Cytodiagnosis of Hodgkin's disease in sputum specimens

In patients with histologically proven Hodgkin's disease, knowledge of the extent of involvement of lymph nodes and other organs has proven valuable in the determination of treatment and prognosis. One of the most common sites of involvement outside the hematopoietic system has been shown to be the lung parenchyma; in this study, six patients with a tissue-proven diagnosis of Hogdkin's disease and positive cytologic findings in the sputum were reviewed. Three cell types not found in normal sputum specimens were identified in these patients and were correlated with the histologic patterns of the tumors as seen in lung biopsies. Our results suggest the usefulness of sputum examination as an adjunctive or possibly a substitute diagnostic procedure in the evaluation of patients with Hodgkin's disease and possible lung involvement. They also suggest that in some cases the cytologic diagnosis can be quite specific in the identification of neoplastic cells as consistent with a diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease.     

Microwave radiation (2450 MHz) alters the endotoxin-induced hypothermic response of rats

The parenteral administration of bacterial endotoxin to rats causes a hypothermia that is maximal after approximately 90 minutes. When endotoxin-injected rats were held in a controlled environment at 22°C and 50% relative humidity and exposed for 90 minutes to microwaves (2450 MHz, CW) at 1 mW/cm², significant increases were observed in body temperature compared with endotoxintreated, sham-irradiated rats. The magnitude of the response was related to power density (10 mW/cm² > 5 mW/cm² > 1 mW/cm²). Saline-injected rats exposed for 90 minutes at 5 mW/cm² (specific absorption rate approximately 1.0 mW/g) showed no significant increase in body temperature compared with saline-injected, sham-irradiated rats. The hypothermia induced by endotoxin in rats was also found to be affected by ambient temperature alone. Increases in ambient temperature above 22°C in the absence of microwaves caused a concomitant increase in body temperature. This study reveals that subtle microwave heating is detectable in endotoxin-treated rats that have an impaired thermoregulatory capability. These results indicate that the interpretation of microwave-induced biological effects observed in animals at comparable rates and levels of energy absorption should include a consideration of the thermogenic potential of microwaves.     

The cardiovascular pharmacology of prostacyclin (PGI2) in the rat

Physiological roles have been suggested for prostacyclin in the cardiovascular system. Prostacyclin was administered by intravenous infusion to unanesthetized rats. Over a 24 hr period, 0.32 mg/kg/day caused only flushing of the ears. Larger doses (0.56 and 1 mg/kg/day) caused hypothermia, behavioral depression, and swelling of the paws. Cumulative dose-response curves for its depressor action were determined in both unanesthetized and anesthetized, vagotimized, ganglion-blocked rats. In unanesthetized rats, the threshold dose was about 0.1 μg/kg/min. Respiratory depression precluded doses larger than 1 μg/kg/min. In anesthetized rats, the threshold dose was about 0.001 μg/kg/min, and the maximally effective dose was about 0.1 μg/kg/min. At 0.032 μg/kg/min, blood pressure first fell and then rose slightly. This compensatory rise did not occur in nephrectomized rats, suggesting renin release as the mechanism. Intravenous infusion of 0.1 but not 0.01 μg/kg/min in unanesthetized rats doubled plasma renin activity. In saline-loaded unanesthetized rats, urine volume and urinary sodium excretion were decreased by 0.1 μg/kg/min of prostacyclin.     

Survey for meningeal worm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis) and ear mites in white-tailed deer from northern Idaho.

During the fall hunting season of 1990, 95 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) heads were collected from hunters in Boundary and Bonner Counties in northern Idaho (USA), an area currently occupied by woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou). The heads were examined for adult and larval meningeal worms (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis) by physical examination of the brain surfaces, and the Baermann technique, respectively, and for ear mites by examination of ear scrapings. Meningeal worms or mites were not detected.