Cytogenetic studies in non-African Burkitt lymphoma

A particular translocation between chromosomes 8 and 14 has been found repeatedly in cytogenetic studies of Burkitt lymphoma, both of African and non-African origin. We report here our findings in cytogenetic studies of direct tumor preparations from 18 non-African Burkitt lymphoma patients, 9 of whom also had cell lines available for study. A t(8;14) was found in direct tumor material in 10 of the 18 patients. Seven of the 9 cell lines had a t(8;14). A total of 15 patients had either a t(8;14) or a 14q+ present in tumor material and/or cell lines. In addition, 8 patients had a peculiar marker chromosome 1. The t(8;14) was not found in every malignant cell and, where present, it was rarely the sole karyotypic abnormality. The relationship of the t(8;14) to the evolution of the tumor is discussed.     

The improvement in pelvic floor symptoms with weight loss in obese women does not correlate with the changes in pelvic anatomy

Introduction and hypothesis

It has been suggested that weight reduction decreases the frequency of urinary incontinence (UI) episodes. However, it is not known if this improvement is associated with anatomical changes in the pelvis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of weight loss on UI episodes and pelvic floor anatomy.

Methods

Three hundred seventy-eight overweight/obese women were randomly allocated either to behavioral weight loss or to structured education programs. The patients were evaluated by voiding diary, Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFDI), and Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) system at baseline and after 6 months.

Results

The women in the intervention group had a mean weight loss of 9.4 %, whereas the weight in the control group remained almost the same (P?P?Conclusions Weight reduction provides improvement in episodes of UI, decreases the incidence of drops of urine leakage, and increases quality of life related to pelvic floor symptoms. However, there are little to no changes in the parameters of the POP-Q system with weight reduction.     

The detection and measurement of interleukin-6 in venous and capillary blood samples,and in sweat collected at rest and during exercise

Purpose

This study aimed to quantify the relationship between venous and capillary blood sampling methods for the measurement of plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6). A parallel study was conducted to determine the possibility of measuring IL-6 in sweat using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and investigate the relationship between plasma- and sweat-derived measures of IL-6.

Methods

Twelve male participants were recruited for the measurement of IL-6 at rest and during exercise (study 1). An additional group of five female participants was recruited for the measurement of IL-6 in venous blood versus sweat at rest and following exercise (study 2). In study 1, venous and capillary blood samples were collected at rest and in response to exercise. In study 2, venous and sweat samples were collected following exercise.

Results

Mean plasma IL-6 concentration was not different between venous and capillary blood sampling methods either at rest (4.27 ± 5.40 vs. 4.14 ± 4.45 pg ml^?1), during (5.40 ± 5.17 vs. 5.58 ± 6.34 pg ml^?1), or in response to exercise (6.95 ± 6.37 vs. 6.99 ± 6.74 pg ml^?1). There was no IL-6 detectable in sweat either at rest or following exercise.

Conclusion

There are no differences in the measurement of plasma IL-6 using either venous or capillary blood sampling methods. Capillary measurement represents a minimally invasive way of measuring IL-6 and detecting changes in IL-6, which are linked to fatigue and overtraining.     

The use of 7-amino actinomycin D in identifying apoptosis: simplicity of use and broad spectrum of application compared with other techniques

The detection and quantitation of apoptotic cells is becoming increasingly important in the investigation of the role of apoptosis in cellular proliferation and differentiation. The pathogenesis of hematologic disorders such as aplastic anemia and the development of neoplasia are believed to involve dysregulation of apoptosis. To quantitate accurately the proportion of apoptosis cells within different cell types of a heterogeneous cell population such as blood or bone marrow, a method is required that combines the analysis of large numbers of cells with concurrent immunophenotyping of cell surface antigens. In this study, we have evaluated such a method using the fluorescent DNA binding agent, 7-amino actinomycin D (7AAD), to stain three diverse human cell lines, induced to undergo apoptosis by three different stimuli. Flow cytometric analysis defines three populations on the basis of 7AAD fluorescence and forward light scatter. We have shown by cell sorting and subsequent morphological assessment and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labeling that the populations defined by 7AAD represent live, apoptotic, and late-apoptotic/dead cells. This method is quick, simple, reproducible, and cheap and will be a valuable tool in the investigation of the role of apoptosis in normal physiology and in disease states.     

Interrelationship between noninvasive predictors of atherosclerosis: transthoracic coronary flow reserve, flow-mediated dilation, carotid intima-media thickness, aortic stiffness, aortic distensibility, elastic modulus, and brachial artery diameter

BACKGROUND: In this study, we searched for a correlation between transthoracic coronary flow reserve (CFR) and well-established surrogates of coronary atherosclerosis. METHODS: The study was conducted on 136 healthy subjects (mean age: 39.9 +/- 7.3 years) who were free of coronary risk factors. Transthoracic echocardiography was used to measure the aortic stiffness index (AoSI), aortic distensibility (AoD), and aortic elastic modulus (AoEM). High-resolution ultrasound was used to measure brachial artery endothelium-dependent and independent vasomotion and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT). In addition, transthoracic second harmonic Doppler echocardiography was used to measure CFR. RESULTS: All of the parameters significantly correlated with each other except brachial endothelium-independent dilation. CFR correlated significantly with brachial endothelium-dependent dilation (EDD) (r = 0.302, P < 0.01), carotid IMT (r =-0.388, P < 0.01), brachial artery diameter (r = 0.340, P < 0.01), AoD (r = 0.275, P < 0.01), AoS (r =-0.299, P < 0.01), and AoEM (r =-0.30,7 P < 0.01). Carotid IMT correlated significantly with brachial EDD and modestly with brachial artery diameter, AoD, AoS, and AoEM.In multivariate analysis, carotid IMT (beta=-0.323, P < 0.0001) and brachial artery diameter (beta = -0.259, P = 0.001) were significant independent predictors of CFR. The left ventricular mass index (beta= 0.371, P < 0.0001), brachial EDD (beta = -0.232, P = 0.002), and CFR (beta = -0.228, P = 0.003) were significant predictors for IMT. CONCLUSION: Transthoracic CFR correlated significantly with well-established noninvasive predictors of atherosclerosis, and we suggest that it can be used as a surrogate for coronary atherosclerosis.     

Image-guided ablation of bone tumors: review of current techniques

Multiple interventional radiology techniques are available for percutaneous ablation of bone tumors: alcohol, laser, radiofrequency, microwave, ultrasound, and cryogenic ablation. Several indications have already been validated, including radiofrequency ablation of osteoid osteoma and bone metastases, with results superior to conventional treatment. More indications should be added over the coming years. The purpose of this article is to review the principles of the different ablation techniques, summarize their respective indications and results and discuss their implementation and the eventual combination with cementoplasty techniques.     

Acute infectious purpura fulminans associated with asplenism or hyposplenism

Acute infectious purpura fulminans is a rapidly progressive syndrome of hemorrhagic skin necrosis associated with acute infection and disseminated intravascular coagulation. We report 5 cases of purpura fulminans and briefly review the literature. All cases were associated with encapsulated organisms (Streptococcus pneumoniae or Group A streptococcus), and 4 of the 5 patients had asplenism or functional hyposplenism.