Functional evaluation of the adenohypophysis with metoclopramide in hyperprolactinemic-amenorrheic women in relation to radiological findings on the sella turcica

The responses of the adenohypophyseal hormones to metoclopramide (MCP) were evaluated in hyperprolactinemic women with various radiological findings on the sella turcica. Serum PRL concentrations significantly increased after MCP administration in normal women, hyperprolactinemic patients with normal sella and patients with microadenoma, but not in macroadenoma patients with and without suprasellar expansion (SSE). The PRL response to MCP administration was significantly lower in hyperprolactinemic patients than in normal women. Serum TSH concentrations significantly increased after MCP administration in each group of subjects. The TSH response to MCP was significantly higher in patients with normal sella and patients with microadenoma than in normal women. However, the responses of PRL and TSH to MCP were not significantly different between patients with normal sella and patients with microadenoma. Therefore, they were not considered useful in distinguishing tumorous from nontumorous hyperprolactinemia. Serum LH concentrations significantly increased after MCP administration in patients with normal sella, patients with microadenoma and macroadenoma patients without SSE, but not in normal women or macroadenoma patients with SSE. The LH response to MCP was significantly higher in patients with microadenoma than in patients with normal sella. Serum FSH concentrations significantly increased after MCP administration only in patients with microadenoma. The different responses of the adenohypophyseal hormones to MCP in hyperprolactinemic women with various radiological findings on the sella turcica may be explained by the difference in the hypothalamic dopamine activity and in the impairment of the hypothalamic-pituitary system due to pituitary tumor.     

Disturbances of coagulation and fibrinolysis in patients with acute leukemia]

In 30 patients with acute leukemia--18 with myeloblastic acute leukemia, 1 with promyelocytic acute leukemia, 4 with myelo-monocytic acute leukemia, 4 with chronic myelocytic leukemia exacerbation--coagulation and fibrinolysis tests were performed in different stage of the disease. Most of the disorders were noted in the III period of the disease (significant levels of the factors II, IX decrease, clot contractility weakness and platelets count decrease). I in patients with manifestation of haemorrhagic diathesis and in patients without them disturbances in examined tests were similar, but platelets count in patients with bleeding was always significantly reduced. The main reasons of the bleeding in acute leukemias are thrombocytopenia together with the in coagulation factors.     

Pruritus and Jaundice

The records of 147 patients who had pruritus and jaundice (11% of a series of 1262 patients with jaundice) were reviewed in an effort to delineate more clearly the etiology of jaundice associated with pruritus.Fifty-two had obstructive jaundice caused by neoplasm, 51 had obstructive jaundice not caused by neoplasm, 42 had pruritus associated with hepatogenous jaundice, and two had jaundice and pruritus associated with a lymphoma.Pruritus occurred in 17% of all patients with non-neoplastic obstructive jaundice and in 45% of patients with neoplastic obstructive jaundice. Hepatogenous jaundice was the cause of pruritus in almost one-third of the patients in this series-occurring in 20% of patients with infectious hepatitis and in 7% of patients with cirrhosis.This large series confirms the clinical impression that pruritus occurs most often in association with extrahepatic biliary obstruction, and as well re-emphasizes the common association of pruritus with hepatogenous jaundice.     

Effects of Additional Premedication on Romifidine and Ketamine Anaesthesia in Horses

The clinical and cardiorespiratory effects of premedication with acepromazine, butorphanol or diazepam in addition to romifidine before induction of anaesthesia with ketamine were studied in 6 horses on 4 random occasions. Administration of romifidine alone or in combination with butorphanol resulted in an increase in arterial blood pressure, accompanied by a significant decrease in heart rate with second-degree atrio-ventricular heart block. Induction of anaesthesia with ketamine returned the heart rate to baseline value, but the arterial blood pressure was significantly increased compared to baseline. Including acepromazine in the premedication prevented the hypertension and bradycardia induced by romifidine. The respiratory rate was slightly decreased after premedication in all groups, but returned to the baseline value after induction of anaesthesia. Mild hypercapnia and significant hypoxaemia were observed during sedation and anaesthesia, reflecting an impairment of pulmonary function. Premedication with acepromazine before sedation with romifidine resulted in a fast induction and good anaesthesia. Inclusion of butorphanol in the premedication resulted in individual variation in the quality of induction and anaesthesia. Addition of diazepam to the sedation with romifidine resulted in good muscle relaxation with a smooth induction and maintenance of anaesthesia and an increased time before the horses responded to noxious stimuli, compared with romifidine and ketamine anaesthesia. All horses reached a standing position at the first attempt, but horses premedicated with diazepam in combination with romifidine showed mild ataxia after recovery.     

Therapy of experimental staphylococcal infection with a hyperimmune antistaphylococcal plasma

Generalized nonlethal infection was induced in guinea pigs by the intramuscular injection of 10(10) S. aureus cells, and on days 1, 3 and 5 after inoculation a half of the animals received antistaphylococcal hyperimmune human plasma intraperitoneally in a dose of 2 ml (6 AU/ml) per animal. This plasma decreased the number of staphylococcal colonies in the spleen and affected mainly the system of phagocytes (neutrophils): on day 3 the percentage of neutrophils with Fc gamma R increased in the treated guinea pigs in comparison with the controls and with the initial level; from day 6 the percentage of active neutrophils with Fc gamma R increased in the treated animals in comparison with the controls; on day 14 the percentage of such neutrophils increased in comparison with the initial level as well, and the treated guinea pigs also showed an increase in the content of lymphocytes with receptors for staphylococci in comparison with the controls. There was little difference in the content of neutrophils with CR, as well as in the percentage of active phagocytes with these receptors, in the treated animals and in the controls. By the moment of the resolution of generalization (day 14) the content of active T-lymphocytes increased in the treated guinea pigs in comparison with the controls and with the initial level; simultaneously the levels of B-lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes with receptors for mouse red blood cells returned to their initial values.     

Congenital defects of the upper lateral incisors (ULI): Condition and measurements of the other teeth,measurements of the superior arch,head and face

We surveyed a French male population for the incidence of missing or reduced upper lateral incisors (ULI). In 5,738 subjects, we observed an incidence of 1.59% with one or two reduced ULI (the other normal) and 1.90% with one or two missing ULI (the other normal or reduced), altogether, 3.49% affected subjects. Furthermore, 250 random controls were observed. Agenesis of other teeth is more frequent in propositi. Missing third molars were 12.4% in controls, 24.0% in propositi with reduced ULI and 39.6% in propositi with two missing ULI. Furthermore, agenesis of incisors, canines and premolars ranges from 0.4% in controls to 1.3% in propositi having reduced ULI and 5.0% in propositi with two missing ULI. So, propositi with reduced ULI are intermediate between the controls and the propositi with missing ULI with respect to the frequency of agenesis of other teeth. On the other hand, a different ranking is observed with respect to the teeth measurements: reduction of tooth size is more marked in propositi with reduced ULI than in propositi with missing ULI. The reduction mainly affects canines, incisors and to a lesser degree, premolars. Arch length and interpremolar diameters are smaller in propositi with missing ULI, compared with controls.     

Effects of applications of municipal compost on uptake of copper,zinc and boron by garden vegetables

Summary Municipal compost applied to soils in plot experiments with cabbages, lettuces, beans, potatoes and peas in three successive years (25–100 tonnes per hectare) has produced significant enhancement of available soil Cu, Zn and B in each year. Associated significant increases in uptake were as follows: Cu, Zn and B with lettuces and beans, Zn and B with potatoes and B with peas. No significant increases in uptake of any of these elements was obtained in two experiments with cabbages.Compost treatment was associated with severe phytotoxic effects in the experiment with beans and with yield responses in the experiments with peas and potatoes. re]19721116     

Isoelectric spectra of human serum albumin in healthy subjects and in ischemic heart disease

Isoelectric spectra of serum albumins isolated from blood of patients with heart ischemia were studied using isoelectric focusing in borate-polyolic systems in a polyacrylamide gel. In patients with heart ischemia the amount of fractions with pI 4.3-4.9 and 5.2-7.4 is found to increase with a simultaneous decrease in the fraction with pI 4.9-5.2 as compared with these indices in healthy people from the control group. Especially pronounced changes in isoelectrophoregrams were observed for blood albumins of patients with transmural myocardium infraction.     

Basic Analysis of the Cerebrospinal Fluid: An Important Framework for Laboratory Diagnostics of the Impairment of the Central Nervous System

Laboratory analysis of basic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) parameters is considered as essential for any CSF evaluation. It can provide rapidly very valuable information about the status of the central nervous system (CNS). Our retrospective study evaluated parameters of basic CSF analysis in cases of either infectious or non-infectious CNS involvement. Neutrophils are effector cells of innate immunity. Predominance of neutrophils was found in 98.2% of patients with purulent inflammation in CNS. Lymphocytes are cellular substrate of adaptive immunity. We found their predominance in 94.8% of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), 66.7% of patients with tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), 92.2% of patients with neuroborreliosis, 83.3% of patients with inflammatory response with oxidative burst of macrophages in CNS and 75.0% of patients with malignant infiltration of meninges (MIM). The simultaneous assessment of aerobic and anaerobic metabolism in CSF using the coefficient of energy balance (KEB) allows us to specify the type of inflammation in CNS. We found predominantly aerobic metabolism (KEB > 28.0) in 100.0% CSF of patients with normal CSF findings and in 92.8% CSF of patients with MS. Predominant faintly anaerobic metabolism (28.0 > KEB > 20.0) in CSF was found in 71.8% patients with TBE and in 64.7% patients with neuroborreliosis. Strong anaerobic metabolism (KEB < 10.0) was found in the CSF of 99.1% patients with purulent inflammation, 100.0% patients with inflammatory response with oxidative burst of macrophages and in 80.6% patients with MIM. Joint evaluation of basic CSF parameters provides sufficient information about the immune response in the CSF compartment for rapid and reliable diagnosis of CNS involvement.     

Distinct Associations between Hypertension and Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Male and Female Patients

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is highly associated with hypertension. However, the correlation between hypertension and OSA at different levels of severity and the influence of gender on that correlation are unclear. A total of 996 patients (776 males and 190 females) with OSA were recruited. The influence of gender on the correlation between hypertension and OSA at different stratifications of severity, based on the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), was fully evaluated together with the major health risk factors obesity, age, and diabetes. Females with OSA were significantly older on average than males with OSA. Moreover, females had milder degrees of OSA on average than the extent of severity seen in males. The proportion of females with diabetes or hypertension was higher than that of males. The proportion of males with hypertension and obesity increased significantly with OSA, and age also increased with OSA. The percentage of females with hypertension at different degrees of OSA severity was stable at about 26% in the mild, moderate, and severe OSA groups. Among females, age was increased significantly in the moderate relative to the mild OSA group. Moreover, the proportion of obese subjects was increased significantly in the severe compared with the moderate OSA group. The proportions of males and females with diabetes were not significantly different among all OSA severity groups. An ordinal multivariate logistic regression analysis confirmed that hypertension, age, and obesity were associated with OSA severity in males, whereas only age and obesity were associated with OSA severity in females. Although the proportion of subjects with hypertension was higher in females with OSA than in males with OSA, the proportion of subjects with hypertension increased as the severity of OSA increased in males but not in females.     

Changes in electrical brain activity in patients with panic disorders

Brain electrical activity was recorded in 38 patients with typical and in 42 patients with atypical panic disorders, also in 30 normal controls. Compared to controls, patients both with typical and with atypical panic disorders differed significantly in reduced spectral power of the EEG alpha band in the right hemisphere. Moreover, in patients with typical panic disorders, the spectral power of the EEG beta1 band was increased in the frontal, temporal, central, and parietal areas of the right hemisphere. In patients with atypical panic disorders, the spectral power of the theta band was increased in the temporal areas of the right hemisphere. The changes in the EEG activity in patients with typical panic disorders are supposed to reflect an increase in activity of non-specific systems of the mesencephalic reticular formation, and the EEG changes in patients with atypical panic attacks may be associated with increased activity of the temporolimbic brain structures.     

Measles immunisation in children with allergy to egg.

OBJECTIVE--To examine the occurrence of adverse reactions to measles vaccine given as a single dose to children with egg allergy, and to determine if the administration of single dose to children with a positive result in an intradermal skin prick test with the vaccine is associated with adverse reactions. DESIGN--Review of results of immunisation and prospective study of 96 consecutively presenting children given intradermal skin testing with the vaccine. SETTING--Children''s allergy centre. SUBJECTS--410 children sensitive to egg referred to the allergy unit for advice about measles immunisation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Nature and severity of reactions associated with the administration of measles vaccine. RESULTS--All children had a positive result in a skin prick test with egg white, and five had a positive result in a skin prick test with vaccine. Of 96 consecutive children, 46 had a positive result in an intradermal test with vaccine. After immunisation with a full dose (0.5 ml) of vaccine adverse reactions were associated with a mild reaction in four children, none of whom required treatment. Only one of the 46 children with a positive result in an intradermal vaccine skin test had a reaction associated with vaccine administration. None of the children with a positive result in a skin prick test with measles vaccine reacted to the vaccine. The rate of minor reactions to the vaccine not requiring treatment was 0.98% (95% confidence interval 0.27% to 2.48%) and serious reactions requiring treatment was 0% (0% to 0.9%). CONCLUSION--Children with IgE mediated allergic reactions to egg protein should be investigated and managed by practitioners with special knowledge in this subject. Measles immunisation should be performed in a setting where any adverse reactions can be dealt with appropriately. Skin tests and measles vaccine and desensitisation are not necessary.     

Infectious diseases in natural reservoirs: epidemic situation and morbidity in the Russian Federation and prophylactic measures

The analysis of morbidity in infections with natural foci in Russia for the period of 1999-2000 indicates that a rise in the number of cases of hemorrhagic fever with the renal syndrome, tick-borne encephalitis, Crimean hemorrhagic fever and West Nile fever with a high proportion of urban population among the patients is registered annually. An increase in the epizootic activity of the natural foci of plague is noted in the absence of morbidity among humans. The appearance of the outbreaks of tularemia is linked nor only with the increased activity of the natural foci, but also with the reduced coverage of the population with prophylactic immunization in endemic regions. This analysis infers that morbidity prognosis in infections with natural foci for 2001 remains unfavorable. The growth of morbidity in these infections is mainly due to the reduction of measures for controlling their vectors both is open nature and in settlements, as well as to low coverage with prophylactic immunization. Urgent complex measures which may ensure effective antiepidemic and prophylactic work for controlling infections with natural foci are presented.     

Toll-Like Receptor (TLR2 and TLR4) Polymorphisms and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) participate in the defence against bacterial infections that are common in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). We studied all tagging SNPs in TLR2 and TLR4 and their associations with the level and change over time of both FEV(1) and sputum inflammatory cells in moderate-to-severe COPD. Nine TLR2 SNPs and 17 TLR4 SNPs were genotyped in 110 COPD patients. Associations of SNPs with lung function and inflammatory cells in induced sputum were analyzed cross-sectionally with linear regression and longitudinally with linear mixed-effect models. Two SNPs in TLR2 (rs1898830 and rs11938228) were associated with a lower level of FEV(1) and accelerated decline of FEV(1) and higher numbers of sputum inflammatory cells. None of the TLR4 SNPs was associated with FEV(1) level. Eleven out of 17 SNPs were associated with FEV(1) decline, including rs12377632 and rs10759931, which were additionally associated with higher numbers of sputum inflammatory cells at baseline and with increase over time. This is the first longitudinal study showing that tagging SNPs in TLR2 and TLR4 are associated with the level and decline of lung function as well as with inflammatory cell numbers in induced sputum in COPD patients, suggesting a role in the severity and progression of COPD.     

Enhancement of chromosome aberrations by the combination of DNA substitution with halogenated deoxyuridine and streptonigrin treatments

We treated CHO cells with streptonigrin (SN) alone, in combination with BrdUrd or IdUrd substitution, and with or without the addition of caffeine. The cells assessed for chromosome damage by SN were in the G₂ period and the magnitude of the damage was expressed as monosubstituted chromatid breaks, bisubstituted chromatid breaks and boundary regions breaks (boundary regions indicate the point of exchange of mono- and bisubstituted chromatids). We found that the combination of BrdUrd or IdUrd substitution with SN treatments produced a remarkable increase in the frequency of breaks over the frequencies observed with the halogenated compound only. The effect was more evident with IdUrd than with BrdUrd, and more dramatic in bisubstituted than in monosubstituted chromatids. The frequency of boundary breaks in cells treated with BrdUrd plus SN was similar to the frequency of breaks in monosubstituted chromatids treated similarly. Conversely, the damage in boundary regions was almost similar to that in bisubstituted chromatids in cells challenged with IdUrd plus SN. The addition of caffeine to BrdUrd-substituted chromosomes gave rise to a marked enhancement of breakages with a gradient of chromatid damage that was: bisubstituted > monosubstituted > boundary regions. A further increase of chromatin breaks maintaining the gradient indicated above was obtained when the cells were treated with BrdUrd plus SN plus caffeine. We propose that BrdUrd and IdUrd substitution alone or in combination with caffeine treatments and with SN in its capacity to bind DNA, give rise to different chromatin structures capable of modulating the DNA damage induced along the chromatin fibril by the active oxygen species liberated by SN-DNA complexes.     

Frequency of HLA antigens in patients with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis.

A study of 138 patients with psoriasis--74 with psoriasis alone and 64 with psoriatic arthritis--revealed a significantly increased frequency of the HLA antigens A1, A28, B13, DR7 and MT3 in those with psoriasis alone and of Bw39 in those with psoriatic arthritis. The frequency of B17 was higher in both patient groups than in a control group of healthy individuals. The frequency of DRw6 was slightly higher in the patients with psoriasis alone (17.8%) than in the controls (4.7%), and that of DR7 was higher in the patients with psoriatic arthritis (52.9%) than in the controls (32.6%). Elevated levels of serum IgG and IgA along with positive results of tests for antinuclear antibody or rheumatoid factor or both were present in less than a tenth of the patients with psoriatic rash alone and in up to a third of those with psoriatic arthritis. Psoriatic arthritis was found to be less likely to develop in patients with purely guttate psoriasis than in those with other types of psoriasis. Clinical subtypes of psoriatic rash or psoriatic arthritis were not associated with the presence of particular HLA antigens.     

Ipsilateral vagotomy to unilaterally ovariectomized pre-pubertal rats modifies compensatory ovarian responses

The present study evaluates the participation of the vagus nerve in pre-pubertal rats with unilateral ovariectomy on puberty onset, and on progesterone, testosterone and estradiol serum levels, and the compensatory responses of the ovary. Unilateral vagotomy did not modify the onset of puberty in unilaterally ovariectomized rats. Ovulation rates of animals with the left vagus nerve sectioned and the left ovary in-situ was lower than in rats with only unilateral ovariectomy. Sectioning the left vagus to 32-day old rats with the left ovary in-situ resulted in lower compensatory ovarian hypertrophy than in rats with right unilateral ovariectomy. Twenty-eight or 32-day old animals with sectioning of the right vagus nerve and the right ovary in situ showed higher compensatory ovulation. Twenty-eight -day old rats with the right ovary in situ had higher progesterone and testosterone levels than animals of the same age with the left ovary in-situ. Compared to animals with the right ovary in situ, animals treated at 32-days of age, sectioning the ipsi-lateral vagus nerve resulted in higher progesterone levels. Higher progesterone levels were observed in 28- and 32 days old rats with the left ovary in situ and left vagus nerve sectioned. Thirty-two day old animals with the right ovary in situ and right vagus nerve sectioned had higher progesterone levels than rats of the same age with the left ovary in situ and left vagus nerve sectioned. Left vagotomy to 28-day old rats with the left ovary in situ resulted in higher testosterone levels, a reverse response to that observed in animals with sectioning of the right vagus and the right ovary in situ. Thirty-two day old rats with the left ovary in situ and left vagus nerve sectioned showed lower testosterone levels than animals without vagotomy and with the left ovary in situ.     

Antibodies to glycolipids in demyelinating diseases of the human peripheral nervous system

Antibodies to complex glycolipids occur in patients with a variety of diseases of the peripheral nervous system. Many patients with demyelinating neuropathy occurring in association with IgM paraproteinemia have a monoclonal antibody that reacts with a carbohydrate determinant shared between sulfate-3-glucuronyl paragloboside (SGPG), the myelin-associated glycoprotein and other glycoproteins of peripheral nerve. Other patients with neuropathy in association with IgM paraproteinemia have monoclonal antibodies reacting with carbohydrate determinants on various gangliosides. More than 80% of the IgM monoclonal antibodies from patients of this type that have been screened in our laboratory react with SGPG or ganglioside antigens. High levels of antibodies reacting with ganglioside antigens are also found in some patients with inflammatory neuropathies such as Guillain-Barré Syndrome and chronic relapsing inflammatory polyneuropathy. The pathogenetic significance of these antibodies reacting with acidic sphingoglycolipids remains to be established.     

Quantitative Skeletal Histology in Untreated End-stage Renal Failure

Forty-six patients with end-stage renal failure were subjected to iliac crest biopsy before the initiation of a dialysis programme and regardless of the presence of skeletal symptoms. Quantitative studies of undecalcified sections showed osteoporosis in 11 patients, osteosclerosis in 10, and osteomalacia (alone or in combination with other lesions) in 14. Semiquantitative studies showed osteitis fibrosa (alone or in combination with other lesions) in 29. The various abnormalities occurred alone or in combination with one another and, to a large extent, independently of serum biochemistry.Radiological examination failed to diagnose the histological abnormality in 12 of 13 patients with osteomalacia and in 10 of 25 patients with osteitis fibrosa. These abnormalities were commoner in women, in patients with pyelonephritis, and in patients with documented renal failure of long standing. Bone volume changes could not be correlated with any clinical parameters.Skeletal findings in untreated patients should be taken into account when the effects of chronic dialysis or renal transplantation or both are being considered.     

Comparison of calcium oxalate values as indicators of risk for calcium oxalate calcinosis and the degree of urine saturation in patients with calcium urolithiasis and in healthy patients

Daily excretion of calcium, magnesium, oxalates, and citrates together with daily urine output were determined in 37 patients with calcium urolithiasis and in 25 healthy individuals. Basing on the obtained values, a degree of urine saturation with calcium oxalate with Marshall and Robertson technique and a value of risk factor with Tiselius technique were calculated. It was found that daily diuresis and excretion of calcium with the urine are significantly higher in patients with urolithiasis where as daily excretion of citrates with the urine is significantly lower than in healthy individuals. Risk index proved two-fold higher in the examined patients than in the healthy individuals (p greater than 0.001) while the degree of urine saturation with calcium oxalate did not differ significantly in both groups. The authors, discussing causes of seemingly different changes in both tested parameters, stressed diagnostic value of risk index which includes excretion of crystallization inhibitors (magnesium, citrates) and contrary to the degree of urine saturation is independent of daily urine output.