Development of a new radioimmunoassay for erythropoietin using recombinant erythropoietin

The development of a 24 hour radioimmunoassay for erythropoietin (EPO) using EPO derived from recombinant DNA as both immunogen and ligand is described in the present paper. Mixed breed rabbits immunized with 10 micrograms/kg of EPO derived from a stably transfected cell line (Elanex Pharmaceuticals Inc., Bothel, Washington, USA, through McDonnell Douglas Corp., St. Louis, Missouri, USA; "MD") produced antibodies to EPO with high titer (up to 1:896,000 final dilution in the tube), high affinity (8.4 x 10(11) liter/M), and good specificity. Purified EPO from the above source or from AmGen Biologicals (Thousand Oaks, California, USA; "AG") were successfully radioiodinated with the chloramine-T method and used as ligand in the radioimmunoassay. Standard dose-response curves prepared with EPO from both commercial sources were not significantly different and showed a sensitivity of 0.75 to 0.96 mU/tube. The dose-response curves in both systems also showed parallelism with serially diluted serum from a patient with aplastic anemia. Within-assay and between-assay precision were determined by assaying multiple replicates of a serum pool. Recovery of exogenous EPO added to a serum pool averaged 97% for both systems. The range of normal human serum EPO was determined by assaying the sera of 153 hematologically-normal adult subjects and was found to be 1.1 to 27.3 mU/ml for MD EPO and 0.5 to 16.7 mU/ml for AG EPO. Sera from several patients with hematologic abnormalities were also assayed, including those of 36 patients with anemia of end-stage renal disease (mean +/- SEM, 29.5 +/- 4.0 mU/ml; P less than 0.01). In conclusion, this new, more rapid and sensitive radioimmunoassay system can be used to measure EPO levels in sera from normal human subjects and patients with several types of anemia, and should also be very useful in therapeutic drug monitoring of patients receiving EPO from various commercial sources.     

Acupuncture for vulvodynia

Vulvodynia is the sensation of burning and/or pain of the vulva in the absence of abnormal clinical findings. We offered acupuncture to twelve patients with this syndrome. All had experienced severe distress and impairment of sexual function and usual treatments had failed. The patients attended weekly for acupuncture and progress was monitored at each visit by enquiry, a questionnaire and a visual analogue scale for pain. Half had treatment for the first five weeks only, the other half for the second five weeks only. Side-effects were negligible. Two patients felt so much improved that they declared themselves 'cured'; three believed their symptoms had improved and wished to continue acupuncture; four felt slightly better and judged acupuncture more effective than any other treatment; and three noted no effect at all. Acupuncture is time-consuming and a large part of its beneficial effect in this study may have come from the regular specialist contact. However, in view of the patients' lack of response to other measures their satisfaction with the acupuncture was surprisingly high.     

The splay angle: A new measure for assessing neuromuscular dysfunction in rats

This report describes a new method, the splay angle measures, to determine neuromuscular dysfunction. Splay angles are measured from a standard splay test and define hind limb orientation quantified, in degrees, by the paw strike of the hind limbs. We used mutant rats, presenting with a chronic central nervous system demyelinating disease, characterized by tremor, ataxia, immobility, epilepsy, and paralysis (taiep). Significant differences between taiep (n = 12) and normal control rats (n = 10) were found for Linear Splay, AngleLeft, AngleRight, and AngleBoth. These results suggest that the splay angles are a sensitive measure of hind limb orientation and may reflect an underlying pathology.     

MRI assessment of the pre-vertebral soft tissues in acute cervical spine trauma

This pictorial review illustrates the MRI appearances of pre-vertebral haematoma in acute cervical spine trauma. The review is based on 31 patients who underwent MRI within 5 days of injury. MRI showed pre-vertebral haematoma in 24 cases; soft tissue thickening was detected on conventional radiographs in 14 cases. MRI is more sensitive than radiography for the detection of pre-vertebral haematoma.     

Mast cell-associated Renaut bodies in the peroneal nerve of a dog with a history of mastocytosis

Multiple Renaut bodies were identified by light microscopy in the biopsied common peroneal nerve of a dog with generalized neuropathy, hypothyroidism and a history of cutaneous mastocytosis. In addition, numerous granulated cells were associated with most of the Renaut bodies. Electron microscopic examination confirmed these to be mast cells, both central and peripheral to Renaut bodies, a phenomenon never previously reported. Endoneurial fibrosis, myelinated fiber loss, as well as evidence of axonal degeneration, demyelination and remyelination were observed. 'Vacuolation' of endoneurial fibroblasts was also present. The location of these Renaut bodies in the common peroneal nerve, and the absence of any documented or expected nerve compression, implicates other etiological factors. These observations are the first to report an association between mast cells and Renaut bodies. It is possible that mast cells, at least in this case, are involved in the formation of Renaut bodies.