Combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide,adriamycin, methotrexate,procarbazine (camp) in 64 consecutive patients with epidermoid bronchogenic carcinoma,limited disease: A prospective study

Sixty-four consecutive patients with inoperable epidermoid bronchogenic carcinoma (limited disease) were treated with radiotherapy to the primary and nodal areas and combination chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, methotrexate and procarbazine. The overall response rate (CR + PR) to combined treatment was 62%. The median survival time was 12.7 months. The toxicity was acceptable and no treatment-related death occurred.     

Rapid, differential diagnosis of orthopox- and herpesviruses based upon real-time PCR product melting temperature and restriction enzyme analysis of amplicons

Orthopoxviruses tend to have non-specific early symptoms that cannot be differentiated readily from other infectious exanthemas, such as varicella-zoster virus (VZV) or disseminated herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections. A rapid assay was developed for the differential diagnosis of orthopoxviruses and herpesviruses based upon the melting temperatures of real-time PCR amplicons. A mean melting temperature difference of 8.7 degrees C was observed between the products amplified from the two virus families. Further identification of individual pathogens was made using restriction enzyme analysis. The assay was able to identify correctly viruses from quality control panels of herpes and orthopoxviruses.     

Design and selection of an intrabody library produced de-novo for the non-structural protein NSP5 of rotavirus

Intracellular antibodies or intrabodies have great potential in protein knockout strategies for intracellular antigens. We applied the Intracellular Antibody Capture Technology for the direct selection in yeast of a mouse scFv library (V(L)-V(H) format) constructed from animals immunised with recombinant non-structural protein NSP5 of Rotavirus. We selected five different intracellular antibodies (ICAbs), which specifically recognize Delta2, an NSP5 deletion mutant used as bait. The anti-NSP5 ICAbs were well expressed both in yeast and mammalian cells as cytoplasmic or nuclear-tagged forms. By immunofluorescence and co-immunoprecipitation assays we characterised the intracellular interaction of the five anti-NSP5 ICAbs with the co-expressed antigens.     

Effects of the nitric oxide donor nitroprusside on no-reflow phenomenon during coronary interventions for acute myocardial infarction

We tested the effects of the nitric oxide donor nitroprusside as treatment for no reflow in 23 consecutive patients who underwent coronary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction. No reflow was defined as a decrease of >/=1 Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) trial flow grade occurring after successful initial coronary recanalization. Nitroprusside induced a significant improvement in coronary flow, with an increase in TIMI flow grade from 1.5 +/- 0.8 to 2.9 +/- 0.3 (p <0.0001) and in TIMI frame count from 46 +/- 25 to 16 +/- 5 (p <0.0001). There were no significant adverse effects apart from transient hypotension. Intracoronary nitroprusside should be considered as a treatment of no reflow occurring in acute myocardial infarction.     

Tumor protein D52 (TPD52): a novel B-cell/plasma-cell molecule with unique expression pattern and Ca(2+)-dependent association with annexin VI

We generated a murine monoclonal antibody (B28p) detecting an antigenic determinant shared by the immunoglobulin superfamily receptor translocation-associated 1 (IRTA1) receptor (the immunogen used to raise B28p) and an unrelated 28-kDa protein that was subsequently subjected to extensive characterization. The expression of the 28-kDa protein in normal lymphohematopoietic tissues was restricted to B cells and plasma cells and clearly differed from that expected for IRTA1 (selectively expressed by mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue [MALT] marginal zone B cells). Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE)/mass-spectrometry analysis identified the 28-kDa protein as human tumor protein D52 (TPD52), whose expression had been previously described only in normal and neoplastic epithelia. Specific B28p reactivity with TPD52 was confirmed by immunostaining/immunoblotting of TPD52-transfected cells. TPD52 expression pattern in normal and neoplastic B cells was unique. In fact, unlike other B-cell molecules (paired box 5 [PAX5], CD19, CD79a, CD20, CD22), which are down-regulated during differentiation from B cells to plasma cells, TPD52 expression reached its maximum levels at the plasma cell stage. In the Thiel myeloma cell line, TPD52 bound to annexin VI in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner, suggesting that these molecules may act in concert to regulate secretory processes in plasma cells, similarly to what was observed in pancreatic acinar cells. Finally, the anti-TPD52 monoclonal antibody served as a valuable tool for the diagnosis of B-cell malignancies.     

Radiographic and MRI findings in ochronosis

PURPOSE: Ochronotic arthropathy is the articular manifestation of alkaptonuria, a rare hereditary metabolic disease that leads to the deposition of homogentisic acid particularly in the joints where it causes articular degeneration and inflammation. We studied the radiological patterns of the disorder using both traditional X-rays both MRI and comparing the results obtained with the two techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included five patients (4 males, 1 female, mean age 51 years); we studied the most frequently affected sites, the knee, the shoulder and the spine. As regards the conventional study we used a radiographic score which considered the state of the articular space and the presence of calcifications. MRI of the peripheral joints was performed on the most symptomatic site or, if asymptomatic, on the most severely affected site as established by radiography; in all cases T1- and T2-weighted sequences in the axial, sagittal and coronal planes were acquired. RESULTS: Both the X-ray and MRI study revealed the typical alterations of ochronosis in the cases with a known diagnosis: articular space narrowing up to osseous ankylosis, calcifications, osteophytosis, reactive sclerosis of the articular surfaces; MRI was however more accurate in identifying the alterations and revealing lesions not visible at conventional radiology, such as ligament lesions. In the case of newly diagnosed ochronotic arthropathy MRI proved valuable for its ability to detect alterations that are poorly appreciable at conventional radiology. CONCLUSIONS: Modern diagnostic imaging, above all MRI, allowed us to identify the peculiar characteristic features of ochronosis and is fundamental both for the diagnosis and for differentiating ochronosis from other articular disorders.     

Bench repair of donor aortic valve with minimal access orthotopic heart transplantation

While the number of people waiting heart transplantation increases, the number of organ donors decreases. This shrinking donor pool has prompted reassessment of donor selection for heart transplantation. Bench repair of a donor aortic valve was performed before minimal access orthotopic heart transplantation. Aortic insufficiency in the structurally normal tricuspid aortic valve was due to annular dilatation and was corrected with subcommissural annular plication. The postoperative period was uneventful. Follow-up at 4.5 years showed good results and no evidence of aortic regurgitation.