Neonatal repair of right interrupted aortic arch, aberrant left subclavian artery, ventricular septal defect and retroaortic innominate vein.

We report a rare case of neonatal biventricular repair of a right interrupted aortic arch (type B), with an aberrant left subclavian artery, ventricular septal defect and retroaortic innominate vein in a 4-week-old, 2.7 kg neonate with DiGeorge syndrome. The patient had an unremarkable postoperative recovery. We discuss the anatomy of this rare congenital anomaly, its surgical implications and issues surrounding the adequacy of the left ventricular outflow tract.     

Rapidly Progressive Toxic Leukoencephalomyelopathy with Myelodysplastic Syndrome: a Clinicopathological Correlation

Neurological disorders induced by long-term exposure to organic solvents typically have a slowly progressive clinical course, which may be arrested or even reversed following discontinuation of exposure. We report an unusual case of rapidly progressive toxic leukoencephalomyelopathy in a 29-year-old man who had worked at a chemical factory that used toluene for the manufacture of nylon 66 for 5 years. He presented with progressive weakness of legs, recurrent seizures, and cognitive decline. Widespread white-matter changes in the brain and spinal cord, and myelodysplastic syndrome were noted. He died 6 months after the onset of his symptoms, and autopsy showed discrete multifocal demyelination and necrosis in the central nervous system, and dysplastic cells of erythroid, myeloid, and megakaryotic lineages in blood vessels. The co-occurrence of leukoencephalomyelopathy and myelodysplastic syndrome highlights the vulnerability of the white matter and bone marrow to injury from organic solvents. Intravascular congestion of dysplastic hematopoietic cells might have led to his unusually rapid progression of leukoencephalomyelopathy.     

D2-40 immunohistochemistry in the differential diagnosis of seminoma and embryonal carcinoma: a comparative immunohistochemical study with KIT (CD117) and CD30.

The distinction between seminoma and embryonal carcinoma based on morphology alone can sometimes be problematic, requiring the use of immunohistochemistry to facilitate diagnosis. D2-40 is a monoclonal antibody that reacts with an oncofetal antigen expressed by fetal germ cells and testicular germ cell tumors. The diagnostic value of D2-40 immunohistochemistry in distinguishing seminoma from embryonal carcinoma has not been determined. D2-40 immunoreactivity was evaluated in a series of testicular germ cell tumors and compared with that of KIT (CD117) and CD30, to assess the relative utility of this marker in discriminating between seminoma and embryonal carcinoma. Forty testicular germ cell neoplasms were examined, which included 19 seminomas, three embryonal carcinomas, three teratomas, one yolk sac tumor, and 14 mixed germ cell tumors. The 14 cases of mixed germ cell tumors contained components of seminoma (n=7), embryonal carcinoma (n=11), teratoma (n=10), yolk sac tumor (n=2), and choriocarcinoma (n=1). All cases of pure seminoma and the seminomatous components of mixed germ cell tumors exhibited positive immunoreactivity for D2-40. Focal positivity for D2-40 was also observed in 29% of the embryonal carcinoma samples. D2-40 immunoreactivity in seminomas was characterized by diffuse membrane staining, whereas for embryonal carcinomas, staining was focal and distributed along the apical surfaces of the neoplastic cells. Immunohistochemical staining for KIT was observed in 92% of the seminoma samples and in none of the embryonal carcinomas. Conversely, CD30 expression was identified in 93% of the embryonal carcinoma samples and in none of the seminomas. Other germ cell components showed no immunoreactivity for D2-40, KIT, or CD30. KIT and CD30 are effective immunohistochemical markers in separating seminoma from embryonal carcinoma. Although a highly sensitive marker for seminomas, D2-40 positivity was also observed in a subset of embryonal carcinomas, thus limiting the utility of this antibody for discriminating between these two malignancies.     

柯萨奇病毒诱发实验性多发性肌炎的初步研究

分别用不同量的柯萨奇病毒Ｂ１、２、３感染和兔肌匀浆加完全弗氏佐剂免疫正常豚鼠；拟建立多发性肌炎模型。结果发现：０．１ｍｌ毒力为１０－５ＴＣＩＤ５０柯萨奇病毒Ｂ１感染豚鼠组，３周后出现多发性肌炎症状。肌酶谱异常与其它组有明显差异，病理检查证实为多发性肌炎改变。单纯兔肌匀浆免疫对照组未发病。提示柯萨奇病毒Ｂ１感染及感染的病毒量与多发性肌炎的发病相关     

The incidence of immunosuppression-related skin disease in long-term transplant patients

One hundred and twenty-one patients who had received a renal allograft between 4 months and 21 years previously (mean +/- SD, 71 +/- 62 months) were studied. Seventy-two patients were conventionally immunosuppressed with azathioprine and prednisolone, and 36 had been exposed to the current regime of cyclosporine, azathioprine, and prednisolone. Forty-five patients had viral warts, of whom 20 had more than 10 warts. The presence of viral warts was significantly associated with pale skin type, excess sun exposure, and with duration of allograft. Viral warts were significantly more common in those on conventional immunosuppressive therapy, but this could be solely a reflection of the difference in duration of transplant between the 2 groups. Twelve patients were found to have developed dysplastic or neoplastic skin lesions since transplantation. The incidence of dysplasia increased with increasing age and was significantly associated with pale skin type, excess sun exposure, and duration of allograft. Despite the shorter duration of treatment in those on the new treatment regime, there was no difference between the 2 groups in the proportion of patients with dysplastic skin lesions. Immunosuppression-related skin disease may be a significant problem in allograft recipients in this country, and we suspect that patients taking cyclosporine will have similar problems to those on conventional immunosuppressive drugs alone. Immunosuppressed patients should be advised to avoid sun exposure, to use sunscreens, and should be monitored carefully for the development of dysplastic lesions.     

Trends in incidence and clinical presentation of temporal arteritis in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1950-1985

Ninety-four Olmsted County, Minnesota residents with temporal arteritis (TA) initially diagnosed between 1950 and 1985 (incidence cohort) were identified. The age- and sex-adjusted incidence of TA per 100,000 population age 50 years or older was 17.0 (95% confidence interval [CI] 13.6-20.5), with a marked increase in incidence with age and a threefold greater incidence in women (23.4, 95% CI 18.2-28.7) than in men (7.4, 95% CI 3.7-11.0). The previously described secular increase in TA incidence in Olmsted County women continued from 1970 through 1985, while TA incidence in men declined in this latter time period. Although the frequency of classic clinical manifestations of TA declined over time, the percentage of patients undergoing biopsy who have positive specimens remained relatively constant (women 41%, men 26%). The incidence rate of temporal artery biopsy also increased for women during this period, but declined for men, suggesting that the differing trends in TA incidence by sex may be partially attributable to a detection bias. Future research in TA etiology and epidemiology should focus on possible causal factors linked to the differential TA incidence by sex.     

In vivo and in vitro anti-tumour response of selenium-protein polysaccharide extracted from rich selenium Agaricus blazei

In this study, the anti-tumour activity of selenium-protein polysaccharide (SPP), a water extract of the rich selenium Agaricus blazei, was tested both in vivo and in vitro. The results of in vivo experiments show that SPP at doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg inhibits proliferation of implanted Sarcoma 180 by 22 and 37.69%, respectively, and promotes lymphocyte transformation and natural killer (NK) cells activity in tumour bearing mice. During the in vitro experiment, we treated the tumour and non-tumour bearing mice with SPP, and prepared serum treated with SPP (Serum_SPP). The results show that Serum_SPP, whether from tumour or non-tumour bearing mice, significantly inhibits K562 cells proliferation and induces their apoptosis, and also significantly increases caspase-3 activity of K562 cells. However, the difference in anti-tumour activity of Serum_SPP between tumour and non-tumour bearing mice is significantly different (p<0.01). The results, according to the studies both in vivo and in vitro, imply that SPP extracted from rich selenium A. blazei can inhibit growth of implanted Sarcoma 180 and promote lymphocyte transformation and NK cells activity in vivo. Additionally, Serum_SPP can inhibit proliferation and cause apoptotic morphological changes and the fragmentation of internucleosomal DNA, and increase caspase-3 activity of K562 cells in vitro, which indicates that apoptosis of K562 cells induced by Serum_SPP may be related to up-regulation of caspase-3.     

The types of drugs used by HIV-infected injection drug users in a multistate surveillance project: implications for intervention.

OBJECTIVES. This study sought to describe the drugs used by drug injectors infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and to determine factors associated with the primary injection drug used. METHODS. A cross-section of persons 18 years of age or older reported with HIV or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) to local health departments in 11 US states and cities was surveyed. RESULTS. Of 4162 persons interviewed, 1147 (28%) reported ever having injected drugs. Of these 1147 injectors, 72% primarily injected a drug other than heroin. However, the types of drugs injected varied notably by place of residence. Heroin was the most commonly injected drug in Detroit (94%) and Connecticut (48%); cocaine was the most common in South Carolina (64%), Atlanta (56%), Delaware (55%), Denver (46%), and Arizona (44%); speedball was most common in Florida (46%); and amphetamines were most common in Washington (56%). Other determinants of the type of drug primarily injected were often similar by region of residence, except for heroin use. Polysubstance abuse was common; 75% injected more than one type of drug, and 85% reported noninjected drug use. CONCLUSIONS. Preventing the further spread of HIV will require more drug abuse treatment programs that go beyond methadone, address polysubstance abuse, and adapt to local correlates of the primary drug used.     

A method for partitioning cancer mortality trends by factors associated with diagnosis: An application to female breat cancer

U.S. cancer mortality data derived from information recorded on death certificates are frequently relied upon as an indicator of progress against cancer. A limitation of this measure is the lack of information pertaining to the onset of disease, such as year-of-diagnosis, age-at-diagnosis, stage of disease at diagnosis and histology of lesions. However, population-based cancer registries collect these types of data and allow the calculation of an incidence-file based mortality rate. This incidence-based mortality rate allows a partitioning of mortality by variables associated with the cancer onset. Breast cancer incidence-based mortality measures are created and compared to mortality rates based on death certificates over a comparable time period. Novel mortality measures, such as mortality rates by stage-at-diagnosis, age-at-diagnosis and year-of-diagnosis, are used to illustrate the value of this approach.     

Effect of radix Paeoniae rubrae extract on mesenteric microcirculation

The effect of radix Paeoniae rubrae extract on mesenteric microcirculation was studied in 20 scalded SD rats. It was found that this drug effectively prevented some disturbances of mesenteric microcirculation induced by burn. It inhibited the contraction of arterioles, decreased the adhesion of leucocytes on the venous wall, reduced and delayed the aggregation of erythrocytes in microvessels.