THE INCIDENCE OF DIABETES MELLITUS IN SWEDISH CHILDREN 1970–1975

ABSTRACT. report a retrospective study of diabetic children, 0–14 years of age, from seven Swedish departments of paediatrics. There were 359 new cases in the years 1970–1975. Notification suggested that there was a mean yearly incidence of 19.6 cases per 100000 with a year to year variation of 10.0–26.4 per 100000. Consequently about 330 new cases of childhood diabetes would be expected in Sweden every year. Incidence varied considerably between different geographical areas. The age distribution was bimodal with a main peak at about 12 years and another peak at about 7 years. There was some evidence for clustering of new cases in January and the autumn. The mean prevalence of childhood diabetes in the seven districts was 1.3 per 1000.     

Histopathology of benign gingival fibroblastic lesions with special reference to odontogenic fibroma and recurrence rates

Abstract – Histopathologic and clinical reexamination of 84 cases diagnosed as peripheral odontogenic fibroma showed 56 cases with no evidence of recurrence, 12 with possible single recurrence and 16 with verified single or multiple recurrences. An effort was made to correlate the histopathologic appearance with the recurrence rate. Three different types of lesions could be identified: fibrous epulis, calcifying fibroblastic granuloma and various types of "fibroma", all showing a high recurrence rate. Our findings show that neither histomorphology nor recurrence rate can be used as a definite criterium to separate neoplasia such as odontogenic fibroma from other gingival fibrous overgrowths.     

Early Heart Failure in the Population

ABSTRACT A cross-sectional analysis of characteristics possibly associated with congestive heart failure (CHF) was performed among 644 men, all 67 years of age and randomly selected from the general population. A total of 13% had symptoms and signs of overt CHF. Another 10% had early or “latent” CHF. Among overt CHF cases, 46% had hypertension, 55% coronary heart disease and 79% any one of these conditions. Among “latent” CHF cases, the corresponding proportions were 52%, 25 % and 65 %. Simple indices of left ventricular diastolic function and filling pressure as well as of pulmonary artery pressure were closer related to the CHF stage, than were measures of systolic left ventricular function. Smoking habits, hypertension, blood lipids, weight and other measures of body fat, blood glucose, and serum insulin were all correlated to CHF stage. In a multivariate analysis, smoking habits, hypertension, body weight, and serum insulin were independently and significantly correlated to CHF stage.     

Histochemical localization of alkaline pyrophosphate- phosphohydrolase in tooth-forming cells of rat

abstract — The activity of a pyrophosphate-splitting tissue factor in jaws, teeth and intestinal mucosa has been studied by means of histochemistry. Freeze-cut, unfixed sections of whole animals were incubated in a buffered medium (pH 8.6) containing inorganic pyrophosphate (PP) Pb²⁺, Mg²⁺, and Zn²⁺ at various concentrations. The effects of compound R 8231, heat, aldehyde fixation, and demineralization with EDTA were also investigated. In sections showing optimal staining, deposition of incubation products was found in the stratum, intermedium and the subodontoblastic cells of the developing tooth, in the osteoblastic layers, and at the surface of the intestinal mucosa. The hard tissues were also stained except in the demineralized sections. Treatment with heat or compound R 8231 resulted in loss of originally observed soft tissue staining while short-time demineralization with EDTA enhanced the staining reaction. It is argued that a nonspecific deposition of the capturing ion, Pb²⁺, can hardly explain the observed soft tissue staining. The results point to the presence of a PP-splitting enzyme, and it is suggested that the enzyme exhibits features of an alkaline phosphatase with PP-phosphohydrolytic properties rather than of an inorganic pyro-phosphatase.     

Fluoride interactions with stimulus-secretion coupling of normal and pathological parathyroid cells

Effects of the GTP binding protein (G-protein) activator NaF on parathyroid hormone (PTH) release, cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]₁) and cAMP content of bovine as well as normal and pathological human parathyroid cells were studied using precautions to avoid CaF₂ precipitation. In 0.5 mm external Ca²⁺, NaF inhibited PTH release and lowered the cAMP content by 50–70% of the effects attained with 3.0 mm Ca²⁺. The NaF-induced increase of [Ca²⁺]₁ was considerably smaller than that obtained with rise of external Ca²⁺. It seems likely that NaF activates the inhibitory G_i-protein involved in the regulation of cAMP generation. However, it is unclear whether the sluggish rise of [Ca²⁺]₁ induced by NaF is due to a direct effect of a G-protein on Ca²⁺ entry, or somehow related to the G-protein mediated formation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate, which is part of the signal transduction pathway normally initiated by Ca²⁺ binding to its receptor on the parathyroid cell surface. Inhibition of PTH release by NaF probably results from the combined effects on [Ca²⁺]₁ and cAMP content. In hyperparathyroidism (HPT) the actions of NaF were not markedly affected despite severe impairments of Ca²⁺-inhibited PTH release and Ca²⁺ triggered increase of [Ca²⁺]₁. Consistent with observations of down regulation of the parathyroid Ca²⁺ receptor in HPT, the present results indicate that the disease perturbs signal transduction at a level proximal to the site of action for NaF.     

Detection of Cell-Mediated Lympholysis Determinants Encoded by the I-A and I-E Genes on Ultraviolet-Irradiated Spleen Cells

We have analysed the effects of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation on the expression, by normal splenic cell populations, of cell-mediated lympholysis determinants encoded by the I-A and I-E genes of the H-2 complex. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes specific for class II antigens could be generated from unprimed responder mice when stimulated with UV-treated cells from I-A-and/or I-E-congenic mice in the presence of interleukin 2-containing medium. A cytotoxic T-cell line specific for I-Ek antigens was obtained and maintained upon stimulation with UV-irradiated spleen cells. Secondary Ia-specific responses were obtained with UV-irradiated stimulators in the absence of added soluble factors. The results show that the failure of UV-irradiated cells to stimulate primary cytotoxic T-cell responses is not due to a selective destruction of class II antigens but rather to the inactivation of a still undefined function of Ia-positive cells, other than interleukin-1 production, involved in the establishment of high-affinity interactions between the responding T helper cells and the stimulator cells.