The expression of surface tissue factor apoprotein by blood monocytes in the course of infections in early infancy.

The expression of surface tissue factor procoagulant activity and its shedding by blood monocytes can be induced by several stimuli. Few of these defined situations, other than the presence of bacteria and their toxins, are commonly present in the young human infant. In this study, measurements were made of the percentage of monocytes expressing surface tissue factor apoprotein (TFA) in blood taken from babies in the early weeks of life. Mononuclear cells were separated from blood in an environment free of detectable endotoxin. After exposure to a polyclonal rabbit antibody raised to purified brain TFA and subsequent exposure to a fluorescin-labeled murine anti-rabbit IgG, the cell fluorescent activity was analyzed by flow cytometry. The percentage of monocytes showing strong fluorescence was determined. In every instance when systemic bacterial infection was present, more than 60% of the monocytes examined showed fluorescence indicative of the presence of surface TFA. In a single case of fungal Candida septicemia, none of the monocytes was positive. More than 60% of cells were found to be positive in certain instances where infection was highly probable but not proven. Positive cells were found in three cases of isoimmune hemolytic disease of the newborn, as had been anticipated from previous studies, whereas less than 25% of monocytes derived from babies in the absence of discernible infection or isoimmune hemolytic disease expressed surface TFA (p less than 0.001). These findings provide insight into a possible mechanism of coagulation activation in sepsis and may prove to be a useful predictor of the presence of infection or endotoxemia in young infants.     

Spectrum analysis of gastrointestinal potentials from the body surface

Spectral analysis was employed to assess the electric activity of the stomach and intestine from the body surface. Equipment including a microcomputer and a specially designed program were used. Examinations of 134 normal subjects and patients with various gastrointestinal conditions have demonstrated a sufficient accuracy of the method in the detection of gastrointestinal dyskinesia and in assessment of gastrointestinal function, as well as in presentation of individual elements of regular gastrointestinal activity.     

Physical activity and risk of prostatic cancer among college alumni.

Clinical observations and laboratory experiments have suggested a role for testosterone in the development of prostatic cancer. Since physical training may act to lower testosterone levels, men who are very active may have a reduced risk of this cancer. To test this hypothesis, the authors prospectively followed 17,719 Harvard alumni (aged 30-79 years) from 1965 or 1969 to 1977, and 1980 to 1988 for the occurrence of prostatic cancer (n = 419). Physical activity was assessed in either 1962 or 1966, and again in 1977, based on self-reported stair climbing, walking, and sports played. Alumni who expended greater than 4,000 kcal/week at both assessments were at reduced risk of developing prostatic cancer (age-adjusted rate ratio, 0.12; 95% confidence interval 0.02-0.89) compared with their inactive counterparts who expended less than 1,000 kcal/week at both assessments. These results should be interpreted cautiously, since only one case of prostatic cancer was identified among alumni highly active at both assessments, who contributed 4% of total person-years to the analysis. Among alumni aged 70 years and older, those who extended greater than 4,000 kcal/week at either assessment had about half the risk of those who expended less than 1,000 kcal/week at either assessment (age-adjusted rate ratio, 0.53; 95% confidence interval 0.29-0.95). The authors attribute these findings to the increased precision with which physical activity could be measured when combining two activity assessments. Alternatively, long-term maintenance of a high level of physical activity may be necessary for further reduction of risk. There was no evidence of a dose-response relation.     

Oral trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in the treatment of cerebral toxoplasmosis in AIDS patients--a prospective study.

Toxoplasma encephalitis is the commonest cause of intracranial mass lesions in AIDS patients. Effective therapy includes pyrimethamine plus sulfadiazine, clindamycin with pyrimethamine, and co-trimoxazole. This study examines the efficacy of oral co-trimoxazole in 20 AIDS patients with toxoplasmosis and seeks to confirm the experience of Torre et al.     

Knowledge of health problems among male non-autochthonous population of Chukotka

In the random sample of 762 males aged 30-59 years who had moved to Chukotka, the attitude towards their health, a physician, bad habits, and prevention of diseases was examined within the Programme on Epidemiology of Major Non-Communicable Diseases and Their Risk Factors among the residents of the Chukotsky Autonomous District. The non-aboriginal Chukotka's population having higher risk factors showed decreased self-appraisal of their health, inadequate awareness of their health and risk factors for diseases. However, the majority of the male population consider it useful to be surveyed, which should be borne in mind in implementing educational measures among these population groups.     

Role of interleukin 6 in the growth of myeloma-derived cell lines.

The role of interleukin 6 (IL-6) in the growth of five multiple myeloma-derived cell lines was characterized. The U266 and RPMI 8226 cell lines demonstrated increased DNA synthesis when cultured with exogenous IL-6, expressed IL-6 cell surface receptors (IL-6Rs) and expressed mRNA for IL-6R. However, these cells did not secrete detectable IL-6 protein, and a neutralizing antibody to IL-6 did not inhibit their growth. Three other myeloma-derived cell lines ARH-77, IM-9 and HS-Sultan did not respond to exogenous IL-6, secrete IL-6 or express cell surface IL-6Rs. The IL-6 responsive cell lines bore late B-cell surface antigens (Ags), CD38 and PCA-1, whereas those lines which were non-IL-6 responsive strongly expressed B1 (CD20) and B4 (CD19) Ags, representing earlier stages in B-cell differentiation. Finally, the two IL-6 responsive cell lines did not express Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) proteins; in contrast, EBV encoded proteins typically expressed during latency could be detected in the three non-IL-6 responsive lines, confirming infection with virus. These studies clarify the heterogeneity observed in the myeloma cell line phenotype and biology and suggest that the U266 and RPMI 8226 cell lines, which express IL-6 cell surface receptors and are IL-6 responsive, may be useful for further study of IL-6 signal transduction in and related IL-6 mediated growth of myeloma in vivo. In contrast, those cell lines which are IL-6-independent provide a model for further study of EBV transformation and IL-6-dependent growth mechanisms in malignancy.     

Blink reflex abnormalities in children with Tourette syndrome

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a common disorder which typically occurs during childhood or early adolescence. There is no definitive diagnostic test for TS. The objective of this study was to demonstrate whether neurophysiological abnormalities of the blink reflex can be observed in children with TS. We enrolled 15 children with TS, diagnosed according to DSM IV Diagnostic Criteria, and 15 controls. The blink reflex was elicited by stimulating the supraorbital nerve in order to measure the early response (R1), homolateral and contralateral R2 (late) responses, amplitude of R1 and duration of R2. The mean duration of R2 was significantly longer in TS patients than in the controls ( P  < 0.001, Student's t -test). An abnormal pattern of the blink reflex can be, even in childhood, an early neurophysiologic marker of TS, which is not related to the duration of TS or to the age of onset.     

The assessment of the clinical status of patients with alveolar hydatid disease by using statistical processing methods. 2. The correlation of laboratory tests at different disease stages and their clinical interpretation]

In 44 patients with alveolar echinococcosis, the correlation between the results of main laboratory tests were studied and their clinical interpretation was given. It was shown that at an uncomplicated stage of the disease, the immune response suppressing the helminth growth plays the main role; at the stage of complications the pathogenetic significance of non-specific inflammatory responses caused by destructive processes increases; at a stage of decompensation the correlation reflects severe immunological abnormalities and progressive immunodepression. The obtained correlations might be used as a measure for determining the stage of the disease in the algorithmic method for the classification of alveolar echinococcosis.     

Epirubicin is equivalent to adriamycin in vitro against many cancer cells but more effective against gastric cancer cells.

We compared the cytotoxic effects of two anthracycline derivatives, epirubicin (EPI) and adriamycin (ADM), against human tumor cells in vitro. Various tumor specimens, obtained at surgery, included 57 liver, 19 lung, 16 gastric, 10 colorectal and 7 breast cancer specimens. These tumor cells were exposed to the same concentration of EPI or ADM for 3 days. The chemosensitivity of each tumor cell type to each drug was then assayed using the in vitro succinate dehydrogenase inhibition (SDI) test. Sensitivity to the treatment was defined as a 50% or greater reduction in the succinate dehydrogenase (SD) activity of the tumor cells, relative to that of the control (untreated) cells. Each cell type, except for gastric cancer cells, was equally sensitive to EPI and ADM. Gastric cancer cells were more sensitive to EPI than to ADM (P less than 0.05). The rate of coincidence, the sum of the co-sensitive and co-resistant rates of all the tumors, was quite high (90.8%). Thus, these findings indicate that EPI and ADM are equally cytotoxic to each tumor cell type, but EPI is more cytotoxic than ADM to gastric cancer cells. Since EPI is reported to be less cardiotoxic than ADM, EPI may replace ADM in cancer chemotherapy.     

Safety and immunogenicity of oral tetravalent human-rhesus reassortant rotavirus vaccine in neonates.

We conducted a prospective randomized double blind study to determine: (1) the safety and immunogenicity of live oral tetravalent human-rhesus rotavirus reassortant vaccine in neonates; and (2) whether a second dose at the age of 6 to 8 weeks enhances the immunogenicity. Two hundred forty healthy neonates were enrolled and received vaccine (183) or placebo (57) on the second day of life. At the age of 6 to 8 weeks 133 received placebo and 88 received a second dose of vaccine. Medical events were noted within 10 days from vaccine administration in 6 of 183 (3.3%) vaccine recipients vs. 0 of 57 placebo recipients (P = 0.34) after the first dose and in 8 of 88 (9%) vs. 4 of 133 (3%) after the second dose (P = 0.069); none was severe and all were of short duration. Seroresponse of any type (detectable IgA or 4-fold increase of titer to rhesus rotavirus was 9% for the placebo, vs. 52 and 46% for those who received one and two doses of vaccine, respectively. However, neutralizing antibodies against human serotypes 1, 2 and 3 were not raised successfully in vaccinated infants when compared with placebo recipients. The same pattern was found when geometric mean titers were compared. Vaccine take was better when cord blood titers were low. At the age of 1 year the vaccinees had more often high titers for antirhesus rotavirus antibodies (> 640) than the placebo recipients (49% vs. 0%; P < 0.001). NO difference was found between the groups in neutralizing antibodies to human serotypes 1, 2 and 3 rotavirus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)