Ultrasound screening of families with abdominal aortic aneurysm

Recent observations suggest that first degree relatives of patients with an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) are also at risk for the development of this disorder. The first degree relatives of 130 adults with known AAA were invited to attend for an ultrasound examination. Fifty-two eligible relatives (mean age 53 years, range 41–73) from 38 families underwent sonographic screening. Using standard ultrasound criteria no participants were identified with an asymptomatic AAA. Thus, ultrasound of families of patients with AAA has a low yield and may not be useful for screening purposes.     

Valved jugular vein segments for right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction in young sheep

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to investigate the degeneration and calcification of valved bovine jugular vein segments for right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction in juvenile sheep. METHODS: Seven valved bovine jugular vein conduits (Contegra model 220; VenPro Corporation, Irvine, Calif) and 3 control conduits (MH100; Medtronic, Inc, Minneapolis, Minn) were implanted in the pulmonary artery in young sheep. After 20 weeks the conduits were explanted and qualitatively analyzed by epicardial echocardiography, gross examination, x-ray analysis, light microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Calcification was determined quantitatively by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. RESULTS: Two Contegra conduits could not be analyzed because of endocarditis. All other Contegra conduits functioned well, with preserved structure and minimal calcification. The control MH100 conduits exhibited extensive fibrous sheathing, with calcification of the aortic wall portion and the commissural part of the Hancock valve. CONCLUSIONS: The Contegra conduit's performance was clearly superior to that of the control MH100 conduit when implanted in the pulmonary artery position in juvenile sheep for 5 months.     

Intraspinal extramedullary haematopoiesis in a patient with myelofibrosis

A 54-year-old patient with myelofibrosis developed paresis of the legs, and bladder dysfunction due to extramedullary haematopoiesis in the spinal channel. He was given palliative radiotherapy but died shortly afterwards. Although rare, the possibility of extramedullary haematopoiesis in the central nervous system should be considered when neurological symptoms appear in a patient with myelofibrosis, because good palliation is possible with timely radiotherapy.     

Mitomycin-C induced hemolytic uremic syndrome: a case report and literature review

Hemolytic uremic syndrome spontaneously arises in a few patients with advanced cancer, but it is more commonly related to the use of certain chemotherapeutic agents. Mitomycin-C is, etiologically, the most common causative agent inducing hemolytic uremic syndrome, in a dose dependent manner. We report this syndrome, attributable to mitomycin-C at a cumulative dose of 40 mg/m2, in a gastric cancer patient. A 42-year-old female with stage III gastric cancer underwent radical gastrectomy and was given mitomycin-C at 10 mg/m2 intravenously every four weeks as adjuvant therapy. Hemolytic uremic syndrome was diagnosed three months after the last dose of mitomycin-C administration. The most prominent symptoms included pallor, hypertension and anasarca, with laboratory evidence of microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, azotemia and hyperkalemia. Her disease was progressive, but fortunately stabilized after staphylococcus column A dialysis. Her disease remained in remission for 24 months from the time of diagnosis, and then relapsed in the form of peritoneal carcinomatosis with partial intestinal obstruction.      

Treatment related deaths during induction and in first remission in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: MRC UKALL X

The benefits of achieving a long term event free survival of 60-70% by using increasingly intense treatment regimens must be weighed against the increased risk of treatment toxicity. From 1985 to 1990, 1612 children with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in the UK were treated on MRC UKALL X with intensive induction therapy, central nervous system directed therapy (cranial irradiation and intrathecal methotrexate), and continuing treatment for two years. There was a randomisation to receive blocks of additional intensification treatment at five weeks, 20 weeks, not at all, or both. The five year disease free survival was 71% for children randomised to two blocks of intensification, a 14% improvement on children randomised to no intensification treatment. Treatment related mortality in this national multicentre study has been analysed for induction and first remission (including those after intensification treatment). There were 38 induction deaths, 2.3% and 53 deaths in first remission, 3.3% (including those from a second malignancy). Thirty one (84%) of the induction deaths followed an infection: bacterial in 22 and fungal in nine. Thirty seven infective remission deaths occurred: bacterial in 11, viral in 16, fungal in seven, and three caused by Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Ten of these deaths followed a block of intensification treatment. The majority of noninfective remission deaths followed the development of a second tumour. Risk analysis for an induction death showed girls and children with Down's syndrome to be at greater risk. For deaths in first remission analysis showed an increased risk for bone marrow transplant (BMT) patients and children with Down's syndrome. There was no effect of age and leucocyte count for either group. Most significantly when BMT patients were excluded from the analysis, intensification treatment did not increase the risk of remission death.     

5-HYDROXYTRYPTAMINE-INDUCED CONTRACTION OF THE MARMOSET AORTA IS MEDIATED BY A 5-HT1-LIKE RECEPTOR

1. 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) exerts both contractile and relaxant effects in the marmoset isolated aorta, actions that are unaffected by the 5-HT₂ antagonist ketanserin. The aim of the present study was to define the receptors mediating the contractile activity of 5-HT in the marmoset aorta.
2. Contractile responses were elicited in aortic rings that were either: (i) precontracted submaximally with the thromboxane A₂ agonist U44069 in order to amplify the responses; or (ii) exposed to N ^ω-nitro- L -arginine (100 μmol/L) plus LY 53857 (0.1 μmol/L; a 5-HT₂ receptor antagonist shown previously to inhibit relaxation). The effect of 5-HT on adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) formation was also investigated.
3. The effects of agonists and antagonists comprised: (i) agonist potencies in the order 5-carboxamidotryptamine > 5-HT > sumatriptan > 8-hydroxy-2-(di- n -propylamino)tetralin; (ii) inhibition of contractile action of 5-HT by the 5-HT_1D antagonist GR 127935; (iii) a contractile response to methysergide; (iv) a lack of effect of tropisetron, an antagonist of 5-HT₃ and 5-HT₄ receptors; and (v) inhibition of forskolin-stimulated cAMP formation by 5-HT (in the presence of LY 53857), indicative of negative coupling to adenylate cyclase.
4. The above effects fulfil the criteria for a 5-HT₁-like receptor. In view of the previous finding that this contractile response is insensitive to ketanserin, it is concluded that the contractile effects of 5-HT in the marmoset aorta are mediated exclusively by a 5-HT₁-like receptor.