancer have been followed up longitudinally with serial serum CA125 for up to 48 months. From this database, the CA125 changes in small volume disease have been evaluated. For long term complete responders (n = 12), the mean plateau level of CA125 was 7.2 U/ml (95% confidence interval; 5.6 to 9.2 U/ml). The natural half-life of CA125 at 5.1 days (range 3.8 to 7 days) was calculated from five patients with Stage I and II disease who underwent complete surgical excision. A mean lead time of 99 days (range 14 to 255 days) was demonstrated between marker detection of disease progression and clinically apparent progressive disease in 12 out of 13 patients (92%) who relapsed after chemotherapy induced complete remission. The threshold of tumour volume detection with CA125 is unlikely to be determined by an arbitrary cut-off level. The kinetics of CA125 provide more useful information and the potential to define complete response or indeed cure with CA125 parameters requires further investigation.     

Ecology of Hantaan virus at Twin Bridges Training Area,Gyeonggi Province,Republic of Korea, 2005–2007

The Twin Bridges Training Area (TBTA) in the Republic of Korea consists of dirt roads, barren training areas, and forested hillsides adjacent to linear and broad expanses of tall grasses, herbaceous, and scrub vegetation. Of the six species of small mammals, the striped field mouse, Apodemus agrarius, was the most frequently captured (96.1%). Apodemus agrarius capture rates varied from 17.7 to 33.2% during three trapping periods. Gravid females were observed during November‐December 2006 (8.4%) and March 2007 (5.1%). In 2005, the overall seroprevalence of Hantaan virus (HTNV) was high (34.4%) and lower during surveys in 2006 (14.2%) and 2007 (13.8%). Seroprevalence was directly correlated with weight increase of A. agrarius.     

Influence of chronic antigen exposure on the metabolism of PGH2 by microsomal preparations of airway and parenchymal tissues in the sheep

The effects of repeated antigen exposure on the synthesis of mediators by lung tissues are not well understood. To investigate the influence of antigen challenge on the synthesis of prostaglandins by central airway and peripheral lung tissues, fourteen sensitive sheep underwent biweekly exposure to aerosolized $\text{Ascaris suu}$ antigen (7) or saline (7). Following the fifth exposure, microsomal and high speed supernatant fractions were prepared from trachealis muscle and lung parenchyma. Synthesis of thromboxane (TX) A₂, prostaglandin (PG) D₂ and PGI₂ from the PG endoperoxide intermediate, PGH₂, was assayed over a range of substrate concentrations from 3–200 uM. Synthesis of PGI₂ by trachealis microsomes was approximately 5-fold greater than that of TXA₂. PGI₂ and TXA₂ production was identical in tracheal preparations from Ascaris- and saline-exposed animals. In parenchymal tissues, where TXA₂ production predominated over PGI₂ by 9-fold, preparations from Ascaris- exposed animals synthesized 50% more TXA₂ than controls at PGH₂ concentrations of 25 uM and above, whereas synthesis of PGI₂ and PGD₂ were similar in preparations from both groups of animals. The density of pulmonary mast cells was decreased by 21% in the Ascaris group, whereas polymorphonuclear leukocyte density was unchanged. These results demonstrate the differential synthesis of TXA₂ and PGI₂ in central airways and peripheral lung regions of the sheep. They further indicate that repeated exposure of the airways to antigen selectively enhances TXA₂ synthesis in the lung periphery of sensitized animals. The site of this increased enzymatic activity, whether in resident cells or newly-infiltrated cells, has not been determined.     

Epidemiological characteristics of meningococcal infection in Cuba

The results of the epidemiological analysis of the morbidity rate in meningococcal infection for 1976-1984 are presented. The maximum rise of morbidity rate, equal to 14.4 per 100000 of population, was observed in 1983. Primarily, the rise of morbidity rate in 1979 was induced by meningococci of two serogroups: C (44.6%) and B (36.4%). The vaccinal prophylaxis of the population, carried out in 1979 with the use of polysaccharide vaccine A + C, did not affect morbidity caused by group B meningococci. The isolation rate of these organisms reached 98.7% from patients and 81.0% from carriers. The characteristic feature of the epidemic process of meningococcal infection in Cuba was a considerable increase in the number of patients under 1 year of age and the absence of seasonal fluctuations in morbidity rate.